At the plum blossom viewing banquet at Yuan's mansion, Du Hui asked about Xu Jiang and Lou Yunchun. Xu Jiang told him that she had not thought about getting married yet. Now when the topic was brought up again, she could no longer repeat her words without hesitation.

But if she were asked to marry Lou Yunchun right now, she couldn't do it, because once she got married, it would mean that the bookstore would no longer be able to operate.

The Dasheng Code stipulated that officials and their relatives of high rank and above who engaged in business and industry were prohibited from entering the civil service, in order to eliminate corrupt officials and maintain local prosperity. If an official's wife, children, uncles, or brothers profited from business while in office, they would be subject to flogging at the very least and dismissal at the worst.

Therefore, even though Zhou Huai, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, failed the imperial examination, he dared not let his son go into business, instead letting his illegitimate sons and nephews run the business. Now Lou Yunchun was using the Jisheng Bookstore to retaliate against the Ministry of Revenue, using this law to accuse Zhou Shancai of using Zhou Huai's power to bully the market and engage in unfair transactions, thus charging Zhou Huai with the crime of abusing his power for personal gain.

If Zhou Huai insisted he had no knowledge of the matter and Lou Yunchun couldn't produce any evidence, he would at most be whipped. If Lou Yunchun got evidence proving that Jisheng Book Bureau was connected to Zhou Huai, he would be dismissed from his position. He had been busy with this matter for the past few days.

With such a living example right in front of her, how could Xu Jiang not have concerns?

If she married Lou Yunchun, she would no longer be able to engage in business and would be forced to sit in the backyard like Madam Lou and other officials' wives, taking care of her husband and raising children. For an ordinary woman, this might be like flying to a tree and becoming a phoenix, but for her, a wild sparrow used to being free, it was like being put into a birdcage.

She was unwilling to accept it.

At the same time, it was impossible for her to let Lou Yunchun give up his official career for her, not to mention that if she was not careful, Lou Jing would be implicated, and she didn't have the nerve to do that.

There was no way to have both sides, so she and Lou Yunchun had a tacit understanding and never mentioned it. Because neither of them wanted the other to ruin their future.

But although she and Lou Yunchun didn't mention it, the elders couldn't help but feel anxious. Since Lou Jing secretly brought up this matter today, she couldn't just turn a blind eye.

She secretly thought that after the Lou Yunchun incident was resolved, she would find an opportunity to discuss it with him. For now, she should first finalize the publication of this set of "Tracing the Origins of Cultural Traces" and then reconcile the two gentlemen. She must not let any real rift arise because of her.

After the quarrel, Lou Jing and Du Hui acted as if nothing had happened. Du Hui just kept a straight face and said nothing.

Seeing this, Yuan Zuzhi shook his head and said, "They are over a hundred years old, and when they bicker, they are no different from children."

Du Hui glanced at him and said nothing.

"Don't blame the two gentlemen. This is all my fault." Xu Jiang hurriedly invited them to sit down, then raised his tea and apologized to them, saying, "Reading books is a refined activity. Gentlemen, please don't let this ruin your mood."

Lou Jing raised his cup to receive it, then smiled and touched Du Hui's teacup, "You have such a stinky face, it scares the younger generation, why don't you put it away quickly."

"Don't be so ungrateful after getting such a good deal." Although he said that, Du Hui picked up the teacup and drank it.

Zhong Lu laughed and said, "Isn't this good?"

Ji Shan comforted Xu Jiang, saying, "Your concern will only lead to confusion. Manager Xu, please don't worry."

Xu Jiang replied, "I saved it, but I didn't take it to heart."

Ji Shan nodded, a man of open-minded disposition. He then suggested, "Actually, there's no need for you two to argue so fiercely. Although both the official and supervisory editions must pass through the Imperial College, and you can only choose one, there's also the private edition. Manager Xu could first have the book printed by his private edition, and then, after it's printed and preserved, submit it to the Imperial College and the Ministry of Rites for review and approval, and then apply for an official edition. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Du Hui's expression softened, and he answered for her, "Mr. Ji, you don't know. She's on bad terms with Zhou Shancai, and her printing business is blocked, so she can't get official approval. Even though Jisheng Bookstore is being investigated for counterfeiting, the results haven't come out yet, so it's hard to say whether it will be approved by the government."

Everyone present knew Xu Jiang's situation except Deng Yuechuan and Ji Shan.

Du Hui added, "And you have all tasted this book. Compared to a private engraving, it is indeed more suitable for a supervisory or...official engraving."

Both supervised and official editions were produced by the Imperial Academy, and scholars also used supervised editions as official editions. However, as Lou Jing said, the influence and significance of official editions could not be compared to supervised editions; only those produced by the imperial court were considered orthodox. Moreover, even if this book could be printed by a private publisher, given the limitations of Xu Jiang and the bookshop itself, without the support of the Imperial Academy and Hu Xu, it would have taken considerable effort and time to recoup the cost after printing and putting it on the shelves.

Therefore, since it has been decided to have it printed by the government, there is no need to have it printed by a private company, which would be a thankless task.

Xu Jiang was well aware of this, and coupled with her extraordinary expectations for this book, she never thought about publishing it from the beginning.

She bowed to Du Hui and said, "I still want you to proofread this set of books."

Du Hui feigned anger and asked, "Besides me, who else can you invite?"

Yuan Zuzhi knocked on the table, "Don't forget, there's someone from the Imperial College here."

Du Hui snorted coldly, "You're so free."

Lou Jing came to tease again, "Whoever sees it gets a share."

As soon as this was said, everyone joined in, each one saying something, making Du Hui so blocked that he couldn't even roll his eyes.

Xu Jiang was enjoying the meal, so she stood up and said to everyone, "Gentlemen, you must be tired from working at your desks and hungry. I have prepared some snacks to help you relieve your fatigue."

Lou Jing perked up when he heard this and said with a smile, "Shopkeeper Xu's cooking skills have always been excellent. I came to this book banquet half for the food."

Yuan Zuzhi also said, "It's been a long time since I last tasted Madam Xu's cooking."

"I'm a little hungry." Du Hui didn't finish two of the cakes before Yuan Zuzhi secretly stuffed them into his stomach. Arguing is a strenuous job, and tea helps digestion, so his stomach was rumbling at the moment.

Upon hearing that Du Hui was hungry, Xu Jiang quickly called Zeng Zhui to help serve wine and food.

The snacks were still divided into portions per person. Apricot yogurt was served first. Apricot yogurt was Li Tongxue's favorite. It was sweet, fragrant, soft and smooth, and melted in the mouth. After finishing a bowl, he still felt a little unsatisfied.

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