A Grave Crisis, the Protagonists Meet
If he had understood correctly...
This poem was about longing for someone...
But who was he longing for?
According to the information she had gathered,
It couldn't have been the girl who had died before. If it were true, given the Jun Family's standing, that girl couldn't have met such an end.
So the question was, who was this guy writing about?
According to the information, whether in the Capital or Tianfu, this guy had never had much contact with any woman other than his younger sister.
Except herself...
So Bai Ruoli was at a loss for words.
The Qixi Festival soon passed.
Under Jun Jingyi's direction, the restaurants belonging to the Journey to the West Merchant Alliance had all made a fortune, leaving the many merchants who had hesitated to join the alliance deeply regretful.
As a result, even more merchants joined the Journey to the West Merchant Alliance soon afterward.
It was no exaggeration to say that
Half the merchants in Tianfu City now belonged to the Journey to the West Merchant Alliance.
Although Qixi had passed, one matter remained a favorite topic of conversation among countless people in Tianfu City.
It even spread beyond Tianfu, throughout Great Yan.
Immortal at the Magpie Bridge!
One poem after another, and now the talented scholars around Tianfu City, indeed throughout almost all of Jiangnan, had conceded.
When it came to poetry alone, they acknowledged Jun Jingyi as Jiangnan's foremost talent.
Jun Jingyi had now become a spear wielded in the rivalry between the talented scholars of Jiangnan and the north.
"You say I'm no good? Fine! We've got someone in Jiangnan who is!"
"You're talking about Qixi? Ever heard of Immortal at the Magpie Bridge?"
"You're talking about fine wine? Ever heard of Dukang?"
But for the time being, Jun Jingyi wasn't very interested in any of that.
Because something momentous concerning his life and death had come up.
The male and female leads of this world were about to meet!
According to the news, early that morning, the eighth prince had invited Bai Ruoli to his residence to treat his illness!
This left Jun Jingyi deeply agitated.
It meant the main plot had begun: the female lead would meet the male lead, save his life, and then feelings would quietly blossom.
They would support each other, and things would become unstoppable...
At this point, the countdown to death would begin for a minor villain like him.
"What should I do?"
At the Jun Residence.
In the courtyard, Jun Jingyi was like an ant on a hot pan, unable to sit or stand still.
"What's wrong with you? Still worried about where to keep all your money?"
Sikong Ye curled his lip, green with envy!
And to think he had admired this guy's kind heart back at the restaurant.
Only afterward had he learned that the guy was an unscrupulous merchant through and through.
The cost was less than one tael of silver, yet this guy had sold it for fifty taels, and even called it a half-price benefit for everyone in Tianfu City!
"Pah... I've never seen anyone so shameless."
Even worse, this guy usually sold it for a hundred taels...
"What the hell do you know!"
Seeing the young man happily eating an osmanthus cake he had just made, Jun Jingyi looked at him with undisguised scorn.
"Tch..."
Sikong Ye curled his lip. He couldn't be bothered to argue with him; what mattered was taking this chance to get these delicious things into his stomach.
Otherwise, what if Jun Jingyi came to his senses and tried to snatch them?
After a long while, Jun Jingyi stopped.
He had figured it out.
There was no use worrying.
Since this was a novel world, it was bound to follow the plot.
And the plot just happened to be that the male and female leads met, after which the female lead began her rise and took her revenge.
That was inevitable.
He couldn't change it.
So he really had only one path now.
He would leave them alone and speed up his own plans.
Leaving aside the eventual destruction of this country, for now, he at least needed enough martial strength to protect himself before the protagonists made a move against him.
He had enough money now, but martial strength...
Jun Jingyi looked at Sikong Ye and gave a faint smile.
Seeing this, Sikong Ye shuddered and took a step back, guarding the osmanthus cakes in his hands as he watched Jun Jingyi warily.
"What are you trying to do? I'm telling you, these are mine. You can't have them!"
Sikong Ye spoke cautiously.
Jun Jingyi: "..."
He was speechless.
How had he ended up saving a creature like this?
When they had first met, Sikong Ye had carried something of an expert's air, but what was this now? He was even guarding his food...
Shaking his head speechlessly, Jun Jingyi couldn't be bothered with it. His expression turned serious, and he asked, "Can you tell me about the Yan Kingdom's jianghu?"
He had thought it over again and again. In this feudal age of cold weapons,
Apart from the imperial court and the authorities, the only place with the greatest martial strength was the jianghu.
"The jianghu?"
Sikong Ye relaxed and picked up an osmanthus cake, tossing it into his mouth. As he chewed, he mumbled, "Why are you suddenly interested in the jianghu?"
"What's there to say about the jianghu? It's nothing but fighting and killing, grudges and passions."
The young man shook his head.
"Hm?... Isn't it about splendid clothes and spirited steeds, raising wine and singing songs?"
Jun Jingyi chuckled, thinking of the jianghu as the youths of later generations imagined it, so wonderful.
Wine and song, beauties in ancient dress, love and hate, sorrow and passion, a jianghu of chivalry!
"Pfft... Who told you that?"
Sikong Ye shook his head and said very seriously, "The jianghu comes down to one word: slaughter!"
"Today, two sects butcher each other over territory. The day after tomorrow, half the jianghu fights to the death over a treasure. After that, it's mutual revenge, wiping out entire clans, and massacres."