I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

Xu Qing smiled faintly, "Go away, I don't have a son as good as you. Don't get excited."

He picked up his pen and added a small line at the end, blew the ink dry, and pushed it in front of Xiao Mingyuan.

The first poem describes the Zhuangyuan Tower, the second describes climbing the tower and gazing into the distance, and the third is in the style of a graceful and restrained poem.

Xiao Mingyuan leaned closer for a look, his eyes lighting up: "These... these three songs, are they all for me?"

"I'll take ten taels of silver from you, and all three poems are yours," Xu Qing said. "But let me add one more thing... take the first one out first. If anyone doubts that you wrote it, then take the second one. Keep the third one; we'll decide whether to use it based on the situation."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Mingyuan asked, somewhat surprised. "You promised Miss Su three poems, are you still going to keep it a secret?"

Xu Qing pulled out the third piece of paper:

"First, you need to memorize this song and stop using paper. Second, see if you have the opportunity."

"Memorize it? This...this is a bit too much for me, Fatty Xiao..." Xiao Mingyuan stroked his double chin.

"Didn't you say you like the feeling of being praised, and you like the feeling of pretending? If you don't like it, then don't bother with it."

"I'll carry you, okay?" Xiao Mingyuan pouted.

Although Xiao Mingyuan really didn't like memorizing, he had no choice but to try when he was forced to.

Believe it or not, after a while, I actually memorized it, since it wasn't very long.

After confirming that the poem had been recited, Xu Qing didn't say anything more, folded the three sheets of poetry, and handed them over: "Go."

Xiao Mingyuan took it, carefully tucked it into his pocket, turned and took a few steps, then turned back: "Aren't you going?"

Xu Qing was about to shake his head when a thought crossed his mind.

Xiao Mingyuan just mentioned that there are high-ranking officials and nobles in the Zhuangyuan Tower. As a poor scholar, being able to enter the Zhuangyuan Tower, even if it's just to stand in a corner and take a few glances, is better than staying at home.

"If it's convenient for you to bring someone in," Xu Qing changed her mind, "I'll go along and take a look."

Xiao Mingyuan laughed heartily: "Convenient! You can be my page, serving me with pen and ink. Who would dare stop me?"

……

……

As the two went outside, Xu Qing asked another question.

"Young Master Xiao, your family is a top-tier merchant family in the county. Even the Zhuangyuanlou restaurant isn't as large as your family's business. And you wouldn't care about ten taels of silver, would you?"

Xiao Mingyuan chuckled: "Hehe, let me tell you, Miss Su, she's got quite a lot going for her!"

Xu Qing frowned: "Tell me more, what's so big about it?"

Xiao Mingyuan said seriously, "They have a powerful background. As you know, our court values ​​scholars the most. The Zhuangyuan Tower has connections with high-ranking officials in the capital. Su Man's father is said to be an official in the capital, and her mother is a relative of some prince... If we can get along well with them, it will be very beneficial for my Xiao family's business."

"Oh, you mean you have a powerful background..." Xu Qing drawled.

Xiao Mingyuan blinked his round eyes. "Yeah, they have a powerful background, what did you think?"

"Hey, you said you have a powerful background, I thought you meant you had a powerful background, haha..."

Xu Qing laughed and moved on from the matter.

He stroked his chin, his mind becoming clearer...

The connections between officials in Beijing and princes behind Zhuangyuanlou are worth a hundred times more than ten taels of silver.

Xu Qing was still somewhat surprised, "Why does it have to be poetry? If you want to attract customers, storytelling or singing would be better."

Xiao Mingyuan explained, "This Zhuangyuan Tower is different from other places. Since it is Zhuangyuan Tower, it must have a poem that can suppress ordinary scholars."

Xiao Mingyuan shook his head as he spoke.

"But there wasn't a single poem that could truly command respect; it was all just doggerel written by pedantic scholars. After Miss Su took over, she kept trying to find something that could really stand out... but these days, where are you going to find truly good poems?"

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, "That's probably just the surface meaning. The reason she's in such a hurry is probably because the importance of that guest is far beyond what we imagine. But that's her own business."

Xiao Mingyuan stretched comfortably.

"Don't say it, really don't say it, I don't usually use my brain much, but using it with you now actually makes me feel more comfortable."

Xu Qing thought for a moment and then said, "Since that's the case, there's still some time before we go. You can think of some actions that will make it easier to show off... oh, no, to flaunt."

……

……

The private room on the second floor of Zhuangyuanlou.

When Xiao Mingyuan arrived, he found that the atmosphere inside was not quite what he had expected.

Besides Su Man and her maid Cui'er, there were a few other people.

At the very center table, three people sat: a middle-aged scholar in a blue robe, an old man with a white beard, and a young scholar in his early twenties with a folding fan at his waist.

Xiao Mingyuan's heart skipped a beat as he recognized the young scholar...

That person was Chen Shijin, a top student in this year's class at Songlin Academy, the kind who usually ranked in the top three in poetry competitions.

Zhou Kang and he became close.

Moreover, that fellow has a very powerful background, a profound family education, and is involved in officialdom.

Even Xiao Mingyuan, the richest playboy in the county, couldn't stand up to him head-on. On the contrary, he suffered a lot of humiliation at his hands.

"Young Master Xiao," Su Man said with a smile as she stood up, "I don't know how, but the news leaked out today. These gentlemen heard that you've been producing a lot of excellent works lately and insisted on coming to see them. I'm truly sorry."

Xiao Mingyuan smiled broadly, but in his heart he cursed the ancestor who had leaked the information a hundred times over.

But he remembered Xu Qing's words, took a deep breath, and suppressed his nervousness.

"It's alright, it's alright. You don't need to know the hen that laid the egg to eat it, and you don't necessarily need to know the person who wrote the poem."

Chen Shijin chuckled beside him and added sarcastically.

"It's mainly because there's been a lot of incredible talk lately about Brother Xiao suddenly having an epiphany. I was curious, so I came to see for myself... I hope Brother Xiao doesn't mind?"

Su Man glanced at Chen Shijin, then at Xiao Mingyuan, but didn't say anything.

The atmosphere was subtle.

Xiao Mingyuan cursed inwardly, but still smiled and said, "Brother Chen, if you want to see, then go ahead and see."

He pulled the first piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it...

"Miss Su, please take a look."

Su Man gently took it, her gaze sweeping over the beginning, her fingers trembling slightly.

Then she looked down, and after reading it, she was silent for a moment before turning to look out the window.

The middle-aged scholar leaned over for a look, first frowning, then frowning again, and on the third frown, his expression changed: "This...this is..."

The white-bearded old man stood up abruptly, walked around the table, and pointed at the paper with his finger.

"The scholar who once achieved the highest rank in the imperial examination has departed, leaving only the Scholar's Pavilion behind. The scholar is gone and will never return, while the white clouds drift aimlessly for a thousand years."

...Good! What a wonderful empty space! The glory of the past is gone, the old people are no more, only a pavilion remains.

This...this atmosphere, one can only witness it by personally standing on the building!

Chen Shijin was unconvinced, so he leaned over to take a look. After reading it, his lips twitched involuntarily, but he didn't say anything.

Su Man looked for a long time before looking away, her tone calm, but everyone could tell she was suppressing her emotions.

"Young Master Xiao's poem... you only mentioned the concept a few days ago, but I never expected it to turn out like this. I wonder what your state of mind was at the time?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingyuan felt a little nervous...

Without realizing it, he decided to look back at Xu Qing.

Seeing this, Xu Qing thought to himself, "This is bad..."

Looking back at myself now, I'm about to be exposed!