Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 278 Lord Lin must be informed of this matter!
After leaving the back hall and coming to the corridor, Fan Pengcheng saw Qian Shiyuan standing with his hands behind his back, so he stepped forward to greet him: "Mr. Sanzhi."

Qian Shiyuan turned around and asked, "How is it? Is Marquis An Jing satisfied with our arrangement?"

Fan Pengcheng hesitated for a moment and nodded slightly, "I think he should be satisfied. Marquis Anjing is accompanied by Lin Ruhai's daughter, so the rumors in the market should be true, and those girls have already stayed in the hall."

Qian Shiyuan frowned and said, "I also think it's really strange. How could Lin Ruhai's daughter be with Marquis Anjing?"

Fan Pengcheng thought for a moment and said, "I have always thought that Lin Ruhai was a conservative person who followed the rules, but now it seems that this is not the case."

Qian Shiyuan nodded, "In the officialdom of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he is a unique figure. None of us dare to provoke him, nor is it easy to make friends with him. This time, it seems that we were too cautious before. Lin Ruhai must be a person who is well versed in the ways of officialdom, and he may be able to get along with others."

Fan Pengcheng replied, "Lin Ruhai's daughter is a well-known talented woman. It is rumored that she could read scriptures at the age of four and recite poetry at the age of five. I have also invited her to compose poetry at this poetry gathering. If she really has real talent and becomes famous at the poetry gathering, it can be regarded as a gesture of goodwill to Lin Ruhai."

Qian Shiyuan agreed with this and nodded, saying, "Have the people below compile the events and lyrics of the poetry gathering into a book. Not only should it be sold around Suzhou City, but also a few beautifully bound books should be sent to the Yangzhou Salt Inspectorate."

"The details about Lin Ruhai's daughter and An Jinghou must be recorded in detail without any omissions. Since his daughter has the opportunity to show her talent, if we don't let her know, wouldn't our efforts be in vain?"

"Of course, if there are things that are not worth telling to outsiders, it is better not to record them and help to repair them."

Fan Pengcheng waved his hands and cheered, "I actually forgot about this. I see that Lin Ruhai's daughter and An Jinghou have a very close relationship. Women have never been allowed to participate in poetry gatherings and recite poems. Since Lin Ruhai's daughter is here to recite poems, she will definitely attract the attention of everyone in the room."

"Moreover, this time we have set a precedent. Not only does it give face to Lin Ruhai, but it also gives face to An Jinghou. It really kills two birds with one stone."

"If we report this back to Yangzhou, we can let Lin Ruhai know how his beloved daughter is treated favorably by Marquis An Jing. It will also help Marquis An Jing save face in front of Lin Ruhai."

"Both families are old retainers of the Qin Palace. I believe they will eventually become relatives. If we help them, wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Marquis An Jing will repay us in the future."

Qian Shiyuan pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "That's right, quickly arrange someone to do it."

……

As noon approached, more and more people gathered outside Canglang Pavilion.

Outside the main gate, there was a crowd of people, only a few of whom had invitations, while most of them came to try their luck and see if they could solve the three questions in front of the gate and get permission to enter the park.

The Canglang Gathering is the largest gathering of literati in the whole of Jiangnan. If one can make friends with some big figures in it, he will benefit a lot in the future. Therefore, people flock to it and there are so many people in front of the door.

But from early morning till now, no one has been able to solve the first question, so it is not easy for ordinary people to enter.

A group of young men in fine clothes, all dressed in silk and satin, looked bright and beautiful. Among them, they were surrounding a man who seemed to be the most distinguished person among them.

"Mr. Xu, your father has held the Canglang Gathering several times, and you have never participated in any of them before. This time you are here to write poems, do you also want to stand out in the limelight at this poetry gathering?"

Everyone laughed and joked with Xu Lang.

Xu Lang closed his folding fan and said frankly, "I didn't study enough before, but now I have learned a lot, so of course I want to show my talent."

In the imperial examination, 50% to 60% of the students from Jiangnan were on the list, accounting for the majority of the country. The Canglang Gathering brought together the famous scholars and talents from Jiangnan. If you could become a leader in this grand gathering, you would be the one who looked down upon the younger generation of scholars.

There is no one here who doesn't want to be famous throughout the world.

Xu Yaozu, the organizer of the Canglang Gathering, had high hopes for Xu Lang as his family wished to make him famous.

If you can be noticed by a famous artist at an elegant gathering and accepted as a disciple, it will be of great help to your future career.

If there is a politician in the family, the family business will not easily decline.

To this end, Xu Yaozu has already made secret arrangements.

Today is August 8th, and it is a good time to write poetry on the theme of autumn.

Autumn is a very common topic. Our ancestors have written too many masterpieces expressing their sorrow for the passing of spring and autumn. It is certainly difficult for any good lines to appear at the moment.

Xu Yaozu had already spent a large sum of money to buy a poem for his son, asking him to memorize it, write it down at an elegant gathering, and make it famous among the people.

As for the so-called real talent and knowledge, it is hard for a dandy son of a merchant family to have it, so he can only resort to this last resort.

But this is not something that can be achieved overnight.

On weekdays, the Xu family would often build up momentum for Xu Lang, making up stories to portray him as a talented person, so that Xu Lang's reputation in Suzhou today is still that of a well-read and talented person.

Xu Lang was quite confident in his father's arrangement. At this moment, he raised his head proudly and talked with the people around him, "There are probably tens of thousands of people coming to the meeting today, but no one has solved the first question yet. It seems that my Jiangnan style of writing has also been lost."

Others laughed and said, "Most of the talented scholars have already received the invitation. These three questions are just to test whether there are any hidden gems out there. Hidden gems are like a drop in the ocean, how can they be easy to find?"

"Speaking of which, the number of people attending the gathering this year far exceeded that of previous gatherings. I heard that more invitations were distributed than in previous years, and even more people came to Suzhou to take the exam."

Someone said, "It's just to meet the Marquis of Anjing. They all came for the Marquis of Anjing's reputation."

"I heard that Marquis Anjing has no staff or subordinates yet. If I can be valued by him at the poetry meeting and work beside him, it will be a shortcut to success. Does Master Xu have this in mind?"

Xu Lang thought to himself, "Of course my family wants to please Marquis Anjing. It will take a long time for such a big Buddha to stand in Jiangnan. If we don't make friends with him, how can we do business in the future? Moreover, Marquis Anjing is in charge of the army. He will naturally crack down on smuggling along the coast. So should my Xu family still sell their goods?"

"My father has already given me thirty thousand taels of silver to please him. If I win the first place in the competition, I will be treated differently by Marquis Anjing, and the Xu family will live a stable life."

Xu Lang smiled calmly, tapping his folding fan and said, "In Dachang, no one is more famous than Marquis An Jing. Who doesn't want to see Marquis An Jing's elegance? If I can see Marquis An Jing compose a poem, it will be worth the trip."

"As for what you said about being valued by Marquis Anjing and becoming his staff, hahahaha, I'm not trying to pour cold water on you gentlemen. Marquis Anjing is a top figure in the world. I'm afraid that except for the top poet here, no one else can catch his eye."

"You will enter the garden for the competition later, so you still need to work hard."

Everyone laughed and said, "With Master Xu standing in the way, it seems that if the Marquis chooses a talent, Master Xu will be the only one."

Compliments continued to be heard. At the right moment, a servant beside him came up to Xu Lang and whispered, "Master, the one from the Shen family is here."

Xu Lang frowned and said, "Dad also gave them invitations to attend the gathering? Didn't he say that they would be imprisoned with Sun Yicai and serve as pawns?"

The servant replied, "There should be some. Sun Yicai has not been caught yet, and it is hard to say what will happen in the future. In order to reassure the Shen family, we can't stop them from participating."

Xu Lang nodded and said, "Well, let's bring over my brother Shen whom I haven't seen for a long time. I'll also be more careful with him when I enter the garden, so as not to be discovered."

"Yes."

After a while, a young man with a handsome face and wearing a bright red felt cloak and white arrow sleeves came over.

"Brother Xu, it's been a long time since we last met. You are still as handsome as ever." Xu Lang said with a smile, "You are not bad either."

Putting his arm around the young man from the Shen family, Xu Lang introduced him, "You may have seen this man before, or you may not know him. Let me introduce him. He is the eldest son of the Shen family in Wu County, Shen Ying."

Shen Ying bowed and said, "Hello, brothers."

"I've met Mr. Shen. The Shen family is well-known in Wu County. During this flood, the Shen family saved a lot of people. I heard that the government sent a plaque to their home. They are indeed a 'family of good deeds'."

Shen Ying smiled awkwardly and then heard Xu Lang ask, "Last time I visited your house, Uncle Shen told me that you were ill and in bed and it was inconvenient for me to visit you. What's going on?"

"You've always been able to run and jump, how come you suddenly got sick? Are you feeling well now?"

Shen Ying shook his head and sighed, rubbing his shoulder that Yue Ling had lifted up, and said, "Thank you for your concern, brother. Let's not talk about this matter... "

Seeing that Shen Ying seemed to have something to hide, Xu Lang asked again: "What's going on? You can't even tell your brother?"

Shen Ying said, "It's not that I can't say it, but it would be embarrassing to say it out. Not long ago, a relative came to stay at my house, and because I chatted with that cousin, my brother-in-law thought I was a lecher and beat me up."

Xu Lang was stunned. "So many guards at home couldn't protect you? You weren't sick, but were beaten?"

Shen Ying sighed even more, "That brother-in-law is a powerful man. I heard that he is a branch of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes. The guards dared not attack him. But one of my arms was cut off. Fortunately, the old doctor has excellent medical skills, otherwise I would only have one arm left now."

Xu Lang became angry after hearing this. Although the Shen family was just a dog of his Xu family, one still has to look at the owner when beating a dog. This also showed that he did not take the Xu family seriously at all.

The side branches of the four kings and eight dukes are most likely not as good as the ten branches of the Jia family that remained in Jinling from the Rong and Ning mansions.

Just think about it, among the ten branches of Jia family, many of them came to make friends with Xu family in order to seek some way to make a living, but Xu Lang did not care.

How dare this so-called descendant of the four kings and eight dukes commit violence against his master in his master's home under the pretext of fame?
Xu Lang frowned slightly and asked, "Where is that person now?"

Seeing Xu Lang showing some real anger, Shen Ying was deeply moved. He pulled Xu Lang's arm and said, "Brother, don't worry. He has already left Suzhou City. A few days ago, I heard from mother that he had left with my sister and was looking for someone else..."

As they were talking, Shen Ying was stunned when he saw a pair of monks holding banners not far away.

"What are we looking for? Where should we look? Why don't you explain it clearly, brother?"

Shen Ying swallowed his saliva and pointed to the distance and said, "It looks like that is my brother-in-law."

……

"There are so many people here, let's go around to the small door on the side and deliver the invitation."

Yue Ling and Miaoyu came down the mountain, but they were not in a hurry to attend the poetry meeting. They went to the post station first and arranged some things with Jia Yun.

When we arrived at the gate of Canglang Pavilion, it was already so crowded that it was difficult to walk.

But in such a grand event, Yue Ling also wanted to see what the three questions at the door were that could stump so many people.

The first one is hung under the first houseplate building. It is a couplet. The first line goes: Tune the piano to a new tune, tune to a new tune, and tune to a wonderful tune.

It is indeed very difficult to write couplets with the same characters but different pronunciations.

"Diao" has two pronunciations, one is a verb and the other is a noun. In this couplet, the first, third, and eighth "diao" characters are verbs, and the rest are nouns.

If you want to make this neatly matched, there are many things to consider.

Yue Ling stared at the couplet in deep thought, and heard Miaoyu ask beside him, "Are you really going to break through here? With our status, it's not appropriate to make a scene too conspicuous, right?"

Yue Ling smiled and said, "No, I just wanted to join in the fun when I had nothing else to do. The gatekeeping rules are too stingy. They only leave one question out, and don't even let people see what's behind it. It's a pity."

Miaoyu heard the hidden meaning of Yue Ling's words and read the title several times before she realized that the characters had the same pronunciation but different sounds. She frowned and said, "My Lord, has already come up with the second line?"

Yue Ling chuckled and said, "Of course, this couplet is not that difficult."

"Shameless talk!"

With a shout, a piece of white space was seen cleared near Yue Ling, and a group of young masters came up to Yue Ling in two steps.

"You bastard, a monk should not tell lies, yet you are still boasting, saying that this is simple? This simple thing can confuse thousands of Jiangnan students. This action should be regarded as your contempt for Jiangnan scholars!"

Yue Ling frowned, wondering where this idiot came from.

Then a gentleman who was as gentle as jade and as active as spring breeze pushed the man aside, bowed and asked, "I wonder if you are Liu Xianglian, a descendant of the Duke of Liguo?"

Miaoyu was stunned and looked at Yue Ling in confusion.

Yue Ling was also slightly startled, and when he saw the young man from the Shen family beside the young master, he knew what was going on.

Yue Ling nodded and replied: "Exactly, who are you?"

Xu Lang opened his folding fan, waved it three times, and said with a smile: "I am Xu Lang from the Xu family."

Hearing this, there was an uproar all around.

"Is this Xu Lang, the most powerful young master in Suzhou? The Xu family is the richest family in Suzhou and they work for the Weaving Bureau."

"The other side is not bad either, the sons of the four kings and eight dukes! This is going to be a good show to watch."

Everyone gathered in a circle, waiting for the changes to happen.

Yue Ling raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking to himself, "So this is someone from the Xu family. The silk and satin they wear seem to be even better than the brocade Your Majesty gave me. They are truly a wealthy family."

"If we confiscate the Xu family's property, it should be able to make up for the deficit in the national treasury, right?"

The opposite side's gaze was shining on him, and Xu Lang felt quite uncomfortable.

As the most powerful young master in Suzhou City, Xu Lang was a powerful figure in the city. No one dared to offend him, and the government had to give him some face.

Why was it that when they met, the other person was looking at him as if he were his prey?
"What's wrong with this guy? Is he planning to kidnap me and extort money from my father?"

　The number of words owed will be added later

　　
　
(End of this chapter)