Before Qin Yuan could even invite him in, Hongye blushed and retreated.
The tender feelings of a young girl in her prime couldn't be clearer.
Qin Yuan chuckled and called out, "Let him in to talk."
Gu Shiliu stood outside the beaded curtain and reported, "Madam, I have something to report."
Qin Yuan said, "Sixteen, just speak freely."
After a while, Gu Shiliu said, "...cough cough...The Marquis asked me to ask the Madam. Physician Li prescribed a medicinal bath. I don't know how to arrange it?"
Qin Yuan asked, "Would the Marquis prefer a medicinal bath in the outer courtyard or in the Wutong Garden?"
Gu Shiliu chuckled dryly, "My guess is naturally that it's in Wutong Garden."
Qin Yuan smiled too.
Both of them knew perfectly well why Lord Gu had been so preoccupied before, and bringing it up again now felt a bit awkward.
Qin Yuan said, "Then let's arrange it at Wutong Garden. However, since the Marquis received the imperial decree yesterday, he will probably have to be on duty on time from now on. So let's arrange the medicinal bath in the evening."
Gu Shiliu said, "I will report back to the Marquis immediately."
Then she asked, "Madam, there is one more thing. Shen Changle asked me to bring in a message, asking if you have time to write a few more poems about fireflies?"
Qin Yuan straightened up and asked, "Why is that? Could it be that there aren't many talented scholars here to compete?"
Gu Shiliu said, "More and more talented scholars are coming to compete. Madam, you may not know, but the Imperial Academy's Firefly Poetry Competition has become famous throughout the capital these days."
"Then why did Shen Chang Le come to ask for a poem again?"
"The owner of Shuhaige sent people to challenge the Imperial College yesterday, and Shen Changle is worried that he will not be able to keep up."
"Shuhai Pavilion? Didn't he look down on us?"
"It's all because of Shen Changle... Seeing that Madam has been busy with household affairs these days, she took it upon herself to hire many flower girls to sell poetry collections at the Qixi Festival. Coincidentally, a talented woman won first place in the poetry competition and praised the collection, saying the poems were excellent, the printing exquisite, and the illustrations beautiful, suitable for young ladies to collect. The newly printed batch has already sold out, and Shen Changle is busy reprinting. The owner of Shuhaige sent someone to find him, but they couldn't reach an agreement, so..."
Qin Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Shen Chang Le doesn't seem to be asking me to write a poem, but rather to deliver a message to show off your achievements."
Gu Shiliu also laughed.
Qin Yuan asked, "Did you tell Sixth Master?"
"Of course I told you," Gu Shiliu said with a smile. "I told you last night, and you didn't sleep all night writing poems. You said you wanted to learn from Xie Hudie and write three hundred poems about fireflies."
Qin Yuan laughed.
Xie Yi never held an official position. His poetry was fresh and natural, and his lyrics were elegant and refined. He loved butterflies most of all and wrote three hundred poems about them, earning him the nickname "Butterfly Xie." Because his poetic style was similar to that of Xie Lingyun, who was skilled at writing about landscapes, he was also known as "Jiangxi Xie Kangle."
Is Sixth Master Gu determined to emulate Xie Butterfly?
That's not bad.
Gu Shiliu continued, "The owner of Shuhaige previously mocked Sixth Master, saying that Sixth Master was pretentious and that his poems were utter nonsense. He also said that the Marquis's mansion was full of uncouth people who thought they could print and sell poetry collections just because they had some money, which was an insult to culture. Sigh! Now they don't seem to care anymore."
At this point, Gu Shiliu was extremely pleased.
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Isn't it a good thing that the Book Sea Pavilion sent someone to compete?"
"Why do you say that, Madam?"
Gu Shiliu was puzzled.
Qin Yuan said leisurely, "Since ancient times, there has been no first place in literature and no second place in martial arts. Even a farmer in the mountains can create a beautiful poem if he gets the inspiration. Setting the arena at the Imperial Academy is already somewhat limiting. Now that the Book Sea Pavilion has sent someone to compete, doesn't that increase the poems we can choose from?"
Gu Shiliu thought for a moment and then laughed out loud: "That's right, Shuhai Pavilion sent someone to deliver poems to us."
Qin Yuan added, "But don't be too happy yet. The Shuhai Pavilion must have something to do with sending people to compete in the arena."
Gu Shiliu hurriedly asked, "Do they perhaps also want to publish a collection of poems?"
Qin Yuan said, "There aren't many people who can write good policy essays, and they all have official titles. The Xie Butterfly that Sixth Master Gu mentioned has excellent poetry, but he doesn't have an official title, yet he is very famous. There are quite a few people like that. If Shuhai Pavilion wants to publish a collection of poems, it is indeed not a difficult task."
Gu Shiliu remained silent.
He understood Qin Yuan's meaning—it wouldn't be difficult for Shuhaige to publish a collection of poems, but it would be difficult for them to publish a collection of essays.
Then Qin Yuan said, "We'll deal with whatever comes our way. My original intention was to make the bookstore famous among the talented people in the world first, so that we can do something big. We'll have to meet Shuhaige sooner or later, so let's see how they make their moves. Tell Shen Changle not to panic, just focus on winning the competition. When the poetry collection sells well, he'll benefit."
Gu Shiliu hurriedly asked, "Is there anything else Madam would like me to convey to Shen Changle?"
Qin Yuan shook her head and smiled, "You can rest assured, Shen Changle will have no problem dealing with the master of Shuhai Pavilion."
Gu Shiliu nodded and said, "I also think Shen Changle is a capable person. He has a lot of ideas and can think of things that others can't. No wonder Madam trusts him. However, I am still worried. After all, the owner of Shuhaige has been running the business for many years. Those booksellers don't dare to offend him. No matter how capable Shen Changle is, he has only printed one collection of poems."
Qin Yuan laughed and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Even if Shen Chang Le is no longer able to make it, we still have Mr. Song Shan, don't we?"
After saying that, he stood up and said, "Alright, just pass on the message. I'll write the poem when I have time. You can ask Sixth Master to ask Mr. Songshan to write a few more."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "I'll have someone send a message to my father and cousin, telling them to write a few poems when they have some free time."
Since Shuhaige is also adding fuel to the fire, let's make it even bigger.
A ladder delivered to your door—why not take it?
Gu Shiliu agreed to all of them.
After Qin Yuan finished making the arrangements, she went to the council chamber in the meeting place.
There were already many managers and stewardesses in the courtyard. She arrived a little later than usual, and Hongye directly made decisions on many matters according to the usual practice.
Therefore, nothing was delayed.
When the maid saw her come in, she hurriedly served tea and was about to call Hongye, but she stopped her with a raised hand and sat quietly to the side, resting her chin on her hand and watching how Hongye would handle the situation.
After watching for a while, Qin Yuan nodded secretly.
Hongye is as capable as she was in her previous life, no, even more capable.
In her previous life, at this time, Hongye accompanied her to earn money in the West and East markets, and they outwitted and outmaneuvered Lin's mother.
I've never managed so many people and so many things before.
Her beloved Hongye deserves to live a fulfilling and heroic life.
Qin Yuan instructed Hongmian to bring pen and ink, and then she listed out the recent affairs inside and outside the mansion, circling some items before saying, "Hongye, from today onwards, all the circled items are your responsibility. Just report back to me every few days."
Hongye had just finished dealing with Madam Cai when she heard this and turned around to ask, "Miss, you trust me that much?"
Qin Yuan said, "What? You're still afraid to accept it?"
Hongye leaned closer to take a look, and after a long while said, "Who said I dare not, it's just..."
Hongmian, who had been watching with envy, immediately said, "What are you worried about, Sister Hongye? These are all things that Sister Hongye has managed on a regular basis. If Sister Hongye is too busy, just give some to me and Mozhu."
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