Chapter 21: Competing in Wealth

"Brother Yang."

Su Bie glanced at the five men and greeted the youth in the lead.

His tone was indifferent; it was clear their relationship was not good.

Wang Dafu, however, let out a scoff, looked at Liu Songjin, and said with a chuckle, "Brother Yang, when you go out, why do you still like to bring a drowned dog along?"

Liu Songjin glared at him, but did not dare to speak.

If he spoke, he would be admitting that he was "that drowned dog."

The youth in the lead was named Yang Qian, whose family was in the porcelain business. He was usually generous with his money, so he had gathered many sycophants around him and was also a regular at the Brothel.

He had been busy yesterday and did not attend the Literary Gathering, but he was aware of what had happened last night.

Hearing Wang Dafu's sarcasm, Yang Qian did not mind and said with a smile, "Are Brother Su and Brother Wang here today to catch a glimpse of the beauty of Miss Chujian? If so, why not join me? We can see her together, and then we can ask Miss Chujian to play the zither and sing a little tune for us to listen to."

Wang Dafu clicked his tongue and said, "Yang Qian, isn't your bragging a bit too much? You? Do you think Miss Chujian will come out to see you, let alone play the zither and sing for you? Do you know that she is now the top star of this Tianxian Pavilion?"

Yang Qian smiled faintly and said nothing.

Naturally, someone was there to speak for him.

Liu Songjin, standing behind him, sneered and said, "Brother Yang has brought a thousand taels in banknotes today, and furthermore, he has already made an appointment with Liu Mama."

Yang Qian said modestly, "I am aware of Miss Chujian's status today, so I am just spending money for the sake of face, to meet her and exchange a few words. If Miss Chujian is unwilling to play the zither or sing, I will not force her."

"A thousand taels in banknotes?"

Luo Zijun clicked his tongue secretly upon hearing this.

For today's trip to the Brothel, he had brought his entire fortune, a total of one tael and two mace of silver...

This guy was prepared to spend a thousand taels just to meet that woman?

How inhumanly extravagant!

No, he had to think of a way to make money.

After all, he didn't know how long he would be staying here.

Although Su Bie and Wang Dafu also had some money at home, it was clearly impossible for them to just casually pull out a thousand taels to visit a Brothel.

"Brother Yang is truly wealthy and imposing, I admire you!"

Su Bie's reaction was indifferent; he did not play along with his posturing.

Wang Dafu sneered, "A thousand taels, that's all? I have that too! But I wouldn't be as foolish as some people, spending a thousand taels just to see a girl once."

Yang Qian smiled, looked at Luo Zijun and Zhang Yitian, and asked, "Who are these two..."

Zhang Yitian hurriedly stood up, a smile on his face, and said, "I am Zhang Yitian, a fellow student of Brother Su and Brother Wang. Pleased to meet you, Brother Yang."

Yang Qian nodded and smiled, "Since you are students of the Academy, we are all friends. Later, if Brother Zhang would do me the honor, you can come along to have a drink and meet Miss Chujian."

Zhang Yitian hurriedly thanked him.

Yang Qian's gaze then shifted to the last person.

Liu Songjin immediately said with a gloomy face, "Brother Yang, he is that Luo Zijun who was rejected by Miss Yan'er. I heard he used to be an apprentice at a Pharmacy and only passed the exam to become a scholar a few days ago."

Luo Zijun cupped his hands and said, "Brother Yang."

Yang Qian still had a face full of smiles: "Brother Luo, we are all men of letters. Your conflict with Brother Liu is just a misunderstanding; friends are often made through such clashes. Later, let's go see Miss Chujian together. You can apologize to Brother Liu, we'll have a few drinks, and let bygones be bygones. How about that?"

Once these words were spoken, the gazes of Su Bie, Wang Dafu, and Zhang Yitian all turned toward the youth beside them, their expressions varied.

Luo Zijun smiled faintly: "I'm afraid I must disappoint Brother Yang."

Yang Qian kept the smile on his face: "Oh?"

Luo Zijun said calmly: "First, I have no interest in meeting that Miss Chujian. Second, if Brother Yang wants me to go for a drink, that is fine, but you must first have this Brother Liu apologize to me. Then I will let bygones be bygones and no longer pursue his faults. What does Brother Yang think?"

The smile on Yang Qian's face vanished instantly.

Liu Songjin gritted his teeth and said, "Luo Zijun! You are just a lowly Pharmacy apprentice, what is there to be arrogant about? Even if you passed the scholar exam, you might not necessarily get into the Academy! If you don't get into the Academy, you are nothing at all. What right do you have to be arrogant in front of me?"

Luo Zijun glanced at him and said, "Does Brother Liu mean that everyone who enters the Academy is 'nothing'? I don't know about others, but Brother Liu certainly is. After all, when you were fished out of the lake yesterday, you were truly a pathetic mess."

"Pfft—hahahahaha..."

Wang Dafu burst into loud laughter, saying while laughing, "Brother Luo is truly good at scolding! He really is like a piece of nothing! Hahahaha..."

Liu Songjin was instantly enraged and was about to continue shouting when Liu Mama hurried over, saying anxiously, "Oh my heavens, young masters, please don't cause trouble in my establishment. You are all men of letters, speak nicely, speak nicely."

She was perfectly clear about what had happened on the boat yesterday.

"Young Master Liu, didn't we say yesterday that it was all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. Come, come, come, today Mama will arrange a good private room for you all."

Liu Ju had a massive headache; she dared not offend anyone.

At this moment, Yang Qian suddenly smiled: "Liu Mama, when will Miss Chujian come out?"

When he said this, he deliberately raised his voice so that those nearby and those not far away could hear.

Sure enough, many people looked over.

Liu Ju was stunned upon hearing this and looked at him, saying, "Who said Chujian was coming out today? My girl is not feeling well today and needs to rest for a period of time."

Yang Qian's smile faded, and he hurriedly said, "Liu Mama, I came to make an appointment early this morning. I already paid a deposit of five hundred taels in the morning, and today I specifically brought another thousand taels in banknotes."

Liu Ju looked at him with a strange expression: "Who did Young Master Yang send to make the appointment?"

Yang Qian said, "My servant. A short, thin one with very small eyes. I gave him five hundred taels and told him..." "Wait, where is that servant? Young Master Yang, have him come out, let me see."

Liu Ju immediately interrupted him.

Yang Qian was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly turned his head to look around, and shouted toward the distance: "Yang Pei, where is Xiao Mazi? Call him over!"

The servant named Yang Pei ran over hurriedly to report: "Young Master, Xiao Mazi is gone! When we arrived at the Brothel, he said he had a stomachache and went to the latrine. I just went to look, and there is no one in the latrine! Wang Jin just came from the manor and said there is no one there either! We asked on the road, and someone on the side of the road said they seemed to see him hurriedly get into a carriage and head toward the direction of the city gates..."

"???"

Yang Qian was instantly dumbfounded.

Liu Mama looked at him with sympathy: "Young Master Yang, your servant has likely... run off with the money..."

"Hahahahaha..."

Wang Dafu truly could not hold it in anymore and began to roar with laughter again: "Five hundred taels in total, enough for that servant to spend for most of his life, hahahahaha..."

Yang Qian's face turned ashen instantly, his body trembling with rage.

Liu Mama glanced at him again, her face wreathed in smiles as she said: "I won't hide it from you young masters, let alone five hundred taels, even if it were five thousand taels, you wouldn't be able to book an appointment with our Chujian today. Chujian has stated clearly that she is not seeing guests for the time being, she won't see anyone, so you young masters had better choose another young lady."

!

As soon as these words were spoken, the other guests all around were very disappointed.

Yang Qian's face turned a shade of green and then a shade of white.

Just as Liu Mama was about to say a few more pleasant words, a young maid suddenly hurried over, leaned into her ear, and whispered: "Mama, Sister Bi'er just sent word that Miss Chujian is willing to see a guest."

Liu Ju was stunned, her face looking at her in astonishment: "How is that possible? Did you hear wrong? Didn't Chujian just say that she wouldn't see anyone today? Besides, she just... go and ask again!"

The Young Maid said weakly: "Sister Bi'er did indeed say so."

Liu Ju's expression shifted, still not quite believing it, and she immediately said: "I'll go take a look!"

Immediately after, she said to Yang Qian and the others: "Young masters, please wait a moment, this old woman will be right back. Everyone, please enjoy your food and drink, and whatever you do, don't quarrel. Later, I will certainly arrange two good private rooms for you all!"

After finishing, she swayed her waist and hips and hurried away.

"Did I just hear that Miss Chujian is willing to see a guest? Tsk tsk, could it be that she was moved by Brother Yang's sincerity and therefore changed her mind?"

A young man behind Yang Qian said, his face full of excitement.

"That must be it."

"Brother Yang is truly impressive. If it were anyone else, I fear they wouldn't even be able to see her despite having money. After all, that Miss Chujian's status is vastly different now."

The others beside that young man also followed suit and began to flatter him.

Yang Qian had originally lost all face and his expression was extremely ugly, but seeing that there was suddenly a turn of events, although his heart ached for those five hundred taels of silver, he immediately forced a smile and said indifferently: "Don't guess wildly, we'll only know when Liu Mama comes. If Miss Chujian is willing to see us, that is naturally for the best."

Seeing the gazes of everyone around gathered here, he smiled calmly again: "As for those five hundred taels of silver, if they're lost, they're lost; just consider it money spent while here, it's a small matter."

These words then earned another round of flattery.

Luo Zijun suddenly said: "Um, Brother Yang, are you still short of a servant?"

Yang Qian looked at him.

Luo Zijun said: "How about I serve as your servant today? You give me that one thousand taels of silver on you, and I'll go help you book an appointment with Miss Chujian, how about that?"

Yang Qian looked at him with a gloomy gaze, thinking he was mocking him.

Liu Songjin, who was to the side, immediately sneered with a face full of disdain: "You, you want to book an appointment with Miss Chujian? You should go pee and look at your own reflection; even if you were given ten thousand taels, Miss Chujian might not even spare you a glance!"

"That's not necessarily true."

Luo Zijun looked at him and said: "If you really gave me ten thousand taels, perhaps Miss Chujian would just leave with me directly. Of course, looking at you, I reckon you couldn't even produce one thousand taels."

"You..."

Liu Songjin's face instantly flushed red. Seeing the burning gazes all around, he immediately pulled a one-hundred-tael silver note from his bosom and sneered: "I certainly don't have one thousand taels, but I do have one hundred! What about you? You work as an apprentice at a Pharmacy, you must have earned quite a bit of money, right? How much do you have on you? Take it out and let everyone see."

Luo Zijun spread his hands and said: "I have no money."

Liu Songjin immediately let out a mocking laugh, and just as he was about to speak, Luo Zijun added: "Although I have no money, who's to say Miss Chujian wouldn't be willing to see me?"

"Hahahahaha..."

Liu Songjin could not help but roar with laughter, then pointed at him and said loudly to those around: "Everyone listen, what kind of crazy talk is this brat spouting? Is there something wrong with his head? Miss Chujian will see him? This must be a daydream!"

Luo Zijun looked at him and said: "What if I really do see her?"

Liu Songjin was still laughing: "A toad who doesn't know his own worth! If you can see Miss Chujian, I'll go eat shit! All of us here will go eat shit! Hahahaha..."

Who would have thought that just as his words fell, Liu Mama's voice suddenly came from the second floor: "Luo Zijun, Young Master Luo, please come up for a moment."

"Ha..."

The laughter in Liu Songjin's mouth came to an abrupt halt.

He immediately turned his head and looked toward the second floor.

The noise in the lobby also suddenly quieted down.

Liu Mama stood by the railing, waving her hand with a face full of smiles: "Young Master Luo, come up quickly, Chujian is waiting for you in the private room."

Liu Songjin: "..."

The gazes of everyone around all turned in unison to look at him.

(End of this chapter)