Second Young Master Xu remained silent. Xu Ping Zhi stared at the middle-aged man and shook his head, saying, “It was just a casual doggerel. I heard that gentleman say his calligraphy was poor, so he couldn’t write well, which is why he asked this young master to write it for him.”
Second Uncle Xu, being an old hand, assumed the posture of a bystander, distancing himself from his nephew and son.
Everyone immediately looked at Xu Xin Nian. The Second Young Master Xu snorted, maintaining a cold and aloof attitude, disdaining to answer them.
His attitude angered and embarrassed the middle-aged man who had asked the question, who then returned to his seat in a huff.
Xu Ping Zhi, who had originally planned to stay the night, secretly gave his son a look, and the two left the Plum Shadow Pavilion one after the other.
“It’s not good to stay inside. It would be trouble if people noticed our connection,” Xu Ping Zhi instructed his son.
“I understand,” Xu Xin Nian nodded, and then shivered in the cold wind.
There was a charcoal fire for warmth inside. The sudden temperature change when coming out made one shiver uncontrollably.
Xu Ping Zhi looked at his son and said, “Originally, if we had stayed at the Plum Shadow Pavilion, those maids… would have only cost one or two taels of silver.”
“Now we can only go to other courtyards to find other women… and if not maids, the lowest price is five taels of silver, which includes the cost of the tea game.”
At this point, Xu Ping Zhi paused, noticing that his son didn’t sarcastically ask how he knew all this so well, as he usually would.
While finding it strange, he also felt relieved.
Second Uncle Xu took out an official silver ingot from his bosom, standard issue, weighing five taels.
“Second son, take this silver.”
The Xu family had lost everything due to the tax silver case. Even after a month, although Xu Ping Zhi had acquired some silver through grey channels, they were still generally quite tight on money.
Second Uncle Xu didn’t think his son could still produce five taels of silver.
Xu Xin Nian was slightly moved and said in a low voice, “Father, what about you?”
Second Uncle Xu smiled carelessly, “When your father was at the Essence Refining realm, he was no longer affected by heat or cold. Even sleeping by the roadside for a night wouldn’t matter. But your body couldn’t withstand the night wind.”
Xu Xin Nian’s hands were tucked into his sleeves, his back slightly bent, enduring the chilly night wind. He stared at the five taels of silver in a daze for a while, then said in a somewhat hoarse voice:
“I don’t want it.”
Second Uncle Xu insisted that his son take it.
As they tussled, with a “plop,” an official silver ingot fell out of Xu Xin Nian’s bosom, weighing exactly five taels.
… Father and son stared at the silver on the ground, falling into silence.
Meanwhile, the maid opened the door of the main bedroom, gesturing for Li Qi An to enter, while she didn’t intend to go in.
“Please come in, Young Master Yang!”
As the shoji door opened, a warm fragrance wafted out. The floor was covered with an expensive silk carpet, not only costly but also extremely labor-intensive to make.
The carpet was embroidered with green lotus flowers and auspicious clouds.
When women walked on it, lotus flowers bloomed with each step. When important officials walked on it, they ascended to the clouds with each step.
Such intricate thoughts.
A three-panel screen painted with a copy of the famous “Rain Beating on Plantain Leaves” separated the sleeping area from the brocade hall. A breathtakingly beautiful young woman knelt on a small couch in front of the screen, with a phoenix-tail zither placed on the couch.
She wore a sheer gauze dress, her jade-like skin faintly visible, smiling as she looked towards the door.
Their eyes met, and she lowered her head slightly, a shy smile on her lips.
It’s that gentle lowering of the head, like a water lily’s coy submission to the cool breeze… This line of poetry floated through Li Qi An’s mind.
As elegant as a noble lady during the drinking game, and alluringly charming by the couch, seeming to have more to say.
This is the charm that only women from the Imperial Music Bureau could cultivate.
Li Qi An felt overwhelmed.
“Young Master?” The courtesan smiled dreamily, “Why is Young Master looking at me like this?”
Because you’re too beautiful… Li Qi An sighed, “I’ve long heard that Miss Fuxiang is of unparalleled beauty, a rare sight in this world. I didn’t believe it before, but now I do. Even if someone said Miss Fuxiang was the most beautiful woman in the world, I would believe it.”
“Young Master Yang mustn’t tease me.” Fuxiang bit her lip, lowering her head coyly, her eyes brimming with smiles, clearly very pleased.
…
In the tea room next door, Young Master Zhao had drunk an entire pot of tea. His bladder had protested twice, and on the third time, he finally couldn’t hold it anymore.
Was he here to drink tea?
Young Master Zhao left the tea room full of complaints, walking towards the main bedroom, but was stopped at the door by a maid.
“I’ve been waiting in the tea room for a long time. Why hasn’t Miss Fuxiang come to see me?” Young Master Zhao questioned the maid.
“Please don’t be offended, Young Master Zhao. The Miss has already chosen someone else,” the maid replied.
“!!!” Young Master Zhao felt as if he had been struck by several bolts of lightning, and then anger surged up. He shouted:
“Miss Fuxiang chose me. Why did she suddenly change her mind? Is this some kind of joke? If you don’t give me an explanation, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
His fierce tone and menacing words frightened the maid a little, and she instinctively wanted to call for the guards in the courtyard.
“Ping’er, since Young Master Zhao is not convinced, why don’t you take the poem out for him to see.”
The charming voice of the courtesan came from inside the room.
The maid cautiously looked at Young Master Zhao, then opened the shoji door just wide enough for one person to pass through, and slipped inside.
A few seconds later, she slipped out again and handed the paper to Young Master Zhao.
He took it, glanced at it, and his angry expression immediately froze on his face, then slowly melted away, replaced by shock, amazement, and disbelief…
He stood there dumbfounded for a long time, then his fingers loosened, and the paper slowly fluttered to the ground.
…
The guests outside were shocked to find that Young Master Zhao had come out.
Was it over already?!
Young Master Zhao’s expression made them realize something was wrong. He had been driven out.
“Brother Zhao, what’s wrong?” A young man of the same age, dressed as a scholar, immediately came forward, seemingly concerned but gossiping.
Earlier, the maid had called away that Yang fellow, and not long after, Young Master Zhao came out looking lost.
It was obvious that someone had snatched away the prize, plucking the lush peony.
Young Master Zhao, dressed in a blue robe, slowly swept his gaze over everyone and murmured, “I lost. I lost fair and square.”
“What exactly happened? Lost? Where do we start?”
“Brother Zhao, that person wrote a poem, right? What kind of poem could make Miss Fuxiang break the rules?”
“Come on, tell us quickly. It’s killing us.”
The guests all crowded around.
Young Master Zhao ignored them, walking towards the exit while muttering, “Among all flowers fading, you alone bloom brilliantly…”
Everyone’s hearts stirred, knowing he was reciting the poem from earlier.
“…Capturing all charm towards the small garden.”
By now, Young Master Zhao had reached the courtyard. The guests unconsciously followed behind him, listening.
“Sparse shadows slant across shallow clear waters, subtle fragrance drifts in the yellow dusk moon…”
The guests didn’t follow further, remaining where they were. The air fell into a brief silence.
For a long time, no one spoke.
After who knows how long, a scholar, with tears in his eyes and trembling lips, said: “This poem puts to shame all those who have written about plum blossoms throughout history… Gentlemen, I must take my leave. I’m going to participate in tea games elsewhere to spread this poem.”
“I’ll be leaving too. How could I miss the chance to make a name for the Great Tang’s poetry scene?”
The guests scattered in a flurry, eager to participate in tea games at other courtyards, and then reveal this poem to make a sensation.