“Since we can make money, let’s make some dough, even if it’s just a little.”
Li Mo had zero interest in the lowbrow act of plagiarizing poetry to seem cultured.
“That’s not just a little money, and if making money were this easy…”
Xie Xuan slumped dejectedly. “I started out as a guest too, then pawned everything except my sword.”
“…”
Li Mo had previously been puzzled as to how the young master of the Tianshan Sword Manor ended up as a lowly servant. Turned out he’d been wrung dry.
“You thinking this way means…”
“Hua Nongying is of such refined disposition; she’s not the type of woman who likes the stench of copper.”
“…” Kissing b*tt like a pro.
At this moment, the other guests had already begun bidding, where the ‘character’ in ‘a character is worth a thousand pieces of gold’ had very high requirements—it had to at least cause a ripple in the literary circles of the Imperial Capital, otherwise how could one gain fame?
The kind of literati who could compose such poetry mostly couldn’t afford to sit here.
The price soared.
From a thousand taels of gold, it quickly climbed to five thousand taels.
Even staying overnight just for tea and chat cost an absurd ninety-nine point nine taels.
“Five thousand taels of gold, plus a jade pendant!”
“Cheesy jade pendants? I’ll add a cat’s eye ring from the Western Regions and a pair of emerald bangles!”
The big spenders flung money around like they were at a fire sale. Someone even took off their precious accessories and tossed them onto the pile, and before long, gold rained down like hail, and treasures were treated like common grass.
They were flushed with exertion, breathing heavily, all in pursuit of a smile from the beauty.
Gold, treasures, and the beauty—they were all part of Wind Moon Small Residence’s arsenal, seemingly designed to assault the senses.
Hua Nongying sat on the stage, a sweet smile playing on the corner of her lips, but a trace of boredom flickered in her eyes.
She’d seen scenes like this too many times. Her thoughts were on a certain figure not too far away.
He really was different.
The maid had told Li Mo that he had considered simply using xuan crystals to buy out the place; his wealth was unquestionable, yet here he sat, his expression as calm as hers—both filled with a touch of resignation.
“Mistress, didn’t he want to buy out the place? Why does he seem so unfazed now?”
The maid whispered in confusion.
“I suspect he realized I have no interest in gold or riches.”
Hua Nongying lifted her chin slightly.
She had to admit, her heart rate was faster than usual.
Hua Nongying was accustomed to high officials and nobles who lost their composure in her presence, but someone like him who wouldn’t even glance at her since entering was a first.
Cold Fairy…she really has good taste.
Still, Hua Nongying thought that Ying Bing surpassing her on the list might also be due to her ranking in the top three of the Qianlong List. After all, people often viewed female knights with a certain lens of admiration, while she, no matter how much she didn’t sell herself, was still a courtesan.
But a courtesan had her own advantages.
Female knights certainly don’t know how to handle men like she does.
Hmm?
Who’s the straw-hatted guy next to Li Mo? He looks strangely familiar.
“It’s something like Xie…Xie Xuan.”
Hua Nongying barely remembered his name.
She remembered it only because Xie Xuan was quite famous, and occasional guests might talk about him.
To be honest, she had some interest in him the first time they met since he ranked first on the Qianlong List.
But Xie Xuan liked her too much and became one of her minions. How boring.
Just like hunting. You hear there’s a fierce tiger on the mountain, so you prepare thoroughly, hone your skills, and set traps.
But when you get there, the tiger sees you and immediately kills itself by crashing into a tree.
At this moment.
She suddenly saw Li Mo nod helplessly and whisper something into Xie Xuan’s ear.
Xie Xuan was overjoyed, stood up with great flair, and shouted,
“Paper and pen, please!”
“Mistress?”
Hua Nongying immediately understood and nodded. “Alright, send it over.”
A small reminder: if you like this book, make sure to add it to your bookshelf so you can easily find it next time.
So, it wasn’t some deceptive move by Li Mo.
Was he really here to help Xie Xuan?
What did the God Hammer Little Overlord just tell Xie Xuan?
At the table.
Xie Xuan picked up the brush and wrote. His elegant brushwork suggested someone who practiced swordsmanship, as his writing wasn’t bad either.
He quickly wrote down the line of poetry Little Li had whispered to him and handed it over to the maid to take away.
“Brother Li, I owe you a great debt of gratitude, but why only one line?”
Xie Xuan, having heard that single line, was curious about the complete poem.
“Enough to make money.”
Li Mo covered his face and waved it off.
He didn’t get any thrill from flexing in public; instead, he felt awkward enough to want to dig his toes into the ground.
He wasn’t particularly refined in the first place, and could this really be called composing poetry? It was theft, theft compounded by showing off.
Suddenly, he felt the little hand in his own slip away.
“What’s wrong?”
Ice Chunk Ying Bing smiled expressionlessly.
“One line of verse including her name, well done.”
“!”
The maid took the xuan paper up and placed it on the table.
“What did he write…”
As Hua Nongying’s gaze fell on the paper, she paused.
“Dancing with a clear shadow, why be in this world.”
Right then, the ‘thousand gold’ round had already produced its ultimate winner.
A wealthy merchant from the Imperial Capital, after throwing down an immense fortune, grinned victoriously and turned around expecting the beauty to lift his veil.
Instead, he saw Hua Nongying sitting there, dazed, her eyes shimmering, her cheeks flushed red.
She still smiled, but she looked more like a young maiden than a courtesan.
“Master Li’s one character is worth more than a thousand gold pieces. I would gladly spend the whole night conversing with you.”
“Haha, I knew it… huh?”
Xie Xuan jumped up, then stopped mid-action, realizing something was off.
The crowd: “?!”
Why?
‘One character for a thousand gold,’ sounds impressive, but what word could be better than real gold and silver?
Isn’t it just because of someone’s young fame?
The rich merchant who won earlier asked loudly,
“May I know what kind of masterpiece it is, more valuable than my chest of jewels?”
“I think… there’s no need to read it out.”
Little Li could no longer contain himself, feelings of imminent public embarrassment spreading wildly inside him…
The rich merchant looked at him with suspicion.
At Hua Nongying’s signal, the maid placed the xuan paper in front of the rich merchant.
“Just one line?”
Frowning as he glanced over it, the merchant’s expression gradually froze, then transformed into a visible dejection.
He bowed to Li Mo and sat down quietly without another word.
“Then, Master Li, please stay. I will excuse myself.”
Hua Nongying’s collar was slightly loosened, half of her shoulder revealing itself, whether intentional or accidental.
Her words implied a dismissal.
Other guests stood up, getting ready to leave.
“…”
Ice Chunk Ying Bing, with a knowing smile, also stood up, her eyes saying,
“So… I’ll be leaving too?”
“Not so fast!”
…
PS: The little rat is moving again today, exhausted T-T
