Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 873: Poetry Gathering at Yanchun Tower
Beijing,

Inside Yanchun Tower,

There was a constant noise, upstairs and downstairs, the place was packed with guests, and it was very lively.

With the arrival of the six academies, the atmosphere reached its climax.
suddenly,

Someone took the gong and struck it hard, shouting:

"Yanchun Tower welcomes the bride, Qinglian Academy is here!"

"Yanchun Tower welcomes the bride, Bailu Academy has arrived!"

"Yanchun Tower welcomes the bride, Qiushui Academy has arrived!"

"Yanchun Tower welcomes you, Yiyong Academy has arrived!"

As the audience sang and sang from below, the Yanchun Tower gradually became quiet. Everyone stretched their heads to look down and saw that the teachers in Confucian robes and the students of the academy slowly climbed up the high platform, walked along the stairs behind the high platform, went up to the second floor hall, and sat on the seats on the east and west sides.
There are many seats.

After sitting down, it took up less than half of the space.
The six heads of the academies were seated opposite each other at the front, while the six deans were seated on both sides of the upper seats, facing south. These were the seats for the judges.
Gong Huaiyu had a calm expression, kneeling on the ground, which seemed a little unnatural. Fortunately, there were cushions on each seat, which made it a little more comfortable. However, this kneeling method was almost extinct in the capital. After all, there were tables, chairs and benches, so how could it be retro?
But it is also a kind of etiquette. Since it is arranged like this, there is nothing to say.
Looking at the other people around, they were all sitting in the same position. Brother Lang was better. The three people opposite were also familiar faces. I just didn't know if they could pass the imperial examination this time. As usual, I clasped my fists and greeted them.
"So it's Brother Lan, Brother Zhuang, and Brother Xu. Congratulations to the three of you for winning the first place in the Jiangnan County Examination. I think you will have no problem passing the Imperial Examination as well."

The words of the Western Prince were passed on, so the three of them did not dare to be arrogant and responded politely.

"Your Excellency is too kind. The provincial examination is only the first hurdle. There are still several more to overcome. No one can compare to your nobleness."

Zhuang Xiaoyi smiled and replied. There was something strange in his words. No one around could understand. After listening, Lang Lin clapped his hands.

"Brother Zhuang is right, but I still need to think about it carefully. Luo Yunhou proposed a pair, and there is a bet of 200,000 taels. If someone makes a pair, the money will fly away, haha."

"Your Highness, what you said is different. Since it is a bet, then we should accept the loss. A mere two hundred thousand taels of silver is not a problem."

Xu Rentao bowed and replied with a smile, "Jiangnan is rich and powerful, and everyone in the world knows about it, so I'm not afraid of spending money."

Seeing that the person who responded was the eldest son of Jiangnan Transport Commissioner Xu Delin, even Zhao Xuelun, who usually kept silent, interrupted;
"As expected of the son of the transport envoy, he must have the confidence to follow the eldest master. He doesn't even care about 200,000 taels of silver, which shows how wealthy Jiangnan is."

"Everyone, the art of speaking is unnecessary. The poetry gathering is all about writing poetry. I just told you the rules. Any subject is fine. If your writing is not good enough, it will be embarrassing, which is not good!"

Lan Xinwen opened his folding fan and smoothed things over. The poem he had prepared long ago was now put to good use.

"Okay, but there are many scholars in the world, and there are more than just six of us who hold poetry gatherings."

Zhao Xuelun didn't want to argue, but the three people opposite him looked arrogant and a little angry.
Just when a few people were arguing.

In the upstairs box,
Zhang Jinyu also turned his gaze downwards and took a quick glance. It seemed that all the people from the six academies were present. This poetry gathering, somehow, had become so chaotic and lively.
"Master Huang, the students from the six major academies have all arrived. I'm afraid the poetry gathering is about to begin."

"Well, this place is quite rare."

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong sipped his tea and looked around. He had never thought that Yanchun Tower would be so prosperous. So how much money could Manchun Courtyard, which was as famous as Yanchun Tower, earn this year? After all, the war in the south was not over and the expenses were very high.

Seeing that Luo Yunhou was familiar with this place, he asked;

"Tell me, kid, how much does Yanchunlou collect in a year?"

Zhang Jinyu shuddered in his heart at the seemingly careless question. Good fellow, how could he know how much money His Majesty asked with this question? But from the looks of it, it would be impossible to conquer the city without 1.8 million taels of silver. But he couldn't say this out loud, otherwise, if the two princesses knew about it, his source of 400,000 taels of silver a year would be gone.
But I had to answer. What should I do? Besides, there were brothels everywhere in the capital, and the most profitable one should be the Jiaofangsi. The Chunlou in Dongcheng was not bad either.

Oh, right, Prince Zhongshun's brothel. Thinking of this, I have a way to deal with it.

"Master Huang, I know nothing about these things. Those who can do business are nothing but profiteers. If he is honest, this businessman will lose money. Although I don't know, I have been to the East City brothel. It is crowded and prosperous. It is located in the downtown area. There should be many. For the details, I can only ask the boss behind them. I think the burned brothel seems to be rebuilt overnight. The original four-story attic has become much larger."

This statement was obviously meant to tease Prince Zhongshun. Dai Quan, who was standing beside him, twitched his lips. The Marquis really dared to say anything.

Emperor Wu put down his tea bowl and muttered to himself, "Chunlou is Jian'an's property. The two princesses also have their own property. So, it seems that the golden nest and the silver nest are all in their hands.
"It seems that all of you are lords with ideas, except me, whose treasury is empty!"

The bad tone chilled the atmosphere in the box. Zhang Jinyu was secretly shocked. It seemed that money was really important to His Majesty. It made sense. Everyone was rich except the palace and the Ministry of Revenue. Who wouldn't be anxious to be the emperor?
"Master Huang is not in a hurry. The most profitable place in the capital is the Jiaofangsi, which ranks first."

I don't know if he wanted to excuse the princess, or if he was too anxious and wanted to involve the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This time, Dai Quan's mouth twitched and he couldn't hold it anymore, so he spoke.

"Your Majesty, what the Marquis said is correct. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has all the revenues in the account books available for inspection."

Looking at Dai Quan who was anxious to answer, it was Zhang Jinyu's turn to be tongue-tied and said the wrong thing. Fortunately, Emperor Wu ignored it.

"This matter has passed, but there are still many people coming."

Following the voice, I looked down and saw several sons of noble families, accompanied by a large number of guards, walking up to the second floor hall and sitting down at the front seats, with great momentum.

suddenly,

The performers on the stage left the stage, and a young man jumped onto the stage, struck a gong,
"when"

"Everyone, the poetry competition will begin soon. Today's poetry competition has no restrictions on the subject matter. All poems can be submitted. The first place winner will receive a reward of 30,000 taels of silver from the princess. The second place winner will receive a reward of 20,000 taels of silver. The third place winner will receive a reward of 10,000 taels of silver. The top 100 winners will each receive a reward of 100 taels of silver."

The person who spoke was none other than Wei Liang, the younger brother of Wei Shuyun, who followed behind the princess.
His Highness had already arrived. He looked upstairs, but he did not see Duanmi.

; Side room on the second floor,
inside the house,

Princess Zhou Xiangxue, wearing a snow-white robe and a veil, leaned on the bed and listened to Wei Shuyun beside her, reporting the recent developments of the major academies, especially the bet of nearly 600,000 taels of silver by Marquis Luo Yun. He was really greedy for money.

"Your Highness, the students from Yanchun Tower are discussing this secretly, but there is no result so far. This must have been done by Ling Yunfu, the headmaster of Qinglian Academy."

"Well, who else but him can come up with such a pair? But since that's the case, we have to compete for it. By the way, where is Luo Yunhou?"

Zhou Xiangxue's face flushed slightly, with a faint smile on her face, like a fairy. She didn't know what to think, so she went back to the screen, wrapped her black cloak around herself, and put on her hat. Her stunning face and figure were now hidden.
Wei Shuyun was somewhat stunned. Your Highness, what is this?

"Let's go and take a look ahead."

"Yes, Your Highness,"

More and more people came to the front of Yanchun Tower. The receptionist in the front row suddenly shouted,
"Yanchun Tower welcomes a happy occasion, the Prince of Zheng has arrived!" "Yanchun Tower welcomes a happy occasion, the Prince of Han has arrived!"

"Yanchun Tower welcomes the bride and groom, the Prince of Song has arrived!"

A few more singings,

Several princes, dressed in brocade and gorgeous clothes, walked in with their guards. As soon as they entered the building, Zhou Lianghao, the prince of Wu, opened his eyes wide and looked around. There were exquisite silks and satins hanging all around, and the whole room was filled with fragrance. There were quite a few maids around, but he didn't know where the courtesans were. He didn't even dare to think about the stunning dance and the Chu girl's easy waist.

"Brothers, where are those courtesans? Why can't I see them?"

Zhou Yewen's face darkened and he quickly pulled Zhou Lianghao.

"Brother Hao, the Oiran election is at night, not during the day. Now it's a poetry gathering."

"That's so boring, listening to those sour scholars reciting poems, what's the point of that?"

Zhou Lianghao was unwilling to do so. He looked at the second floor filled with students from the academy. Most of them were dressed in blue shirts and wore square scarves on their heads. Although they were handsome and had extraordinary temperament, they were still sour scholars.
Zhou Zhengbai, who was leading the way up the stairs, consoled him;
"It's okay to watch the courtesans, but wouldn't it be better to watch some jokes? I heard that Gong Huaiyu and Lang Lin are also the top students in the academy, sitting in the front row."

"Oh, it turns out to be the two of them, interesting."

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The Prince of Han, Zhou Xingshan, immediately became interested. With them around, the poetry gathering would be interesting to watch. Just as they went up to the second floor and had not yet taken their seats,
Downstairs, another singing came;
"Yanchun Tower welcomes the bride and groom, the eldest son of the Li family has arrived."

This voice,

The people sitting on the second floor looked down. The eldest son, Li Chaosheng, was in high spirits, wearing a gorgeous brocade robe with exquisite cloud patterns embroidered in gold thread, a belt inlaid with warm jade, and a folding fan in his hand. He came in one after another, followed by his attendants, all of whom were in high spirits.
Zhang Jinyu, who was sitting upstairs, looked down and thought to himself, I didn't expect the eldest master to be here too. Is he bored or did he come here on purpose?
As everyone sat down,
Zhang Jinyu was still in the crowd and saw many sons of noble families. At this moment, a group of people walked over from the second floor. A woman in a black cloak sat in the main seat. Wei Liang on the high platform, as if receiving a signal, struck the gong.

"The eldest princess has arrived!"

A loud shout silenced the entire Yanchun Tower.

Even Zhang Jinyu was puzzled. This outfit, tut tut, before he could think of anything else, a servant came to the door and reported;
"My Lord, His Highness invites you to go down and participate in the poetry meeting."

Listening to the message from the servant outside the door, Zhang Jinyu seemed a little embarrassed. Looking at the emperor, the queen, and Qin Keqing's curious eyes, he couldn't say anything to explain.

"Okay, let's go down and take a look."

Seeing His Majesty speaking, Zhang Jinyu stood up awkwardly and bowed to the Emperor and the Empress.

"Yes, Master Huang, Master Jiang, I'll go down and take a look. I'll be back soon."

He winked at Qin Keqing and turned to leave the room.

Go down the stairs,

Still complaining in my heart, aren't you just looking for trouble?
Looking at a group of familiar people downstairs, what kind of poetry gathering is this? They say it in a hypocritical manner. Aren't they tired? Especially since the eldest princess is here, Princess Yongcheng will definitely come as well. If the two of them come, who knows what this poetry gathering will be like.

No matter what was going on downstairs, the poetry reading was held on the second floor anyway. As everyone took their seats, everyone was present.

The eldest princess, Zhou Xiangxue, sat in the main seat, with a cloak behind her, covering the palace dress underneath. However, her face was white, and the golden hairpin on her head embellished it, making it dazzling and attracting the curiosity of the people present. Even Gong Huaiyu and Lang Lin were a little bit unbelievable. The eldest princess's appearance had not changed at all.
After a quick glance, he saw that several princes were there. As for the rest, they were left out because they were not of high status. There was nothing they could do.
The concubines of the various prefectures who took the provincial examination all sat at the back, including Song Xingjun from the Chengyi Marquis's mansion, Yue Muning from the Changyong Marquis's mansion, Li Chongwen from the Anping Marquis's mansion, etc.
Even many officials from the capital and the sons of many great men in the court were among them, especially Yang Mingan, Luan Yiqing, and Sun Huaizhong, who had recovered from their injuries. They followed behind the eldest son and took a chance to sit down in the front seat at the west side.
The three of them were not bad looking, especially Yang Mingan, who was dressed in white and had an elegant demeanor. With his striking appearance, he was an extraordinary young talent in the capital.

"Ming'an, there are quite a lot of people here today. I saw quite a few censors coming here, but I don't know why."

Luan Yiqing looked around and saw Zeng Zheng and Su Chong, who looked unremarkable, sitting beside him and opposite him. These two were disciples of Lord Lu and were officials of the six ministries. They had come secretly. Others could not recognize them, but he could see them clearly.
"Oh, it's true. Everyone knows that the censor is strict, but I didn't expect his fellow apprentice to come here. Maybe he wants to make a report."

What Sun Huai hated most were these censors. They had few abilities, but they were good at talking. They could make you do something. After Yan Cong became famous, he became much more low-key.
"Alright, we are here to attend the poetry gathering, not to interfere in government affairs. If we become famous at the poetry gathering, wouldn't it be better for the eldest son to help us? The same goes for the imperial examination in two years."

This is where Yang Mingan was relieved. Although he was banned from taking the exam, the eldest son had already passed on the message that the cabinet had exempted him from the ban. However, he still needed to give face to Luo Yunhou these days, so he had not issued it yet.

It was only a matter of time. When he thought of the young master of the Xue family, he was always the one who ruined his good deeds. He was so angry that his teeth itched. He didn't know if that man had come. He had found out that this young master of the Xue family was uneducated and had no knowledge of poetry. If he had a chance to humiliate him today and relieve his anger, he would definitely feel happy. So, he glanced around to see if he had come.

"My dear friends, has the leader of the Xue family come yet? If so, I will take revenge for the beating."

I don't know what irritated Yang Ming'an, his eyes were red, and when he said this, the two gentlemen beside him changed their expressions slightly. They always felt that the man from the Xue family was a jinx. Every time they met him, it was a disaster for them and they were in a mess. However, being unable to beat him was a physical job, and this poetry meeting was a mental job. If they could humiliate him at the poetry meeting, it might be a relief.

Luan Yiqing looked at Sun Huaizhong carefully, and when he saw that he was moving a little, he nodded.
"Brother Yang's words make sense. If we can't defeat them, then let's change our thinking. Not to mention that the people from the six major academies are here, there are also many princes and nobles from aristocratic families. If we lose face, it will be a big loss."

"Haha, that's true. Even if Marquis Luo Yun wanted to protect him, it would be difficult for him to do so in public, given his temperament. Besides, with the princess here, he wouldn't dare to act recklessly."

Sun Huaizhong thought about it, they had everything going for them, so why would they be afraid of him? They were just afraid that Master Xue would not come.

"Uh, Brother Yang, if the young master of the Xue family doesn't come, then we are overthinking it,"

Speak like this,

It's really a bummer.

"Then it depends on his luck. He will definitely come to such a feast."

Yang Mingan shook his head, thinking that with such a lively scene, how could the young master of the Xue family not join in the fun.

Look at the center of the field.
The eldest princess had already picked up the wine cup and nodded to the people around her. She opened her red lips slightly and
"Today is the auspicious day for me to return to the capital, so I am holding a poetry gathering in Yanchun Tower. One reason is to get to know the young talents in the capital through the six major academies, and the other is to express my gratitude to the several deans for their favors!"

The headmasters who were sitting in the seats below did not dare to be negligent and raised their glasses in reply;
"Your Highness, we are not worthy of this,"

The eldest princess smiled back and continued;

"The rules of this poetry contest are that the winner will be determined by poetry. It can be divided into poetry and lyrics. Two pieces are decided. Regardless of identity, everyone can participate. The six mountain masters will comment on it and select the top three. I will express my gratitude. Come, everyone, drink together."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Many of the people who came were young students. Hearing the princess's clear voice, they felt a little excited and responded in unison.

Only Zhang Jinyu, who had barely gotten there, was startled and looked displeased. It was a poetry gathering, but they were still hesitant and loud. It wasn't the one who spoke the loudest who was right. Looking at the group of noblemen in front with blushing faces, Zhang Jinyu found it a little funny. And the presidents of the six major academies were so low-key, really, wow!
When everyone drank the cup of wine,
Zhang Jinyu looked over and walked over, intending to find a seat at the back to sit down, but who knew that the eldest princess had already been looking at him!
(End of this chapter)