Five-year enthronement three-year simulation

After the knot with Ming Tan was untied, Ming Tan also felt a sudden lightness in an imperceptible place in his heart, as if a huge boulder hanging high finally fell to the ground, and the whole person felt much more relaxed.

But he didn't expect that—a few days later, Ming Jing brought a letter when he entered the palace to pay his respects, which completely disturbed Ming Tan's original good mood.

This is the handwriting of the current shopkeeper of Shun'an Study.In his letter, he pleaded guilty with trepidation, and described the desolate situation of the study after it was opened: After so many days, not only did he not get any money, but even no one came to visit him.

Therefore, he didn't dare to hide it from Ming Tan, so he had to boldly invite Princess Nine to inspect the shop in person to see what went wrong.

This letter was written with deep affection, and the shopkeeper's apprehension and panic can be seen between the lines.After reading, Ming Tan couldn't help but frowned, tapped his fingertips on the table unconsciously, and let out a deep sigh with his head bowed.

Not a single book was sold...

Although she had already prepared for the poor business in the early stage of the study, she did not intend to blame the shopkeeper for his ineffectiveness, but it was really unexpected that the store was so cold that no one came to the store.

It shouldn't be.

Even though the DPRK and China have made a lot of moves against shops recently, they are limited to making a fuss about taxes and curfews, and it shouldn't affect the operation of their own study too much...

Ming Tan thought about it, but was still a little worried, so he called Mallow to wash and tidy himself up, and was going to leave the palace with Ming Jing, to see what went wrong in person.

Alas, there is no Qingqing, so I can only use the third brother to make up.

……

After arriving at the study, Ming Tan and Ming Jing had just stepped through the threshold, when the shopkeeper Zhou who was eager to be behind the counter was startled, hurried out and saluted the two of them respectfully.

"Cao Min, see the palace... er, villain, see Miss Nine, and see Third Young Master."

Ming Tan blinked.

This name is very novel...

Well, as expected of the person who worked for the Lin family before, he is quite clever enough.

She thought about it for a while, and without further delay, she went straight to the point and said, "Shopkeeper Zhou, there is no need to be too polite. I saw what you said in your letter before... In the past few days since our study opened to welcome guests, one of them really came in. Is there no one around?"

"Never before." Shopkeeper Zhou couldn't help but sighed deeply.Shaking his head, he bowed to her guiltily, and said bitterly, "Maybe it's because the villain was born in a paper and pen shop and doesn't know how to run a study... These days, even if he is imitating other people's behavior, he puts all his books away. Going outside the shop is of no use at all—it really makes the villain feel ashamed of Miss Nine's trust!"

"This……"

The scene described by shopkeeper Zhou was really abnormal, and even Ming Jing couldn't help frowning, "There are so many pedestrians on Fangji Street, and none of them stopped to look around? It's too weird!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Ming Tan at the side also turned around, looked at the rouge and gouache shop across the street, and then at the silk shop next to it... She compared the hustle and bustle of that room with her own. After comparing the deserted ones here, they were silent for a while, then turned their heads and stared at shopkeeper Zhou without a word.

This wave, this wave is really uneven in the world.

Under the watchful eyes of the boss, the shopkeeper Zhou sighed and sighed, his face was bitter, and every wrinkle was full of anxiety.

"The villain is guilty, and he is not good at running the study, please punish me, Miss Jiu!"

Ming Tan squeezed the center of his brows, and while waving his hand to signal shopkeeper Zhou that there is no need to apologize, he said in a heavy tone: "Don't rush to talk about this... Our study is so deserted, do you stop passers-by to ask about it, and listen to the shopkeeper. Where is the arrangement unsatisfactory?"

"Of course it was blocked," she didn't say anything, but when she said it, shopkeeper Zhou's face immediately became more bitter, and he said with drooping eyes, "but those pedestrians who come and go are very strange. Ignore him, he refuses to even say a word... The villain has just arrived in the store, and he has never done anything to offend the neighbors, so I really don't understand why he was treated so coldly!"

"Never mind?"

After Shopkeeper Zhou finished his description, Ming Tan suddenly turned his head and looked out, just in time to see a young scholar glanced at the signboard of "Shun'an Study", and then frowned in disgust, as if seeing something Like something dirty, he left in a hurry.

"..."

Ming Tan's eyes were dark, and he exchanged a glance with Ming Jing, his complexion was very bad.

The latter sighed lightly, patted her on the head reassuringly, and said lightly: "Forget it. Instead of guessing here, you might as well go out and find out, and you will know where the problem is."

……

Jinyu Pavilion opposite Shun'an Study.

Ming Tan picked up a snow-white jade bracelet from the shelf, stroked the gold-painted pattern on it, turned his head and raised eyebrows at Ming Jing, "Look, third brother, isn't this pretty?"

"It's beautiful."

Most of the surroundings are accessories from her daughter's home. Ming Jing's face was full of lack of interest, and he only glanced at Ming Tan's hand perfunctorily, and said in a nonchalant way: "But such a bracelet, father...cough, didn't father give it to you?" Has it passed you a lot? Why do you want to buy a new one outside?"

"Oh, I didn't buy it for myself - can't I give it to my family to read?"

Ming Tan twitched his lips, rolled his eyes at him, and shouted to the little old man standing by the counter: "The shopkeeper! Please come here and help me wrap this up!"

"Hey! Here we come!"

In that room, the old shopkeeper who was still a little drowsy immediately regained his spirits, hurriedly rushed to Ming Tan's side in three steps at a time, made a bow to her, and said with a pleasant smile: "Young lady is really discerning. This is the first-class warm jade bracelet in our store, and the gold inlaid on it is specially painted by skillful craftsmen. It is most loved by the noble ladies in Beijing—please wait a moment, little old man Here it is for you!"

"Well, don't be busy for now." Ming Tan looked at him with a smile, his tone was extremely gentle, his face was not red and his heart was not jumping, "Shopkeeper, my brother and I just arrived in the capital today, and we are not very familiar with the surrounding area. I have something to think about." Asking you for advice, I don't know...?"

The jade bracelet is worth five taels of silver, it is considered a rare big business in the Jinyu Pavilion, so the old shopkeeper's attitude was exceptionally kind, and he hurriedly said: "Young lady, it's okay to say, the little old man will know everything!"

"You're welcome, shopkeeper. May I ask, is there any study shop near Fangji Street where you can buy books?" Ming Tan said, turning to Ming Jing, and raised his chin suggestively at the other party, "I plan to buy books for my brother. A few books that will be used in the test will be brought back together later, and I will save myself making a special trip tomorrow."

"Oh, so that's how it is... The girl and the young master have just moved to the capital."

The old shopkeeper nodded, clenched the string nimbly, handed the properly sealed brocade cloth bag to Ming Tan, and smiled very politely: "The little old man has opened a restaurant on Fangji Street for seven or eight years. shop, you are very familiar with this area, you are asking the right person!"

Speaking of this, he also gave Ming Jing a wink, and said very flatteringly, "This young master is a man of poetry and writing, and he will definitely be nominated for the provincial examination and the high school candidates. Master! ——If you two are interested in preparing for the exam, you’d better go to the Jinfeng Bookstore on the street. It’s the favorite place for students of all sizes in Beijing, and there are all kinds of classics and histories... Although it’s expensive It's a bit more expensive, but it's definitely worth the money, and it will definitely make the two of you return home with a lot of rewards!"

His tone was very enthusiastic, but Ming Jing was obviously not well adapted to his new status as an imperial examination candidate. After a moment of silence, he only nodded embarrassingly to the other party, and replied hastily, "Thank you for your kind words".

Ming Tan grinned at the corners of his lips, revealing eight neat and white upper teeth, silently laughing at the third brother's acting skills, in exchange for the latter raising his eyebrows and staring.

Fortunately, the old shopkeeper didn't mind Ming Jing's slightly indifferent attitude.After he finished speaking, he paused for a while, maybe because of the face of the big business in hand, he said a little more: "However, two honored guests, let's listen to the little old man's persuasion—I would rather walk a few steps longer. When you go to the street, don't go to the Shun'an Study on the opposite side! Beware of the bad luck inside!"

"……unlucky?"

Unexpectedly, the other party would take the initiative to mention his own study, Ming Tan was overjoyed, and hurriedly asked: "This... a place full of sage books, what kind of bad luck can there be? Is the shopkeeper just joking?"

Seeing that Mingtan didn't seem to believe it, the old shopkeeper immediately waved his hands again and again, and said in a low voice: "Girl, what the little old man said is absolutely true! You just came to the capital, and you don't know it yet, so the current owner of Shun'an Study... ...Looking gentle, but he is actually a villain through and through! You must never go to him to buy books!"

"Evil man? Why did you say that?"

"Oh, you are a distinguished guest, I dare not lie to you." The old shopkeeper said worriedly, "Actually, the business of this Shun'an Study has been deserted before, and it just happened that the former shopkeeper's father was seriously ill. He wanted to raise money for his father's medical treatment. , so he made up his mind and listed the study that he had been running for many years for sale...Unexpectedly, before the store was sold, it first attracted a villain who is only interested in profit, and it is the current shopkeeper Zhou and the owner behind him!"

"It is said that his boss originally opened a store in the suburbs of Beijing. He was a well-known profiteer there. After making enough black-hearted money, he wanted to bring the business into the city! money……"

"Therefore, his boss fell in love with Shun'an Study, and sent the shopkeeper of that week to take advantage of the fire and suppress the price. He only gave a handful of silver, and sent the former shopkeeper to leave the capital day and night—it is said that With that little money, you can’t even buy the engraving blocks in the store, so how can you buy the whole study?”

As the old shopkeeper talked, he became more and more filled with righteous indignation. He kept beating his chest and feet, and sighed, "Oh! The former shopkeeper and I have been neighbors for many years. I really don't want to see such a shameless, dove occupying a magpie's nest! So, In order to let the shopkeeper of that week and the current owner reap the consequences, everyone worked together to persuade passers-by not to set foot in Shun'an Study, but to go to Jinfeng Bookstore...Anyway, no matter what, they just can't make money. To half a penny of black-hearted money!"

Ming Tan, the current owner of Shun'an Study, who has inexplicably turned into a black-hearted profiteer in the suburbs of Beijing: "..."

She quietly sneered secretly.

This story is really well-crafted, and the causes and consequences are quite rich.

——Actually, the former shopkeeper was too worried about her father and wanted to return home as soon as possible, so after getting her 900 taels of silver, she rented a car overnight and left the study on the same day.

But now I don't know why, this matter has been passed on, and it has turned into what it is now. It is really weird and inexplicable.

Ming Tan frowned slightly, and handed the five taels of silver that the bracelet was worth to the old shopkeeper. After thinking about it, he added a few more pieces of silver, and asked deeply: "Then... I don't know if you still remember, this 'Shun'an The new owner of the study is a profiteer from the suburbs of Beijing, not only bought the study at a lower price, but also drove away the former shopkeeper, where did you first hear the rumors?"

"I remember, that is, what happened a few days ago, the little old man has not forgotten!" The old shopkeeper took the silver and weighed it, and smiled so much that his teeth could not see his eyes, and he replied straightforwardly, "It is the owner of Jinfeng Bookstore. Sun Wenliang, shopkeeper Sun, came here to tell everyone in the neighborhood."

"...Well, Jinfeng Bookstore."

Ming Tan rubbed his chin thoughtfully, smiled brightly at the old shopkeeper and said, "I'll find out later, thank you shopkeeper for reminding me."

"Hahaha, it's a trivial matter!" The old shopkeeper bowed his back, personally sent the two of them to the door, and said loudly, "Guests, go slowly!"

However, he didn't know that the moment he stepped over the threshold of the Jinyu Pavilion, the expression on the face of the rich lady who was still grateful just now changed from hot to cold, and a piece of ice formed in her eyes.

She raised her eyes, looked in the direction of the street, and sneered slightly: "I think it's because of something."

Ming Jing was stunned, keenly aware of the coldness in the other party's tone, and couldn't help turning his head away, only to see Ming Tan was holding his hands up, the sharpness hidden in his dark eyes, as sharp as a swirling arrow. It's frightening.

"It turns out," she rolled her eyelids, her tone was extremely sharp, "We are newcomers, and accidentally touched the interests of others..."