Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

When people saw the faces of the young men escorting the courtesans to the exam, the doubts that had just arisen in their hearts vanished instantly.

It was him...

Only he could assemble such a special lineup to escort students to the exam.

Chen Chang'an, a talented scholar from Daning, was skilled in couplets and poetry.

His poems about beautiful women and lyrics about brothels are especially renowned, unparalleled in history, earning him the nickname "The Brothel Poet Immortal".

A month ago, the top brothels in Beijing jointly held a competition to select the top ten courtesans in the capital.

These ten beauties are the ten women behind Chen Chang'an.

Without exception, they all had poems tailor-made by Chen Chang'an. In other words, whoever Chen Chang'an wrote a poem for could become one of the top ten courtesans in the capital.

Although there was some chance involved, for example, the ones who could make the brothels spend thousands of taels of silver and have Chen Chang'an write poems tailored for them were the most beautiful of the best.

Even without these poems, probably half of them would be among the top ten beauties.

However, Chen Chang'an's poems further solidified their position, making it difficult for women without representative poems to compete with them.

Regardless of the reason, with the conclusion of the courtesan competition, Chen Chang'an's reputation as the "Poet Immortal of the Brothels" reached its peak.

Those brothels that missed out on Chen Chang'an's poems because they couldn't bear to part with their money were filled with regret, but they could only accept reality.

It is said that the ten most famous brothels all gave Chen Chang'an exclusive jade tokens.

With those jade tokens, one could eat and drink in brothels, listen to music and watch dances, or even hire girls to sleep with without spending any money...

This is what so many men dream of.

For men all over the world, this is even more difficult than passing the imperial examination, or even becoming the top scholar and entering the Hanlin Academy...

After all, Da Ning produces a top scholar every three years.

If we look at the countries across the mainland, the number of top scholars would be even greater.

But he is the first man in history to be able to visit brothels for free based on just a few poems.

Today, more than 90% of those standing in front of the examination hall are men, with young men making up the majority.

They stared at the ten stunning courtesans beside Chen Chang'an, their throats bobbing up and down. Some even reached under their robes to adjust their positions...

At this moment, Chen Chang'an was the object of envy for all the students.

Zhang Huai'an glanced in Chen Chang'an's direction, then looked at the plaque in front of him that read "Passing the Imperial Examination with flying colors"...

He suddenly felt that everything was meaningless.

I originally thought he would be the most eye-catching person at today's exam send-off ceremony, stealing everyone's attention...

But now, even his entourage behind him were staring intently in the direction of that guy.

Damn it, someone actually puts on an act even more pretentious than him...

Qian Baiwan stared blankly in Chen Chang'an's direction for a long time, then suddenly slapped his thigh in frustration, saying, "How could I not have thought of that!"

At this moment, he felt only regret.

Why didn't he think of having the top ten courtesans escort him to the exam? He could have just given each of them ten thousand taels of silver...

……

Chen Chang'an always thought he had a thick skin.

Having spent his past life navigating the business world and engaging in massage and groping in bars, he had long since developed a thick skin, believing he could handle any situation with ease.

But at this moment, being stared at by so many people with envious, jealous, and hateful eyes, even he, with his thick skin, was starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

He turned around, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the courtesans behind him, and said with a smile, "Ladies, thank you for today. It's cold, so please go back and don't catch a cold..."

Gu Qingcheng tightened her fox fur cloak and said with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, young master. I'm not cold. We should see this through to the end. I'll wait until you enter the examination hall before I go back."

After Gu Qingcheng finished speaking, the courtesans also spoke up.

"We're not cold either!"

"Yes, yes, we'll wait until the young master enters the examination hall before we go back."

"Young master, are you cold? Here, take my cloak..."

……

The courtesans were eager to spend more time with this talented young man. Previous events had already proven that whoever could win Young Master Chen's favor would stand out among the many courtesans.

If Young Master Chen casually writes a poem for them, their popularity can last much longer.

They came to see the examinee off today without any prior planning.

In such a competitive brothel, to climb to the position of the most beautiful courtesan, a pretty face alone is not enough.

Each of them, who could become the top courtesan in their own brothel, was shrewd and cunning...

On the day the provincial examination began, ten people gathered at Chen Chang'an's door without prior consultation.

At this point, of course, no one can leave.

The beautiful voices of the courtesans made the surrounding examinees' hearts itch with desire...

Not to mention, as they stand here, a gentle breeze of fragrance wafts over, making everyone feel quite cheerful, especially early in the morning. Perhaps they can even perform exceptionally well in the exam later.

They secretly prayed that these beauties wouldn't leave...

Qing Shuang stood beside Chen Chang'an, took a book out of her bosom and handed it to him, saying, "While there's still some time, take a look at some more books..."

Chen Chang'an felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He took the book from her and pretended to read it.

Although he had read these books many times, it was still better to hold a book in his hand and read it at this moment than to face the stares of those around him...

As time slowly passed, three deep, muffled tolls suddenly echoed from the examination hall.

Crunch!

Then, the heavy gates of the examination hall slowly opened.

Several figures dressed in bright yellow robes emerged from the examination hall. One of them shouted, "The provincial examination is about to begin! Roll call, identity verification, and all irrelevant personnel, please leave immediately!"

The opening of the examination hall gates meant that candidates would begin to enter.

Chen Chang'an handed the book to Qing Shuang. Princess Zhaoyue looked at him and softly instructed, "Don't be nervous in the examination hall. Do your best. We believe in you..."

Qing Shuang sniffed and said in the same tone, "My cousin and I are waiting at home for your good news!"

Gu Qingcheng stepped forward and said with a smile, "I wish you, young master, success in the imperial examination!"

"May you achieve top honors in the imperial examinations, young master!"

The courtesans also offered their blessings, their voices clear and melodious. Not only the surrounding candidates, but even the inspectors of the examination hall all turned their gazes in their direction.

Chen Chang'an nodded slightly to the women and watched them leave the examination hall.

After all the people who had accompanied the examinees had left, only the examinees remained in front of the examination hall.

The candidates stood in their designated positions according to the prefectural and county regulations.

Special personnel will come forward to verify the candidates' identity information, such as their examination permits and household registration certificates, to prevent impersonation.

After an examiner checked Chen Chang'an's examination certificate and household registration document and verified that everything was correct, he nodded slightly to him, pointed to the gate of the examination hall, and said, "Go in."

Chen Chang'an clasped his hands in a fist salute to him and strode into the examination hall.