Chapter 32: The Wager

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The sound of the quarrel grew louder and more heated. Neither side was willing to yield, and anyone listening would have thought a fight was about to break out.

Only then did Meng Yuxi enter. When the scholars of Su City saw him, they all rose and clasped their fists in greeting. Meng Yuxi returned the gesture to each of them in turn.

In a clear voice, he said, “Today, I thank you all for coming to support my establishment, Heaven on Earth. Your presence has truly lent luster to this humble place. As a token of my gratitude, each table will receive a platter of fruit. I hope you will accept it. We are all scholars of the Great Li Dynasty, with lofty aspirations and honorable character. We must not allow a private quarrel to damage the harmony among men of letters.”

The scholars of Su City now looked to Meng Yuxi as their leader. Hearing him speak thus, they readily agreed.

“Young Master Meng is right. As the hosts here in Su City, we cannot lower ourselves to trade words with a few uncultured outsiders.”

“Young Master Meng is broad-minded. We all admire you.”

“Young Master Meng, we await your success in the examinations! Ha ha ha!”

Meng Yuxi once again clasped his fists toward those calling out to him. They had come with nothing but good intentions. Though he himself was far from certain of success, he could not disappoint the goodwill of Su City’s scholars.

Just then, Madam Chang came over. Meng Yuxi lowered his voice and said, “Bring a jug of wine to every table occupied by the scholars of Su City. Put it on my account.”

Madam Chang smiled and announced, “Scholars of Su City, drink to your hearts’ content! Today, the proprietor of Heaven on Earth, Young Master Meng Yuxi, is treating everyone!”

Meng Yuxi could not help laughing. Madam Chang truly knew how to do business. No wonder even with Qinglian, the star attraction of the Blue Cloud Pavilion, that establishment still operated at a loss.

Still, that sort of temperament was not without its merits in a newly opened establishment. It was certainly capable of drawing a crowd.

Since he could not afford such generosity himself, Meng Yuxi proceeded upstairs along the main staircase amid the delighted cheers of the scholars.

The poem he had mentioned earlier had already been set in gold, exactly as he had instructed, upon the wall directly opposite the staircase. The words “Heaven on Earth” had been enlarged as well, making them exceptionally conspicuous.

Admiring his ancestor’s literary talent, Meng Yuxi could not help stopping to appreciate the golden inscription. He had barely looked at it for long when an unpleasant voice sounded behind him.

“It is a fine poem, I admit. But I simply cannot believe it was written by someone who has never made a name for himself. There are far too many people in this world who deceive others and steal reputations.”

Meng Yuxi thought, You certainly have sharp eyes.

He paid the man no attention and was about to go upstairs to find Qinglian.

The man continued, “What a pity that the renowned Miss Qinglian has such poor judgment. She actually let herself be deceived by a man like that. Tsk, tsk. She must have been rather cheap.”

At the time, Meng Yuxi had fabricated a lie before Wang Lingxin in order to spare Qinglian from being sent to the capital to sell herself. He had never expected certain malicious people to seize upon that lie and make such a spectacle of it.

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Meng Yuxi stopped. Before he could say a word, several loud bangs rang out as the scholars of Su City angrily slammed their hands upon the tables.

Everyone had long been aware of Qinglian’s extraordinary talent; they had even listened to her performances through the walls. They had also witnessed Meng Yuxi’s poetry, intelligence, and magnanimity at the Blue Cloud Pavilion and the Su City government office. In their eyes, the two had already become the subject of a celebrated romance between a gifted scholar and a beautiful courtesan. How could they tolerate outsiders coming here to make snide remarks?

Someone immediately shouted, “Chen Zhiwei, shut your filthy mouth!”

“You have failed the examinations several times and still dare come here to spout such nonsense?”

“Even if Cui Xiucheng is talented, that talent belongs to Cui Xiucheng. You are merely his junior fellow apprentice. What gives you the right to act so arrogantly?”

Several people from Chen Zhiwei’s side rose as well and began shouting back.

“There are ten measures of talent in the world, and our Senior Brother Cui possesses eight of them alone!”

“We are honored simply to be his junior fellow apprentices. What of it? Are you jealous?”

Chen Zhiwei gave a cold laugh. “Ha. My Senior Brother Cui has already come first in this year’s imperial examination. He has returned to Su City for this special imperial examination precisely to meet the much-praised Meng Yuxi and expose his true nature. We have come to rid Su City of this menace, yet this is how you behave? Tsk, tsk. You have studied the sages’ teachings for so many years in vain.”

The talented scholars of Su City immediately rolled up their sleeves and prepared to charge into the fray.

Meng Yuxi thought, Do you take me for a nonexistent man? Has Chen Zhiwei really come to my establishment to foul the place?

He gave two loud coughs.

Though everyone was arguing, they had been keeping an eye on Meng Yuxi’s every movement.

“Gentlemen,” he said, “I am not merely a scholar from Su City. I am also the proprietor of Heaven on Earth. I welcome those who have come to support my business, but if anyone has come here to cause trouble, then”—he gave a sly smile—“you will have to ask the little maid at my side whether she agrees.”

At his words, Little Cui put on a fierce expression. Her young master was truly difficult to serve. Every so often he dragged her into his affairs; she could not even slack off for a moment.

“Hmph. Coward.”

With a cold snort, Chen Zhiwei turned and began leading the people at his table toward the exit.

“Wait!” Meng Yuxi called.

Chen Zhiwei stopped and turned around. “We are already leaving, Boss. What more do you have to say? Surely you do not believe Su City has only one pleasure house where people can listen to music and chat.”

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Meng Yuxi smiled. “There is no need to hurry. Listening to music alone is rather dull. Since everyone seems so interested in His Majesty’s special imperial examination, why don’t I, the proprietor of Heaven on Earth, act as banker? Let us wager on who will claim the top scholar’s position. What say you?”

Chen Zhiwei grinned. He drew ten taels of silver from his robe, slapped them onto the table, and shouted, “I wager ten taels! Our Senior Brother Cui Xiucheng will certainly take the top scholar’s title!”

The scholars of Su City all turned to look at Meng Yuxi.

Meng Yuxi merely gave a cold snort through his nose, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned his head away as though he had seen nothing.

Little Cui suddenly felt a sharp pinch in her thigh. Having followed her young master for some time, she could more or less guess what he meant. She muttered under her breath, “You had better pay me back later.”

Then she hurried down the stairs, pulled a hundred taels of silver from her robe, slammed them onto the table, and called out, “I wager one hundred taels of silver on our young master, Meng Yuxi!”

Only then did the scholars of Su City understand.

“Chen Zhiwei, are you trying to make us die laughing? You ranted for half the day, yet all you can produce is ten taels? So you were merely running your mouth. In truth, you must think your Senior Brother Cui is nothing more than a second-rate talent, incapable of taking first place in this examination!”

“Ha ha ha! No, no. They are simply too poor. Their wretched poems cannot fetch much money in the first place. As Cui Xiucheng’s junior fellow apprentices, their earnings are not even equal to those of Meng Yuxi’s new maid.”

“Ha ha ha! No wonder they wanted to leave. They were probably afraid they would not be able to settle the bill after another few cups of wine.”

Chen Zhiwei and his companions flushed crimson with embarrassment. Chen Zhiwei searched himself from head to toe and produced every last piece of silver he carried, yet it amounted to only a little more than fifty taels. The others rummaged through their robes as well, placing every coin and ingot they could find upon the table.

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu stepped forward.

“We each wager fifty taels as well. We wager on Meng Yuxi of Su City!”

The scholars of Su City gathered around and began placing their own bets. Before long, the table where Little Cui had slapped down the silver was piled high.

By comparison, the table belonging to Chen Zhiwei’s group looked pitifully bare.

Meng Yuxi said, “Words are empty things. Silver is the only real proof. Just look at the difference between the two sides. I almost feel sorry for Brother Xiucheng.”

After taunting Chen Zhiwei, Meng Yuxi turned to leave for the upper floor.

Chen Zhiwei’s face shifted from red to white. Gritting his teeth, he pulled a key from inside his robe and slapped it onto the table.

“This is the key to my ancestral residence in Deep City. It should be worth five hundred taels of silver.”