TATSD Chapter 58

“What brings you here?” Sun Hong asked, gesturing for Liu Qing to sit.

“No need, I’ll just stand,” Liu Qing replied with an awkward smile.

“You’ve been to the county office again, haven’t you?” Sun Hong remarked. When his sister Sun E told him that Liu Qing was here again, he was puzzled as to why Liu Qing had come to Daxi Town to find him. But seeing the way Liu Qing walked, stiff and unwilling to sit, it was obvious he had been to the county office and taken a beating.

The people under Sun Hong’s command were generally cautious and rarely made mistakes. Most of them were neutral in temperament, and Sun Hong hated having to clean up others’ messes. He might tolerate one or two slip-ups, but there was a limit. After three strikes, Sun Hong would give up on them entirely.

Before, Ji Wei was there to cover for Liu Qing, but now that Ji Wei had left the Qinglong Gang, Liu Qing’s impulsiveness and recklessness were all the more apparent.

“Yes,” Liu Qing responded in a low voice.

“And what was it this time?” Sun Hong frowned, eyeing Liu Qing with disdain. “Can’t you keep out of trouble? You treat the county office like it’s your backyard, constantly getting yourself beaten up?”

If it hadn’t been for Sun Hong last time, Liu Qing and his group would still be rotting in jail with no hope of getting out. Sun Hong had already warned Liu Qing to behave and stop causing trouble. He made it clear that if it happened again, he wouldn’t intervene.

That’s why, when Lin Qing suggested a plan to deal with Ji Wei without resorting to violence, Liu Qing eagerly supported it. But now, it seemed things had backfired completely.

“Brother Sun, it wasn’t my fault this time. Ji Wei set me up and now I owe him twenty taels of silver. I couldn’t pay, so Chief Zhu had me dragged back to the county office.”

At first, Liu Qing had worked himself up to complain to Sun Hong, but the sight of Sun Hong’s cold, indifferent expression drained all his courage. His voice grew quieter and quieter, clearly feeling guilty.

“If you hadn’t been looking for trouble, why would Ji Wei bother setting a trap for you?” Sun Hong wasn’t physically present in Changliu Town, but he had plenty of informants. He didn’t need to be there in person to know what was going on. Though Sun Hong didn’t particularly like Ji Wei, he didn’t despise him either. One thing he admired about Ji Wei was his loyalty and sense of honor.

“But—” Liu Qing started to protest, feeling unjustly treated. Yet the moment he saw the coldness in Sun Hong’s eyes, he knew Sun Hong wasn’t interested in the details. Liu Qing quickly shifted his tone, pleading humbly instead.

“Brother Sun, I’m short on money. Could you lend me some silver to get through this? I swear I’ll pay you back!”

Liu Qing, desperate to convince Sun Hong, even raised his hand and swore an oath.

“How much do you need?”

“Thir—twenty taels!” Liu Qing had initially intended to ask for thirty taels, but seeing the look on Sun Hong’s face, he panicked and lowered the amount.

“Do you remember what I told you last time?” Sun Hong’s voice was stern, his tone cold and uncompromising, a complete shift from earlier. “I said last time would be the last time I helped you.”

“But Brother Sun—”

Sun Hong raised a hand, cutting Liu Qing off.

“If you had taken my words to heart, you’d have spent this time behaving yourself instead of provoking Ji Wei. He may have left the gang, but at least he’s earning an honest living. In that, you’re far beneath him.”

Liu Qing’s face turned pale at the harsh words, and he stumbled back a couple of steps, utterly speechless. That remark meant only one thing: Sun Hong had given up on him.

He had no more protection!

Liu Qing had always been arrogant, relying on Sun Hong’s favor and acting like his closest confidant. He had made countless enemies along the way. If word got out that Sun Hong no longer supported him, who knows how many people would seize the opportunity to settle old scores.

Just the thought of it made Liu Qing’s scalp tingle with fear.

“Brother Sun, please! I know I was wrong. From now on, I swear I’ll keep my head down and stay out of trouble!” Liu Qing dropped to his knees with a thud, the motion aggravating his fresh wounds from the beating, though he quickly masked his pain.

“Please, Brother Sun, give me one more chance!”

Sun Hong calmly rolled up his sleeves, not even sparing Liu Qing a glance. “Have you said enough?”

Liu Qing immediately fell silent.

“I’ve given you plenty of chances. If it weren’t for Ji Wei leaving the gang, I wouldn’t have helped you last time.”

“I—”

“You know as well as I do that Daxi Town and Changliu Town are close. I didn’t want to see the territory fall into Li Yiming’s hands, which is why I tolerated your behavior for so long. That was my mistake,” Sun Hong sighed. As he turned to leave, he delivered one final blow, cutting off any hope Liu Qing might have had.

“I’m not lending you any silver. You’d best take care of yourself. Second Sister, see him out.”

Without another word, Sun Hong left, not even bothering to look back. His departure was clean and final.

Standing at the door for a while, Sun E walked in and coldly said to Liu Qing, “Hong Di doesn’t want to see you. Just go.”

Liu Qing slumped to the ground, unable to move even an inch despite the pain in his lower back. After a long time, he managed a bitter smile and crawled up using both hands and feet.

“Heaven wants to destroy me! If I, Liu Qing, can survive this disaster, I swear you won’t have a good death!” Liu Qing clenched his fists, glaring with bloodshot eyes, clearly determined to fight to the end.

He glanced at Sun E, whose expression was vicious, yet she turned her head away without a trace of surprise, as if she couldn’t see him, and calmly led the way ahead.

The dark brown wooden door closed in front of Liu Qing.

He stood silently for a long time, staring at that door.

This door, which he had entered several times a month in the past, would now remain forever closed to him.

His status in Changliu Town had evaporated with Sun Hong’s words today.

All of this was because of Ji Wei. If it weren’t for him, he wouldn’t have fallen into such a state.

He should have listened to Li Er Ba’s advice back then.

Liu Qing took a deep breath, suppressing the pain from his injuries, and awkwardly left the Sun family. He couldn’t let himself fall into despair; even if Sun Hong refused to lend him money, there had to be a way to raise the funds.

At the county academy.

“I got it, I got it! I stood in line at the bookstore for a quarter of an hour, and I finally managed to grab a copy!” Lin Tai waved a blue-covered booklet in his hand, smaller than a regular book, with three neat characters written on the cover.

Mingjingtai.

At first glance, this book seemed unremarkable, but within six months, it had become a sensation from the capital to the entire country, with booksellers in various provinces and cities scrambling to get their hands on the manuscript.

If it weren’t for Nie Junqi from the printing shop having connections in the government, they might not have even been able to get the manuscript, let alone print it.

News in the county academy spread quickly, and Lin Tai had been eagerly awaiting it, growing impatient. After slipping home for the night yesterday, he sent a servant early in the morning to queue up, managing to bring back a copy.

He was in such a hurry that he didn’t even have time to flip through it before rushing to the academy to attend the headmaster’s lecture. After listening to a class, he proudly held up the book, showing it off to everyone around him.

“Wow, it is Mingjingtai! You got a copy!”

“Lin Tai, you’re not being fair. You didn’t even tell us! What if it sold out by this afternoon? I’m so mad!”

“I got one too! I heard the news a few days ago and didn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d snatch it from me.”

“Xu Yao, you’re as bad as Lin Tai!”

“Brother Mingguang, you’re mistaken. How can you compare us scholars to beasts?”

Xu Yao proudly held the Mingjingtai, shaking his head and grinning. Those around him were itching to snatch it away.

“Everyone, stop messing around! Since Lin Tai and Xu Yao both got copies, let’s quickly see what’s inside.”

Although they had never seen Mingjingtai in person, they had all heard of it.

This book is a supernatural romance novel, telling the story of a female ghost who, to repay a favor, saves a scholar who was ambushed by bandits on his way to the capital for the imperial exam. They become husband and wife, with the female ghost helping the scholar solve various mysterious cases in the capital.

The scholar’s official position rises steadily, and someone gifts him a precious mirror, claiming it can reflect all the ghosts in the world.

The scholar, skeptical, only sees the mirror as beautiful and gives it to the female ghost as a vanity mirror. Unbeknownst to him, the mirror reveals her true form, shocking the scholar to death.

To save him, the female ghost willingly descends into hell, overcoming eighteen trials to see Yan Wang, who finally allows her to return the scholar’s soul.

When the scholar wakes up, he finds the Mingjing in his arms, thinking it was just a long, beautiful dream.

In his dreams, he ascends to greatness, surrounded by beauty.

Whether it’s the scholar or the young ladies, everyone is captivated by the tragic love story in this book, finding joy in reading Mingjingtai.

The sales were unprecedentedly explosive.

Even in a small town far from the capital, scholars had heard of it, and its popularity was evident.

Lin Tai stared wide-eyed, his fingers trembling slightly as he opened the first page.

“What’s this? What does it have to do with Mingjingtai?”

“Mooncakes? Has anyone heard of these?”

“It seems to be a kind of food; look, there’s a name at the bottom!”

“It’s this Ji Wei again!”

Someone pointed out Ji Wei’s name, and Lin Tai focused his gaze—indeed, it was true.

“A small cake like chewing the moon, filled with flaky pastry and syrup. Savoring its flavor, tears of longing stain the handkerchief.” Xu Yao and the others quickly turned to the title page, seeing the poem written in elegant script in the lower left corner, and couldn’t help but praise it.

“This poem is simple yet evocative, comparing the mooncake to a full moon and recalling the hometown, making tears flow—what a great line!”

“Look, there are flowers above; I’ve never seen such exquisite pastries. I wonder how they taste?”

Lin Tai didn’t respond but turned to the next page.

The second page still featured mooncakes, but this time with small images showing the front, side, and back, each with different patterns and labeled with various flavors, instantly stirring Lin Tai’s appetite.

He slammed the table and shouted, “I have to go back today! Tell my father to buy some from Ji Wei! Buy four or fifty pieces!”

Many students who had received the Mingjingtai storybook quickly began to flip through their copies upon hearing the commotion.

Some were curious about the contents of the storybook, urging him to flip further, while many who didn’t have the book became intensely interested in the “Mid-Autumn Mooncake.”

Did it refer to the full moon? Symbolize reunion? Imply good fortune? An essential item for the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Something completely unfamiliar suddenly appeared before the students in such a unique and elegant way, inevitably capturing their attention and prompting further exploration.

With the widespread release of the storybook Mingjingtai, mooncakes rapidly gained popularity among the students.

Many students who had bought the storybook would start conversations with, “Have you heard of mooncakes?” to determine if the other person had read Mingjingtai.

If they had, they would discuss the plot of Mingjingtai, criticizing the scholar or praising the female ghost.

If they hadn’t, they would mock each other for not having even read Mingjingtai.

In the shortest time, within a specific circle, mooncakes had become a sensation.