Green Mountain-Chapter 675 - 532: Breaking Off the Engagement

August 6th, the 32nd year of Jia Ning.

As the day was just breaking, Chen Ji woke up from his sleep with a series of sneezes. Sitting up in bed, he mumbled to himself in a daze, "Who's thinking of me? My master? I wonder how they're doing..."

Thinking about it, he sat blankly for a while before getting up, putting on his clothes, rolling up his sleeves, and heading out with a pole over his shoulder.

Chen Ji slowly walked along the bluestone path towards the well, not in any rush.

When he arrived at the well, he suddenly noticed that the crank, hemp rope, and wooden bucket had all been replaced with new ones, and even the well's edge had been freshly rebuilt with blue bricks.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Ji picked up the empty water buckets and started walking outside Chen Mansion.

Exiting Fuyou Street, he continued towards Chang'an Street, and after ten minutes, he still hadn't found a well. The officials on Fuyou Street, Xuanwu Gate Street, Chang'an Street, and Chessboard Street had all enclosed their wells within their residences.

Chen Ji continued heading west, until he crossed Jade River Bridge and entered Gate Tower Alley, where he finally saw a long line of residents waiting at a well in the distance.

The well's edge and crank here were old, reminiscent of the one on Anxi Street in Luocheng City. Unhurriedly, he lined up at the end of the queue.

A young man walked past the well, and someone greeted him with a smile, "Good morning, Dr. Chen."

Instinctively, Chen Ji wanted to respond, but stopped halfway when he realized they weren't addressing him.

At this moment, a small door at the alley's entrance swung open, and a man with a goatee stepped out. Immediately, someone approached him, "Mr. Yang, are you reading the newspaper today?"

Mr. Yang, with a goatee, replied impatiently, "Read the newspaper, read the newspaper. You all should learn to read and educate yourselves instead of pestering me every day."

An old man pointed to a young man in a white shirt, saying, "Erwa, fill Mr. Yang's water tank later."

The young man agreed, "Alright."

Mr. Yang hesitated briefly but eventually sighed, "Where's the newspaper?"

The young man handed over a stack of Capital Morning News, "These are from yesterday; today's hasn't arrived yet."

Mr. Yang opened the Capital Morning News and frowned, "Why bother with this morning paper, published by a martial artist and a street ruffian? It's vulgar. If you're going to read, read the Evening News instead. Get me yesterday's Evening News."

A woman suddenly inquired, "Mr. Yang, I heard that the Beijing Evening News was specially created by Third Miss Qi to rival the Marquis of Wuxiang. Is it true?"

Another person chimed in, "I also heard that Third Miss Qi offers generous rewards. The Morning News offers a maximum of 300 cents per line, but Qi Family offers five hundred cents."

"And, and, someone said Third Miss Qi declared that anyone with official titles is not allowed to write for the Morning News, or their titles would be revoked. Is that true?"

The crowd surrounded Mr. Yang, bombarding him with questions.

Mr. Yang, overwhelmed by the questions, finally admitted, "This is indeed the case."

A woman expressed surprise, "Third Miss Qi and the Marquis of Wuxiang are engaged. Why be so confrontational?"

Nearby, a young man laughed and said, "The Marquis of Wuxiang published the Capital Morning News, and the first issue featured a legendary story of him and Second Miss Zhang sharing life and death, which infuriated Third Miss Qi so much that she tore up several newspapers in the street. Later, she urged Wenyuan Bookstore to start the Evening News to compete with the Morning News, and on the same day, the Marquis of Wuxiang approached them, took Lin Chaojing, a Hanlin Academy Scholar, and used private punishment, escalating the feud significantly."

"I heard that Lin Chaojing is a Jing Dynasty spy?"

"Sigh, the Marquis of Wuxiang, with the immense power of the Fu You Street Chen Family, can easily fabricate charges. Never mind a Hanlin Academy Scholar, look at his brother, Lin Chaoqing; wasn't the Commander of Jiefan Guard also forced to flee like a homeless dog?"

"Tsk, I say, Third Miss Qi should not only compete with him but also call off the engagement."

At this point, everyone surrounded Mr. Yang, abandoning even the thought of fetching water. The long line that was in front of Chen Ji now stood empty.

He was delighted not to have to wait in line, and cranked up the water from the well, then carried the pole through the crowd, smiling, "Kindly make way, or be careful not to get your feet wet."

The people beside Mr. Yang stepped aside, and Chen Ji, with a light step, carried the pole, walked several miles back to the Silver Apricot Garden.

Upon reaching home, Xiao Man was setting breakfast on the stone table. Seeing him, he asked in confusion, "Young Master, why did fetching water take so long today?"

Chen Ji walked into the side room, tilted the pole and set it down, "I went a bit farther today, fetched water from Gate Tower Alley."

Xiao Man's eyes widened, "Why did you go so far to fetch water, Young Master?"

Chen Ji smiled, "It's livelier over there."

Xiao Man sat by the stone table, resting his chin on his hands, watching Chen Ji eat breakfast, "Young Master, Brother Pao said Third Miss Qi spread the word to the entire Glass Factory that all new storybooks must first be reviewed by the Evening News. They offer higher prices than anyone else. Now, many scholars have gone to Wenyuan Bookstore. Earlier, the well-known 'Jinling Talents' and 'General Order' were published in the Evening News, attracting the public to buy their Evening News."

Chen Ji ate in silence, seemingly indifferent.

Xiao Man said again, "There's more, there's more, all the poems written by the capital's literati are given to the Evening News. Young Master Cui of the Cui family published a Mid-Autumn quatrain in the Evening News two days ago, and it's already spread throughout the capital. Even the maids in the Chen Mansion are passing it around. Some say..."

Chen Ji looked at Xiao Man hesitantly trying to speak: "Say what?"

Xiao Man mumbled, "Some say you want to catch Young Master Cui and use private punishment on him again. But Young Master Cui said at the Literary Meeting yesterday that he's not afraid... Now many people are saying Third Miss Qi is considering breaking off the engagement, and the Cui family is trying to take advantage of this and seize the opportunity to climb up to the Qi family's high branches. Yesterday, Young Master Cui sent Third Miss Qi a Ferghana horse from the Western Regions, reportedly with pink fur that sparkles in the sun... It's obviously intended to outshine Sister Axia's horse Zaozao, but Zaozao is a Dragon Seed that Supervisor Xu brought back from the North, what does that Ferghana horse count for...?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Chen Ji put down his chopsticks and interrupted with a smile, "If the Qi family can break off the engagement and marry into the Cui family, wouldn't everyone be happy."

Xiao Man unhappily replied, "But everyone in the capital will laugh at you, they're already spreading rumors about you, if the Qi family breaks off the engagement, it will only fulfill their intentions."

Chen Ji calmly said, "It doesn't matter."

The little monk gave Xiao Man a look, and Xiao Man quickly changed the subject: "Young master, there are only a few days until the Mid-Autumn Festival, what kind of mooncakes would you like to eat?"

Chen Ji curiously asked, "What kinds are there?"

Xiao Man pondered, "Ordinary families eat fruit or preserved fruit ones, but wealthy households eat flaky caramel mooncakes, and I've heard there are even crab meat mooncakes. It's not just mooncakes, I've heard that Bianyifang Restaurant is also preparing Jinling's osmanthus duck and Suzhou Prefecture's stewed taro pieces, reservations for banquets are almost full these days."

Chen Ji said with a smile, "Whatever filling you like to eat, just make that filling, I'm not particular... And as for the Evening News, let them mess around, Brother Pao's aces are still hidden and unused."

...

...

Wenyuan Bookstore.

Scholars and literati were engaging in hearty discussions in the backyard, while in the corner, Qi Zhenzhu, with her face covered in a white veil, was gently plucking the strings of a zither.

Xu Bin, the landlord of Wenyuan Bookstore, summoned the servant to bring some fruits and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, these are seasonal delicacies: water chestnuts from Jiangnan, honey pomelos from Hu-Guang, and crispy pears from the North."

Yuan Wang from the Ru Nan Yuan Family cupped his hands behind a desk and said, "Mr. Xu, you're very considerate."

Yang Zhong from the Hongnong Yang Family was holding a draft of a poem and praised loudly, "The pine needles condense white at night, the dewy heavy cricket sounds. The thousand-mile-away home's moonlight is especially bright by the guest's window. With Mid-Autumn approaching, Brother Yuan, your poem about your home's moonlight truly captures the sorrow of us foreigners coming to the capital to study, unable to reunite with family. It will surely receive great acclaim when published in the Evening News tomorrow, overshadowing the Morning News."

Yuan Wang responded with a laugh, "You're too kind, Brother Yang. I think your poem, 'Blue Sea Tides', is even better."

At this moment, they all looked at Young Master Cui, Cui Qinghe of the Cui family, who was writing a poem at the top. They saw him just finish the last sentence, placing his brush on the inkstone.

Yuan Wang eagerly got up and went over, picking up the xuan paper to examine the poetry: "Don't say this heart is easily rounded and deficient, the pure light does not rely on the sky for completion... What a great line!"

Cui Qinghe modestly said, "Please forgive my inadequacies. Unfortunately, the Poetry Champion of the Huqiu Poetry Society, Shen Ye is not around, otherwise, it wouldn't be my turn to show off."

Not far away, Qi Zhaoning coldly stated, "Why mention him, that Shen Ye, despite being the new top scorer, mixes with street ruffians and brothel prostitutes every day, such indecency."

Cui Qinghe responded with a smile, "It truly is a disgrace to literature... Zhaoning, nowadays, the Morning News can only sell over 3,000 copies daily, while the Evening News can sell over 6,000 copies a day, steadily surpassing them."

Qi Zhaoning said in a deep voice, "It's still not enough, I want them to not sell a single copy!"

Xu Bin beamed, "Third Miss Qi, making them unable to sell a copy is difficult."

Qi Zhaoning raised her voice, "Difficult as it may be, we have to find a way!"

As they spoke, a servant ran into the backyard from outside, holding a stack of bamboo paper: "Landlord, bad news..."

Qi Zhaoning abruptly stood up: "What's the bad news?"

The servant, out of breath, said, "Meihua Ferry Crossing has published an Evening News too, challenging us."

Xu Bin's expression changed slightly: "They published an Evening News too? How could they engrave so quickly? With over forty engravers working overnight, we can only barely produce one. How can they publish both Morning and Evening News? Whose engravers did they steal?"

The servant shook his head: "I don't know."

Yuan Wang said with a laugh, "Mr. Xu, don't be alarmed. Now that our Evening News has completely overshadowed them, even if they publish another Evening News, what does it matter? It's futile... Let me see what's written in this so-called Evening News of theirs."

The servant handed the Evening News to Yuan Wang, who unfolded it and suddenly stood still.

Cui Qinghe curiously asked, "What's wrong, Brother Yuan?"

As he leaned in, he heard Yuan Wang mutter softly, "The bright moon rises over the sea, we share this moment from afar..."