Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 78 Spending money like water, becoming famous overnight in Jiangzhou Prefecture! (Second update)

The young scholars from Jiangyin stepped out of the Zuixianlou restaurant and walked along the star-sparse streets in the still-dark night. The night breeze caressed their faces, and the effects of the wine had not yet worn off.

Someone burst out laughing first, and everyone immediately joined in, startling the crows roosting under the eaves of the street.

"That scoundrel Zhao Zilu!"

Cao An patted the railing and laughed, "I originally wanted to set a trap to get a poem out of the county, but I ended up losing both my wife and my army! Five thousand taels of silver have gone down the drain!"

Upon hearing this, the students burst into laughter.

Lu Ming continued:

"The most wonderful part!"
Zhao Zilu's attempt to steal a chicken backfired spectacularly; not a single piece of his writing came to light, but the courtesan Xiaomannu benefited instead!
Brother Jiang's rendition of "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet" was stunning, and a small portion of the five thousand taels spent went to this beautiful lady!
The other half was overshadowed by Brother Jiang.

Under the moonlight, the young scholars, their robes fluttering, chatted amongst themselves.

"Brother Zhao is probably going to be furious tonight, he'll be pounding his chest and stamping his feet in frustration!"

"If you ask me, this poetry banquet for the top scholar has become a stepping stone for the little barbarian to regain his title as the number one courtesan in Jiangzhou! The road to success paved with five thousand taels of silver has been trodden by the courtesan!"

The laughter faded into the distance, shattering the lamplight that illuminated the entire street.

Drunken Immortal Pavilion, Star-Picking Pavilion.

"Brother Zhao, I'm afraid this article won't be published outside the county! What should we do?"

A young man in brocade robes hesitated, his gaze sweeping over the empty pavilion.

The plan to use this poetry banquet to praise Zhao Zilu's poem about visiting the town and thus make the article "go beyond the county" has also fallen through.

"Why panic!"

Zhao Zilu's face turned ashen. Suddenly, he smashed a wine pot heavily on the ground, sending shards of porcelain flying everywhere.

"Spend money! Hire a hundred poor scholars and have them spread this poem throughout Jiangzhou Prefecture! As long as there are enough people praising this poem, it will surely 'go beyond the county'!"

He ripped open his clothes menacingly, revealing the bulging veins on his neck. "Even if I have to throw money at it, I'll still write an article that gets me published outside the county!"

He knew very well that
Without an article proving his legitimacy upon leaving the county, Lord Zhou, the Prefectural Governor, would certainly not give him a second glance after he leaves the pass.

In this year's county examination, among the six top candidates from five counties in one prefecture, Zhao Zilu showed no outstanding talent. Even among the top five candidates, there were those who had achieved high honors.

"But...this cost..."

The scions of prominent families are in a difficult position.

It costs money to get scholars from poor families to praise an article.

They were also students who had passed the imperial examinations. Although people from poor families are indeed poor, they are not people who can be easily persuaded to come!

One must be paid at least ten taels of silver a day, and thirty taels are needed to earn someone's praise for three days.

Without a hundred students praising the article together for more than three days, hoping to make the article famous and have it widely circulated, it simply won't achieve the effect of making the article known throughout the county.

This expense will cost at least three thousand taels of silver.

In addition, the poetry banquet was booked out, and the banquet, singing and dancing performances cost five thousand taels of silver.

The first prize is one thousand taels.

It was clear that the expenses had reached a staggering nine thousand taels.

Upon thinking of this, Zhao Zilu felt as if he were about to vomit blood.

Even the wealthy Zhao family, the transport commissioner of Jiangzhou Prefecture, could not withstand such a daily expenditure of nearly ten thousand taels of silver.

"It's just silver, isn't it?!"

He gritted his teeth, his voice trembling slightly, "Does my Zhao family lack nine thousand taels?!"

The scions of prominent families around him exchanged bewildered glances.

One of them said cautiously, "Brother Zhao, this...this is almost equivalent to my family's expenses for the first half of the year."

"Shut up!
"I'm rich!"

Zhao Zilu grabbed the man's collar, his eyes bloodshot, "I'll mortgage my estate in the west of the city for ten thousand taels!"

"Does the Zhao family, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner, possibly lack silver?!"

These are only his own assets; he has not yet touched the Zhao family's property.

"As long as you pass the imperial examination with top honors, or even become a Juren or Jieyuan, everything you've done today will be worth it!"

As Zhao Zilu was speaking, his voice suddenly lowered, he clutched his chest, staggered back two steps, knocked over the table, and only managed to stay upright by holding onto a pillar.

Moonlight slanted in through the window, illuminating his pale face and his bloodshot eyes.

Open the bow without turning back the arrow!

He has already spent so much money, there is absolutely no way he can back down now.

The candlelight seemed to freeze. "But...Jiang Xingzhou!"

The young men from prominent families lowered their heads in silence, their eyes flickering, but none dared to meet Zhao Zilu's gaze.

The problem is, with such a formidable opponent as Jiang Xingzhou, he might not be able to pass the imperial examination with top honors! That nine thousand taels of silver will likely be wasted without even a sound!

They wouldn't dare say that.

"It's not enough to just spend money to support poor students and make my article famous outside the county!"
Spend money on me

Immediately spend money to find every pleasure boat and pavilion in the entire city of Jiangzhou and have them sing "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet" all night long. Use those courtesans to ruin Jiang Xingzhou's reputation!

They spent money to hire storytellers in every teahouse in the city to praise this erotic poem.

Tonight, I must spread this poem, "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet," far and wide, throughout Jiangzhou Prefecture!

I'll use this poem to suppress Jiang Xingzhou's literary reputation! Jiang Xingzhou is a formidable rival; he's the biggest obstacle to me winning the top scholar title!

Zhao Zilu gritted his teeth as his knuckles turned white.

Since the nine thousand taels of silver have already been spent, why not add fuel to the fire?

Since money can buy literary fame, it can also buy infamy!

If this brat isn't eliminated soon, how will Zhao Zilu ever win the top scholar's title?!

The expressions of the young noblemen in fine clothes changed.

This is a fight to the death with Jiang Xingzhou, the top suspect in Jiangyin!
"Why should singers and dancers sing about it? Why should storytellers in teahouses praise it? Shouldn't they be allowed to slander it?"

"fool!
What do you know?
The upright old scholars and Confucian gentlemen in the mansion are the most self-righteous and aloof!
The more the songs were sung in the music academy, the more they struck a nerve with them!
The more the storyteller in the teahouse praised it, the more they hated this erotic poem.
This is called a rebellious spirit; they love to contradict others. The more popular an article is in a pleasure boat or teahouse, the more they hate it!

"Brother Zhao, is this really useful? This is an article that can be published outside the county."

The way of the scions of noble families.

"I don't care if it's outside the county, as long as it's a erotic poem, that's enough!"
Erotic words!

understand?

This time, I'm going to tarnish his literary reputation! His 'leaving the county' article is better; it'll be circulated more widely!

The best place is Dafu!
The more sensational this article became, the more it became known to everyone in the government.

Highly controversial
The stigma will be even greater!

When the whole city was talking about "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet",

Would all the old Confucian scholars in Jiangzhou Prefecture scramble to memorize every erotic line in the poem? Just so they could write a more scathing critique!
We could even encourage them to jointly submit a letter condemning Jiang Xingzhou's obscene and vulgar lyrics!
Even if Magistrate Zhou valued talent, he would never dare to protect him once the scholars jointly submitted their petition!

The veins on Zhao Zilu's neck bulged, his eyes filled with a sinister rage, and he roared, "Let's see how Jiang Xingzhou turns things around this time!"

The young men from wealthy and powerful families present remained silent, trembling with fear.

Zhao Zilu is trying to incite a literary disaster!

Money can make the world go round.

Not to mention, the news that the courtesan Xiaomannu had obtained a poem, "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet," spread like wildfire among the painted boats in no time.

Those slender fingers eagerly passed the book around, and with a slight parting of their lips, the whole city was filled with romance.

In just one night, the melodious chanting of "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet" could be heard everywhere on the painted boats and pavilions of Jiangzhou City.

The singers gently strummed and played, setting this new song to music.

The dancers moved with graceful steps, transforming the imagery of the poem into their elegant dance.

"It is said that this is the latest masterpiece by Jiang Xingzhou, the top scholar in Jiangyin and the Imperial Scholar, at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion poetry banquet. The gorgeousness of the words and the beauty of the imagery are breathtaking!"

In the teahouses of the prefectural city, on the desks of the storytellers, there were newly written versions of "Bodhisattva's Charm" with the ink still wet.

The moment the gavel struck, the entire audience erupted in uproar.

This erotic poem spread like wildfire throughout Jiangzhou Prefecture.

Inside the painted boat, the lights were as bright as day.

"Listen, I will sing a song, 'Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet - A Gift to Little Barbarian Slave.'"

When the new music started playing, guests flocked to it, filling every seat.

The watchman on the ship struck the clapper again and again at midnight, but no one was willing to leave.

"[Do not begrudge the lotus-like steps adorned with fragrant ointment, for she longs to glide gracefully across the water in her silk stockings.]"

The sounds of singing never ceased, and the sleeves of dancers fluttered like butterflies. On this night, the city of Jiangzhou was immersed in the romance of a newly composed poem.

(End of this chapter)