Need a Woman

The two brothers returned to the Lin residence and entered the backyard. The backyard was spacious and had many rooms.

They began to make the equipment for brewing alcohol.

If it were the Lin Su of the past, he certainly wouldn't be able to do such professional work, but now he could. With a bit of force, the thin sheet metal slowly bent into a circle. The problem arose: how to weld it?

Before Lin Su could find an answer to the problem, Lin Jialiang came up with a solution. He pinched the edges on both sides into two slots, then pressed them together in the middle. Voila, a perfect fit.

Lin Su stared at his second brother as if he were a stranger.

Ancient people didn't even use nails to build houses, only mortise and tenon joints. Was this the innate talent his second brother possessed, learning without a teacher?

His second brother was also sighing. This thin sheet metal was clearly a large iron door that had been flattened by force. Mr. Bao Shan was truly a divine person!

Indeed, there's always someone better!

About an hour later, all the preparations were complete. A strangely shaped iron container appeared in the yard, along with several long iron pipes. These pipes were also shaped by his second brother's sheer force. Pretty amazing, right?

Lin Jialiang was filled with immense enthusiasm. Once everything was ready, he asked Lin Su when they would officially start.

He had completely forgotten that yesterday he had sternly warned his third brother that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen, and even more so from the brewery.

People, they always change.

Mr. Bao Shan was a renowned scholar of the world, yet he was so invested in wine.

This wine was related to the livelihood of the 100,000 refugees on the riverbanks, which made him equally invested.

But Lin Su told him that making wine wasn't that easy. It required making yeast, repeatedly steaming the Ting Rice, and the final outcome was completely uncertain.

The time span would be at least seven to ten days.

Lin Su was confident about the yeast. If he could make sourdough starter overnight, he could certainly make yeast; it was just a matter of selecting the ingredients.

However, he wasn't sure if this Ting Rice could produce alcohol because he had no idea about its internal composition. Therefore, experimentation was necessary.

The matter at hand came to a temporary halt.

As the brothers emerged from the backyard, they saw an old man in the front yard – the shopkeeper of Haining Tower. He had brought more food and wine.

Although he hadn't explicitly asked for a poem, how could the brothers not understand?

The owner of Haining Tower was chasing a poem.

Lin Su had promised Ding Hai that he would write a wine poem for Haining Tower within three days. This matter had already spread, and even famous scholars from the Capital City had traveled a thousand miles to witness it. Ding Hai was feeling a bit of pressure.

Madam Lin saw Lin Su approaching and said, "San Lang, you promised Haining Tower you'd give them a wine poem tomorrow, didn't you?"

"Yes, Mother!"

"A person without integrity cannot stand. You should spend tonight conceiving it properly."

"I went out for a stroll today and gained quite a bit. I've already conceived it. Shopkeeper, you can have it now."

The shopkeeper was overjoyed. Young Master Lin is truly a divine person!

"Please!"

Madam Lin was also overjoyed. A mother is happiest when her son is successful. She didn't like poetry before, but starting yesterday, she suddenly loved it. She had copied his two poems word for word, looking at them in her bedroom, finding them more and more pleasing…

Only Lin Jialiang's eyes flickered with an unusual light. Third brother, you specifically mentioned that you gained quite a bit because you went out for a stroll. Is that a foreshadowing? Preparing for future outings?

Brother knows you don't like being confined to your study, but the imperial examinations are like this. Even if you don't like it, you have to do it. How can I find a way to keep this exceptionally talented but restless brother in his study?

Unless... unless I find him a beautiful maid!

Only with a maid by his side, with a "red sleeve adding fragrance," can he be kept here...

Heaven bears witness, for Lin Jialiang, who was almost driven mad by studying the words of the sages, to come up with such a method, it truly took great effort.

Lin Su left, and Lin Jialiang went to his mother's side.

"Aren't you going to Haining Tower?"

"I won't go. Anyway, as long as third brother writes a poem, it will soon spread throughout the world. Am I afraid I won't get to read this poem?"

"Any poem written will spread throughout the world!" Mother's eyes were full of brilliance, her pride almost overflowing…

"Mother, is there really no turning back regarding third brother's engagement?"

Madam Lin's smile suddenly vanished, and she sighed softly, "Let's hope so. Half a month ago, they broke off the engagement because San Lang's poetic fame hadn't spread yet. Today's San Lang, with such talent, who in the world doesn't know him? Perhaps the Zhou family will come again tomorrow or the day after..."

"If you ask me, it's better that it was broken off. Third brother has peerless talent, so why worry about not finding a good match? The Zhou family is opportunistic, kicking someone when they're down, and lacks any integrity. They might not be a good match for third brother."

"Are there no good grasses to be found everywhere?" Madam Lin gently recited.

"Mother, you know this line too?"

"Who doesn't? This morning, the sacred sound spread throughout the Nine Countries and Thirteen Continents. Even a sheltered woman like myself could see it. This poem... oh, no, Mother especially likes this Ci poetry. She likes it so much! I wonder which Great Confucian created such a marvelous Literary Path."

Lin Jialiang almost blurted out what he wanted to say, but stopped himself. He wanted to say: If Mother likes it, let third brother write more in the future.

"Mother, find third brother... find a maid to warm his bed!"

"Ah?" Madam Lin was surprised and pleased. "Did your third brother tell you to say this?"

This son used to be promiscuous, but perhaps because he was too young, he didn't flirt much. That was his only virtue before. Now it's different. Now San Lang is a renowned scholar of the world. Famous scholars are often not normal; some like wine, some like painting, some renounce the world and become monks. Of course, she hoped her son would be normal.

And the manifestation of normalcy would be liking women and giving her a chubby grandson.

Lin Jialiang's expression was a little off. "No! He didn't say it, I just figured it out myself..."

Madam Lin's face began to look troubled. Your brother didn't say it, and you figured it out yourself? Are you perhaps keeping a Yu Lou of your own, enjoying yourself in her chambers every day, and projecting your thoughts onto your third brother? I've wanted to set some ground rules with you for a while now. Your focus should still be on your studies, not on indulging in frivolous pursuits and neglecting your ambitions...

Lin Jialiang said, "Mother, if you listen to my explanation, you'll understand. My third brother is good at everything, except for one thing: he can't sit still and study. He always wants to go out and explore, to have fun. I thought, if he had a beautiful girl to warm his bed, maybe he could actually sit down in his study."

Madam Lin's expression shifted like clouds in the sky. "Didn't you just say this morning? 'Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles'..."

"Traveling ten thousand miles is certainly good, but one can't be on the road all the time. You can't study the Four Books and Five Classics while traveling. The imperial examinations are incredibly brutal; relying solely on poetic sentiment won't cut it..."

"What you say makes sense. What about Xiao Tao... would Xiao Tao work?"

"This kind of servant girl isn't someone just anyone can be. She needs to have some education so she can accompany my third brother in his studies. Xiao Tao hasn't studied, so she might not be suitable."

"Most women who can read are from prominent families. Which prominent family's daughter would be willing to warm someone's bed without any official title?"

Indeed, this is a dead end.

The mother and son discussed it at length, completely unaware that a woman behind them was on the verge of tears. That woman was Xiao Tao.

At Haining Tower, the hall was filled with distinguished guests. Lin Su entered, and Ding Hai personally greeted him.

The scholars in the hall had various expressions: some filled with envy, some with disdain, some with sarcastic remarks, and a few, with their fans unfurled, looked ready to stir up trouble.

Among them were two people Lin Su recognized: they were two of the Ten Beauties of Qu Prefecture.

Young Master Guiyang and Du Yulang.

Yesterday, Lin Su had slapped Zhang Xiu hard across the face. In fact, the force of his palm had also swept across the faces of these two.

With a Sage present, no one dared to retaliate against him. But that didn't mean these proud sons of heaven had resolved the knots in their hearts.

No one was the direct son of the Poetry Sage; no one could guarantee their poetry would be peerless every time. How many geniuses in the world had a flash of inspiration, creating something astonishing, only to run out of steam later and fade into obscurity?

They had come today specifically to find flaws. As long as his poetry had a loophole, as long as his poems weren't top-tier, they would have an opportunity.

Give them just one chance, and they could spread the slander that Lin Su was a fraud and a deceiver throughout the world overnight.

Moreover, they firmly believed that once he was slandered, his Literary Root would become unstable, and his poetic talent would rapidly decline, eventually making him just another ordinary person.

Lin Su, lacking a foundation in the Four Books and Five Classics, was the kind of person most likely to be a fleeting phenomenon.

In the Great Cang Kingdom, among the younger generation, the emergence of such an astonishing figure was not allowed. This was a consensus among all young people.

In this world, Lin Su was an eighteen-year-old young man.

But in his previous world, he had possessed a deep understanding of human nature and social dynamics.

How could these feudal natives, still wet behind the ears, possibly deceive his eyes?

He didn't even need to look to know what schemes were brewing in their minds