Chapter 157: The Future So Bright I Can't Sleep

Since Li Su and the other two arrived at Tianzhai, they had been making joint progress with the students of the academy.

This was a scene the masters were very glad to see.

This time, Tan Zishan still placed fourth on the rankings. Although his position had not improved, his scholarship had indeed grown.

Tan Zishan stepped forward to greet Li Su, "Brother Li, I've finally figured out who your writing style resembles!"

When Tan Zishan first read Li Su's essays, he had felt a sense of deja vu.

The other students of Tianzhai were also caught by Tan Zishan's remark. "I also think Brother Li's writing style looks particularly familiar!"

"I know! Brother Li's writing style is just like Grand Secretary Xi's!"

Those students who had not thought of this initially paused to reflect. Having all read Li Su's essays, they compared them and realized the writing truly carried that distinct feel.

Li Su: "..." Of course it was similar; his policy essays had been personally crafted by his master from scratch.

In the early stages, his master had gone over the details with him word by word.

Yun Qin and Song Sheng thought to themselves: You fellows have finally figured it out.

"Brother Li, have you been imitating Grand Secretary Xi's essays from the very beginning?"

Li Su replied, "More or less." Ever since he first came into contact with policy essays, he had studied his master's methods.

Wasn't it completely normal for a disciple's writings to bear the shadow of his master?

"Grand Secretary Xi's essays are terribly hard to imitate. I tried once, completely failed to paint a tiger and ended up with a dog instead, so I gave up."

"Normal, that's Grand Secretary Xi after all."

Among all scholars, Grand Secretary Xi was the one they admired most in their hearts.

If they could catch a glimpse of Grand Secretary Xi in this lifetime, it would be the greatest blessing imaginable.

Alas, the Grand Secretary's whereabouts were unpredictable. Even if they were to enter officialdom one day, they might never get to see him.

The students of Tianzhai never imagined that the Grand Secretary, rumored to be so elusive, was right there inside the academy, lecturing Li Su and the other two every single day.

Li Su's essay-writing style carried echoes of Xi Sheng's, yet it was not entirely identical; Li Su always managed to introduce unique angles and content.

Even Xi Sheng believed that Li Su's essays possessed immense plasticity, occasionally bringing a breath of fresh air purely through his perspectives.

He possessed both a grand macroscopic vision and meticulous attention to detail.

Tan Zishan joked at this moment, "If I didn't know that Grand Secretary Xi only has three disciples, I would almost suspect that Brother Li was his disciple."

Yun Qin and Song Sheng thought to themselves: No need to suspect, he really is.

The students of Tianzhai treated this merely as a joke and smoothly shifted the topic to discuss the achievements of Grand Secretary Xi's disciples.

Boiling it down, anyone who became a disciple of Grand Secretary Xi would not have too low an achievement afterwards.

Moreover, whoever possessed such a master and several senior martial brothers would have a future so bright it would keep them awake at night, not to mention an official career whose smoothness was beyond imagination.

Fortunately, no such person existed, otherwise anyone who saw them would utter a word of jealousy.

Yun Qin and Song Sheng, who knew the truth, fell silent as they listened to these remarks.

Yun Qin and Song Sheng: "..." But such a person truly exists.

Not only that, but Dean Wei was also his foster father.

With just a word from Dean Wei, the alumni who had graduated from the academy would certainly be willing to lend a helping hand with anything manageable.

With so many students in Mingyue Academy, though perhaps not many held high positions, those with official ranks were certainly numerous.

Though they operated behind the scenes, their influence could not be underestimated.

Yun Qin and Song Sheng turned their gazes toward Li Su, who was calmly sitting and reading.

Li Su blinked innocently—his luck was simply this good, what could he do?

They did not chat for long before quickly diving back into their studies.

...

Meanwhile, the He family had been thrown into a tumult. The sudden appearance of Li Wine had caught them off guard before they could put up any defenses, and the brew was already a massive sensation.

Master He and several young masters of the He family sat together around a table. Placed upon it was a single jar of wine—not their own family's product, but Li Wine.

Even for just this single jar, they had to pay an inflated price to purchase it from a commoner.

As for the bottled version, not even a shadow of it was to be seen.

The Li family currently did not sell bottled wine outright, accepting reservations only. Even now, those who went to place orders were limited to a maximum of five bottles per person.

Despite this restriction, the queues for reservations stretched endlessly.

Whether for personal consumption or resale to others, for those who could afford it, securing a bottle was pure profit.

Staring at the jar of wine on the table, Master He broke the silence, "What are your thoughts on this?"

He Jiao jumped in eagerly, "The usual approach—apply pressure, offer a bit of silver, and force them to hand over their brewing recipe."

The wine trade in Tanzhou was virtually monopolized by the He family. Whenever competing wines emerged, their standard tactic was to buy the recipe with some silver, or apply pressure if the owners refused to sell.

Naturally, for the He family to grow this large, they had backing of their own.

The wife of the Prefect of Tanzhou was Master He's own younger sister.

He Jing then spoke up, "I've made a brief inquiry. This Li family is rather different from those previous wine merchants."

"Let's hear it." Master He looked toward He Jing.

He Jiao shot He Jing a glare.

"The Li family has a scholar—the very same Lesser Three-Yuan scholar from Tanzhou whom our brother-in-law once praised."

"He has received imperial rewards. The previous magistrate of Ningxin County lost his official cap precisely because he tried to usurp this person's achievements."

"And the current magistrate of Ningxin County happens to be on good terms with Li Su."

"Before Li Wine became a sensation, a batch of it was shipped out quietly. As for the person behind it, I haven't been able to trace them—very mysterious."

As He Jing slowly laid out the facts, He Jiao finally realized that this Li Wine originated from Ningxin County.

He had known nothing about it, yet He Jing had already investigated the matter thoroughly.

The fact that He Jing hadn't told him in advance meant it must have been intentional.

He Jiao cursed He Jing a hundred times over in his heart.

Hearing this intelligence, Master He furrowed his brows. "In that case, we cannot simply move against this Li family casually."

"Li Wine also comes in a bottled variety. Those glass bottles are crystal-clear and extremely costly—something I have never laid eyes on before."

"To be able to procure such exquisite bottles and yet use them to hold wine—the Li family cannot be underestimated."

Through He Jing's meticulous analysis, even if they were to take action against the Li family, they could never resort to their old, crude methods.

In its current state, Li Wine was a veritable goose that laid golden eggs; the Li family would never sell the formula.

If they were to employ underhanded tactics to halt the Li family's sales, the patrons waiting to acquire wine from them would likely tear the He family apart.

Especially given the clientele for the bottled Li Wine—there must be no shortage of people with powerful backers among them.

Yet He Jiao remained convinced that throwing enough silver at those shortsighted peasants would surely compel them to sell the recipe.

He Jiao declared with absolute certainty, "Father, since this is a matter concerning Ningxin County, leave it to me to resolve. I have been to Ningxin County before and am quite familiar with the place."

The members of the He family fell into a collective silence. If anyone else had gone to Ningxin County, this whole affair wouldn't have blown up into such a massive hit, catching the He family completely off guard before they even learned of the news.

Yet Master He could not bear to scold He Jiao. "Jiao'er, stay out of this matter; I will handle it."

Dissatisfaction churned in He Jiao's heart. Since his father wouldn't let him handle it, he would simply go in secret and prove his competence to his father.