Faced with Wang Ru's question,
Xu Qingxiao did not know how to answer for a moment.
To grit his teeth and say he had praised him would be rather dishonest, but saying he had not would hurt the man's pride.
After some thought, Xu Qingxiao could only smile and say that of course he had mentioned Brother Wang Ru, then add a few words about his loyalty and generosity, making Wang Ru beam.
Social interactions among the ancients tended to be restrained and bashful, especially among scholars. Most of them thought, I'm capable, but you're not. Unless someone's literary talent truly astonished them like a celestial being descending to earth, they all came from scholarly families and studied under renowned teachers.
Who would consider themselves lacking in talent?
So unless they were particularly close or deliberately currying favor, most people simply exchanged greetings when they met.
Xu Qingxiao, on the other hand, was different.
As he walked with Wang Ru and the others, no matter whom they encountered next, Xu Qingxiao's tongue proved as nimble as a reed.
"Brother, your good looks are truly exceptional, as handsome as fine jade. You really put your humble younger brother to shame."
"May I ask whether you've already entered a rank, Brother? Why do I see righteous Haoran qi surrounding you? Your humble younger brother is green with envy."
"To be here with all of you is truly the greatest honor of my life. I only hope you won't disdain your humble younger brother's clumsiness."
Xu Qingxiao's social skills stood head and shoulders above the rest at this banquet.
Almost anyone who met Xu Qingxiao's eyes could not escape a round of praise, and his compliments were not casually tossed out, either.
If he knew you were talented, he praised your talent. If you were handsome, he praised your looks. If he heard you were taking the Prefectural Examination, he immediately praised your prospects of placing high.
In short, you were the best, and he wanted to learn from you.
Under this barrage of honeyed words, practically every scholar who met Xu Qingxiao was delighted and excited.
What was the greatest pleasure of attending a gathering?
Being recognized and praised. Of course, composing a poem at the banquet and winning everyone's approval would be even better.
Xu Qingxiao fulfilled everyone's dreams for the banquet and made plenty of connections in the process.
Talented scholars from Southern Yu Prefecture and its nine counties, sons of scholarly families and wealthy households alike-in short, they all remembered Xu Qingxiao.
They were full of goodwill toward him.
Naturally. Their usual way of socializing was rather reserved. If they did not know each other, mutual friends would introduce them, then they would sit down for a couple of drinks.
Building a good relationship took time.
Friendship between gentlemen was as mild as water.
Xu Qingxiao was different. He started praising people the moment he approached, leaving their heads spinning. Against that unchanging, mild-as-water friendship between gentlemen, it was nothing short of an attack from a higher dimension.
Still, Xu Qingxiao's behavior also drew quite a few people's dislike.
They scorned him inwardly.
But when Xu Qingxiao approached them and unleashed another bombardment of praise, their scorn vanished like smoke, replaced by:
"Xu Qingxiao truly has a discerning eye."
With this simple opening, Xu Qingxiao somehow gained quite a few friends in less than an hour.
Fifteen people invited Xu Qingxiao to visit their homes, twelve invited him to a restaurant after the banquet, nine invited him on their next spring outing, and even four or five had already invited him to visit a pleasure house.
Scholars generally extended invitations only to those they were close to, especially invitations to places like pleasure houses. Unless they thought particularly highly of someone or were especially close to him, they would not invite him along.
After all, pleasure houses were somewhat indecorous places. Going together implied a very close relationship.
And the benefits of praising people were not limited to making friends. His own reputation improved as well. Just moments ago, Xu Qingxiao had heard people discussing him, describing him with all manner of flattering words.
If one person praised him, others would think he was probably decent.
If ten people praised him, others would think he was pretty good.
If a hundred people praised him, others would think he was truly impressive and worth meeting.
That was how a good reputation formed.
Xu Qingxiao called it:
[Knowing the ways of the world]
"The banquet is beginning. Gentlemen, please take your seats."
Just then, as that loud announcement rang out, most of the scholars who had been chatting headed over to take their seats.
The banquet was held in a spacious courtyard, with wooden tables arranged on either side in four rows of ten. Each table could seat two or three people, or even four if they were close enough not to mind the squeeze.
"Brother Qingxiao, come sit here."
"Brother Qingxiao, over here!"
"Brother Qingxiao, sit here. It's closer."
"Brother Qingxiao, sit beside me so we can have a proper chat."
As Xu Qingxiao entered, the benefits of socializing immediately became apparent.
When he walked into the courtyard, quite a few people invited him over with delighted faces, each wanting him to sit with them for a good conversation.
Some scholars who had not yet dealt with Xu Qingxiao were surprised and hurriedly asked others who he was. He seemed quite famous.
Seeing this, Wang Ru felt an inexplicable twinge of envy. He was on good terms with quite a few people present and had known them for years, yet not a single one called out to him. Xu Qingxiao, meanwhile, had known them for less than an hour.
And he was already this popular?
Good grief. Does being handsome really get you that far?
Wang Ru felt a little disgruntled.
But just then, Xu Qingxiao spoke.
"Thank you all for your kindness, but your humble younger brother came with Brother Wang Ru, and I still need to wait for my senior brother. I won't intrude on you."
Xu Qingxiao politely declined everyone's invitations.
Their enthusiastic invitations were a good thing, but mishandling them would turn them into a bad thing. Whoever he accepted, he would dampen everyone else's enthusiasm. Sitting with Wang Ru, however, would preserve propriety without chilling anyone's heart.
After all, he really had come to the banquet with Wang Ru. If he sat with someone else, wouldn't that be a slap in Wang Ru's face?
At Xu Qingxiao's words, Wang Ru felt much better, suddenly finding him courteous and mindful of kindness received.
His earlier flicker of displeasure vanished completely, and he led Xu Qingxiao to their seats.
They sat at the third table from the front, neither particularly close nor especially far away.
Once seated, Xu Qingxiao immediately greeted the people around him and introduced himself before finally letting out a quiet breath.
Being too well versed in worldly dealings was not entirely a good thing. To find favor on every side and navigate every situation smoothly, he had to pay attention to everything. It was somewhat tiring, but the benefits were considerable.
After tonight's banquet, if he ran into any trouble in Southern Yu Prefecture, he could probably settle it himself without causing problems for his senior brother.
Ting.
Soon, clear zither notes rang out as songstresses entered the courtyard one after another.
These songstresses had lovely faces and delicate skin. Dressed in sheer gauze, they danced to the music, their occasional tantalizing glimpses drawing the eyes of everyone present.
Xu Qingxiao quietly appreciated the performance without any improper thoughts.
However attractive ancient songstresses' performances might be, they could not compare to modern performances. They might feel novel once or twice, but a closer look revealed that there was not much to them.
If the songstresses had not been beautiful, Xu Qingxiao truly would not have appreciated it.
Black.
Xu Qingxiao took a sip of fruit wine and murmured inwardly.
When the splendid performance ended, everyone lightly tapped their tables and cheered.
Just then, a figure emerged into the courtyard.
He was in his early twenties, dressed in luxurious white-and-green brocade, with fine jade at his waist and a crown of mutton-fat jade binding his hair. His face was handsome as well.
As soon as he appeared, Wang Ru lowered his voice. "That's Young Master Li Xin, the eldest son of Southern Yu Prefecture's Prefectural Lord."
Wang Ru informed Xu Qingxiao of the man's identity.
But with a glance around, Xu Qingxiao noticed that everyone merely nodded slightly upon seeing Li Xin. No one rose to greet him with a "Greetings, Young Master Li."
Instead, they remained perfectly at ease, continuing whatever they had been doing.
Tsk.
Ancient scholars really are cocky. The Prefectural Lord's son-what does that mean? The eldest son of a municipal party secretary in my previous life. Never mind people his own age; even people a dozen years older would respectfully greet him as President Li.
It was not that these scholars were refusing to show him respect, but there was no flattery whatsoever. Rather, their attitude was that they were doing him a favor by attending his banquet.
Good grief.
Good grief.
Seriously, good grief.
Xu Qingxiao gradually began to grasp how things worked. Looking back at Li Xin, he saw no displeasure on his face. Instead, Li Xin strode to the host's seat, lifted the wine cup on the table, and spoke.
"Gentlemen, a few minor matters delayed me. I hope you won't be upset. I shall punish myself with three cups."
Li Xin spoke, then swiftly drank three cups of wine as his penalty.
"As the Prefectural Lord's son, Young Master Li has many affairs to attend to within the prefecture. We understand that. It is a great honor to be invited today. A toast to Young Master Li."
Someone spoke and raised his cup first, and everyone else followed. After all, Li Xin's three-cup penalty had shown them ample respect. They might be blunt, but they were not fools.
"A toast to Young Master Li."
Everyone raised their wine cups and toasted Li Xin.
He readily drank as well.
After three rounds of wine, one performance followed another.
Most revolved around the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, along with music, dance, acrobatics, and games. The first half of the evening was spent enjoying the performances.
This continued until the hour of the boar.
By then, everyone had drunk their fill.
As some of the musicians left, the courtyard grew considerably quieter.
"Gentlemen, I invited you today for two reasons."
"First, the Prefectural Examination is approaching. As the Prefectural Lord's eldest son, I should naturally hold a banquet to launch you toward success. Once the examination is over, I will host you again."
"Second, this Prefectural Examination is extremely important. As the new dynasty's first Prefectural Examination, it has drawn everyone's attention. My father has been consulting with several great masters of the Confucian Dao these past few days, attempting to predict the topic. That was also what delayed me today."
Li Xin explained the purpose of the banquet.
But his words sent an uproar through the gathering.
"The Prefectural Lord is predicting the topic for us?"
"The new dynasty's first Prefectural Examination is indeed important, but I never imagined the Prefectural Lord would be willing to predict the topic for us."
"Prefectural Lord Li truly is a model for us all."
Their first reaction was surprise, followed by excitement and exhilaration.
Predicting the topic.
Put simply, it meant guessing the examination question.
Ordinary people were allowed to predict topics. After all, those who set the questions were Grand Confucians at court and would not leak them. If they truly did leak a question, there would be no need for the court to mete out punishment; heaven and earth would sometimes sense it on their own.
Anyone who could become a Grand Confucian would not be that sort of person, either.
Still, there was a great deal of skill involved in predicting topics. The higher someone's position, the more accurate their guesses.
After all, the logic was simple.
By learning who had set the questions and what sort of temperament they had, then digging deeper from there, one could actually make some guesses.
So the Prefectural Lord predicting the topic was truly cause for excitement.
"Then may I ask, Young Master Li, what topic has the Prefectural Lord predicted?"
Someone recovered his wits and could not resist asking.
Li Xin did not answer. He merely clapped his hands.
Immediately, several household servants entered from outside the courtyard, carrying a stone slab with a sheet of white paper on it.
Two characters stood boldly on the white paper.
[Secure the Nation]
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