612: Autumn

Wanhua Brothel.

Because these important figures were holding a poetry gathering, there were naturally no other guests today.

In the bright pavilion, tables were placed on both sides stretching towards the back, laden with fine food and wine; the tables further back, however, had no food, but instead held brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, which were for the civil officials to record the poems that would appear tonight.

And from the entrance to the far end, two obviously high-class tables were placed, one on the left and one on the right.

These two positions were clearly prepared for the Seventh Princess and Yuwen Mingxuan.

Only ten people from Five Directions City were invited by invitation.

After stepping into the Wanhua Brothel, as everyone exchanged glances, they could also see quite a few young talents who had rushed over from other cities.

After all, the Seventh Princess and Yuwen Mingxuan were present at this poetry gathering!

How could people from nearby cities ignore such an opportunity to build connections?

Apart from those who came from other cities, Ning Buxiu in the crowd paid more attention to the area around the two tables near the front.

The people in that area were the sons and daughters of high officials who followed the Seventh Princess and Yuwen Mingxuan, as well as members of aristocratic families.

This group of people, in terms of their status and position, could be said to be the second echelon in the Wanhua Brothel at this time.

And among these people, what Ning Buxiu cared about most were the two men seated closest to the two main seats.

Among them, the one sitting below Yuwen Mingxuan's seat was A Man wearing cold armor and holding a goose-feather saber that subtly emitted a captivating radiance.

If the guess was correct, this person should be one of the Five Tiger Generals under Prince Bingjian's banner, and also the protector of Yuwen Mingxuan on this trip.

And below the Seventh Princess's seat was a handsome Man drinking alone from a cup of clear wine.

His weapon was the long sword placed on the table; at the black scabbard and emerald hilt, one could faintly see the dark green blade, like a venomous Snake hidden in a snake pit!

It highlighted the personality of this person.

This was a member of an aristocratic family; don't let his appearance of being only around twenty years old deceive you, his actual age, as described in Ning Buxiu's original text, was 180 years old!

And he was clearly the bodyguard for the Seventh Princess on this trip.

...

Outside the pavilion, in The Black Night, a hazy curtain of rain fell.

Inside the pavilion, the lights were bright.

More than fifty people were already seated at the two rows of tables.

Among them, the young people sat in the more prominent positions towards the front, while people like those from the County Magistrate sat towards the back, like witnesses.

After all, it was a poetry gathering for young people.

In the area below Yuwen Mingxuan and the Seventh Princess were more than twenty sons and daughters of officials, and some subordinate followers.

At the very center were the singing girls dancing gracefully to the melodious music.

These singing girls were the top tier of the Wanhua Brothel; their dancing figures, swaying waists, revealing attire, and alluring eyes were truly spectacular.

"Everyone, this poetry gathering tonight is a bit abrupt, but seeing so many people come to participate, this Young Master is very happy," Yuwen Mingxuan said cheerfully, then clapped his hands.

The next moment, the singing girls on the floor withdrew.

Then, servants came up one by one, spread a piece of felt cloth on the ground, and immediately after, a series of eye-catching items were brought in by these servants and placed on the felt cloth.

Among these items were gold and silver treasures, jade and rare curiosities, and even Martial Arts manuals, as well as those... demon remnants and accessories that were useless in the eyes of ordinary people!

"To thank everyone for attending the banquet, tonight, as long as you compose a poem, even a mediocre one, you can receive a reward of one gold ingot!"

"If it is an excellent poem, everyone is free to choose among these treasures! These are good things that this Young Master has personally taken out."

Yuwen Mingxuan said, emphasized one last time, and looked at the Seventh Princess next to him.

Facing the words of the Man beside her, the Seventh Princess said unwilling to show weakness, "This Princess is not like Young Master Yuwen who can gather so many items of unknown origin, however, if there is a poem that this Princess finds excellent, this Princess will separately reward an internal Martial Arts manual for nourishing the body!"

Martial Arts, this thing, was truly rare and precious in this era!

Even if some people knew of the existence of demons and understood that Martial Arts Grandmasters were vulnerable before them, it could not shake the preciousness of Martial Arts manuals.

At least, when facing demons, people with Martial Arts could die later than ordinary people, and even have a chance to escape!

Furthermore, what the Seventh Princess mentioned was an internal Martial Arts manual for nourishing the body!

This kind of Martial Arts, successfully Cultivated, was enough to ensure a lifetime free from illness, and could even extend one's lifespan by five to ten years!

People from Five Directions City and the surrounding small cities had never had a chance to interact.

Now hearing the words of the Seventh Princess, everyone's breathing became rapid with excitement!

The older officials like those from the County Magistrate sitting at the back all shook their heads regretfully.

It was a pity they had no literary talent, otherwise, they would really want to compete for this internal Martial Arts manual.

In the central area of the pavilion, there were also Martial Arts manuals on the ground, but those two or three were all external Martial Arts.

Their attraction to officials like those from the County Magistrate was extremely limited.

External Martial Arts, this thing, needed to be Cultivated starting from the age of six or seven; after a certain age, it was extremely difficult to achieve great success in Cultivation.

Furthermore, external Martial Arts would leave many hidden injuries; for older people, who didn't have enough time to live as it was, would they still Cultivate external Martial Arts to shorten their lifespan?

The combination of many reasons also led to the attraction of external Martial Arts being only one level higher than things like gold, silver, and jewels.

"The Seventh Princess is quite generous." Yuwen Mingxuan slightly raised his eyebrows and glanced at that internal Martial Arts manual.

This thing had a great attraction for ordinary people, but for him, it wasn't something he valued much.

Ultimately, it was something for Mortals, without any meaning.

"Then, please ask the Seventh Princess to give the topic.

I think everyone present must be eager to showcase their literary talent, right?" Yuwen Mingxuan said, his gaze sweeping towards the dozen or so already famous poets he had recruited nearby.

In fact, this poetry gathering was not just a poetry gathering on the surface.

On a deeper level, it was related to the bet between him and the Seventh Princess.

The Seventh Princess's expression was calm, her gaze seemingly lost as she looked out the window: "It is currently autumn, and it has rained for so many days consecutively, making people clearly feel the changing of seasons and time.

So, let's take autumn as the theme, and please compose poems."

"Autumn? That's quite fitting," Yuwen Mingxuan said, glancing at Zhou Wuji in the seat below the Seventh Princess.

As the other party drank tea, a subtle, confident curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Then how about we first let the young talents from various places display their talents?" Yuwen Mingxuan said, his gaze also looking towards the seats of Ning Buxiu and others.

These young people were not affiliated with either Yuwen Mingxuan or the Seventh Princess.

In Yuwen Mingxuan's eyes, they were just part of the atmosphere group, slightly better than those from the County Magistrate and others; they could compose a poem, then take some rewards and leave.