Chapter 153: Du Yongning 2/2

While others were still contemplating how to begin, Du Yongning had already started writing.

He had definitely pondered how to structure the article before posing the question!

After a while, when Du Yongning raised his head, he saw that Li Qingzhi had also begun writing fervently.

He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of unease. Could it be that Li Qingzhi had encountered similar questions before?

However, even if Li Qingzhi had tackled similar articles previously, Zhou Shanchang couldn’t have revised all of them!

As long as the article Li Qingzhi produced this time wasn’t up to par, he could casually inquire about recent rumors and inquire about ghostwriting…

Thinking along these lines, Du Yongning buried his head and resumed writing.

Du Yongning was certain he’d be the first to finish writing, given that he had drafted it beforehand!

Yet… when he set down his pen, he noticed that Li Qingzhi had already done the same.

Du Yongning: “…”

Only about half of the time allotted for writing had passed, and everyone else was still pondering or buried in writing, but Li Qingzhi was already enjoying pastries! Feeling Du Yongning’s gaze, Li Qingzhi lifted his head and smiled at Du Yongning.

He knew that Du Yongning had likely assigned the task of writing with ill intentions, but given the current situation…

Li Qingzhi picked up his own article and approached Du Yongning.

Du Yongning, seeing this, felt a bit worried, fearing that Li Qingzhi might do something rash.

There had been incidents before where one scholar provoked another, and the provoked one suddenly went mad, resorting to violence…

As Du Yongning was contemplating these inexplicable matters, he saw Li Qingzhi place the article in front of him and gestured as if asking him to read it.

Du Yongning had confidence in the article he had meticulously crafted. He handed his own article to Li Qingzhi and then began to read the article Li Qingzhi had written.

At first glance, Du Yongning was stunned.

The writing was exceptional!

And the article… every word was a gem!

So… Li Qingzhi, like him, had prepared his article in advance?

Who had Li Qingzhi asked to revise and polish it? How could it be so well-written?

Wait a moment, this article seemed to have been written on the spot… Li Qingzhi mentioned recent events in it, even today’s reading club was referenced in the article.

Du Yongning stared fixedly at the article in front of him.

Li Qingzhi smiled again at him, took a piece of paper, and, using the format of classical Chinese prose, praised today’s reading club.

What he wrote felt like an epic poem.

Suddenly, Du Yongning felt ridiculous.

He was convinced that Li Qingzhi lacked genuine talent and wanted to embarrass him in front of everyone, but in reality?

He was made to feel inferior by Li Qingzhi in every aspect.

Moreover, Li Qingzhi’s behavior… Du Yongning met Li Qingzhi’s eyes and realized that Li Qingzhi had figured it all out.

Li Qingzhi guessed what he intended to do; this article was written for him to see.

He felt like a clown.

Du Yongning was very angry and embarrassed, his face alternating between red and pale, looking very unpleasant.

At this moment, someone else finished writing their article.

Since everyone else was still busy writing, this person also remained silent so as not to disturb others. However, upon seeing Li Qingzhi and Du Yongning together… out of curiosity, he brought his own article over.

This person had also heard rumors about Zhou Shanchang ghostwriting for Li Qingzhi and had once felt resentful.

But he quickly got over it.

Mainly because… he was also from Yonghe Prefecture.

His scholarship was actually not much different from Du Yongning’s, but Du Yongning’s family had money and was willing to spend it to boost Du Yongning’s influence…

Du Yongning was the top scorer in the county examination and then in the prefectural examination.

And him? He only got second place in the prefectural examination.

He didn’t have much conflict with Li Qingzhi; he actually disliked the ostentatious Du Yongning more.

He had already figured out what Du Yongning wanted to do, and now Du Yongning’s expression… this person went to read Li Qingzhi’s article.

Li Qingzhi’s article was really good!

He had read the July issue of the “Anjiang Collection,” and the article Li Qingzhi was writing now was not inferior to the ones he had published in the “Anjiang Collection.”

Because of Li Qingzhi’s handwriting, he even felt that the article he was currently reading was better.

Du Yongning’s scheme was destined to fail!

This person was in a great mood, his face full of smiles.

Du Yongning felt even more embarrassed.

So who exactly said that Zhou Shanchang ghostwrote for Li Qingzhi? Li Qingzhi’s level was such that he didn’t need anyone to ghostwrite for him at all!

As time passed, everyone finished writing their articles.

People began chatting and started reading each other’s articles.

They mainly focused on reading Li Qingzhi’s article.

“Brother Zixiao’s article is truly excellent, worthy of someone who can make it into the ‘Anjiang Collection’!”

“Can you believe there were rumors before that Brother Zixiao hired someone to ghostwrite for him? That person had malicious intentions!”

“Brother Zixiao’s article, I want to transcribe it! Take it back to study.”

“At the next reading club, we can read Brother Zixiao’s article!”

…

Du Yongning: “…”

He spent money organizing the reading club, hoping to expose Li Qingzhi’s true colors and let people know how good his own articles were.

But now… everyone was praising Li Qingzhi, not even mentioning his articles!

What was even more hateful was that Li Qingzhi kept on eating the snacks he had prepared!

“Brother Li has a good appetite,” Du Yongning snorted coldly.

Li Qingzhi smiled and said, “My family is poor, and I don’t usually get to eat such delicious snacks, so I ate a little more.”

Hearing Li Qingzhi say this, Du Yongning didn’t know what to say anymore. He could only hold back his anger, feeling more and more frustrated.

Seeing Du Yongning looking explosively angry, Li Qingzhi inexplicably found it a bit funny.

The reading club started in the morning, they had lunch in between, and in the afternoon, they wrote articles.

Now it was getting late, and people began to leave one after another. Li Qingzhi also bid farewell and left.

For this reading club, Du Yongning had invited all the top scorers from various prefectures in Jiang’an Province this year, as well as some other slightly famous students. Therefore, when these people left the gathering, the rumor that Li Qingzhi’s articles were ghostwritten was debunked on its own.

Of course, there were still a few people who didn’t believe this clarification, but their opinions weren’t worth caring about!

After all, in the provincial capital, the person who was talked about the most was actually Du Yongning.

Du Yongning was a bit ostentatious, and many scholars didn’t like him.

Leaving aside other matters, just focusing on his targeting of Li Qingzhi… seeing him fail, everyone couldn’t help but feel delighted.

Li Qingzhi was in a good mood. He leisurely walked back and then saw some familiar faces on the road.

Li Qingzhi suspected he was mistaken… he actually saw Jin Xiaoye selling braised meat on the roadside with Li Damao and Li Ermao!

Well, it wasn’t them selling the braised meat, but Jin Xiaoshu and Jin Sangshu…

“Xiaoye!” Li Qingzhi called out in surprise.

“Dad!” Li Damao and Li Ermao cheered and ran towards Li Qingzhi.

Jin Xiaoye was also very happy. “Ah Qing, what a coincidence!”

“Xiaoye, when did you come to the provincial capital? Why didn’t you come to find me?” Li Qingzhi asked.

“We just arrived!” Jin Xiaoye said.

She had just arrived in the provincial capital not long ago.

After finding the Zhu family’s residence, she didn’t rush to visit them, intending to sell some of the braised meat she had brought and see how the market in the prefectural capital was.

Their braised meat sold quite well. Judging from the current situation… the provincial capital could definitely support several more branches of Jiawei Zhai.

Jin Xiaoye shared her thoughts with Li Qingzhi, “We’ve earned quite a bit of money recently. I feel that keeping this money idle is meaningless, so why not use it to buy a shop…”

“Xiaoye, you’re really clever,” Li Qingzhi said.

In ancient times, there was also inflation. After all, the silver that could be used as currency was constantly being mined!

Daqi engaged in trade with overseas countries, and a lot of silver flowed into Daqi from overseas.

In Daqi, the purchasing power of one or two taels of silver was far less than that of the previous dynasty.

Given the current situation, Daqi should still be stable for many years to come, so buying a shop was a very correct choice.

Shops in the provincial capital wouldn’t see their prices drop unless there was chaos.

In the event of chaos, just being able to save your life would be good enough; wealth was all external.

“I’ve embarrassed myself today! Li Qingzhi is obviously talented, but I don’t know who spread the rumor that he made it into the ‘Anjiang Collection’ all thanks to Zhou Shanchang…” Du Yongning complained to his servant.

His servant had grown up with him and knew his character very well. At this moment, he remained silent, so as not to incur his anger.

“Li Qingzhi definitely sees through my plan…”

“Master,” the servant suddenly called out.

“What is it?” Du Yongning wasn’t very pleased.

Du Yongning’s servant was about the same age as him, and he was actually quite grown-up, even sporting a beard. He said in a rough voice, “Master, Li Qingzhi is up ahead.”

Du Yongning looked over and indeed saw Li Qingzhi.

Li Qingzhi was talking to a woman with slightly dark skin, holding two little black children in his hands.

The woman looked young, with a nice smile revealing a set of white teeth. She looked decent, but she was wearing drab clothes with no jewelry, indicating she wasn’t well-off.

Wait a minute, the key point wasn’t this, but rather Li Qingzhi’s closeness to this woman…

“Brother Li, who is this?” Du Yongning went to inquire.

As far as he knew, Li Qingzhi came to the provincial capital alone and was staying at the Zhu family’s house… Could it be that this woman was someone he hooked up with in the provincial capital?

Du Yongning felt a bit excited.

Li Qingzhi smiled and said, “Brother Du, this is my wife.”

After introducing Jin Xiaoye, Li Qingzhi also introduced the two children and Jin Xiaoshu and Jin Sangshu, who were selling braised meat.

Du Yongning felt a bit disappointed after hearing Li Qingzhi’s introduction, but he quickly thought of something else.

Li Qingzhi’s wife came to the provincial capital and then started selling braised meat with her brother?

Their family must not be doing well!

Although Li Qingzhi’s scholarship was better than his, Li Qingzhi’s family background was far worse!

Du Yongning felt much better. Out of sympathy for Li Qingzhi, he even bought a braised duck and a braised chicken, planning to take them home for Li Qingzhi to gnaw on.

After Du Yongning left, seeing that there wasn’t much braised meat left, Li Qingzhi called Jin Xiaoye and the others and followed him back to the Zhu family.

The Zhus, Zhu Xunmiao and Zhu Qian, liked this braised meat very much, and there were still many servants in the Zhu family… They could finish off what was left.

Li Qingzhi and his group returned to the Zhu family’s mansion. On the other side, after Du Yongning brought the chicken and duck home, he tore off a chicken leg and wing from the braised duck, then another chicken leg and wing from the braised chicken, and gave the rest to his servant, saying, “Take it and eat!”

When it came to chicken and duck, he only ate the legs and wings; he didn’t eat anything else.

“Li Qingzhi’s family is really poor, and his family members are still selling things in the provincial capital…” Du Yongning took a bite of the duck leg.

He paused for a moment, then said to his servant, “Quick, bring out the chicken and duck I gave you. Tear off the remaining chicken legs, duck legs, and wings for me!”

This braised duck was just too delicious!