I Am The Villain In The Novel - Chapter 37: I Can’t Embarrass My Husband!

Chapter 37: I Can’t Embarrass My Husband!

Since it was already time to get off work, it was time to head back.

Wei Changtian didn’t have the intention to work overtime, and even if he did, there was nothing to do anyway.

Originally, he had planned to follow others to complete one or two tasks, and then slowly use the Willow Leaf Division’s power to kill the demons that should have died under Xiao Feng’s sword.

But now, it seemed like he didn’t even know when he would be able to start his first mission.

Oh well, he would just go with the flow.

After returning to the Wei Manor on horseback, he had dinner and waited for Li Yang, who arrived on time.

As soon as Li Yang arrived, he started setting up the card game.

Wei Changtian finally managed to persuade him to enter the study, where he saw Lan Jingyao preparing to leave. Suddenly, he said:

“You come too.”

“Huh?”

Lan Jingyao turned around, looking around as if searching for a non-existent third person.

This woman used to be quite clever, but recently, she had become more and more silly.

Wei Changtian rolled his eyes and spoke again: “I’m talking to you, don’t look around.”

“Oh, okay.”

Lan Jingyao’s face turned red as she quickly followed him into the study.

Wei Changtian turned around to close the door, while Li Yang greeted Lan Jingyao with a question: “Little sister-in-law.”

He treated Wei Changtian as his elder brother, and since Lan Jingyao was younger and a concubine, it was no problem to call her “little sister-in-law”.

However, Lan Jingyao’s face turned even redder.

“Brother Li.”

The two of them exchanged a glance, but didn’t say anything else.

Li Yang thought to himself: This Lan Jingyao is beautiful, but she’s a stutterer. She’s not bad as a concubine for the big brother, I suppose.

Lan Jingyao thought to herself: Oh no, I’ve been called “little sister-in-law”! What should I do?

“Brother Li, what are you standing there for? Sit down.”

Wei Changtian, who had just walked over, looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression.

“Okay.”

Li Yang agreed and sat down opposite Wei Changtian, while Lan Jingyao stood hesitantly, unsure whether to sit or stand.

“Are you not going to do anything?”

Wei Changtian reminded her in a bad mood: “Pour the tea!”

“Oh, oh, oh.”

Lan Jingyao, like a person waking up from a dream, hurriedly picked up the teapot to pour tea for the two of them. However, possibly due to her nervousness, her hand trembled, and a few drops of tea spilled out.

Li Yang shook his head secretly, while Wei Changtian looked at Lan Jingyao, who was still standing foolishly, and could only sigh and instruct her again: “You can sit down now.”

“……”

Fortunately, Lan Jingyao hadn’t forgotten how to sit, and she finally managed to sit down beside Wei Changtian, biting her lip.

“Well, Brother Li, I called you here today to discuss something with you.”

Wei Changtian didn’t have the mood to engage in small talk, so he directly got to the point: “I’m planning to open a bookstore.”

“A bookstore?”

Li Yang was very surprised.

He wasn’t surprised that Wei Changtian suddenly wanted to do business, but rather, he didn’t understand why he chose to open a bookstore.

This should be one of the most difficult industries to succeed in.

The Ministry of Rites had a publishing bureau that basically monopolized 80% of the book market.

As for privately-owned bookstores… they couldn’t print officially protected books, and even if they managed to find a few good books, they would often be pirated soon after publication.

Pirated books were cheaper because they didn’t need to pay royalties to the authors, and since there was no concept of copyright protection, it led to a situation where bad money drove out good.

“Brother Wei, how can a bookstore make money in today’s market?”

Li Yang thought Wei Changtian didn’t understand the industry, so he hurriedly used a counterexample to advise him: “Didn’t the Poet Saint Su Wu also open a bookstore a few years ago? In the end, it still failed miserably.”

“If you really want to do business, I think it’s better to open a security firm…”

Li Yang might not be good at other things, but when it came to business, he was very knowledgeable.

This was also the reason why Wei Changtian had called him today.

After patiently listening to Li Yang, Wei Changtian took a sip of tea before slowly speaking: “Brother Li, I understand what you’re saying, but I have my own plans, and I’ll discuss them with you later.”

“As for whether a bookstore can make money, it depends on who’s running it.”

“Some people might be able to make it work… like you, for example.”

“Me?” Li Yang was taken aback.

“That’s right.”

Wei Changtian nodded: “Your father is the Minister of the Ministry Of Justice…”

“Brother Wei, my father is the Vice Minister of the Ministry Of Justice,” Li Yang corrected.

“Cough, it’s just a small difference.”

Wei Changtian realized his mistake and coughed to cover it up, continuing to speak under Li Yang’s puzzled gaze: “Even if your father is only the Vice Minister now, it’s enough to intimidate most book pirates.”

“Plus, with the Mirror Division taking care of a few troublemakers… do you think anyone would still dare to pirate our books?”

“This…”

Li Yang was not stupid and quickly understood Wei Changtian’s intention.

“Brother Wei, you want me to open this bookstore for you? But wouldn’t it be better if you did it yourself? The Mirror Division is more intimidating than the Ministry Of Justice.”

Wei Changtian shook his head: “The people who buy books are mostly self-righteous scholars, and my reputation…”

“Ah, I see!”

Li Yang quickly understood, but still had a question: “But even if no one dares to pirate our books, we still need to have books to sell, right?”

“You don’t need to worry about that, you just need to focus on printing and selling books.”

Wei Changtian glanced at Lan Jingyao, who had been silent the entire time, and smiled: “As for where the books come from, Yao’er will help you with that.”

“Ah?”

Lan Jingyao was taken aback when she was suddenly mentioned, but she knew Wei Changtian was referring to the book “Journey to the West”.

She took a deep breath and decided not to embarrass Wei Changtian again.

“Brother Li.”

“My husband is right. I can take care of this matter. Don’t worry.”

“Is that so…”

Little sister-in-law wasn’t stuttering anymore?

Li Yang found it strange, but didn’t think much of it, and nodded after a moment of thought.

“Brother Wei, if that’s the case, then opening a bookstore is a go!”

“Great!”

Wei Changtian clapped his hands in satisfaction, then toasted with Li Yang, drinking the tea in his cup in one gulp.

Lan Jingyao, who was standing beside them, didn’t toast with them, but still looked happy as she raised her teacup.

But before she could take a sip, Wei Changtian dismissed her: “Alright, you can go now, there’s nothing for you to do here.”

“Oh, right, go call Wang Er over.”

Lan Jingyao: “……”

…

In the end, she didn’t even get to drink her tea.

Lan Jingyao stormed out, but fortunately didn’t forget the task Wei Changtian had entrusted to her. Before long, she was replaced by Wang Er.

“Young Master, Young Master Li.”

“Ah, take a seat.”

Wei Changtian gestured to the empty seat, and after Wang Er sat down, he turned to Li Yang, who looked puzzled.

“Brother Li, I’ll tell you the truth now.”

“To be honest, whether the bookstore makes a profit or not isn’t important to me, or rather, it’s just a cover.”

“What I really want to do is something else.”

“If you’re still willing to help me, then stay. If not, that’s okay too, I won’t blame you.”

“But I need to make one thing clear to you beforehand…”

“This matter may cost us our heads.”