Chapter 1066 - 1068: The Escape of the Second-in-Command _1
"Oh? Has there been such occurrences before? If it’s a good poem, will Old Shen buy it?" Bai Ruozhu raised her eyebrows, asking while she looked at the poem on the paper. It indeed was a good poem, but she really didn’t know if it was worth thirty taels of silver.
"Yes, the Capital City values literary talents, and if there were good poems in the past, we would purchase them, then frame and hang them in the Shop for customers to appreciate," the shopkeeper explained.
Bai Ruozhu stroked her chin and pondered for a while without speaking. She thought it was good to value literary talents, but this method wasn’t quite appropriate, especially since it didn’t bring many obvious benefits to the Shop’s business. Besides, there was no concrete standard for a good poem. If you had to buy from someone selling poems today and from someone selling paintings tomorrow, even without considering whether you could afford it, the expenses were already significant.
"Tell him we won’t buy the poem, but we can give him a chance to earn a hundred taels of silver," Bai Ruozhu suggested after some thought.
"Ah?" The shopkeeper was a bit perplexed.
"In the future, we’ll hold a Poetry Competition every month. Talented individuals can write poems for the new dishes we introduce to customers, and the winner will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver. The poem will be displayed in the Shop for our customers to appreciate. The second and third-place winners will also receive some reward; discuss the details with Old Shen. This could become a monthly grand event for our Shop, and except for the days of the Poetry Competition, we won’t accept any other poems," she said.
Bai Ruozhu smiled as she spoke, "If one is confident in their poetry, let them prove themselves in the Competition. Isn’t it a good thing to be able to earn both money and fame?"
The shopkeeper nodded vigorously, "Your idea is great. I will report it to Old Shen right away and start preparing in advance. There shouldn’t be any objections from his side."
Just then, the sound of clapping came from upstairs, and a young man’s voice rang out, "Madam is truly gracious as an orchid, I am impressed. I will not sell the poem and will instead look forward to participating in the Shop’s Poetry Competition."
"This is Young Master An, the author of the poem." The shopkeeper quickly introduced.
Bai Ruozhu handed back the paper directly and said, "I wish Young Master An success at the Poetry Competition."
Her demeanor was somewhat indifferent. Young Master An’s eavesdropping on her conversation with the shopkeeper didn’t leave her with much of a good impression.
Taken aback, An Gu hesitated as he didn’t expect her to return it so bluntly. He took the poem back somewhat awkwardly, but suddenly he shouted, "Where did those two brats go? Why did they run off?"
Bai Ruozhu followed his gaze toward the Main Hall on the first floor and indeed saw a table that only had leftover food. There was no sign of anyone.
"Those two rascals sent me to hurry the shopkeeper, and they took the opportunity to run off. They are downright bad friends!" An Gu exclaimed angrily, completely losing the composed demeanor of a literate.
The shopkeeper thought to himself that Young Master An’s temper was quite explosive. His friends were probably just playing a joke on him; it wasn’t a big deal if they left first, so why throw such a tantrum?
Bai Ruozhu, on the other hand, understood the situation in an instant.
The dishes at the Shop were not cheap. It wasn’t difficult for a group of students to gather and have a meal, but for ordinary families, it was considered expensive.
The clothes of Young Master An were of average quality, not shabby, but also not as exquisitely refined as those of aristocrats’ sons. His intent to sell the poem likely meant that he was short on money for the meal.
So when his friends ran off, it was no wonder he was so agitated.
Sure enough, An Gu, with a flushed face and stammering, said, "Shopkeeper, my friends left without saying goodbye, and I’m afraid they didn’t pay for the meal. I am a bit short of money and fear that..."
The shopkeeper’s face fell, "Young Master An, please don’t put me in a difficult position, I’m also working for someone else."
Upon hearing this, An Gu immediately looked towards Bai Ruozhu and pleaded with her, "This lady must be the owner of this place, otherwise, I could put my poetry on the line, draw up an IOU, and after the Poetry Competition, I will definitely repay the debt."
Bai Ruozhu raised an eyebrow, "You’re so certain that you will win a prize in the competition? In the Capital City, there’s no shortage of talents lurking in darkness and shadow."
An Gu was suddenly speechless; originally pale from a lack of Qi Blood, his face had turned a shade of pink.
"Otherwise, I’ll pawn this; it’s my betrothal token, I will definitely redeem it!" An Gu clenched his teeth and took off a Waist Pendant from his belt and handed it to Bai Ruozhu.
Bai Ruozhu did not reach out to take it, but the shopkeeper did and after inspecting the jade, which was of decent quality and worth some money, he said to Bai Ruozhu, "Madam Jiang, I think we should do as he says."
Bai Ruozhu glanced at the jade piece; the design was indeed exquisite, and there seemed to be a character in the middle, but unfortunately, she couldn’t see it clearly.
She nodded to the shopkeeper, "You handle it."
After she spoke, she was ready to turn back to the private room when her steps suddenly halted. She had just seen a figure dart into another private room; since the rooms on the second floor were arranged in a circular layout, leaving a large space in the middle, that particular room was quite a distance from Bai Ruozhu, hence the person didn’t notice her.
However, she recognized the figure’s back and side profile, which felt eerily familiar, bringing an ominous feeling rising in her heart.
She gave the shopkeeper a meaningful look, and he quickly sent An Gu away and came over to ask, "Does Madam Jiang have any instructions?"
Bai Ruozhu looked towards that private room, "Who is the guest in that room?"
The shopkeeper was taken aback, not expecting Bai Ruozhu to inquire about other guests. After thinking for a moment he replied, "I’m not sure; they are merchants from out of town and their friends. None are familiar faces from the Capital, but that merchant was very generous, casually rewarding the waiter with five silver taels."
"Later, go and send them a new dish, saying it’s on the house for our guests to taste today, then pay attention to who they are with and what distinctive features they have," Bai Ruozhu instructed softly.
"Yes, I will go right away." Seeing Bai Ruozhu’s serious expression, the shopkeeper became nervous as well.
He was about to leave when Bai Ruozhu called him back, "Never mind, don’t go. Forget I said anything. It’s too dangerous for you. Better to act as if you know nothing."
If that familiar figure indeed was that man, the shopkeeper might be harmed if he went snooping around, and even risk startling the snake and potentially losing his life if they noticed.
Yes, the person resembled Shi Feiming, the second-in-command of Batianzhai, known for using concealed weapons and escaping amid chaos.
At that time, even when severely pressured, Shi remained calm enough to escape quickly, proving him to be a cool-headed and meticulous thinker, not an easy opponent; letting him escape would be like releasing a tiger back to its mountain. And now this tiger had appeared in Capital City, what did that imply?
Bai Ruozhu then quietly gave a few more instructions to the shopkeeper before calling out Jianqi to come out; she tasked him with verifying if the person was Shi Feiming and also to find out whom he was associating with and what he was plotting.
Jianqi took the orders and disappeared into the shadows, while Bai Ruozhu returned to the private room to continue the meal with Leng Wanhua and Fang Guizhi.
However, after Jianqi had been gone for a long while, he hadn’t returned to report, making Bai Ruozhu become increasingly anxious as the meal was coming to an end.