Chapter 27

"Meinü and Yuying pay respects to the two young masters!" The pearl curtain swayed as two elaborately dressed young women entered with swaying steps, the jade ornaments in their hair jingling pleasantly.

"Master Qian, it's been so long since you last came. Have you forgotten about me?" The woman calling herself Meinü frowned slightly, looking particularly pitiful, and sat down next to Qian Hua as soon as she entered.

Yuying naturally went to Li You. She sized him up and saw that this young lady was in her prime, with a slender figure, a delicate appearance, and eyes that sparkled with the vivacity of a sixteen-year-old girl. Li You couldn't help but praise her, "Amidst the myriad flowers, only Yuying's smile retains the spring! Your smile, Yuying, has gathered all the spring scenery of Suzhou into this elegant room!"

Yuying's eyes lit up at this. Courtesans always favored talented scholars who could write good poetry. If they could get a good poem from them, they would even be willing to pay! The reason was that, like modern celebrities, a good poem could make them famous, and fame naturally brought more income! It was like a modern celebrity hearing that Jay Chou wanted to write a song for her—she would quickly try to ingratiate herself.

"Master, you truly have a way with words!" Yuying quickly peeled a grape and fed it to Li You, then, seeing that he was in a good mood, asked, "Have you finished that poem?"

These two lines were elegant and extraordinary, and coincidentally included the name "Yuying." If she could get the whole poem and have it sung a few times, her status on the Suzhou flower boat would surely rise.

"Ah, but I didn't write it! When the teacher taught it, I was distracted and only remembered these two lines. I can't remember the rest!" Li You told the truth, only remembering that these were lines by Zhang Shangying from the Song Dynasty, but he couldn't recall the entire poem.

Just as Yuying was feeling regretful, a burst of applause came from downstairs. "Brother Yuan truly is the top scholar of Suzhou! This new poem is a rare masterpiece in recent years! I wish Brother Yuan success in the imperial exams and hope he will top the list!"

"Thank you all for your praise! I'll go see Meinü first, and then come back to drink with all of you!" The voice reached the room, and the face of Meinü, who was leaning on Qian Hua, turned pale. She had already known Qian Hua's identity before coming and understood that he was a noble she couldn't afford to offend. Now, hearing her name mentioned outside, she became anxious! Why did that damn Yuan Zhang have to come now?

"Meinü? Do you have an appointment with someone?" Qian Hua's face darkened. He didn't really like Meinü that much, but now that she was in his room, if she were called out, it would be very embarrassing for him. "Your mother is really thoughtless! If someone had an appointment with you, why did she send you to me? Is she deliberately trying to make me uncomfortable?"

"Master Qian, you misunderstand!" Meinü was on the verge of tears. Over the past two months, she had indeed been in frequent contact with Yuan Zhang, but she had heard that he had returned home to raise funds for his journey to the capital for the exams. She never expected him to appear suddenly!

"Cousin, if that's the case, then..." Li You was about to speak when the door was pushed open. A slender man, about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, entered. He was seven feet tall, with an extraordinary demeanor, his hair left loose and unbound. On his white, washed-out robe, a poem was written in bold strokes. Li You could only recognize one line after a long while: "Now I leave my hometown for the capital, who will be second at the imperial banquet?" The implication was that if he went to the capital for the exams, the top position would definitely be his, and the rest would only be able to compete for second place! What a self-important and arrogant attitude!

"Meinü, I've written a new poem for you!" The newcomer seemed to ignore Qian Hua and Li You, walking straight to Meinü and reaching for her hand. "Only your music can match my poetry in all of Suzhou. Go and play it for me!"

"Yuan Zhang! You..." Meinü didn't expect him to be so impulsive and disrespectful, barging in like this.

"Ahem! Sir!" Qian Hua had to speak up; otherwise, he would lose all his dignity. He extended his fan to block Yuan Zhang's hand reaching for Meinü. "There's a first come, first served rule, right?"

Only then did Yuan Zhang's gaze shift from Meinü to Qian Hua and Li You, his eyes filled with disdain. "Do two playboys understand music?"

In a movie, you wouldn't last five minutes! Li You now understood why talented poets and scholars in ancient times often didn't have good endings. Just look at this man! He acted without regard for others, following only his own whims. In less than a minute, he had completely offended Qian Hua and Li You.

"Master Yuan! Please understand, Meinü can't play for you right now!" After a moment's hesitation, Meinü decided to first appease Qian Hua. She would have to say some nice words to calm this young master's anger. Otherwise, if the heir of the Changhua Bo family held a grudge against Yuan Zhang and interfered, his path in the imperial exams would be fraught with difficulties.

Having spent a long time in the pleasure quarters, Meinü was not like Yuan Zhang, who was naive about the world. She knew that to succeed in the imperial exams, talent alone was not enough!

However, this good intention was misunderstood by Yuan Zhang. His face changed dramatically, and his fingers trembled as he pointed at Meinü. "Meinü, I thought you, though from a lowly background, were not a greedy and shallow person!" Yuan Zhang's heart felt dead. "But I never expected you to look down on me for being poor and powerless now?"

"Master Yuan!" Being misunderstood by the one she loved, Meinü felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife.

"Hmph!" Seemingly having endured such discrimination many times before, Yuan Zhang quickly regained his composure on the surface, though his heart was in turmoil. He gave Qian Hua and Li You one last look, as if trying to memorize their faces, then turned and left decisively. "Thirty years on this side of the river, thirty years on the other. Don't look down on a poor young man! I will remember this, and repay it a hundredfold in the future!"

No way! Li You shuddered at this. These weren't words that just anyone could say. Could he be the main character?

"What nonsense!" A pleasant outing had been ruined by Yuan Zhang. Qian Hua had no more interest in continuing. "Brother Wenyang, it's my fault today! When we reach Jiangdu, I'll take you to see the beauties there!"

With that, Qian Hua and Li You got up and left. Yuying, seeing the situation, quickly went to find the madam, leaving Meinü alone in the room, crying her heart out.

...

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