Chapter 191 - Writing a Book
Chapter 191 – Writing a Book
In the capital, Su Wen was lying on a recliner while Ning Shuang was holding a brush. As Su Wen spoke, Ning Shuang wrote a sentence.
Artificial voice translation in its most primitive
form…
However, Ning Shuang’s expression was a little twisted.
“Young Master! Must this Liang Shanbo have such a miserable end?”
Su Wen looked at Ning Shuang and asked smugly, “How is it? Are you very angry? Do you want to kill me?”
[Ding-dong… +1 Resentment from Ning Shuang…] His Emotional Value was very low, but it was obvious that even the people closest to him could not stand Su Wen’s bad tastes. This was the latest method Su Wen thought of to harvest Emotional Value! Writing a book! He chose the famous Chinese story, Liang Zhu! Compared to the original ending, Su Wen was even more ruthless. In the end, Zhu Yingtai was snatched away by a bully and was r*ped until she went insane. Meanwhile, Liang Shanbo was beaten to death! What transformation from cocoon to butterfly? There was no need! The main thing was how to disgust the readers!
He only had one goal, which was to anger the readers and make them wish they could kill his entire family. “I reckon that there might not be anyone willing to publish this book for you, Young Master…” Ning Shuang said,” The first half is naturally written extremely well, but the second half…”
Su Wen smiled and asked, “Have you finished writing? Pack up the manuscript once you’re done!” “I’m done…”
Ning Shuang could only answer honestly. Su Wen put the book away… After exiting the inner residence, he roared, “Zhao Jin, prepare the carriage, go to the Ministers of Rites Residence!” The carriage arrived at the Minister of Rites’ Residence.
When Fei Chi heard that Su Wen had arrived, he was stunned. One had to know that ever since this fellow left the Profound Language Pavilion, the two of them had never interacted with each other again.
With a frown, Fei Chi said, “Let him in.”
Su Wen entered and laughed when he saw Fei Chi. “Elder Fei, how have you been?”
Fei Chi looked at the brat in front of him suspiciously and asked, “Is there anything you need, Lord Su?”
Su Wen went straight to the point. “I won’t hide it from Elder Fei. I suddenly had a thought and wrote a book! I’m sending it to Elder Fei for a look.”
As he spoke, Su Wen took out the first half of his modified Liang Zhu.
To be honest, even though Su Wen still remembered Liang Zhu’s plot, he had long forgotten the original text, so he replicated it according to his own memory. The first half was written sweetly and suggestively… Furthermore, Su Wen had experienced the bombardment of countless web novels and was extremely eloquent! This was very different from the novels of this period. Fei Chi looked at Su Wen suspiciously. “You? Writing a book?” Su Wen nodded and said, “It was a moment of inspiration! Please enlighten me, Elder Fei!” Fei Chi took the book and read it patiently! With one look, his eyes were immediately glued to the pages. Su Wen still had some skills. He was fluent in literature and did not have any unnecessary descriptions. In addition to the original story and the character’s dimensionality, this book was extremely readable.
“Interesting…” After a while, Fei Chi looked up in admiration.
That was all. To him, this book was rather interesting. However, he immediately frowned. “Why is your book only half complete?” Su Wen smiled and said, “Of course I only wrote the first half. However, Elder Fei, don’t worry. I’ve already made up my mind. It’s interesting to see the ups and downs. The reason why I came to look for you is mainly because I thought that since you’re a great scholar in the literary world, could you help me to make a foreword for this book?” This was common in this period of time. If a foreword was written and endorsed by someone well known, the scholars would be convinced! To put it bluntly, if it wasn’t for the quality of the books being too high, people like Fei Chi would definitely not randomly make forewords for others. Fei Chi hesitated. If just based on Su Wen himself, he naturally would not bother to give him any foreword. However, in the end, his ascension to the position of Minister of Rites was Su Changqing’s scheme. To a greater or lesser extent, Fei Chi still owed Su Changqing a favor. In addition, in Fei Chi’s eyes, although this book could not be said to be elegant, it was still a well-written text. After pondering for a moment, Fei Chi said, “Alright! Since that’s the case, I’ll arrange this book for Young Master Su!” “Men, bring out the Four Treasures of the Study!” Soon, the ink and paper were all gathered. Fei Chi picked up his pen and wrote on the paper. “A novel book. It’s refreshing and enjoyable in my spare time!” The meaning was obvious. It was a book that would spread happy thoughts. After he finished writing, he penned his name down!
“Great! Thank you, Elder Fei.” Su Wen’s eyes cracked into a smile. He was very happy! Since he was selling books, he had to have some marketing gimmicks first. After putting away Fei Chi’s foreword, Su Wen bade farewell and left.
As he watched Su Wen leave, Fei Chi sighed. “I originally thought that this fellow was ignorant and incompetent, but from the looks of it, he does have some literary talent. In the end, he’s still the son of the prime minister.”
Su Wen then took his book and went to the Prime Minister’s residence. “Father! Father! Your precious son is back!”
Su Wen’s standard opening remark was spoken once more.
When father and son met, Su Changqing covered his forehead and said in discomfort, “What trouble did you get into again!” “I’m not asking for trouble!” Su Wen smiled. “Your son, I, wrote a book. I want to ask if we have a bookstore in our businesses. Handing out money internally is always better than letting outsiders have it!” Su Changqing looked at him from the corner of his eye as he sneered. “You? Write a book? Stop it. Don’t cause trouble for your father. Is your handwriting even legible in the first place?” Su Wen pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. “How is it not legible? I even showed it to Fei Chi just now. The old man even wrote a foreword for me!”
Upon hearing this, Su Changqing was greatly surprised! Immediately after, Su Wen handed the first half of the modified Liang Zhu to Su Changqing. Su Changqing took it and flipped it open. After reading for a while, he frowned and said, “You wrote this?”
“Of course!”
Su Changqing stared at Su Wen and asked suspiciously, “Why are you writing such a novel?”
“Huh?” Su Wen began to feign ignorance. How could he reveal to others what his master plan
was?
Su Changqing snorted, “Don’t try to play dumb with me. Since I was young, I’ve seen you lift your pen less than ten times! You know how to write books? Don’t tell me that you’re so poor that you can’t fill the pot, hence you have to rely on this thing to earn money!” Su Wen snatched his book and said unhappily, “I’m just bored and writing it for fun. It’s fine if you don’t want it. If I didn’t want to take care of your business, do you think I would give it to you? It’s also a piece of cake for me to set up a bookstore! Do you want it or not!” “Put it down!” When Su Changqing saw that Su Wen was angry, a trace of guilt rose in his heart. After all, he seemed to not trust his own
son.
Old Su sighed and said, “Forget it. I’ll arrange for the bookstore to print and sell this book. However, you have to finish writing the remaining half as soon as possible. What’s with writing only half of it?” In this era, when people published books, there was no such thing as a serialization. Most of the books could only be published after they finished writing the entire book. However, Su Wen had his own considerations. If he were to give him the entire book, not to mention that Fei Chi would definitely not write a foreword for him; even if he did… Once this book was sold, it would probably only take a few days before the ending would spread. By then, everyone would say that this book was not good. If no one else read it, it would be too difficult for Su Wen to harvest Emotional Value. So, Su Wen planned to divide the book into two. The first half would be extremely sweet… He would first accumulate popularity and bring all the readers into the pit. As for the lower half…
At that time, it would naturally be time to reap the rewards!
Sometimes, people were very strange. If others said that this book was not good, they might not read it. However, if they read it, even if they listened to the ending later on and did not read it themselves, there would be an immersion caused by their early stage investment. There would always be negative emotions generated. In the following period of time, news spread rapidly in the capital! Young Master Su Wen! He wrote a book! Furthermore, there was even a foreword written by the former Pavilion Elder of the Profound Language Pavilion, the current Minister of Rites, the Great Scholar Fei Chi!
This news spread throughout the streets and alleys.
This was all done by Su Wen’s people. It was to promote and help him to spread the word! The Hundred Flowers Pavilion! Zhao Jin brought his men and a carriage of books over! He shouted proudly, “Girls, my young master said that each of you will have one book. He asks you to treat it as a way to relieve your boredom! If you can sell it, there will be a commission for each book…” In an instant, the entire capital was filled with people discussing the book Liang Zhu! This was the effect Su Wen wanted.
Moreover, it had to be said that such a story could easily attract the favor of women and young ladies from big families.
Because the contents were sweet and romantic.
Especially in the end, Su Wen chose a very tricky section to end with an absolute cliffhanger.
The bad guys had just appeared, creating an excellent sense of danger and anticipation for the next part.
Many scholars also bought it to take a look, since Fei Chi had written the foreword.
After reading it, although they felt that it was not bad, they would often belittle Su Wen’s literary standards through the book. Even in the palace, Emperor Zhou was currently also holding a book in his hand. He frowned as he read to the last page! “That’s it?”
“What is this brat doing? He doesn’t practice martial arts properly, nor does he focus on siring children. What nonsense is he writing for no reason? Go, send it to the Empress. It’s fine if women read this kind of love stuff!” Emperor Zhou, who had finished reading the book, fully expressed his disdain and dissatisfaction towards Su Wen for not doing his job properly. Although he expressed his disdain, from his actions of sending the book to the Empress, it could be seen that he still acknowledged this book to a certain extent. Not only that, this book was also spread among the commoners. Su Wen’s slice-of-life style of writing also helped to deepen the immersion, making it easier for the commoners to read. In the teahouse, there were even some storytellers narrating this book!
It was the same in every era.
Once something became popular, many people wanted to rely on it to earn money. It would only accelerate the popularity of this thing At this moment, in a teahouse, the storyteller was speaking so loud, his spittle flew everywhere, “When Liang Shanbo focused his gaze, he realized that Zhu Yingtai’s skin was extremely fair… He couldn’t help but think to himself… Why is this classmate like a woman?” Everyone listened with relish. At this time, the Fifth Princess’s carriage slowly passed by. In the carriage, the palace maid smiled and said, “Your Highness, look, the teahouses around the corner are also talking about the book Liang Zhu.” The Fifth Princess looked at the book in her hand calmly and said, “If it’s written well, there will naturally be people saying that. I didn’t expect Su Wen to be able to endure for so long and lie so low.” The palace maid pouted, “But I heard that many scholars are quite disdainful of this book.” The Fifth Princess said lightly, “Scholars tend to scorn each other. If you can’t write it yourself, it’s inevitable that you’ll be jealous. Didn’t they read it too? This means that this book is good! I just wonder when the second part will be released!”
At Su Wen’s house…
Su Wen, Seventh Princess, and Wu Muyu were all in the living room.
Wu Muyu tried to act cute, “Brother Su, when can you write the second book? I really want to read it…”
Su Wen looked at Wu Muyu and whispered, “There’s no hurry, there’s no hurry…” He was naturally not in a hurry. He would let the first part unleash its full power first! He had to attract enough popularity, so that when the second part was unleashed, he could harvest enough Emotional Value in one go. And just as Su Wen expected! While these people looked comfortable reading the book, they did not provide Su Wen with much Emotional Value. Most people only felt happy and complained about Su Wen a little regarding the cliffhanger. They did not have any strong emotions. Zhao Wanrou also said, “Brother Su, I really want to read the rest of the story too. Can’t you let it out earlier? After reading your book… I feel uncomfortable reading the other novels sold on the market.”
This was only natural. Su Wen had fully absorbed some of the characteristics of the online literature of the later generations. He was fluent in literature, and his sentences were clear.
The impression he gave his readers completely surpassed those bestsellers on the market. Looking at the two little bookworms in front of him, Su Wen couldn’t help but shake his head secretly. He reminded them softly, “I advise you guys not to read this book. It’s not interesting.”
“Very interesting!” Wu Muyu said, “How nice are these two? They’re so sweet and sweet. Zhu Yingtai is dressed as a man…” Su Wen sighed. “Think about it. If a girl disguises as a man, and she is not discovered, what would she look like?”
Wu Muyu’s expression immediately turned conflicted! “You’re annoying! Zhu Yingtai is good-looking! You wrote that she’s good-looking!” Wu Muyu yowled like a wild cat as she rushed up towards him. Zhao Wanrou could not help but complain, “You’re too much!” Su Wen said earnestly, “I advise you not to read anymore” For the past two days, the three people in the backyard had been pulling long faces at him. Only Ning Shuang’s attitude was better. Su Wen was also very depressed towards this point. He had already told them not to read, but they just had to ignore his advice and read the book. Wasn’t this asking for trouble? “Young master, someone sent a message. The Martial Inspectorate invites you over!”
When Su Wen heard this, he stood up and left the residence.
The two girls also returned to their respective homes.
Su Wen came to the Martial Inspectorate and met up with Feng Baichuan. The latter handed Su Wen a letter and said, “Take a look, the Sect Master of the Bright God Sect has personally replied.”
Su Wen picked up the letter and read it in curiosity.
Ding Hesong wrote very clearly in the letter that Qianxun did not steal it. She did have a Blue Cloud Tiger, but it was obtained by chance.
If they were to say that Xue Qianxun had stolen it, they had to produce evidence before the Sect would hand her over!
“What should we do?” Feng Baichuan looked at Su Wen. He did not plan to use his brain anymore. This young master of his could do whatever he wanted. If he could get that Blue Cloud Tiger back, he would naturally just go with the flow. However, if he were to cause any trouble, he would directly report it to Emperor Zhou! Su Wen narrowed his eyes and pondered.
Although he had seen Xue Qianxun steal the Blue Cloud Tiger with his own eyes, when it came to evidence… How was this evidence? Since the Court didn’t even believe in personal statements, Xue Qianxun would definitely insist that there was no such thing even if he brought the owner of the Spirit Beast Shop. Could his words be enough evidence? There was also no such thing as surveillance cameras…
“F*ck, you’re trying to play shameless with me!” Su Wen gritted his teeth. After cursing, Su Wen saw that Feng Baichuan was still sitting on the chair with a half-dead expression as if it had nothing to do with him. Su Wen rolled his eyes and smiled. “Uncle Feng…”
The moment he heard this word, Feng Baichuan’s body tensed up and he sat up straight. He looked at Su Wen suspiciously. What was this fellow trying to do? Su Wen smiled and said, “Uncle Feng, in my opinion, the Bright God Sect is clearly ignoring the Great Zhou Imperial Court. I think you can bring the Martial Inspectorate to exterminate them!”
Feng Baichuan gritted his teeth. “How can I exterminate such a sect? Unless you can persuade His Majesty to send a Heaven Rank expert with you, then there’s still a chance.” Su Wen glanced at him and said, “My hopes for you were all in vain. Old Feng, you’re useless!”
With that said, he turned around and left.
Feng Baichuan gritted his teeth in anger. This outcome was not out of Su Wen’s expectations.
In the end, how could there be so many honest people in the world?
However, Su Wen was still very unsatisfied with the outcome.
Although our Young Master Su, the monetary loss was not that serious.
But he was still angry from the loss itself. “Zhao Jin, go find the owner of that spirit beast store and Feng Baichuan! We’ll leave the capital tomorrow! I want to meet this Xue Qianxun! Isn’t it just a confrontation?” After pondering for a moment, Su Wen decided that he had to make a trip to the Bright God Sect personally! Of course, he had to bring Feng Baichuan along! He wanted to see the attitude of the Bright God Sect in this matter! There were too few things that could be seen from letters!
Ten days later, Xue Qianxun was still cultivating
Meanwhile, Su Wen had already arrived at the foot of the mountain!
Feng Baichuan looked displeased as he constantly glanced at Zhao Jin who was carrying the spirit beast shop owner behind him.
The owner’s speed was just too slow for them.
Finally, they arrived at the entrance of the Bright God Sect. Su Wen and the others revealed their identities. Soon, Ding Hesong personally came out to welcome them. No matter what, these people represented the Royal Court. After they welcomed him into the sect and everyone sat down, Su Wen said, “Sect Master Ding, we’ve already received the reply. This is the owner of the spirit beast shop. He can prove that Xue Qianxun had once visited his spirit beast shop and wanted to buy the Blue Cloud Tiger. Moreover, on the day I went to buy the Blue Cloud Tiger, Xue Qianxun had also appeared in the shop and wanted to compete with me for the Blue Cloud Tiger, but I cut her
off!”
Ding Hesong frowned. Now that Su Wen had produced a witness, he was a little hesitant about what exactly happened.
“Call Xue Qianxun over!” Ding Hesong ordered.
Soon, Xue Qianxun arrived. Xue Qianxun’s heart tightened when she saw Su Wen and her boss.
Su Wen glanced at the boss. The boss pointed at Xue Qianxun and said loudly, “That’s right! It’s this woman. She was the one who said in my shop that she wanted to buy the Blue Cloud Tiger. Because it was worth seven million taels of silver, she wanted to go and gather money. Later on, Young Master Su came over to purchase the cub, and this woman came a step late! At that time, she said that she was a disciple of the Bright God Sect, Xue Qianxun!” Hearing her boss’s accusation, Qianxun started crying on the spot! He said aggrievedly, “Sect Master! This is really unjust. I’ve never seen this person before. I don’t know where this Su Wen found this person to slander me. This disciple’s Azure Cloud Tiger was really obtained from the wilderness by me. It has nothing to do with them. That Su Wen coveted my looks, but I didn’t comply and unexpectedly provoked such an influential official! If Sect Master is in a difficult position, this disciple is willing to leave with them!”
“Heh!” After hearing Xue Qianxun’s words and seeing her expression, Su Wen could tell that this woman was the mastermind behind the whole thing.
Ding Hesong frowned. “Whether it’s right or wrong, there will be a public judgment. Whatever happens will happen. Our Bright God Sect doesn’t cause trouble, but we’re not afraid of trouble either! We won’t lose our own disciples!” At this moment, the boss said, “Under the right leg of the Blue Cloud Tiger is a patch of gray fur!”
Upon hearing this, Qianxun was shocked. She was aware of this point. She hurriedly said, “Master, this Su Wen has seen this disciple’s Blue Cloud Tiger before as well. He can’t possibly remember a characteristic and say that it’s his, right? Not to mention anything else, the shopkeeper has already said that it costs so much money, this disciple can’t afford it. How can I buy it?” In any case, she would rather die than admit it!
In reality, this was the attitude of most people who committed crimes. They argued and denied everything.
However, Su Wen could not do anything to her yet. Su Wen looked at Xue Qianxun and said calmly, “Xue Qianxun, right? I’ll give you one last chance. Return the Blue Cloud Tiger and come with me honestly to accept your punishment! Then I’ll consider this matter as settled. If you continue like this, I can only tell you that I’ll be very angry and the consequences will be very serious.”
Xue Qianxun looked at Ding Hesong and said, “Sect Master… Look at how domineering Lord Su is. If I don’t obey, I’m afraid it will bring disaster to the sect…”
This woman’s words implied that she wanted to confess for the sect! In reality, she was forcing Ding Hesong to express his stance.
If that was the case, if Ding Hesong really allowed her to confess, there was no need for him to be the Sect Master anymore!
Ding Hesong stood up and snorted, “Young Master Su, this is the Bright God Sect!”
Obviously, he was warning Su Wen not to be too arrogant.
Su Wen sat on the chair and looked up at him with a smile. “Is the Bright God Sect that impressive?”
Hearing this, Feng Baichuan broke out in cold sweat.
‘F*ck! This little ancestor, even if we were to turn hostile, we can wait until we get out of his lair before we flip! Now it’s just the two of us, aren’t you courting death?’
Ding Hesong looked at Su Wen with killing intent in his eyes.
Su Wen crossed his legs and glanced at him. “You don’t have to pretend to be vicious with me. You don’t dare to kill me, right?”
Ding Hesong said in a low voice, “Lord Su, I indeed don’t dare to kill you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t dare to make a move against you! If you continue to look down on our sect…”
“Oh? Is looking down on your Bright God Sect a crime? Where did such rules come from? I’m a Viscount of the Royal Court. Do I have to kowtow to you twice when I come to your Bright God Sect? Then your prestige is too great.” Su Wen looked at him and sneered. “If you make a move, it will be challenging the authority of the Royal Court and attempting to rebel!”
In terms of glibness, how could Ding Hesong be Su Wen’s match?
He was quickly brought into Su Wen’s verbal trap. I look down on you, so what?
Anyway, I won’t cause any trouble. I just want to disgust you!
Su Wen knew very well that if he did not make a move, they would not be able to do anything to him.
“Send the guest out!” Ding Hesong didn’t want to say anything else. He waved his sleeve and was about to chase him away.
“I’m not leaving!” Su Wen was still sitting on the chair with a carefree expression. He looked at Ding Hesong and said, “I’m under orders to investigate the Blue Cloud Tiger burglary case. For the time being, there’s insufficient evidence. However, Xue Qianxun is indeed a major suspect, so I want to stay in the Sect!”
“You…”
Ding Hesong was speechless. Wasn’t this being shameless? But if it was an ordinary scoundrel, he could chase them away, but not Su Wen!
After all, Su Wen was representing the court.
“Arrange four rooms for me. I’ll stay here for a few days and enjoy the scenery of the world’s famed mountains, Mingxiu Peak!” Su Wen stood up and stretched.
Ding Hesong’s face darkened. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Men! Bring Lord Su to the guest room!”