Song Baiyun finally gritted his teeth and agreed.
He didn't want to at first, since there were only three sets of movable type printing equipment in the Imperial Academy. Giving him one set would be fine, but what would he use if he got all of them?
However, when he subtly brought up the matter to Emperor An, Emperor An dismissed him with a simple, "Find someone else to make another set or use it at the newspaper," which made him lament the fickle nature of human relationships.
In particular, Jing Zhe's last sentence, "Scholar Song, please don't stand on ceremony. We'll lend it to you for a little while when our newspaper isn't too busy," almost made him vomit blood. I haven't even given you the item yet, and you're already saying this?
It's easy to imagine that once the movable type printing equipment is actually delivered to the newspaper, it will be extremely difficult for him to use it again!
However, with Emperor An around, there was nothing he could do. He had originally wanted to remind Jing Zhe to be careful among those idle Grand Scholars, as there were a few troublemakers with powerful backgrounds. Well, he decided not to tell him now and just wait to see him run into a wall!
Subsequently, Emperor An sent Sui Shouren to bring Jing Zhe the "Emperor's Sword." Although it was called a sword, it was actually just a dagger. However, it was extremely well-made, golden in color, and engraved with the seal of the An Kingdom, making it a true royal item.
Jing Zhe took it, casually pulled it out, and gestured it a couple of times on Bai Qingyuan, who was less than two meters away from him.
Bai Qingyuan was both angry and scared, and his body trembled.
I knew this would happen, I knew it all along!
I should have stopped him even if it cost me my life!
He sighed inwardly, and as soon as Emperor An left the Golden Palace, he turned and ran away in the blink of an eye.
"Don't let Bai Taifu's age fool you, he's still quite nimble, haha!"
Jing Zhe sighed.
"..."
A group of ministers listened from the sidelines, their faces showing embarrassment.
He was clearly scared away by your swordplay...
The Crown Prince and the Prince of Xiang both came over, and in front of so many ministers, they only said "Congratulations" to him before leaving.
Then, others gathered around, offering congratulations but not all. They were actually more concerned about the newspapers. The civil officials were interested in the literature section, wanting to know what poems Jing Zhe was planning to write, while the military officers were interested in the military section, wondering who would be assigned to the first issue, and if no one was chosen, they could volunteer...
Besides these, some people are also interested in the livelihood and entertainment sections, such as Yu Sheng, who is still discussing with Jing Zhe how to write this section into a popular and entertaining short story...
...
After finally dealing with these people, Jing Zhe caught up with Zhu Xinning and Liu Jinghong. The two were talking quietly, and Jing Zhe leaned closer to try and hear what they were saying. However, the two women turned around and glared at him fiercely before shutting up.
Perhaps affected by the impending separation, Liu Jinghong was in low spirits and had lost the mood to joke and bicker with Jing Zhe as usual. She looked listless.
Seeing this, Jing Zhe's mood also soured.
It seems I need to coax her properly tonight; I absolutely cannot let her go back to Liangzhou in this mood.
As soon as he stepped out of the palace, Chen Jiannan came to greet him.
"Jiannan is here too, let's go back to the manor together!"
Zhu Tong began to speak.
"Oh, okay, cousin!"
This was within Chen Jiannan's expectations. After all, he was already a sixth-rank official and a Grand Secretary, and he was considered a prominent figure in Jingzhou City. Although his official rank was indeed somewhat low, he was not afraid at all. With his age, talent, and most importantly, his smoothness, once he entered officialdom, he would be like a mud dragon entering the sea, soaring to the sky!
Just like when they arrived, Chen Jiannan shared a carriage with Zhu. He looked up at the other three people traveling with him and noticed that Jing Zhe, Liu Jinghong, and Zhu Xinning all had slightly furrowed brows, as if they had something on their minds.
Chen Jiannan immediately figured out the reason.
He offended Grand Tutor Bai Qingyuan outside the palace, and then dared to openly ask Emperor An for an official position in the court—Chen Jiannan wouldn't believe he wasn't punished for this!
Hehe, since that's the case, based on the principle of mutual help, we should give him a good "comfort" later!
The carriage soon arrived at the gate of the Prime Minister's residence. After getting off, Zhu Xinning pulled Liu Jinghong back to her courtyard to whisper to each other, leaving Jing Zhe aside.
Jing Zhe was a little helpless. When did these two become so close? What else was there to say after talking the whole way? Even if they were going to say something, couldn't they have included me?
Thinking about it this way, I actually miss the days when the two of them were like oil and water, always ready to fight whenever they met...
"Young Master Jing!"
At this moment, Chen Jiannan strode up, a smile on his face, full of vigor.
Jing Zhe glanced at him, too lazy to pay attention, and walked away.
"etc!"
Chen Jiannan quickly stepped in front of him, adopting an instructive tone, and said earnestly, "Young Master Jing, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but although you have good poetic talent, you can't be arrogant! For example, when you contradicted Grand Tutor Bai outside the palace, did you think about the consequences? And you even tried to bargain with His Majesty in court. If His Majesty doesn't reprimand you, who will he reprimand?"
"Scold me?"
Jing Zhe glared at him, thinking to himself, "Do you have shit for brains?"
"Oh, don't feel embarrassed, I know everything!"
Chen Jiannan said with a serious face, "Not only did I reprimand you, but I'm afraid I'll also arrange for you to become a Grand Secretary of the Baohe Academy, just like me, right? So, when I told you to leave, you might as well come with me right away, so you won't be criticized like this!"
In Chen Jiannan's view, Jing Zhe was clearly heartbroken and disappointed after his attempt to obtain an official position failed and he was reprimanded by Emperor An and the ministers. That was why he looked so listless.
"Thank you so much!"
Jing Zhe cupped his hands in greeting, not wanting to say anything more, and walked into the house.
"Hey, we're colleagues from now on, no need to be so polite!"
Watching Jing Zhe's lonely figure, Chen Jiannan smiled broadly.
This is the first time in my life that I've managed to escape unscathed from a confrontation with Jing Zhe. Hmm, this kind of thing will probably happen more and more often in the future!
...
Once inside, Jing Zhe felt even more bored.
Zhu Xinning and Liu Jinghong retreated to their small building to live in seclusion, while he was either facing Chen Jiannan, the silly goose who kept grinning at him, or Madam Zhu, who was so submissive that he wanted to punch her.
In the end, the one I could finally stand was the chubby little boy, Zhu Tangwen. He ran in and out of the house, and when he saw him, he would cautiously call him "Big Brother".
Seeing the chubby boy run out again, Jing Zhe, feeling bored, followed him into the yard.
"Little fatty, your sister hasn't come yet?"
"No."
The chubby boy shook his head.
"My sister is chatting with General Sister!"
Jing Zhe's eyes darted around, and he immediately smiled and asked, "Do you know what they're talking about?"
The chubby boy glanced at him and said, "My sister said we can't just say that."
The more he couldn't say, the more interested Jing Zhe became; he wasn't interested in things that could be said out loud.
"Little fatty, do you know that people can fly?"
The chubby boy nodded.
Do you want to fly?
The chubby boy nodded even more vigorously.
————
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