After listening to Jing Zhe's explanation, Wang Yingqiu looked up and asked, "Will this work?"
"What, you still don't trust me?"
Jing Zhe smiled.
It's not that I don't trust them.
Wang Yingqiu shook her head, somewhat worried, and said, "You said before that the purpose of publishing a newspaper is to reach everyone, but you know that most of the people who come to our Wuxian Garden are scholars. In fact, even if we don't promote it here, nine out of ten of them will still buy the newspaper. But I'm worried about the common people. After all, not all common people are literate!"
Jing Zhe thought for a moment about the chubby Manager Song from last night, and said with a smile, "What the garden owner thought of, I also thought of. Tonight, Wuxian Garden won't be the only one doing publicity. Wuxian Garden is only targeting scholars, but as for ordinary people, I have other methods!"
"What?"
"The Buddha said, 'It cannot be spoken, it cannot be spoken. The owner of the garden will know when the time comes!'"
Jing Zhe deliberately kept her in suspense, making Wang Yingqiu even more eager to know what was going on. She rolled her eyes at him, thinking to herself, "You might as well not say anything at all."
After thinking for a moment, he said, "If you're saying that you're not just doing publicity at Wuxian Garden, then I think I understand. Are you planning to promote different sections of the newspaper in two places at the same time, and then use these people's words to create secondary publicity and deepen the newspaper's impression?"
Jing Zhe touched Wang Yingqiu's pretty face, "My garden master sister is so smart, she understands right away."
As he spoke, his hands began to wander, because Wang Yingqiu had only helped him get dressed while she herself wore a silk nightgown, going commando.
Embarrassed, Wang Yingqiu slapped his hand away and glared at him: "You're so unserious! Since you want my help tonight, tell me what it is! You have so much to do after you leave, I don't even know if you'll be able to come over tonight!"
Jing Zhe nodded, thinking that what he said made sense.
So he rewrote the poem he had written for Zhu Xinning for Wang Yingqiu, and after finishing it, he smiled and said, "Garden Master, this is it! Tonight, all you have to do is present this poem!"
Wang Yingqiu did not answer, but instead carefully read Jing Zhe's poem.
She hadn't seen Jing Zhe write any poems since the last Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering, and since she actually loved poetry very much, she couldn't help but lean in to take a look.
"The winding path by the pond, few walk it in autumn..."
The first line reads smoothly, but compared to his previous poems, it lacks a bit of wow factor.
"Looking at it from the wind, the fallen flowers are even more clearly visible."
After reading the first half, Wang Yingqiu thought that the poem was quite conventional and didn't have much of an outstanding quality. Could it be that writing a poem for his own sister limited him?
But when she read "They can be seen at a glance, yet each step feels like crossing a fortified city," she was stunned. She wasn't afraid of the poem being plain at the beginning, as long as there was a finishing touch. And these two lines were excellent.
“Those we love are separated by mountains and seas, but mountains and seas can be leveled.”
After she finished reading the last two sentences, she kept repeating them in a low voice, unable to let go of them for a long time.
Looking at Jing Zhe again, she thought to herself, "That must be what he's thinking, right?"
Even though his relationship with his sister was like being separated by mountains and seas, he was confident that he could bridge those gaps. Isn't that the most exquisite love confession in the world? What girl could resist such a thing?
Well, she definitely can't stand it.
After a moment, Wang Yingqiu let out a breath.
Then, looking at Jing Zhe, she said quietly, "Are you sure this poem was written for your second sister?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Aren't you afraid that if this poem is published in the newspaper, people will start talking nonsense? You know, public opinion can be a fearsome thing."
Wang Yingqiu reminded her.
"I'm not afraid."
But Jing Zhe's gaze was firm: "I've already thought it through, so I had the literature department prepare all the annotations to guide them and prevent them from overthinking. Of course, I can't control who overthinks things, since I can't control everyone's thoughts. However, I'm not afraid even if they overthink, because if I were afraid, I wouldn't have written this poem!"
After listening, Wang Yingqiu remained silent.
She now vaguely understands that Jing Zhe's first literary section not only had the intention of promoting Zhu Xinning, but was also a way of "asserting sovereignty and expressing emotions." Because of their limited cultural level, the general public would be guided by the literary department's annotations and would not overthink things.
However, scholars and high-ranking officials are not so easily deceived. Even if they do learn something from their readings, they are even less likely to speak recklessly because of their high positions and power.
Jing Zhe could serve as a warning to certain scholars who had designs on Zhu Xinning, such as Song Jimao, killing two birds with one stone.
Thinking this, she began to envy Zhu Xinning, and felt a little sour.
"Was the first poem you wrote for a woman for Qingqiu?"
Jing Zhe thought for a moment. In this era, if one were to write a poem for a single person, it would indeed be Qing Qiu's "A lonely paulownia tree locks in the deep courtyard in the clear autumn." So he nodded.
That's his third sister, um, I won't compare.
"Then you wrote this poem for your second sister."
"Um."
"But why haven't you written one for me yet?"
Wang Yingqiu put her hands on her hips and suddenly became very jealous.
"Didn't we write 'Prelude to Water Melody' for the garden owner before?"
Jing Zhe said with a grin.
"Tch, don't try to fool me with that 'Water Melody' poem! That's clearly a poem about longing for someone by the moon. We're together every day, what does it have to do with me? I don't care, I'm not going to compete with them anymore, but your third poem has to be for me!"
As Jing Zhe's first woman, Wang Yingqiu felt that this request was not excessive.
To everyone's surprise, Jing Zhe chuckled twice after hearing this.
Then he said, "Master, how about we forget about the third poem? How about I write you a fourth one?"
"???"
Wang Yingqiu was puzzled and somewhat angry: "Why isn't the third one okay? Your sisters aren't around right now, what's wrong with writing one for me?"
At this point, Wang Yingqiu suddenly felt a little wronged.
"Because... I've already written the third one..."
"..."
Wang Yingqiu, panting heavily, asked, "Who did you write it to?"
"Written for Yu Xiangrong, daughter of the Duke of Yu..."
Jing Zhe stepped forward to comfort Wang Yingqiu and explained to her again, deliberately saying that he had been entrusted by Duke Yu to help his adorable little girl, which was why he wrote that poem.
Although she could understand, Wang Yingqiu was still very angry.
I was his first woman, how did I end up so badly, suddenly ranked fourth? And it seems like there's going to be another person in the family...
Forget it, this isn't something she should worry about. Her sisters will take care of it in the future!
"Okay, I won't hold that against you. How about I have the fourth song?"
"Sure, no problem!"
Jing Zhe quickly agreed with a smile.
————
(A close call! Five chapters, one missing. After much effort to revise and delete, it's finally back online. Minor adjustments were made to the later chapters, and it's fortunate to have survived. Not bad. The purpose of saying this is to urge DB readers to support new, struggling authors and read the official version, otherwise you won't be able to find the book if it disappears one day...)
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