Chapter 24: Low-Level Business Warfare

The Duke of Zheng’s family was having dinner. They were not overly formal, and the atmosphere was lively with family members chatting and laughing.

Under normal circumstances, it would be inappropriate to disturb them at such a time. However, the Duke had specifically ordered that the latest installment of the storybook and the newspaper be delivered to him the moment they arrived, so the servant boldly presented them.

The Duke was not angry, as expected. He chuckled and said, "Oh, it arrived so quickly today."

Without delay, he eagerly picked up the book and began to read, using it as an accompaniment to his meal. Ever since his family discovered this rather unrefined hobby, the Duke had become increasingly uninhibited—especially since he had actually achieved merit thanks to this very book!

The others averted their eyes, pretending not to notice.

Lady Zheng the Third watched longingly from the side, but with her brothers, sisters-in-law, and siblings present, she had to maintain some decorum for her father’s sake and could not simply snatch the book away.

The Duke remained completely immersed, oblivious to the gazes of others.

This volume of the story revealed that while the Emperor ostensibly held the Prince of Jiang in high regard, his favorite son was actually the Prince of Jia. He was merely using the Prince of Jiang as a shield to protect his true favorite.

The reason he had arranged for Luo Muqing to marry the Prince of Jiang was that she was the last of her family, possessing only a good name but no power. This prevented the Prince of Jiang from relying on a marriage alliance to gain a formidable maternal family, thereby weakening his competitiveness for the throne.

"Although the fingers of a hand are of different lengths, this is far too biased. The Prince of Jiang is also his own flesh and blood, how could he..." The Duke sighed, though he then thought of the heroine Luo Muqing’s father, realizing that these people were truly more ruthless than the last.

Imperial orders could not be defied; the Prince of Jiang and Luo Muqing were forced to marry.

At the wedding banquet, because the Prince of Jiang was a target intentionally set up by the Emperor, he had many enemies. Yet, as he had never shown any weaknesses, the arrival of his bride—a woman previously married and now known for her lack of beauty—immediately drew ridicule and mockery from the other princes.

When the time came for the fan-lowering ceremony, they all wore expressions of eager anticipation for a show.

"Hmph!" The Duke sneered, finding these people ignorant and laughable.

*Just wait until you regret it!*

Those who had been mocking him a moment before did not expect that when the fan was slowly lowered, it would reveal the face of a stunning beauty.

The scene fell into total silence. Several people, including the Prince of Li, exclaimed in surprise, "It's you!"

It was as if water had been splashed into a pot of hot oil; the crowd erupted into chaos.

Those who had seen her true face but did not know she was Luo Muqing looked pale and filled with regret.

"Hahahahaha! That’ll teach you to judge a book by its cover! That’ll teach you to mistake fish eyes for pearls and be so blind! You looked down on her before, but now you see her true power! Go ahead and regret it!" The Duke, who had been waiting for this moment, laughed out loud, completely unconcerned about his crumbling image.

It was so satisfying!

As for Luo Muqing and the Prince of Jiang, after their marriage, they became allies on the same boat. They constantly dealt with the turbulent waves and storms coming their way, while simultaneously navigating the Emperor's schemes. In the process, subtle feelings began to blossom between them.

The Duke felt his heart race and his face flush, as if he had returned to his youth, back when a single word from his beloved would keep him tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep.

Come to think of it, ever since he and his wife had children, they hadn't spent much time on the carefree days of traveling and composing poetry together. They had each taken on their roles—he managing the outer affairs, she the inner—devoting all their energy to upholding the family.

Thinking of this, he could not help but stroke his wife’s hand, which rested on the table, and said with lingering, affectionate warmth, "My lady, for the Mid-Autumn Festival in a few days, let’s go visit Mount Laojun. The children are all grown up now; you and I should take some time for ourselves."

The Duchess had never expected him to say such a thing, especially in front of their children. With so many pairs of curious, sparkling eyes fixed on them, she, who was accustomed to being a dignified and steady matriarch, could not help but blush. She irritably shook off his hand and said, "How old are you? Have no shame, saying such things. Go back to your trashy book!"

The Duke sheepishly retracted his hand and returned to his reading.

***

The book recounted how the Prince of Jia finally learned from Luo Muqing that his beloved, whom he had been unable to find after she was imprisoned following the Chu family's downfall, was currently in the Prince of Li's residence.

The Prince of Li, driven by lust after seeing her true face, had fallen for the revealed Luo Muqing. He grew to hate Chu Muxue, the culprit behind his forced separation from his beloved, and subjected her to all sorts of mistreatment.

Upon learning of this, the Prince of Jia was furious and turned against the Prince of Li. He rescued Chu Muxue and confessed that he did not care about her past, only desiring a future with her. The two grew closer, living in their own private world at the Prince of Jia’s residence, filled with sweetness.

"Oh, quite the romantic, isn't he?" The Duke frowned as he read. For some reason, his heart didn't flutter when reading about this pair; instead, it set his teeth on edge.

Not long after, the Emperor decided to arrange a marriage for the Prince of Jia, who had reached the age of maturity, choosing the beloved daughter of the Great General of the State. The General held military power, and for the Prince of Jia, this marriage would be like adding wings to a tiger.

Thus, this volume concluded.

The Duke pondered privately: given the Prince of Jia’s nature, he would certainly not compromise, so there was bound to be conflict between the two now. He wondered what would happen to the Prince of Jiang and Lady Luo.

Having finished the book, the Duke felt deeply satisfied and proudly unfolded his newspaper to study.

Yes, study!

The Duke was a military man, but he lacked the lofty, pretentious habits of the literati; he was willing to acknowledge a good thing when he saw it. The newspaper explained things in simple, clear terms, which was perfect for someone with his—ahem—modest level of education. It allowed him to understand many court affairs he had previously failed to grasp.

Next time he encountered those pedantic old fools who loved to nitpick, he would be able to retort a few times.

While reading, he noticed an unusual article.

The article was about the plagiarism of "The Divine Doctor’s Poisonous Concubine" from Shanhai Bookstore by "The Divine Doctor’s Poisonous Attachment" from Shanhe Bookstore.

The Duke read quickly, often skipping characters. At a glance, he frowned in confusion. *What is this? Aren't they the same?*

Looking closer, he realized—*Wow, they really are different.*

The newspaper explained the ins and outs of the situation and called on everyone to support the original. It concluded by mentioning that, to thank readers for their support, anyone who purchased the original book could come to the store after the story concluded to receive a portrait of the protagonist, Luo Muqing.

A portrait? What kind of portrait?

The Duke puffed out his chest. He was a reader of the original, so of course, he was qualified to own a portrait.

.

The Shanhai Newspaper had received a warm response as soon as it appeared, and reading it had become a part of many families' daily routines.

This special statement by Shanhai Bookstore naturally caught everyone’s attention.

Plagiarism was not particularly rare these days.

Many famous authors had had their articles and poems copied. These celebrities, relying on their charisma and talent, had many supporters, especially among the scholars.

They often despised such incidents but were usually helpless to do anything about them.

Although Xu Chengyue’s work was popular among the common people, scholars held mixed opinions, mostly viewing it with contempt. They loved to read it, but that didn't stop them from cursing it while they did.

However, plagiarism was something people found truly detestable.

This time, they did not comment on the merits of the writing or criticize the viewpoints; they stood united on Xu Chengyue’s side.

"These word-thieves are absolutely despicable! Last time, Mr. Taixuan’s poem was patched together by them into some sort of monstrosity."

"And they published it so openly, thinking no one would notice."

"People like this don't deserve to write at all!"

"Shameless and despicable! Worse than pigs or dogs!"

Once the article was published, public opinion swung entirely in favor of Xu Chengyue.

Everyone was full of condemnation, pinning Shanhe Bookstore to a pillar of shame.

.

The owner of Shanhe Bookstore came to inspect his shop.

He looked over the slightly dilapidated bookstore with self-satisfaction.

A shop that had previously been managed so poorly had been revitalized under his hands. It seemed he still had a talent for business!

When the shopkeeper saw him, he hurried out to welcome him, looking worried. "Sir, the people outside are cursing our bookstore, accusing us of plagiarism. The reputation is terrible!"

The owner waved his hand, indifferent. "What use is criticism? As long as our prices are low, people will still come to buy books."

What was a little scolding? The money in his pocket was what mattered. The more they talked about it, the more people would know about Shanhe Bookstore.

The shopkeeper stammered, "No customers have visited the store for the last two days. Not a single copy of that storybook has been sold."

The owner was shocked. "How is that possible? Is there anyone who would ignore the cheaper option and pay more for the other?"

*That's not right! It was selling very well just a few days ago.*

"They have lowered their prices. They are selling them for less than half the original price."

"Are they not making any money? At such a low price, it’s a losing business. What’s the point? They might as well go drink the northwest wind!" the owner said, furious.

*Isn't that exactly what you started?* the shopkeeper cursed inwardly.

"They are using cheaper paper, so they've compressed their costs and set the price even lower."

"We'll use cheaper paper too!" the owner gritted his teeth. He had never feared anyone when it came to price wars.

"The price still can't go lower than Shanhai Bookstore’s. Any lower and we'll be losing money."

The owner slumped into his chair, dazed. Was his business really finished just like that?

.

Although Lü Hongzhuo supported Xu Chengyue’s method without hesitation, he felt some uncertainty in his heart.

Dividing the books into hardcover and softcover—a name Xu Chengyue had coined, which Lü Hongzhuo felt was very fitting. This move was risky; if the softcover books appeared, the sales of their original hardcover versions would certainly be impacted.

The resulting consequences were unpredictable.

He had prepared himself mentally for a decline in total profit, but this was a measure taken out of necessity and the best response they could think of.

What he did not expect was that the common people were very supportive. While sales of the hardcover books did decrease, sales of the softcover versions surged, with the number sold more than doubling or even tripling compared to the original. Total profit had not declined; instead, it had risen.