"All right. You may rise."
After quite some time, Yang Jingzhi finally spoke, a trace of satisfaction showing in his eyes.
"I have heard that you have already passed the county-level preliminary examination. However, that alone is still not enough to become my student."
Moreover, compared to most examinees, Lu Youqing was already at a disadvantage in terms of age. Students who began studying from childhood usually entered the examinations in their early teens.
"I respectfully request that Master test me."
Yang Jingzhi casually posed several questions.
As he watched Lu Youqing answer, her expression steady and composed, her wording fluent and precise, his questions came faster and more pressing, one after another.
Thin strands of incense smoke curled upward from the table.
Lu Youqing remained in a state of intense concentration, barely able to do more than follow his questions and respond in turn. A fine sheen of sweat appeared on her back.
After a long while, Yang Jingzhi gave her a deep look.
A few days earlier, a letter had arrived from the capital, asking him to instruct this person when time permitted. Although he had taught the Eldest Princess for only two years, she had nonetheless been his student—and his most outstanding one.
He had agreed, but curiosity had lingered. What kind of person would prompt Her Highness to personally request his involvement? Seeing her today, while she did not possess the astonishing brilliance the Eldest Princess had shown in her youth, she was indeed a rare talent.
At the thought of this, a hint of regret surfaced in his gaze.
Her aptitude was excellent—but as a woman, even if she were to enter officialdom one day, her prospects would be fraught with difficulty.
"Take this anthology back and study it thoroughly. From now on, come here daily at the hour of Mao (5 AM -7 AM)."
Seeing Lu Youqing emerge holding a book, Qin Ke hurried forward and asked, "How did it go? Was everything all right?"
"The master told me to come here to study starting tomorrow," Lu Youqing said, smiling with visible relief.
Master Yang rarely left the academy and seldom took students. News that he had accepted one spread quickly among the academy's scholars, causing widespread astonishment. Countless people had sought to become his disciple, yet no matter how many submitted visiting cards requesting an audience, he had refused to see them all.
And now he had suddenly accepted an unknown student—rumored to be a woman from the countryside.
It left many utterly stunned.
The academy's students felt a mixture of curiosity, jealousy, and dissatisfaction toward her.
The next day, Lu Youqing changed into a scholar's blue robe and arrived at the academy. As she walked along the path, other students stared openly at her.
Having endured disfigurement in the past, she was already accustomed to such scrutiny. Remaining calm and composed, she hugged her books and walked straight ahead along the bluestone path without so much as a sideways glance.
The students saw that she was tall and graceful, her long hair flowing like silk, her features refined and her demeanor cool and aloof.
Such a graceful figure naturally stirred the hearts of some hot-blooded young scholars.
But over time, they discovered that the new student was not only knowledgeable—she was also relentlessly hardworking.
She arrived early every day and did not leave until late at night.
That ignited a competitive fire among the others. Losing to fellow students was one thing—but losing to a newly arrived woman was simply intolerable.
Qin Ke, of course, knew nothing of the undercurrents at Bailu Academy. Lu Youqing left early and returned late each day, so busy that she scarcely had time to speak with him.
He felt frustrated—but more than that, he felt heartache.
This was her battle alone. She was not only striving for herself but also bearing the weight of the Eldest Princess's favor. She had no choice but to push herself to do better.
The only thing Qin Ke could do was take extra care of her in daily life. Every evening, when he went to the academy gate to pick her up, Lu Youqing would climb into the carriage too exhausted to speak, leaning against him with her eyes closed to rest.
At other times, Qin Ke wandered around Jinzhou City. As he walked, new ideas suddenly sprang into his mind, prompting him to return to Lixiang Courtyard and start drafting plans.
Summoning the same intensity he once brought to project work in his previous life, he worked relentlessly for two days to produce a solid proposal. The main difficulty lay in his unfamiliarity with writing using a brush—every mistake meant rewriting from scratch, nothing like the ease of editing on a computer.
Qin Ke brought his work from the past few days and asked Gu Zhong to report it.
This time, Gu Lanxi happened to be free. When Qin Ke arrived, she was leaning against the railing feeding fish. Seeing him, she clapped her hands lightly and returned to the pavilion.
Nearby maids immediately brought over a pot of hot tea.
"Well? What brings you to see me today?" Gu Lanxi lifted a thin porcelain teacup and gently inhaled its aroma.
Qin Ke pushed the proposal toward her. "I've had an idea recently and wanted the Family Head to see whether it's feasible."
Gu Lanxi opened it, first casting Qin Ke a look of mild disdain before lowering her gaze to read carefully.
Qin Ke awkwardly rubbed his nose. He knew his handwriting wasn't great, though at least it was better than when he had first started.
The more Gu Lanxi read, the more surprised she became. She had thought him skilled only in farming and agriculture—never expecting his commercial instincts to be so sharp as well.
Seeing that she had not spoken for a moment, Qin Ke explained, "The weather is getting colder. In summer, people can bathe and change clothes daily, but in winter the cold is bone-deep, and firewood and charcoal are expensive. Ordinary households can't bear to burn fuel just to heat water for bathing. Wouldn't it be convenient to have a place that offers bathing services?"
Lately, whenever he walked the streets, he often caught the smell of sweat on passersby. Some people's hair was greasy and unwashed, clearly having gone days without cleaning.
Even his own household, though no longer short on money, couldn't manage daily bathing—let alone ordinary families.
"You've already said that charcoal is expensive. Doesn't that mean the costs would be extremely high? Ordinary people still wouldn't be willing to spend the money," Gu Lanxi said.
Qin Ke pointed to the latter pages of the proposal. "That's why my idea is to divide the space into a premium section and a general section. The general section would serve ordinary people and use communal bathing pools. The premium section would have private pools, with different pricing for different areas."
Lu Youqing also understood that money was easiest to make from premium customers—aristocratic families and wealthy merchants were always willing to spend.
The eighty–twenty rule applied everywhere. Eighty percent of wealth lay in the hands of a small few, while the remainder was shared among the vast majority.
Lu Youqing flipped to the page describing the premium area and tapped it lightly. "What does this mean?"
She knew of board games and dice, but things like mahjong and billiards were entirely unfamiliar.
"They're leisure activities. If bathing were all there was, they could do that at home. To attract them, there has to be something distinctive."
Qin Ke smiled. Once mahjong was introduced, it would inevitably captivate people—as it had in later generations, and even more so in an era where winter entertainment was virtually nonexistent.
"Have you designed the blueprints yet?" Gu Lanxi asked. One glance at the proposal told her this was no small undertaking.
Hearing that, Qin Ke knew she was interested. He immediately pulled out the bathhouse design blueprints from his robe and began explaining them to her in detail.
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Currently at chapter 228 for advance chapters
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