Chapter 53
53 I copied the poem for a deal, not for vulgar posturing (1)
“What should we do? we’ve lost thirty taels of silver for the three of us. Even if we find the maidservants in this courtyard to sleep with us, the three of us will still need a few taels.” Second uncle Xu was anxious. He felt like he had returned to the moment before liberation. He frowned and looked at his son.
“Farewell, quickly think of a way.”
Was this a matter of money? this was a matter of not getting any information … The two brothers were cursing madly in their hearts.
Xu niannian looked at his father. what can I do? we were just trying our luck. It’s fine that my brother and I came. Don’t you know your place, father? ”
His tone was a little heavy, indicating that he was also anxious.
This was a huge loss … The silver was secondary, the key was that they did not manage to get any information … Xu Qi ‘an looked at young master Zhao, who was being led away by the servant, and suddenly remembered the title of the floating fragrance courtesan Belle:The zither and poem were both excellent.
He immediately asked for a brush, ink, and rice paper from the servant girl who served the guests.
She cleared a space on the table and pulled Xu Xinyi over. “Farewell, write it for me.”
Xu niannian didn’t hesitate. He tacitly straightened his sitting posture and held his pen.
Xu Qi ‘an spoke quickly and read,”all the beauties shake off du Jingyan, and occupy the little garden.”
Xu niannian’s brush was flying, and he wrote a unique cursive script.
Xu Qi ‘an continued to read,”the water is clear, and the moon is at dusk.”
Xu niannian didn’t start writing. He was stunned and petrified. He kept repeating the last two sentences.
“Quickly write!” Xu Qi ‘an pushed him.
Xu Erlang seemed to wake up from a dream and quickly finished writing with a straight face.
Xu Qi ‘an pulled away the paper and called for the maidservant.”Pass this poem to Lady Fu Xiang and go do it. Tell her I’ll be waiting here.”
The maidservant was not very happy, but after Xu Qi ‘an gave her a handful of silver pieces, she immediately ran away.
……
In the master bedroom, four folding screens blocked the bath barrel, and steam curled up on the roof beams.
Fu Xiang was soaked in hot water with floating rose petals. Her black hair was tied up, her neck was white and slender, and beads of water hung on her shoulders and chest, reflecting the light of the candlelight.
Her skin was as smooth as grease and she looked like a Jade person.
A personal maidservant was serving by the bathtub, praising Fu Xiang’s skin while saying, “”Young master Zhao is already waiting in the tea room next door. The guest outside said that he is a scholar from the Imperial College.”
what’s so strange about being an elementary scholar? ” Fu Xiang smiled and gently stirred the water.”However, with young master Zhao’s talent, passing the examination would not be a problem.”
The maidservant laughed in a low voice and said,”I knew that wifey liked this kind of talented young master. Like that annoying Zhou Li. He still uses his father’s official position to show off his power.”
“That young master Zhao is very talented, I hope that wifey will entertain him well, maybe it will become a good story in the future. Women can also leave their names in history.”
“Even I’m laughing at you …” Fu Xiang poked the servant girl’s head with her finger and sighed. “How difficult is it for a woman to leave her name in history? It’s something that many scholars can’t even dream of.”
The door of the master bedroom was pushed open and a maidservant came in. She stood in the hall and said in a crisp voice, “”Wifey, the guest surnamed yang outside asked this servant to send a poem over.”
Fu Xiang frowned, and the maidservant rebuked, “”Such an unruly thing, wifey has already chosen young master Zhao, how can it be changed, is it because you have received some benefits from others?”
The little maidservant lowered her head, not daring to talk back.
“Leave it on the table. Go out and tell the guests that I appreciate it,” Fu Xiang said indifferently.
The little maidservant was relieved. She sighed, put the rice paper on the table, and went out.
After her bath, Fu Xiang put on a thin chiffon dress, and her graceful figure was faintly discernible. She came to the table and sat down with her bare white feet.
“Go and invite young master Zhao in.” As she spoke, her gaze fell on the rice paper on the table and she picked it up.
Her gaze suddenly froze as she looked at the rice paper in a daze.
“Yingmei Pavilion offers floating incense.”
All the beauties shook off du Jingyan, occupying the little garden.
The water was clear and shallow, and the fragrance floated in the moonlight.
The servant girl walked to the door and was about to open it to invite young master Zhao in when she suddenly heard her wife’s sharp voice from behind, “”Hold on!”
Looking back, his wife’s hand was tightly holding the rice paper, slightly trembling, her face had never been so strange.
The servant girl had never seen such an expression on her face.
The courtesan’s lady’s voice was urgent and sharp. who, who sent the poem? which young master, tell me quickly!
“I think his surname is yang …” The maidservant was shocked and said awkwardly.
The courtesan’s wife rushed to the door without a care.
“Wifey, wifey … How can you go out like this? I can’t …” The maidservant hugged him tightly.
“Let me go, let me go.” Fu Xiang’s face and ears were red with anxiety. don’t let that young master leave. Quickly chase him back.
The servant girl couldn’t understand how a poem could make her wife lose her composure like never before. She completely ignored her usual scholarly, cultured, and elegant self.
“Wifey, don’t be impatient. This servant will immediately go … Go and invite the young master who wrote the poem.”
After the maidservant left, the courtesan’s wife sat at the table in a daze, her clothes disheveled. She looked at the paper in her hand in a daze.
the water is clear and shallow, and the fragrance is floating in the evening … Give me floating incense, give me floating incense …”
Bean-sized tears rolled down her pretty face, and she leaned on the table and started crying.
……
In the front hall, some of the guests had left, but the others did not.
After the tea gathering, the guests who failed to make the cut had two choices:One, go to another courtyard to continue the next match. Second, if you can’t drink and are tired, you can choose the maidservants here to serve you.
“This lady floating fragrance doesn’t buy your words.” Xu Pingzhi looked at his nephew with anxiety in his eyes.
The poem was sent over, but in exchange, it was a light sentence.
Obviously, Xu Qi ‘an’s poem did not move the courtesan.
“She’s just a woman. How can she understand the essence of poetry?” Xu niannian sneered.
Xu Pingzhi stared at his son and asked,”was Ning Yan’s poem excellent?”
The proud and arrogant Xu Erlang was completely convinced by his big brother in the Dao of poetry. He sighed, “”Excellent, excellent,”
Xu dalang was also confused, but he had absolute confidence in this poem.
This seven law was very famous, very famous. Especially the last two lines, which were praised as the pinnacle of plum singing.
At that time, under the lonely frost, two lines of poetry became famous-these two lines were the examples.
Two lines of poetry became an ancient name, what a high evaluation.
“Dark fragrance” and “sparse shadow” had even become the names of these poems. One could see the status of this poem among the ancient scholars.
Ouyang Xiu, Sima Guang, and other famous people had given high evaluations to these two lines.
And the author of this seven-tone poem had also left his name in history … Well, Xu Qi ‘an had forgotten who the author was.
That’s impossible. She has no reason to reject me … If I were to gift this poem to the two great Confucians of Yun Lu Academy, they would definitely treat me like their own son … Xu Qi ‘an thought of a possibility. This courtesan who was known to be a master of poetry and zither was actually just for show.
He was just trying to boost his reputation and sell his image. In essence, he was an uncultured person.
However, there was a paradox here. If the floating fragrance courtesan Belle was a flower vase that sold her image, she would not be recognized by the scholars.
Compared to the artists in his previous life who hyped up their image, the top courtesans of this era also had similar operations, but the latter had real ability.
The reason was simple. The scholars in ancient times were not as easy to fool as the young people in the future.
As Fu Xiang’s brows furrowed, the maidservant who served by her side walked over. Her eyes were filled with anxiety as she searched the crowd. When she saw Xu Qi ‘an, her expression relaxed. She walked over and bowed.
“Young master yang, was this poem written by you?”
The three masters of the Xu family looked at each other, relieved.
“It’s me,” he said. Xu Qi ‘an nodded.
The maidservant smiled and became more respectful. She lowered her eyes and said gently, “”My wife would like to invite you.”
Xu Qi ‘an nodded calmly and followed the maidservant to the master bedroom on the other side of the attic.
This scene attracted the attention of the guests who were planning to stay at the “yingmei Pavilion,” and they started whispering to each other.
“Eh, why is he following us in?”
“This, this … It’s against the rules, how can two people enter?”
“That servant girl seemed to have mentioned a poem, and I happened to see him writing something with that handsome young man.”
A middle-aged man dressed like a rich man walked up to Xu niannian and Xu Pingzhi. He cupped his hands and said, “”The two of you, may I know what lady floating fragrance means? Why did that brother go in just now? what poem did you write?”
[ PS: guys, my face is so itchy. I need recommendation votes to slap my face fiercely () ]