Chun Se Man Yuan was a vast estate.
No powdered, scantily clad women waved their handkerchiefs, pulling male friends in without a second thought.
Before the archway, only a drowsy pimp with drool on his chin was present.
As for the guests coming and going, what business was it of his? Other pimps would attend to them; he had a task to perform.
Only when Xie Jiang approached did he lazily lift his eyelids to glance.
The next second, he snapped to attention, looking at Xie Jiang with excitement. Just as he was about to prostrate himself to show respect, Xie Jiang gave him a look, and he forcibly held back.
"Esteemed guest, please come in—" The not-so-old pimp wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and shouted in a strained voice.
"I'm looking for someone." Xie Jiang glanced at the pimp, finding him somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
The pimp bowed his head, "This humble one understands, this humble one understands. Please this way."
Bypassing the lively brothel in broad daylight, and then passing through two more gardens lush with vegetation, the pimp led Xie Jiang to a secluded courtyard.
The courtyard was crowded, with people inside and outside the house, but there was no sound.
Some were busy copying diligently, some were busy with woodblock printing, and others were busy drying and organizing.
Xie Jiang found Xia Zeshi dozing on a cushion in the corner of the main hall.
"How many copies are there?" Xie Jiang kicked him twice in the backside, waking him up.
Xia Zeshi looked blankly at the young eunuch in charge of organizing and statistics.
The busy young eunuch replied, "There are over seventy thousand copies already."
Xia Zeshi's face showed shock, "So many, shouldn't that be enough?"
Xie Jiang nodded, reasonably satisfied with the progress. "The more, the better. Continue printing and copying. Besides the capital, you can also distribute them to the surrounding areas."
"Are these really useful?" Xia Zeshi was somewhat skeptical. It was his first time seeing such unrefined writing.
Xie Jiang casually picked up a sheet and opened it. It was written entirely according to her narration, without any pedantic phrasing, all in plain language and very easy to understand.
There were no tear-jerking, inflammatory words, nor any fabrications to falsely accuse Lu Baofang. It simply listed several typical examples, explaining what Lu Baofang had done.
Then it urged everyone to hide their young daughters and avoid going out alone if possible.
Boys with delicate skin and good looks should also be careful, in case Lu Baofang got tired of his usual preference and decided to change tastes.
"Distribute them all before dawn tomorrow. Make sure to post them on all the streets and alleys of the capital, ensuring everyone can see them. Even if they can't read and pick them up, they can use them as toilet paper. Within three days, Lu Baofang will be infamous throughout the capital. If there are any leftovers, continue to expand the circle. Lu Baofang's harm is not limited to the children of the capital."
She beckoned the pimp waiting outside. "Find all the literate people in your establishment, regardless of how well they write, as long as they can write. Have them come and work overtime."
The pimp nodded in agreement and turned to pass on the message. After taking two steps, he was called back by Xie Jiang.
"Also call over all the literate girls, musicians, pimps, managers, and maids in your establishment. They don't need to work today."
Xia Zeshi gasped, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "This should be enough, right? I don't have that much money to book the entire place..."
It was the people from Chun Se Man Yuan who helped find people to carve the woodblocks. Otherwise, how could he have created such a large-scale operation in such a short time? Now, he was not even sparing the girls and musicians of the establishment.
This was equivalent to booking the entire Chun Se Man Yuan, wasn't it?
Do you know how much it costs to book Chun Se Man Yuan? Huh?
He was just an ordinary, unremarkable prince who didn't even have his own residence.
His father was so immersed in cultivation that he didn't care about their lives.
His life had always been very meager.
"Do you have money?" As far as Xia Zeshi knew, all of Xie Jiang's expenses in the capital were covered by the Duke of Wei's manor. While she wasn't destitute, her pockets were certainly empty.
Would they be chased for debt by Chun Se Man Yuan later?
That would be quite a spectacle.
Who would believe that they were merely borrowing the place from Chun Se Man Yuan to do some literary work?
"Lu Baofang will reimburse us." Destroying a Marquis of Nanxiong's estate didn't require her to spend her own money.
Children were too naive.
From this, it was not surprising that the Emperor handed over state affairs to Yi Yanguan.
If he handed it over to his own son, the Emperor wouldn't need to ask about cultivation; he could go directly to the Western Paradise.
"Huh?"
Xia Zeshi was confused, he didn't understand. "Also, posting them on all streets and alleys before dawn, do you know how many people that requires? Where will we find so many people? Is it enough time in one night..."
Xie Jiang was alone, without even a servant. He also didn't have his own residence, so the number of people he could mobilize was limited. Xu Hengyi was tightly monitored by his family and basically couldn't be relied upon.
They could hire some helpers, but Xie Jiang's requirements were too high. How many streets and alleys were there in the capital? They also had to avoid the patrols of the city guards.
Xie Jiang looked confident. "You don't need to worry about that. Someone will come to collect the flyers later. You just need to oversee production. Aim for a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand copies."
"I'm watching closely. I didn't sleep at all last night," Xia Zeshi said, yawning. "I'll stay up again tonight. I hope I don't die suddenly."
"You won't die from staying up all night at your age. Look, you stayed up all night and you don't even have dark circles under your eyes. You should have confidence in your age." Youth could do anything.
Xie Jiang casually pinched Xia Zeshi's chubby cheek and pulled it hard.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch... Can't you be gentle with..." This word seemed out of place here, especially in Chun Se Man Yuan at this moment, it felt even stranger.
Xia Zeshi covered his face and glared at Xie Jiang!
Soon, activity began in the adjacent courtyard. People entered one after another, of all ages, genders, and dressed in various styles. The girls, who were usually aloof and rarely seen by commoners, did not mind sitting under the same roof with the numerous musicians, the low-status laborers, and the bowing pimps, copying and writing.
At this moment, the people in the courtyard had no distinction of status; they were all tool users with rolled-up sleeves, writing.
Xia Zeshi stared dumbfounded, looking at Xie Jiang with immense awe. "How did you do it?"
It was simply incredible.
He never expected to see such a scene when he came from the next courtyard. It was a mixture of harmony and disharmony.
Everyone was quietly and busily copying flyers, no one complained, and not even a shred of dissatisfaction was expressed.
Only an old man, who looked like a laborer, frowned at his crooked handwriting. "Is my writing like this okay?"
Xie Jiang walked over and took a look. "As long as it's recognizable."
"Heh, then it's fine." The old man, as if injected with chicken blood, continued to write with vigor.
Xia Zeshi felt that the world was too fantastical.
"How exactly did you do it?"
With a single order, the entire Chun Se Man Yuan was mobilized, not a single person haggled.
He couldn't help but suspect that Xie Jiang had spent a fortune to knock everyone in Chun Se Man Yuan unconscious.
But Xie Jiang didn't have money.
Besides, could anyone casually command Chun Se Man Yuan with money?
Xie Jiang was unfazed. "They have high ideological awareness, and like us, they have a sense of justice and want to eliminate harm for the people."
Xia Zeshi didn't believe a single word of it.