Rong Rong recognized the voice and went to the door.

When she opened it, she found Yang Tong standing outside.

Yang Tong was dressed in a gray-blue robe today, giving him a scholarly appearance.

Seeing Rong Rong, his pale face turned slightly red, and he spoke with a bit of hesitation: “Great, Miss Xue, you’re finally home.”

He had learned Rong Rong’s address from his uncle, Old Yang, the agent.

He had visited yesterday but was stopped by Xue Xiao Shan at the door, who said Rong Rong wasn’t home.

Yang Tong wasn’t sure if Rong Rong was really not home or if Xue Xiao Shan was just preventing him from meeting her.

Since Xue Xiao Shan wouldn’t tell him when Rong Rong would be home, Yang Tong decided to try again today.

“Mr. Yang, are you here about the manuscript?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m here to bother you again,” Yang Tong glanced at the courtyard, seeing Old Lady Xue and Chun Xing watching him, and then lowered his head. “I’m not sure if it’s a good time to talk.”

“Come in.” Rong Rong opened the door and invited him inside.

Yang Tong entered awkwardly and bowed respectfully to Old Lady Xue.

“Grandmother, this is Mr. Yang Tong, the agent who helped me a lot when I first left the Marquis’s residence,” Rong Rong introduced him.

“Not at all. I’ve only benefited from Miss Xue’s kindness.” Yang Tong had once received a large ham from Rong Rong.

At the time, he didn’t know its value, but later learned from a shop that Rong Rong had been very generous. “Please convey my regards to the old lady.”

“Don’t be so polite, Mr. Yang. Please, sit down.” Old Lady Xue looked at the well-mannered young man with curiosity and nodded to Rong Rong.

Rong Rong realized her grandmother misunderstood the situation but couldn’t explain in front of Yang Tong, so she pretended not to notice her grandmother’s look.

Seeing the guest, Chun Xing quickly brought tea for Yang Tong.

“Mr. Yang, have some tea first. I’ll go get your manuscript,” Rong Rong said, then went to her room to bring out Yang Tong’s manuscript and placed it on the stone table in the courtyard.

She took one of the stacks and handed it to Yang Tong. “I’ve been busy lately, so I haven’t finished reading the manuscript, but I’ve read most of ‘The Cold Mountain Chronicles.’ I’ve noted my thoughts on small slips of paper and attached them to the relevant pages.”

‘The Cold Mountain Chronicles’ tells the story of a wandering swordsman.

Unlike the wandering monk in ‘The Laughing Monk,’ Yang Tong’s swordsman helps local officials solve cases and catch criminals.

Although well-written, it’s not as light-hearted as works by the Laughing Monk or Zhu Jian Sheng.

Instead of writing directly on Yang Tong’s manuscript, Rong Rong used small slips of paper to record her thoughts and attached them to the corresponding pages.

She felt her knowledge wasn’t as good as Yang Tong’s, and she was concerned that writing directly on his manuscript might ruin his work.

Rong Rong thought the crime-solving and wandering parts of ‘The Cold Mountain Chronicles’ were already well-written and felt she couldn’t improve much.

She noticed Yang Tong had tried to emulate the writing style of the Laughing Monk and Zhu Jian Sheng to make the story more appealing.

However, Yang Tong’s portrayal of the swordsman’s relationships with several female characters felt abrupt, shifting quickly from being strangers to intimate partners.

So, Rong Rong added some transitions and refinements, enhancing the emotional development and interactions, but made only minor changes to preserve the original work.

Miss Yi Meng felt a sudden pang in her heart upon hearing this.

She was surprised by his plans and felt disheartened.

Everything around her seemed to lose its color in that moment.

Yang Tong took out a small note and began reading.

This part of the story described how a swordsman saved a young woman, who then decided she wanted to marry him.

However, the swordsman said he had decided to leave the place. “Great! It’s really well written!” Yang Tong praised, making Rong Rong feel a bit embarrassed.

“Miss Xue, if you were to write a story, it would definitely sell as well as those by Zhu Jian Sheng and the others! No, it would sell even better!”

“I… I don’t think I can write…” Rong Rong replied.

Yang Tong encouraged her, “You definitely can. If you write it, I can take it to the bookstore for you. You could try writing a story about talented scholars and beautiful women. The Hongxiu Bookstore has many such books, and the authors make a lot of money.”

Yang Tong usually spoke with hesitation around Rong Rong, but now he talked about storybooks with confidence and ease.

A story about talented scholars and beautiful women?

Maybe she could give it a try.

She certainly couldn’t write about solving cases or inspecting corpses, as those subjects were too frightening.

Seeing Rong Rong interested, Yang Tong smiled, “Miss Xue, I’ll take this manuscript back, revise it, and then submit it to the Yuewen Bookstore. Last time they rejected it, but I think they’ll accept it this time.”

“Mr. Yang, you’re overestimating me.”

“It’s not that I’m overestimating you; it’s that you’re underestimating yourself,” Yang Tong said. “If ‘Han Mountain Chronicles’ sells, I’ll give you half the money. My reputation as a scholar isn’t as well-known as Zhu Jian Sheng’s, but if it sells, we could make at least thirty taels of silver.”

“That’s not fair. The book is written by you; I’ve only added a few lines.”

Yang Tong insisted, “I wrote a lot, but if it doesn’t sell, it’s just a pile of waste paper. You may have written less, but your additions are crucial.”

Who doesn’t like to hear praise?

Rong Rong laughed and said, “Stop flattering me, or I’ll start thinking I’m a great writer!”

“Miss Xue, I have an idea, but I’m not sure if I should share it.”

“Go ahead.”

“I know you’re very busy, so this is an imposition, but among the remaining manuscripts, I particularly like ‘The Dragon Maiden,’ which was rejected by Hongxiu Bookstore. If you have some time, could you help me revise it? I put a lot of effort into writing it, and I…”

Rong Rong was genuinely interested in storybooks and agreed right away. “If you trust me this much, I’ll help with it. But do you really think that after I revise it, ‘Han Mountain Chronicles’ will sell?”

She still doubted her abilities.

When she was at the palace, she only learned a few characters.

Later, when reading storybooks in the Ministry of Rites, she often came across unfamiliar words.

Could she really improve Yang Tong’s manuscript with her limited skills?

“Yes,” Yang Tong replied firmly, “When ‘The Cold Mountain Chronicles’ was returned last time, the bookstore owner pointed out many things that needed changing. But no matter how I revised it, I couldn’t understand. Now that I see the changes you made, I immediately understand what the bookstore owner meant. The additions you made are exactly what he wanted.”

“In that case,” Rong Rong smiled, “I’ll look forward to your good news. If it sells well, I might try writing a story myself.”

Rong Rong also talked to Yang Tong about ‘The Legend of the Dragon Girl.’ When they had discussed everything, Yang Tong stood up to leave.

“I’m currently working outside and am not home often. Next time you come by, you can leave any messages for me with my second brother. I’ll leave the revised manuscript at home, so you can ask him about it.”

“Alright,” Yang Tong nodded, bowed to Old Lady Xue, and then left.

Old Lady Xue watched Yang Tong leave, nodded approvingly, and waved to Rong Rong.

Rong Rong sat down next to her grandmother, listening to her questions.

“Is that young man still unmarried?” Old Lady Xue immediately asked about Yang Tong’s marital status.

“I’m not sure.”

“Not sure?” Old Lady Xue seemed displeased with Rong Rong’s answer. “I’ll ask him next time he comes. Can’t be left in the dark.”

“Grandmother, Mr. Yang and I are just friends who happened to meet. Please don’t misunderstand.”

Old Lady Xue wasn’t convinced. “I saw the way he looked at you. Don’t think you can fool me. Between the two of you, you’ve had less experience than me!”

Rong Rong had no response and got up to put away the manuscript of ‘The Legend of the Dragon Girl’ that Yang Tong had left.

Behind her, Old Lady Xue continued to murmur, “That young man looks decent. Though he’s not as good-looking as you, he’s still presentable and well-educated. I think he’s acceptable.”

After a pause, she added, “But if he doesn’t take part in the imperial examinations and instead writes storybooks, if you really have feelings for him, you should advise him to focus on more proper pursuits.”

Rong Rong disagreed with her grandmother’s view. “What’s wrong with writing storybooks?

The imperial examination is a tough and competitive path, with many people never succeeding.

Mr. Yang can make several taels of silver from a single storybook, and if he writes more, he’ll have no worries.

Why push him to compete in the examination?

Besides, everyone knows that Wu Cheng’en wrote ‘Journey to the West,’ but who remembers the top scholar of Wu Cheng’en’s time?”

Old Mrs. Xue listened to Rong Rong’s firm explanation and realized she couldn’t argue with her.

She sighed, “When you brought home so much silver, I really thought you must have done something improper.

Now I see, living in the capital, there are so many ways to make money.

No wonder successful people don’t stay in the village; they come to the city to make a living!”

Not only Old Mrs. Xue but also Xue Dacheng and Xue Xiaoshan believed Rong Rong made money in the capital through her looks.

Xue Dacheng was pleased, Xue Xiaoshan had no stance to question it, and Grandma Xue.

Grandma Xue felt powerless to control it.

Hearing about Rong Rong and Yang Tong discussing matters involving dozens of taels of silver really opened her eyes.

The capital was indeed beyond her imagination.

Now, she believed her granddaughter was taking care of children for a wealthy family.

The capital was so big, it might be that some family needed Rong Rong to look after their child!

Her granddaughter was both beautiful and capable, so she must be good at childcare.

“Miss, it’s getting late, and Fei Cui still hasn’t brought back the vegetables. We’re all waiting to cook lunch!” Chun Xing complained as she came out of the kitchen.

The porridge was cooked, and the chicken soup was ready; they just needed Fei Cui to buy some vegetables to stir-fry for lunch.

Earlier, when Chun Xing complained about Fei Cui’s laziness, Rong Rong hadn’t thought much of it.

But now, with lunch approaching and still no sign of Fei Cui, it was indeed unusual.

Fei Cui, like Liu Li, was skilled in martial arts, so it wasn’t likely she had run into trouble.

Perhaps she had been given special instructions by the prince.

“Do we have any other vegetables at home?”

“Yes, we have the mushrooms and eggplants you bought yesterday.”

“Alright, wash and cut the mushrooms, and I’ll stir-fry them,” Rong Rong said.

Chun Xing loved Rong Rong’s cooking, so she quickly went to the kitchen to get busy.

While Chun Xing was preparing the mushrooms, Rong Rong washed the eggplants, peeled them, and shredded the flesh into strips.

She placed them in a steamer over the chicken soup to cook with the steam.

Once that was ready, Chun Xing had finished with the mushrooms, and Rong Rong simply stir-fried them with chicken fat, garlic slices, and salt before serving.

“Let’s not wait for them. Grandmother, let’s eat first.”

“Alright,” Old Mrs. Xue had already said in the morning that they didn’t need to wait for Xue Xiaoshan.

As for the missing Fei Cui, since Rong Rong said it was fine, Old Mrs. Xue decided not to worry about it.

After lunch, Rong Rong helped her grandmother back to her room to rest, while Chun Xing cleaned up.

Rong Rong took a nap and, not feeling sleepy, made a pot of tea and sat in the courtyard reading Yang Tong’s “The Dragon Maiden.” Time passed unnoticed.

As evening approached, Rong Rong bid farewell to her grandmother, took the manuscript, and left the house.

As soon as she stepped out of the alley, she saw a young eunuch with a pale face coming towards her. “Miss, something’s wrong. We need to return to the Eastern Palace quickly.”

“What happened?” Rong Rong asked anxiously.

“I heard from people on the road that about half an hour ago, the carriage of Lord Qian and Prince Yuanbao was attacked near Front Gate Street. It seems they were injured.”

Attacked…

Rong Rong’s mind went blank at the news.