Chapter 230 Meeting at Lanting

Xiao Yong and Bai Lixin calmed down and looked at the man. It turned out to be the city patrol guard.

Xiao Yong released Chen Fu's wrist and gave Bai Lixin a look, signaling him not to move.

"Hey, isn't this Brother Sun? Don't you recognize me? It's me!" Xiao Yong put on a smile, walked up to the city patrol guard, held him, and took two steps to the side.

The two of them whispered a few words, and the patrolman changed to a gentle tone and said, "Forgive me for my poor eyesight. It was too dark just now and I didn't recognize you. Mr. Xiao, you guys are welcome. I'll continue my patrol."

The patrolman finished speaking, leaned over and said to Chen Fu, "Don't hang around when you're drunk. Look at how your friends are suffering!"

Then, the patrolman left with a torch.

"Don't go!" Chen Fu was stunned for a moment.

"Help..."

Chen Fu's cry was soon drowned in the night.

"Plop" a sound of falling into the water was heard, and Chen Fu's voice stopped completely.

After a cup of tea, Bai Lixin took a bamboo pole and pulled Chen Fu out of the water.

Chen Fu was like a chicken in the water, no longer having the strength to shout.

"How is it, Master Chen, are your robes clean now?" Xiao Yong asked with a smile while sitting on the shore.

Chen Fu lay on the ground powerlessly, spitting out water in big mouthfuls.

"If you don't say anything, it means you think your robes are not clean enough!" Bai Lixin said.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Chen Fu wanted to speak but was choked by the water. He was so anxious that he kept waving his hands.

After coughing for a long time, he raised his purple face and said, "No, no, no! It's clean! Very clean!"

Xiao Yong and Bai Lixin covered their mouths and laughed until their shoulders twitched.

Zhu Qi waited in the inn for a whole night, but Chen Fu, Bai Lixin, Xiao Yong and others did not come back. Finally, he could not hold on any longer and fell asleep.

The next morning, Zhu Qi went downstairs to have breakfast and bumped into Chen Fu.

"Chen Fu, what's wrong with you?" Zhu Qi asked in surprise.

Chen Fu's clothes were all wrinkled and he exuded a sour smell.

His face was dark yellow and he had two big dark circles under his eyes, as if he had not slept all night.

When Chen Fu found out that the person opposite him was Zhu Qi, he was frightened.

"Chen Fu, where did you go last night? What about the robe?" Zhu Qi looked puzzled.

Chen Fu waved his hands out of his shadow, and said incoherently: "It's okay! The robe has been fixed!"

Then he picked up the robe and ran back to his Tianzi room.

Zhu Qi scratched his head: "What happened? What did Xiao Yong and Bai Lixin do to him?"

...

At this time, the street was noisy.

The waiters of Tianxiang Restaurant took a copper gong and knocked on the street.

They shouted: "Welcome to the Lanting Club! Students can participate for free, and the winners will get a prize of 100 taels of silver!"

Many students who were preparing for the exam lived in the inns on both sides of the street. When they heard the sound, they curiously opened the windows and looked down.

"Young man! What are you talking about? Winning will get you a prize of 200 taels of silver?"

A curious student poked his head out of the window and asked.

"Yes, tell me, what exactly is going on?" someone echoed.

The waiter who was knocking the bell immediately stopped the sound and answered with his head raised: "Our boss is kind-hearted and appreciates scholars the most, so he held a Lanting Meeting for everyone to exchange calligraphy, poetry, etc."

"If anyone wins the top three in the competition of the Lanting Meeting, our boss will pay for the prizes out of his own pocket. The prize for the first place is 300 taels of silver, the second place is 100 taels, and the third place is 50 taels."

"There are three competitions in the Lanting Meeting, calligraphy, poetry, and couplets. The top three in each competition will get a prize."

After the waiter introduced the settings of the Lanting Meeting, a huge noise immediately rang out on both sides of the street, and the students began to discuss excitedly.

"That is to say, nine people who attend the Lanting Club can get a bonus!"

"Let's go, maybe we can get a bonus!"

"With so many students, it's not that easy to get a bonus!"

Some highly educated students immediately showed great interest.

Most of the students were from humble backgrounds, and the bonus was extremely attractive to them.

Even the lowest prize of fifty taels of silver was an amount that an ordinary family could not earn in a year.

However, there were also a large number of students with average education who thought that they would definitely not get a bonus with their level, so they were not very willing to go.

Seeing this, the waiter looked up and shouted: "Even if you don't get a bonus, you can still enjoy free tea and snacks! Entry is free, and tea and snacks are free!"

After the waiter said this, those students who didn't want to go at first also changed their minds.

"Since admission is free and there are free refreshments, why not go and join in the fun!"

"Yes, even if we don't get the prize, we can still join in the fun! Just think of it as going to have a free refreshment!"

The students said that they wanted to join in the fun.

At this time, Zhu Qi leaned against the window, looking downstairs in silence, as if thinking about something.

"Zhu Qi, are you going to the Lanting meeting tomorrow night?" A student named Wei Chong in the same room asked.

Zhu Qi's eyes turned: "Yes!"

Wei Chong said loudly: "Okay! Let's go together then!"

...

The Prince's Mansion.

Xia Miaoyuan pestered the prince brother to tell stories last night and didn't go to bed until very late. Today, he slept until noon before getting up.

The maids gently washed her and she changed into a pink dress and combed her hair into a double bun.

"You were still clamoring to go shopping yesterday, but you got up so late today!" The prince joked as he looked at his sleepy sister.

At this time, the prince's bodyguard Awen walked in. When he walked to the door, he looked at Xia Miaoyuan who was sitting on the couch rubbing her eyes, and stopped again.

The prince waved to several maids and asked them to leave, and then called Awen in.

"The little princess is still just a baby, just say it." The prince said lightly.

Upon hearing this, Awen reported: "Tianxiang Restaurant has organized a Lanting Club, which will be held tomorrow night. Students are invited to participate for free. Those who get the top three in each competition will get a prize."

The prince asked: "How do the students react? Are there many interested?"

Awen frowned: "Many, a lot. They heard that there are free refreshments and a chance to win prizes, and they all clamored to go."

"Oh? It seems that they are really restless!" The prince murmured, and waved his hand to let Awen leave.

[What fun! Return to the Lanting Club! Yao Jinse and Liang Chaozong, these two have a lot of tricks up their sleeves!]

[The free teahouses and free meals before, and now the Lanting Club, aren’t they all aimed at recruiting talents?] What

Xia Miaoyuan was thinking was exactly what the prince was thinking.

The brother and sister were both worried.

The free teahouses and free meals before had little effect and were not worth worrying about, but now the Lanting Club has attracted many students.

If Liang Chaozong attracts talents through the Lanting Club, wouldn’t it be a serious loss for the court!