White-robed Minister

0062 [Literati's Refined Interests]

The gauze curtain was drawn back, and the first person to emerge was a lantern-bearing maid.

Then, two other maids helped Xue Xingshou out.

She wore her hair in a high, double-bun style, adorned with a jeweled crown and five combs, her head embellished with pearls and jade.

She wore a fish-shaped face ornament on her forehead, her face was lightly powdered with a fair complexion, her lips were painted with a bright red pomegranate color, and her earrings were thin and long, almost reaching her shoulders.

The gold-embroidered shirt shimmered, the hip-slit robe was tight and shapely, and the red swirling skirt had layers of pleats...

So gorgeous!

It's likely that the nobleman from Bianliang didn't particularly like this flamboyant style, as Tokyo preferred a more refined and elegant aesthetic—because there were simply too many flamboyant styles, while those who could pull off a refined and elegant look were hard to find.

This person before them was visually too aggressive, and also held the title of the most prestigious in the trade. Scholars from ordinary families really wouldn't dare to provoke him.

On the contrary, scholars would flock to those who were more refined and elegant: this famous courtesan had a tragic past, was down on her luck and had no one to rely on, and was waiting for me, a man of great talent, to save her.

"How is it?" Yang Shu winked.

Xu Lai smiled and said, "It's alright."

good?

Yang Shu rolled her eyes.

When he first saw Xue, the head courtesan, he was completely stunned. He had never seen such a beautiful woman before—ordinary women wouldn't dare to dress so flamboyantly. And even the prostitutes who dared to dress like this didn't have the same elegance as Xue.

At this moment, there was more than one person who was stunned.

Xu Lai leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Have you seen her before? Did you even get intimate with her?"

Yang Shu shook his head: "She's the head of the troupe in Guangzhou, with many competitors. She's not someone you can sleep with easily. The only people who can sleep with her are either rich, good-looking, or talented. I heard that Master Yang plans to build a courtyard just for her. She'll only come to Huixianlou occasionally and stay in her own courtyard most of the time."

Xu Lai then asked, "So you spent so much money to come to the third floor of this Immortal Pavilion, just to listen to music and drink some wine, and even the waiters are all men. Where did all that money go?"

Yang Shu lowered his voice even further: "After you finish drinking, if you want to stay the night, the troupe leader will arrange for other prostitutes to accompany you. As long as you spend enough money, or if Director Xue likes you, there will always be a lucky one who gets to sleep with one. You are the lucky one tonight."

"Me?" Xu Lai was extremely surprised.

Yang Shu pointed to Liang Wensu and Ding Zhengchen: "Those two will definitely help you throw money around."

"Uh..." Xu Lai was speechless.

Damn it, I'm a gentleman.

In ancient times, sleeping with famous courtesans was considered a romantic affair and did not affect a gentleman's reputation.

When did syphilis spread?

It should be from the Ming Dynasty.

Xu Lai's mind raced for a moment, and he even became a little nervous. He took a deep breath to calm down.

Xue Yu'er glanced at everyone, then raised her wine cup with a smile: "My dressing up took a long time, I apologize for keeping you gentlemen waiting. I hope you will forgive me for this cup of wine, I will drink it first as a sign of respect."

"You're too kind, Master Xue." The scholars raised their cups in unison.

Xue Yuer said a few more words, then picked up the red ivory clappers and sang a little song accompanied by the flute and pipe.

Xu Lai listened carefully for a while and finally recognized that she was singing lyrics. But this short poem was not well-known; it was probably just a popular, fast-paced song.

After the song ended, one of the scoundrels said, "It's not enough to have wine without a drinking game. Gentlemen, let's play a drinking game."

The crowd clapped and cheered, all turning to look at Xu Lai.

As everyone already knows, although Xu Lai writes good poems, he knows nothing about lyrics and has never studied them.

Tonight, they had tacitly agreed to help Xu Lai spend money as a way of repaying him for leading the group to merit and receiving rewards. But the thought of Xu Sanlang sleeping with Xue Xingshou made them grit their teeth with hatred, and they had to find a way to make fun of him.

Xu Lai asked with a smile, "Can I not play?"

"No!"

Everyone chorused their denial, then burst into laughter.

This scene puzzled Xue Yu'er, who couldn't help but take a few more glances and curiously asked, "May I ask this gentleman's honorable name?"

An busybody shouted, "His name is Xu Lai, courtesy name Xingzhi. It was a courtesy name given to him by General Yu!"

Did Lord Yu bestow a name upon you?

Xue Yu'er's eyes lit up immediately. She could tell that Xu Lai's family was poor, and his robe was made of the cheapest coarse cloth. For such a poor scholar to be bestowed a courtesy name by Master Yu, he must be exceptionally talented.

"So it's you, Gentleman Xu," Xue Yu'er said gracefully, bowing slightly. "Gentleman Xu is a man of great talent; why don't you participate in the drinking game?"

Yang Shu and Xu Lai became very close, and their relationship was gradually developing into a friendly rivalry. He deliberately teased Xu Lai, saying, "Our Mr. Xu is a very good poet, but he has never studied how to write lyrics and knows nothing about music."

Xue Yu'er found it quite amusing and immediately offered Xu Lai a way out: "Many scholars who diligently study the classics are indeed unfamiliar with music and poetry. I wish you, Mr. Xu, success in the imperial examinations next year."

You're really good with words.

Xu Lai raised his cup and smiled, "I take advantage of Xue Xingshou's auspicious words."

"Come on, let's play a drinking game!" the group of guys shouted again.

Before officially starting the game, rules must be set, and commanders and clerks must be selected.

Xue Yuer and several maids joined in, taking on various roles. If someone played a drinking game well, they could also choose a song by flipping a card. Different cards represented different singers, who would then be sung by Xue Yuer and the maids.

Whether out of kindness or to curry favor with Xu Lai, Ding Zhengchen suddenly stood up and said, "It gets boring when we always make Xu Sanlang drink as punishment. Why don't we play a game of 'Flying Flowers'? Sanlang hasn't read many poems, but he can write them. He can write one on the spot, and maybe we'll hear some good lines tonight."

This is a great idea, and everyone agreed.

The "Flying Flower Order" game isn't just about randomly throwing lines of poetry; it requires following the seating order of the players and matching the key words in the poem. The tones and rhymes also must adhere to the rules of classical Chinese poetry.

"Please have Xue Xingshou give the order," Ding Zhengchen said.

Xue Yuer glanced around the room and said with a smile, "The room is full of candles, so let's use 'lamp' as the word for the game. I'll go first: 'Lamp shadows illuminate the deep pines.'"

Ding Zhengchen asked, "This is a bit difficult. Can it rhyme with a neighboring rhyme?"

"Sure," Xue Yuer said with a smile.

Ding Zhengchen continued: "A single red glow from the dying lamp."

A scholar named Liu Chang said, "Nine lamps hang empty in the latticed window."

Can you jump from five characters to seven?

Xu Lai also had some knowledge of prosody and flipped through rhyme books almost every day, so he quickly figured out that they were following the rules of regulated verse.

The third scholar said, "I really can't respond to that, so I'll just make up my own line: 'A lone boat facing a lamp, listening to the night wind.'"

"Haha, you've gone wrong, you've gone wrong, time for the penalty drink!"

The crowd shouted.

The scholar said, "The lone boat and Shuangping have been rescued."

Everyone looked at Commander Xue Yuer.

Xue Yuer said, "Consider him passing."

Using "lamp" as the word in the poem is very difficult. By the time Xu Lai got to this point, it was already the second round. The person before him had written "A lonely monk by the lamp on a lonely pillow by the guest window".

The poem Xu Lai was to recite required that the character for "lamp" be the seventh character, and that it also had to conform to the rules of tone and rhyme.

"I'll drink the penalty wine." Xu Lai picked up his wine cup.

Yang Shu quickly grabbed his wrist: "No. You have to accept it even if you create your own!"

Xu Lai said, "I can't do it right now."

"Make a scene! Make a scene! Make a scene!"

A bunch of bastards were making a ruckus; they wanted to mess with Xu Lai, since Xu Sanlang had a romantic encounter tonight.

Xue Yuer chuckled as she read it.

She preferred to take on business from young scholars, who were less snobbish and hypocritical, and were full of youthful energy and joy.

Xu Lai, at his wits' end, said, "Then let's just say 'ten years of wandering the world under the rain.'"

"There must be a preceding line, tell me quickly!" Yang Shu was particularly eager to see Xu Lai's new poem.

Xu Lai said, "Really, there isn't one. It's just a sentence I made up randomly."

Liang Wensu persisted, "Then think of another one. I've read your poems and have been wanting to read your new ones for a long time."

Xue Yu'er grew even more curious and couldn't help but ask, "May I have the honor of hearing Master Xu's poem?"

"I know, I will recite it!"

Wen Zhonghe also wanted to impress the famous courtesan, so he stood up and loudly recited Xu Lai's poems.

Xue Yuer liked it more and more as he listened, especially the lines "I consider myself the best in the world" and "I am the peak when I reach the summit of the mountain." He could tell at a glance that the author had lofty aspirations and a kind of self-assuredness.

No wonder Master Yu favored him.

Huang Tingjian's poem didn't fit Xu Lai's age and state of mind, so he would never have said it.

Xue Yuer suggested, "Why don't you all write the first line, and I'll boldly name the top scholar?"

To write poetry and have a famous courtesan critique it?

Another top scholar?

Such an elegant affair immediately excited the scholars.

"I'll do it! I'll do it!"

After a moment's thought, Yang Shu said with chivalrous spirit, "Green robe, white horse, thousand-gold sword, ten years of lamplight in the rainy nights of the Jianghu."

"good!"

"I'll come too. A lone boat on a distant shore in the midnight rain, ten years of lamplight in the rainy nights on the rivers and lakes."

"This won't do; it has two 'rain' characters in a row."

"Watch me, watch me. A lone wild goose cries from a flute at a short pavilion, ten years of lamplight in the rainy nights of the rivers and lakes."

"..."

Xue Yuer's maidservant quickly wrote down more than twenty sentences with a brush, her hand almost smoking from writing so much.

After everyone finished creating their work, they all turned to look at Xu Lai again.

With a base of random, nonsensical verses, Xu Lai became indifferent and said, "Peach blossoms and spring breeze, a cup of wine; rivers and lakes, night rain, ten years of lamplight."

No one spoke anymore; everyone was savoring the moment.

This line was absolutely stunning and completely overshadowed the rest of the audience.

As the referee, Xue Yuer's favorite sentences were those of Xu Lai and Yang Shu.

Yang Shu's lines are full of heroic spirit. "Green robe, white horse, and a thousand-gold sword" depicts the youthful pride and dashing spirit, contrasting sharply with the wandering loneliness of "ten years of lamplight in the rain on the rivers and lakes." The contrast between the highs and lows is striking, creating a sense of tragic heroism in dedicating one's youth to the world of martial arts.

Xu Lai's sentences, however, are strikingly different. The first part is full of brightness, while the second part is extremely desolate. They leave a lasting impression, as if they encompass friendship, fame, time... everything in life.

After comparing the options repeatedly for a long time, Xue Yuer smiled and picked up her pen, gazing at Xu Lai and saying, "Gentlemen, I'm going to name the top scholar..."

Just then, a commotion broke out outside.

"Get out of the way! How dare you block your grandfather's path!" a man shouted angrily.

Master Yang pleaded desperately, "Young Master Shi, Master Xue truly has guests today. Tomorrow, he will certainly receive them. This old servant can arrange for you to have another guest, Chen..."

"Get out of here!"

The man's voice grew closer, mixed with the shouts of others.

The voice quickly reached the door: "Your Master Xue is really arrogant. I've patronized her several times, but she's never let me stay overnight. She wants to play, so I play with her. I've seen this trick many times; it's nothing more than stringing customers together to spend more money. I followed the rules and played with her, but today she broke the rules and refused to even see me!"

"Young Master Shi, Master Xue really has a guest... Ouch!" Master Yang cried out in pain.

"Bang!"

The door was kicked open, and Shi Guoting stormed in angrily.