He truly envied the scene he'd once fantasized about while studying in his previous life: a beautiful woman adding fragrance to the ink while he read late into the night. So, earlier, he had stubbornly pulled Si Si along to accompany him in writing for half a day, enjoying the exquisite sense of peace and beauty as he breathed in the incense filling the room and the delicate scent emanating from the young woman, the soft brush tip gliding smoothly across the paper.

But thinking that news of his writing might spread, which would only bring unnecessary trouble, he decided he would write alone and in secret from now on.

Fan Xian felt he needed to prepare in advance for his future life in Kyoto, both materially and spiritually. A lengthy and beautiful work like *Dream of the Red Chamber* couldn't be casually spouted out at a banquet like a plagiarized poem. It had to be prepared beforehand.

He didn't know why, but he always felt that his future life would inevitably be connected to the center of Qing, the distant city of Kyoto. Perhaps it was because of his biological father, a high-ranking official in the court, or perhaps it was because of that yellow-haired girl he remembered, or perhaps it was because of his mother, whom he had never met but was always curiously interested in.

He thought for a while, then picked up his pen and finished writing about Baoyu and Qin Zhong's unspeakable affair in this chapter. After the ink had dried, he put it in an envelope, ready to send it to Fan Ruoruo, who was far away in Kyoto.

At his residence in Danzhou Port, Fan Xian didn't keep any drafts. He wrote a chapter and sent it to Kyoto. Because he really couldn't suppress the desire in his heart to share the wonderful experiences of his previous life with the people of this world. It was like someone possessing the most beautiful jade in the world, one that no one had ever seen before, and hiding it under their bed for many years. Their heart would itch to death, and they would always wish that everyone in the world – no, at least one person – would know the breathtaking beauty of this jade.

A collector who keeps a famous painting hidden away for a lifetime without showing it to anyone is either a pervert or the thief who stole it.

And Fan Xian knew that he was definitely not a pervert, although he was indeed a thief. But the wonderful thing was, no one in this world knew.

So Fan Xian completely ignored Fan Ruoruo's age and continued to send her manuscripts monthly, telling her that the story was called *The Story of the Stone*, written by a man named Cao Xueqin, whom he had met by chance. He obtained manuscripts from him every month to share with his sister, and so on...

Although there were still passages in the first fifteen chapters of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, such as Qin Keqing meeting Baoyu in a dream and Baoyu's first taste of love, Fan Xian was certain that after several years of being influenced by his letters, the little girl would not see these things as monstrous floods or regard her brother as some kind of lewd person.

As expected, Fan Ruoruo received Cao Gong's writing, and after reading it in a daze, she devoured it like a peony, slowly savoring some of its flavor. Especially after seeing Daiyu enter the mansion, she began to find it good and wrote every month to urge her brother to ask Cao Gong for more manuscripts.

When Fan Xian received the letter, he couldn't help but feel distressed. He thought that since there were no more drafts, updates would naturally not be too fast. If he copied to chapters seventy or eighty in the future, wouldn't he still end up as a eunuch?

……

……

After finishing his literary plagiarism business for the day, Fan Xian began to read books as usual. There were many miscellaneous books in his study, all sent from the Earl's residence in Kyoto. Whenever he thought of this, his impression of his never-before-seen father would improve, at least to the point that the man knew what things were most important in a person's growth.

In a country without AV or online novels, Fan Xian's method of dispelling his boring life, besides playing hide-and-seek with the overbearing true qi in his body every day and making the maids blush with shyness, was only reading these miscellaneous books in his study.

The content of the books covered a wide range of topics, from agricultural planting to the laws of Qing, without exception. There were also some scriptures of this world that filled the entire bookshelf like bricks.

The bookshelf was made by Fan Xian according to the style in his mind. The style was very simple, with *Yunxiang* grass produced in Yaozhou placed inside each layer. This kind of grass was the best at preventing bookworms from eating the books, but it seemed that few people in this world knew about it, so it was only used as a general spice in other residences.

After reading these books for many years, Fan Xian discovered many shadows of what he had learned in his previous life in those scriptures, but there were slight differences in the way they were expressed. This understanding made him give up the idea of ​​plagiarizing Han Fei, Xun Zi, Lao Zi, Sun Zi, and other scholars to become an academic master of a generation.

Whether it was learning in any aspect, including poison recognition, cultivation, or reading, Fan Xian was very serious, accumulating knowledge with a calmness and diligence that was completely inconsistent with his current age. Because he understood that he didn't have much more than others. He hadn't come to a perfect world with an average IQ of fifty. The advantage he could have was just a little bit of knowledge accumulated from Earth society, and the moment of awakening that was much earlier than the enlightenment of ordinary children.

There was a soft sound in the oil lamp, and a small cluster of lamp flowers popped out, suddenly becoming a little brighter. Fan Xian was reading at his desk and gradually fell asleep.

When he woke up the next morning, after washing up, Fan Xian first went to the old lady's bedroom to pay his respects, and then went to the hall for breakfast. Since the assassin incident, Fan Xian's gaze when looking at his grandmother was very different from before. In addition to adhering to the morning and afternoon respects for many years, he would often chat with his kind-faced grandmother, telling a few short jokes to make the old lady happy.

"I heard that one day, His Majesty the Emperor summoned the Prime Minister, the Consular Minister of the Elders Council, the Director of the Supervisory Council, the head eunuch in the palace, and a group of high-ranking officials to discuss state affairs in the palace hall. As a result, a meteor fell from the sky that day, and a meteorite fell from the sky, smashing through the top of the palace hall and hitting several ministers who were kneeling below. His Majesty quickly summoned the imperial physician to treat them and waited outside the ward. After a while, the imperial physician came out, and His Majesty was busy asking: Imperial Physician, can the Prime Minister be saved? The imperial physician shook his head blankly: The Prime Minister cannot be saved."

Before the joke, the old lady's face was full of suspicion. She didn't know why the child was talking about things in Kyoto. The old lady didn't know how many insidious things in power she had experienced personally, so she was always careful.

"His Majesty asked again: What about the Consular Minister? The imperial physician shook his head again in frustration: Alas... he can't be saved either. His Majesty asked again: Eunuch Hong? The imperial physician still shook his head. His Majesty was furious and reprimanded: Then who can be saved? The imperial physician perked up and said: Your Majesty is blessed, Qing has hope!"

Hearing the last sentence, the old lady immediately woke up and laughed tremblingly, tears almost laughing out. She pointed at Fan Xian's innocent face and scolded with a smile, "You little imp, if you were in Kyoto, just based on this joke, you would be arrested by the Supervisory Council."