Chapter 1 The First Test
"The first test, in fact, is a painting…"
The turtle attendant explained in detail. "The young lady sent a painting down, and then all the guests are to write a poem. Whichever poem the lady fancies, that guest will have the chance to enter the third floor and participate in the second test outside the lady's chamber."
"As for this second test, I really don't know…"
"Why is that?" Lu Yu asked.
Before the turtle attendant could reply, Cao Zhi interjected, "Because, thus far, not a single person's poem has caught the eye of this courtesan?"
Heh…
The words spilled out, and Lu Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. Interesting!
The turtle attendant, with a fawning smile, continued, "Of course, I also chatted privately with the young lady's maids. They said the first test is 'painting,' and the second and third tests are likely to be 'zither and chess,' right?"
"Heh heh…" The turtle attendant weighed the small bag of tips in his hand and continued with a smile, "If there's nothing else, I'll go prepare tea for you guests. I wish you all good luck!"
With that said… the turtle attendant bowed and slowly retreated.
Lu Yu's eyes darted around. The more the turtle attendant spoke like this, the more it piqued his curiosity about this woman.
However…
Curiosity aside, were these actions… a bit too deliberate?
More than his curiosity about this "young lady," Lu Yu was more concerned about her three tests. Were they intentional? Or accidental?
Seeing Lu Yu's silence…
Cao Zhi smiled and reminded him, "The painting sent down by the young lady differs each day. Within such a short period, to compose a poem that matches the painting and also satisfies the young lady is truly not easy!"
Not long after…
The turtle attendant brought a pot of tea, three cups, and a plate of fruits.
Dian Wei scratched his head and complained, "Young Master, just these few items cost us eight hundred cash. Isn't the money in this Wanhua Tower too easy to earn?"
Heh heh…
Lu Yu chuckled and consoled him, "What they are selling is not the fruits. Anything in this world that is linked with a gimmick becomes expensive!"
In Lu Yu's memory, he had seen a news report in his previous life.
When an Hermès store opened in a first-tier city called "David City," a long queue formed from before dawn, and it took four hours to enter the store to consume. The sales that day did not disappoint the city's first-tier status – 120 million!
That wasn't even the most outrageous part. The even more outrageous part came later!
Someone wanting to buy a limited edition Hermès bag worth over three million required a purchase of ten million in other goods!
This meant that one had to first… buy ten million worth of various miscellaneous items in the store before being eligible to buy this bag! Big Wind Novels.
At that time, Lu Yu had only one feeling: poverty had truly limited his imagination.
Could this be the legendary "silly people with too much money"?
Yet, at this Wanhua Pavilion, so many rich and prominent figures were spending lavishly, just to catch a glimpse of this leading courtesan's face!
Suddenly, Lu Yu had an epiphany…
Why would one need to purchase ten million worth of goods to buy a limited edition bag!
Wasn't this Hermès giving people an opportunity to "show off"? To give them an extremely ostentatious topic of conversation within their circles?
For those who could afford this money, the money itself was just a number to the buyers!
But "showing off" was a fundamental need…
It was like writing a novel: Lsp were always the primary productive force, and "showing off" was the fundamental need!
It was the same in this Wanhua Pavilion. No matter how much money was spent, it didn't matter. But if it got out that you were the one who saw the courtesan's true face… that would be a huge gain in face!
Ancient men were truly understood by these madams of brothels and pleasure houses!
Just as he thought this…
Suddenly, the entire lobby of Wanhua Tower fell silent.
Simultaneously, a maid gracefully descended from the third floor, holding a painting. Upon reaching the center of the main hall, she slowly unfurled it…
Cao Zhi introduced her to Lu Yu.
"This maid is named 'Xiu'er.' She is the courtesan's personal maid. She's been the one delivering the topics these past few days!"
Xiu'er?
That's a good name… Lu Yu smiled slightly, a sentence inexplicably coming to mind.
Ahem…
Clearing his throat, he came back to his senses, only to see the maid named Xiu'er had already unrolled the scroll. In the center was a burly man, standing on a city wall with a solemn expression, but his eyes were filled with confusion and unwillingness… Below him, an endless stream of water surged!
And at the outermost edge of the water were countless troops… staring at the man on the city wall with covetous eyes!
No kidding…
This scene of flooding Xiapi was painted quite realistically!
Xiu'er's voice followed.
"All gentlemen who wish to see the lady, please compose a poem or lyric for this painting…"
"Anyone who composes a lyric will be charged five thousand cash! If the lady does not fancy it, this money is non-refundable!"
Whoa…
Lu Yu smacked his lips, feeling that this Wanhua Pavilion sure knew how to fleece customers!
"Chief Lu? Do you want to compose a lyric?"
Cao Zhi asked Lu Yu with great interest.
Actually, this test was quite difficult.
To improvise a poem based on a painting was a test of one's talent and quick-wittedness. Moreover, there were no standard answers. How would the lady deem it satisfactory? There was no way to know.
However… since they were here.
"Let's try,"
Lu Yu smiled and gave the instruction. Cao Zhi directly took out a gold piece and beckoned Xiu'er over.
Xiu'er took the gold piece and spread a piece of white paper on Lu Yu's table.
Lu Yu was slightly surprised…
He hadn't expected that his white paper had only recently been promoted, and Wanhua Pavilion was already using it. Very avant-garde, or perhaps… very well-informed!
Lu Yu stood up, picked up his brush… He stood with his hands behind his back, his brush strokes like flying dragons and soaring snakes. In just a few moments, a poem and lyric appeared on the paper.
—The floodwaters inundated Xiapi, when Lu Bu was captured back then.
—Only the Red Hare horse galloped for a thousand miles, and only a Fangtian halberd remained.
—Bound like a tiger, he hoped for leniency, now too weak;
—Raising a hawk to satiety, without foresight, is now undeniable.
—Infatuated with his wife, he ignored Chen Gong's advice, unjustly cursing the ungrateful 'Great-Eared Son'.
This poem was not composed by Lu Yu, but by Luo Guanzhong in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
Since it was about the flooding of Xiapi, Lu Yu simply copied it. This was from the nineteenth chapter of the "Romance," the chapter titled "Cao Cao Battles at Xiapi City, Lu Bu Meets His Demise at Bai Men Lou."
Of course, this poem did not spare Lu Bu from much "ridicule."
Actually, it didn't matter. At that time, Lu Bu on Bai Men Lou was still foolish and naive, simply stubborn and self-willed! He was far too different from the current Lu Fengxian of Jiuyuan!
Of course…
As Lu Yu began to write, Cao Zhi had been watching with knitted brows.
After the last stroke was completed, Cao Cao couldn't help but praise repeatedly, "Good poem, good poem! There is meaning within the poem, and within the meaning there is artistic conception. Meaning and artistic conception blend harmoniously, a good poem…"
Cao Zhi was a great poet of his time, and his mastery of poetry was exceptionally high.
Of course, he considered himself unable to compose such a poem because he had not personally witnessed the scene of "flooding Xiapi." Relying on imagination alone, it was impossible to achieve a harmonious blend of artistic conception, nor to express this story so vividly.
Not only Cao Zhi…
Even "Xiu'er" was now as if stunned. It wasn't that she thought the poem was good, but rather that… this poem had thoroughly insulted Lord Wen (Lu Bu) to the point of being without a shred of dignity. If the "lady" saw this… wouldn't she be furious?
"What?"
Seeing Xiu'er in a daze, Lu Yu asked proactively, "Is this poem not good?"
"No… no!" Xiu'er waved her hands repeatedly. "I… I will present it now and let… let the lady see it!"
As soon as Xiu'er finished speaking.
Another clear voice chimed in, "I also have a poem. Young lady, why not present it to the lady together?"
This time, the speaker was a man from the first floor, wearing a straw hat and a rather thin build.
He unfurled his poem and even read it aloud loudly – "I sigh at the poverty of words, a foolish prodigy today, ending in nothing. The blade is dull, the edge blunt, kindness severed, righteousness broken, the dream finally shattered…"
As he chanted, many scholars in the hall shook their heads. What was he reciting?
It wasn't a poem, nor was it a lyric; it was like singing. Crucially, did it have the slightest connection to that painting?
On the contrary, Lu Yu…
His eyes suddenly narrowed.
This damn thing wasn't a poem at all! It was a "code"!
He…
Why was he here?
This fellow, before… he had worried for nothing!
Speaking of which, why was he in this city of Xiapi in Xuzhou? And why was he here at Wanhua Pavilion?
Thinking of this, the man in the straw hat in the lobby looked up towards the second floor where Lu Yu was. Following that was a characteristic smile.
This smile had a bit of a "master of all situations, everything under control" feel to it!
…
…
Wanhua Tower, third floor, in the deepest chamber.
Suddenly, Lü Lingqi gritted her teeth, clutching the poem composed by Lu Yu in her hand.
She didn't understand poetry or lyrics, but…
—Only the Red Hare horse galloped for a thousand miles, and only a Fangtian halberd remained!
—Infatuated with his wife, he ignored Chen Gong's advice, unjustly cursing the ungrateful 'Great-Eared Son'!
This… wasn't this ridiculing her father?
"Bound like a tiger, he hoped for leniency," "Raising a hawk to satiety" – how unpleasant…
With a "bang," Lü Lingqi slammed her fist heavily onto the desk, but… after just a moment, she withdrew her fist. She was currently playing the role of a courtesan…
She couldn't be so violent…
She couldn't expose her identity…
Restraint, extreme restraint!
"Young lady… this…"
The maid's voice was also trembling.
Unexpectedly, Lü Lingqi blurted out, "He has passed. Let him come up! The remaining two tests can be a mere formality. With his quick wit, what test could possibly stump him?"
"Yes… yes…"
The maid agreed and walked towards the door.
Actually…
These three tests were originally just a gimmick, merely to lure Lu Yu here.
Lü Lingqi didn't understand men, but the madam of this Wanhua Tower understood men very well. A girl no one could see was precisely the girl everyone wanted to see!
For this reason, what kind of tests? What kind of lyric composition?
No matter how well you composed, if it wasn't composed by Lu Yu, it wouldn't catch Lü Lingqi's eye. But as long as it was composed by Lu Yu, even if it was complete nonsense, Lü Lingqi would let him go upstairs!
Besides, he was capable of composing "Three Hundred Poems," so how could his skill in writing lyrics be low?
It was just that…
This poem!
Lü Lingqi still bit her lip, gazing at the poem, her emotions unable to calm down for a long time.
—"Lu Yu… you, you're going too far!"
From within her sleeve, a cold glint suddenly flashed, and a few extremely thin blade pieces glinted with a chilling sharpness!
It seemed as if they were poised to strike!
…
Wanhua Tower, second floor private room.
Xiu'er hurriedly arrived before Lu Yu and Cao Zhi.
—"Young Master is immensely talented. The next two tests will be outside the young lady's chamber, namely the tests of zither and chess…"
Her voice was not low, but it was loud enough for nearby guests to hear clearly.
A commotion…
Yet… Xiu'er's voice caused a full house uproar in the entire Wanhua Tower!
Someone had actually passed the courtesan's test!
For more than ten consecutive days, no one had ever passed this first hurdle!
Everyone exclaimed… this young gentleman possesses great talent and good fortune. Of course, following closely behind… were all the envious glances cast at Lu Yu.
Actually…
Lu Yu had just returned to this private room…
Just now, he had gone to see a "friend" and chatted for a few words…
But his eyes had changed upon returning, becoming a bit more serious, as if… the original playfulness was gone!
If it could be said that he originally came here to satisfy his physiological needs, then now… his level had undoubtedly risen a notch higher!
After hearing Xiu'er's words, Lu Yu extended his hand slightly.
"Lead the way."
Calm, indifferent…
As if passing the courtesan's test was a trivial matter for him!
Not long after…
Xiu'er led Lu Yu, Dian Wei, and Cao Zhi to the third floor. The large third floor had only one chamber on the entire floor, and the entire corridor appeared exceptionally spacious.
This was completely different from the hustle and bustle of the first and second floors; it was exceptionally serene.
"Heh heh…"
Lu Yu smiled slightly, his smile carrying a hint of intriguing meaning.
Xiu'er, however, instructed, "Only the young master is allowed to enter from here onwards."
As the words left her mouth…
"Impossible!" Dian Wei immediately said, "I am responsible for protecting the young master's safety and must not leave his side!"
"It's alright!" Lu Yu waved his hand, "A chamber like this is naturally very safe…"
With that said, Lu Yu signaled Dian Wei to guard here, and he entered alone. Xiu'er also remained outside.
Outside the chamber, a zither was placed, as well as a Go board. The zither was made of sandalwood, exuding an ancient charm… On the Go board, there was a partial game!
Clearly, the last two tests were here.
However…
Lu Yu paid no attention to the zither or the Go, but walked directly into the inner chamber of this pavilion.
The two chambers were separated by a beaded curtain. Lu Yu poked his head in to look inside. A graceful figure was dimly visible. She had her back to him, her black hair like a waterfall, her robes like radiant clouds, but… her sitting posture appeared somewhat languid.
"Step…"
Lu Yu took a step forward.
Finally, a voice came from behind the beaded curtain.
"Young Master, please stop…"
Hmm…
Lu Yu halted his steps, not in a hurry to step behind the beaded curtain.
Lü Lingqi's voice followed.
"Young Master, you have no manners. The second and third tests are outside the door. I thought the guest was a dignified young master, but I didn't expect… he is a rogue who disregards rules and doesn't care about them. Isn't your action a bit too forward?"
Lü Lingqi tried her best to make her voice gentle, with a hint of a "girly" tone.
Lu Yu smiled slightly, looking around at the zither and Go board behind him.
With his words, he continued, "Is that necessary? Since you have invited me here, why go through so much trouble? Wouldn't it be better to have a face-to-face chat? This way, you and I can both save a lot of time! Time for important matters!"
As he spoke, Lu Yu pushed aside the beaded curtain and entered the innermost room directly.
Lü Lingqi's face suddenly changed.
Her already fair face became even more ashen, as white as paper…
He… had he seen through her?
All of this was originally Lü Lingqi's plan, to lure Lu Yu into "going deep alone." The so-called tests, the so-called money earned, were all just Lü Lingqi's deliberate cover.
Besides this, her greatest worry was Lu Yu becoming suspicious, after all, Lu Yu's art of psychological manipulation was rumored to be almost godlike…
But even after doing this meticulously, with the courtesan gimmick almost at its peak, it was… it was still seen through?
"Clack…"
While Lü Lingqi was contemplating, Lu Yu had already sat down opposite her.
And Lü Lingqi subconsciously prepared to turn around and raise her sleeve, to throw out the blade pieces…
At such close range, she was confident that she could complete a series of actions in one go… and deliver a fatal blow!
"Don't move…"
Just as Lü Lingqi was about to throw her hidden weapon, Lu Yu's voice preempted her.
Lü Lingqi noticed from the corner of her eye…
Lu Yu had a small black box on his arm, and this small box was pointed at her.
—"This is called the 'Rain of Pears' needle. If you dare to make any rash moves, the twenty-eight silver needles in this box will pierce you instantly!"
Lu Yu's voice was very calm, but his tone was exceptionally cold.
He had already been suspicious of the courtesan of this Wanhua Pavilion.
This time… all the clues, coupled with the reminder from that "friend," Lu Yu was already able to firmly conclude…
To conclude that the courtesan's purpose was for him…
To conclude that the courtesan's true identity was…
"You…"
Lü Lingqi wanted to speak, but the words reached her lips, and she didn't know how to say them.
She had been plotting against Lu Yu, but… but in the end, she was still plotted against by Lu Yu. This fellow was so insidious!
"You… how did you know?"
Lü Lingqi asked through gritted teeth.
"Guess?" Lu Yu still smiled, but his tone became more serious. "Make it clear, now I am the knife, and you are the fish. It should be me asking you questions, Miss Lü!"
This address of "Miss Lü" almost made Lü Lingqi completely break down!
This was no longer seeing through her; she felt that she had been thoroughly toyed with by Lu Yu, played with in his palm, played with at his whim!
"Are you just going to make me face away from you?"
Lü Lingqi said through gritted teeth…
She still wanted to find the last opportunity to counter-attack… even to kill in one blow!
Lu Yu nodded with interest, "You're not wrong, Young Master also prefers direct conversation, looking into your eyes, to be honest… However, Young Master is rather cowardly. The prerequisite for all this must be absolute safety."
"What… what do you want?" Lü Lingqi felt a bad premonition arise in her heart.
Lu Yu's words, however, were light and breezy.
"I don't want to be ambushed, so I can only ask Miss Lü to take off all her clothes. This way… you and I can be honest! We can have a talk while ensuring safety!"
"You…"
At this moment…
Lü Lingqi felt like she was going crazy!
The man before her actually… actually wanted her to take off all her clothes!
Was she going crazy, or… or was he going crazy!
Or perhaps… was this world going crazy!
…
…