TTLJDFL Chapter 47

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After all, it was just a small town, and Piaoxiang Courtyard wasn’t a particularly grand brothel.

Although the old matron was strict, there was a certain level of care in her words as she spoke to Lingmei.

"Lingmei, we have watched you grow up. We understand your feelings and mean you no harm.

After your miscarriage, you claimed to be unwell and didn’t entertain clients for over a month. Even the owner of the courtyard allowed it."

The old matron had the maids leave and closed the door.

She stepped into the messy room without concern and sat down on the cushioned couch.

"Lingmei, tell me, aren’t men’s words the least reliable in this world? Haven’t you heard enough sweet lies growing up?"

Lingmei stood there, her legs trembling. She had to support herself on the dressing table just to remain standing.

Yet all she could say, in the most stubborn yet powerless voice, was: "I don’t believe it!"

The old matron had expected this response. When the previous top courtesan wanted to marry, they had tried to persuade her too.

But in the end, she was the top courtesan, and she had long saved enough money to buy her freedom. She was even wealthy enough to live comfortably in the countryside.

When a courtesan of Piaoxiang Courtyard had enough money to redeem herself and a man waiting for her outside, even the owner of the brothel had no grounds to stop her.

Unable to dissuade or prevent her, they could only watch helplessly as she jumped into the fire.

As expected, things played out just like in those old romance novels—the man she married turned out to be untrustworthy. After the wedding, he took control of all the money she had earned, claiming he needed it for business. Within just a few months, he squandered it all.

In the end, it was the courtesan who had to sew and mend clothes to support him.

The old matron asked, "Since you don't believe that Li Jin lied to you, then tell me, Ling Mei, do you remember when exactly Li Jin said he would marry you?"

Lingmei tried hard to recall, but she couldn't remember when it happened.

Because the one she liked was the present Doctor Li, not the past Li Jin, who was too lazy even to study properly.

However, she and Doctor Li had only met once, and throughout the encounter, Doctor Li never uttered the words, "I will marry you."

Even the letter she had her maid send over yesterday was not accepted by him.

So, all signs pointed to the fact that everything had been nothing more than her daydream!

The old matron saw her expression and knew that she had already realized the truth. But women were different from men—when a woman fell for someone, even the slightest bit of warmth could make her throw herself into it completely.

So, the old matron's job was to shatter all of Lingmei's unrealistic fantasies.

She spoke in the coldest tone, stating the facts.

"Li Jin has come to Piaoxiang Courtyard fifty-seven times in the past year and a half. After you were chosen as the top courtesan, he came forty-nine times, but because he was poor and had no money, he couldn't even afford to book the cheapest girl.

So Li Jin could only drink a pot of wine in the main hall and leave."

"You may not know, but he saved up his copper coins for seven or eight days just to afford that one pot of wine. And those copper coins were earned by his husband doing laundry and needlework for others."

Lingmei closed her eyes. She was devastated to realize that she could no longer recall what Li Jin used to look like.

Listening to the old matron description now, it felt like she was talking about a stranger.

Even the phrase "I will marry you" seemed like something she had imagined herself.

The old matron continued, "Lastly, there's something you might not be able to accept, but I will still tell you—Li Jin never said he would divorce his husband and marry you."

Lingmei shook her head continuously, realizing that she was so heartbroken that she couldn't even cry.

The old matron said, "The reason this rumor spread was that once, Li Jin's classmates dragged him out for a drink. They got him drunk and joked in the main hall that he would divorce his husband and marry you.

But Li Jin himself never said those words."

That was why Lingmei couldn't recall Li Jin ever saying it—because he never had.

Upon hearing this, Lingmei could no longer hold herself up and collapsed onto the ground, trembling.

The old matron, who had watched her grow up, felt pity and walked over to her.

Lingmei clung to the old matron's leg, closed her eyes, and finally said, "Mammy, I won't dream about getting married anymore."

The old matron sighed and said, "Don't be so disheartened. A good man is hard to find, but they do exist. You're still young, and you have a long life ahead. If someone truly wants to redeem you, we mamas in the courtyard will look out for you—we won't let you end up like Qing Yue."

Lingmei paused for a moment before remembering that "Qing Yue" was the name of the previous top courtesan.

The old matron continued, "Before, when you were planning to save up to redeem yourself and marry Li Jin, we mamas knew about it, but we didn't stop you.

Because we secretly inquired with people from his village—though Li Jin's family was poor, he had turned over a new leaf.

Moreover, he had gained some fame in town. We thought that if you truly managed to marry him, even as a concubine, it wouldn't be too bad."

But that was only if Li Jin was willing to accept her.

"Doctor Li is a good man, but he is not the right one for you.

Lingmei, let it go."

=

Whether Lingmei let go or not was uncertain, but when Chen Xiran heard that Li Jin had solved all the lantern riddles correctly, his eyes almost popped out as he stared at him.

"No, wait—yesterday when we were matching couplets, we were still comrades in struggle.

How did you suddenly abandon your brother overnight?"

Li Jin ignored him but shuddered at the last phrase, "abandon your brother."

At that moment, Mr. Song happened to pass by the study, heard the conversation, and came in to lecture Chen Xiran.

Chen Xiran obediently nodded like a pecking chick, and once Mr. Song left, he turned to look at Li Jin, only to find that he had already started writing.

Hurrying, Chen Xiran laid out his paper and began copying the day's content as well.

As it turned out, having a highly disciplined and studious classmate unknowingly pushed him to work harder too.

Inspired by the previous day's lantern riddles, Li Jin focused on referencing classical texts when creating couplets today rather than trying to be unconventional.

Mr. Song listened for a while but said nothing.

All in all, though Li Jin's style was a bit rigid, it was much better than yesterday when he couldn't come up with anything at all.

As for Chen Xiran, when it was his turn to compose a couplet, he was still the same as the day before—scratching his head, stalling for time, hoping Mr. Song would leave soon so he could slack off with Li Jin.

But Mr. Song saw through his scheme and smacked his palm with a ruler.

He even reprimanded Li Jin, saying, "Your understanding of tonal patterns and rhymes is decent, but your work is too rigid and lacks spirit."

Li Jin knew this was his weakness. He wanted to improve, but a medical student's rigid thinking wasn't so easy to change.

Mr. Song said, "I received invitations to poetry gatherings from two other scholars recently. Initially, I didn’t plan on letting you two attend so soon, but now I’ve changed my mind.

Poetry and couplets—these things are unfamiliar to both of you. One comes from a martial family, the other from a farming household.

If I let you two train each other, it’s simply a waste of time."

Chen Xiran lowered his head in shame. This time, he was the one who had dragged Li Jin down with him.

In truth, Li Jin had already improved a lot—he wouldn’t have been reprimanded if not for Chen Xiran slacking off the previous day.

Even Mr. Song felt he had been a bit too harsh, so he stiffly praised Li Jin twice before continuing with his guidance.

"When you attend poetry gatherings, pour your own wine, stay alert, and don’t fall into anyone’s traps."

Last time, someone had tried to frame Mr. Song’s father. Though they never found out who was behind it, it was most likely one of the two other scholars.

Mr. Song said, “I think Scholar Huang is quite trustworthy. He happens to have three students, so the five of you can form a ‘mutual guarantee’ group to take the county exam in January next year.”

To prevent cheating and proxy test-taking, every candidate for the Tongsheng Examination needed a recommendation from a scholar and four villagers who could vouch for their identity and character.

Additionally, five candidates had to mutually guarantee each other’s honesty. If one person was caught cheating, all five would be held accountable.

This was already a severe punishment, so it was crucial to find reliable people to form the guarantee group—otherwise, one might get implicated for no reason.

Li Jin and Chen Xiran responded, “Yes.”

Mr. Song gestured for Dalang to bring over some invitation letters—there were about seven or eight of them.

“Not only are there invitations from fellow scholars, but tea houses also invite students to compose poetry during festivals.

“For now, you two should avoid going to the tea house—otherwise, you’ll embarrass yourselves in front of the whole town.”

After saying this, he went to the next room, leaving the two to choose an invitation.

Li Jin said, “When we go out with Mr. Song’s invitation, we represent as his students. We must not bring shame to him.”

Chen Xiran frowned, feeling reluctant to go.

His level was so bad that he would definitely embarrass himself!

Li Jin chose Scholar Huang’s invitation and said, “Mr. Song has some ties with Scholar Huang. Since this is our first time attending a poetry gathering, it’s best to choose his event.”

Since Mr. Song had mentioned that they might form a mutual guarantee group with Scholar Huang’s students, it was necessary to show some respect to him.

Chen Xiran, feeling like a dried salted fish, just waited for Li Jin to take the lead—he didn’t dare to object at all.

Li Jin said, “It’s scheduled for September 3rd, and I won’t have to be at the clinic that day, so I can free up my time.”

Chen Xiran said, “I’m fine with that.”

Thus, Li Jin finalized the invitation and continued practicing couplets with Chen Xiran.

Chen Xiran wasn’t good at coming up with the first line, but he was quick at responding with the second. Moreover, he had a strong foundation in memorization—whenever Li Jin used a historical reference for the first line, he could find a similar or corresponding reference for the second. His responses were well-structured and cleverly worded, making them quite decent.

Seeing that Chen Xiran had a solid foundation, Li Jin shared his own techniques for crafting the first line.

Chen Xiran’s eyes lit up, nodding frequently as he listened.

Outside the window, Mr. Song stroked his beard and walked away with great satisfaction.

He had his own tricks for composing poetry, but now wasn’t the time to teach them.

If he revealed them too soon, it would trap his students’ thinking in a rigid framework, making further improvement difficult.

After all, Mr. Song knew his own limitations—his poetry skills weren’t that high, and his two students lacked natural talent in this area. If he imposed too many restrictions, they would be even worse off.

So, when it came to poetic techniques, it was better for them to discover things on their own.

However, if Chen Xiran was still clueless as the county exam approached, Mr. Song would have no choice but to reluctantly share his tricks.

Mr. Song thought, Fortunately, there’s still Li Jin. Though his techniques are weak, at least he understands that ‘drawing from classical references’ is the first step in poetry composition.

With both students inspiring each other, perhaps they could make great progress before the county exam.

After class, Chen Xiran, as a gesture of admiration, insisted on going to the clinic to freeload a meal.

Fortunately, Zhou Gui had cooked extra food—otherwise, this young master wouldn’t even have gotten a bowl of rice.

Even so, what was originally a meal for two ended up being split among three, leaving it slightly insufficient.

Chen Xiran went out and bought ten meat buns. The bun shop’s owner was chatting about how Doctor Li had guessed all the lantern riddles correctly the night before.

“When Doctor Li first came to buy buns, I could already tell he was remarkable. See? A true hero shines from a young age.”

Chen Xiran chuckled and said, “Li Jin is my classmate, shopkeeper. I’ll take ten meat buns.”

The shopkeeper’s child quickly packed the buns. As Chen Xiran paid, the shopkeeper quietly asked, “Young man, does Doctor Li have any unmarried brothers?”

Chen Xiran replied, “He really doesn’t. It’s hard to raise kids in a farming family.”

The shopkeeper sighed, “What a pity that Doctor Li is already married. I wouldn’t want my child to be a concubine. Thanks anyway, young man.”

Chen Xiran carried the ten buns back, feeling like his heart had suffered a great blow.

He had clearly said he was Li Jin’s classmate, so why didn’t the shopkeeper ask about his marital status?

Author’s note:

Shopkeeper: You eat too much—buying ten buns at once? Sorry, not interested.

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