Zhu Wanting chuckled and said, "Mr. Zhao is naturally a handsome man. But compared to Mr. Zhao's appearance, I care more about his talent."
Zhao Lin sighed: "Actually, if you say you came here for my appearance, I would be even happier."
Zhu Wanting only smiled slightly, not engaging in idle chatter with Zhao Lin. She went straight to the point and said, "I'm sure Master Zhao knows the reason why Wanting is here. If Master Zhao is willing to give Wanting a poem, Wanting is willing to pay a fee of a thousand taels of silver."
"A thousand taels of silver?"
Zhao Lin was excited. It was true that books are the source of wealth. He had worked and studied at the same time. He had memorized books so many times that his head was about to explode. Now it could be turned into money!
But Zhao Lin remained calm on the surface and said, "A thousand taels of silver is indeed a lot, but Miss Zhu, are you sure you want to use this price?"
Zhu Wanting said, "If Mr. Zhao thinks it's too little, you can ask for it."
Zhao Lin shook his head and said, "As for poetry, yes. But do you know why I didn't go that time when I promised you to?"
Zhu Wanting said, "Mr. Wang said that Miss Fu is here."
Zhao Lin nodded: "That's just one reason. Another reason is that I received a total of eight invitations that day."
Zhu Wanting's expression suddenly changed.
The eight invitations represented that those women had the same idea as her.
There are a total of nine people participating in this year's Oiran Competition, including Yun Zhiyi and Zhu Wanting.
Yun Zhiyi already had two poems, and as those two poems were sung by the literati present at the time, they became more and more widely known, and Yun Zhiyi's reputation grew, making her the most famous among the nine of them.
So they were all very anxious.
If she didn't quickly come up with a poem of the same caliber, there would be no point in competing for the title of Oiran. Yun Zhiyi would definitely win.
So when Zhu Wanting learned that Zhao Lin could not accept the invitation to attend their banquet, she simply took the initiative to come.
It was just that Zhao Lin suddenly moved, which made it difficult for her to find him.
Zhu Wanting pondered for a moment and said, "I understand what Master Zhao means. I'll offer you five thousand taels of silver for a poem, plus a promise not to write poems for other women before this year's Oiran Contest. How do you do that?"
Zhao Lin was secretly amazed.
Isn’t it said that all the money of the brothel girls was taken away by the madams? Where did Zhu Wanting get so much money?
Zhu Wanting saw Zhao Lin's confusion and said with a smile, "Mr. Zhao is still young and doesn't know the situation in our industry. If someone like me didn't have someone to rely on, I would have been toyed with to death long ago."
Zhao Lin nodded.
How could he not know.
Anyone who works in this field needs someone to back them up.
Some people run half-door businesses, receiving customers at home alone, but those are either small businesses or prone to accidents.
Even in Zhao Lin's previous life, when the laws and regulations were very complete, if he wanted to do this business, he still needed a good big brother to guide him.
However, Zhao Lin did not expect that Zhu Wanting’s backers would be willing to pay her such a high price.
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "Miss Zhu is indeed generous, but I can't promise you yet."
Zhu Wanting's face suddenly turned ugly. She said, "Mr. Zhao, one should not be too greedy. Five thousand taels of silver is already a very high price. How much is your house worth?"
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "It's indeed very high, but I think we can wait a little longer."
Zhu Wanting's expression changed slightly.
How could she not understand what Zhao Lin meant?
This is to wait for those women to come and see who offers a higher price. Maybe she will even take out her bid and let them give it based on what she offers.
Unexpectedly, she was used as a stepping stone after coming to the door on her own initiative. Zhu Wanting was very unhappy and said, "Mr. Zhao, just tell me what price you want."
Zhao Lin leaned back on the recliner, watching the maids busying around leisurely, and said, "Ten thousand taels."
"Ten thousand taels? You are robbing me." Zhu Wanting suddenly lost her composure and almost cursed.
Ten thousand taels for a poem, even literary leaders like Li Gongxiang and Fu Shangshu would not demand such a high price.
"You think I'm asking for too much?"
Zhao Lin ignored Zhu Wanting's unpleasant expression and said, "I actually think it's too little. If I wasn't short of men and I wasn't afraid that you would come back and rob me again, how could I ask for only ten thousand taels?"
"hehe."
Zhu Wanting sneered, "How much does Mr. Zhao want?"
"One hundred thousand taels!" Zhao Lin almost shocked Zhu Wanting when he opened his mouth.
"You're crazy! You're absolutely crazy!"
Zhu Wanting showed an incredible look: "Mr. Zhao is so talented, he shouldn't be so stupid..."
She didn't finish the rest of the sentence, and Zhao Lin took over and said, "You want to call me stupid, right?"
Zhu Wanting didn't say anything, but she agreed.
Zhao Lin smiled leisurely and said, "There are courtesans every year. But a good poem may only appear once every ten years. And a good poem that can be passed down through the ages, who knows how many years it will take to produce one."
Zhu Wanting's expression changed slightly.
Zhao Lin asked, "Do you think that with those two poems of mine, Yun Zhiyi will be able to leave a name in history in the future?"
Zhu Wanting opened her mouth and said in a hoarse voice, "Of course. Young Master Zhao's two poems are simply breathtaking. It can be said that Yun Zhiyi's fame, which he built up for so long, is not as great as Young Master Zhao's two poems. Now, all the scholars and literati who come to the capital want to go to the Qingxuan Flower Boat and see with their own eyes what this woman who can play a song that is rarely heard in the world looks like."
"This poem dedicated to Yun Qing will also become a poem passed down through the ages. In the future, whenever someone recites this poem, they will mention Yun Zhiyi's name."
Zhao Lin lay even more lazily on the recliner, as if he had no bones in his body. "So, a hundred thousand taels for a poem like this isn't too much, right?"
"Not too much," Zhu Wanting replied silently. "But no one is willing to pay 100,000 taels for a poem. If we weren't facing the Oiran competition, we wouldn't be willing to pay thousands of taels for a poem."
Zhao Lin sighed and said, "So you can only be the Oiran. Well, here's my price: 10,000 taels. I can promise not to write poems for those girls before the Oiran Competition."
Zhu Wanting thought about it again and again, and said, "It's too much. I need to go back and discuss it."
She definitely can't come up with it herself, so she has to look for someone to back her, maybe a young man from some unknown family.
After all, ten thousand taels of silver is a considerable sum of money even for those wealthy families.
Zhao Lin nodded and said, "Of course. But Miss Zhu, you should make a decision soon. After all, you are not the only one coming."
Zhu Wanting was startled and left in a hurry after saying goodbye.
"Brother Lin, can a poem be sold for so much money?" Zhang Dashan asked in shock.
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "Ten thousand taels is a rare opportunity to leave a mark in history."
Sure enough, not long after Zhu Wanting left, another person came knocking on the door.
"Master Zhao, if you are willing to give me a poem, you can choose any of the girls in our Qunfang Tower from now on. How about that?"
The man came and offered an offer that no man could refuse.
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