Chapter 18: Wearing a Micro Outfit and Encountering a Beauty (Wishing everyone a happy National Day!)

  The fat official gritted his teeth and said: "You're a stubborn commoner, I think you've lived long enough..."

  "Hey, Fe Zhong!" The young man stopped Fe Zhong who was about to get angry and smiled at the shop owner: "Shopkeeper, I apologize for my servant's rudeness earlier. Actually, you misheard us. I meant that this paper is as light as nothing, it's truly amazing, how dare we comment on the emperor's treasure? We came here to buy those three precious books, but why didn't we see them in your store?"

  Zhang Zixing almost blurted out the words "Your Majesty", and in his heart, he sneered at himself: Having been in Shang Dynasty for so long and having become an emperor, even the two words "Your Majesty" which were initially not suitable have become more and more fluent. Now that his identity has changed, it's almost impossible to change back.

  The shop owner saw that the young man was polite and didn't seem to be a trivial person, after all, he still had to open for business and couldn't pursue it further. He replied: "It turns out that the little old man heard wrong, please don't mind, sir. These three precious books have always been in short supply, and need to be ordered three days in advance. Our small shop has already sold out, please go to the store at the street corner and take a look. The owner of that store seems to have just received a new batch of goods. If you sincerely want to buy them, please hurry up, otherwise it will be too late, and they might sell out as well."

  The young man thanked the shopkeeper and the three of them walked out of the store.

  "This rebellious commoner actually dares to be so rude to Master, it's really a heinous crime!" The fat steward said harshly as he turned his head back, then turned around and smiled fawningly at the master: "Wait for me to go back and punish him severely, to vent this hatred."

  Upon hearing the butler's words, the handsome man behind the old master furrowed his brow and bowed to the old master, saying: "Butler Fei's words are incorrect. Although the shopkeeper's language was disrespectful earlier, he was actually speaking up for Your Majesty, so where is the crime? If he knew the old master's true identity, he would probably be too busy expressing gratitude."

  "Wen Huan is right, Fei Zhong. I have my own arrangements for this journey, you must not interfere!" As soon as these words were spoken, the steward hastily apologized and showed a very respectful attitude.

  It turned out that these three people were Zhang Zixing, Fei Zhong and Jiang Wenhuan. Zhang Zixing had intended to investigate the people's feelings recently, so he ordered Fei Zhong and Jiang Wenhuan to pretend to be followers and sneak out of the palace together.

  Since King Zhou of Shang came to power, he has attached great importance to the livelihood and well-being of the people, implemented benevolent governance, done many practical things for the people, abolished the bad custom of burying alive, and made many "inventions" that opened up unprecedented precedents, injecting a lot of fresh blood into the entire Shang Dynasty. As a result, the people's evaluation of King Zhou is quite high, with many people even comparing him to Fuxi, the ancestor who created human civilization.

  Seeing the common people living in peace and stability, Zhang Zixing was also very happy. Fei Zhong was a clever person, all the way to the emperor's merits and virtues were lavishly praised. Jiang Wenhuan, although somewhat disapproving of Fei Zhong's character, also deeply agreed with his words of praise - today's emperor is benevolent and wise, unmatched in the world, indeed can be considered a rare and enlightened ruler since ancient times.

  Zhang Zixing only promoted papermaking, woodblock printing and pen manufacturing techniques, mainly to more conveniently and effectively promote his own three great books. Of course, there were also some simple daily necessities such as toothbrushes and soap that he created for his own convenience. As for why he didn't develop more advanced technologies like movable type printing, it was partly because he wanted to follow a step-by-step approach and make gradual progress, but also because he wanted to leave room in the future to showcase his own intelligence. The techniques he promoted were already the culmination of countless wisdom from past generations, enough to drive progress in the current era.

  "Excuse me, shopkeeper, do you have the Three Treasures book for sale in your store?" Fei Zhong was skilled at observing people's expressions and knew that the emperor valued these humble commoners, so his tone became much more polite.

  "I'm sorry, sir. The demand for the precious book is too high. Our small store bought 160 sets yesterday and they were all sold out by today. I truly apologize! The newly printed precious books will not arrive until three days later."

  Fei Zhong's eyes darted around, and he caught sight of another set on the shelf behind the shop owner. He pointed at it and asked, "Shopkeeper, isn't that another set? Why are you cheating me?"

  "Our humble shop has always been honest with customers. How dare we cheat you, sir? This book was ordered by a young lady three days ago and she will come to collect it soon."

  Zhang Zixing thought to himself that he would test the integrity of this businessman, and smiled slightly: "How about this? I'll buy this set of books from you at double the price."

  "The...". The shop owner thought for a moment and replied: "Thank you, sir, for your generosity, but I have already promised that young lady, I cannot go back on my word. Please, sir, take a look at another house instead."

  Fei Zhong didn't know Zhang Zixing's intention and thought it was the emperor's treasured possession. Suddenly, he wanted to buy a set of folk versions for collection and immediately said: "How about ten times the price? Selling this set is equivalent to getting ten sets!"

  The shop owner was clearly moved, and hesitated for a moment. Fei Zhong couldn't wait any longer, his face sank, and he added another sentence: "My master is not an ordinary person, if he takes a liking to the books in your store, it's your honor, but if you don't know how to advance or retreat, not only will this ten times the gold turn into flowing water, even your life and property may be...".

  Zhang Zixing looked at Fei Zhong's threatening and bribing attitude towards the store owner, suddenly thinking of the villain in a TV series, almost laughing out loud. Just as he was about to stop him, a cold woman's voice rang out: "Hmph! A dog relying on his master's power to bully good people, with such an evil slave, the master is indeed 'not ordinary'!"

  Zhang Zixing was taken aback, and when he turned to look, the speaker was a very beautiful girl, about 13 or 14 years old, wearing a green shirt, with her eyebrows raised in a cold smile. The girl's skin was like jade, and her beauty surpassed that of Huang Feiyan, not only in appearance but also with a special spirit and a rare and absolute beauty.

  Zhang Zixing's eyes lit up, and the poem "Cao Hua Zhong Shen Xiu" suddenly appeared in his mind, secretly praising the girl's beauty. If she were a few years older, she would be able to conquer the country and the city. Jiang Wenhuan was originally a hot-blooded young man, and when he saw this beauty, he couldn't help but lose his soul. As for Fei Zhongsu, who had always been greedy for wealth and beauty, his eyes were even more fixed on the girl, staring at her without blinking.

  The girl saw Fei Zhong's ugly appearance and shouted: "What a rude and vicious dog! If you dare to look again, I'll cut off your dog legs!"

  Fei Zhong had never been so insulted, and he felt that he had lost face in front of the emperor. He was furious and shouted: "You are a little girl from which family, how dare you speak out and hurt people! Let's see how your father, Mr. Fei, will deal with you!"

  As he spoke, he reached out to grab the girl's chest, intending to take advantage of her. However, the girl was highly skilled and quickly grabbed Fei Zhong's wrist, twisting it with a swift motion. Fei Zhong heard a loud "crack" sound, followed by a surge of intense pain from his wrist, causing him to let out a blood-curdling scream. The girl easily broke Fei Zhong's wrist and then kicked him in the back, sending his massive body flying onto the street, where he lay struggling to get up for a long time.

  "Hmph, with slaves like these, the master can be imagined! If you dare to bully people again, Miss will definitely beat you half to death!" The girl was extremely disdainful of these three people and loudly warned Zhang Zixing.

  "How dare you be so rude!" Jiang Wenhuan could ignore the girl's severe beating of Fei Zhong, but he absolutely couldn't tolerate her disrespect towards the emperor. He immediately shouted: "Miss, your skills are impressive, I'll have someone from my household come to exchange a few moves with you."

  In response to Jiang Wenhuan's challenge, the girl didn't take it seriously. The two walked out of the store and started fighting. A master can tell with just one move whether there is any skill involved. After exchanging a few moves, the girl's disdainful heart disappeared, and her pretty face began to look serious. In recent years, Jiang Wenhuan had received guidance from Zhang Zixing, his martial arts skills had improved day by day, and he was already quietly on par with Huang Feihu. Although the girl was agile, she was too young and not as strong as her opponent, gradually becoming no match for him.

  Zhang Zixing saw that Jiang Wenhuan was about to win, and just as he was about to speak out to stop him, he saw the girl feint with a move, turn around and walk away. Jiang Wenhuan had only taken a few steps when the girl suddenly turned her head and raised her hand, and a five-colored light flew towards Jiang Wenhuan at high speed, like lightning. The speed was so fast that it was impossible to dodge. Jiang Wenhuan was in control of the situation, but he didn't expect his opponent to have such a move. "Ah" he cried out, as the attack hit him right on the cheek, and he fell to the ground, covering his face, clearly seriously injured. Zhang Zixing was secretly shocked, with his current eyesight, he hadn't seen how the girl had used her hidden weapon, and from the terrifying speed, even if he himself were to go up on stage with his War Soul Technique, it would be difficult to avoid.

  "Halt!" Zhang Zixing's voice and the girl's voice behind her rang out at the same time, and the woman immediately stopped when she heard the voice behind her. The one who spoke was also a woman, wearing a white dress, with raven-black hair like clouds, a slender yet curvaceous figure, and a white silk scarf covering her face, making it impossible to discern her beauty or ugliness. Her entire being exuded an elegant and mysterious aura that was beyond the ordinary. What left the deepest impression on Zhang Zixing was her bright eyes, which shone with unparalleled clarity, sparkling with a crystalline light that seemed to see right through one's heart.

  "My sister has already won, and with a generous heart, why must you persist in pressing her?" The masked woman said softly, her voice gentle and melodious, with a special rhythm to it.

  The girl in the green dress coldly snorted at Zhang Zixing: "Today, I'll spare your lives for my sister's sake and let you three dog heads stay on your necks. If you still don't repent, I'll take your dog lives!"

  "This young lady seems to have misunderstood, calmly speaking, we were just eager to borrow books and temporarily lost our composure, it's not a capital offense," Zhang Zixing paused for a moment, shook his head and sighed: "But the young lady has already broken my housekeeper's wrist, which is enough to punish him. However, she also used hidden weapons to heavily injure my guard, actually her methods are too extreme. The young lady's abilities are impressive, but if she continues to show off her strength, won't it become bullying?"

  "You..." The girl in the green shirt couldn't think of a retort for the moment, at which point the masked woman spoke up: "I wonder what book this gentleman is 'seeking'?"

  Zhang Zixing detected the condescending tone in the masked woman's voice, but he didn't mind. He said, "I've always been fond of numerology and divination. The other day, a friend gave me a fragment of 'Tian Suan', and I was overjoyed. So I hurried to buy the complete book, but unfortunately, several shops had already sold out. It wasn't until this shop that I finally found it. Just now, my servant was too impatient and didn't handle things properly - it's because I haven't taught him well enough. Please forgive me, miss."

  The masked woman hadn't spoken yet, when the green-shirted girl interrupted: "Sister, don't believe his nonsense! What does he know about Taoist calculations?"

  At this time, Fei Zhong finally struggled to get up and crawled in from outside, his fat face twisted in pain, his mouth constantly whispering in pain. Jiang Wenhuan also stood up, with a terrifying purple bruise on the left temple, high and swollen like a bun, with fresh blood oozing out of the corner of his mouth, but he was quite tough and didn't even hum, just glaring at the green-shirted girl. Zhang Zixing stopped Fei Zhong from going outside to seek help with his eyes, thought for a moment, and said to the green-shirted woman: "Listening to Miss's words, you must be a master of tactics? I have a question, which was tested on the young servants in our mansion the other day. Please answer - there are ten trees in front of my door, lined up in a row, with two zhang between each tree. How far is it from the first tree to the last tree?"

  "What's so difficult about it? No wonder it's for testing little kids!" The girl in the green shirt sneered and said without hesitation: "Two zhang per tree, ten trees would naturally be twenty zhang. This is a child's problem, how dare you bring it out to show off?"