"What?"
"My wife's attendant, Xià Lán, is Master Lán?"
Chén Nán suddenly stood up.
He felt a prickling sensation on his scalp, a chill running down his spine.
He had never in his wildest dreams imagined that.
The writer he admired so much was actually a woman.
It wasn't that he looked down on women.
On the contrary, he deeply admired the female writers and poets in China's historical and cultural civilization.
But...
Master Lán of the Underworld wrote rather… salacious books!
It was… quite unexpected.
"Wait a minute!"
"Something's not right!"
Chén Nán suddenly said, "If I remember correctly, among the four maids, Méi, Lán, Zhú, and Jú, only Chūnméi can write. The other three cannot write."
"Xià Lán is illiterate, so how could she have written so many works?"
Uncle Tián smiled and said, "Don't you also claim outside that Fourth Uncle and Fifth Essence are your friends?"
Boom!
This simple sentence.
Almost made Chén Nán exclaim "Holy shit."
It was evident.
Xià Lán was merely a proxy.
The real Master Lán was someone else entirely.
Chūnméi?
No, no, no!
That girl was the head of the four maids attending Lěng Qīngmèi. She was usually very busy and had no time to write books.
By elimination.
This meant.
The real Master Lán must be Lěng Qīngmèi.
At this moment.
The two mysteries that had been troubling Chén Nán suddenly became clear.
One.
Song Zǐwēi had mentioned before that Lěng Qīngmèi had once flown into a rage and cursed him for being worthless.
That incident was precisely because he had publicly criticized Master Lán.
Therefore.
Lěng Qīngmèi cursing him was understandable.
And the other was something that had been bothering him all along.
Why did Lěng Qīngmèi tolerate the host buying Master Lán's works?
Wasn't that a pure waste of money?
Now he understood!
Even if he wasted the monthly allowance given by the Lěng family, it would eventually return to the Lěng family in a different form.
Not only that, but it also boosted the sales of Master Lán's books.
"This matter is getting more and more interesting."
Thinking that his wife was Master Lán.
Chén Nán suddenly felt a stir.
He couldn't wait to "punish" Lěng Qīngmèi on the spot.
To experience her abilities.
Although he didn't know how Lěng Qīngmèi could write so many techniques.
So much knowledge that even men didn't understand.
But one thing was undeniable.
If they were to get intimate, it would definitely be an unprecedented pleasure.
After all.
Lěng Qīngmèi truly understood men!
It was just that.
Lěng Qīngmèi knew about his affair with Níng Yīnqiū, which was beyond his expectation.
What he didn't expect even more was.
That Lěng Qīngmèi would take revenge after finding out.
He had to guard against this.
He had to divert Lěng Qīngmèi's attention from Níng Yīnqiū.
Otherwise, it would definitely not be a good thing for Níng Yīnqiū.
"During this period, I can only minimize meeting Níng Yīnqiū as much as possible, to let Lěng Qīngmèi relax her guard first."
Chén Nán knew.
If he continued to have secret meetings with Níng Yīnqiū.
Lěng Qīngmèi would definitely fall out with him.
Even if she didn't dare to confront him openly, she would find trouble with Níng Yīnqiū in secret.
He cared for both.
He didn't want to see his wife harm his mistress.
It was just that.
He didn't know.
Lěng Qīngmèi wrote "The Unspoken Stories Between a Popular Bestselling Author and a Printing House Owner's Wife" precisely to expose Chén Nán and Níng Yīnqiū's affair, intending to use the Wū family to eliminate Níng Yīnqiū.
Of course.
Lěng Qīngmèi couldn't have imagined that the Wū family wouldn't believe those stories, and even if they did, they wouldn't dare to touch Níng Yīnqiū.
"Uncle Tián, I have something I'd like to ask you about." Chén Nán asked earnestly, "How can one become a Yincha?"
Uncle Tián smiled, "Young Master Chén wants to become a Yincha?"
Chén Nán did not deny it, "I've heard before that becoming a Yincha can bring glory to one's ancestors, so I'd like to know the conditions for becoming a Yincha."
"If one has a goal, even if the dream is not realized."
"But as long as one tries their best, it is without regret."
Uncle Tián hummed and then said, "In the past, becoming a Yincha was very simple. As long as one cultivated to the Gather Yin realm, they could join the prefectures and become local Yinchas."
"But now, to become a Yincha, one must not only possess the cultivation of the Gather Yin realm."
"But also have someone to recommend them."
"However."
"Even so, becoming a Yincha is still fraught with difficulties."
"I heard that to become a Yincha, one needs merit."
"Merit?" Chén Nán was full of curiosity.
Uncle Tián, "Yes, now to become a Yincha, cultivation, a recommender, and merit are all indispensable."
"Merit refers to actions that have benefited all living beings in the world."
"The more merit one accumulates, the higher their achievement will be."
"If you can become a Level Nine Yincha, you might even become one of the Ten Yama Kings."
Chén Nán added, "Becoming a Level Nine Yincha must be very difficult, right?"
Uncle Tián shrugged indifferently, "Lord Yuán Zūn has great merit by his side. He once saved billions of people, yet he is only a Level Five Yincha now. You can imagine how difficult it is to become a Level Nine Yincha."
He paused.
Uncle Tián continued, "Young Master Chén, the selection of Yinchas happens once every three years. There are still six months until the next selection."
"If you want to become a Yincha, you can first take up a position in the yamen. In other words, do you understand?"
Hearing this.
Chén Nán stood up and bowed deeply to Uncle Tián, "Thank you for your guidance today, Uncle Tián. I know what to do."
Although taking a position was considered an external role.
It allowed him to work for the yamen.
It would allow him to accumulate merit.
Although Chén Nán didn't know how merit was calculated or who kept track of it.
This was still a shortcut.
Uncle Tián quickly stood up and supported Chén Nán, "Young Master Chén, you are too polite. How can I, an old man, accept your bow? I am doing this only in the hope that after Young Master Chén achieves success, you will not forget this old man."
Uncle Tián had a premonition.
Chén Nán was no ordinary person.
He would achieve great success one day.
Because of this.
He decided to offer him a little guidance.
Afterwards.
Chén Nán completed the onboarding procedures.
And became a non-staff constable in the county yamen.
Then Uncle Tián took Chén Nán to find Wú Jiǔ, "Wú Jiǔ, from now on, Young Master Chén will be a constable under your command."
"I..."
Wú Jiǔ almost cursed.
The job of a constable seemed easy, but it often involved handling tricky cases.
Casualties were not uncommon.
If Chén Nán were an ordinary person, it would be fine.
But the problem was.
This guy was not an ordinary person.
Young Master Chén, a son-in-law of the Lěng family.
And he had also gained the appreciation of the new city lord.
If such a person were to encounter misfortune while handling cases with them.
Losing his official hat would be a small matter.
He might even lose his life.
"Alright, take Young Master Chén to collect his constable uniform and saber!" Uncle Tián said earnestly, "Remember, in the future, if you encounter danger, let Young Master Chén take the lead."
He wanted Chén Nán to lead the charge, so that he could gain a lot of merit.
Wú Jiǔ almost spat out blood upon hearing this.
It was hard enough to protect this esteemed gentleman, and you want me to watch him lead the charge?