I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 385 Fishing
Inside the Jin family ancestral home, Old Master Jin was anxiously waiting. "How could a mere dean election drag on until so late?" Old Master Jin stroked his glass teacup. "Could something have gone wrong?"

Thinking about this, Old Master Jin became uneasy. He summoned the steward and ordered, "Send someone to Hongshan Academy to find out what's going on."

The steward accepted the order and had just stepped out of the courtyard gate when he saw the Second Master and the Eldest Young Master walking towards the main courtyard.

The steward was overjoyed and turned back into the house to report, "Master, the Second Master and the Eldest Young Master have returned!"

The gloom between Grandpa Jin's brows deepened when he saw Jin Shan and Jin Ge's somber expressions. He lowered his voice and asked, "Did something go wrong with the election for dean?"

Jinshan apologized, saying, "My son is incompetent and failed to become the headmaster of Hongshan Academy."

"Why?" Old Master Jin couldn't think of anyone among the four great families who, besides the second son, could be qualified for the position of dean.

Jin Ge, suppressing her resentment, spoke first, "Grandfather, in order to prevent Second Uncle from being elected Dean, the Yang family actually invited that old pedantic scholar Huang Daozhou from Hanshan Temple!"

"In order not to offend the Jin and Yang families, the people of Hongshan Academy always voted in a tie!"

It's one thing for Huang Daozhou, that old pedantic scholar, to tie with his second uncle, but what is Jiang Ya anyway? If he hadn't served as the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy for a few years, would a son-in-law like him even be worthy of being called a teacher?
Old Master Jin said impatiently, "Get to the point!"

Jin Ge paused.

Jinshan said, "Tang Zhao has invited Mr. Suicheng."

Grandpa Jin was startled, "Master Suicheng, the Book of Changes?"

"Yes!"

Mr. Suicheng, born into a humble family but with exceptional talent, was a renowned child prodigy in Chongqing in his youth. At the age of twenty, he became the first person in Chongqing to achieve the highest honors in the imperial examinations since the founding of the nation.

After Zhou Yi entered officialdom, he was deeply favored by Emperor Gaozu. In just fifteen years, he was promoted from compiler of the Hanlin Academy to Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, a speed that was unprecedented.

After Emperor Pingyuan ascended the throne, Zhou Yi retired to his hometown. Occasionally, he would go to the Imperial Academy to teach as a teacher. Every time he taught, the classroom was packed, and some students even fought over seats.

In the face of the Book of Changes, even the titles of Master Dao Zhou and Master Songshan are merely empty names.

Grandpa Jin took a deep breath, "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits."

Jinshan had no interest in who was fighting or who was benefiting; he only wanted to return to his courtyard, write down all the questions he had pondered over the years, and then go to Hongshan Academy to ask Mr. Suicheng for answers.

Seeing his second son lost in thought, Old Master Jin was furious. This son was the smartest of all the Jin family's children, but he was stubborn and only had books and academic pursuits on his mind. If he hadn't used both soft and hard tactics to force him to run for dean, he wouldn't have even stepped out of the courtyard!
Old Master Jin glanced at his eldest grandson, who was filled with anger. If he could, he would really like to break his eldest grandson and son apart and merge them together before reshaping them into human form. This would save him from having to work so hard for the family at his age, without even having a useful helper!
The more Old Master Jin thought about it, the angrier he became, so he simply waved his hand and chased the two of them out.

Jinshan was overjoyed and rushed into his own courtyard, while Jin Ge was furious and vented his anger by beating and scolding the servants in the courtyard.

The servant inwardly groaned, but to save his own life, he quickly suggested, "If the young master is feeling down, why not go to Qingyan Pavilion to clear his mind?"

Jin Ge kicked him, "You dog of a servant, are you afraid that others won't know about the relationship between Qing Yanfang and the Jin family!"

The servant was kicked and rolled several times on the ground before crawling back to Jin Ge's feet. "So many people come and go from Qingyan Pavilion every day, could it be that everyone is connected to Qingyan Pavilion?"

That's true. Jin Ge took a sip of tea. People who shouldn't know who the master behind Qingyanfang is can't find out no matter how they investigate. Similarly, people who should know who the master behind Qingyanfang is should know.

If that's the case, what's the point of him avoiding suspicion?

Jin Ge recalled the pipa music she had heard on the ship that day, and her heart was filled with longing.

Not to mention Ming Jing, who loved the pipa so much, even he, who didn't like the sound of the pipa, thought the sound of the pipa was like celestial music.

These past few days he'd found many pipa players to play, but compared to Yu Nu, they were all worlds apart. Since he'd already achieved his goal of scheming against the Yang family, and Qingyanfang had served its purpose as a pawn, what else did he have to worry about?

"Let's go to Qingyan Pavilion!"

Inside the cabin of the Qingyanfang painted boat, Yu Nu was sitting by the window tuning her pipa.

"Oh, my good daughter!" Mei Niang entered with a smile. "Hurry up and get ready, we have important guests!"

Yu Nu refused, "Mother, my fingers haven't fully recovered yet, I can't play the pipa."

“If it were anyone else, your mother wouldn’t force you, but this time it’s the eldest young master of the Jin family!” Mei Niang grabbed Yu Nu’s hand, which had recovered about 70-80% of its original size. “He specifically asked to hear you play the pipa. How can you refuse such a wonderful opportunity?”

Yu Nu lowered her head and remained silent.

"Good daughter, just play one song," Mei Niang coaxed gently. "You've been recuperating in the cabin all this time, unaware that ever since you played 'The Song of the Pipa,' your fame has spread throughout the Wusong River. These days, people have been coming to see you in droves, but I've turned them all down for you. The only one I really can't afford to offend is this young master Jin!"

Seeing that Yu Nu still refused to speak, Mei Niang gritted her teeth and whispered, "The family behind our Qingyan Pavilion is the Jin family."

Yu Nu raised her head, her face showing just the right amount of surprise.

"If you can win Young Master Jin's favor, wouldn't it be easy for you to leave the pleasure boat? At that time, you could stay by Young Master Jin's side, even as a mistress, which would be better than singing on the pleasure boat."

"At that time, I'll need your help a lot!"

A blush crept onto Yu Nu's cheeks. "What kind of status does Young Master Jin have? How could he possibly be interested in me?"

Seeing Yu Nu's insincere expression, Mei Niang sneered inwardly but didn't show it on her face. She coaxed Yu Nu gently for a long time until Yu Nu finally relented and agreed.

Mei Niang was overjoyed and quickly ordered someone to come in and help Yu Nu with her makeup and dressing.

Inside the luxurious cabin at the top deck of the pleasure boat, Jin Ge casually watched the dancers perform. "Why haven't they arrived yet?"

Just as the servant was about to go down and urge them on, the cabin door was pushed open, and Yu Nu, dressed in full regalia and holding a pipa, appeared before Jin Ge.

Jin Ge's eyes lit up. He waved the dancer away and comfortably lay down on the maid's lap. "Sing."

"Yes," Yu Nu sat on the stool, fiddled with the strings a couple of times, and began to sing.

Jin Ge listened to the pipa while being fed wine by the maid, his eyes squinting with enjoyment.

When the music ended, Yu Nu rose to take her leave.

"and many more!"

Yu Nu stopped in her tracks.

"Come and have a drink with me."

Yu Nu declined, saying, "I am not a good drinker."

Jin Ge raised her eyelids. "Can't even drink one cup?"

Yu Nu pursed her lips, put down her pipa, walked to Jin Ge, picked up the wine cup on the table, and drank it down.

Looking at that beautiful swan neck, Jin Ge swallowed and was about to reach out to pull her when suddenly the boat swayed, and Yu Nu lost her balance and fell into Jin Ge's arms.