The Capital City was abuzz with news of the upcoming selection, and the Song Family was in constant turmoil. The First Madam awaited her husband’s reply, while Mrs. Cai schemed for a way to convince her own husband to forbid Song Yunzhao from participating.

The day the court’s official decree for the selection was issued, Song Yunzhao happened to finish her story. The world loved tales of a young lady from a wealthy family having a secret garden rendezvous with a down-and-out scholar, but she decided to go against the grain. Why should it be that after a scholar wins a lady’s heart and her financial support to pass the exams and earn a title, he gets chosen as a son-in-law by a powerful courtier? And when his conscience finally kicks in and he comes back for the lady, she’s supposed to be overjoyed, grateful he hadn’t forgotten her kindness, and willingly become his concubine?

So, she wrote about the young lady discovering the scholar married someone else. She cursed him for betraying their moonlit vows and promises. She condemned him, declaring that his taking her family’s silver to go to Shangjing for the exams was nothing more than a scheme to swindle money. He was a man of despicable character, someone she couldn’t bear to look at even once. She immediately cut all ties of fate with him, declaring that from then on, their lives and marriages would be completely separate.

Furthermore, the young lady tracked down and reclaimed the silver her family had provided to fund the scholar’s trip to Shangjing. She then immediately gave it all away to the young beggars on the street, preferring to give it to beggars than to a scoundrel.

This kind of story, featuring a strong, independent female lead, was very popular in later eras. But in this patriarchal time, if not handled well, it would likely draw criticism. So, Song Yunzhao focused on describing the scholar’s despicable mentality—wanting both the young lady’s wealth and his new wife’s family’s power. With a turn of her pen, she also wrote of the heartache, anger, and helplessness of the jilted young lady, whose deep affection had been fed to the dogs. Even in breaking the engagement, she was acting to protect her family’s honor and her own dignity.

’It should work,’ Song Yunzhao thought. Human nature was a double-edged sword. It wasn’t enough for women to resonate with the story; at the very least, male readers should also feel a sense of righteous indignation. If she could achieve that, she would have succeeded. With that in mind, she had someone deliver the manuscript to Xie Linlang.

Who knew that Xie Linlang would be hooked the moment she started reading? She was so furious she stomped around at home, cursing the scholar for being shameless and pitying the young lady.

When she showed the manuscript to her second brother, Xie Jinshu was speechless for a long time.

Seeing her brother’s expression, Xie Linlang asked anxiously, "Second Brother, you don’t think the story is any good?"

Hearing this, Xie Jinshu looked at his sister. He first nodded, but seeing her crestfallen expression, he then immediately shook his head.

"You’re nodding and then shaking your head. What on earth do you mean?" Xie Linlang grew impatient.

Xie Jinshu cleared his throat before explaining to his sister, "Third Miss’s story is written in a very novel way. It’s completely different from the stories popular right now."

"Exactly! So if we have it told in our family’s restaurant, it will definitely attract a lot of people." Xie Linlang herself loved it, and she felt that the other young ladies in the Capital would probably like it too.

’A fiancé you supported with your own heart and your own money... only for him to turn around, climb a higher branch, and forget all gratitude. He even acts like he’s doing you a favor by offering to make you his concubine. Ptooey! The absolute nerve!’

Xie Jinshu considered this and said to his sister, "You’re a woman, so of course you feel wronged on the young lady’s behalf. But from a man’s perspective, they wouldn’t think what the scholar did was that excessive. For someone who has attained an official post, marrying a wife of a matching social standing is only natural."

Xie Linlang eyed her second brother suspiciously. "Second Brother, don’t tell me you’re that shameless too?"

The shameless Xie Jinshu: ...

He was at a complete loss for words.

’If you can have a woman on each arm, why stay faithful to just one?’

’If you can have both wealth and power, why give one up?’

’Isn’t that something only a fool would do?’

’All for love?’

’Can you eat that? Can it build you a future?’

Xie Jinshu could never have imagined that one day, that fickle vixen called love would come back to slap him hard across the face.

Of course, Xie Jinshu would never admit this in front of his sister. Instead, he put on a serious expression and said, "I think the manuscript is excellent. If we plan it out properly, we can make a lot of money."

Xie Linlang immediately replied, "Of course it’s good—it was written by Third Miss! She told me in her letter that no one else is to know about this. Hmph. It must be because I told her the other day how difficult it is for our Xie family to establish ourselves in the Capital City, and that a good story is hard to come by. She must have gone to all this trouble to write this to help us."

"I know, I know. Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t treat Third Miss unfairly," Xie Jinshu immediately promised.

’His sister was even helping Third Miss inquire about the selection. She must be interested in participating. If, one day, Third Miss really managed to rise to the top, maintaining a good relationship with her would be a huge boon for the Xie family.’

’Besides, Third Miss seemed like a genuinely good person. Xie Jinshu had also heard from his sister about her situation in her own residence; she certainly didn’t have much silver on hand.’

"So, Second Brother, what’s your plan?" Xie Linlang asked.

Xie Jinshu smiled. "Write back to Third Miss. Tell her we want to buy the manuscript and ask her to name a price. Your brother won’t haggle."

Xie Linlang’s eyes widened. "With Third Miss’s personality, how could she discuss money directly with you? Just say how much silver you’ll give. I happen to know that the Three Yuan Building pays its writers at least one hundred taels for a single manuscript."

Xie Jinshu laughed. "Where did you hear that? One hundred taels—that’s what they pay their very best author."

"Never you mind where I heard it. Just tell me how much you’re willing to give." Xie Linlang didn’t meddle in the family business and couldn’t make the final decision, but she could still try to negotiate for her friend.

’If her second brother was too stingy, she’d just secretly give Yun Zhao some extra money herself. And if Yun Zhao wrote another story in the future, she definitely wouldn’t give it to this exploitative brother of hers.’

Xie Jinshu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his sister’s antics. His expression grew more serious as he turned to business. "If we just have this story told directly in our restaurant as is, it won’t work."

"Brother, what do you mean by that?"

"Don’t worry about it. I have a plan. As for the silver... How about this: I’ll first put one hundred taels in a red envelope for Third Miss. Once the story becomes famous, we can discuss further payment. There’s one more thing—you need to have Third Miss come up with a pen name. Otherwise, when people ask who wrote the story, what are we supposed to say?"

Hearing the sum of one hundred taels, Xie Linlang was satisfied. Her brother was matching the price the Three Yuan Building paid its best author. Suddenly, her second brother seemed much more agreeable. "Alright then. I’ll ask Third Miss and get back to you. Give me the silver note first. I’ll tuck it into the letter and send it to her."

Xie Jinshu smiled and had someone fetch a one hundred tael silver note for his sister. Before leaving, he said to her, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going."

With such a novel and controversial story, Xie Jinshu felt that if he handled it well, he could make the Xie family’s name famous in the Capital City. This was a major opportunity, and he had to get to work on it immediately.

Eager to write her reply to Yun Zhao, Xie Linlang waved her brother off. Xie Jinshu left with a smile.

Song Yunzhao hadn’t expected to receive a reply from Xie Linlang so quickly; she thought it would take at least a few days. When she opened the envelope, she found not only a letter but also a one hundred tael silver note, which gave her quite a shock.

’Isn’t this price a bit too high?’

Just as she was about to read Linlang’s letter carefully, she heard the sound of hurried footsteps. Looking up, she saw Qiancao enter with a furious expression on her face.