Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Interesting. This newspaper is interesting indeed. I’ve read the article. Obviously, you were only the scapegoat. Is this the paper you run together with Fang Beidou?” Eunuch Liu laughed and clapped as he read the paper in his carriage.
“Yes, you are right. I haven’t contacted them lately, so I didn’t expect them to really publish this article…”
Eunuch Liu laughed, “Well, well. You two are friends. Friends should help each other out. Liqiang, you’ve got yourself tangled in such a huge thing, everyone in the city has heard about the news. Of course, Fang Beidou has heard about it too. It’s normal for them to lend you their support. Besides, I see that the article was well-written without any nonsense and everything sounds fair, so there is nothing for you to worry about…” Eunuch Liu laid his eyes on another story in the newspaper. His face lightened up, “Interesting, interesting! I’ve read enough court bulletins from the officials. They mostly report on politics, unlike yours which is full of variety. With your newspaper, people will know about everything that is going on without even stepping out of the house. Not bad, not bad at all…”
“If Eunuch Liu likes it, I shall arrange for one copy to be delivered to Deer Villa every time a new issue is published. Maybe this will serve as entertainment to brighten up your day…” Yan Liqiang felt like a disgusting bootlicker as he heard himself speaking. He consoled himself by telling himself that Eunuch Liu was his superior — offering him items that cost merely a few copper coins probably wouldn’t make him a bootlicker.
“How thoughtful of you…” Eunuch Liu smiled as he kept flipping through the paper, “Hmmm… interesting. You even have a column here to search for missing people. This is a great idea. Perhaps this might help people reunite with their missing family members…”
“Our newspaper is published weekly. If the person is lucky enough and they haven’t been missing for too long, it’s possible that they can be found…”
“Do you charge any fees for publishing an advertisement?”
“It depends. The first few times are free. If they are searching for their family, particularly children, we can publish it for free. Consider it an act of charity. For people with more money, we offer our advertising service with charges. Apart from missing people, they can also publish things like banquet invitations, death notices, or even wanted criminal portraits. They can all publish it here. Once the newspaper is sold, everyone in the city will get the news!”
“Great! Great! This business benefits from both sides. Liqiang, I must say, you are the first to come up with such an amazing idea! So, as you were saying, if the government officials want to publish notices, we can do it on your paper as well?”
“Of course! However, I’m a little concerned about the rules and regulations that I am not familiar with. Will I get into any trouble for publishing official news that’s already on the court bulletin?” It was an opportunity Yan Liqiang wouldn’t want to miss, so he grabbed it and asked a few key questions. After all, this was the capital city, and no one else knew the rules and regulations better than Eunuch Liu.
“Whatever is published in the court bulletin is meant to be spread to the public anyway, so there is no secrecy in it. In fact, the more people know about it, the better it is. Rest assured, Liqiang. I will pull some strings among the officials who are in charge of the court bulletins to make things easier for you.”
“Thank you, Eunuch Liu…”
“We are a family, so it’s no trouble,” Eunuch Liu waved it off like it was nothing. From Eunuch Liu’s perspective, he merely treated Yan Liqiang’s newspaper as a small business and thought that it was a completely novel idea for him. He didn’t know it was actually a way to control and manipulate public opinion. After all, the newspaper was a fairly new invention. Apart from Yan Liqiang, no one else had enough time to observe its potential yet.
The two people rode the carriage towards the Supreme Court. Along the road, they could hear people yelling as they were trying to sell their newspaper. Eunuch Liu glanced through the newspaper. He put it down before he even finished reading it, and turned to Yan Liqiang to discuss the hearing instead.
“Liqiang, remember to stay calm during the hearing later. If anyone asks you, just tell them what happened the other day, and what Director Chen said. They might call in some witnesses, or they might even confront you with tough questions. But remember, if you are innocent, nobody will be able to prosecute you! I will be there too. Let’s see if anyone dares to distort the truth…”
“I’m not nervous about this. It’s just that I did not expect this to blow up. The whole city is watching now.”
“Liqiang, are you scared? Surely you have realized that the mastermind behind Director Chen is not just some ordinary person, right?” Eunuch Liu asked.
Yan Liqiang smiled, “I’m not scared. On the contrary, I think they should be the ones who are afraid. They must have committed too many sins, thus making enemies everywhere. They couldn’t even sniff out who killed one of their people…”
Eunuch Liu nodded, “Hahaha! This what I like about you, Liqiang…”
—— Not bad, not bad at all! Looks like I have recommended the right candidate to the Emperor. It was worth His Majesty’s trouble to arrange for you to learn some skills from the two people who live on the mountain. You will be of great use in the future!
Yan Liqiang smiled, but he could silently read Eunuch Liu’s mind clearly. He immediately understood why he was allowed to learn skills from the people living on the mountain beyond the archery range and he was dumbfounded by the unexpected reason. This was probably related to the event where Eunuch Liu saw him practicing his martial arts and noticed that he was gifted, so they arranged this without his knowledge. To Eunuch Liu and the Emperor, he was a pawn in the chess game fostered to crush Lin Qingtian and his allies.
Yan Liqiang could suddenly see the whole picture now.
This ability of the Psychic Serpent was really something. It gave Yan Liqiang the ability to read minds, and now he was able to stay ahead of the game.
The carriage continued creaking along. Not long after they entered the city, it finally stopped, and Little Li’s voice could be heard from outside, “Eunuch Liu, we have arrived at the Supreme Court!”
The carriage door was opened. Yan Liqiang let Eunuch Liu get down from the carriage first before he followed suit.
The carriage stopped right in front of the Supreme Court’s entrance. As soon as Yan Liqiang got down from the carriage, he was surprised by the massive crowd in front of the court.
