At the same moment, in the chambers behind the Pan residence, women participating in the performances were doing their makeup or resting in room after room, while the gardens of the Zhishui Poetry Gathering lay only a wall away. If they went out to the corridor, they could watch the gathering's proceedings from behind the gauze curtains at the passageway.

Those able to perform tonight had mostly already gained some reputation along the banks of the Qinhuai River, each with their own charms, and at an ordinary poetry gathering, any one of them could carry the event, but not tonight. Those attending the Zhishui Poetry Gathering weren't all men—many had brought companions. For instance, Old Qin had brought his poetry-literate concubine Yun'niang¹, and many others had brought their wives or young ladies from respectable families. In such circumstances, these women absolutely couldn't become the main attraction—even sitting out to draw attention after their performances was forbidden.

However, as long as they performed songs and dances with outstanding talent, that was enough to leave a deep impression. Women like them—when surrounded only by men, they could hold themselves aloof and reserved, but at occasions like this, they quietly played supporting roles, letting people remember them like spring rain that moistens silently. Pride and reserve were merely means—reputation was what truly mattered.

The two most famous women here tonight were Yuan Jin'er from Golden Wind Tower and Lu Caicai from Spring Beckoning Pavilion, and at this moment in her room, Yuan Jin'er cupped her cheeks, turning left and right to examine her made-up appearance in the bronze mirror. Her maid Kou'er stood beside her, chatting and laughing softly with her mistress: "Miss, when you went out to perform earlier, that Young Master Cao kept looking your way without even blinking!"

Yuan Jin'er glanced at her with a smile: "When I go out to perform, naturally they look my way—what's so strange about that? But you, Kou'er, only noticed Young Master Cao alone—how peculiar."

"Miss, it's true!" Kou'er wrinkled her little red face in protest. "He was staring without blinking!"

"If you weren't staring at him without blinking, how would you know he was staring at me without blinking?" Yuan Jin'er continued teasing with a smile. The little maid pouted in embarrassment and decided to ignore her, but after a moment, she sidled back over: "Miss, who do you think will win tonight's poetry competition?"

Yuan Jin'er tilted her head, placing a small flower in her hair: "Literature has no first place, and poetry competitions have no real standard—how could there be a true winner? You silly girl, always asking these things, but if we're talking about which poems will be sung the longest, that we can see." She picked up several sheets from the table: "Young Master Wang's, Young Master Xi's, and your favorite Young Master Cao's... 'The jade sky like water, clear and shallow silver river'—ah, this one's probably the best. Are you happy now?... And Young Master Li and Young Master Tang from Lichuan..."

The little maid pouted: "Who likes Young Master Cao?"

"Oh? You dislike him?" Yuan Jin'er looked at her with lively eyes.

"Not really, but Kou'er is thinking of you, Miss—Young Master Cao likes you, and you came with him today. If Young Master Cao helps you, next year's Qinhuai Top Courtesan title might fall to you. And if Young Master Cao passes the spring examinations next year..."

As the maid chattered on, Yuan Jin'er laughed and tapped her nose: "I understand," then picked up the poem Cao Guan had written to look at. Between her and Lu Caicai, Lu Caicai excelled at the pipa while she excelled at the guzheng—in terms of singing, she was actually better. She would sing this poem later, and as she read it, she softly sang it in her heart and smiled gently—looking like the happy smile of someone pursued by a great talent.

Actually, most professional courtesans on the Qinhuai River claimed to have tragic backgrounds—most were fake or fabricated, but that was only in the details. The concept that they all had tragic backgrounds was basically correct, and when it came to famous courtesans like Yuan Jin'er and Lu Caicai, they had learned poetry and literature, and naturally came to admire various talented scholars. However, though stories occasionally circulated of famous courtesans purely admiring someone's talent and marrying poor scholars, those were truly the rarest of cases. Today she had accepted the Pan residence's invitation and come with Cao Guan in the same carriage, which seemed quite intimate—she admired Cao Guan's talent in her heart, but whether she truly liked him, liked him to the degree Kou'er suggested, even she herself wasn't clear. For women like them, though they seemed surrounded by admirers, the choices they could truly make were few.

However, if she could set aside these thoughts for a moment, tonight's poetry gathering had indeed been quite rewarding for her.

She repeatedly sang that poem, and after a moment, Kou'er came from the doorway: "Miss, miss, there seems to be another good poem. Let's go look!"

"Oh?" She smiled and put down the paper, going out with Kou'er toward the gauze curtains at the corridor entrance. Several women had already gathered there, including Lu Caicai, and she asked softly: "Sisters, what's happening?" Then she too leaned against the gauze curtain to watch, just hearing "raises a cup and asks the blue sky" from the other side. Pan Guangyan had already read it once; this was a second recitation by one of the scholars.

The poetry gathering's atmosphere was actually somewhat strange at this point—it had grown rather quiet, though during the earlier excitement, everyone had been enthusiastic about composing and reciting poems, talking and laughing merrily. Now it seemed suppressed by some kind of aura as everyone was still savoring that poem. Then these women also obtained a sheet with the poem copied on it, gathering around to read it through once, then again, and Yuan Jin'er raised her head, meeting Lu Caicai's gaze.

"From Puyuan Poetry Gathering..."

"How is that possible..."

"Su residence, Ning Yi, Ning Liheng—who is this?"

"Never heard of him..."

Unlike the scholars outside who were first immersed in the poetry itself, after realizing the poem's significance, these women first cared about who had actually written it—the several of them read the signature multiple times, asking each other, but none had heard this name before. At this time, someone outside also asked: "What does everyone think of this poem?"

"People have sorrows, joys, parting and reunions, the moon is dark, bright, waxes or wanes; these problems have been this way since ancient times..."

"This poem..."

"Who exactly wrote this poem?"

For a moment no one gave an evaluation, though someone murmured "exquisite" while nodding, then the person who had recited it picked it up again to read the signature: "Su residence, Ning Yi, Ning Liheng—does anyone know who this person is?"

A moment of silence.

"But if his surname is Ning, why is it signed Su residence?"

"Which Su residence?"

"Puyuan Poetry Gathering—probably not the Su's Cloth Store?"

"Could this person be a manager or advisor in the Su residence?"

"We haven't heard of this person before..."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, discussing animatedly, but regarding this name, everyone was confused—no one had heard of him, so Pan Guangyan then had to call over the person who had gone outside to collect poems. This person wasn't a servant but his half-disciple, with some talent himself, and hearing his teacher's question, he smiled and explained what he knew.

"Oh, this person is said to be the Su family's live-in son-in-law who married in several months ago, becoming the husband of the Su family's second young miss, Su Tan'er. Interestingly, I've also heard that this Ning Liheng caught a cold today and didn't attend the Puyuan Poetry Gathering. While recuperating at home tonight, he spoke this poem to a little maid for his own amusement, but who knew that at the poetry gathering someone said he had no poetic talent? The little maid couldn't stand it and brought out this poem... Hehe, that's what they're saying over there—I don't know if it's true or not."

"Su residence... live-in son-in-law?"

When these words came out, not only everyone present but also the women behind the gauze curtain looked at each other in bewilderment as voices rose up.

"Didn't attend?"

"This is too bizarre..."

"I've never... never heard of a live-in son-in-law with such talent..."

"Ning Yi, Ning Liheng—indeed never heard of him..."

Behind the gauze curtain, the little maid Kou'er said doubtfully: "Could this be something Puyuan Poetry Gathering bought to gain fame?"

Every year at poetry gatherings, buying poems for fame wasn't unusual—everyone knew the inside story. But even if buying, it would be unlikely to buy poetry of this quality, and after learning his identity, everyone harbored such suspicions. If someone truly had such talent, why would they become a live-in son-in-law? At this moment, someone over there also voiced their doubts.

"This is rather hard to believe..."

"Could it be that the Su family bought this poem to gain fame?"

This voice wasn't loud, and the speaker's tone was merely exploratory, but everyone could hear it, and after a moment of silence, someone clearly was about to agree: "This kind of thing is also..."

Everyone had initially been moved by this poem and hadn't thought too much, but then information like "live-in son-in-law" and "unknown nobody" surfaced, creating a huge contrast with the poem. Doubtful thoughts rose almost uncontrollably—though some steady people remained silent, tonight's poetry gathering ultimately harbored competitive spirits, and some people spoke out unconsciously. At this moment, a stern voice suddenly came from the platform: "Zixing! Shut up!"

The speaker was named Yu Zixing, and startled by the voice, he looked up to see Old Kang holding a writing brush and looking at him, his gaze serious, commanding without anger, suppressing everyone's discussion. For a moment, the venue fell completely silent.

(End of Chapter)