The Taishi Library has four collections, which are located in the four corners of the library. The Tower of Philosophy in the East Courtyard mainly collects the personal notes of past Masters of Yi and rare books of famous scholars. The Tower of Dianhan in the West Courtyard mainly collects the history books of the hundred schools of thought. The Tower of Soaring Yellow in the North Courtyard mainly collects the paintings and picture books. The Tower of Bearing Dao in the South Courtyard is where the lectures of the past hundred years, the Book of Changes, and the old scrolls of the Dayan are stored.
Among the four collections, Yu Shu has only been to the Tower of Bearing Dao. However, the one she is most interested in is the Tower of Philosophy in the East Courtyard.
With Xin Liu leading the way, the two quickly arrived at the foot of the Tower of Philosophy. This is a three-storey building with a hexagonal shape, built on a high stone platform. On both sides of the door, there are more than ten pots of orchids, blooming with pink or yellow flowers, the branches and leaves are very good.
Entering, there is an eight-fan painting screen in front of them. Going around it, they see that on both sides of the road covered with a yellow carpet, there are rows of bookcases neatly placed, and there are several figures passing through.
Xin Liu introduced to Yu Shu, "All the books and notes in the Tower of Philosophy can only be read in the library, or you can bring your own paper and pen here to copy, it is strictly forbidden to take the original out."
Yu Shu nodded, remembering that Feng Zhaomiao told her before that stealing books in the Taishi Library will be expelled.
The two went to the nearest row of bookshelves to look through, some books are placed in boxes, some are laid flat on the side, most of them are regular manuscripts, there are also some simply bound manuals, the cover wrapped with a layer of oiled paper, clearly marked by the person who organized them later, or named, such as Xu Yi's Notes, Chu Yizeng's Manuscripts, or according to the year, such as Baotai's Seventh Year, Zhenming's Thirteenth Year, etc.
However, the arrangement of the books was a little messy, and there was no specific classification. Yu Shu flipped through the same bookshelf and found books that talked about Fengshui, physiognomy, and Yi Li. There were several books that talked about Fengshui, physiognomy, and Yi Li.
She estimates that there are at least tens of thousands of books in this library, but she has no clue how to search. It is very inconvenient, so Yu Shu asked Xin Liu, "Why not separate these books according to the Dayan Six Sciences, it is much easier to find."
Xin Liu was reading a letter with great interest. Hearing this, he raised his head and smiled at her, "Only the books in the Tower of Philosophy are scattered like this. I've long heard my Fifth Brother complain about this. This is also an old custom of the Taishi Library. It's all about fate. If you're lucky, you'll be able to find precious fragments left behind by predecessors on the first day. My luck wasn't good, and I searched for three months without finding anything. "
After saying that, she put down the notes in her hand and said to Yu Shu eagerly, "Let's split up. I'll go over there, and you stay here. Maybe we can find some secrets!"
"That's fine." Yu Shu agreed quickly. In fact, she did not take her words seriously. In his heart, he thought that if it was so easy to find some 'broken chapter', it would have been packed with people by now, and there wouldn't be so few people here.
So he waited until Xin Liu left his sight. She looked through the books on the shelf one by one and chose the ones that were useful to her. When it was almost noon, she really found a few books.
On the other hand, Xin Liu found nothing and came downstairs with a face full of dirt. Yu Shu closed the notes she was reading and teased her, "What did you find?"
"Hmph, my Fifth Brother is right. Those rumors are just to fool people. It's just that people are too lazy to tidy it up. Let's go. Let's go eat first. We don't want to waste time here. "
"Look at you, you're dirty. Go back to the women's dormitory to freshen up. I'll finish these two pages and then come back to find you." Yu Shu was reluctant to give up the notes explaining Yin-Yang Studies in her hand. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to find it next time.
After sending Xin Liu away, Yu Shu stayed alone in the Philosopher's Tower for a long time. She finished reading a thin notebook of notes before she left reluctantly. She was calculating in her heart that if she went to visit the academician again tomorrow and continued to be rebuffed, she would not go and provoke that fellow. It was not a bad idea to stay here for a while.
*
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*
Yu Shu had lunch with Xin Liu. Because she was not fully prepared, she could not copy books. She left Taishi Shuyuan in the afternoon. When she returned to the west of the city, she saw three or four sedans parked across the street from her house as soon as she got off the carriage. She had never seen them before.
The manservant who guarded the door moved a stool and sat inside the door. When he saw Yu Shu coming down, he quickly stood up and ran forward, "Miss, you're back. There are guests at home."
Yu Shu was not in a hurry to go in. She first asked who the guests were. The manservant could not tell her clearly. He pointed at the large pile of gifts behind the door and said that they were gifts from someone. Because Yu Shu had warned her before not to accept gifts from strangers, she just left them there.
Most people who came to give gifts had a request. Yu Shu entered the door in doubt. When she just walked to the door of the living room, several well-dressed figures came out to greet her. They all bowed and said, "Greetings, female fortune-teller."
Yu Shu glanced at them. She did not know any of them. She raised her hand to return the greeting and asked hesitantly, "You are?"
Someone answered first, "I'm the shopkeeper of Fengxin Chamber of Commerce. My surname is Chen."
"Shopkeeper Chen." Yu Shu put down her hand and vaguely guessed the purpose of these people's visit.
The others did not want to be left behind. They reported their names one by one, "I'm the shopkeeper of Jiangfu Chamber of Commerce, Hu Donglai."
.....
The four people in front of Yu Shu were from several different chambers of commerce. They were all shopkeepers. As for the purpose of their visit, she guessed that it was most likely that the masters behind them wanted to recruit her, so they sent them to inquire about her.
"Please take a seat inside."
Yu Shu invited them to sit in the living room. She asked the servants to change the tea. After a brief conversation, as expected, these people were just messengers —
"Female Fortune Teller, the Big Master of Jiangfu Chamber of Commerce has heard of your reputation. He admires you very much. He would like to invite you to be a distinguished guest of our chamber of commerce. He is willing to give you five hundred taels of silver every month. Please take care of us." Shopkeeper Hu spoke first.
Yu Shu understood what he meant. What distinguished guest? To put it bluntly, he was just a senior consultant. It was just like when she was a guest in Fu An Escort Agency. But now, she was a fortune teller, so her value had increased by more than ten times.
Yu Shu smiled at him, but she did not agree. She turned to the other three people and listened to their purpose of coming. Their words were similar to Shopkeeper Hu's. Some of them even offered more generous conditions.
Five hundred taels a month, six thousand taels a year, and there was no need to pay taxes. Yu Shu once again sighed with emotion that there were so many rich people in An Ling city.
She remembered that she used the Six Lines Technique to extort two thousand taels from the Ji family. She was still complacent. But now, her reputation was worth six thousand taels a year. It was really a person's reputation. The shadow of a tree, that was then, this was now.
The four people eagerly waited for Yu Shu's reply. They saw her sighing and smiling. Their hearts were also in a mess. They were afraid that she would choose someone else, but no one said anything to urge her. Although she was a young lady, she dared to challenge Han Wenguang. They had to be careful when dealing with such a character that only appeared once every ten years.
When Yu Shu regained her senses, she saw four pairs of eyes staring at her. She smiled and stood up. She cupped her hands and said: Thank you for helping me to go back and thank your boss. Yu Shu thanked them for their kindness. Unfortunately, I promised to help others take care of their business, so I don't have the energy to take care of other things. Please go back.
She wanted to study in Taishi Shuyuan. In her free time, she also wanted to help Xue Rui manage the business of Wangji Lou. She didn't want to be tied down by other affairs. She couldn't earn six thousand taels.
She made up her mind. Yu Shu didn't care how regretful the person was. She sent him away with a few polite words and went back to her room.
She just changed her coat and washed her face with water. She heard a servant outside reporting: "Miss, Mr. Xue is here. He asked you to come to the front to talk."
Yu Shu raised her head from the basin with water flowing down. Yun Dou hurriedly held a towel, but Yu Shu grabbed it. She covered her face for a moment, then took it down. She said helplessly: "Serve a pot of good tea. Tell him I will come later."
It had been three days. She couldn't keep hiding from him like a mouse hiding from a cat. That would be too useless.
*
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*
Xue Rui sat in the living room and watched as the servant went to the backyard to make a report. Initially, he did not expect to be able to see Yu Shu today, but he did not expect that after a while, the servant came back and told him that it was a piece of good news.
It had been three days. He thought about Yu Shu's temper. At most, she would hide from him for five or six days. If it was any longer, even if he wasn't anxious, she wouldn't be able to stay calm. Therefore, he went to the west of the city every afternoon after leaving the yamen. It wasn't that he had to see her, but it was a declaration to let her know that he had patience.
Xue Rui raised his teacup and slowly drank his tea as he stared at the direction of the door. After a short moment, his gaze flickered, and he saw Yu Shu wearing a robe that was tied at the waist and didn't wear any pearls or jade ornaments, causing her to seem like a young man that could be seen everywhere. Yu Shu had her hands behind her sleeves as she walked in with an expressionless face, and then she sat down opposite him.
"Big Brother is so free. You come to my place every day. Is it because my tea is good? Why don't I make a pot for you when you leave? You can take it home and brew it. That way, you don't have to run back and forth."
When he heard her speak, Xue Rui wanted to laugh. It had been a long time since she made fun of him. Now that he heard her say a few sour words, he felt comfortable.
"Even if I don't have this tea, I still want to come." Xue Rui covered the teacup and put it on the table. He suddenly sat up straight and clasped his hands on his knees. He leaned forward and stared at her. He said: "You know that I didn't come for a sip of tea."
Actually, Xue Rui was born with a pair of peach blossom eyes. Because his eyebrows were thick and straight, his eyes usually didn't appear to be beautiful. However, if he were to stare at someone seriously, it would be very difficult not to be captivated by his gaze.
Being stared at like this, Yu Shu felt the hairs on her back stand. Her face stiffened. Even her breathing became uneven. After enduring for a while, she finally could not bear it. She glared at him and turned her head away to avoid his gaze. She said angrily: "You are allowed to say one thing and do another to deceive me. Can't I be unhappy? I'm not made up of paper. Didn't we have a good talk earlier? Didn't you already give up on me? You even called me brother and sister. It turns out that it was a lie. Now you're saying that you admire me. What can I do with you? What can I do with you? If I play the bad guy and reject you, you won't be able to swallow this anger. It will make me look like I don't have a heart. Since I can't reject you, do you want me to play the good guy and flatter you? "
People's hearts are made of flesh. Xue Rui sincerely treated her well. She understood. But in the relationship between a man and a woman, how could she give herself to him just because he treated her well? Wouldn't that lose her original heart and become a business transaction?
She did not want to hypocritically deal with a person who sincerely treated her. So she could not accept it and could not reject it.
When Xue Rui heard Yu Shu's question, it wasn't difficult for him to sense that she was reluctant to part with the affection between them from her heartfelt words. He thought to himself that his imperceptible influence over the past few days wasn't in vain. Looking at her, his gaze couldn't help turning gentle as he said in a light voice, "Who wants you to flatter me? I've never forced you. I was unable to restrain myself that day, and I didn't want to hide it anymore, so I told you the truth. Ah Shu, since you can't reject me, why don't you slowly consider me and treat me as an ordinary man. See if I am a person worth entrusting. "
Hearing this, Yu Shu slowly turned her head. Looking at his serious face, a corner of her heart was touched. She lowered her eyes and lightly said: "Big brother is confused. Whether you are a person worth entrusting or not, it has nothing to do with me. When a man and a woman go on a blind date, especially for a royal family like you, the most important thing is to have a suitable family background. My life is nothing but a poor father and a poor mother. But I am a strong person. If you want me to talk about love with you, how will you treat me in the future? If one day your family arranges a good marriage for you, you won't be able to reject it. Do you want me to bow down to someone else? "
When he finished listening to her last sentence, Xue Rui was slightly stunned, and as he gazed at the self-ridicule that curled up on the corners of her mouth, he suddenly realized something. His eyes narrowed as he exerted force in his hand, and the sound of bones cracking resounded out. He stood up and walked a few steps to arrive before her, and then he lowered his head and spoke word for word clearly. "Looks like I didn't make myself clear earlier, and I don't know where I caused you to misunderstand. Listen carefully — — if I am in a good relationship with you, I will marry you. Even if you are willing to bow down to someone else, it will depend on whether I agree or not. "
Such a woman with more backbone than a man, more affectionate and righteous, he respected and liked her. If she promised her life to him, how could he bear to humiliate her!
Yu Shu looked at the hem of Xue Rui's clothes in front of her eyes and clenched the armrest. Listening to his cold declaration, she suddenly felt flustered and short of breath. She didn't know why she was sitting on pins and needles. She didn't dare to raise her head and didn't dare to answer. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, it would provoke him to say something shocking.
When Xue Rui saw that she shrank back, he suddenly didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He knew that he was impatient just now and didn't control his words well. Looking at the situation, if he stayed, he might provoke her to rebel. After hesitating for a moment, he had to soften his voice: "Think about what I said. I will go back first."
After that, without waiting for her to reply, he turned and walked out. When he was about to reach the door, he paused and turned to look at her. But he happened to see her peeping at him.
Yu Shu turned her face away in embarrassment. Her heart was half dead.
"Haha …"
Xue Rui laughed loudly and walked away with his hands behind his back.
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