Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The Tianhuan Tower literary gathering had been announced over a month ago, and it was said that Miss Xie had already taken up residence there by then.

Speaking of Xie Lianyi, she was truly an extraordinary woman. Most women in the world regarded those in brothels with shame.

But she was different. She believed that all women shared a common bond, and that women in brothels were destined for sorrow, selling their bodies not by choice.

She took up residence in the brothel to plead the case for women everywhere, hoping to make life slightly better for those whose fates had been cruel.

So she called herself the reigning courtesan, selling her poetry and dance performances, donating the proceeds either to elderly courtesans living in poverty or to orphaned girls in the city's charitable institutions.

She inherited this philosophy from her master, Fairy Liuyi.

Lu Yunqi sat in the carriage, lost in thought. He had heard of Fairy Liuyi in his past lives, but only by name, never having met her or read her poetry.

As a spoiled rich kid, he certainly wouldn't have read poetry collections.

Besides, he spent his days thinking about how to stay alive—what time did he have for poetry and refinement? Who would have thought that in his final life, he'd actually stumble onto this side quest with Fairy Liuyi's story?

He thought for a moment, then said to Murong Jie, "Hey, have you ever read Fairy Liuyi's poetry?"

Murong Jie grunted in acknowledgment. "Every scholar in the land knows of Fairy Liuyi. Even the eldest prince, backed by his massive Civil Official Bloc, has to curry favor with the descendants of Fairy Liuyi. Because if one of her descendants says the word, the entire civil official faction would turn their coats."

Lu Yunqi was stunned. "She's that famous?"

He reminded himself this was ancient times—for a woman to become educated wasn't easy, let alone becoming a literary superstar and a leader among scholars.

Murong Jie said, "You wouldn't understand. Fairy Liuyi's poetry puts to shame even the greatest scholars of our time."

Lu Yunqi picked up a cup of tea from the table and asked, "Oh? How impressive is her poetry? Let's hear it."

Murong Jie said, "When Fairy Liuyi performed the Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Coat dance, a single backward glance and smile brimmed with a hundred charms. Her dance stunned the whole world, and her poetry left hearts aching and turning. The poem was called 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow'..."

At those words, Lu Yunqi sprayed out his tea with a sputter. Coughing and choking, he said, "Y-y-you just said the poem's called what?"

Murong Jie frowned slightly and replied, "'Song of Everlasting Sorrow.' What's wrong?"

Lu Yunqi's face went through a whole range of emotions. He hesitated for a long moment, then asked, "Born lovely, hard to hide—chosen to serve at the emperor's side. A single backward glance, a smile, a hundred charms—the palace beauties' painted faces pale in comparison?"

Murong Jie said with genuine surprise, "I didn't think you could recite Fairy Liuyi's poetry. I misjudged you."

Lu Yunqi wanted to cry. He thought, I can not only recite this one—I can recite all three hundred Tang poems, Song poems, and Yuan dynasty songs. Can you believe it?

No joke, I was a humanities major—a proper humanities major!

When it comes to reciting poetry, who's better than a humanities major?

Hold on, that's not the real issue. The real issue is that there's another time traveler in this timeline!

But thinking about it, it made sense. In this multiverse that's been swiss-cheesed by time travelers, having one or two others was no big deal, right?

Lu Yunqi cleared his throat and asked, "So... where's Fairy Liuyi these days?"

Murong Jie shook his head. "Fairy Liuyi roams the world. The last time she appeared was nine years ago. As for her current whereabouts, only her disciple, Miss Xie, would know."

Lu Yunqi stroked his chin. "So that means the eldest prince's pursuit of Xie Lianyi isn't just about his supposed deep affection, but also about the literary world she represents?"

Murong Jie gave a light scoff. "The fact that you can figure that out took some brainpower."

Lu Yunqi clicked his tongue. "You know, you should really look at my good points more. I've got plenty of qualities you've never noticed."

Murong Jie ignored his preening and continued, "Fairy Liuyi is the sworn sister of the current Prime Minister, the adopted daughter of the great scholar Old Master Jing, and a close friend of the hermit imperial uncle, Murong Deyong. Her influence can't be reduced to just being a talented woman."

Lu Yunqi thought to himself, That's true. With five thousand years of history behind her, she naturally sees the world differently from the rest of you.

He had to be the most useless time traveler ever, right?

Why else would others leave behind names that echo through the ages while he'd died nine times?

Whatever. Different circumstances. If she had to win over Murong Jie, she might fail too—that man was like a rock in a toilet: stubborn and stinking!

Lu Yunqi sighed and asked, "So, you into women like her?"

Murong Jie frowned. "Don't talk nonsense. Fairy Liuyi is an elder. Show some respect."

Lu Yunqi jiggled his leg as he analyzed, "Say, this Fairy Liuyi has some pretty impressive luck, doesn't she? She just happened to save the emperor, received imperial gifts of jade and silk from the late emperor, befriended literary giants at every turn, and her best friend is a hermit prince. For an ordinary person, any one of those blessings would be enough to last a lifetime. With all those blessings, why does she settle for just being known as a talented woman?"

Murong Jie didn't answer. He'd only heard about Fairy Liuyi through hearsay, but her poetry was truly groundbreaking. Someone with such great fortune must have better luck than ordinary people.

She had three poetry collections, spanning many styles—sometimes soft, sometimes sweeping, sometimes sorrowful.

Every single poem was a masterpiece, leaving readers with a visceral punch to the chest.

But Murong Jie had never considered why Fairy Liuyi, a literary saint of her generation, had done so much yet never tried to change the world.

She once said she hoped all women could be themselves and become whoever they wanted to be.

In the beginning, she had indeed tried to implement certain reforms, but in the end, they all came to nothing.

After much thought, Murong Jie could only chalk it up to the limits placed on women in this world.

The carriage stopped in front of Tianhuan Tower, and a three-story elegant pavilion came into view.

Lu Yunqi got out of the carriage with the help of Liu Bao, and Murong Jie climbed out after him.

As soon as they entered Tianhuan Tower, the madam came out to greet them herself, saying enthusiastically, "Well, well, if it isn't Young Lord Lu? Long time no see. Which girl catches your eye today?"

Lu Yunqi said cheerfully, "Long time no see, madam—you're still as radiant as ever!"

The madam beamed at the compliment. "Oh, stop it, I'm old, I'm old. The young lord is just flattering me."

Lu Yunqi whipped out a hundred-tael banknote and said, "Madam, set it up however you like!"

The madam's eyes lit up at the sight of the banknote. She called out, "Quick, get the best private room on the second floor ready for Young Lord Lu! With today's literary gathering, we must make sure Young Lord Lu has a blast!"

Then she asked, "Would the young lord like some girls to sit with you?"

Lu Yunqi glanced at Murong Jie and smiled with a sly grin. "Yes! Come on, bring me some stunners. And for my good brother here—it's his first time at Tianhuan Tower, so find two girls who know what they're doing to take care of him properly!"

The madam responded joyfully, "Rest assured, all our girls at Tianhuan Tower are gorgeous and know their stuff! Come on over, Pihong and Gualü! Come take good care of this handsome young master."

"Coming, madam." Right on cue, a woman in red and a woman in green each took one of Murong Jie's arms and led him toward the private room on the second floor.

For the first time, Lu Yunqi saw that look on Murong Jie's face—like he was facing a pack of wild beasts, with no way to escape, just gritting his teeth and pushing through.

Lu Yunqi was cracking up inside. He thought, This man is quite interesting too—naturally cold-blooded and ruthless, cold and cruel.

Although it was forced, when he killed, there was no sign of hesitation.

Only when faced with such situations did he seem like a novice, though it was understandable—he was nineteen and didn't even have a bedroom maid.

The Seventh Prince, a year younger, already had three children, yet he had lost his virginity to Lu Yunqi.

Lu Yunqi casually draped his arms around two girls and followed them up to the private room on the second floor.

Upon reaching the second floor, he saw three private rooms on the third floor with curtains drawn, and he didn't need to guess who they belonged to.

Turning to glance at Murong Jie, he was being driven mad by the two girls, Pihong (Red) and Gualu (Green). Pihong giggled, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, and asked, "Young master, shall I pour you a cup of wine?"

Gualu pressed her chest against Murong Jie, holding a sweet jujube in her hand: "Sir, let me offer you this sweet date."

Murong Jie's face darkened, and finally, unable to bear it any longer, he shook the girls off him and snapped, "Scram!"

Pihong and Gualu were too frightened to approach and looked to Lu Yunqi for help. Lu Yunqi, looking embarrassed, cleared his throat and said, "You're too rough on the ladies. Here, here's a silver ingot for each of you, now go on, head downstairs!"

With that, he distributed the silver to the girls, who happily retreated.

Lu Yunqi said, "Look at you, is that any way to behave? These young girls are easily embarrassed; you could at least play along a little."

Murong Jie frowned at him and said, "I'm not like you."

Lu Yunqi: "Hey, hey, it's my first time too, okay?"

Murong Jie snorted coldly: "You've been hitting up brothels since you were fourteen. First time? First time being this innocent, you mean? Or first time in a private room and not a bed?"

Lu Yunqi: "...Why don't you lick your lips and see if you poison yourself?"

Murong Jie said nothing more, sitting there silently, waiting for the poetry gathering to start.

Soon, a melody sounded, and over a dozen dancers began to dance in the hall. The lyrics were, surprisingly: "When I left, willows were swaying; now I return, snow falls thick..."

Lu Yunqi: ...Isn't this just "Picking Ferns" from the Book of Songs?

Okay, okay, Fairy Liuyi, you're something else. You've really blocked all the routes for future time travelers. Good thing we're not from the same system, or we'd be competing.

Time travel is a huge glitch, like a top-tier actor from the establishment joining a ragtag troupe.

Lu Yunqi hummed along as he watched Xie Lianyi slowly come down the stairs from the third floor.

She stopped on the platform of the second-floor stairs, and the moment she appeared, the whole crowd went wild, cheering, waving, and tossing tips.

Lu Yunqi thought to himself, this must be the top star of Great Xia!

Just as he was about to praise her, he heard Murong Jie say, "Compared to Fairy Liuyi, she's still a notch below."

Lu Yunqi said, "You should be grateful! How can you compare to a time-traveling woman?"

There's a saying that time-traveling women have universal gravity. As a native, Xie Lianyi having such popularity is already commendable.

Murong Jie turned to look at Lu Yunqi: "Time-traveling woman? What's that?"