Chapter 47: Please Get Lost, You Brat

“You two brothers keep an eye on him?”

Tang Zishu looked at Zhu Caisheng after Wen Buzhi asked, and the two slowly nodded.

One of them stroked his beard and said, “Barely passable.”

The other smacked his lips and said, “Only just acceptable.”

Tang Zishu nodded and said, “Then reluctantly recruit him into the society. Sigh, I hope he works hard and does not let down the reputation of our Yanggu County Four Talents.”

“Brother Tang is right. Why don’t you go notify him, Brother Tang, and have him come quickly to pay us a visit.”

Zhu Caisheng and Wen Buzhi smiled and said that, in their minds thinking that when Li Chaosheng came to pay his respects, they would take the chance to give him a poem and show off in front of these people, letting him know the renown of the Yanggu County Four Talents.

“Thank you, thank you.”

Li Chaosheng cupped his hands and saw off wave after wave of fellow scholars coming to flatter him, sat back in his chair, and at that moment Doukou’s charming eyes scanned Li Chaosheng with undisguised admiration.

“I did not expect Brother Li to truly have poetic talent. What a line, ‘a little lotus just reveals its tip as a dragonfly already perches on it,’ it makes this woman feel intoxicated,” Doukou said, covering her chest.

Li Chaosheng smiled without speaking, and the old temple keeper also looked at Li Chaosheng somewhat surprised, “I say Brother Li, hidden talent indeed, I didn’t expect you to write poetry, hahahaha…”

Li Chaosheng waved his hand and said, “I put it together casually, it’s nothing. Brother Zhu, don’t tease me.”

“Young master has fine poetic talent.”

Li Chaosheng had just offered a polite line when Tang Zishu came over, cupped his hands to Li Chaosheng and said, “I am Tang Wubiao, courtesy name Zishu, greetings to you, young master.”

Li Chaosheng was stunned for a moment, looked at Tang Zishu without knowing what he wanted, and casually returned the salute, “Li Chaosheng.”

Tang Zishu was stunned and frowned slightly. By etiquette, when two scholars meet one should give their full name plus courtesy name and the other should do the same as a formal introduction. Who only gives the name and not the courtesy name? Didn’t this man know the rules?

But Tang Zishu had come to recruit and wanted to leave a good impression, so he asked, “Courtesy name…?”

Tang Zishu drew out the syllable as if reminding Li Chaosheng, and also as if inquiring.

Li Chaosheng normally did not meet many scholars and did not understand scholars’ etiquette. Seeing Tang Zishu like that, he frowned and said, “Biaozi… ?”

Was this person signaling him with some secret code? What came after the word Biaozi? The phrase, a whore is heartless, an actor is not sincere??

Li Chaosheng said in an uncertain tone, “Biaozi (a whore)…Wuqing (heartless)?“

Tang Zishu hurriedly cupped his hands and said, “Ah, so you are Brother Wuqing.”

“Pfft.”

At Tang Zishu’s words, the old temple keeper beside him spit out his drink in laughter. This was clearly a misunderstanding, because the two men were on completely different wavelengths. Li Chaosheng also had a baffled look: how did I become Brother Wuqing?

Li Chaosheng did not know what to say, but Tang Zishu continued, “Just now, after hearing Brother Wuqing’s poetry, I thought it quite good. I have come on behalf of Zhu Caisheng and Wen Buzhi to invite Brother Wuqing to join our Yanggu County Poetry Society.”

“Pfft, cough cough…”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Bo also could not help but spit his drink out. The Yanggu County Poetry Society was a very famous presence in Yanggu County. The society wasn’t large, only four people in total, known as the Yanggu County Four Talents. Now it should only have three left, right?

“Ah, a poetry society?”

“Yes yes, the Yanggu County Poetry Society,” Tang Zishu said earnestly.

Li Chaosheng didn’t know the depth of the Yanggu County Poetry Society, but judging by the poetic talent of these three fellows, he already knew the society was dogshit. Even if he joined it, he wouldn’t learn a damn thing!

“Ah, no, no. I do not like writing poetry. Please find someone more capable.”

“Hey, Brother Wuqing, if you don’t like writing poetry it can be cultivated. Join our poetry society and we can nurture your talent.”

Tang Zishu continued to urge.

“No, still no. I have proper business to attend to, so I won’t trouble you all.”

“Not a trouble, not a trouble. The few of us are more than willing to help new members improve their poetic accomplishments. You need not be afraid. With your talent, given time, you will surely catch up to us.”

Tang Zishu put on a look that essentially said, don’t be shy, comrade.

Li Chaosheng was stunned. What the hell do you mean ‘given time you’ll catch up to us’? Do you think Yang Wanli’s poetry is inferior to your garbled rubbish?

Facing such specimens, Li Chaosheng could only make two judgments. First, these three had thick skins and spoke nonsense without shame. Second, their aesthetics were flawed and their perceptions were skewed. They thought shit smelled sweet and flowers stank.

Moreover, this fellow’s character was stubborn, like a waterproof plaster: if you spoke kindly to him he’d get cocky. So faced with such trash, Li Chaosheng had only two words to send him off, “Get lost!”

“Ah~”

Tang Zishu was stunned. Was that directed at him?

“Are you deaf? My brother told you to get the hell out. Don’t bother us as we drink. Write poems, ha, my ass. From afar the fake hill looks dark? The junk you wrote, you call that poetry? Pah! Get the hell out, and if you don’t I’ll toss you on the fake hill!”

The old temple keeper had long taken a dislike to Tang Zishu. Seeing Li Chaosheng turn hostile, he immediately bellowed.

Furious, Tang Zishu trembled all over and pointed at the old temple keeper, cursing, “Vulgar, vulgar~”

“Say one more word and see what happens, you motherfucker!”

The old temple keeper snapped to his feet with a slap, a ferocious light flashing across his face. Don’t talk about a mere Tang Zishu. Even if His Excellency the Magistrate were here, the old temple keeper could still hurl insults. The Nightwardens’ Deputy Eighth-Rank Assessor, in terms of official rank, whether magistrate or prefect, either would have to show him some face!

“Hey hey, calm down, Brother Tang, calm down. Let’s not lower ourselves to the level of these rabble. When the years pass we will be recorded in history and they will be anonymous. Getting angry with them is only giving them face.”

“Yes yes, Brother Zhu is right. Let’s continue drinking. What do a few rabble know about poetry?”

Tang Zishu was pulled away forcibly by the other two great talents. By their years of experience being beaten up, if they hadn’t pulled him back he’d have been hit. So Tang Zishu backed down with a humph, turned and left, returning with the two great talents to his table to drink and brood.

“Truly like a dog biting Zhang Guolao, someone who cannot recognize goodwill. You have lost an opportunity to improve!” Tang Zishu said angrily.

“Hey Brother Tang you are wrong, it’s the dog biting Iron Crutch Li, not Zhang Guolao as I remember.”

“No no, Brother Zhu is wrong, it’s the dog biting He Xiangu.”

“No no, it’s definitely the dog biting Zhang Guolao.”

“It’s Iron Crutch Li.”

“He Xiangu!!”

(TL note: they’re all wrong. The phrase is ‘the dog biting Lv Dongbin’, which is a phrase that basically means biting the hand that feeds you, a picture of an ungrateful person.)

…

The three argued endlessly and the people around, upon hearing it, praised their scholarly spirit, saying, look at how meticulous they are, how serious…

Tap tap tap~

Just as it was rowdy downstairs, suddenly hurried footsteps sounded from the second floor. The head maid ran quickly to the stairhead and called, “The young master who just composed the poem, Miss requests your presence!”