Stealing a March

Xu Erlang remained silent. Xu Pingzhi stared at the middle-aged man, shook his head, and said, "It's just a casual ditty. I heard that young master say that his calligraphy is rusty and he can't write well, so he troubled this young master to write it for him."

Second Uncle Xu was a seasoned veteran; he adopted a bystander's stance, distancing himself from his nephew and son.

Everyone immediately looked at Xu Xinnian, Xu Erlang scoffed, displaying an aloof and unapproachable attitude, and disdainfully ignored them.

His attitude angered and embarrassed the middle-aged man who had asked the question, and he turned and returned to his original position.

Xu Pingzhi, who originally intended to stay overnight, secretly gave his son a look, and the two left Yingmei Pavilion one after the other.

"It's not good to stay inside any longer. It would be bad if people found out that the three of us have a relationship," Xu Pingzhi instructed his son.

"I understand." Xu Xinnian nodded, then shivered in the cold wind.

There was a charcoal fire for warmth inside, but the sudden temperature difference when you step outside makes you shiver.

Xu Pingzhi glanced at his son and said, "If we had stayed at Yingmei Pavilion, those maids would have only cost one tael of silver."

"Now you can only find other women in the other courtyard, not maids. The lowest price is five taels of silver, which includes the cost of tea."

At this point, Xu Pingzhi paused, noticing that his son didn't respond with his usual sharp tongue, asking him how he knew so much.

While feeling strange, I also breathed a sigh of relief.

Second Uncle Xu took out an official silver ingot from his pocket. It was a standard silver ingot, weighing five taels.

"Erlang, take the silver."

The Xu Household was ruined by the tax evasion case. Even though a month had passed and Xu Pingzhi had managed to acquire a considerable amount of money through shady channels, they were still financially strapped.

Second Uncle Xu didn't think his son could come up with five taels of silver.

Xu Xinnian was slightly moved and whispered, "Father, what about you?"

Second Uncle Xu smiled nonchalantly, "When your father was in the Essence Refining Realm, he wasn't afraid of the cold or heat. He could even sleep by the roadside for a night without any problem. Your body can't withstand the cold wind at night."

Xu Xinnian tucked his hands into his sleeves, his back slightly hunched, enduring the biting night wind. He stared blankly at the five taels of silver, and after a long while, said in a slightly hoarse voice:

"I don't want to."

Second Uncle Xu insisted that his son accept it.

In the struggle, with a thud, a silver ingot fell out of Xu Xinnian's arms, exactly five taels.

The father and son stared at the silver on the ground and fell silent.

On the other side, the maid pushed open the door to the master bedroom, gesturing for Xu Qi'an to enter, but she herself had no intention of going in.

"Young Master Yang, please come in!"

The moment the shoji door opened, a warm fragrance wafted out. The floor was covered with an expensive silk lichen, which was not only expensive but also extremely labor-intensive.

The lichen is embroidered with blue lotus flowers and auspicious clouds.

Women walking on it will find their steps graceful and elegant. High-ranking officials walking on it will rise to great heights.

She is quick-witted and perceptive.

A three-tiered screen, a copy of the famous painting "Raindrops on Banana Leaves," separates the sleeping area from the brocade hall. A stunningly beautiful young woman kneels on a small couch with a pot-shaped door in front of the screen, on which sits a phoenix-tail zither.

She wore a light, sheer dress, her flawless skin barely concealed, and she smiled as she gazed towards the doorway.

Their eyes met, and she lowered her head slightly, a shy smile on her lips.

The gentle bowing of her head was most captivating, like a water lily shyly trembling in the cool breeze. This line of poetry floated into Xu Qi'an's mind.

When playing drinking games, she is as elegant as a lady from a noble family; when sitting by the couch, she is alluring and seductive, wanting to speak but holding back.

This is a seductive skill that only women from the Imperial Academy of Music could master.

Xu Qi'an two heads, one big and one small.

"Young master?" the courtesan asked with a dazed smile, "Why are you looking at me like that, young master?"

Xu Qi'an sighed, "I've long heard that Miss Fuxiang is exceptionally beautiful, a rare beauty in the world. I didn't believe it before, but now I do. Even if you said Miss Fuxiang was the most beautiful woman in the world, I would believe it."

"Young Master Yang, please don't tease me." Fuxiang pursed her lips, lowered her head shyly, and smiled brightly, clearly very happy.

In the tea room next door, Young Master Zhao drank an entire pot of tea. His bladder protested twice, and on the third time, he finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

Was he here for tea?

Young Master Zhao left the tea room full of complaints and headed towards the master bedroom, but was stopped by a maid at the door.

"I've been waiting in the tea room for a long time, why hasn't Miss Fuxiang shown up yet?" Young Master Zhao questioned the maid.

"Young Master Zhao, please don't be offended, my wife has already chosen someone else," the maid replied.

"!!!" Young Master Zhao felt as if he had been struck by lightning one after another, and then a surge of anger welled up within him. He shouted:

"Miss Fuxiang clearly chose me, why did you suddenly change your mind? Are you just toying with me? If you don't give me an explanation, don't blame me for being impolite."

His fierce tone and menacing words frightened the maid, who instinctively wanted to call for the guards in the courtyard.

"Ping'er, since Young Master Zhao is not Qi Ingestion, take the poem out and let him see it."

The courtesan's captivating voice rang out from inside the room.

The maidservant glanced cautiously at Young Master Zhao, then opened the shoji door just wide enough for one person to pass through, and slipped inside.

A few seconds later she reappeared and handed the Xuan paper to Young Master Zhao.

The latter took it, glanced at it, and his angry expression froze on his face, then slowly melted away, replaced by astonishment, shock, and disbelief.

He stood there for a long time, then loosened his grip, and the Xuan paper slowly drifted down.

The guests outside were astonished to find that Young Master Zhao had actually come out.

Is it all over?!

Young Master Zhao's expression made them realize something was wrong; they had been kicked out.

"Brother Zhao, what's wrong with you?" A young man of similar age, dressed like a scholar, immediately stepped forward, seemingly concerned but actually gossipy.

Not long after the maid called away that man surnamed Yang, Young Master Zhao came out looking utterly dejected.

It's obvious that someone intercepted the plump peony halfway through the journey and plucked it away.

The young master Zhao, dressed in a blue robe, slowly glanced at the crowd and murmured, "I lost, and I accept my defeat wholeheartedly."

"What exactly happened? A loss? Where did you even begin to explain that?"

"Brother Zhao, that person wrote a poem, right? What kind of poem could make Miss Fuxiang break the rules?"

"Hurry up and tell me, you're driving me crazy!"

The guests all gathered around.

Young Master Zhao ignored him, muttering to himself as he walked out, "All the flowers have faded, yet I alone remain in radiant beauty."

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat, realizing that he was reciting the poem from before.

"The small garden is full of charm."

At this moment, Young Master Zhao had already entered the courtyard, and the guests involuntarily followed behind, listening.

"Sparse shadows slant across the clear, shallow water; a subtle fragrance drifts in the twilight."

The guests didn't follow and remained where they were, and a brief silence fell over the air.

No one spoke for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, a student, tears welling in his eyes and trembling at the lips, exclaimed, "This poem puts to shame all those who have written about plum blossoms throughout the ages! Ladies and gentlemen, I must take my leave now. I must go elsewhere to spread the word about this poem."

"I shall also take my leave. How could I be absent from the cause of making a name for myself in the poetry world of Great Feng?"

The guests scattered in a hurry to attend the tea party at the villa, and then he presented this poem, which made him an instant sensation.