This matter was serious. How could she make 500 beans if this went on?
“Are you going to the library to copy books?” Just when Xie Qiao was worrying, Qin Liu, who had spoken to her the other day, came.
“How much can I make from copying books?” asked Xie Qiao.
“You can make a lot since you know Sanskrit,” reminded Qin Liu. “There are very few of us in the academy who are familiar with Sanskrit, but there are quite many Sanskrit scriptures. Many of them need to be translated or copied, so we’re lacking talented people like you… You will make 10 beans from copying a passage, and more if you can translate them.”
Naturally, she added the last part casually.
Xie Qiao’s eyes lit up. She could do that!
“Thank you, but why did you tell me that?” Xie Qiao was pretty curious.
Qin Liu said to her with a complicated expression, “Haven’t you heard about me at all?”
Xie Qiao shook her head.
Qin Liu felt helpless. “Father was a general at the border back then. When the army had fallen five years back, he and Second Brother vowed to guard the border to their death. They were killed. When the city gate was breached, your father came to save my Eldest Brother and Mother.”
Her father died a horrible death, and it was Xie Niushan who avenged him. Naturally, she was grateful to the Xie family and was fond of them.
Her father’s position was not too high. After his death, her eldest brother had gone on the battlefield with General Xie.
Her eldest brother was a seventh-grade lieutenant. He had made meritorious contributions, so he was promoted to a fifth-grade general. The academy knew that her father had died a horrible death, so she received better treatment.
Her brother and Xie Niushan were colleagues…
Xie Qiao was very surprised to hear that.
Qin Liu had held her head down when she spoke to her the other day. She had run away after she was done speaking, so Xie Qiao had not managed to see her face properly.
Now that she looked at her face, she found out that her parents had a devastating fate.
“I see…” Xie Qiao was not good at socializing. She thought about it and changed the subject, “I won’t be going to the pitch-pot class in the afternoon. I’ll copy books instead. Would you like to go together?”
“Sure!” Qin Liu was quite happy.
It was Xie Qiao’s first time coming to the library. There was a big courtyard with many two-story lofts. There was a pool across the courtyard, and tall trees were planted within. It was cool and shady.
Judging by the entire setting, the possibility of a fire accident was low.
“Young Lady Xie,” Just when Xie Qiao was going in, Imperial Bodyguard Zhou came.
After calling out to her, he peeped at Qin Liu in a dodgy manner. Qin Liu was smart, so she took a few backward steps immediately.
“Are you here to give me the gold? It’s inconvenient for me to accept them now. Can you send them to my family carriage?” said Xie Qiao.
Zhou Weizong felt troubled and wanted to cry. “No, I-I would like to thank you… Also, I knew that you have a white jade with you. So I thought I’d ask you what you are going to do about it.”
“Right, the jade…” Xie Qiao felt the item in her embrace. “I’m checking out the library now to see if there’s anything… that I like.”
Zhou Weizong’s eyelids twitched.
‘It must be something precious?’
“Well… It’s better to use the jade to get yourself a master… Oh yeah, His Highness is accepting disciples now. Would you like to learn horseback archery? His Highness was the best practitioner in the imperial city back then!”
“I’m not learning that. Are you trying to take revenge on me?” Xie Qiao’s small face looked bitter. She looked rather wronged.
He was asking her to learn horseback archery regardless of her health? She was suspecting that Imperial Bodyguard Zhou wanted to kill her.
Imperial Bodyguard Zhou felt helpless and speechless, “How about the four arts? His Highness is familiar with those too—”
“No.” Xie Qiao was determined. “Did His Highness give out all of the white jades he had, and now he wants mine back? If that’s the case…” Xie Qiao looked kind and understanding. “I can sell it to you guys at… 5,000 taels of silvers.”
It was an acquaintance’s price.
She would sell it to a powerful master at a higher price. There might be people who were willing to buy it for 8,000 taels of silvers. Those big wealthy families should have accumulated quite a fortune.
