The reception area for guests at Yingmei Pavilion was on the first floor. The shoji doors facing the courtyard were wide open, with thin silk curtains hanging down to block the cold wind.
More than a dozen guests sat in the wine house, drinking, laughing, chatting, and admiring the plum blossoms.
Burning charcoal braziers in the four corners of the wine house drove away the winter cold.
A maidservant led Xu Qi An in, and everyone turned their heads to look at this young man wearing a moon-white scholar’s robe with a tall and slender figure.
Xu Qi An recalled the rules of the tea party as described by Constable Wang. He tried to make his smile as cultured as possible and bowed to everyone:
“This humble one is Yang Ling, a scholar from Langle County. Greetings to all the brothers here.”
Among those present were both wealthy gentry in brocade clothes and students from the Imperial Academy; their status was neither high nor low.
Some looked away indifferently, some scrutinized him, and some returned his smile.
It seems that during the imperial inspection period, the officials of Da Feng have become much more well-behaved… In the past, given Courtesan Fuxiang’s status, this place would have been reserved exclusively… Xu Qi An sat down calmly, his gaze constantly fixed on the flower girl acting as the “banquet master.”
Her face was flushed with spring, her eyes flowing with gorgeous colors, her fragrant posture in five colors, her charm natural.
This woman is nice… Even Xu Qi An, who had seen countless beauties, was amazed.
Judging by facial features alone, this flower girl was on the same level as Aunt, Xu Lingyu, and Chu Caiwei, each with their unique charm and beauty.
She was the kind of stunning beauty that would make men turn their heads in amazement if seen walking down the street.
But in terms of demeanor, this flower girl possessed the grace and elegance of a young lady from a noble family. As for her attire, she wore the sheer gauze dress that women of this era would not dare to wear.
Her fragrant shoulders were half-exposed, her neck long and slender, with a layer of pink gauze covering her chest, revealing glimpses of her cleavage.
Cleavage is always eye-catching—there was a reason she could be the top courtesan.
Courtesan Fuxiang’s role as the banquet master, also called the commanding officer, was to host the drinking games and be responsible for the atmosphere at the banquet. This job was usually done by famous courtesans or flower girls, as ordinary women couldn’t do it due to the high requirements for literary cultivation.
At this moment, they were taking turns saying linked phrases, which meant matching couplets. To Xu Qi An’s left was a middle-aged man wearing a light blue robe with jingling ornaments.
It happened to be his turn, and this middle-aged man raised his cup, pondered for a while, and said: “Ice-cold wine, one drop, two drops, three drops.”
The flower girl raised the small flag beside her hand and commented on (flattered) the first line of the couplet.
The middle-aged man’s smile widened, quite pleased.
This was why the banquet master needed to be a famous courtesan with a deep literary foundation. Without some skill, even if an ordinary prostitute wanted to flatter, she couldn’t pull it off.
After the commentary, the stunningly beautiful flower girl’s enchanting eyes fell on Xu Qi An.
The people at the banquet also looked at him.
I’m not very good at matching couplets… It’s hard enough just to make them rhyme properly… Xu Qi An remained outwardly calm but inwardly anxious.
He looked towards the plum tree in the courtyard, and inspiration struck. He deliberately drank a cup of wine, putting on an unrestrained and bold appearance, and said loudly:
“Lilac flowers, a hundred heads, a thousand heads, ten thousand heads.”
“Wonderful!” The eyes of those present lit up, and from then on, when they looked at Xu Qi An, their faces had a few more smiles.
It was as if they acknowledged that he had the qualifications to compete for the flower girl, treating him as a player of the same level.
Courtesan Fuxiang smiled and, as usual, gave a round of comments (flattery) on Xu Qi An’s second line.
Her smile is too professional… She immediately stopped looking at me after the evaluation… Her sitting posture is a bit stiff, only drinks when urging others to drink… Xu Qi An discreetly observed the body language of this flower girl.
Combining his knowledge of behavioral psychology, he concluded: This flower girl is not impressed with our level. She’s just patiently accompanying us.
At this moment, a maidservant led another person in. What a handsome young man he was, with fair skin, cool eyes, thin red lips, and delicate features, looking somewhat effeminate.
Everyone in the room turned to look, and even Courtesan Fuxiang showed a surprised expression. Such a handsome young gentleman was rare even for her to see.
The young man dressed as a scholar entered the room, casually swept his gaze around and suddenly froze in place.
Xu Qi An’s eye twitched, and after a long time, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: “What a coincidence.”
The handsome young man’s mouth twitched, and he also squeezed out a sentence: “What a coincidence…”
“You two know each other?” The middle-aged man in the light blue robe next to Xu Qi An asked in surprise.
More than just knowing each other, he’s my little brother… Xu Qi An suppressed the overwhelming shame and embarrassment, and calmly smiled, “We’ve met a few times. I believe Young Master Xu still remembers me, Yang. We met in Langle County.”
He deliberately reported his surname to give Xu Xinnian a hint to use a fake name.
This was the most basic anti-detection awareness.
Xu Xinnian lacked this kind of awareness, but he was smart and immediately got his cousin’s meaning. He cupped his hands to everyone and said, “I am Xu Ping’an, a student from Langle County.”
After speaking, he sat down as directed by the maidservant.
You mixed my name with Second Uncle’s… Xu Qi An used drinking to cover up the complaints in his heart.
The drinking game continued, and after a while, the maidservant led two more people in. On the left was a handsome young man wearing a thick sky-blue robe with a jade pendant at his waist and an oil-green jade hairpin, a talented and good-looking young man.
On the right was a man with a tall and sturdy build, a square face, and features that were pleasing to the eye. He was dressed like a wealthy man, with a fierce aura that was distinctly different from the merchants and scholars.
As this tall and imposing middle-aged man stepped into the tea room and casually glanced around, he suddenly froze, and then his entire body turned to stone.
Xu Qi An: “…”
Xu Xinnian: “…”
The maidservant noticed that the guest hadn’t followed and turned her head, gently saying, “This way, sir.”
“Ah… oh, oh…” Xu Pingzhi reluctantly entered the wine house.
Xu Xinnian and Xu Qi An silently straightened their backs.
After Second Uncle Xu sat down, the three tacitly avoided looking at each other, maintaining a serious sitting posture, eyes on their noses, noses on their hearts.
Didn’t those two brats say they had no time?… I can understand Old Eight declining, given what I know about his true feelings… But Ning Yan never goes to brothels…
Didn’t Second Uncle say he was on duty tonight?… Every time I had a conflict with Aunt before, he would say that marrying such a beautiful wife in this life was eight lifetimes of good fortune, and he was unwilling to scold Aunt… Tsk, he’s out here visiting prostitutes.
Didn’t Big Brother say he never goes to brothels?… I was wondering where my robe had gone, tsk, how shameless. Didn’t Father say he deeply loved Mother and never went to places of ill repute?…
The inner thoughts of the three were far richer than their stiff expressions.
Xu Qi An felt that one of the most embarrassing things in life had been added to his list. That is, encounters his second uncle and younger brother while going out to visit prostitutes.
My goodness, I’ve also died of social embarrassment…
On second thought, since I’m not the only one dying, I feel a bit better.
The drinking game continued. Xu Xinnian managed to respond fairly well, after all, he was a scholar. Xu Qi An, on the other hand, depended on the situation. Sometimes when he couldn’t match the couplet, he could only be punished with drinks. As for Xu Pingzhi, he had been drinking from start to finish, earning the disdain of others.
Second Uncle doesn’t know his limits. You’ve never even been to school, what are you doing here joining in the fun? Do you think you can sleep with the flower girl just because you want to? Xu Qi An complained inwardly.
Father is wasting money… Xu Xinnian also complained in his heart.
Both of them were a bit anxious because their mediocre performance hadn’t won the favor of the flower girl. Even Xu Xinnian, with his good looks, was gradually ignored by the flower girl due to being too conventional.
The most troublesome thing was that there was a strong competitor in the field – that handsome young man wearing a thick sky-blue robe.
He was from the Imperial Academy, and quite talented. Although he had arrived late, he had stolen the spotlight with his outstanding talent, making the flower girl cover her mouth and laugh lightly from time to time.
The young man in the sky-blue robe raised his wine cup, took a small sip, and said loudly, “This time, why don’t I start first?”
No one objected, and Courtesan Fuxiang smiled and said, “Please, Young Master Zhao.”
Young Master Zhao looked around at everyone and said, “Pine leaves, bamboo leaves, leaves all green.”
“It’s a repetitive word couplet.” Someone at the table was surprised.
“Pine leaves, bamboo leaves, leaves all green… Wonderful, wonderful, I’m not worthy.”
“Brother Zhao is truly talented, worthy of being a student from the Imperial Academy.”
When it came back around, not a single person could match it.
Young Master Zhao smiled faintly, his expression haughty.
Courtesan Fuxiang’s eyes sparkled, gazing at Young Master Zhao tenderly.
Judging from her expression and subtle movements, the flower girl seems quite fond of this Zhao fellow, very appreciative of his talent… Xu Qi An frowned and turned his head to look at Xu Xinnian.
The latter happened to look over, and the brothers’ brows were furrowed with worry.
Originally, according to Xu Xinnian’s idea, his elder brother, who excelled in poetry, should have been like a fish in the water at the Ministry of Rites.
Unexpectedly, after half a day of finger-guessing games and couplet matching, there had been no poetry at all.
Poetry had always been lukewarm in the tea parties at the Ministry of Rites. In the past two hundred years, excellent poems were few and far between, and scholars were not good at writing poetry.
During tea parties, they naturally avoided what they were not good at.
Tonight, the quality of the guests present varied greatly. Even matching couplets was somewhat difficult for them. Courtesan Fuxiang, with her refined taste and intelligence, deliberately didn’t mention poetry to avoid embarrassing the guests and making them lose face.
At this moment, Courtesan Fuxiang gracefully stood up, curtsied, and said softly, “This girl is a bit tired and will take her leave first. Please continue drinking at your leisure, gentlemen.”
This tea party was over.
Next, if the flower girl had taken a liking to someone, she would have her maid keep that person behind and lead them to her room.
If she hadn’t taken a liking to anyone, the maid would see the guests off, and then start the next round of tea party.
Everyone waited both expectantly and nervously as time ticked by. After half an incense stick’s time had passed, a maid came over and said in a sweet voice:
“My mistress invites Young Master Zhao to her room for tea.”
The guests shook their heads in disappointment, sighing, while some smiled and congratulated Young Master Zhao.
Young Master Zhao wore a smile, with the air of a victor.
At this, the three men of the Xu family could no longer sit still.