Right side of the hall.
Luo Qingzhou was sitting by the window, talking to Kong Zhe and two other scholars.
On the stage, a graceful woman was dancing gracefully to the sound of piano and singing.
Several people were enjoying the view and chatting at the same time.
Song Ruyue brought Bailing and did not rush over. Instead, they sat down at a table behind them and eavesdropped.
Miss Tang, the owner of the cruise ship, was talking to a young man in front of her with a smile on her face.
There were many people gathered around the young man, all with flattering looks on their faces.
At this time, Kong Zhe was introducing him to Luo Qingzhou: "That man is Bai Yulou from the Bai family in Jiangnan. He is known as one of the seven great talents in Jiangnan. He has been famous for his talent for a long time. He also passed the imperial examination this time. Miss Tang personally came down from the boat to invite him. It is said that he is best at writing lyrics. Many women in brothels in Jiangnan dream of asking him for a good lyric. Some are even willing to serve him for free for half a year..."
Luo Qingzhou took a look and asked curiously, "Write a poem and you can play in the brothel for free for half a year?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Song Ruyue, who was sitting in the back seat, narrowed her eyes.
Kong Zhe smiled and said, "Of course, with his talent and fame, he wouldn't need to spend a penny even if he lived in a brothel every day. On the contrary, those top courtesans would even take the initiative to give him money."
The young man named Li Fang explained, "If he writes a good lyric and asks a girl in a brothel to sing it, not only will the girl's value double, but the brothel will also become famous and naturally attract more and more customers."
Another young man named He Wensong said with a smile: "Brother Luo, just like the song "Shui Tiao Ge Tou" that has spread from your Mo City, listen, this song is now circulating all over the country. Many people had never heard of Mo City before, but once this song was published, Mo City's name immediately became famous throughout the country. This is the effect of a good song."
Li Fang sighed, "Once this "Water Melody" was published, all other poems about the moon pale in comparison. I really don't know who can write such a divine poem. Not to mention the prostitutes, all the literati, talented men and women, who wouldn't be intoxicated and amazed when they heard this poem? The daughter of the governor of our place publicly announced last month that if the author of this poem was a man, no matter how old he was, whether he was married or not, she would marry him."
Kong Zhe laughed: "Brother Li, if this is true, I will go back to Mo City to publicize it. Maybe the one called Yue Mo will show up."
He Wensong sighed, "It's a pity that such a great poem has been passed down without even knowing whether the author is a man or a woman. If I could write such a wonderful poem, I wouldn't have to look for a place to stay when I go to Kyoto. I could just stay in a brothel. Today I'd stay in Chunhua Tower, tomorrow I'd stay in Qiuxiang Courtyard, and the day after tomorrow I'd stay in Xiangxun Pavilion. I'd change places every day and sleep as a bride every night without spending a penny. It would be so wonderful."
"Haha, Brother He, I'm afraid your kidneys won't be able to bear it by then."
"I'm afraid Brother He will be sucked dry after living here for a month."
Seeing that everyone was joking, Luo Qingzhou also interjected: "To die under a woman's skirt is to be a romantic ghost. Maybe Brother He is willing to die of exhaustion on a woman."
As soon as he said this, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. He turned around and met a pair of beautiful eyes that were blazing with fire.
He froze, turned his head silently, closed his mouth and said no more.
"Brother Luo, you said it well! To die under a pomegranate skirt, even as a ghost, you are still romantic! As expected, you are worthy of being the top scorer in the imperial examination in Mo City, what a literary talent!"
He Wensong clapped his hands in praise, then laughed and said, "This time, Miss Tang invited many brothel artists to accompany her, including two top brothel performers, all of whom are very attractive. In the poetry gathering later, if Brother Luo can write a good poem, he won't have to go back to his room at night. There will be beauties who will invite Brother Luo to go to Wushan together, hahahaha..."
Kong Zhe and Li Fang also laughed along, with obscene expressions on their faces that only men could understand.
Luo Qingzhou also smiled stiffly.
When he turned around again, he just saw the backs of his mother-in-law and Bailing leaving angrily.
Bailing seemed to feel his gaze, turned around, smiled at him, then swiped her palm across her neck, making a beheading gesture, with a gloating expression on her face.
The singing and dancing on the stage finally ended.
Tang Yaner went on stage and said a few words. In addition to welcoming talented men and women from all over the world, she also focused on introducing the Baiyu Tower, which is known as one of the seven talents in Jiangnan.
When talking about Baiyu Tower, many women in the audience secretly looked at the great talent, their beautiful eyes sparkling.
Next, the dinner began.
Everyone gathered in groups of three or four and began to enjoy the sumptuous food and wine.
Tang Yan'er and her maid walked towards Luo Qingzhou. When they got close, she said with a smile on her face, "Mr. Luo, why didn't your servants come down to eat? Did you ask the maid to bring the wine and food up, or did you ask them to come down to eat with you?"
Luo Qingzhou said quickly: "Thank you Miss Tang, they don't like the hustle and bustle, so there's no need to call them down."
Tang Yan'er smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll ask the maid to bring some wine and food up."
Luo Qingzhou thanked him again.
Tang Yan'er pondered for a moment and said, "Mr. Luo, a lot of excellent poems have been circulated in your Mo City in the past few months. Two of them are very mysterious, one is Yue Mo and the other is Luo Mo. Everyone speculates that they should be the same person, and also speculates that this person may be Qin Weimo, the most talented woman in Mo City. You and Mr. Kong are both from Mo City, but have you ever seen the young lady of the Qin family?"
Kong Zhe was about to shake his head when he suddenly thought: Qin Weimo? Miss Qin
He suddenly looked at the young man beside him again and said in surprise: "Brother Luo, the last time I went to visit you with Brother Miao, it seemed that we went to the Qin family. That Miss Qin, could she be from your family?"
After that, he hurriedly said, "Brother Luo, although I am from Mo City, I have always lived outside and I am not familiar with the situation in the city. If I guessed wrong, please don't be offended, Brother Luo."
After these words were spoken, Tang Yan'er and the other two all looked shocked.
Seeing this, Luo Qingzhou could only say, "That Miss Qin is indeed from my family. But I don't know whether she wrote those poems or not, and she has never admitted it."
Tang Yan'er was stunned for a moment, and asked with a puzzled look on her face: "Mr. Luo, isn't your last name Luo? Why do you live in the Qin Mansion?"
He Wensong and Li Fang beside them also had curious looks on their faces.
Kong Zhe reacted immediately, his face changed slightly, and he thought to himself that it was not good, and hurriedly tried to change the subject: "Miss Tang, that song..."
"I am married into the Qin family."
Luo Qingzhou said calmly.
After hearing this, Tang Yan'er was stunned for a moment, with an expression of disbelief on her face: "Marrying into the family?"
He Wensong beside him was also surprised and asked, "Brother Luo is actually marrying into the family?"
Kong Zhe's face was filled with guilt and he dared not say another word.
Nowadays, the reputation of a son-in-law is not good. To put it nicely, he is a gigolo and is used to sow seeds. To put it bluntly, he is a slave servant.
The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward.
"Miss Tang! Miss Tang!"
At this time, a scholar in front seemed to have something to do and stood up and shouted.
Tang Yan'er quickly apologized, said goodbye and left.
Kong Zhe saw that the atmosphere was not right, so he quickly laughed and changed the subject, "I heard that one of the courtesans Miss Tang invited this time is a beauty from the Hundred Flowers Country. You must take a good look at her later."
He Wensong and Li Fang both regained their previous expressions and said with a smile, "We really need to take a good look. I heard that the various stockings that are popular among women now all came from the Hundred Flowers Country. Hehe, those stockings are so tempting when worn on the legs, and they feel so smooth to the touch..."
The few of them continued chatting as usual.
However, Luo Qingzhou could clearly feel that the other two were distancing themselves from him.
So what if I got the first place in the examination
In this era, everything is judged by one's origin. If one is born in a humble family, even if one is extremely talented and becomes a high-ranking official in the future, one will still be looked down upon by the children of aristocratic families.
Besides, he was the top-ranked juren from the small city of Mo, and his value was not even as high as that of the last-ranked juren from Jiangnan.
Luo Qingzhou didn't want to make trouble for himself anymore. He drank a few more cups, stood up and said goodbye.
Kong Zhe wanted to keep him, but he felt that it was indeed a bit awkward for him to stay here, so he nodded apologetically and said, "Brother Luo, go to bed early and we'll meet again tomorrow."
At this time, Tang Yan'er was speaking on the stage.
The poetry reading officially begins.
Luo Qingzhou didn't stop, went straight upstairs and returned to the room.
Not long after he entered the room, Song Ruyue's face turned gloomy again and she took Bailing downstairs.
I searched around the lobby on the first floor but couldn't find him. At this moment, I just heard Tang Yan'er announce on the stage that the title of her poem was "Wine".
All the talented men and women began to think with their heads down.
Bai Ling walked up to Kong Zhe and the other two and asked fiercely, "Where is my son-in-law? Was he seduced away by the courtesan in the brothel?"
The three of them were stunned. Seeing her pretty face and watery eyes, even with a fierce expression, she was still very cute. They were all stunned, as if they didn't hear what she asked.
Song Ruyue also came over at this time and asked coldly: "Where are the people?"
Kong Zhe reacted immediately and said quickly: "Brother Luo has just gone upstairs. He should have gone back to his room to rest. Didn't you see it?"
The two were stunned, then left quickly.
"What a pretty girl, calling Brother Luo "son-in-law", could she be Brother Luo's wife's maid? Tsk tsk, even the daughters of the rich families in Kyoto can't compare to this girl, Brother Luo's status as a son-in-law is really enviable."
Li Fang sneered and said, "You are still envious. Didn't you see that Brother Luo was away for a while, and they came here aggressively? Do you believe it or not, Brother Luo will definitely be punished later, and may even be slapped by that beautiful maid? That beautiful woman seems to have a bad temper, and the punishment will probably be even more severe. There is a son-in-law next door to me, and I see him being beaten and punished every day."
He Wensong sighed immediately: "Alas, son-in-law is so miserable. With Brother Luo's ability, why did he marry into the family? I guess he was forced by his family."
After sighing for a while, they finally remembered the important task of writing poetry and began to ponder.
In the room.
Luo Qingzhou was standing in front of the window, patting Xia Chan's shoulders diligently.
Xia Chan stood there motionless, holding the sword, staring at the darkness outside the window, her pretty face still as cold as ice.
Xiaodie was embroidering on the bed with a smile on her face.
"Squeak..."
The door was suddenly pushed open.
Luo Qingzhou immediately stepped back, took a few steps, and pretended to be taking a walk and thinking about something.
Song Ruyue walked in with a cold face.
Bailing followed in with a smile and said, "Son-in-law, you are so amazing. You actually tricked Chanchan in."
Luo Qingzhou said: "There are a lot of mosquitoes outside."
Then he bowed and said, "Mother-in-law, is there anything wrong?"
Song Ruyue was originally furious and wanted to question him why he said such shameless words, but facing his eyes, she suddenly thought, if she scolded and questioned this boy in front of so many people, what if he suddenly got angry and ran away secretly tonight
Wouldn't that be a complete failure
Now that the kid is free, he cannot relax or annoy Wei Mo as long as he doesn't get married with Wei Mo. Otherwise, all his efforts will be in vain, which will be miserable.
Thinking of this, her momentum suddenly weakened, and she forced a smile on her face, saying: "Qingzhou, um... there is a poetry gathering downstairs, why don't you go?"
Bai Ling immediately said, "It seems to be about wine. My son-in-law never drinks, so he probably can't write about it."
This method of provoking is too childish.
Luo Qingzhou ignored her and said, "I'm a little tired and want to rest early."
Hearing this, Song Ruyue glanced at Xiaodie standing by the bed and Xia Chan standing in front of the window, and couldn't help asking, "How are you going to sleep?"
Luo Qingzhou pretended not to understand: "What are you going to do and how are you going to sleep?"
Song Ruyue narrowed her eyes and suddenly said, "Xia Chan, you and Bailing go over there and sleep with Jianjia."
After these words were spoken, everyone in the room was stunned and looked at her in astonishment.
Song Ruyue said quickly: "I slept during the day and I'm not sleepy now. I'll just sit here and read a book tonight."
Bailing held back her laughter, and recalled what those scholars had just said. The madam was afraid that her son-in-law would be secretly seduced away by the courtesan tonight.
Xia Chan held the sword, said nothing, and walked out.
When Bailing was about to leave, Luo Qingzhou suddenly said, "Bailing, wait, I'll write a poem, you can take it and give it to Miss Tang."
As soon as these words came out, Song Ruyue's heart tightened: "What are you going to do?"
Luo Qingzhou said respectfully, "We were able to board the ship this time because Miss Tang loves talents. When she sent us up, she also told me to go down to participate in the poetry meeting. It would be bad if I didn't write a poem. After all, she will definitely not accept the travel expenses this time, and we can't owe her a favor in vain. So I want to write a poem to show my support for her."
Song Ruyue frowned and thought for a moment, then immediately said seriously, "Yes, you can't owe her a favor for nothing. If you do, who knows how she will control you in the future. Qingzhou, write a poem, but don't write it too well, just make do with it, it will be ok."
Luo Qingzhou's mouth twitched and he said, "Qingzhou knows."
Xiaodie quickly took out the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, spread them out on the table, and began to grind ink.
"Is it about wine?"
Luo Qingzhou thought about it, walked to the table and picked up a pen.