Chapter 5: Dare to Rob My Sister

  The Lu Mansion was too big, and with a servant leading the way out of the small hall, they made seven turns and eight twists. Hao Fenglou's eyes were busy trying to keep up, but before he could even react, he was led into a side hall.

  At this time, it was only the beginning of the Ming dynasty, and the luxurious style had not yet officially risen, so although the mansion's momentum was majestic, the decorations in the hall were mostly simple and convenient. The Lu family, as a martial arts family, also had some elegant furnishings in the side hall, with simple decorations and a hint of ink fragrance, mainly due to the calligraphy and paintings on the walls.

  As a romantic, one must not only be proficient in music, but also understand various forms of poetry. Whether it's ambiguous poetry, modern poetry, pear blossom style or Tang and Song poetry, Hao Feng Lou can recite them fluently. To move women, simply being able to come up with suitable poems on the spot is apparently not enough.

  So in the appreciation of calligraphy and painting, Hao Feng Lou also has his own unique perspective. His gaze was quickly attracted to a piece of running script on the wall, which can be seen as an imitation of a poem. However, compared to the original work, Hao Feng Lou is more interested in pondering over the imitation, because while originals are common, excellent imitations are rare, especially those that can be hung and decorated in luxurious mansions, which are even more precious. The ability to create an imitation that surpasses the level of the original is extremely difficult to come by.

  Hao Fenglou leaned against the railing with his hands behind him and his feet propped up, but he almost forgot that there was still someone sitting in this side hall.

  This person seems to have been here for quite some time, wearing a Confucian robe and hat, dressed as a serious scholar, about twenty years old, and born with a rather elegant appearance.

  He didn't make a sound when he saw Hao Fenglou come in, but instead compared himself to Hao Fenglou, seemingly feeling that his own appearance was slightly inferior. A hint of jealousy flashed across his eyes.

  He smiled coldly and said, "Has brother also passed the first test?"

  Hao Feng Lou suddenly came to himself and noticed him. Seeing that he was being very rudely sized up, he nodded and said: "That's right, I haven't asked for your advice yet."

  "This man impatiently said: 'My surname is Zhou, my name is Yan, you should call me Master Zhou, and who are you?'"

  This was Zhou Yan. His demeanor wasn't bad, but Hao Feng Lou naturally didn't have a good impression of him. After stating his own name, he immediately asked: "Is Young Master Zhou also here to enlist?"

  "This is natural." Zhou Yan said confidently, "I don't know what luck you've had, but you actually passed the initial test. However, I advise you not to have any wild fantasies. This Miss Lu is already in my pocket, and if you want to compete with me, you'd better weigh your own abilities first."

  Hao Fenglou almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, this guy actually came to steal the young master's woman.

  Zhou Yan was also furious, originally this time only he passed the initial test, and thought that as long as he got through today, he could become Miss Lu's teacher with a clear conscience, and then learn from Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun, have a romantic affair, win over Miss Lu, not only get to hold a beauty in his arms, but also enjoy wealth and glory beyond words.

  Who would have thought that just as the first trial was ending, a Cheng Yaojin suddenly appeared. At this time, he hated Hao Fenglou deeply, but he couldn't help but secretly probe Hao Fenglou, wanting to see what kind of background this person had.

  Facing such rudeness, Hao Feng Lou coldly smiled and said, "You'll know when the time comes."

  "Then I'll ask you, have you achieved anything of merit?"

  When it comes to fame and fortune, Zhou's face turns red with excitement.

  Hao Feng Lou said lightly: "Fame and wealth are like floating clouds to me."

  "Haha……" Zhou Yan burst out laughing: "I thought you were a formidable opponent, but it turns out you're just a nobody. Haha... Let me tell you, I am a scholar, not only that, but also a stipend student of the prefecture of Zhenjiang, and next year I will participate in the provincial examination, sooner or later I will pass and become an official. However... being an official is not interesting, even if I want to be an official, I must first marry a beautiful woman before that can happen. This Miss Lu, I am determined to get her. You are just a nobody with no achievements, relying on your luck to pass the initial test, do you think you can compete with me for this woman? Who do you think you are?"

  This guy is too cheap, but Hao Feng Lou knows that the surname Zhou guy is superficially nonsense, but he is very clever. He deliberately steps on himself and wants to make himself lose confidence. This is a common psychological warfare.

  "What's wrong, aren't you speaking up? Alright, I'll take pity on you. Here, I have over ten taels of silver, consider it your labor fee. If you retreat now, knowing the difficulty, this silver is yours, how about it?"

  Zhou Yan has already begun to show off his wealth, he is spirited and confident, in comparison, the calm and collected Hao Feng Lou seems a bit overshadowed.

  Hao Feng Lou said: "I don't want silver, I want to be Miss Lu's husband."

  "Ah!" Zhou Yan almost jumped up, unable to resist speaking sarcastically, saying: "Why don't you go urinate and take a look at yourself? You don't even have any achievements, I suppose you haven't read many books either. People like you who are like toads wanting to eat swan meat, this young master has seen many of before. When being a person, one must know when to advance and retreat, don't be ignorant of what's good and bad!"

  Hao Feng Lou said calmly: "I have read books."

  "What's the use of learning some superficial knowledge?" Zhou Yan continued to mock him: "You think you can be a gentleman just because you're roughly literate, and that you can compete with me for women?"

  Hao Feng Lou said: "I've said it before, fame and wealth are but fleeting clouds, I don't care about fame."

  Zhou Yan almost burst out laughing, it turned out to be a bookworm, coldly sneering: "Not even having any achievements, and yet still daring to call oneself a scholar."

  Hao Feng Lou said: "I read books just for fun, not to seek a career. As for my learning, I don't know how to say it, but...". He looked naive and said: "But since you said so, then I can only ask the young master to enlighten me."

  Hao Feng Lou looked at a painting on the wall called "Entering Spring", and said: "Zhou Gongzi, look at this painting full of spring atmosphere. With your talent, can you compose a poem?"

  Zhou Yan was stunned, improvising a poem? Although he could compose poetry, improvisational poetry was only possible for someone with Cao Zhi's talent, who could create a masterpiece in seven steps. He was just a minor scholar, how could he possibly come up with something on the spot?

  Realizing that Hao Feng Lou was intentionally striking himself, Zhou Yan coldly smiled and said: "I'm not in the mood at the moment, what, can you do it?"

  Hao Feng Lou said without hesitation: "Outside, it's drizzling, but seeing this spring painting in the house, I'm suddenly in high spirits." After a moment of contemplation, he said: "The trees by the creek are lush and dark, the riverbank is wet and misty. After the rain, open the window at dawn, and let spring in for a while."

  Zhou Yan almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, and it was indeed a five-character poem. Whether it was the intention or the wording, it was considered an excellent work. Could this really be his creation? Zhou Yan was someone who knew his stuff, and such a poem would require even the most accomplished scholars to spend some effort to come up with, yet this nameless guy managed to produce it on the spot.

  But if you question Haofeng Building for plagiarism, it's obviously unreasonable. Poetry and lyrics spread quickly, and Zhou Yan is a scholar who often gathers with literati in Zhenjiang Prefecture to engage in elegant conversations. If Haofeng Building plagiarized others, this poem would not have gone unnoticed.

  Zhou Yan started to scrutinize Hao Feng Lou with a strange expression, and had some faith in his words. Perhaps he was indeed the young master of a certain noble family, with profound family learning and a large business empire, so it's not expected that their children would come out to take the imperial examination, or maybe they wanted to accumulate strength and wait for the right moment to make a stunning debut.

  All sorts of possibilities flashed through Zhou's mind, he felt sad and indignant, his confidence began to waver.

  Hao Feng Lou said calmly: "In this brief moment, I've gained inspiration once again."

  And also...

  Zhou Yan had an urge to vomit blood again.

  Hao Feng Lou shook his head and said, "I traveled from Songjiang to Zhenjiang, and today I saw this 'Entering Spring' painting. It made me think of the recent events, and my poetic inspiration was greatly stirred. Let me recite another one for you, young master." He sat up straight and immediately spoke out: "The southern river of Dantu County slants, when spring comes, there are no houses on both banks. In the deep forest at noon, birds stop chirping, and red and white flowers bloom all over the mountain. What do you think, Master Zhou?"

  These poems were all recited by Haofeng Building under the supervision of his master, and now they have been put to use.

  Zhou Yan's eyes widened in shock, his confidence completely shaken. Dantu County was the seat of Zhenjiang Prefecture, which is now the location of Zhenjiang City. As for Hao Feng Lou's two poems, they were both improvised, and either one could be considered top-notch. This guy actually managed to come up with two on the spot.

  Just as Zhou Yan's confidence was about to collapse, Hao Feng Lou sighed again and said: "My poetry is like this, once I start writing, I won't stop. In the past, there was a time when I had a poetry contest with someone, and in one hour, I came up with more than a dozen poems. Look, I'm inspired again now."

  He's back... Zhou Yan's poor self-confidence was shattered, and even his self-esteem was hurt. However, he gradually discovered that Hao Fenglou was a bookworm who rarely went out, with talent but lacking in social skills...

  "Wind Gongzi's poem is passable," he said with difficulty, his heart racing. If Hao Fenglou was just passable, then he would only be considered dog shit. Finally, he tactfully said: "But since Wind Gongzi has such talent, why bother coming to the Lu family to apply for a teacher position? I can tell at a glance that you are a young master of a noble family..."

  "Alas... I didn't want to come either." Hao Feng Lou sighed and said: "It's just that the elders in my clan forced me to come, saying that I'm not young anymore and it's time for me to get married. Coincidentally, there's a distant relative of mine working at the Lu family, who sent a letter recommending me to be the husband of Miss Lu, who is said to be as beautiful as a national treasure. As for the rest, it depends on my luck. Moreover, my distant relative is now in a position of power at the Lu family, so with him taking care of things, our family can also feel more at ease."

  Zhou Yan's pupils dilated, his heart was bleeding drop by drop, this time, he really wanted to spit out a mouthful of old blood.

  You're talented, that's fine, your family background is impressive, that's not the point, but there are still people in the Lu family...

  Injustice, injustice...

  Zhou Yan was so angry that he wanted to punch his chest and kick his feet. He immediately thought, no wonder this guy with the surname Feng could easily pass the initial test. By rights, someone like him, even if they had talent, but since the exam is on the Four Books for Women, unless they put in hard work on this, otherwise even Wang Anshi or Fan Zhongyan would have to give up.

  It dawned on Zhou Yan that someone was behind this, and the guy had backing from higher-ups. They were engaging in unfair competition, having already made arrangements with relevant people during the initial trial, operating in a black box manner.

  Zhou Yan's confidence completely collapsed.

  He couldn't help but ask: "What position does your distant cousin hold in the government?"

  Hao Feng Lou said lightly: "Just a major household manager."

  Zhou Yan's slightly handsome face twitched violently several times, and his prospects looked grim.