Chapter 113: The First Book

“Hmm, I think today is truly the day I become a man, and also the starting point of our journey together in love. I don’t want future memories to be tainted by anything else,” Liu Qingshan said honestly.

“You don’t really need to explain so much to me. I’m smart and I understand you well,” Jin Xishan replied with a light teasing tone.

“So, do you think I have what it takes?” he asked.

“You do, because you know a lot and you always do your best with what you know. That’s what makes me most proud,” she responded.

“If I told you that your man also writes books and has already secured a formal publishing deal, how would you feel?” Liu Qingshan said with a hint of boasting. Besides him and Wang Huansheng, no one else knew about this.

The book was titled *Those Things of the Ming Dynasty*. When he discovered it in the mall, the title immediately caught his attention.

He had originally wanted to find a work suitable for future adaptation into film or television, but then he noticed that the book’s online release period had just over a year left.

So he decisively redeemed the book first, as Ming Dynasty history had always been his favorite.

He quickly realized the necessity of this move: only by leveraging this serialized historical novel, which was bound to become a hit online in just over a year, could he rapidly spread the influence of his own identity as a plagiarist author to the widest audience.

Then, he could gradually implement his previous plans and achieve results in the shortest time possible.

“Really?” The unexpected news genuinely surprised Jin Xishan. She even sat up straight in excitement, unintentionally exposing a generous glimpse of her décolletage.

“Hurry, let me see! I never expected you not only to write scripts but also to handle a full-length masterpiece!”

“How did you know it’s a long novel?” Liu Qingshan asked in surprise.

“That’s simple. If it were a short or medium-length piece, you’d only need to worry about submissions, and there’d be no need for Lawyer Wang to contact a publisher for you. So, it must be a long novel.”

Only then did Liu Qingshan realize. Before heading to Hengdian, he had secretly given Wang Huansheng the electronic version of the book.

In fact, his main reason for leaving Lawyer Wang in Kyoto was to help him find a large publishing house as soon as possible.

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This time, his secretive whispering with Wang Huansheng over the phone had certainly aroused some suspicion in Jin Xishan.

Now that she knew about the book, she naturally connected the dots.

“Xishan, I have to commend you — you said you were smart, and now your brother really believes it!” Liu Qingshan praised, genuinely impressed by her wisdom.

Jin Xishan responded proudly, “I told you, I’m very smart! Hurry up and give it here—I want to read it now!”

Liu Qingshan hurried to his bag to fetch his laptop, momentarily forgetting he was still bare-chested.

His muscular, tall frame drew a shy, coquettish smile from Jin Xishan, who instinctively covered her face with her fingers, yet peeped through the gaps.

Fortunately, Liu Qingshan quickly realized this and, turning around, shielded his waist with the laptop bag.

“Tch, why cover up so thoroughly? It’s not like I haven’t seen before!” Jin Xishan murmured with a pout.

Liu Qingshan could hear her perfectly; his hearing was far keener than most.

“You don’t want me to see your body, so I have to get a little revenge!” he teased.

His words flushed Jin Xishan’s face deeper red, and she retorted, “You’re always talking nonsense! That was only at first—after that, I didn’t stop you at all!”

Their flirtatious banter rekindled the heat between them, and soon they were tightly embracing, their passionate kiss setting the room ablaze once more.

Two hours later, with the bedroom peaceful again, Jin Xishan rose lazily, still flushed, and scolded the big boy playfully: “It’s all your fault—your impatience made me forget all serious matters.”

After some playful teasing, Liu Qingshan urged her as he opened the relevant page, explaining, “You haven’t known Chinese characters for long. What I write is semi-colloquial and historical, so you might not understand everything!”

Jin Xishan retorted angrily, “I just praised myself for being smart! Have you forgotten that my previous lines were also in semi-colloquial language?”

“History? Don’t tell me you know about events from over six hundred years ago in our country?”

“Actually, some events from the Ming Dynasty are recorded in our Han country’s history books. I don’t remember much, but I do recall some major events!”

Once the contents appeared, the room quickly fell into a different kind of silence.

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“All things begin on a night in 1328, when the peasant Zhu Wusi’s wife, Mrs. Chen, gave birth to a baby boy. Everyone knew this boy grew up to be Zhu Yuanzhang.

Whenever an emperor is born, history books often record strange phenomena.

For example, windstorms, heavy rain, fragrant scents, twinkling stars, red lights everywhere... all signs meant to show that this person was different.

Zhu Yuanzhang’s birth was no exception. When he was born, red light filled the ground, and strange light appeared in the house at night. Neighbors thought there was a fire and came running to help (from the Ming Veritable Records).”

Though it was just the beginning, Jin Xishan quickly became engrossed.

Soon, a light laugh escaped her lips: “History can actually be written so well? And it’s so humorous, not boring at all.”

Most history books she had seen were dry, official records or modern historical research texts.

Good historical writing, in her experience, was usually coarse and vulgar unofficial history, full of lies and tasteless humor.

Even more surprising was that this book was far simpler than the semi-colloquial style Liu Qingshan had described; much of it was almost conversational.

Liu Qingshan wasn’t surprised by her reaction. The book was genuinely well-written, with a humorous style and a tone of playful mockery—something he had never encountered before in historical writing.

However, to orthodox, serious historians and literati, such an approach was outright heresy.

Though countless alternative history novels flourished online over the years, those were unofficial histories, fast-consumption entertainment that no one took seriously.

This book was based on official history. Liu Qingshan could even predict that many so-called experts would later denounce him.

Despite having sufficient means to counter such attacks, he decided not to use his real name to avoid damaging his current reputation. Instead, he chose the ordinary pen name “Still Green Mountain.”

This decision had initially drawn Wang Huansheng’s skepticism.

Only after hearing Liu Qingshan’s reasoning did the lawyer understand the depth of his intentions.