Once she started writing, she couldn’t stop. Even during dinner, she ate hastily before returning to her desk to continue.
The Search Panel in her consciousness had become second nature to her, helping her navigate the era’s common knowledge and avoid pitfalls.
For now, this was all she could do with the Search System.
As night fell, she lit an oil lamp to write. Though oil lamps were expensive and she was short on money lately, she didn’t hesitate to use them—even lighting two at once.
Her main concern was avoiding nearsightedness, which wouldn’t be worth the trouble.
Still, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret over the cost.
Oil lamps in ancient times were truly pricey, so she finished one installment of her serialized story quickly and went to bed.
She slept soundly through the night.
The next morning, Ye Yuwu and Huaping took the street-flyers written the day before and headed out, while Uncle Li stayed behind to mind the bookshop.
Before leaving, Ye Yuwu had debated whether to dress as a man for convenience while distributing the flyers, but she quickly dismissed the idea.
First, her physical features were too distinctive. Her face was delicately beautiful and softly shaped, and her figure was slender and petite.
More importantly, the original host’s body was too well-endowed—curvaceous in all the right places—making it impossible to conceal.
No matter how she tried to disguise herself in men’s clothing, she simply couldn’t pass as a man. She wondered how female leads in TV dramas managed to pull it off.
Second, her face was widely recognized—something she had learned indirectly from Huaping. The original host had once been infatuated with the Marquis of Wu’an.
The Marquis of Wu’an, Bai Zunyue, styled Ziyu, had captivated the original host with his extraordinary handsomeness, leading her to pursue him relentlessly.
Her bold and public pursuit of love had made her infamous throughout Bianjing—everyone knew about it.
Wherever Bai Zunyue went, the original host was sure to appear nearby.
But Bai Zunyue didn’t reciprocate her feelings; in fact, he avoided her like the plague. Eventually, he requested the emperor’s permission to go to the coastal regions of Jiangnan to suppress pirates. Though heartbroken, the original host could do nothing about it.
The Marquis of Wu’an had been away for two years and had only recently been recalled to Bianjing by the emperor to receive rewards for his achievements.
However, due to the original host’s past behavior, her reputation in Bianjing had suffered. Insisting on waiting for the Marquis of Wu’an, she had delayed marriage until now.
For these two reasons, Ye Yuwu decided against dressing as a man to go out.
When she left the Grand Preceptor’s residence, she hadn’t brought any of her former luxurious silk garments. In the past few days, she had only acquired a few simple outfits.
Before heading out, she chose a light blue dress. Though the craftsmanship was rough, it accentuated her ethereal elegance, making her look effortlessly beautiful.
Though she no longer had extravagant jewelry, Huaping’s skillful hands styled Ye Yuwu’s hair into a simple spiral bun, adorned only with a plain wooden hairpin.
Dressing beautifully lifted her spirits, but since women in ancient times weren’t supposed to appear in public unveiled, she had to wear a veil hat despite her efforts.
The two of them soon arrived near the academy. Along the way, they tentatively handed out flyers to a few scholarly-looking individuals, but the results were minimal.
Soon, it was noon, and the academy students were dismissed. Ye Yuwu avoided waiting at the main gate—mainly because it was too crowded, and as women, their sudden presence at the academy entrance would likely cause a stir.
So the two of them stood not far from the entrance of the academy. The students were walking in twos and threes, quite scattered, so they split up to distribute the street-flyers.
A few shabby-looking scholars who were originally just passing by suddenly found something thrust into their hands. They were about to get angry, but seeing that it was two women wearing veiled hats, they couldn’t very well lose their temper.
When they glanced at the street-flyer carelessly and saw the words on it, they were somewhat surprised and even asked in detail, though it was uncertain whether they would go to Zhiyu Bookstore to submit stories.
Most of these people were very interested in and curious about the term “publication,” mostly asking what a publication was and what it was used for!
Ye Yuwu had no choice but to patiently explain to them, though she wouldn’t go into too much detail. After all, revealing too much wasn’t good, and besides, she didn’t have that much time.
Ye Yuwu and Huaping carried on distributing the street-flyers with great enthusiasm. Fortunately, it went smoothly, and they didn’t encounter anyone looking for trouble.
Just then, a finely crafted and luxurious carriage suddenly passed by not far away. The carriage was carved with exquisite patterns, and outside the carriage door hung an imperial-granted golden bell that made a crisp sound when the wind blew.
Ye Yuwu, who had been explaining the contents of the street-flyer to a few students by the roadside, suddenly heard the light, ethereal sound of the bell drifting by.
Looking up, she saw a jet-black horse pulling the exquisite and luxurious carriage.
Even the coachman sitting outside the carriage had an extraordinary air about him. The person inside must be someone of precious status, clearly not to be trifled with. So, the few of them hurriedly stepped aside to let the carriage pass smoothly.
As the carriage passed by Ye Yuwu, a sudden gust of wind happened to lift her veiled hat and the carriage’s curtain. Her delicate and pretty little face was caught by the person inside the carriage.
But she didn’t notice the gaze that fell upon her. The person inside the carriage couldn’t help but frown at the sight of her, his long, fair fingers rubbing together with an ambiguous meaning.
Ye Yuwu simply regarded this as a small interlude.
Seeing the midday sun hanging high in the sky, scorching the ground, and with few students left around the academy, Ye Yuwu and Huaping decided to head back home.
To most of these students, the street-flyers they distributed were considered vulgar and unrefined, not worthy of serious attention. Some looked down on them, but others saw them as an opportunity, such as some students from humble backgrounds.
For example, Guan Yan, wearing a patched blue scholar’s robe, came from a difficult family situation. His father had died early, and his mother had worked tirelessly to raise him.
Fortunately, he was quite promising and had been admitted to Bianjing’s highest academy—the Imperial College, where the Imperial Students were all outstanding scholars from all over.
But the good times didn’t last long. His mother, exhausted from overwork, fell seriously ill. All the family’s money was spent on medicine, and their expenses exceeded their income every month. Moreover, he still had significant expenses at the academy.
He could only take advantage of his free time after classes to copy books at the bookstore to supplement the family’s income.
Today, when he saw the street-flyer, especially the price of fifty wen, he found it somewhat unbelievable. On a good day, copying books at most earned him eighteen wen. Writing a short story could earn fifty wen?!
The Imperial Students of the Imperial College looked down on such things. If it were the old him, he naturally wouldn’t lower himself to write such vulgar material. But now, life forced him to bend his pride.
He returned home, fed his mother and gave her medicine, then sat at the only table in the house, clutching his empty stomach as he took out paper and ink to begin writing stories.
In the afternoon, Ye Yuwu did not go to promote near the academy again.
Unexpectedly, quite a few people came to submit manuscripts. It turned out many were curious about her publication model, and most approached it with a playful, experimental attitude.
Fortunately, their morning efforts had not been in vain.
In just one afternoon, several men came to the bookstore to submit manuscripts. They all wore casual clothes, not the blue robes of scholars.
Ye Yuwu saw through it but said nothing, simply accepting their manuscripts and informing them to return in three days. Accepted submissions would be paid, while rejected ones would be returned directly.
She also asked them to write their names on their manuscripts—either their real names or pseudonyms were acceptable.
Some immediately came up with literary-sounding pen names on the spot, such as “Penglu Hermit” or “Master Among Flowers.”
Others directly used the names of famous figures, like “Master Sleeping Dragon.” Ye Yuwu half-expected Zhuge Liang to leap out of his coffin in protest.
Guan Yan also came. He arrived in the evening after finishing his studies, hurriedly submitted his manuscript, left his real name, and then secretly went to the bookstore across the street to copy books to earn household expenses.
For some reason, he suddenly felt a bit guilty!
He nervously looked forward to three days later.