Huo Chenan slipped away, and naturally didn't know what happened next. After all, such matters of underworld bosses were not something that a small county man like him could manage.
The days that followed were very peaceful, and it seemed that the old man had no intention of killing people to silence them.
This made Huo Chenan feel relieved.
...
Time came to the first day of May, and today was the day of the Jinling Poetry Festival. Countless talented men and beautiful women gathered at the Xuanwu Lake early in the morning.
This Jinling Poetry Festival is not only a grand event in the literary world, but also a grand event for talented men and beautiful women to make friends and exchange feelings through poetry.
Every year, there will be countless romantic stories spread at the Jinling Poetry Festival.
For example, which family's lady fell in love with which family's scholar, and who fought with whom for jealousy.
Of course, these also add a lot of gimmicks to the annual Jinling Poetry Festival.
Among the talented scholars and beauties who came, two groups attracted much attention. One was the Jinling Academy, which had a feud with Huo Chenan. The students of the academy have always been the most brilliant in poetry gatherings. A group of students who study poetry and scriptures all day long, wouldn't they have a good grasp of poetry gatherings?
The other group was the Qinhuai prostitutes. The girls in the brothels were very fond of these romantic and talented men. It was said that as long as the first place in the poetry gathering gave a poem, the title of the first prostitute in Jinling would be stable.
So the first place in the poetry gathering not only gained fame and fortune, but also wealth and beauty.
Therefore, all the talented men in Jiangnan were eager to start writing poems early, just like predicting the questions in the college entrance examination. If they guessed the right questions, they would soar to the sky.
The format of the poetry meeting is also very simple. Each area will give free play first. This is the time for talented scholars and beautiful women to communicate deeply. Then each area will select the most talented people to participate in the finals. The finals are about writing poems on a given topic. In previous years, it was either the King of Wu or the prefect of Jiangnan. This year, because the old emperor was in power, the right to set the topic was given to the old emperor.
…
Shen Mingcheng dressed up and rushed to the Su family early this morning.
He wanted to leave a good impression on Su Linglong, and then convince her with his talent. By then, it would be easy.
Just as Shen Mingcheng was talking, Su Linglong came out with Xiao Cui and Huo Chenan.
Instantly, a light and elegant flower fragrance came to his face.
Shen Mingcheng was directly fascinated by the flower fragrance and lost two or five souls.
Coupled with Su Linglong's carefully dressed makeup today, Shen Mingcheng felt that his soul had been scattered.
Shen Mingcheng hurried forward to flatter her: "Miss Su is really bright and beautiful today."
Su Linglong smiled and said: "Mr. Shen, you are too kind."
Huo Chenan was watching from the side and felt unhappy. You little white face wants to be my brother-in-law, bah, a pair of dogs and bitches.
Because she was invited by Shen Mingcheng, Su Linglong did not drive the carriage, but took Shen Mingcheng's carriage together.
Shen Mingcheng stood in front of the carriage and personally led the horse stirrups and invited Su Linglong to get on the carriage.
"Thank you, Mr. Shen." Su Linglong walked forward and bowed, then raised her foot to get on the carriage.
"You're welcome." Shen Mingcheng responded politely.
Then it was Xiao Cui, she also bowed and said: "Thank you, Mr. Shen."
"You're welcome." Shen Mingcheng said with a warm smile.
Then Huo Chenan stepped forward and clasped his fists and said: "Thank you, Mr. Shen."
After that, he got on the carriage without waiting for Shen Mingcheng's reaction.
Shen Mingcheng's smile froze on his face. Uh, it seemed that something strange had sneaked into the carriage just now.
Although he was unhappy in his heart, Shen Mingcheng suppressed his displeasure in order to show his magnanimity and got into the carriage.
The carriage could originally accommodate four people, but Huo Chenan was tall and strong, so he could only sit sideways at this moment. He said to Shen Mingcheng awkwardly: "Mr. Shen, your carriage is too small. Why don't you sit outside!"
"Puff." Shen Mingcheng almost spit out a mouthful of blood when he heard it.
Otherwise, why do you say that some people just want to save face and suffer in life? In order to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor in front of Su Linglong, Shen Mingcheng should have forced himself to become a coachman.
Su Linglong sat in the carriage and held back her laughter, looking at Huo Chenan sitting opposite her. Why is this man so thick-skinned?
Soon the carriage arrived at the edge of Xuanwu Lake.
Because the Su family and the Shen family are both merchants, their social circles are naturally mostly merchants.
Shen Mingcheng originally intended to show off his knowledge in front of Su Linglong, but who would have thought that Su Linglong would be surrounded by countless women as soon as she showed up.
"Linglong is so beautiful today!"
"Sister Su, which brand of water powder did you use? It smells so good!"
"Yes, yes, sister Su, you can't eat alone, you have to share with your sisters."
"Sister Su, I want to buy some too, is it okay?"
The women talked at once, saying that the three women were like a group of ducks, but now there were several groups of ducks quacking together.
Shen Mingcheng couldn't get a word in. This made the poem he spent a lot of money to prepare completely useless.
Su Linglong was delighted. She brought out the killer perfume at the right time and said, "This is the new perfume developed by our Su family. Just a few drops can keep the fragrance for a long time."
"Where can I buy it, Su family sister?"
"Su family Liuli Pavilion will open soon. You can go there to buy it then."
If nothing else, Su Linglong is definitely a good hand in sales. Huo Chenan held a bag of melon seeds and watched Su Linglong calmly deal with various questions. The trial pack he gave her also came in handy.
These rich daughters and wives all rushed to try it out, and the scene was extremely hot.
…
Zhang Rulong of Jinling Academy saw the crowds in front and said to the students next to him: "Has any excellent work appeared? Let's go and take a look."
The students in Jinling Academy are all self-important. They usually disperse to different areas to break through. It is impossible for all the students in the academy to be eliminated by their classmates, and only one or two students will enter the finals. Therefore, most of the students in the academy are competing in the finals. In this way, everyone will rely on their own abilities after entering the finals.
Coincidentally, Zhang Rulong and his friends came to the area where Huo Chenan was.
Several people saw a group of women and young ladies surrounding a beautiful young lady, who seemed to be selling something.
Several people were secretly happy in their hearts. It seems that there are no excellent works in this area, so the possibility of them breaking through is much higher.
At this time, the sound of "dangdangdang" gongs rang, and the judges of this area announced that there were poems to be displayed.
At this time, Huo Chenan might be a little thirsty from eating melon seeds, and he bought a bowl of tea from somewhere and was drinking it.
It was Shen Mingcheng who came on stage. He saw that everyone in the audience was looking at him, and he couldn't help but say proudly: "I was inspired by the stone pagoda on Zijin Mountain and wrote a poem "Ode to the Stone Pagoda"
The stone pagoda looks black from a distance,
thin on the top and thick on the bottom;
One day, it will be turned over,
thin on the bottom and thick on the top."
"Puff," Huo Chenan sprayed out the tea he had just drunk.