After Brother Bai left, Wang Jingze continued chatting with the others for a while.

The conversation inevitably centered on comic books and novels, and with Brother Bai's strong advocacy for vernacular Chinese, others also expressed their opinions on the topic.

Of course, apart from Brother Bai, the other scholars were somewhat disdainful of vernacular Chinese and did not accept it so easily.

Before we knew it, it was getting late.

Wang Jingze rose to bid farewell to everyone and returned to the Minister's residence after leaving the brothel.

By this time, very few people were still walking on the streets of the capital.

With less than an hour until curfew, few people would still be out and about at this time. Those who haven't returned home yet are probably prepared not to go home at all.

Those friends who are still in the brothels might be planning to do the same.

Wang Jingze looked at the somewhat quiet street and a patrol of guards passing by, and shook his head helplessly.

Compared to Qihuai County, Beijing seems too deserted nowadays.

On his way back, Wang Jingze knocked on the door, and a middle-aged man immediately welcomed him inside.

"Young Master, you're finally back."

"What's wrong?"

Wang Jingze noticed that the servant's expression was somewhat serious.

"Master seems to be in a bad mood today. He keeps asking if you've returned. He's been waiting for you in his study..."

His own father was waiting?

Wang Jingze hesitated for a moment.

As the Minister of Revenue, Wang Tianze devoted most of his time to court affairs and rarely had the spare time to discipline himself.

His relationship with his father, the Minister, was neither good nor bad.

They weren't as close as ordinary people who get along harmoniously.

However, they wouldn't cause as much trouble as the Cui Yuanzhao family.

Wang Jingze was quite satisfied with this, after all, as an important official in the court, it was impossible for him to live an ordinary life.

Wang Jingze pondered what his father wanted to see him about, and made his way to the study.

He took a deep breath at the door before gently knocking.

A heavy voice came from inside the room, "Come in."

When Wang Jingze entered the room, he saw the tall figure sitting behind the desk and his gaze immediately froze.

There are two books on the desk.

One of the books was face down on the table, while the other was open and left lying around.

Although he couldn't see the contents clearly from a distance, Wang Jingze immediately recognized the two books as a comic book and a novel that had just been sold not long ago.

The books that are popular on the market now are all printed under the supervision of the publishers, so they are not unfamiliar with this at all.

To save money, comic books and novels used different printing paper than traditional books, and the workmanship was not refined; in fact, it could be considered somewhat rough.

Therefore, the covers and back pages of both books are made of yellowed paper with only a few simple large characters or casually sketched patterns.

Have we been discovered?

Wang Jingze's heart skipped a beat.

These past few days, Cui Yuanzhao has been confined to his home, and he's been handling the printing and sales of books. Has his father already discovered this?

Wang Jingze believed that although he hadn't been meticulous or cautious enough, he hadn't done anything too bad, and shouldn't have been discovered so early...

He forced himself to speak, "Father, I heard you're waiting for me."

Wang Tianze looked up from the novel and fixed his gaze on Wang Jingze's face.

After reading for a few seconds, he pushed the novel forward.

This action made Wang Jingze feel as if he were facing a formidable enemy, and he didn't dare to breathe loudly.

"sit."

A voice so serious it was devoid of any emotion.

Wang Jingze felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, unable to settle down even when he was sitting there.

Upon seeing the book up close, Wang Jingze confirmed that it was indeed their book.

Have you seen any books like this in the last few days?

Wang Tianze suddenly asked a question.

Wang Jingze bit his lip, trying to guess what his father's question really meant.

Has he already discovered that all of this is related to him, and that's why he's trying to subtly test him?

Unsure of what to do, Wang Jingze bit his lip and nodded with difficulty.

"I heard it's a book that has suddenly become popular in the capital in the last few days, so I specially asked the steward to buy two copies. I happened to have some time, so I took a look at them casually."

Wang Tianze spoke as if it were a trivial matter.

"What does Father think?"

Wang Tianze pondered for a moment, "The comic books are vulgar and obscene, unbearable to look at, while the novels are bizarre and mysterious, captivating and have their own merits..."

Seeing this, Wang Jingze decided to take the opportunity to bring up Brother Bai and use him as a shield.

"Father, you may not know this, but Brother Bai also highly praises this novel. He even argued with several friends about the vernacular language. This is the first time I've ever seen anything like it."

"Oh? Is he the son of that vice minister? He's usually so lazy and doesn't seem to care about anything. Why is he suddenly interested in this vernacular language?"

Wang Jingze then recounted the details of the argument that took place in the brothel.

I didn't add my own ideas; I just repeated it completely.

After he finished speaking, Wang Jingze noticed that his father had fallen silent.

This is a sign that he is deep in thought.

"What do you think?" Wang Tianze suddenly asked Wang Jingze.

"What?" Wang Jingze was taken aback.

Wang Tianze patiently repeated, "Do you also think that vernacular Chinese could replace classical Chinese?"

"I am dull-witted and do not know..."

Before the matter was fully understood, Wang Jingze dared not offer any further opinions.

He still sees it as a test from his father.

"That Bai fellow has certainly raised an interesting son..."

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