Joy of Life: The melon-eating prince sees through Fan Xian's fake death

Chapter 62: Eat Sangwen
The opening of the new Baoyue Tower needs the help of public opinion to wash away its bad reputation that made no one dare to come after it was closed down by the Supervisory Commission.

Fan Xian has arranged for Deng Ziyue to bring the "public relations team" of the Supervisory Council to spread the news in Kyoto.

In a small tavern, people coming and going are all ordinary people.

Generally, only those with better living conditions would be willing to come in to drink some wine and eat some pork head meat. There were also a few scholars in proper Confucian robes standing by to drink wine. Everyone was talking about the interesting things that happened in Kyoto recently:

"Have you heard about the last time His Royal Highness the Crown Prince appeared in Baoyue Tower?"

"I heard that he has a crush on that top-notch girl, Sang Wen, right?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, that girl used to sell her art but not her body. When the prince came, hey, look what happened? She gave it to him on her own initiative!"

"Didn't someone say that the prince was assassinated there, and that's why Baoyue Tower was closed down?"

"Eh? I've heard that too. Which one of these statements is true?"

"I know!" A man dressed as a scholar stood up in the tavern, but his hands were too rough to hold a pen.

He pretended to be of a very high status and said leisurely: "You all heard it from hearsay. My brother is an official in the court. What he said about the prince being assassinated is just a lie."

"In fact, it was the prince who was addicted to women and was afraid of being punished by the emperor, so he made up this cover. Didn't you see the parade in the street that day? The so-called assassin was taken to prison and then taken out. What does this mean?"

Others were curious: "What does it mean?"

"This shows that the assassination attempt was all a cover-up. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is addicted to women and is afraid of being punished by the Emperor, so he made up this hoax. However, it can only fool ordinary people like us. In the eyes of the bigwigs, he is just a joke!"

The people were shocked and whispered to each other. Countless eyes were focused on the scholar, making him look like some important figure. A man wearing a bamboo hat and black clothes came forward and said, "Brother, are you serious about what you said?"

The scholar turned around cautiously, but couldn't change his words in front of so many people:
"Of course I take it seriously."

"Then take it away!"

The man in black took off his hat and waved his hand, and the people from the Overwatch Council who were lying in ambush outside the house swarmed in.

This person was Deng Ziyue. He had long been eyeing this retainer who was suspected to be under the command of the Second Prince, and had been spreading news that was unfavorable to the Crown Prince throughout the city.

Now we have caught the perpetrator red-handed, we can close the net.

For a moment, there were flashes of swords and sabers, and the rumormonger was taken away by the black-clad officials of the Overwatch Council. Deng Ziyue apologized to everyone present: "I'm sorry to bother you all. There are many untrue rumors about Baoyue Tower recently. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already hosted a banquet at Baoyue Tower to entertain Kyoto literati."

"Everyone can go into the building and take a look. The new Baoyue Tower not only has Miss Sang Wen playing the piano and composing music, and reciting poems for you, but also gold as a gift. As long as you write a poem for Baoyue Tower and get the approval of Little Poet Fan, you can hang it in the building and take away a thousand taels of gold!"

The Supervisory Yuan, which sealed off the Baoyue Tower, came forward to officially announce that the Baoyue Tower has resumed operations and is open to the public with a brand new look. They welcome scholars and people of letters to visit the tower, and there is even an activity where one can take away a thousand taels of gold by reciting a poem.

Everyone was eager to try it out, and they ran away without even drinking:
"Baoyue Tower is now open to the public without any quota, so who would still come to the tavern?"

"The world's most talented poet, Xiao Fan Shixian, has eight buckets of gold. Mr. Zhuang and I share one bucket. The thousand taels of gold must be mine!" "Oh, you are vulgar. Gold and silver are external things, just dirt. I just want to see Miss Sang Wen's beautiful face."

"If you can't write poetry, just say so. Bah! How shameless!"

"You call that just wanting to see her face? You are just coveting her body, you are a slut!"

······
Within ten days.

The new Baoyue Tower became an instant hit in Kyoto, and was extremely popular at the time. There were so many customers coming and going that the threshold was almost broken down. In the past, the Baoyue Tower was only a place for the upper class to indulge in debauchery, for high-ranking officials, wealthy businessmen, and talented men to enjoy themselves.

But now, Baoyue Tower has changed its business model and truly sells art instead of itself, attracting a large number of scholars or minor officials who are interested in poetry and songs to come and compose lyrics and music.

In the past, you couldn’t even touch the courtesans for just a few hundred taels of silver.

Now he appeared in front of everyone, playing the piano, music and dance.

Although I still can't even touch it with my hands, it is still a great enjoyment.

This is Fan Xian's understanding of the model of creating stars and letting female stars perform in secret.

Anyone who has a basic knowledge of poetry can pay a courtesan to play a song for him.

Most of them sang poems praising the immortal poet Fan, while a few brought out poems they had written themselves. If you sang well, the whole audience would applaud you. As long as you got the approval of the courtesan, the lady might even come down personally and have a drink with you.

This is the KTV song-ordering mode, which is more immersive in Baoyue Tower. Not only is there live accompaniment, but there are also beauties dancing with customers. If you sing well, you can get rewards and have the princess come out to accompany you for drinks in an interactive mode.

Over time, a trend was formed among scholars and writers. Those who sought vanity would buy poems and recite them in front of others in Baoyue Tower. Winning the favor of an oiran was considered the highlight of their life. Those who sought fame would take the opportunity to show off their painstaking works and try to become famous in Kyoto through Baoyue Tower.

Miss Sang Wen presided over the affairs of Baoyue Tower every day. Seeing that there were more than ten times more customers than before, and that the sisters no longer had to work so hard to serve men, she couldn't help but be moved to tears:

"Your Highness, thank you for everything you have done for us. You have allowed us to live with dignity. We are no longer prostitutes that people can laugh at, but 'stars' admired by scholars and the people."

The word "star" was invented by Lord Xiao Fan to give these courtesans a proper name.

Li Chengqian helped Miss Sang Wen up. He came to inspect the operation of Baoyue Tower today, and also to check the attitudes of the customers who came and went to Baoyue Tower towards this place:

At first, some people would be dissatisfied with the abolition of prostitution, but later on, scholars and men of letters took pride in writing and vied with each other to compose poems and sing lyrics in order to gain the vanity of interacting with the courtesans and getting applause from the audience. They no longer bothered to mention matters between men and women, which were not elegant at all!
The few conservatives who clamored to return to the old system were mocked by other elegant people: "If you want to visit prostitutes, go to the brothels. Baoyue Tower is an elegant place for us literati to write and paint. You are not worthy of coming here!"

The new game has only been out for ten days, and the contempt chain has already appeared.
Over time, Baoyue Tower was operated in a new form, and gained a reputation among the people as an elegant place. Li Chengqian's crisis of popular support was also resolved. In addition, scholars praised the Crown Prince for his talent and creativity, saying that he could come up with such an elegant form. How could he be so talented?
Li Chengqian felt the soft jade in his arms and told Sang Wen: "This is just the beginning. In the future, Baoyue Tower will be opened all over Kyoto, all over Qing Kingdom, and even to Dongyi City in Beiqi. Are you ready to lead this business for me?"

Sang Wen's beautiful eyes flickered, and she said affectionately: "I am willing to give everything I have for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian stood up silently, hugged Sang Wen and sighed.

Looks like I have to stay overnight in Baoyue Tower
(End of this chapter)