Volume One, Chapter 51: Su Ying'er’s Dream Lover

Zhao Defu rubbed his chin, his face full of hesitation.

Should he agree to Fan Xiu's proposal or not?

If he agreed, he would securely pocket one hundred and sixty taels of silver!

His entire Zhiwei Pavilion combined wasn't even worth one hundred and sixty taels.

Back then, when he bought Guo Xiulan from Drunken Immortal House, it only cost him ninety-five taels of silver.

If he refused, the moment Fan Xiu's cold noodles failed to sell for four hundred taels, he would suffer a loss!

However, if Fan Xiu sold more than four hundred taels, he would profit!

"Brother Zhao, are you still undecided?" Fan Xiu asked.

Zhao Defu gritted his teeth.

"I agree!" Zhao Defu said.

He did not like taking risks!

One hundred and sixty taels could already be considered a pleasant surprise, and he was very satisfied.

Besides, even if Fan Xiu sold more than four hundred taels, how much more could he possibly make?

Could it exceed by ten taels?

For the sake of this unstable sliver of extra money, abandoning a guaranteed sum felt entirely not worth it!

Hearing this, Fan Xiu instantly smiled.

"Then it's a deal."

Patting Zhao Defu on the shoulder, Fan Xiu said, "Brother Zhao, get ready. Tomorrow, a very important person is coming to our Zhiwei Pavilion to dine."

Zhao Defu frowned and asked, "An important person? How important? Could it be the Magistrate himself?"

Although County Magistrate Liu held a lofty position, even if he were to eat cold noodles on the street, it would probably be impossible to sell them for over four hundred taels, right?

Fan Xiu smiled and said, "You'll know soon enough."

The fact that he went to Drunken Immortal House and met Su Ying'er was no secret.

Not to mention that centuries-old poem by Grandpa Du which was already spreading like wildfire.

He believed it wouldn't be long before word reached Zhao Defu's ears.

After bidding farewell to Zhao Defu, Fan Xiu walked outside.

Ying was still sitting on the donkey cart outside the door.

Seeing Fan Xiu approaching to board the cart, Ying kicked the donkey's rump, and the cart instantly bolted forward.

Fan Xiu: "..."

This woman really held a grudge.

It seemed he had no choice but to run back.

Consider it a workout. This body was indeed too pathetic; even with all the hard work these past few days, his physical strength hadn't increased by much.

Depending on farming and making cold noodles to improve one's physique was simply impossible.

Otherwise, all the farmers working in the fields would be peerless martial artists.

Meanwhile, the news that Fan Xiu had composed a breathtaking and stunning poem titled "South River South" at Drunken Immortal House and successfully met Su Ying'er, the belle of Drunken Immortal House, spread rapidly among the scholars and was passed from mouth to mouth among the common people.

Moreover, the more the story spread, the more outrageous it became.

From the initial rumor of being forced to compose a poem, it evolved into Fan Xiu using a single poem to overwhelm the scholars of Zhiyuan County, winning the favor of Su Ying'er and spending a romantic spring night with her.

Yet the time Fan Xiu spent going upstairs and coming back down remained largely unchanged, or rather, it shrank.

Originally, it was ten minutes upstairs.

As the rumors spread, it was reduced to just one minute.

From going upstairs to spending a romantic spring night with Su Ying'er and coming back down, Fan Xiu only took one minute...

At the academy,

Instructor Wang Xianliang held his own handwritten copy of "South River South" and muttered to himself, "Four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties, how many towers and pavilions in the mist and rain... With such a broad mind, why is this Fan Xiu choosing to abandon scholarship for commerce? And what about this one minute..."

At Drunken Immortal House,

Guo Xiulan said indignantly, "Sister Ying'er, these people are simply too much! You are clearly a maiden, and have never had any intimate contact with any man, yet these people are making up such stories about you!"

Su Ying'er's expression remained completely unchanged; a faint smile graced her face as she replied, "So what if they do? What does it matter if they don't? Women like us in the pleasure quarters, what chastity do we have to speak of? If they want to talk, let them talk."

"You don't care?" Guo Xiulan asked in surprise.

Su Ying'er let out a long sigh and said, "What use is caring? Even though I am the belle of Drunken Immortal House, I am ultimately just a woman tossed in the dust of the mortal world. I only hope that before I sink completely, I might meet someone who makes my heart skip a beat."

Guo Xiulan's eyes rolled, and she probed, "Then what do you think of Fan Xiu? 'Four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties, how many towers and pavilions in the mist and rain'—what a poetic and desolate verse! In terms of literary talent, I think he is worthy of you."

"Him?"

Su Ying'er chuckled softly. "His poetry is indeed good, but if that's all there is, it is still far from enough."

"Then what kind of man are you looking for?" Guo Xiulan asked with a frown.

Su Ying'er pondered for a few seconds and replied, "What I want is, first of all, extraordinary literary talent. Furthermore, he must possess a broad vision encompassing the world, a character that transcends material wealth and superficial fame, and someone with whom I can achieve spiritual resonance."

Guo Xiulan was stunned.

As for these requirements, Fan Xiu seemed to satisfy only the literary talent; the rest had nothing to do with him at all.

If he had a vision encompassing the world, he wouldn't have abandoned scholarship for commerce!

Transcending material wealth and superficial fame?

This Fan Xiu had already entered business; what he cared about most was silver.

As for spiritual resonance, that was an even more illusory notion.

Guo Xiulan sighed helplessly. "Then I'm afraid you'll find it hard to ever meet such a person in this lifetime."

"I believe that somewhere in this world, such a person is waiting for me, so I am willing to spend my entire life searching," Su Ying'er said.

"But a woman only has these few good years. How long can you search? You will only end up wasting this wonderful time in vain," Guo Xiulan remarked.

Su Ying'er shook her head with a smile. "Sister Xiulan, please don't make fun of me anymore. I only hope you can grow old together with your husband."

"That's impossible."

Su Ying'er waved her hand. "I am merely a commodity he bought home, just his seventh concubine. When I grow older, he will have an eighth and a ninth concubine. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to be bought back either. It's much happier right here in Drunken Immortal House!"

Su Ying'er bit her red lips and then let out a helpless, drawn-out sigh.

This was the helplessness of women, and even more so, the helplessness of women in the dust; they had no right to choose, leaving everything to the whim of fate...

At the Zhao residence,

When Guo Xiulan returned, she found Zhao Defu sighing heavily in his room.

"Master, what's wrong with you?" Guo Xiulan asked curiously.

Zhao Defu looked at Guo Xiulan and frowned. "Where did you sneak off to again? Why are you coming back so late?"

"Where else could I go besides shopping? If the master trusts me so little, I might as well leave!" Guo Xiulan said petulantly.

With that, she turned to walk away.

Zhao Defu hurriedly grabbed Guo Xiulan's arm and coaxed with a smile, "Xiulan, that's not what I meant. I'm just troubled by some business matters. By the way, you used to be at Drunken Immortal House—did you ever happen to know that belle named Su Ying'er?"

Guo Xiulan's heart stirred, and she frowned. "Does the master still want to harbor ideas about Su Ying'er? If you want to buy her, it would cost at least one hundred thousand taels of silver!"

"Ahem."

Zhao Defu gave a dry laugh. "That's not what I meant. I heard that Fan Xiu met Su Ying'er. Did Fan Xiu manage to persuade Su Ying'er to help promote the cold noodles?"

Guo Xiulan raised an eyebrow.

Could it be that Fan Xiu hadn't told Zhao Defu about this?

What kind of mischief was this little scoundrel up to now?

However, she certainly couldn't mention it.

Otherwise, Zhao Defu would definitely interrogate her about why she had gone to Drunken Immortal House again.

Guo Xiulan said petulantly, "You think too highly of me. How could I possibly know a belle like Su Ying'er? But if you really want to know, I can go take a stroll around Drunken Immortal House and perhaps ask around."

As she spoke, she blinked at Zhao Defu.

"There's no need for that!"

The last place Zhao Defu wanted Guo Xiulan to go was Drunken Immortal House. He said coldly, "You just stay put right here in the Zhao residence and stay away from Drunken Immortal House!"

Guo Xiulan let out an "oh," but secretly smiled to herself.