The place where the Shadow Plum Pavilion entertains guests is on the first floor, with the shoji doors facing the courtyard wide open and thin silk curtains hanging down to block the cold wind.

A dozen guests sat in the wine house, drinking, chatting, and admiring the plum blossoms.

Charcoal braziers burned in the four corners of the wine house, dispelling the cold of winter.

A maid led Xu Qi'an in, and everyone turned their heads to look at this young man dressed in a moon-white scholar's robe, with a slender figure.

Xu Qi'an recalled the tea ceremony rules that Wang Catcher had told him about, and tried to make his smile more gentle as he bowed to the crowd, "I am Yang Ling, a scholar from Changle County. Greetings to everyone."

Among the people present were both wealthy people in brocade clothes and students from the Imperial Academy, with varying levels of status.

Some people glanced away indifferently, some scrutinized him, and some smiled back.

It seems that during the Jingcha period, the officials of the Great Feng have been more well-behaved... In the past, with Fu Xiang's status, this place would have been reserved for her... Xu Qi'an calmly took his seat, his gaze always sticking to the courtesan who was acting as the "compere".

She had a charming face, with colorful eyes and a natural grace.

This woman is really amazing... Xu Qi'an, who had seen countless beauties, was also amazed.

In terms of facial features alone, this courtesan was on par with his aunt, Xu Lingyue, and Chu Caiwei, each with their own unique charm.

She belonged to the kind of stunning beauty that would turn heads on the street.

But in terms of temperament, this courtesan had the elegance and grace of a lady, and in terms of dress, she wore a thin gauze dress that women of this era dared not wear.

Her shoulders were half-exposed, her neck was slender, and a layer of gauze covered her chest, revealing her curves.

Where there are curves, there is fire - it's no wonder she can be a courtesan.

The role of the compere is to preside over the drinking games and create a lively atmosphere at the banquet. This job is usually done by famous courtesans or flower girls, and ordinary women cannot do it because it requires a high level of literary cultivation.

This time they were taking turns to say matching couplets, and the person on Xu Qi'an's left was a middle-aged man wearing a light blue robe with jingling ornaments.

It happened to be his turn, and the middle-aged man raised his cup and pondered for a long time before saying, "One point, two points, three points of icy wine."

The courtesan raised the small flag in her hand and gave some comments (praise) on the first line.

The middle-aged man's smile grew wider, and he was quite pleased.

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This is why the compere needs to have a deep literary background. Even if an ordinary prostitute wants to flatter someone, she cannot do it without some skill.

After the comments, the beautiful courtesan's eyes fell on Xu Qi'an, and everyone at the banquet turned to look at him.

I'm not very good at matching couplets... It's already difficult to make them neat... Xu Qi'an remained calm on the surface, but was secretly anxious in his heart.

He looked at the plum tree in the courtyard and suddenly had an inspiration. He deliberately drank a cup of wine and made a bold and unrestrained gesture as he loudly said, "Hundreds of thousands of plum blossoms in the twelfth month."

"Wonderful!" The eyes of everyone in the room lit up. At that moment, when they looked at Xu Qi'an, there was a hint of a smile on their faces.

This was acknowledging his qualifications to compete with the courtesan and treating him as a player of the same level.

The courtesan Fu Xiang smiled and gave her usual comments (praise) on Xu Qi'an's second line.

Her smile seemed too professional... After commenting, she immediately stopped looking at me... Her posture was a bit stiff, and she only drank when urging others to drink... Xu Qi'an observed the body language of this courtesan carefully without showing any expression.Combining the knowledge of behavioral psychology, the conclusion was drawn: this courtesan lady doesn't think highly of our level.

She has been patiently accompanying me all this time.

At this moment, a servant led in a handsome young man with fair skin, clear eyes, thin and red lips, delicate features, and a feminine appearance. Everyone in the room looked over, even Fu Xiang, the courtesan, showed a surprised expression. Such a handsome young man was not someone she had seen often.

The young man, dressed as a scholar, entered the room and casually glanced around, suddenly froze in place.

Xu Qi'an's eye twitched uncontrollably for a moment before he managed to choke out, "What a coincidence."

The beautiful young man's mouth twitched as he also said, "What a coincidence..."

"Do you two know each other?" The middle-aged man in the light blue robe next to Xu Qi'an asked in surprise.

Not only did they know each other, but he was also my little cousin... Xu Qi'an suppressed his embarrassment and awkwardness, calmly smiling, "We've met a few times before. I believe Xu Xiong still remembers Yang Mou, whom we met in Changle County."

He deliberately used a false name to remind Xu Xinnian.

This was the most basic anti-investigation awareness.

Xu Xinnian lacked this kind of awareness, but he was clever and immediately got his cousin's meaning, bowing to everyone, "I am Xu Ping'an, a student from Changle County."

After speaking, he sat down as directed by the servant.

Are you mixing up my name with Uncle Er's... Xu Qi'an covered up his frustration and embarrassment with a drink.

The drinking game continued, and after a while, the servant led two more people in. The one on the left was a handsome young man in a sky blue thick robe with a jade pendant at his waist and an oil-green jade hairpin tied in his hair. He was a talented young man.

The person on the right was tall and sturdy, with a square face, handsome features, and dressed as a wealthy man, emanating a completely different aura from the scholars and students.

As the middle-aged man with a tall stature stepped into the tea room and casually glanced around, he suddenly froze in place and then became petrified all over.

Xu Qi'an: "..."

Xu Xinnian: "..."

The servant noticed that the guest hadn't followed and turned back, softly saying, "Master, please come in this way."

"Ah... oh..." Xu Pingzhi reluctantly entered the wine house.

Xu Xinnian and Xu Qi'an straightened their posture silently.

Aren't these two brats always saying they don't have time... It's understandable for Ci Jiu to come, after all, I know a thing or two about his true thoughts... but Ning Yan never goes to the theater...

Didn't Uncle Er say he's on duty tonight... Every time I have a conflict with Aunt, he says it's his blessing to marry such a beautiful wife and doesn't want to scold her... Tsk, he's just here to solicit prostitutes.

Doesn't Big Brother never go to the theater... I wonder why my robe is missing, tsk, shameless. Didn't Dad say he deeply loves Mom and never goes to places with fireworks...

The inner monologues of the three were far more colorful than their stiff expressions.

Xu Qi'an felt that the most embarrassing thing in his life had just added another item. That is, encountering his uncle and little cousin while going out to solicit prostitutes.

My goodness, I'm socially dead too...

But then he thought that he wasn't the only one who would die from this, and he felt a little better.

As the drinking game continued, Xu Xinnian responded decently enough, after all, he was a scholar. Xu Qi'an, on the other hand, looked confused at times and could only be punished with a drink. Xu Pingzhi, on the other hand, didn't drink from start to finish and was despised by everyone.Second Uncle really has no idea. You haven't even read a book, why do you want to join in the fun? You want to sleep with a courtesan, so you can just sleep with her? Xu Qi'an complained in his heart.

Father really wasted money...Xu Xinnian also complained in his heart.

Both of them were a little anxious because they didn't perform well and didn't win the favor of the courtesan. Xu Xinnian, who had a good appearance, gradually became unnoticed by the courtesan because he was too ordinary.

The most troublesome thing was that there was a strong competitor in the field - the handsome young man in the sky-blue thick robe.

He came from the Imperial Academy and was quite talented. Although he entered the banquet late, he took all the limelight with his outstanding talent, making the courtesan giggle from time to time.

The young man in the sky-blue robe picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said loudly, "This time, let me start first."

Everyone had no objection, and Fu Xiang, the courtesan, smiled and said, "Please, Master Zhao."

Zhao Gongzi looked around at everyone and said, "Pine leaves, bamboo leaves, leaves, green."

"Unexpectedly, it's a stacked word association." Someone at the banquet was surprised.

"Pine leaves, bamboo leaves, leaves, green...wonderful, wonderful, I'm not as good as you."

"Brother Zhao is really talented, worthy of being a scholar from the Imperial Academy."

In the end, everyone was able to respond to the word association.

Zhao Gongzi smiled faintly, with a proud look.

Fu Xiang's eyes were bright and she looked at Zhao Gongzi intently.

Judging from her expression and subtle movements, the courtesan had a good impression of this Zhao surname and appreciated his talent...Xu Qi'an frowned and turned his head to look at Xu Xinnian.

The latter happened to look over, and the two brothers had a worried look on their faces.

Originally, according to Xu Xinnian's intention, his elder brother, who was good at poetry, should have been like a fish in water in the Official Brothel Sector.

Unexpectedly, after half a day of playing drinking games and word associations, there was no poetry.

In fact, poetry has always been unpopular in the Official Brothel Sector. In the past two hundred years, there have been few outstanding poems, and scholars are not good at writing poetry.

During tea gatherings, they naturally avoided what they were not good at.

And tonight's guests had varying levels of education. It was difficult for them to even come up with word associations, let alone poetry. Fu Xiang, the courtesan, was considerate and didn't mention poetry, so as not to embarrass the guests.

At this time, Fu Xiang stood up gracefully, bowed her body, and said softly, "This young lady is a bit tired, I'll take my leave first. Enjoy your drinks, everyone."

This tea gathering ended.

Next, if the courtesan took a liking to someone, she would ask her servant to leave him behind and take him into the house.

If she didn't like someone, the servant would send him away, and then start the next round of tea gathering.

Everyone was eagerly and nervously waiting. As time passed, after half an incense stick, a servant girl came over and said in a sweet voice, "My lady invites Master Zhao to come in and have tea."

The guests shook their heads with regret, sighing and congratulating Zhao Gongzi with a smile.

Zhao Gongzi smiled with a victorious attitude.

Now, the three men of the Xu family couldn't sit still.