Chapter 87 She so wished she could be like Qi Lan...

Mr. Du, the owner of Xuelangzhai, has been having trouble sleeping and eating lately.

Because "The Jade Hairpin" was so popular, and in a way that he could not replicate at all.

The Du family are longtime locals in Beijing, running a bookstore for generations with branches in all districts of the city. They could proudly call themselves a "family of scholars."

But no matter how capable he was, he was still just a small businessman. Whether it was hiring a troupe to stage a new play or renting a counter at Fenglelou, the costs involved were beyond his means.

If he had previously harbored thoughts of poaching Lan Jun, he immediately abandoned that idea after learning Lan Jun's true identity.

The only thing Boss Du can do now is to run to Young Master Xiaoxiang's house three times a day, wishing he could sleep on the floor and stay there, pestering him relentlessly until he can hand over the new manuscript and publish the new volume of "The Story of Qilan" as soon as possible, so that he can win back the readers who have been stolen by Langhuan Pavilion.

Xiao Lang was so annoyed by his nagging that he claimed he was going into seclusion to create, but in reality, he secretly went to the backyard through the back door of the study to urge Xiao Suzhen on.

He even threatened, "...I will only let Xiaonan in to see you when you finish writing this volume, otherwise you can listen to her crying for her mother every night!"

Forced by circumstances and beset by internal and external troubles, Xiao Suzhen was under immense pressure and couldn't sleep for nights on end. She finally finished writing the latest volume by burning the midnight oil and handed it to Xiao Lang while she was still dazed.

Xiao Lang was overjoyed to receive the manuscript and immediately went back to copy it.

Xiao Suzhen grabbed his sleeve with difficulty, "Where is Xiaonan? Let me go see her..."

"Of course she should be in her own room." Xiao Lang forced a smile. "Sister, I'm her uncle, how could I let my little girl suffer?"

Xiao Suzhen stumbled out of the room. The tension of the past few days had made her increasingly weak, and she collapsed to the ground after only a few steps.

"Go play with the little girl for a while, but remember not to step out of the backyard. I have guests ahead of me."

Xiao Lang left those words behind and quickly went into the study.

Xiao Suzhen got up from the ground, walked a few steps to the east, and lay down by the well to look down.

The gently rippling water reflected a pale, haggard face with disheveled hair.

Xiao Suzhen knew she couldn't let her daughter see her in this disheveled state, so she forced herself to fill a basin with water and quickly cleaned herself up, patting her cheeks to bring some color back to her face before going to Xiaonan's room.

"Mother!"

The little girl, who looked about five or six years old, had her hair in two buns and was staring blankly at an old doll sewn from scraps of cloth. When she heard footsteps at the door, she immediately looked up in surprise.

Xiao Suzhen quickly stepped forward and hugged her, "My little darling, have you been listening to your uncle these past few days? He hasn't hit or scolded you, has he?"

The little girl blinked her innocent black eyes. "No, my uncle bought me roast chicken yesterday. He gave me a whole big chicken leg."

Xiao Suzhen felt a little relieved upon hearing this. "That's good... Mother is usually too busy. You must be a good boy and listen to your uncle. Don't cause him any trouble, okay?"

Her younger brother was her only remaining relative in the world. When her husband suddenly died of an illness, if it weren't for her brother's firm stance in taking her and her daughter back to her parents' home, they would have suffered even more mistreatment if they had stayed in her husband's family.

She recalled that when her husband had just passed away, her mother-in-law secretly conspired with her brother-in-law, who had been unable to find a wife, to drug her and force her to have a child. If she could give birth to a son, it would be considered as continuing her deceased husband's lineage.

Xiao Suzhen finally understood where the subtle, ever-present prying gazes behind her came from during those days, which disgusted her so much that she felt like vomiting up her dinner from the night before.

Clinging to her last shred of hope, she secretly sent someone to deliver a message to Xiao Lang, asking him to come and rescue her and her daughter.

Otherwise, she would rather perish together with the enemy than suffer such a humiliating disgrace.

Fortunately, her younger brother came and led her and Xiaonan out of that den of wolves and tigers, and even took them in.

However, the three of them had a lot of expenses in the capital. Xiao Lang failed the imperial examinations repeatedly and made a living by writing storybooks, but the sales were mediocre, and he could barely make ends meet, becoming increasingly strapped for cash.

Xiao Suzhen knew that she had dragged her younger brother down. It just so happened that her late husband had loved reading storybooks and had bought quite a few in his study. Xiao Suzhen had read a few of them as well, and that gave her the idea to try writing one herself.

She remembers nervously going to Xiao Lang after she finished writing her first story and asking him if it could be sold for money.

After reading it, Xiao Lang praised her writing, but then looked embarrassed.

"Sister, if the bookstore owner finds out that this story was written by a woman, and a widow at that, he'll definitely think it's bad luck and won't want to touch it. Luckily, I have some reputation with the owner, so why not use my name? Maybe it will sell better?"

Xiao Suzhen agreed without much hesitation. After all, her younger brother had worked very hard to support her and her daughter, and she didn't care about being credited as long as it helped the family.

Later, Xiao Lang returned excitedly and told her that the storybook sold very well, the bookstore owner was very satisfied, and wanted more manuscripts.

Xiao Suzhen was overjoyed. She never imagined she had a talent for storytelling, and she became even more engrossed in creating stories. Xiao Nan was left in Xiao Lang's care, and he solemnly promised that she would not go hungry or cold.

She just didn't know when it started, but Xiao Lang's attitude towards her gradually changed.

He started by mocking and dismissing her story while simultaneously urging her to write more so she could publish a book and make money.

As the deadline for submitting his manuscript approached, he would even lock her door with a chain, ostensibly to allow her to focus on her writing and prevent her from being disturbed by the outside world.

Xiao Suzhen didn't understand why her younger brother was even more unhappy after making money, becoming famous, and moving into a big house.

She wanted to please him, so she desperately devised new stories and even wrote the long novel "The Story of Qi Lan," making the name "Young Master Xiao Xiang" even more sought after.

Besides that, she didn't know what else she could do. Because Xiao Lang had said that writing a good book and selling a good book were two different things. He had to go out and socialize, build good relationships with bookstore owners, and maintain those wealthy and influential readers... Otherwise, no matter how wonderful the story was, without someone to help promote it, it would just sit on the shelf gathering dust and attracting insects.

"Mother, look what this is!"

Xiao Nan's voice pulled her back to reality from her long thoughts. Looking down, she saw her daughter proudly presenting a beautifully bound book with the title "Jade Hall Hairpin" on the cover.

"Hehe, I stole this from my uncle's study. I heard it's the hottest story on the market right now."

The little girl blinked her big eyes and said, "Mother, you should take a look too. Maybe you'll get some new inspiration and won't have to be locked up by Uncle to write anymore."

"Little girl, you're not allowed to touch your uncle's things anymore..."

Xiao Suzhen casually gave her a couple of words of advice, then turned to the first page of the storybook and was quickly drawn in by the plot, unconsciously immersing herself in it.

The little girl nestled in her arms, curiously examining the neat, small characters on the paper. She didn't recognize them, but she knew that every few pages of the book had beautiful color illustrations, depicting her older sister dressed in men's clothes, riding a tall horse at the front, looking extremely majestic.

Xiao Suzhen became more and more engrossed in the story, praising its bold conception.

The story ended abruptly at the scene where the emperor bestowed the marriage upon her. She turned the cover with a sense of loss and softly murmured the author's name, Lan Jun.

I don't know if this person is male or female, but I really want to meet them and discuss the plot together...

She's not in a good state lately, and her work on "The Legend of Qi Lan" has hit a roadblock. She urgently needs a like-minded person to help her sort out her thoughts.

Just as Xiao Suzhen lowered her eyes in deep thought, wondering if she could find an opportunity to go out and inquire about the background of this Lan Jun.

A gloomy figure appeared silently in the doorway, blocking the light coming in from outside.

"Sister, what are you looking at?"

Xiao Lang walked in with a grim expression. He immediately spotted the book on the cover, "Jade Hall Hairpin," and flew into a rage. He snatched the book from her and yelled, "Who told you to read this?!"

The little girl turned pale with fright and kept hiding behind Xiao Suzhen.

Xiao Suzhen now felt instinctively terrified whenever she heard Xiao Lang's roar, but her love for her daughter prevailed, and she forced herself to explain to him, "I heard this book is selling very well, and I wanted to read it and learn something..."

"It's all built with money thrown in, what's so good about it? Don't look!"

Xiao Lang flew into a rage, grabbed the spine of the book and tore it open with force, ripping the pages into pieces in a few swift movements, scattering them all over the floor.

He was panting heavily, his eyes bloodshot. Ignoring the fact that Xiao Nan was still there, he pointed at Xiao Suzhen and threatened her in a low voice: "The new volume of 'The Story of Qi Lan' has been handed over to the bookstore owner. If it doesn't sell well this time... you can take Xiao Nan and sleep on the streets!"

Xiao Suzhen trembled all over and could only hug her daughter tightly and nod repeatedly until Xiao Lang stormed out and slammed the door. Her trembling body subsided slightly, and tears fell uncontrollably to the ground.

At this moment, she wished she were the brave and bold Qilan in the book, able to cast aside all worldly prejudices, escape without a care, and roam freely in the martial world...

In reality, she was just a pitiful widow who had escaped from her husband's family with her daughter. If Xiao Lang hadn't taken her in, she and her daughter would probably have been sleeping on the streets.

...

Boss Du instructed the printing craftsmen at Xuelangzhai to work overtime and finally printed the latest volume of "The Story of Qilan" at the fastest speed.

He and Xiao Lang agreed to follow the same method as their previous on-site book signing, and once again learn from Langhuan Pavilion by spending a fortune to hire a dragon and lion dance troupe to promote the event throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.

This was another extra expense, and Boss Du was heartbroken. He said to Xiao Lang, "We should split the cost of hiring the lion dance team 50/50. This can't be counted on me alone."

Xiao Lang inwardly cursed him for being stingy, but on the surface he still had to smile apologetically: "Okay, when the new book sells a lot, we'll definitely break even."

On the day of the book's release, Xiao Lang arrived at the restaurant. While waiting in the private room, he could see a long queue outside, many of whom were familiar faces—his longtime readers.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and regained some of his confidence.

It seems that the young master of Xiaoxiang is still as charming as ever.

Just as the time was almost up, he put on his mask, preparing for his grand entrance.

Suddenly someone shouted outside.

"Sisters, Scholar Jiang is going to publicly critique 'The Jade Hall Hairpin Collection' at Fengle Tower today! I heard there are also many young scholars who have passed the imperial examinations randomly going up on stage to comment on the essays. Hurry and come with me to grab a number!!!"

The long queue scattered like birds and beasts in an instant, and a large group of people rushed towards Fenglelou.

When Xiao Lang walked onto the stage, he saw only an empty hall and peanut and melon seed shells scattered all over the floor.

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Author's Note: Here it comes! [heart emoji]