The Eighth Bureau of the Overwatch Council, also known as the Department of Court Articles, was similar to the news examination board of the Republic of China in the previous world. They were responsible for the review of all legitimate books. Only a book approved by the Eighth Bureau would be published. In recent years, many of the duties of the Department of Court Articles were reassigned to the Ministry of Education, though they had still held onto their right to review books printed privately by civilians.
The Eighth Bureau would not accept anything that involved creative descriptions of the human body, the art of violence, or suggestions of revolution that were not permitted by the emperor. However, it didn’t matter what world you lived in; the subjects of sex, violence and politics were bound to be hot topics, so it was inevitable that underground booksellers would surface.
Normally, the booksellers wouldn’t dare sell books about politics, but romance novels like ‘"Of Joy and Passion" were mass-produced and passed through the hands of many before finding an owner.
There was no doubt that a middle-aged woman with a child in her arms w was the last in the chain of recipients of the book.
Nobody in the capital batted an eye at this familiar scene, and even government officials let it slide under their watch, say less of the civilians who benefited from it.
"What did you say sir?" The women selling prohibited books stared blankly, oblivious to the beautiful existence of AV.
Fan Xian laughed and asked, "What books do you have?"
The woman put the child in her other arm and retrieved a book from the layers of clothes. The book was roughly eight inches, square, and completely red. It looked to be of good quality. Fan Xian was quite impressed by how the woman managed to keep the edges pristine despite storing it in her clothes whilst carrying a child in her arms.
"These are the most popular short stories in the capital." The women spoke with an air of secrecy.
Unaffected by her facade, Fan Xian took the book. He smiled as he opened the first page… He could not contain the look of surprise on his face.
Although there was no author name printed on the front cover, the four words ‘Feng Yue Bao Jian' was written in large font on the title page.
On the following page were the words, "Who knew that this daughter-in-law possessed a natural charm. Her entire body becomes limp and soft whenever a man bumps into her, and the man would experience the sensation of lying on a bed as soft as clouds."
Fan Xian was speechless and his mouth opened wide. He recognized the book right away. It was called ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ and he had sent a written copy to his sister before. The section he had just read was from chapter twenty one, when Qiao Ping saved Jia Lian by using softly spoken words, and it was a told about Miss Duo.
The middle-aged woman mistakenly thought that the pretty boy in front of her was enticed by it all, and continuing in a low voice, she said, "That’s just a small taste; there’s more exciting parts to come."
In his previous life, Fan Xian was stuck in his bed for years, incapable of doing a lot of things. He couldn’t bring himself to ask his nurse to help him turn the pages of lewd books, so he reread Dream of the Red Chamber countless times instead. He was able to relieve his fatigue all thanks to Miss Duo’s ‘lady-like manners’ in the book.
Now that this familiar scene was played out right in front of his eyes on the busy streets of the capital, he couldn't help but be surprised. He was grateful, but confused at the same time as he couldn’t understand how this story known by only him and his sister was being published and sold on the streets.
Without asking for the price Fan Xian paid her handsomely for the book. He had earned quite a sum of money from selling newspapers in Danzhou, money he would spend without hesitation.
After the overjoyed middle-aged woman had left, Fan Ruoruo led Fan Sizhe to the restaurant, his hands occupied by a sugar figurine he was holding.
"What were you up to?" Fan Ruoruo questioned her older brother with a smile.
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