Chapter 261
Chapter 261
This was a blatant attempt to humiliate and provoke her, a message that would quickly reach Princess Yingyan's ears. How could someone with her temperament tolerate such words? She would undoubtedly come for Shen Lang sooner or later. But as the saying goes, you can't understand someone until you've fought them, and having prepared for this long ago, Shen Lang was confident he could make her an ally.
Of course, writing a novel wouldn't be enough. Qiu Yao'er was so pure that *Journey to the West* alone was enough to get close to her, but that wouldn't work with Princess Yingyan. Qiu Yao'er had no hobbies besides listening to stories, whereas Princess Yingyan had so many hobbies it was a headache. If she weren't a woman, she would have frequented brothels. Ah... no, let me be honest. In fact, she had been to brothels and had even become a valued regular, welcome in the rooms of two famous courtesans.
So, would Shen Lang try to woo her into becoming an ally this time? Could he possibly be planning to fool around with the Third Widow? Of course not. If he slept with a woman like her, she would surely look down on him. Besides, though Princess Yingyan was wild, her private life was not promiscuous; she wasn't a woman who trifled with men.
How to describe this woman? First, all brawn and no brains. Second, she was a master of martial arts. Third, she was utterly ruthless. Fourth, she was a true Amazon. Qiu Yao'er might seem bold, but her boldness transcended gender; she was a goddess who radiated light in all directions. Princess Yingyan, on the other hand, was on another plane of existence. She even visited brothels, so was she a lesbian who liked women? Not that either. She just loved things that were fun and exciting. This woman was very complicated. From Shen Lang's perspective, a person like her was best suited to be a friend.
Shen Lang was trying to open a new front in the capital, and for that, he needed a wild, eccentric woman of noble birth who could run rampant as she pleased. Yes, it had to be a woman. Because once a woman started being unreasonable, she was difficult to control, and when she threw a tantrum, she was hard to calm down. But he absolutely could not sleep with her. He had to maintain a careful distance, for if they became intimate, the nature of their relationship would likely change.
Right now, Ning Zheng was still too weak to serve as Shen Lang's shield. Therefore, if he could first win over the Third Widow, Yingyan, Shen Lang could achieve great results in the capital with much less effort. For example, when Liu Che (Emperor Wu of Han) was trying to seize the position of crown prince, who was his greatest supporter? Was it not the Grand Princess Liu Piao? Princess Yingyan didn't possess the immense power of Liu Piao, but she was ruthless and unreasonable, which would certainly make her useful.
Shen Lang waited for her in his study.
‘Third Widow, I've humiliated and provoked you today, so why haven't you come to kill me yet? Come quickly. Hurry up and come kill me!’
* * *
Zhang Chong was back in the prison of the Grand Court of Revision. The King closed his eyes, smiled, and murmured.
"As I thought, I should refrain from killing him. A person born with such exquisite talent is rare. I shall grant you my mercy for a time."
Then, the King placed the delicate teacup in his hand on the table and took out an imperial edict from a box. Inside, it was written:
It was exactly as Shen Lang had predicted, not a single word different from his expectations.
‘Marquis of Raging Tide, Marquis of Raging Tide! Jin Zhuo, I have made you a marquis. We shall see whether you accept it or not. If you don't, you can't blame me for not bestowing the title upon you.’
"Deliver this edict tomorrow."
The grand eunuch replied.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
* * *
The fatty, Jin Mucong, had already become quite famous at the Imperial Academy, and his book, *Battle Through the Heavens*, was a hit. It sold so well that the publishing house that released it was making a fortune. However, the book's reputation was not very good. When Shen Lang had released *Boundless Wind and Moon*, all the high-ranking officials who read it were greatly satisfied with its content, considering it a classic work. Praise flowed endlessly from the lips of every scholar and refined gentleman.
*Battle Through the Heavens: A Boundless Wind and Moon Story* was also published under the pseudonym 'The Scoffing Scholar of Langling', and from the moment it went on sale, people scrambled to buy it, its popularity driving up the price of paper in the capital of Yue. It sold far better than *Jin Ping Mei: A Boundless Wind and Moon Story*. Why? Because Shen Lang's previous book had been so well-regarded that countless people were eagerly awaiting the next installment. Furthermore, the shameless publisher had printed a sensual image of a woman on the cover, making it look like a sequel to *Jin Ping Mei: A Boundless Wind and Moon Story*. So, numerous high officials and nobles bought the book, took it home to read, and the result was!
‘Damn it! What is this? What's this Dou Qi Continent? "The future is unpredictable, so do not scorn a poor young man?" What is this nonsense? Where are my elegant poems and stories? Where is the book that offered such profound insights into worldly affairs, the prose that laid bare the human heart?’
But another group of people became completely engrossed in the book. Commoners, martial artists, and even students from the Imperial Academy and the Grand Academy—these scholars cursed as they read, but they couldn't stop.
‘It's so good. So thrilling. So exciting.’
However, the students of the Imperial and Grand Academies couldn't bring themselves to read it openly, hiding in their rooms or squatting in the latrine to read it. One genius came up with the idea of tearing the cover off the *Four Books and Five Classics* and pasting it onto his copy of *Battle Through the Heavens*. Unlike them, however, the many high officials and nobles were heartbroken as they read the book.
‘I don't believe it. I absolutely refuse to believe that *Battle Through the Heavens* was written by The Scoffing Scholar of Langling. How could it be? The quality of the two books is so different! One is a masterpiece, the other is trash. How could they be written by the same person?’
But even more people thought *Battle Through the Heavens* was more entertaining than the previous work. They too had bought the old *Jin Ping Mei: A Boundless Wind and Moon Story*, but most had only read the erotic parts, eventually tearing out those sections and tossing the rest aside. In contrast, every word of *Battle Through the Heavens* was exciting. They were so engrossed they forgot to eat and sleep, reading it over and over. But these people were of low status and lacked the influence to change the prevailing opinion, so no matter how much they enjoyed it, it didn't help the book's reputation. Thus, Jin Mucong's book enjoyed immense popularity and skyrocketing sales while simultaneously being heavily criticized by the public.
Later, someone claimed that The Scoffing Scholar of Langling was actually two people. One was Shen Lang, and the other was Jin Mucong. That *Jin Ping Mei* was written by Shen Lang, while this trashy *Battle Through the Heavens* was written by Jin Mucong. Upon hearing this, everyone finally understood, and they all began to criticize Jin Mucong, demanding that he stop using the same pseudonym. But in any case, Jin Mucong became popular, a huge celebrity at the Imperial Academy.
Nearly every student at the Imperial Academy was a reader of his book, and ninety percent of them would curse him when they saw him, asking why he wrote such trash, but then they would go home and read it again and again. The publishing house also pressed Master Jin Mucong with all its might, telling him that countless people were going mad with anticipation and begging him to write the sequel quickly. Jin Mucong was also desperate to write, but his brother-in-law hadn't given him the plot yet.
‘I want to write it too, but I don't dare. I'm afraid I'll ruin a classic work.’
So, the fatty waited eagerly every day.
‘Brother-in-law, when are you coming to the capital? You have no idea how much I miss you. The New Year has passed, and no one has even written me a single letter. Don't tell me you've all forgotten about me?’
* * *
Princess Yingyan's estate.
"Aaaargh!"
A terrible scream came from within. Inside, a naked man was tied to a tree, his body covered in blood from being whipped. The young noble hanging there was an aristocrat. His father was a count, a new noble whose ancestor had been ennobled for great merit but had no fiefdom or private army. His father held the highest office of Minister of Revenue. Yet, even someone with such a family background was being beaten half to death, tied to a tree, all because of a single sentence. Because he had looked at Princess Yingyan and said this:
"Your Highness's buttocks are so large and perky."
To hang a young noble in broad daylight and flog him—this alone was enough to show what an extremely tyrannical person the princess was. Inside the room, Her Highness the Princess was reading a book. *Battle Through the Heavens: A Boundless Wind and Moon Story*. She had already read it five times, and it was just so entertaining. She felt there was no book in the world more interesting than this one. After reading *Battle Through the Heavens*, this eccentric princess immediately sought out *Jin Ping Mei: A Boundless Wind and Moon Story*. After all, they were works by the same author, weren't they? In the end, after reading just a dozen pages, she threw the book into the latrine.
‘What kind of book is this? It's complete dog shit. So poorly written! I can't believe The Scoffing Scholar of Langling wrote *Jin Ping Mei*. *Battle Through the Heavens* is the truly well-written book. How can there be such a huge difference in quality between two books by the same author?’
Later, Princess Yingyan also heard the rumor. It turned out that two authors, Shen Lang and Jin Mucong, were using the same pseudonym.
‘Jin Mucong is a master, a true master. Shen Lang is just trash. Why did he write such a low-quality book?’
And so, Princess Yingyan once again began to read *Battle Through the Heavens* with great excitement. This was her sixth time, and it got more interesting with each reading.
"Go ask the bookseller when the second volume of *Battle Through the Heavens* is coming out. I can't wait any longer. Tell him if he doesn't release it soon, I'll burn his publishing house to the ground."
"Yes, Your Highness! I will go and press them. Right away!"
The female warrior rushed out. Since the book was said to be written by Jin Mucong, Princess Yingyan had first gone to the Imperial Academy to meet him. But after that meeting, she decided to forget that Jin Mucong was the author of the book. He was a complete moron. The saying was right: just eat the egg, don't look at the hen that laid it. If Yingyan hadn't been waiting for the second volume of *Battle Through the Heavens*, she would have killed Jin Mucong long ago.