Miss Wan Ying has some affection for Houxue Bai. Seeing him embarrassed, especially being mocked by a servant, she felt indignant. She said, "Master Houxue, your topic is quite artistic, but what you've presented is vulgar and indecent."
Good heavens! You present crabs, and I respond with spiders. When the elder brother sees the second brother, it's equally unpleasant. But why does that so-called "number one literary genius" praise it, and I suddenly become vulgar? I heard that this Wan Ying is also a constable. Lin Wan Rong really looks down on her; judging by her appearance, she's probably just relying on a bit of power, acting like a tiger using borrowed prestige.
"Lin Big Brother, this can't be considered, oh." A woman's voice came from behind. Lin Wan Rong found it familiar and turned around to see Jinling's number one talented woman, Luo Ning, slowly walking towards him. Lin Wan Rong then remembered that this was her territory; those guys were mocking each other with poems and sarcasms earlier. This girl was probably hiding and laughing on the side.
Luo Ning smiled and glanced at Lin Wan Rong, saying, "Lin Big Brother, your 'spider wisdom' is not just an insult to us, right? I can bear it, but Miss Xiao back then was also a famous talented woman. You've implicated her too, haven't you?" After saying that, she smiled, as if wanting to see how Miss Xiao and Lin Wan Rong would respond.
"Met Miss Luo." Xiao Yu Ruo gave a graceful salute. It seemed that these two women had met before, but they weren't very familiar.
Luo Ning smiled and said, "Miss Xiao, you don't need to be so polite. It's just that you have such talented people under you, and I admire that."
Upon hearing Luo Ning's words, Miss Xiao noticed her calling Lin Wan Rong "Big Brother." It seemed that these two women knew each other. She curiously glanced at Lin Wan Rong, wondering how well-connected this Lin San was. Who knows how many secrets he's hiding.
Jinling's number one talented man, Houxue Bai, was a faithful admirer of Luo Ning. Seeing Miss Luo so familiar with this Lin San, and just being sarcastically countered by Lin San, he was afraid he had left a bad impression on Miss Luo. He hurriedly said, "Miss Luo, this servant has no talents and doesn't know where he learned his eloquence. Miss Luo, there's no need to pay attention to him."
Lin Wan Rong, irritated, muttered to himself, "You're shameless even when given face." He had never had a good impression of so-called talented men and women. Even Luo Ning, who was so beautiful, couldn't arouse his interest. Why would he fear this so-called number one literary genius?
However, what Luo Ning said just now was quite accurate. "Spider wisdom" refers to women, and although it is absolute, it includes all the women present, including Miss Xiao. Luo Ning was indeed clever; with just one sentence, she put him in a dilemma.
Lin Wan Rong had his own thoughts. He glanced at Miss Xiao and, with a face-saving gesture, said, "In that case, I'll switch to discussing 'Phoenix Whole-body Literature,' and consider it an explanation for all the beautiful ladies present."
Houxue Bai's first couplet had an insulting tone. Lin Wan Rong's first response, while a retort, wasn't exactly elegant. But this new one, "Phoenix Whole-body Literature," was both neat and artistic, elevating the couplet to a higher level.
With this second couplet, everyone in the room no longer dared to look down on this servant. Even Miss Wan Ying, who always supported Houxue Bai, secretly nodded. This servant indeed had some talent.
Houxue Bai was even worse off. Feeling like he had swallowed two flies, he intended to show off his talents, but as soon as he spoke, Lin San retorted. Not only did he get scolded, but he also made a fool of himself in front of Miss Luo. Feeling embarrassed, he quickly said, "Miss Luo, let's go to the poetry institute."
Miss Wan Ying hurriedly agreed, "Exactly, exactly. Miss Yu Ruo, there are many sisters waiting for us above."
The group of women walked up the steps, with the two talented men following behind the three women. Only the servant Lin San walked alone, carrying a small package.
Upon reaching the top of the steps, they saw a garden from afar, and next to it was a refined building. As they entered, Lin Wan Rong was surprised. In this building, dozens of women gathered, all of them dressed in the style of wealthy families. It seemed that they were all daughters of officials. For a moment, the room was filled with the sound of birds and laughter, continuous and unending.
These women were all poetry enthusiasts, and they all recognized the two talented men. They greeted them continuously, and some bold ones even secretly sent flirtatious glances to the two. Lin Wan Rong, who was good at using his mouth, felt goosebumps all over.
Luo Ning nodded slightly, smiling at the women in the room, and said, "Sisters, today our gathering has two main points. The first is to have Master Houxue Bai share his feelings about traveling to various places."
Houxue Bai smiled and stepped forward to the stage. Facing the applause, he bowed gracefully and said, "Thanks for Miss Luo's favor. Houxue Bai is just a scholar, who, since childhood, has followed the teachings of his teachers, deeply understanding the words of thousands of books. Therefore, I really enjoy traveling around. I've been to several provinces in Dahu, visited Huangshan in the west, Tai Shan in the north, Wuyi Mountain in the south, and Chongming Island in the east. Along the way, I've seen the scenery of our great Dahu, which is truly so beautiful..."
Houxue Bai, the self-proclaimed number one literary genius of Jinling, described his experiences in detail. How to travel, how to climb mountains, and in between, he interspersed several short poems recited on mountain tops. For a while, the women in the hall listened with relish, especially Miss Wan Ying, who was infatuated with his storytelling. Even Miss Yu Ruo and Luo Ning nodded frequently, showing a bit of yearning in their eyes.
In this era with inconvenient transportation, these young ladies seldom left their homes, let alone traveled far. Listening to Houxue Bai's stories fascinated them.
Lin Wan Rong couldn't help but find it amusing. Houxue Bai claimed to have traveled various provinces, but he had only moved around several nearby provinces in Jiangsu. Huangshan was in Anhui, Taishan was in Shandong, and Wuyi Mountain was in Fujian. None of these were more than a thousand miles away, so how could he say he had traveled all over Dahu? It was quite funny. To him, Houxue Bai was more like a travel enthusiast.
Seeing Lin Wan Rong's disdainful expression, Luo Ning's eyes turned, and when Houxue Bai finished his talk amid applause, she stood
up and smiled, saying, "Today, besides Master Houxue Bai, we also have another distinguished guest, the well-known Miss Xiao from our academy. Before Miss Xiao introduces her perfume, could she share her feelings about her travels? From what I know, Miss Xiao has been to many places as well."
Today, Miss Yu Ruo was here to promote her products, so she hadn't prepared to talk about any travel experiences. Moreover, although she had been to many places, they were all for business purposes. She couldn't even talk about touring the scenery, let alone presenting it elegantly. Luo Ning intentionally created a challenge.
"Lin San, what should we do?" Miss Yu Ruo gritted her teeth. At the moment, they were the only ones on the same side, experiencing hardships together.
Lin Wan Rong raised his head, glanced at Luo Ning, and understood that this girl wanted to make things difficult for him. She wanted a speech, huh? Your third brother was born to talk his way through life; verbal skills are really not something to be afraid of. He slowly got up, gave a slight smile to Miss Yu Ruo, and walked towards the front.