You were taken hostage, why pursue the Enemy's Empress?
Chapter 64 – I have someone to cover me

After the yamen officials arrived, they quickly surrounded Shangmo Bookstore. All the customers inside were driven out and watched in suspicion as they whispered to each other.

"What's going on? Did Shangmo Bookstore get into trouble?"

"I don't know. They just sell books."

"Hey, hey, hey! I heard that this 'Zha Mei Case' seems to be satirizing the Prime Minister."

"It seems to be true. Yesterday, I went home and told my mother about the Zha Mei Case. My mother said it was similar to the Prime Minister's illegitimate daughter incident twenty years ago! I thought it was a coincidence, but now it seems that there is some truth to it."

"Ah, Shangmo Bookstore is too arrogant. They even dare to satirize the Prime Minister?"

"I'm afraid we won't be able to see the 'Zha Mei Case' anymore in the future!"

"Fortunately, I bought two copies yesterday."

"Can you lend me one to read when you have time?"

As the crowd whispered, Ying Wuji smiled and greeted them, "Gentlemen, what brings you here?"

The leading sergeant shook his head helplessly and stepped forward, "Young Master Wuji, long time no see!"

Ying Wuji recognized him as the sergeant who had helped him out during his brawl with Ji Su. He greeted him with a smile, "Oh, it's a familiar face. It's so hot outside. Come in and have some tea."

"No need!"

The sergeant took a step back and announced loudly, "Shangmo Bookstore is selling banned books privately. We are here by the order of the government officials to seal the banned books and order Shangmo Bookstore to close for rectification. They are not allowed to open for business within a month."

The onlookers began to discuss this news even more fervently. They had thought that only the 'Zha Mei Case' would be sealed, but they didn't expect that Shangmo Bookstore would also be sealed. Wasn't Ying Wuji a hostage of their friendly nation? Why were they so harsh on him?

Ying Wuji's heart also skipped a beat. He knew that the Prime Minister cared about his reputation and sealing books was a normal operation, but sealing the entire bookstore was not in line with the bigger picture.

This was getting out of hand!

Zhao Ling was right. Luo Yan did care about Hua Chao more than he had imagined, otherwise he wouldn't have acted so recklessly. He had almost shot himself in the foot this time.

The sergeant sighed helplessly. He didn't want to offend anyone, but he had no choice. He said, "Young Master Wuji, I am just following orders. Please let me pass and don't make things difficult for me."Ying Wuji felt the gaze of the people on the street and calmly said, "I am in the Kingdom Li and must respect the laws of the Kingdom Li. However, please let me die with dignity. Please inform me, which book in Shangmo Bookstore is banned and why it is banned. If you cannot provide a valid reason, I cannot easily concede."

"This..."

The official was somewhat troubled. Wuji was indeed not an easy person to deal with and had forced him to this point.

He could only use the prepared excuse, "Young Master, the book 'The Beheading of Beauty' in your bookstore is suspected of malicious insinuations..."

Wuji looked surprised, "Huh? Insinuations against whom?"

"This..."

"Could it be the Prime Minister?"

"This..."

For a moment, the street became even more lively. It turned out that the closure of Shangmo Bookstore was actually the work of the Prime Minister.

This was big news!

Wuji saw that everyone was discussing it and knew that he couldn't get through the night. The incident at Shangmo Bookstore would completely spread. Looking at the official's appearance, if he continued to argue about whether or not it was the Prime Minister, it would only benefit him and not harm him.

He sighed, "When I was writing this book, I felt that the story was familiar. In order to avoid misunderstandings, I even marked a line at the end of the book that said 'This story is purely fictional. If there are any similarities, it is purely coincidental.' It's a pity... but since there has been a misunderstanding, I, Ying Wuji, am not an unreasonable person. Come, take all the copies of 'The Beheading of Beauty' in the store and let the officials take them away!"

"Yes!"

The staff at Shangmo Bookstore were very efficient. In the blink of an eye, they had carried out hundreds of copies of 'The Beheading of Beauty' and placed them neatly in front of the officials.

"This..."

The official was also a little confused. He did not expect Wuji to be so cooperative, making him seem a bit overbearing.

Wuji asked again, "Official, you have the books now. Whether to take them away or burn them on the street is up to you. However, it's not appropriate to close the store for my small business, is it?"

The official gritted his teeth and said, "Young Master Wuji, your bookstore is also suspected of selling fake copies of 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.' Such a practice of passing off inferior goods as genuine violates the laws of the Great Li and requires the closure of the store and confiscation of books."

"What!"

The crowd completely erupted.

"'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' is fake?"

"That's impossible! I thought it was even better than the first two volumes!"

"Yeah! How could such a good book be fake?"

"Wait a minute... I found out, this is 'The Mountain and Sea Tales'...""Using inferior goods to pass off as superior ones is understandable, but how can you pass off good ones as inferior ones?"

Ying Wuji frowned: "Sir! Our book clearly states 'Shan Hui Gui Tan' (Strange Tales of Mountains and Seas). How can you accuse me of forging 'Shan Hai Gui Tan'? Does the law of Great Li consider using different book titles as forgery?

We, the legalists of Kingdom Qian, have been influenced by our motherland's culture. Therefore, I have studied your laws in Kingdom Li, but I have never seen this clause before!

You cannot bully me just because I am usually honest and courteous!"

The official was forced to answer: "Young master, please calm down! Although the law of Great Li does not specify today's situation, do not worry. The official in charge of Jingcheng Prefecture is also a legalist and can distinguish your situation. If you are innocent, he will not let you suffer unjustly!"

After speaking, he ordered his subordinates to seize the books and close the store.

"Yes!"

The bailiffs responded one after another.

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Ying Wuji was angry: "Isn't this bullying an honest person? Brothers from Kingdom Qian, protect the store!"

Hearing this, the staff from Kingdom Qian's paper shop rushed out and confronted the bailiffs from Kingdom Li barehanded.

The atmosphere on the street was tense, and the onlookers held their breaths. No one expected the situation to escalate to this level.

Kingdom Qian's merchants confronting Kingdom Li's bailiffs in public?

This... is a diplomatic disaster!

Luo Ming shook his head and jumped off his horse. He walked to Ying Wuji's side and whispered: "Young master Wuji, we did not target you. As long as you persuade my sister to return home, you can continue to run the bookstore, and no one will stop you."

Ying Wuji sneered: "You didn't target me, but I am already in such a miserable state. If you did target me, wouldn't I be dead by now?"

Ji Su also jumped off his horse and looked at the tense Kingdom Qian staff. The anger that had been brewing in his chest for several days finally found an outlet. He did not hide his smile, which stretched his face into a chrysanthemum shape.

His voice was hoarse and fierce: "Ying Wuji, Luo Xiang did not intend to target you. He originally planned to spare Shangmo Bookstore. But fortunately, I persuaded him with reason and emotion for an hour last night and another morning today, and he finally understood the interests involved!"Originally, he only planned to seal the book, but under my persuasion, he chose to close the shop! Do you regret stabbing me with thirteen swords that day? The downfall of Shangmo Bookstore is all your fault. A month's hard work has gone down the drain. I wonder if you hate me? Judging by your eyes, you probably do. Hate is right..."

Ji Su's harsh words couldn't come out anymore.

He didn't know what was going on. Ying Wuji's facial expressions were clearly very rich, but they didn't seem like hatred at all, which made his emotions somewhat off.

Ying Wuji was also a bit confused.

There was no such thing as peace and quiet in the past, it was all Ji Su who carried the burden for me.

Sigh!

The achievements of Shangmo Bookstore today are at least half due to my big brother Ji Su!

He took out a jade pendant from his arms and threw it directly to Luo Ming: "Brother, I have connections!"

"This..."

"The jade pendant of Qingjia Palace!"

Luo Ming and Ji Su looked at each other, their faces changing drastically.

~~~~~~~~~~

Let me report the results. We didn't make it to the third round of recommendations, so we'll probably be on the shelves next Monday.

But don't worry, everyone, it won't be a cliffhanger.

Because the follow-up reading is quite good, and the author is very confident in the later plot. Before going on the shelves, there will still be three chapters a day. After going on the shelves, there will be a guaranteed daily update of 8,000 words, with an average daily update of over 10,000 words.

Looking back, the reason for the poor performance in the early stage should be that the theme is slightly old, and the bookstore plot is somewhat lengthy. However, the bookstore plot is also about to end, and the later business plot will be briefly written.

The content of the next few hundred thousand words is roughly about the intrigue among the aristocratic families, the struggle for the destiny of the Hundred Schools of Thought, and the protagonist presiding over reforms and supporting the empress to the throne.

The author has written a completed book of two million words before, with good results. The pen name will not be mentioned. In short, you can trust the quality of the later plot. The target word count for this time is over two million and will remain stable.

Stay humble and steady.

Stable burst update.

Wait for a wave of accumulation and release.

In the future, the manuscript will not be like squeezing toothpaste during the new book period. Please don't keep the book, and you can enjoy the follow-up updates as long as you don't leave. This book will be able to explode until the end of time.

Of course, if everyone leaves after going on the shelves, I'm afraid my Dao heart will collapse.

Please subscribe, crying...

P.S.: There will be another chapter at noon.