Chapter 046 Fair Trade

After talking about these, Yuan Ming said goodbye to Prince Yong and took Ji Qingyue home.

On the way back, Ji Qingyue was in a very high mood. He grabbed Yuan Ming's sleeve and kept talking about Prince Yong's good points, saying that he had never seen such an approachable royal family, and the most important thing was that Prince Yong was a fan of Brother Jin.

Yuan Ming twitched his mouth. I'm afraid that Ji Qingyue only cares about this last point.

Seeing that Ji Qingyue is becoming more and more obsessed with Brother Jin, and even showing the greatest favor to him because others also like Brother Jin, Yuan Ming can't tell whether he should be happy or sad, and his mood is very complicated.

If one day Ji Qingyue knows that he is Brother Jin, I don't know whether she will be surprised or frightened.

Yuan Ming sighed and stopped thinking about it for the time being.

Yuan Ming would naturally attend the poetry meeting the next day. King Yong did not show up as the last one to enter, but came very early.

When Yuan Ming arrived, there were only a few scholars in the garden who were talking in low voices, and King Yong had already sat at the top.

As soon as he saw Yuan Ming, King Yong waved to him.

Yuan Ming nodded and came to King Yong's side.

"It's still early, play a game of chess with me." King Yong pointed to the chessboard in front of him with his lips.

Yuan Ming turned his eyes and saw that the chessboard was already full of chess pieces. It was an endgame.

As expected, King Yong said, "I was bored last night, so I played chess with two pieces. Suddenly, I didn't know how to break the game."

He picked up a white piece, raised his hand and placed it on an empty space, raised his head and said to Yuan Ming, "If you were the black piece, what would you do next?"

Yuan Ming lowered his head and thought for a moment, frowned and shook his head, "Please forgive me, my chess skills are not good, I am afraid I can't find a way to break the game."

King Yong looked at him and laughed quickly, "That's right, I forgot, you are good at calligraphy and painting but not good at chess, it's a pity, with your intelligence, if you study for a while, you will definitely become a master."

Yuan Ming said, "Your Majesty, I compliment you."

"I happen to know a Go master who is from Shifang Town. He is now settling in Chengxian and plans to retire in his hometown. If you are interested, I can introduce you to him, but I have no way to interfere with whether he will accept you or not."

A Go master from Shifang Town?

Yuan Ming's heart moved. Could it be Ye Yunqi, Master Ye? Anyone who knows a little about Go knows the name of Master Ye. When Yuan Ming was studying at Chengxian Academy in his previous life, he was not well received because he did not know Go at all. He was rejected several times when he wanted to become a disciple.

Later, he was able to find a failed scholar to teach him Go because of Master Ye's words.

At that time, he went to the house of Ju Ren under the scorching sun and carrying gifts to ask to be his disciple. Not surprisingly, he was turned away, but Ju Ren at least let him in. Yuan Ming believed that this was his only chance and sat in the garden for a whole day.

Just when he was almost in despair, he saw Ju Ren helping an old man with gray hair to come out from inside.

He ran forward quickly, but his legs had become stiff from standing for too long, and he almost fell to the ground.

Ju Ren knew why he came, and sighed that he only accepted students under the age of ten. Go is a skill that is learned as a child. If you are too old, you will lose your aura and talent.

Yuan Ming lowered his head and clenched his hands into fists. If he couldn't find a teacher to teach him how to play Go, he would miss the provincial examination held every three years.

At that time, Yuan Ming was full of hope to go to the capital as soon as possible to find his scumbag father for revenge. Seeing that his wish was not fulfilled, tears slid down his face.

Ye Yunqi saw it, but thought that he was sad because he could not find a teacher.

He couldn't bear it, so he asked Yuan Ming a few questions about Go. Yuan Ming answered one by one, and seemed to satisfy him.

So Ye Yunqi turned to Juren and said, "The teacher asked you to find a student with talent, but age is not the only criterion for judging whether there is talent or not. I think this Mr. Yuan is very talented."

Because of this sentence, Juren accepted Yuan Ming. Although he did not formally become his apprentice, he could study and learn from his students.

After that, Yuan Ming showed a strong talent, which made Juren look at him with admiration and became more gentle to him. It was also at that time that he learned that the old man who spoke for him that day was the teacher of the host, the famous Go master Ye Yunqi.

The memories stopped, Yuan Ming collected his thoughts, and said to King Yong: "If the prince is willing to recommend me, I will be grateful."

After meeting for so long, this was the first time that King Yong saw such an obvious change of emotions on Yuan Ming's face, and he couldn't help but curiously asked: "Could it be that you know who I am talking about?"

Yuan Ming didn't keep him in suspense, and said: "I dare to guess, there are not many famous people in Shifang Town, and those who are proficient in Go are rare. There is only one person who can be called a master, Ye Yunqi."

"Yuan Ming, you are really smart! He is the one I am talking about."

After getting an affirmative reply, Yuan Ming took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress his surging joy, and said: "I have admired Mr. Ye for a long time. If I have the opportunity to become his student, it will be a great honor."

King Yong raised his eyebrows, then suddenly relaxed his eyebrows and lay down in the chair: "I will recommend him to you, but there is a condition."

Yuan Ming was not surprised by this. He has always understood that there is no free lunch in the world.

Yuan Ming had already prepared for the King of Yong to make some ridiculous requests, but what surprised him was that the King of Yong said in a very calm tone: "I am here as an envoy. The Emperor wants me to write him a briefing every three days to tell him what I have done here. You have been following me for the past few days, but you are good at writing articles, so I give this task to you."

Yuan Ming couldn't help but be puzzled.

Writing briefings is not a complicated matter, and the King of Yong can't be without people around him. Why did he go to such a long way to find me?

Prince Yong seemed to have guessed what he was thinking, and said with a smile: "If it is just an ordinary briefing, I certainly don't need you. I want you to write these in the form of a storybook, with Nangang Fishing Village as the background. During your writing, Xiao Wu is at your disposal, and you can tell him directly if you need anything."

Yuan Ming looked at him, and suddenly had a bold guess in his mind.

So, he asked: "Is Qingshan Bookstore the property of the prince?"

Prince Yong raised his lips: "Unfortunately, it is."

Yuan Ming thought to himself that this is the case. No wonder Prince Yong showed great respect for him when he came to Shifang Town. Many times, he seemed to be making things difficult for him, but he would help him out at the right time.

All of this was not because Prince Yong was attracted by his appearance, but because Prince Yong had known that he was Brother Jin for a long time.

Prince Yong looked away, folded up his folding fan and put it to his lips, and said softly: "I promised Yue Ge'er that I would take him and Jin Ge to dinner. I wonder if you have time to show up tomorrow night?"

At the end, he added: "As Yuan Ming, I have fulfilled my promise, and Yue Ge'er will not be disappointed. It's the best of both worlds."

Yuan Ming twitched his mouth. How could he not agree?

"Of course I have time. Thank you in advance, Your Highness."

Prince Yong nodded with satisfaction, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "I don't bother you to write more, just write an article on Shiri Yidu."

Yuan Ming: "...Yes."

While the two were talking about these words, many people came to the garden one after another, and it was already very lively at this time.

Seeing Yuan Ming and Prince Yong sitting together playing chess, these people did not dare to interrupt them and chatted with the people around them. Of course, most of their attention was still on Prince Yong.

Prince Yong raised his hand, and the scene suddenly became quiet. Eyes from all directions gathered on him.

"Thank you all for coming to my poetry meeting. Today we will only discuss poetry and literary talent, not the monarch and his subjects. Please express your feelings to your heart's content. This is a world of freedom and romance!"

As soon as he finished speaking, many young scholars and talented people shouted in agreement, and the atmosphere suddenly became heated.

"I have an unfinished game here. Whoever can finish it with me will be rewarded with ten taels of gold!"

As soon as he said this, someone came towards him. After the first person, there was the second. Soon, people who wanted to show off their chess skills and those who wanted to watch the fun came in droves, surrounding King Yong. Yuan Ming consciously stepped out of the crowd and sat down in a corner.

King Yong is a fox, with as many tricks as lotus roots. It is too tiring to deal with such a person. Yuan Ming would rather go back and read a few more obscure articles.

But it is obvious that quietness is a luxury for him. As soon as he sat down, he saw Ji Fulai walking towards him.