Translated by Pure

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Chapter 57

Zheng Shaofeng waved to her, "Come here! Come here! I have long admired your name and appreciate your work very much."

Tan Lingyin was shy, "Sir, do you appreciate me?"

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Zheng Shaofeng nodded again and again, "Yes, yes! I have read every book of yours, and I also have your exclusive inscription poem book from the collector's edition, which is no longer available in the capital." Zheng Shaofeng kept talking, looking quite proud.

Tan Lingyin rubbed her hands happily, "Since you like it, sir, I'll give you a few more copies in the future."

"Don't be so polite calling me 'sir or lord'. Just call me dage[1]."

Tan Lingyin had never seen such an approachable imperial envoy before, and her affection for Zheng Shaofeng had risen to a new level. She laughed and called out: "Tang dage".

"Mm, Tan meizi[2]." Zheng Shaofeng replied. Sister-in-law is still considered a younger sister after all[3].

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Tan Lingyin still felt this was a bit unreal. "Sir, don't you mind at all? I mean, what I wrote in my book is all..."

"It's all about me, I know," Zheng Shaofeng nodded, then shook his head. "It’s fine."

"But our lord is always unhappy just because the name in the book coincides with his."

"Tang Feilong and I are molded differently, you understand?"

Tan Lingyin nodded quickly. No wonder that one was a Tan Hua, the other was just an ordinary jinshi; one was an imperial envoy, and the other could only be a county magistrate. She completely understood.

The two began to discuss the plot in Tan Lingyin's books again. After chatting a  bit, Tan Lingyin found that Tang Tianyuan's taste was a little...how to say it… amazing? He doesn't enjoy reading scenes that portrayed him brilliantly, but was always interested in some of the… more exciting plots. Tang Feilong being molested, Tang Feilong being kidnapped, Tang Feilong being chased by dogs, and so on.

Thousands of people had thousands of faces. No wonder he liked to read her books, it turned out he had such a temperament. Tan Lingyin was left speechless.

Zheng Shaofeng reminded her. "When you write another book in the future, you have to show it to me first!"

Tan Lingyin nodded, "Of course." 

She was hesitating whether to show him the book ‘Tang Feilong's Journey to the West’ that she wrote recently. If it was before, she wouldn't dare to take out this book in front of Tang Tianyuan, but since Tang Tianyuan's taste was so peculiar, he might like to read it...

Zheng Shaofeng saw that she was thinking, and hurriedly asked her what was going on.

Tan Lingyin told the truth.

Zheng Shaofeng patted the table, "I want to see it! Hurry up and hand it over!"

So Tan Lingyin went to the Southern Study to pick up the manuscript. The manuscript was not bound, but the story was almost finished.

Zheng Shaofeng couldn't stop laughing after reading the first chapter, "Interesting! Interesting! Tang Feilong has caught the eye of a female monster? I love it!"

You really do love it… Tan Lingyin seemed to have an epiphany.

Then the two happily discussed the plot. Zheng Shaofeng put on no airs, and Tan Lingyin was used to that, so there was no restraint, and the atmosphere was very lively.

Tang Tianyuan finished his work in front and came to the second hall. He heard the intertwined laughter of men and women inside, so he quickened his pace, pushed open the door, and walked in.

Tan Lingyin hurriedly put away the manuscript and held it behind her back.

Tang Tianyuan had an intuition that she was up to no good, so with a serious expression, he said, "Take it out."

Tan Lingyin shook her head and refused.

Zheng Shaofeng helped divert his attention, "I heard the sound of drumming before, what happened?"

"It's nothing, a merchant from Jinan was being blackmailed by a few local ruffians." He said, and looked at Tan Lingyin with a sullen face.

With the support of the imperial envoy, Tan Lingyin was not too afraid of him, so she stared back decisively.

Tang Tianyuan was not pleased, "Know your place! Come here."

Zheng Shaofeng hurriedly stopped Tang Tianyuan, "Calm down, calm down! This imperial envoy is asking in all seriousness... Isn’t there a saying ‘All businessmen are unscrupulous’, how could a merchant be deceived?"

Tan Lingyin interjected, "Jinan people are sincere and don't like to play tricks."

Tang Tianyuan glanced at her, "You are quite aware."

Zheng Shaofeng knocked on the table, "Stay on topic! Who is that person’s family name? I have relatives in Jinan, and I even meant one of them here."

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"His name is Zhu Dacong, and it seems it’s his first time here."

Tan Lingyin's face turned pale when she heard the name, her hand unconsciously loosened, and the manuscript scattered on the ground like snowflakes.

Tang Tianyuan felt that her reaction was unusual, "What, do you know him?"

Tan Lingyin hurriedly shook her head, "No, no, I just thought... His name is Dacong[4]! Hahahahaha! Does he have a younger brother called Dasuan[5]?"

Zheng Shaofeng also patted the table and laughed, "And a younger sister named Dalian[6]."

A pair of idiots. Tang Tianyuan kneaded his forehead helplessly when his eyes were attracted by the paper full of words on the ground, "What is this?"

Only then did Tan Lingyin realize something was wrong as she hurriedly squatted down to pick it up.

Tang Tianyuan wanted to have a closer look, but was stopped by Zheng Shaofeng, "Tan meizi, run!"

Before Tan Lingyin could sort the papers as she shoved the disordered manuscripts into a wooden box and ran away.

"You must protect the manuscript!" Zheng Shaofeng shouted.

Can you not mention it?... Tan Lingyin bursted into tears silently.

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Footnotes:

[1] dage- means big brother. just a sign of closeness, not just for siblings.

[2] meizi- means little sister. again, just a sign of closeness, not just for siblings.

[3] A play on words. By sister-in-law, he means his good brother’s (Tang Tianyuan).

[4] Dacong- sounds just like scallion in chinese.

[5] Dasuan- Garlic

[6] Dalian - Aniseed (basicly a family all named after aromatics)

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