Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

"One thousand taels for a poem?"

Qing Shuang stared wide-eyed at Chen Chang'an and said, "You're robbing me!"

One thousand taels was the price of one hundred bottles of fragrant dew. She knew better than anyone how long it would take to make one hundred bottles of fragrant dew. To earn one thousand taels for a casual poem was beyond Qing Shuang's comprehension...

Chen Chang'an shook his head and said, "It's a clear price, one party is willing to pay, and the other is willing to pay. What's wrong with that? If the price is too low, anyone can ask me to write for them. How could I possibly handle all that work...?"

Qing Shuang thought about it and felt that what Chen Chang'an said made sense.

However, she shook her head and said, "Only a fool would agree to a thousand taels for a poem..."

Despite saying that, she still helped Chen Chang'an spread the message.

Soon, the people of the capital learned that the talented scholar Chen Chang'an had announced that any woman in the capital could commission a poem from him for a fee of one thousand taels of silver.

This news quickly sparked widespread discussion.

"A thousand taels for a single poem? Are his poems edged in gold or something?"

"You know what, his poems are truly exquisite; a good poem is priceless..."

"There's no point in talking to you literati. What's the use of good poetry? Can good poetry put food on the table? You spend a thousand taels just to buy a few words? Unless you've lost your mind..."

"Hmph, there's no point in talking to you boorish people. If I could write a poem that would be passed down through the ages, I'd be willing to die right now, let alone earn a thousand taels of silver..."

……

Most people scoffed at the news.

In their view, no matter how good a poem is, it can only sell for a few dozen or a hundred taels of silver at most.

No one would spend a thousand taels just to buy a poem.

Indeed, even for some wealthy and powerful families in the capital, a thousand taels was a small sum, but most people could not accept spending a thousand taels just to buy a poem.

Therefore, even though the young ladies who envied Gu Qingcheng for having two timeless poems to her name hesitated to take action upon hearing this news.

Everyone is watching and waiting.

On the morning of that day, a sedan chair stopped at the entrance of Qingshuangfang.

A plump, heavily made-up middle-aged woman stepped out of the sedan chair and walked into Qing Shuang Fang.

Pearl stepped forward and asked warmly, "Madam, what would you like to order? We have lotions, perfumes, and balms. Would you like me to introduce them to you...?"

The woman shook her head and said, "I don't want any of these. I'm here to buy poems. Is Young Master Chen here? I heard he writes poems for a thousand taels each. Is that true?"

Pearl was taken aback. Was there really someone willing to spend a thousand taels to buy the young master's poem?

After a moment of surprise, she immediately ran to the backyard and exclaimed, "Young master, young master, someone wants to buy your poem!"

Chen Chang'an was practicing his martial arts in the backyard when he heard this. He slowly stopped practicing, exhaled a breath of stale air, lifted the curtain, and walked back to the shop.

The woman smiled when she saw him and said, "Young Master Chen, I am Zhang Mama from the Drunken Flower Pavilion. I would like to ask you to write a poem for the girls in our brothel..."

These days, Gu Qingcheng of Qunyu Tower has won two excellent works in a row, and her popularity is unparalleled.

Some loyal customers of Zuihualou went to Qunyulou after hearing the news.

As a madam of a brothel, Zhang Mama knew all too well how much a good poem could increase a girl's value and how profound its impact on the brothel's business.

Upon hearing the news that Chen Chang'an was selling poems for a thousand taels, she hesitated for a long time, but finally decided to buy one for the top courtesan of their Drunken Flower Pavilion.

She took out a stack of silver notes from her bosom, placed them on the table, and said, "This is one thousand taels. My daughter's name is Caiwei. She is sixteen years old, has a good voice, a good figure, and a pretty face. She just needs a good poem to support her. I would be grateful if Young Master Chen could grant her this request..."

Chen Chang'an glanced at the stack of silver notes. He had gotten used to counting silver notes these past few days, and he could tell the amount of silver notes at a glance.

He put the banknotes into the drawer, picked up a brush, took out a piece of paper, and quickly wrote two lines on it.

Then, he put down his pen, picked up the piece of paper, blew on the ink, and handed it to Zhang's mother.

Mrs. Zhang took the note in a daze, her face full of disbelief.

So fast?

Is this young master Chen trying to fool her?

He earned that thousand taels of silver far too easily. Even the most popular courtesan in the capital probably couldn't earn money as easily as he did.

Zhang's mother herself didn't understand poetry, but out of trust in the talented scholar, she folded the note, put it in her sleeve, and then took her leave.

As soon as Zhang's mother returned to Zuixianglou, she was surrounded by several girls.

A pretty young woman asked, "Mom, have you bought it yet?"

Mrs. Zhang nodded, took the note from her sleeve, handed it to her, and said, "Take a look for yourself."

Caiwei looked down and saw a poem on the paper.

"Linjiangxian - A Gift to Caiwei"

After the dream, the pavilion is locked high; after waking from the wine, the curtains hang low. Last year's spring sorrow returns again; fallen blossoms, a lone figure stands; light rain, swallows fly in pairs.

I remember when we first met at Caiwei, her double-layered robe embroidered with the character for "heart." She spoke of longing on the pipa strings. The bright moon was there then, shining on the returning colorful clouds.

Although she was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she could barely tell that the poem seemed to be well-written, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why it was so good.

She remembered their first meeting, Caiwei, in a double-layered robe embroidered with the character for "heart"... It seemed she had never seen this young master Chen before, nor had she ever seen a robe embroidered with the character for "heart"...

Zhang's mother couldn't see anything good about the poem either. She shook her head and said, "Never mind, just copy this poem a few times and send it to all the major poetry societies. Say that it was written by Young Master Chen Chang'an for Caiwei..."

Caiwei said speechlessly, "Mom, this is a poem, not a lyric..."

Mrs. Zhang waved her hand and said, "Whether it's poetry or lyrics, your fame depends on it..."

……

Zhang's mother naturally wouldn't hide something bought for a thousand taels of silver.

She immediately had more than a dozen copies of the poem made and sent them to various poetry societies in the capital.

Yaoguang Poetry Society.

Lin Wenjing stood by the window, holding a piece of paper in her hand, and softly read aloud: "The bright moon was there then, once shining on the returning colorful clouds..."

As she read, a bitter smile appeared on her face, and she murmured, "What a beautiful line: 'The bright moon was there then, once shining on the returning colorful clouds.' The Moon-Gazing Tower lost to him; I am truly convinced..."

Yang Yuchan, Sun Wanying, and several talented women from the Yaoguang Poetry Society stood behind her, looking at each other in bewilderment.

From today onwards, the name Caiwei will likely be known to everyone.

Meanwhile, in a secluded mansion in the capital, two old men were playing chess, with a piece of paper placed on the chessboard in front of them.

Looking at the poem, Li Yannian exclaimed, "Truly worthy of Chen Chang'an! 'Falling blossoms, a lone figure; light rain, swallows in pairs…' This line, placed in any poem, would command the scene…"

The old man opposite him shook his head and said, "He is indeed very talented, but he's far too greedy. A thousand taels for a single poem? It's an insult to scholarship, an insult to scholarship indeed!"

Li Yannian smiled and said, "All truly talented people have something unique about them; perhaps that's why we can't write this kind of poetry..."