Ever since the news spread that Lu Chen left a few couplets in Nuanxiang Pavilion and wanted to challenge the world's talented men, Nuanxiang Pavilion has been packed with guests again during this period, and the girls have once again remembered the fear of being dominated by 700.
Fortunately, most of the guests this time were scholars, and they were relatively polite, making it easy for the girls to deal with them.
Hua Niang smiled again with her eyes visible in her wrinkles. The turnover had skyrocketed in the past two days, and she had also received a lot of dividends.
Holding a small round fan in her hand, Hua Niang fanned Zi Yan attentively and said, "My daughter, you must not act like a spoiled child. How can you argue with the Imperial Master? The fact that the Imperial Master is willing to come to you means that he has you in his heart. Doesn't this just prove how charming you are?"
"My dear little aunt, what are we doing? Aren't we just prostitutes? This is the first time I've heard of a girl chasing customers away. Listen to what mother says, you can't be arrogant because of your favor. Wait a few days until the Imperial Master has calmed down, then you can take the initiative to go to his house and apologize."
Zi Yan, who had been somewhat absent-minded just now, suddenly brightened up after hearing what Hua Niang said. "What Mom said makes a lot of sense. It's not his fault that he always comes to our side. I should reflect on myself. Who made me so charming?"
"You're absolutely right to think so! Listen to mom, you have to hold on to this thigh no matter what. You don't know, the brothel owner of Yanlailou next door has been cursing non-stop these past few days!"
Hua Niang took it for granted that as long as Zi Yan was still in their Nuanxiang Pavilion, Lu Chen would definitely continue to come and continue to give benefits to their Nuanxiang Pavilion, and she would continue to benefit from it.
Moreover, Hua Niang felt that it would be impossible for Lu Chen to get rid of Zi Yan in a short period of time. After all, she was the imperial teacher and a Taoist priest, and all aspects of the impact had to be taken into consideration.
Upon hearing her colleagues' dissatisfaction, Zi Yan immediately became interested and asked, "Really? Why is that?"
"What else could it be? It's because we've almost snatched away all their customers. Ever since the Imperial Master created those couplets, every scholar of some repute in the capital has been eager to come over to our place for a drink and a glimpse of those three couplets."
"The funniest thing is that Zhang Xiuzhi, who was previously treated as a distinguished guest at Yanlai Tower, now comes here to listen to music. I heard that his lover was so angry that he almost vomited blood." As Hua Niang said this, she pointed downstairs with the round fan in her hand. Sure enough, a young man in white was sitting there, surrounded by women. Who else could it be but Zhang Xiuzhi?
At this moment, Zhang Xiuzhi was as happy as a god, and he did not feel the slightest bit of guilt towards his lover in Yanlailou.
In his opinion, it is normal for men to sleep with other women. I have eaten so many delicacies from land and sea, and you don’t allow me to change my taste?
What's more, he didn't come here just to have a good time. When he heard that there were three couplets written by Lu Chen, he was very angry and decided to match these couplets today.
Previously, at the flower-viewing banquet at the Princess's Mansion, Wei Caier took out a poem by Lu Chen, which almost shattered Zhang Xiuzhi's pride.
It took him a long time to rest and recuperate before he recovered.
During this process, he has regarded Lu Chen as his lifelong enemy, regardless of whether Lu Chen agrees or not!
Moreover, all the scholars in the capital should know what Lu Chen's current status and position are, and what kind of dirty things he has done with the Imperial College and the Hongwen Academy.
If one could really match his couplet, not only would he become famous in the capital, but he would also be able to win a lot of favor from the Imperial College, which would be like killing two birds with one stone.
But it was only after Zhang Xiuzhi arrived that he realized that Lu Chen dared to place the pair in this place and dared to place a heavy bet, so he naturally had some confidence.
He was a talented man praised by people, but after drinking for a long time, he could only come up with one couplet. As for the remaining two, he had no idea even if he racked his brains.
This made Zhang Xiuzhi somewhat embarrassed. Before coming here, he had made an agreement with his friends. What should he do now?
As the saying goes, "What you fear will come true." Just as Zhang Xiuzhi was deep in thought, someone suddenly spoke up, "I heard that Master Zhang is an expert in poetry. He must also be quite accomplished in writing couplets. I wonder if Master Zhang has any good couplets to come up with?"
Zhang Xiuzhi glanced at the other person and even bowed. On the surface, he seemed calm and polite, but in his heart he had already dragged out the other person's ancestors.
He remembered the person who spoke. He was a candidate from Hebei. He said this at this time not to give him a chance to praise him, but to put him on the fire.
Ever since the Great Qi Dynasty introduced the imperial examination system, the conflict between the North and the South has always existed.
Due to the constant unrest in the northern region in recent years, the level of candidates here is obviously a level lower than that in the southern region.
In the first two imperial examinations, the top ten places were dominated by candidates from the south, which made the northern scholars feel very embarrassed.
Since arriving in the capital, Zhang Xiuzhi has thrived, relying on his poetic talent. This must have displeased the northern candidates. Now that they have such a good opportunity, what are they waiting for?
Fortunately, Zhang Xiuzhi had witnessed many such scenes during this period and was well aware of how the northern and southern candidates viewed each other. So, he said calmly, "I am not very knowledgeable and have only matched two pairs. I plan to continue studying them."
"It's obvious that this brother is no ordinary person. He has an imposing and distinguished bearing. I'm sure he must be very knowledgeable. Why don't you help us solve this puzzle and let us see what wonderful couplets you have created?"
The person who spoke turned red in the face after being outmaneuvered by Zhang Xiuzhi.
He couldn't even come up with a couplet, let alone two. He couldn't even come up with the simplest couplet. I came here today just to have some fun with my friends. Who knew that a simple sentence like that would actually backfire?
But he was now representing the Northern scholars, and he couldn't afford to admit defeat, so he snorted coldly and said, "That's quite a coincidence. I also came up with two pairs, but some details still need polishing, so I won't show them to you for now."
"Haha, you coward!"
"What did you say? Say it again!"
"I say you northern dogs are really uneducated!"
"Shut up, Southerner! Who gave you the courage to speak so arrogantly? If you have the ability, then match all three pairs."
"The Yankees are the ones who really shut up! If you had any ability and courage, you wouldn't have been beaten so badly on the border and brought shame to the country!"
"How dare you, you little brat, talk so much!"
"Take this kick from me."
In an instant, the two groups of scholars became one in a physical sense!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
