Chapter 346: Chapter 272: [Reading] [Sword Gourd Spirit] Together Breaking Through_3

"Take it out."

Unfolding the letter, the Seventh Prince pointed to the last line of the letter and asked, "Do you recognize this?"

"I recognize a few."

"Do you know what script it is?"

"Ancient Shell Script."

"Hmm." The Seventh Prince turned and sat at the nearby desk, saying no more but instead picked up a brush and ink, appearing ready to write something.

As the brush moved, the words ’Wenyuan Hall’ leaped onto the paper.

"I know you like reading, take this," the Seventh Prince handed the paper to Chu Ming, "and you can come and go from Wenyuan Hall at will."

"There are quite a few books in Wenyuan Hall, find time to take a look."

Wenyuan Hall?

Chu Ming’s gaze slightly focused.

This hall is the library of the Imperial City of the Great Qin Dynasty, with a collection of books absolutely beyond imagination.

But more importantly, the seemingly incoherent questions of this Prince seemed to hint that within Wenyuan Hall there is... the Mountain Scripture?

"Heh, the books in Wenyuan Hall can all be found outside the Imperial City, it’s nothing much," the Seventh Prince saw Chu Ming’s surprise, "the true library of our Great Qin Dynasty is the Celestial Book Garden."

"I hope to see you enter the Celestial Book Garden one day."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Alright, that’s it." The Seventh Prince waved his hand.

"I take my leave, my lord."

Chu Ming exited the side hall, heading to the previous courtyard. After saluting the Fifth Prince under the pavilion, he left accompanied by his personal guard, Zhuge Rui.

Not long after the two left, the Fifth Prince went to the side hall where the Seventh Prince was.

"Seventh Brother, you really have high hopes for that illegitimate son, huh." The Fifth Prince asked with a smile, "Tell me, what did you talk about?"

The Seventh Prince sat at the desk, doing calligraphy and painting: "There’s poison in the tea, do not engage with the Xiao Family, granted him the right to read in Wenyuan Hall."

"...Seventh Brother, you are still too soft-hearted." The Fifth Prince frowned slightly at these words, "Do you know why the Eldest Brother wants to give each First-Grade Cold Family a case file?"

"The cases within the files involve either corruption or the collusion of Fifth and Fourth Grade officials, having them investigate is to make them stand against the Noble Families first..."

"..."

...

Chu Ming and Zhuge Rui walked out of the palace and proceeded along the avenue of the Imperial City, heading towards Wenyuan Hall.

As they left the hall, a palace maid told him the location of Wenyuan Hall within the Imperial City and how to get there.

It seemed that the palace maid was following the instruction of the Seventh Prince.

"My name is Zhuge Rui."

Not long after leaving the palace, Zhuge Rui spoke first.

Chu Ming turned and cupped his hands in response.

"Lord Chu is heading to Wenyuan Hall?"

"Yes."

"My lord, won’t you first look at the case file? We only have ten days."

"We’ll look after visiting Wenyuan Hall."

"..."

Zhuge Rui, seeing Chu Ming’s indifferent tone, felt a bit displeased but could only keep silent thinking about his and his brother Zhuge Chen’s situation.

Without further words, they navigated through the Imperial City as instructed by the palace maid.

Chu Ming was not in a hurry to leave the Imperial City but planned to visit Wenyuan Hall first for a reason.

Firstly, Wenyuan Hall might contain the Mountain Scripture, whose importance is self-evident.

Secondly, he needed to consider how to deal with the ’personal guard’ arranged by the Seventh Prince.

Huang Forbidden Army soldiers clad in armor could be seen everywhere within the Imperial City, with many places being off-limits.

The two, unfamiliar in appearance, were stopped and questioned by the Huang Forbidden Army multiple times, fortunately having the personal letter from the Seventh Prince, allowing them to pass without incident.

After nearly an hour of walking, passing through several grand halls, they arrived in front of an elegant palace with the three inked characters ’Wenyuan Hall’ hanging before it.

Compared to the other grand palaces, Wenyuan Hall exuded a serene quality.

There were no guards stationed in front of the hall, nor the ninety-nine high steps often seen.

Chu Ming paused in front of the hall, glancing around.

Not only were there no guards, but it also seemed there wasn’t even a single palace maid.

He stepped inside, instantly greeted by a faint fragrance.

It was the fragrance of ink mingled with paper and some kind of burning incense, inhaled deeply, naturally bringing a sense of peace to the heart.

Beyond the front hall was an elegantly designed courtyard; Chu Ming had just intended to enter when he saw an elderly man in a light gray robe coming face-to-face, followed by three young scholars.

"Lord Tang." Chu Ming bowed in greeting.

Wenyuan Hall has a resident lord named Tang Bai.

In the Great Qin Dynasty, there is only one Tang Bai, a master of calligraphy and painting renowned across the thirteen Counties, whose works Chu Ming had observed several times.

"I’ve never seen you before." Tang Bai stroked his white beard, calmly staring at Chu Ming, "Which family are you from, young man?"

Chu Ming bowed, presenting the Seventh Prince’s personal letter: "This official is Chu Ming."

"From His Seventh Highness?" Tang Bai glanced at the paper, his expression returning to calm, "Go in."

"Thank you, my lord."

Chu Ming stepped into the courtyard, with Zhuge Rui intending to follow.

"You can’t enter, wait in the front hall." Tang Bai stopped Zhuge Rui.

It was better not to follow.

Chu Ming did not pause as he walked through the courtyard into the rear hall.

Tang Bai stood outside the hall, watching Chu Ming’s back, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Chu Ming?

Where had he heard that name before?

Within Wenyuan Hall.

The hall was brightly lit, with rows upon rows of golden bookshelves neatly arranged, likely numbering in the thousands.

Glancing at the books on each shelf, some had twenty to thirty volumes, while others had over a hundred.

A rough estimate put the number of books in the hall at no less than ten thousand.

"Ten thousand books..."

Walking along the aisle, Chu Ming occasionally paused, pulling a book from the gold-crafted shelves to browse.

The browsing pace was not quick, with each page lingering momentarily.

This was intentional, as someone was observing him from the hall entrance.

After about a quarter-hour, perhaps finding it uninteresting, Tang Bai stroked his beard and left.

Seeing this, a gleam flashed in Chu Ming’s eyes, and his page-turning speed suddenly increased.

In just under a cup of tea’s time, he had completed one entire book.