Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 465 - 301: Literary Meeting

"Madam Hua said there’s no spot downstairs, but there’s a private seat on the second floor. We can have it if we want, otherwise someone else will take it. This is still because I often come here! Should we go?"

Zhu Pang actually wanted to go. After all, he was the son of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War; squeezing in the hall on the first floor would be beneath his status. But he didn’t have enough Silver, his father had been strict lately, and he didn’t dare to charge it.

Sitting in a private seat isn’t free. Even if you don’t see a girl you fancy tonight, just the seat alone costs a hundred taels of silver!

Gu Chengyu didn’t want to dampen Zhu Pang’s spirit either. Since they were already here, going back would have been a waste of time. After asking how much silver Zhu Pang had, a mere hundred taels were affordable for him. So he decided to pay, otherwise Zhu Pang might think he’s stingy. Actually, Gu Chengyu thought it was a complete waste, a hundred taels just for a seat.

Gu Chengyu thought of Hua Lian, since he was here, he wanted to inquire with Madam Hua. But Madam Hua was busy, so she called a prostitute to take them to the private seat upstairs and went outside to greet more guests.

Gu Chengyu took out a small piece of silver and stopped the prostitute who was about to go downstairs, giving it to him, "Little brother, is Miss Hua Lian still at Tianxiang Pavilion?"

The prostitute was overjoyed at the sight of silver.

"Mr. Gu is looking for Miss Hua Lian? You will see her soon." The prostitute smiled ambiguously, thinking Gu Chengyu wanted to become Hua Lian’s intimate guest.

Today is the first time Miss Hua Lian is selling her body. Last time she mentioned that Mr. Jia liked Miss Hua Lian very much as well. Tonight, Hua Lian’s first night will fetch quite a lot of silver, and Madam Hua surely won’t be able to stop smiling.

Gu Chengyu furrowed his brows upon hearing this. He had given Hua Lian the Jade Pendant, and Hua Lian neither went to find Ming Mo nor pawned the pendant, which made him quite puzzled. He wanted to stop the prostitute and have him take him to see Hua Lian, but the prostitute shook his head.

"Mr. Gu doesn’t know that before the night banquet starts, Miss Hua Lian can’t see anyone. She must wait until a gentleman offers the highest price to win her first night. Mr. Gu, please don’t make things difficult for me. You just need to spend more silver when Miss Hua Lian comes out."

Gu Chengyu had no choice but to let the prostitute leave. He pondered, could it be that Hua Lian doesn’t want to leave Tianxiang Pavilion, fearing she’d have nowhere to turn in the future? No, impossible! When she was in prison, Hua Lian cried to him about her plight. If that’s the case, then there’s only one possibility, Madam Hua is keeping her closely watched.

Hua Lian is of low status and cannot redeem herself, being closely watched by Madam Hua is probably unavoidable. He’ll have to wait and see later. If it doesn’t work out, maybe spending more silver will solve it. But this way, the previous hundreds of taels won’t be enough.

As Gu Chengyu turned to sit down, he noticed the mischievous gaze. Without Zhu Pang saying a word, Gu Chengyu already knew what he was thinking; that lascivious expression was the best proof.

"Ha! I invited you over, and you didn’t want to come. What now? Came and immediately searched for your beloved?" Zhu Pang lifted his teacup and smirked.

"What beloved are you talking about? She only visited me while I was incarcerated. It’s a gesture of gratitude, I help redeem her, that counts as a good deed." Gu Chengyu knew that Zhu Pang’s mind was always filled with such thoughts.

Zhu Pang chuckled again, didn’t speak further, instead looking across.

When he saw Min Feng looking over as well, he was only slightly surprised, then regained his composure.

"Hey, your old rival is here! Just opposite you, really hard to shake off!"

Gu Chengyu glanced at Min Feng and saw him nodding in acknowledgment. Gu Chengyu also lifted a smile, acknowledging the gesture.

"Be careful how you speak, lest people misunderstand. How could Senior Brother Min be considered an adversary? We are both Imperial Scholars, and if we participate in the Imperial Examination, we would be contemporaries. In the future, we might even become colleagues. The officialdom changes rapidly, you should watch your tongue, lest you bring trouble to your father."

Gu Chengyu rarely spoke to Zhu Pang like this. Zhu Pang was not young anymore; if he kept being indiscreet, he would be remembered negatively, and it would be counterproductive.

Zhu Pang nodded, "I know, just talking in front of you, huh? But I can’t believe you don’t know Min Feng is secretly competing with you."

His father had told him to listen to Gu Chengyu more; it was never wrong. His father always welcomed his interactions with Gu Chengyu, although his father had never met Gu Chengyu in person, only heard about him from Zhu Pang; this didn’t stop his father from gauging a person’s character. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Gu Chengyu watched Zhu Pang shake his head and laugh. Zhu Pang was increasingly unguarded in front of him, in just a few months showing his true nature. His original cautiousness was long gone, yet he wouldn’t harm him.

"Some things are better left unsaid," Gu Chengyu looked at the people below, with a little less than an hour until it starts, today Tianxiang Pavilion will surely make a huge profit.

"I find you and my father alike, always acting mysterious." Zhu Pang preferred directness, though he wasn’t one to disclose everything. When it came to secrets, he could keep quiet too, otherwise, he’d have been whipped to death by his father long ago.

Gu Chengyu picked up the teapot on the table and poured a cup for Zhu Pang and himself, finding it to be pre-rain Longjing tea. Unexpectedly, Tianxiang Pavilion spared no expense today, making those hundred taels not feel totally squandered.

Min Feng had seen Gu Chengyu and his group when they went upstairs. He originally thought someone like Gu Chengyu wouldn’t be willing to come to such a place. He had always heard Gu Chengyu was upright, without even a personal maid by his side, yet unexpectedly, he had a taste for this.

Before coming, he had prepared a few poems, intending to showcase them in Gu Chengyu’s absence, to hopefully clear his reputation after recently being accused of cheating.

Min Feng slightly tightened his grip on the teacup; this Gu Chengyu was truly unshakeable, he seemed to encounter him wherever he went, and nothing good ever came of it.

Min Feng was truly stifled. Last time at Tianxiang Pavilion, the couplets Gu Chengyu wrote were taken and pasted on the latrine walls of Ten-mile Pavilion, unexpectedly bringing Gu Chengyu fame, attracting many recently to Ten-mile Pavilion to appreciate them.

From one to ten, ten to a hundred, Gu Chengyu’s name was greatly enhanced once more. Meanwhile, the couplets Min Feng pasted in the brothel latrines went unnoticed, how could he not feel furious?

Beside him, Huang Junheng was also quite surprised to see Gu Chengyu; after all, Gu Chengyu’s conduct last time at the brothel didn’t suggest he was someone interested in romance, yet unexpectedly feigned seriousness.

Huang Junheng looked again at Min Feng’s response and silently smiled. Min Feng had prepared several poems; today would likely be another failure, which lifted his spirits. Knowing this, he should have invited Liu Haonan over; that would be entertaining!