The Red Mansions

Chapter 53
When Liu Tong heard this, his pupils shrank, he couldn't help but take a few steps back, and said in a deep voice, "Young Master Jia, what do you want to do?"

Jia Heng smiled lightly and said, "What is the price of this book? I think it's better to let Mr. Liu's owner evaluate it. What does the old man think?"

Liu Tong's complexion changed slightly. At this moment, he had all kinds of guesses in his mind. He thought to himself, could it be that the so-called manuscript sale is a fake, and it is true to ask to see the owner behind him?
Liu Tong couldn't help being suspicious. The fact that the shopkeeper behind Hanmozhai is the Princess Jinyang's Mansion is a secret, but it is not difficult for some people to find out.

There was a touch of awe on Liu Tong's old face, and he said, "To tell you the truth, Mr. Jia, do you know who is behind my calligraphy studio?"

Jia Heng said: "I heard that His Royal Highness Jinyang is fair in dealing with things, and the most important thing is the beauty of the article. I think it will not make the "Three Kingdoms" manuscript a secret vote."

Liu Tong pondered for a while, and said: "Young Master Jia, such a noble person doesn't meet you whenever you want, you know, even a decent young master and daughter in the Rongguo Mansion may not fall into His Highness's eyes... Besides, if His Highness knows that you are Because it is necessary to negotiate the purchase price of the book, if you regard it as a layman, there is even less hope of seeing it."

At the end, the Shopkeeper Liu even sneered a little.

The young man in front of him brought him some trouble, and he didn't speak ill of each other, it was because Liu Tong was adhering to the principle of being a businessman who makes money with kindness.

Moreover, although he is the treasurer of Hanmozhai, he also has a certain understanding of the temperament of that nobleman. Whether it is the scholars who entered the princess's mansion and were rewarded, all of them have a characteristic. profit.

It can be said that they all came here unintentionally, only to get the silver.

On the contrary, those who have ulterior motives are often rejected by His Highness as a villain.

Jia Heng said lightly: "I've met before we talk about it."

Liu Tong pondered for a while, and said: "His Royal Highness's maid is in the room. If Mr. Jia wants to visit, please bring your manuscript and ask for advice."

At this time, Liu Tong still did not forget about the manuscript.

Apparently, it was his own business for Jia Heng to revive Yao Mozi, and now he just wanted to bring the manuscript over there.

Jia Heng thought for a while and said, "Old gentleman, wait a moment."

Then, when I returned home, I interrupted and took the manuscript from the study. After these few days, there have been six chapters.

He wrote books, from Xingkai at the beginning, to Xingshu, and then to Xingcursive. He said earlier that writing made his hands sore and his arms hurt, which is not a lie.

When others sell manuscripts, they have written for a long time, but he has to hand in the manuscript at the end of the month, so he only gets two taels once.

The more I write, the more... I don't want to write.

As soon as Jia Heng entered the courtyard, she saw Qingwen reading "Thousand Characters" under the eaves of the corridor.

In the past few days, under Jia Heng's guidance, Qingwen has already recognized forty or fifty characters, but some of them are always misremembered. Jia Heng simply stopped learning new characters and asked Qingwen to read according to the thousand-character prose.

Anyway, the world is dark and yellow, and the universe is arranged according to rhyme, which is catchy.

Qingwen asked curiously, "My lord, didn't you go to Qin's house? Why did you come back so early?"

Jia Heng said: "The wedding date has been finalized, and it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival. I will come back to get some things and go out to do some errands."

Qingwen let go of the book in her hand, and with an inexplicable expression on her charming and bright Guazi face, she asked, "Then the young mistress will pass the door in three days?"

Jia Heng nodded, not wanting to say more.

Qingwen's eyes flickered, and she watched Jia Heng take a cloth bag from the house, then left in a hurry, picked up the "Thousand Characters" beside her, and for some reason, she couldn't read it any longer.

I sighed from the bottom of my heart.

After all, the son is going to marry a wife. If the young mistress passes through the door, she will not be able to pester the son to learn how to read.

The original girl's ignorant state of mind, after all, is nothing more than worrying about being distracted from her attention, and it is not jealousy or jealousy.

On Jia Heng's side, he took the manuscript and went out to meet the shopkeeper Liu Tong. The two rode in a donkey cart and headed towards Hanmozhai.

On the third floor of Hanmozhai, in a beautifully furnished elegant house, there is a young woman in a light white embroidered plum dress and wearing a fragrant bun. The woman is sitting by the window drinking tea, waiting quietly, with a still in her hand. holding a book.

Not far away, two nuns with women's hair buns were standing beside a screen with their hands down.

Few people come here, so it was Liu Tong's place to entertain Princess Jinyang who occasionally came to inspect.

When Princess Jinyang is in the mood, she will occasionally come to Hanmozhai to sit and drink tea, and the maid Lianxue is also reading a book of scriptures because she has been fascinated by it.

While concentrating on reading, suddenly there was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Lianxue put down the book,

One of the two nuns hurried to the front of the stairs, looked down at Liu Tong, and sneered, "Who am I? ? If you are old and your legs and feet are not flexible, you can resign from the job to the girl."

Facing the nanny in charge of the back house of the Princess Mansion, Liu Tong didn't dare to speak back, but said: "This old man is going to see the girl. The author of the manuscript has something to say to the girl."

Lian Xue, who was in the room, said, "Shopkeeper Liu, come in."

Liu Tong bypassed the screen, walked quickly to the window, cupped his hands and saluted, and said, "Miss Lianxue, the author of the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is downstairs, and he has something to tell the lady."

Lian Xuexiu frowned, and Bai Yu's flawless face showed doubts, and said softly: "Didn't shopkeeper Liu bring the manuscript? Why did you bring the author?"

The nurse at the side took the opportunity to smile and said: "Girl, this Liu Tong is useless. The girl asked him to bring eggs, but why did he bring the old hen that laid eggs?"

When Lianxue heard this, a trace of boredom flashed in the depths of her eyes, but there was no smile on her face, and she ordered: "Nurse, go to the stairs and have a look, don't let anyone come up."

The nanny responded and turned away.

Liu Tongdao: "Miss Lianxue, there are other secrets in this matter, please let me know."

Lian Xue nodded, picked up the teacup on the side, took a sip, and listened to Liu Tong's narration.

After Liu Tong finished speaking, Lianxue's face froze for a moment, and she said in a strange tone: "Then Jia Heng wants to see His Highness? Negotiate the price of the book?"

Liu Tong smiled wryly, and said: "That's what Jia Heng said. Miss, how should I report back to His Highness?"

Lianxue said softly: "His Royal Highness probably won't see him, besides, what kind of manuscript is written, you can't let him talk to himself, even if the manuscript is well written, the so-called gentleman refers to righteousness, and villain refers to Yili. A man with a stinky body, talk to His Highness... His Highness will definitely walk away."

Liu Tongdao: "I think so too, but Mr. Jia insists on renegotiating the price. Looking at the situation, if we don't renegotiate with him, I won't write any more."

Lian Xue thought for a while and said, "Have you seen his manuscript? How is the standard?"

Liu Tong frowned, thinking about the rest of the reading on the way, and said: "It's not inferior to the famous writers Meng Donglou, Lu Qing'an and others."

What Liu Tong said were all well-known writers of Jinling's script, Jinling's calligraphy is well developed, and the novel publishing market is even more mature.

"Since it is a re-pricing fee, then give him the same price as the famous one." Lianxue smiled and said: "His Royal Highness came to ask for the manuscript this time, it was on a whim, if there is nothing outstanding about the manuscript, the interest will fade away .”

She didn't want any messy person to see the princess. If she upset the princess and let her hair down, she would also be implicated.

"Isn't it right?" However, after Lianxue finished speaking, she looked up at Liu Tong, only to see a look of surprise on the old man's old face.

Liu Tong shook his head and smiled wryly: "Before the old man came up, that young master seemed to have predicted the girl's reaction, and his words were almost the same."

Seeing that Lianxue's jade face changed slightly, and the eyes were uncertain, Liu Tong said: "Miss Lianxue, if you don't settle the contract with him, let him pay a deposit of 100 taels and forget it."

Up to now, he vaguely felt that there might be some calculations involved, especially since the surname was Jia, could it be that he was instructed by the Ningrong Second Mansion?For some conspiracy, this is why she wants to get through the door of Her Royal Highness the Princess?

However, Liu Tong's doubts are destined to fight against the air.

Lianxue was silent for a moment at this time, and said: "Tell him, let him send the manuscript, and I will also help him bring it to Her Royal Highness the Princess. As for whether the Princess will see him, it depends on his fortune. There are also manuscripts, such as famous writers For the sake of Meng Donglou, I used a thousand taels to enrich my pen."

She naturally believed in the judgment of the old shopkeeper of Hanmozhai. Since it can't be called a famous artist's handwriting, if she wants to print and sell it completely, she can get five to six thousand taels of profit.

After thinking for a while, Lianxue said in a low voice: "If the princess doesn't want to see him, he will no longer know how to advance or retreat, and his desires will be hard to fill, so don't accept his manuscripts anymore, and tell all the booksellers that no one will accept his manuscripts." Manuscript!"

(End of this chapter)