Chapter 85: Strange Stories

Tian Mi took out an iron plate the size of a piece of paper and had Chun and the others find a blacksmith shop to make dozens of them.

She then wrote a letter and tied it to Yanzu’s leg, asking him to deliver it to Bai Mucheng.

She simply mentioned that someone was writing books targeting her, asking Bai Mucheng to send someone to monitor it. When the time came, they could follow the trail to uncover more. She also inquired about the Jia and Chen families.

Bai Mucheng was currently dealing with the affairs of the Ministry of Justice. His mind was overwhelmed with countless tasks, but when Yanzu perched by his window, stretching out his little leg, Bai Mucheng couldn’t help but feel a little lighter.

Looking at this bird, so clever, Bai Mucheng’s mood brightened considerably.

He took the note from Yanzu’s leg and looked at the tiny writing. What kind of pen was used to write such small characters? The paper wasn’t wasted, and it seemed like a tool for delivering information!

Tian Mi had written the letter with a pencil, but if anyone asked, she would claim it was written with an eyebrow pencil.

Hmph! Was this from Tian Mi? So strange. Why? Just to vent? This was very unlike their usual methods.

Their main approach was to profit, not to vent.

So there must be another purpose behind this. He immediately called for Yu Qiu to arrange a team to quietly investigate the place Tian Mi mentioned, making sure not to alarm anyone.

Then, he wrote a letter to Tian Mi, summarizing the situation of the Jia and Chen families.

Tian Mi read the letter. Both the Jia and Chen families were deeply entrenched, with sprawling branches and leaves. Their descendants were tightly guarded, and most of their in-laws came from other prestigious families. However, a daughter from Jia’s fifth branch had married a poor scholar who had risen to become a top scholar.

This was the breakthrough she had been looking for. The aristocratic families were well-hidden, but what about this top scholar? Coming from a poor background, there was little to hide from the past, and this was the point she could target.

This top scholar was named Ruan Donglai. He was shameless, having been promoted to the top scholar by the emperor who, against all advice, had placed him in this prestigious position and immediately had him join the Ministry of Rites. He then married the granddaughter of the great Minister Jia.

This nearly drove Tian Mi mad.

She had asked Bai Mucheng and the others why they didn’t just purge these people from the capital.

Bai Mucheng laughed! Without any reason to kill the civil officials, the entire kingdom would rise up in arms.

The whole country would have to be sent to battle.

Tian Mi wrote to Bai Mucheng, asking him to send people to investigate this top scholar’s hometown. They should check with the previous academies to see if they could find anything. The best way to spread rumors wasn’t by creating falsehoods but by exaggerating real events, where the truth could be buried inside the lie.

If the rumors had no basis, they would be harmless. For them, the old foxes, it would just be a joke.

By evening, Yu Qiu had returned, and Tian Mi gave him the blueprints. She also asked him to bring large amounts of paper and ink. The bookshop should also be renovated as soon as possible.

Yu Qiu mentioned that he had already bought two shops today, one for a pharmacy and another for a beauty store. The pharmacy was in a slightly less ideal location, but the beauty store was in a much better spot.

Tian Mi nodded and agreed. The next day, she would bring her uncle to inspect the locations, and from there, her uncle would handle the rest.

She entrusted him with the task of decorating the beauty store.

Manager Zhong, seeing there was too much to handle, called over a helper from the Wang Manor to assist.

Tian Mi needed to teach several maidservants how to use makeup. Summer Plum and Summer Orchid were particularly talented in this area. After using makeup just a few times, they could create a natural look that made it seem like no makeup was applied at all, but they still looked stunning.

Tian Mi asked them to teach a few maidservants, so that they could help teach clients at the beauty store later.

Once the stores were opened, she would not have enough people to manage them, and she would need to hire more.

After asking Manager Zhong where to buy trustworthy workers, the next day, he brought over ten young maidservants and fifteen young boys. They were all official slaves, just recently sent from other places.

Manager Zhong explained, “His Highness the Ding Wang selected them. They’ve just arrived from outside, and their backgrounds are clean, so you can trust them.”

People from the Ding Wang Manor were aware that the Changfeng County Mistress had been promoted by Ding Wang. Only the guards and secret agents knew how much Ding Wang cared about the County Mistress. Manager Zhong had been cautioned by Yu Qiu, so he was extra careful and diligent in his work.

Tian Mi was pleased to see how well things were going and instructed Chun to take care of settling the new arrivals.

Among the newcomers, there were Xu Yunzhao and Zhou Rongrong. Xu Yunzhao had been taken by the Chen family, while Zhou Rongrong was taken by General Jin’s household. Her mother had passed away after many transfers.

They were no longer the same people they once were. The couple who had been together had long ceased to be such; they were now just goods, bought and sold at will.

Every time Zhou Rongrong was about to be sold, she had pleaded with the buyer to take Xu Yunzhao along. They had been kept together and endured suffering for each other’s sake.

When the steward from the Chen family came to choose someone who could write, he took Xu Yunzhao without even sparing a glance at her.

Xu Yunzhao had always been a cold and indecisive person. In the past, he had someone supporting him in this world, but now, he was left to fend for himself.

Tian Mi looked at the two issues of Strange Stories she had edited. To make a big splash, Tian Mi had chosen classic works.

For the long piece, she selected Journey to the West, for the middle-length one, A Letter to My Wife, and for the poetry, Wine Becomes a Toast.

If anyone said she and Xu Feiyan had written these, no one would believe it.

They could fabricate something, perhaps, and try to deceive people, since many things come about by chance. But such good writing requires skill. Blowing their own horn would probably scare off her uncle and Xu Yunfei, after all, only a great talent could write like this.

So what to do?

Bright Moon and Starry Sky! How would they enter the literary world?

Tian Mi thought for a moment and decided to claim that she had bought the work from a scholar. She paid him some silver and said that the scholar had used the names Bright Moon and Starry Sky.

Hehe! A scholar submitted his work, and because they paid him well, he chose her.

This reason worked perfectly.

The bookstore was renovated quickly, and in just a few days, everything was ready. The printed materials were also prepared.

Tian Mi brought the first issue of Strange Stories from outside and went to her uncle Huang Yuanying and Xu Yunfei to ask for their opinion. She explained that the work was submitted by a scholar and asked whether it was worth the 30% profit share the scholar was requesting.

Huang Yuanying and Xu Yunfei were both currently studying at a school arranged by Ding Wang, and everyone had high hopes for them, especially for Huang Yuanying. They all hoped that he would succeed in the next imperial exam.

Huang Yuanying was astonished at the audacity of the scholar, demanding 30% in royalties. He thought, Why doesn’t he just rob someone?

He took the book and looked it over for a while. The more he read, the more impressed he became. No wonder the scholar dared to ask for such a high percentage. The work was indeed worth it. He couldn’t stop reading and finished it in one go, only to realize it had ended abruptly. He asked, “What’s going on here? Is it over?”

Xu Yunfei, seeing his uncle so engrossed, took the book to look at it as well.

Tian Mi said, “He said this is the first issue. He’ll bring the second and third issues to me. Uncle, what do you think?”

Huang Yuanying replied, “This book will definitely be a hit once it’s published. Your little store will be able to stand out, but you’ll need to hire more scribes. Otherwise, anyone could copy it, and your advantage will be gone. That 30% royalty won’t be much. You should sign a contract with him and make sure he doesn’t give it to anyone else.”

Tian Mi nodded. “Okay! I’m not worried about the copying. He already told me about a fast way to copy books. I’ll give it a try.”

Movable type printing was truly a blessing for scholars. The reason why aristocratic families could monopolize knowledge was because books were so rare in this era. Good books were stored at home, available only for their own children to read. How could scholars from all over the world compete with them?

This way, they could remain high above others, manipulating people’s fates at will.

In the future, Tian Mi planned to print thousands of copies of any books she acquired and sell them nationwide, making literature accessible to everyone. This would reduce the cost of books, allowing her to make some money. Once the country became prosperous, her beauty stores and restaurants would be open all across the land.

Hehe! The life of a rich woman!

Otherwise, if she couldn’t even afford a meal, what beauty or restaurant could she enjoy?