Jiang Gu raised his eyelids and looked at her, "I said I wanted to, and you paid for me?"
Xu Jiang said in embarrassment: "I have the will but not the ability."
"Intentionally?"
"Xu Jiang admires your talent. If it weren't for Feng Miao and Zhou Shancai, if you want us to print a collection of poems for you, we will be happy to do so." Xu Jiang got up and found a copy on the shelf and handed it to Jiang Gu. Jiang Gu took a look and found that it was his collection of poems.
He flipped through it and found the handwriting was quite good, so he looked up and asked, "Who copied it?"
"I copied it." She had heard of Jiang Gu's name as early as in Furong City. Later, she saw this collection of poems in the hands of a musician, and then copied it and bound it into a book.
So she was surprised when Feng Miao said he wanted to publish a collection of Jiang Gu's works. Although Jiang Gu had great ambitions but was unable to realize them, his talent and reputation were well-known in Kyoto and even spread to various prefectures. However, Feng Miao said that various bookstores were unwilling to publish his works because they thought it was unprofitable.
This is strange. Although the sage banned the Jiang family from taking imperial examinations for five generations, he did not ban their poetry and prose. As long as the content was approved by the government, it could be published.
Although Jiang Gu had no official title and was not well-received by scholars and officials, his poems were popular among the people and were highly praised. If they were published in a book, it would be profitable.
What made them reject Jiang Gu? And why did they insist on sending Feng Miao to encourage her to publish a collection for Jiang Gu?
Jiang Gu flipped through the manuscript and was no longer as repulsive to Xu Jiang as before. Although she refused to print a collection for him, she did not look down on him.
Moreover, this handwriting is worthy of his poetry.
Xu Jiang sat down again, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Excuse my intrusion, Master Jiang, but could you please tell me why the Capital Bookstore refused to publish your collection? Could it be that you have also offended Zhou Shancai?"
"I wouldn't say I've offended them. I just wrote a few mean words to curse them. I don't think they'd bother to bother with me."
Is this not considered an offense? Xu Jiang was speechless.
Jiang Gu closed the manuscript and stared at it for a moment, lost in thought. Then he said quietly, "Perhaps bookshops like theirs, which have connections with imperial officials, are afraid of being investigated and implicated, so they don't dare touch my collection."
Afraid of being implicated by patrols?
A trace of suspicion flashed through Xu Jiang's mind, and she seized it and slowly analyzed it.
As an orphan, she was not afraid of being implicated, and her bookstore was not controlled by officials, so she did not have to be cautious.
But she had just published a collection of poems in the name of the Imperial College. If she helped Jiang Gu print the collection again at this time, and listened to Feng Miao's words and followed the regulations of the Ministry of Revenue, wouldn't that allow the Zhou family to make trouble?
If they could somehow change the rest of this poem into the Imperial College seal...
A chill suddenly rose up behind Xu Jiang. Feng Miao had not come here for her from the very beginning!
It’s for the Imperial College.
However, although the fact that she published the poetry collection in the name of the Imperial College was no secret, it had not been announced to the public. The poetry collection had just been delivered, so the news should not have spread so quickly.
I think the Zhou family must have found out the information from the government office.
So what exactly do they want to do with the Imperial College?
"Xu Jiang?" Jiang Gu looked at the woman in front of him, not understanding why she was in a daze for no reason.
Xu Jiang calmed down and met Jiang Gu's doubtful gaze. She felt both relieved and regretful. She was relieved that she had not agreed to publish his poetry collection, but she also regretted that she could not do so.
"Since Master Jiang has sworn not to set foot in the bookstore again, why did he agree to let Feng Miao come here?"
Jiang Gu held the bowl nonchalantly, sat sideways with legs bent, and swung the half bowl of tea back and forth, but didn't drink it.
"I just wanted to see if there were anyone who, as he claimed, was unafraid of the powerful, unconcerned with fame and gain, and who only cared about speaking up for those who had been wronged."
Xu Jiang sensed a hint of desolation in his erratic tone.
"His flattering words are simply an attempt to elevate you and me to achieve his own goals. I'm just a merchant, so I naturally have to weigh the pros and cons."
Jiang Gu curled his lips, drank the tea, and put it on the table with a bang.
"Never mind, it's all in vain."
He staggered to his feet and walked out the door, singing as he walked, "A lamp floating up and down, so many storms, to whom shall I go, my body will never be tied."
He sighed again: "Just endure a little longer, and this life will be over."
Seeing him staggering and about to pass away, Xu Jiang called out to him, "Sir, please stay."
Jiang Gu waved at the door and stepped out, "I don't have any money, so I'll pay for the tea."
"I have a way to help you publish a collection."
Jiang Gu tripped over the threshold and fell headfirst out the door.
"Oh my God!" Lin Hongchu exclaimed and ran over to see.
Then he shouted to the stunned Xu Jiang, "Master, he's passed out!" Then he slapped his thigh and said, "It's over, they've finally blackmailed us."
Xu Jiang hurried forward and saw Jiang Gu lying on the ground. She quickly called Lin Hongchu to drag him back to the bookstore and asked her to call Doctor Chen.
Lin Hongchu let out an "Ah" and left quickly.
Xu Jiang checked Jiang Gu's breath and breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad that he didn't die in her house.
After a while, Lin Hongchu came with Doctor Chen.
Doctor Chen examined Jiang Gu's face, felt his pulse, and examined his eyes, ears, nose, and tongue. Finally, he felt the large lump on his forehead and diagnosed him as "passed out. Combined with the damage to his spleen and stomach caused by excessive drinking and the weakness of his body caused by the cold, he won't be able to wake up for a while."
Lin Hongchu asked, "Then he won't die, right?"
"Not yet, but if you continue to abuse your body like this, it's only a matter of time." Doctor Chen said to Lin Hongchu, "Go to the shop and ask the medicine boy to bring the cupping equipment."
Lin Hongchu went there again in a hurry.
Doctor Chen then said to Xu Jiang, "I need to give him acupuncture. It's inconvenient for you to stay here. Please go out and watch. When the medicine boy arrives, you can call him in directly."
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