Qu Shanglai had been out for a long time and everyone in Room No. 1 was quite confused. When the waiter came in to pour tea and asked, they learned that Dong Shulan and Old Qin were outside at the moment.
"You said that Fu Xiaoguan composed a poem for Miss Dong on the spot and received praise from Mr. Qin?"
The person asking the questions was Zhang Wenhan, the second son of Zhang Liang, the owner of Zhangji.
He was holding a folding fan and wearing white clothes. He stood up at this moment, his brows slightly furrowed, his face full of confusion.
The four great talents of Linjiang, headed by Zhang Wenhan, passed the imperial examination in the seventh year of Xuanli and will go to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination in September this year. This banquet is to see Dong Shulan off, and secondly, he will go to Beijing with Dong Shulan.
"My Lord, Young Master Fu did compose a poem on the spot. After Old Qin recited it, he exclaimed "good" three times. I think that means it's good. Also... Old Qin invited Young Master Fu to visit Linjiang Academy when he's free. I'm not lying. The head of the Qu family is also there."
Zhang Wenhan waved his folding fan lightly, his brows relaxed, and he waved his hand lightly: "You can go down."
He did not go out impulsively, but sat down and ignored the exclamations of the people around him.
Of course he knew about Young Master Fu of Linjiang, but they had no connection with each other.
A dandy young man and a talented man from Linjiang, they were originally people walking on two completely unintersecting paths.
Fu Xiaoguan inherited the family business and became a large landlord, but he wanted to enter the government and serve as an official.
A month ago, news of Fu Xiaoguan and Meng Lang's affair spread throughout Linjiang. Naturally, he knew about it. Upon hearing the news, he simply smiled and said to his younger sister, Zhang Pei'er, "He's just a toad wanting to eat swan flesh... He doesn't know his place!"
Later, he heard that Fu Xiaoguan was beaten by Dong Shulan's guards, but he was not surprised. Given what Fu Xiaoguan usually did, he would not find it strange even if Fu Xiaoguan was killed.
But he felt a little strange now.
Since Dong Shulan disliked Fu Xiaoguan so much, why were they sitting together? She even asked Fu Xiaoguan to write a poem for her.
This is the root of the problem.
During the time Dong Shulan was in Linjiang, he spent a lot of energy accompanying her, and he had some understanding of Dong Shulan's personality.
Putting aside the amazing talent that Dong Shulan displayed in this negotiation, she was just a young girl who had just reached the age of marriage. She was no different from many women in the world. She was close to literati, admired talents, and cherished the dream of marrying a talented man and a beautiful woman.
Fu Xiaoguan has nothing but money.
But he wrote a poem today!
This poem was even praised by the great scholar Qin Lao, which means it must be excellent. But could Fu Xiaoguan, who was unlearned and unskilled, write such a poem?
Of course not, then all this was Fu Xiaoguan’s plan.
He knew that Dong Shulan was coming to Linjiang Tower for a banquet, and he also knew that Dong Shulan was about to leave Linjiang, so he prepared a poem - of course it was not written by him.
He used this method to please Dong Shulan, which meant that he had not given up on Dong Shulan.
This kid... is so sinister!
Then he must be exposed and humiliated, and Dong Shulan must see his ugly face with her own eyes. From then on, he will never be able to turn things around.
Why don’t you act like a good landlord and pretend to be a scholar?
Zhang Wenhan figured out the reason and made a plan, whispering it to Liu Jingxing, another talented man from Linjiang who was sitting next to him.
…
"Well, my mother founded Yu Fu Ji. After she passed away, Yu Fu Ji's business went from bad to worse. I didn't want to see that, so I got some wine."
Of course, Fu Xiaoguan would not miss such a good opportunity to promote his wine, especially after knowing the identity of Mr. Qin.
"There's no standard for wine on the market today. People only know that aromas are good, but they can't pinpoint just how good they are. So I decided to establish a standard for wine, using alcohol content as a metric."
"The so-called alcohol content is what we usually call strength. For example, the wine Yu Fu Ji used to sell, and most of the wine on the market, only has 15% alcohol content. However, Xiangquan wine has 32% alcohol content, and Tianchun wine has a 42% alcohol content. As for the nectar that Miss Dong drank at the West Mountain Villa, it has 48% alcohol content."
"Of course, higher-proof liquors have lower production volumes and require finer raw materials. For example, Xiangquan Liquor costs 100 wen per ounce, while Tianchun Liquor, with its 10-proof strength, costs several times more."
Bai Yulian suddenly glanced at Fu Xiaoguan, who remained calm and collected.
"So expensive?" Old Qin frowned.
"Hehe, although it's expensive, I can guarantee that anyone who has tasted my wine will never drink anything else. Of course, Yu Fu Ji's wine targets different customer groups. We sell to big businessmen like Mr. Qu and great scholars like you, Mr. Qin. Also, the production of this wine is extremely low, so after research, we at Yu Fu Ji have decided to limit the purchase of Xiangquan wine to five liang per person per day, and Tianchun wine to three liang."
Dong Shulan listened carefully and asked doubtfully, "Is there any reason why people are not allowed to buy more?"
"Although Yu Fu Ji's wine is good, you shouldn't drink too much. The daily production is so small. What if Boss Qu buys all the wine and Mr. Qin wants to drink it?"
Old Qin burst into laughter, but Qu Shanglai disagreed. He said, "If your Tianchun is truly comparable to Tianxiang, I will definitely buy it to try. But if you are exaggerating... I, Qu, will be merciless."
"Don't worry, Boss Qu. If I can't compare to Tianxiang, you can even destroy my store."
These words were so powerful that Qu Shanglai was a little surprised... Could it be that this boy really had mastered the secret recipe for adding fragrance?
Qu Shanglai suddenly remembered that there were people waiting in Room No. 1, so he bowed and said, "Miss Dong, Old Qin, the Linjiang family heads have prepared a small banquet for you two. It's almost time. Could you please…"
Dong Shulan stood up and said to Fu Xiaoguan, "Don't forget to ask someone to bring me your wine."
"Of course! Since you two have an appointment, I won't stay any longer. Before Yu Fu Ji's wine goes on the market, I'll also give some to Mr. Qin to taste."
"Well, let's talk later."
Old Qin and Dong Shulan followed Qu Shanglai to Room No. 1. Dong Shulan did not invite Fu Xiaoguan again, and it was not known whether she did it on purpose... or just forgot.
Bai Yulian laughed and said, "I underestimated you. You're quite good at bragging."
"I'm not bragging. Sigh... I learned about Mr. Qin's identity a little late, but it doesn't matter. Didn't he invite me to Linjiang Academy? I'll bring some wine to see him when the bottle is made... He has a huge influence among literati, and literati can't avoid drinking if they want to write some good poems. Writers are not short of money. Even if they are short of money, they will borrow money to buy it."
"Why is that?" Chunxiu asked.
"Because scholars care about their reputation."
The waiter brought the food and wine, and the three of them ate and drank casually, chatted about random topics, and felt the warm breeze casually, which was quite comfortable.
Half an hour later, the three of them were about to leave after having eaten and drunk their fill, but unexpectedly the door of Room No. 1 opened and Qu Shanglai came out again.
"Master Fu, wait a minute. The Linjiang Imperial Merchants deal has been finalized, and Miss Dong will be leaving for the capital tomorrow. Therefore, Zhang, Liu, Huang, myself, Qu, and the heads of the three major grain merchants, along with the younger generations of our families, are here to see Miss Dong off."
"Just now we were discussing Master Fu's poem, which is excellent. However, since you wrote it for Miss Dong, she doesn't want to share it with others. So, we're suggesting... that Master Fu come in, firstly to bid Miss Dong farewell, and secondly... to add to the brilliance of our Linjiang talent. What do you think?"
Fu Xiaoguan was silent for two breaths, then smiled and said, "I won't go in... Could you please tell me, Boss Qu, that I appreciate the kindness of all the uncles and aunts. I also wish Miss Dong a safe journey. I still have a lot to do, so I'll take my leave now. When Yu Fu Ji's new wine is released, everyone is welcome to join in the fun."
He walked towards the stairs. Qu Shanglai flicked his sleeves, looked annoyed, turned around and walked into Room No. 1.
Zhang Wenhan was slightly disappointed, but it was also within his calculations.
If Fu Xiaoguan had been a little smarter, he would not have come in, because he had already given the poem to Dong Shulan, and his goal had been achieved, so there was naturally no need for him to come in and humiliate himself.
Zhang Zhice, the head of the Zhang family, patted Qu Shanglai on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Why get angry over such a trivial matter? Mr. Fu is a prominent figure, and I believe everyone here agrees with that. As for his son, he's also very famous in a place as big as Linjiang... Let's not talk about people's right or wrong behind their backs. Let's have a drink, don't ruin our mood."
After a warm round of toasts, Liu Jingxing, the son of Liu Yuncheng of Liuji, spoke, feeling a little drunk.
"Fu Xiaoguan, that fellow, is someone that the talented scholars of Linjiang like me disdain to have anything to do with. We've heard a lot about what he's done, but the only thing we haven't heard of is that he can write poetry. Think about it, a playboy who spends his days hanging out in brothels and restaurants, with only the title of a scholar, some say he bought it, suddenly one day he can write poetry, and quite good at it. How is that possible?"
"What does my nephew mean..."
"My nephew thought that the poem he gave Miss Dong... was written by someone else, and he claimed it as his own to please Miss Dong. His heart... is worthy of death!"
These words were very powerful. Zhang Wenhan waved his folding fan and smiled knowingly.
Old Qin and Dong Shulan both frowned, and then they heard Liu Jingxing say, "Think about it, everyone. If he really had real talent and knowledge, he could come in and write a poem. This would not only clear his name, but also make him famous. It would be a rare opportunity. But he didn't dare to come in. Why? Because he has no knowledge of literature. Apart from the poem he copied, he doesn't know anything else. He is a villain!"
Everyone cheered and agreed with it.
Dong Shulan was silent for a moment and took out two pages of paper from his sleeve.
She said calmly, "If Fu Xiaoguan is really as you say, then please take a look at these two poems."
She handed it to Liu Jingxing and said, "These two poems were written by Fu Xiaoguan on the night of the Dragon Boat Festival. Please see if they meet your standards."
Zhang Wenhan frowned, and Liu Jingxing took the paper.
"Looking at Jiangnan. Jiangnan Moon"
The moon over the south of the Yangtze River fills the west building on a clear night.
When the clouds clear, the ice reveals its mirror.
A jade hook sinks deep in the waves.
When will the waxing and waning of the moon end?
…
Su'e should believe in the sorrow of separation,
The sky is vast and boundless."
After the recitation, the whole audience was shocked, but there was complete silence.
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