A Poor Man's Son-in-Law: He Picks Up the Daughter of a Duke's Mansion at the Start

April 3rd, Hanlin Academy.

Lu Qingyan had been working there for half a month and was gradually getting used to the daily routine. Every day at Chenshi (7-9 AM), he would clock in, organize files, and occasionally help draft some minor documents. The days were uneventful, but fulfilling.

As soon as he arrived at the duty room that day, he saw Zhou Wenyuan sitting in Li Mubai's seat—Scholar Li had taken leave today, and Zhou Wenyuan was temporarily filling in for him.

"Editor Lu is here?" Zhou Wenyuan looked up at him, flipping through a thick booklet in his hand. "Perfect timing, I have something for you to do."

"Please give your instructions, Zhou Xiuzhuan," Lu Qingyan said, bowing.

Zhou Wenyuan pushed the booklet over: "This is a fragment of the 'Da Yong Hui Dian' from the previous dynasty, missing volumes 37 to 42. There should still be copies in the Hanlin Academy's archives. Go and sort them out, and fill in the missing parts. Give it to me within five days."

Lu Qingyan took the booklet and flipped through it. The previous dynasty's "Da Yong Hui Dian" consisted of 120 volumes, recording laws and regulations, and its content was vast. The writing on the tattered scroll was blurred, and there were many places damaged by worms. To complete these six volumes, one would have to search through thousands of old books in the warehouse, which would be almost impossible in five days.

The other two editors in the duty room looked up at Lu Qingyan.

"Your humble servant obeys." Lu Qingyan replied calmly, putting away the booklet.

Zhou Wenyuan's lips twitched slightly: "Do a good job. This is a task assigned by Scholar Li, don't delay."

That was a clever way of putting it, shifting the blame to Li Mubai, who had taken leave. Lu Qingyan didn't expose him, but simply nodded and returned to her desk.

Editor Wang leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Editor Lu, the old books in the storeroom are in a terrible mess. I went looking for one last year, and it took me three days to find it."

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Wang," Lu Qingyan said.

Editor Chen also handed over a booklet: "This is the warehouse catalog; it might be useful."

Lu Qingyan accepted it and thanked him.

The storeroom was located behind the Hanlin Academy, in a two-story building. Pushing open the heavy wooden door, a musty smell wafted out. The room was dimly lit, with bookshelves standing tall and scrolls piled high. Some were scattered on the floor, the papers yellowed and brittle.

Lu Qingyan lit the oil lamp and began searching.

The catalog was compiled decades ago, and the locations of many files have changed. He searched several places according to the catalog but couldn't find the volume he needed.

On the first day, he stayed in the warehouse until his shift ended at dusk, and only found a tattered volume, the thirty-seventh volume.

The next day, he went into the storeroom at Chenshi (7-9 AM) without eating lunch. By Shenshi (3-5 PM), he had found volumes thirty-eight and thirty-nine.

On the third day, he found the 40th volume, but the 41st and 42nd volumes were still nowhere to be found.

Zhou Wenyuan would come every day to ask about the progress, his tone concerned, but his eyes held a hint of watching a good show.

"Editor Lu, there are only two days left. If we don't finish, I won't be able to explain it to Scholar Li."

"I'll do my best."

On the fourth day, Lu Qingyan changed his approach. He stopped searching by catalog and began organizing the entire warehouse—categorizing the scattered files and rearranging the disorganized shelves. This work was more tiring, but in the long run, it would be much more efficient.

Seeing how hard he was working, Editor Wang and Editor Chen came to help him in the afternoon.

"Editor Lu, your method is too clumsy," Editor Wang said. "How can you possibly finish processing this in five days?"

"We have to sort it out, even if we can't finish it all." Lu Qingyan wiped his sweat. "Otherwise, it'll be difficult to find someone else next time."

The three of them worked until evening, finally finishing tidying up the shelves on the east side. In a broken wooden box in the corner, Lu Qingyan found the forty-first volume—it had been gnawed in half by rats and was mixed in with a pile of waste paper.

Only volume 42 remains.

On the fifth day, Lu Qingyan arrived before dawn. He lit an oil lamp and continued searching the storeroom. At dawn, Zhou Wenyuan arrived, saw him covered in dust, and smiled.

"Editor Lu, it's time to hand in your report today."

"One more volume to go."

"Oh?" Zhou Wenyuan raised an eyebrow. "What should we do then? Scholar Li will be back tomorrow."

Lu Qingyan didn't say anything and continued searching.

At 9:00 AM, Li Mubai returned ahead of schedule. Upon hearing about the matter, he went directly to the warehouse.

"What happened?" he asked, frowning as he looked at the mess on the floor.

Zhou Wenyuan spoke first: "Scholar Li, I have instructed Editor Lu to repair the missing volumes of the 'Da Yong Hui Dian', and he..."

"Did I ask you to make it?" Li Mubai interrupted him, his eyes sharp.

Zhou Wenyuan was speechless.

Li Mubai looked at Lu Qingyan: "Which volume is still missing?"

"Volume 42." Lu Qingyan's voice was a little hoarse. "We've searched the entire storeroom, but it's not there."

Li Mubai was silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered something: "Go to my duty room, on the bottom shelf of the bookshelf, there's a camphor wood box."

Lu Qingyan was taken aback, then quickly walked away.

Sure enough, there were several old books in the camphor wood box, one of which was the forty-second volume of the "Da Yong Hui Dian" (Collected Statutes of the Great Yong Dynasty). There were also annotations by Li Mubai on the pages, indicating that he had obviously read it many years ago and casually put it away.

Lu Qingyan returned to the storeroom carrying the book. Li Mubai took it, glanced at it, and nodded, "It's this volume." He turned to Zhou Wenyuan, "Compiler Zhou, the storeroom is incomplete. As the acting head of the department, were you unaware of this?"

Zhou Wenyuan's expression changed: "This humble official..."

"It's fine if you didn't know," Li Mubai said calmly. "If you asked your subordinates to do something, you should have explained the situation clearly. You made Editor Lu search the warehouse for five days, and in the end, the book was with you—if word got out, people would think you were deliberately making things difficult for them."

These were very strong words. Sweat beaded on Zhou Wenyuan's forehead: "This humble official wouldn't dare; this humble official truly forgot."

"Forgot?" Li Mubai glanced at him. "Then you're doing a really bad job as the acting headmaster."

Zhou Wenyuan dared not argue further and simply bowed his head in agreement.

Li Mubai turned to Lu Qingyan: "You've done a great job getting the storeroom organized to this extent in five days. Now that all the missing scrolls have been found, you can take a day off."

"Thank you, Scholar." Lu Qingyan bowed.

After leaving the warehouse, Lu Qingyan returned to his duty room. Editor Wang and Editor Chen both looked at him with complicated expressions.

"Editor Lu," Editor Wang said in a low voice, "Editor Zhou has always been like this. You are the third-ranked scholar and have the Emperor's favor, so it's inevitable that he..."

"I understand." Lu Qingyan sat down, poured himself a glass of water, and drank it all in one gulp.

My hands are still shaking, from exhaustion and anger.

But he held back. There was no need for a direct confrontation with someone like Zhou Wenyuan. Li Mubai's words today were already enough to embarrass him.

When he finished his shift in the evening, Li Mubai called him over.

"Editor Lu, you're taking leave on April 8th?"

"Yes."

"Hmm." Li Mubai took an envelope from the drawer. "This is a letter I wrote to Yongning Prefectural School. When you return home, if you have time, please visit Instructor Zhang for me and give him this letter."

Lu Qingyan accepted it: "This humble official will certainly deliver it."

"Go ahead," Li Mubai waved his hand. "Get some rest. The Hanlin Academy may seem quiet, but it's actually a place where undercurrents are surging. You're young, so listen and observe more, and speak less to avoid making mistakes."

"Your humble servant will keep that in mind."

As Lu Qingyan stepped out of the Hanlin Academy, the setting sun shone brightly. He took a deep breath, feeling his fatigue dissipate.

Back in the courtyard, the servant from the Yun family came again, saying that the master had invited him to dinner.

Lu Qingyan changed his clothes and left. During the banquet, Yun Chengzong asked about the Hanlin Academy. He gave a brief answer but did not mention Zhou Wenyuan's difficulties.

But Yun Chengzong was no ordinary person; he understood after hearing just a few words.

"That Zhou kid is still so hopeless." He put down his chopsticks. "You don't need to pay him any mind. Li Mubai is a sensible man. With him protecting him, Zhou Wenyuan won't dare to go too far."

Mrs. Wang served him some food, saying, "Eat more. You've gotten so thin these days."

Yun Shu glanced at him furtively and asked softly, "Working in the warehouse must be tiring, right?"

"It's alright," Lu Qingyan said, "It's just a lot of dust."

After the meal, Yun Shuwei saw him off at the gate. As they walked down the corridor, she suddenly took out a small bottle from her sleeve: "This is for you. It's peppermint oil. Apply it to your temples when you're tired to refresh yourself."

Lu Qingyan accepted it: "Thank you."

"You..." Yun Shu bit her lip slightly, "You're leaving on the eighth day of the fourth month?"

"Um."

"How long will it take?"

"One month. Return before May 16th."

Yun Shu lowered her head slightly, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers: "Be careful on the road."

"I will."

The two walked in silence for a while. When they were almost at the door, Yun Shuwei suddenly tugged at his sleeve.

Lu Qingyan turned around.

"I..." she blushed, "I'll miss you."

After saying that, he turned and ran away.

Lu Qingyan stood there, watching her figure disappear at the end of the corridor, and suddenly smiled.

Stepping out of the Yun Mansion, a gentle evening breeze was blowing.

He held the small bottle, feeling a warm glow in his heart.

I'll be going back to my hometown on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month.

He met his parents and brothers and told them that he was going to get married.

People like Zhou Wenyuan are nothing more than a pebble on the road.

Just kick it away.