A Beauty Like a Flower at Haining Tower

Lin Jialiang's study was filled with a vast collection of books, all thread-bound editions—there was the Lunyu, the Tao Te Ching, and the Spring and Autumn Annals. These classics were dog-eared, clearly having been flipped through countless times.

Lin Su's fingers brushed lightly over them, and within his mind, on that withered branch, over a dozen leaves quietly sprouted.

No one would ever imagine that with just one circuit around the room, he had become a scholar. A dozen or so steps, equivalent to over ten years of bitter study for a scholar in this world.

Beside the dozen or so classics of the Hundred Schools of Thought sat a book with a yellow cover. Lin Su opened it—The Grand Cang Colored Poetry Collection. The opening passage read: "This collection gathers the works of three hundred and seventy-one poetic geniuses from Grand Cang over a thousand years, totaling four hundred and eight poems, all five-colored or seven-colored verses. Their poetic fragrance has been passed down through the ages, lingering for a millennium."

The first poem, "Night Rain at West Forest": "Half the city's misty rain shrouds West Forest, a thousand peaks' fog rolls through dense woods..." The author, Ren Zifu, a native of Cangzhong Prefecture in Grand Cang, born in the 108th year of the Cang calendar, died in the 146th year. This poem...

The second poem, "Inscription on Lingyin Wall"...

The third poem, "Winter Day"...

After reading over thirty poems in a row, not a single one was familiar to him.

Lin Su set the poetry collection down, his gaze drawn to a nearby book titled Miscellaneous Talks on the Literary Path. He opened it, and his eyes lit up. This book detailed the literary path of this world: the sages above bestowed upon humanity the power of the Literary Way, what literature was, what stages there were, how to advance, and the taboos of the literary path...

Among the taboos, it was clearly written: "When a scholar suffers a major setback or is publicly humiliated, their literary altar becomes tarnished. Once tarnished, their literary thoughts flow poorly, and they can hardly advance on the literary path. In severe cases, their literary road is cut off entirely, leaving them no different from a cripple..."

Lin Su's heart skipped a beat. So a literary gathering could truly sever one's literary path and ruin a lifetime of pursuit!

He pulled open a drawer under the desk, and a strange fragrance hit him. Inside was a yellow paper, carefully wrapping half a stick of incense. The incense was golden in color, as if cast from gold. This was the "Sage Incense" mentioned in the books.

Lin Su thought for a moment, picked up the half-stick of Sage Incense, and carefully tucked it into his bosom...

A soft sound came from the study door. Lin Su spun around and saw Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao was holding a large bowl: "Brother, you're here. I've been looking all over for you."

"How is my second brother?" Lin Su asked.

"He's asleep. Sister Xiao Tao is looking after him." Xiao Yao set the large bowl down. "Drink this bowl of porridge. Your... ah, the Madam said you're not in good health either, and you can't be careless."

After half a bowl of rice porridge, Lin Su's stomach finally felt a bit warmer. He suddenly noticed a glistening trail at the corner of Xiao Yao's mouth...

Lin Su couldn't drink anymore. "Did you skip breakfast?"

Xiao Yao nodded, then quickly shook her head. "I had a dough ball last night. Dough balls are filling. I'm not hungry at all..." She swallowed, and the sound wasn't exactly quiet.

Lin Su pushed the remaining half bowl of thin soup toward her. "Drink it."

Xiao Yao hesitated, then took it and drank the soup. After finishing it all, she even licked the bottom of the bowl. That bowl basically didn't need washing anymore.

Lin Su said, "Xiao Yao, want to eat some meat?"

Meat? Xiao Yao's throat bobbed, and that familiar glistening reappeared at the corner of her mouth. She slowly shook her head. "Brother, Xiao Tao said there's no meat left in the mansion. Really..."

"No, I'm taking you to a banquet. We'll scrounge up a good meal..."

Xiao Yao's eyes suddenly lit up, bright as two little stars...

The matter of attending the banquet was quickly agreed upon between him and Xiao Yao, but it hit a snag with Madam Lin. "What did you say? You're going to a banquet? That's a gathering of scholars... What business do you have there?"

Lin Su pulled out the invitation. "But Mother, they sent an invitation. If the Lin family doesn't show up, what will people say? They'll say the Lin family has no one, that the Lin family is truly guilty and dares not show their faces in public."

The resolve in Madam Lin's heart wavered a little...

After a long while, Madam Lin said, "You heard it just now. This literary gathering is no ordinary affair. It's very likely the Zhang family's attempt to suppress the Lin family..."

"What can they suppress in me? I don't even have a Literary Root. Can they sever my literary path?"

This sentence completely dispelled the last shred of doubt in Madam Lin's heart. Yes, the Zhang family might stir up trouble at the literary gathering, and while it would be dangerous for Second Brother to go, what could Third Brother lose?

Having nothing means losing nothing!

Madam Lin's face slowly relaxed. "...It's just that I'm worried about your old temper. If someone provokes you, you'll fly off the handle... Never mind. Listen more and talk less!"

"Yes!" Lin Su tugged Xiao Yao and walked out of the courtyard.

The little girl hastily wiped the glistening from the corner of her mouth and set off happily.

On their way to Haining Tower.

Along the road, Lin Su lifted his gaze to the distant sky and said softly in his heart, From today on, I'll bear this burden for the Lin family.

Haining Tower wasn't far, just east of Haizhou City, facing the Yangtze River with green willows swaying gently. In this season, it would be a shame not to use it as a place for reciting poetry and enjoying the breeze.

From the outside, Haining Tower was only three stories tall, no more than ten meters high. But once he stepped inside, Lin Su was stunned, almost unable to believe his eyes.

In the center was a main hall, surrounded by buildings on all sides, clearly over a dozen stories high—forty or fifty meters tall!

Two people entered Haining Tower at the same time as them. One of them was clearly shocked by this bizarre sight, and the person beside him explained, "This is the power of the Literary Way!"

See that character on the corridor?

The character "Rise"!

This character was personally written by the Supreme Literary Heart Great Confucian, Deng Xianchu. Haining Tower paid a fortune to acquire it. Once that character was hung, the Literary Way's power transformed heaven and earth. The three-story Haining Tower was replicated four times identically, so the interior space was a twelve-story tall building!

Lin Su was dumbfounded. One character, in the middle of a bustling city, added nine stories out of thin air. He felt that if such a character were taken to a place like Beijing or Shanghai, a thousand gold pieces per character wouldn't even cover it...

Xiao Yao?

Lin Su followed her gaze and saw the roast chicken and grilled lamb on the tables to either side.

"Gulp!" They both swallowed at the same time.

The two stepped into Haining Tower, only to be blocked at the entrance by a waiter. The waiter said with a smile, "Third Young Master Lin, it's been a while. Sorry, but today Haining Tower has serious business. The cockfighting and dog racing are suspended for now."

It seemed this person recognized him!

But what did this person mean? In the past, all he knew was cockfighting and dog racing?

Lin Su's face stiffened. "What are you saying? What I'm attending today is your proper business!"

"You? Haha..." The waiter laughed...

With a shua, an invitation card appeared right in front of the waiter. His laughter cut off abruptly, his eyes widening...

Lin Su swaggered past him and went up to the second floor. He flashed the invitation card again, and the receptionist on the second floor was much more refined. Seeing the invitation, he gave a slight bow. "Lin Manor... one distinguished guest!"

At the wine tables, all the scholars looked up at once. At the frontmost spot near the river, several scholars who had been talking and laughing also turned simultaneously. Beneath the right-side window, a woman in a light veil raised her delicate hand, and with a zheng, a guzheng plucked out a welcoming note.

Suddenly, they all froze. If someone from the Lin family was attending, it should have been Lin Jialiang. But the one stepping onto the stairs was not Lin Jialiang—it was a fresh-faced youth. Some among them recognized this youth as the third son of the Lin family, a good-for-nothing wastrel skilled in neither letters nor martial arts. Word had it he'd even gone missing a while back. What game was this? The scholars exchanged whispers, utterly baffled...

Lin Su glanced around, planning to find a random seat.

But then a portly young master at the head of the table stood up and clasped his hands. "Third Young Master, did your elder brother not come?"

Lin Su paused, sized up the young master, and asked the person beside him, "This young master is quite portly. May I ask who he is?"

The person next to him replied, "Young Master Zhang Xiu, the top scholar of Quzhou. Third Young Master has met him before—how could you have forgotten today?"

Lin Su smiled. "Apologies, Young Master Zhang. I suffered a severe illness recently, and many unimportant memories have been lost..."

The smile on Zhang Xiu's face stiffened a little. What did he mean by unimportant memories? In your memory, I'm unimportant?

But the stiffness on his face smoothed out in an instant. "Young Master Lin Jialiang has always considered himself the soulmate of Lady Yu Lou. Today, Lady Yu Lou holds her farewell banquet—such a major event—yet Young Master Lin Jialiang avoids coming. I wonder why?"

Lin Su explained, "My mother fell ill. My elder brother wrote a 'Qi Guiding Text' twice daily to cure her. Mother improved a little, but my brother collapsed from exhaustion. So, I came in his stead to attend Sister Yu Lou's farewell banquet. A pleasure to meet you all, my apologies, my apologies..."

He made a round of bows to all sides.

A voice came through. "Yu Lou was unaware of the Lin family's troubles and presumptuously sent the invitation. Please forgive any discourtesy."

Lin Su's gaze shifted to the left.

To the left hung a beaded curtain. Behind it was a group of courtesans—specifically, five small formations. Each formation had a core, and each core was a beauty, surrounded by three or four maids like stars encircling the moon.

The one who had spoken was the very center of the central formation: a richly dressed woman with skin like congealed lard, brows like distant mountains, and bright eyes like two pools of spring water. She seemed a maiden of sixteen, but with a slight turn of her gaze, she radiated grace, as if the years and spring tides had flowed through her eyes in an instant.

She was the protagonist of today's farewell banquet: Yu Lou.

Lin Su's heart stirred. So this was the soulmate his second brother had his eye on? Truly extraordinary—knowledgeable, courteous, and poised.

Lin Su smiled. "Fortunately, it's all over now. My brother only overexerted his literary energy; his body is fine. A few days of rest and he'll recover."

Yu Lou let out a soft sigh of relief. "Third Young Master, please take a seat. Help yourself to some food and drink."

Behind the beaded curtain, the women in the five formations exchanged glances, all seeing something unusual in each other's eyes. These were also top courtesans: Qin Xiangjun of Hundred Flowers Tower, Li Rushih of Dingxiang Tower, Du Yuebo of Zuixiang Tower...

All of them were fragrant guests in Dream Soul Land, lovelies in the gentle tomb...

Today, Yu Lou was leaving the tower to return to a good life, and her former sisters had gathered to see her off...

Though the brothel was a heartless place, there was still a touch of misty rain affection.

All these courtesan leaders shared the same circumstances and faced the same outcomes, regarding "leaving the tower for a good life" as a second chance at birth—and they took it very seriously.

"Sister, do you really believe Young Master Lin Er didn't come today because he's too sick?" Qin Xiangjun sighed softly.

"At a moment like this, he pulls a 'one who lets illness take its course'!" Li Rushih said. "Truly... yesterday's wind-facing guests by the tower, all fickle men who come and go..."

Du Yuebo sighed. "Don't say that. With the Lin family in such a state, whether Young Master Lin Er comes or not makes no difference..."

The whispers behind the beaded curtain didn't reach the main hall. Only Yu Lou could hear them. She said nothing, letting out a quiet sigh that she locked tightly between her lips...

A gentle pluck of the guzheng rang out, and the entire tower fell silent.

Lin Su looked up. A richly dressed matron stepped out from the center. "Honored scholars, today is Lady Yu Lou's farewell banquet, and also Lady Ban Ruo's top courtesan ceremony. Therefore, Haining Tower invites all scholars to witness this moment together. We hope to borrow your fine pens to compose this tale of snow, moon, wind, and flowers..."

Someone beside Lin Su whispered explanations, letting him understand what "farewell" and "top courtesan ceremony" meant. In short, the old top courtesan retired, and the new one took office. A top courtesan was the pillar of a brothel. Once she became the headliner, she was no longer an ordinary brothel girl but a renowned courtesan. A renowned courtesan's value skyrocketed—even officials who came would only feel honored to be received by one...

The matron finished speaking and clapped her hands. Eight beauties emerged from behind her, all renowned courtesans from the upper three floors of Jade Fragrance Tower. They walked gracefully to the left beaded curtain, lifted it, bowed in unison, and said, "We invite Sister Yu Lou to play the 'Farewell Tower Melody.'"

The "Farewell Tower Melody" was the piece a top courtesan must play when stepping down—both a thanks to the patrons who had supported her in the past and a final curtain call. The song ended, and the crowd dispersed.

Yu Lou bowed gracefully to her former sisters, then slowly raised her head. "Yu Lou has leaned on this tower for thirteen years. I am deeply grateful for the exceptional favor of all the scholars and patrons. Now that I am older and can no longer serve patrons, with Madam's permission, I bid farewell and take my leave. I offer this piece to thank my patrons and to honor my youth."

After her farewell speech, she retreated behind the guzheng. Her delicate hand fell, and ding-dong...

"In the season of year's end, no yellow flowers bloom, the southeast shatters, winding waters flow in sorrow, my heart is like the moon, sought but never found, the height of cassia hall, hard to stay by your side..."

The qin melody was light and graceful, and her singing was even more tender, piercing the heart. Every word, every phrase seemed like a soft breath rising from the depths of her soul. The entire tower was silent, filled only with these poetic lyrics, the painting-like scene of the guzheng, and the ding-dong notes, the threads of silk and bamboo...