Looking up, Zhu Xinning saw Jing Zhe staring blankly at her. She seemed to have guessed what he was thinking and said with displeasure, "What are you thinking about?"
Jing Zhe chuckled: "No, no."
"snort!"
Zhu Xinning washed her face, and her complexion returned to a rosy glow, which calmed her down considerably.
Turning back, he asked, "Actually, I thought you'd be very busy today, since it's your first day in office and His Majesty values the newspaper so much. I didn't expect you to still have time to come."
"No matter how busy you are, you still have to come see your sister, right?"
After a brief, lighthearted remark, Jing Zhe continued, "Things at the newspaper have been arranged, and the stories for the entertainment section are being written. If they're up to par, they should be finished by tomorrow."
"So fast?"
Zhu Xinning was somewhat surprised and asked curiously, "Are the Grand Secretaries of the Imperial Academy and the Idle Grand Secretaries there still obedient? Yesterday I was only busy talking to Jinghong, and later my father told me that he seemed to have heard that the Idle Grand Secretaries there all came from influential families and seemed to be difficult to manage, so he asked me to remind you."
Jing Zhe waved his hand, "No need, they are all quite obedient, and they are already adapting to their new positions step by step. I estimate that they will all be fully trained soon!"
Zhu Xinning looked at him and said sincerely, "Zhe'er is really amazing!"
Since even Zhu Tong said those troublemakers were difficult to manage, it must not be as casual as Jing Zhe made it out to be. It's clear that he has already managed to tame them all, which just goes to show how capable he is.
Thinking that this was her own younger brother, she smiled happily.
"However, you do have a public office now, and the newspaper is still in its early stages of construction. Everyone else has to listen to you, so it's best if you go out less. If the newspaper is delayed and someone with ulterior motives advises His Majesty that you are neglecting your duties, it will be very troublesome."
Zhu Xinning still reminded her.
"It's alright. If anyone dares to do it, I'll give them a good sparring match!"
Jing Zhe sneered, "And after my first issue of the newspaper comes out, there will probably be no one in the entire Jingzhou City who would dare to offend me, at least not openly!"
Jing Zhe said this with utmost confidence.
Anyone who dares to offend him will be put on the front page!
After walking around the room, Jing Zhe noticed paper, ink, brush, and inkstone on the desk by the window. There was also a line of neat handwriting on the paper. He went over and took a look, and found that it read "Shuidiao Getou".
Zhu Xinning was originally quite confident in her calligraphy, but after seeing Jing Zhe's poems, she suddenly felt embarrassed in front of him.
"I really like this poem, 'May we all live long and share the beauty of the moon, though separated by a thousand miles.' It's so well-written that I wanted to write it down so I can look at it from time to time. But my calligraphy is nowhere near as good as yours, so why don't you write a piece and leave it to me?"
"That's perfect!"
Jing Zhe clapped his hands. "That's what I came here for, but not to write this poem. I want to write a new poem for my second sister!"
"New poetry?"
Jing Zhe nodded and then explained the purpose of his trip.
In the first issue of the newspaper, he planned to write entirely about his fifth sister, Liu Jinghong, in the military section, detailing her hardships and loyalty in guarding Liangzhou so that everyone could see and make her famous.
As for the literature section, his plan is to have Zhu Xinning write a poem, and then he will write one himself, and they will both be posted together with their names on them.
This newspaper has two sides; it can be used for publicity on the front and for criticism on the back. In the first issue, of course, he would do his best to promote his own sisters on the front.
Zhu Xinning blushed slightly upon hearing this.
“Zhe’er… I haven’t written any poems since I became a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat! If they are bad, I can say so, but I’m afraid people will say that you just randomly put a poem into the newspaper, and that you’re abusing your power for personal gain?”
"Ha, let whoever wants to say it say it!"
Jing Zhe didn't care at all: "Anyway, this newspaper is mine, I can write whatever I want, and even if he doesn't like it, he has to watch! Besides, my second sister is known as the number one talented woman in Jingzhou, and she can write any poem or lyric that is not bad!"
Don't listen to their nonsense.
Zhu Xinning was a little shy, but also a little longing. Her bright eyes were full of hope. After all, she hadn't written any poems in a long time. After hearing Jing Zhe's words, she felt a little itchy.
"But after I finish writing, you must give me some serious corrections, otherwise I won't write anymore."
Zhu Xinning pleaded like a little girl, and Jing Zhe readily agreed, adding, "It's lunchtime now, why don't we eat first? We can use this time to think about what to write."
"Hmm, you should think about it too."
"Me? I don't need to think about it!"
"Why?"
"Because...my younger brother doesn't need to think when he writes poetry, he just relies on recklessness."
"..."
...
After Jing Zhe mentioned it, Zhu Xinning also felt a little hungry.
The two sat inside, chatting and waiting for Xiangru.
Xiangru has been gone for a while now, and should have returned long ago, but she hasn't come back yet. Finally, Zhu Xinning got impatient and stood up, saying, "Zhe'er, you wait here, I'll go check on her! That girl, I wonder where she's gone off to again!"
Zhu Xinning had only been gone a short while when her voice came from the courtyard gate: "What are you doing here? Since you took the food, why don't you come in?"
"Hehe, I...wait a minute!"
Xiangru said cheerfully.
"Wait for what?"
"Miss and young master are inside... how dare I go in?"
"Why don't you dare to go in?"
"Hehe, Miss and Young Master... are... done?"
"All done? What's done—"
Zhu Xinning's voice stopped abruptly, followed by Xiangru's cries of "Ouch!" and pleading for mercy.
"Miss, ouch, stop pinching me!"
"Serves you right for being so talkative and gossiping!"
“Miss, I didn’t say anything wrong. Just now you and the young master—”
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"Ouch!"
"It hurts? Then do you still dare?"
"I won't do it again!"
"..."
Hearing the two playfully bickering, Jing Zhe laughed.
This little maid is quite interesting; it would be good to have her as an inside agent when we need to carry out our plans in the future.
A short while later, the two of them walked in, their faces flushed. Jing Zhe pretended not to have heard anything and asked, "Why did you take so long? We're starving!"
Xiangru did not answer, but looked around the room. Seeing that there was nothing unusual, she went over and lifted the gauze curtain to look into Zhu Xinning's boudoir.
Seeing that the bedding on the bed was neatly arranged, she glanced back at Jing Zhe and saw that his clothes were not messy at all. She couldn't help but sigh, as if what she had expected had not happened, and she felt a little disappointed.
Jing Zhe: ...
This maid is a bit enchanting!
His ideas are too avant-garde, out of step with the times, but perfectly suited to him. Jing Zhe nodded, thinking to himself, "Wow!"
————
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