This wasn't some residential house, it was clearly a den of pleasure~
"Brother Fang, come sit over here."
Fang Yu glanced at Li Yun, who had poked his head out, hesitated for a moment, but still walked over.
Since he was already here, it wouldn't be good to turn around and leave immediately. Fortunately, Li Yun wasn't drunk, he was still clear-headed. Although there were two women and one young man keeping him company, there weren't any overly inappropriate behaviors.
"Brother Li, this is…"
Li Yun poured a cup of wine for Fang Yu himself and said with a laugh: "Well, it's almost the New Year, and the brothels and entertainment quarters have lots of customers causing frequent trouble. The government offices are investigating and cracking down strictly, so we're feasting and drinking in this side residence."
Fang Yu gave an embarrassed laugh: "Brother Li has such refined taste." The government authorities are cracking down on prostitution and gambling, so you all hide here to drink and consort with prostitutes.
"I didn't want to come either, but my good friends invited me repeatedly. It's not good to refuse every time and hurt feelings."
Li Yun raised his wine cup: "Come, I propose a toast to Brother Fang."
Fang Yu saw the wine cup was exquisitely small and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to reach for it, the young man beside him actually picked up the cup first, pulled back his sleeve, and was about to bring it to his lips. He hurriedly took it over himself: "No need to trouble yourself, I can manage."
Seeing this, Li Yun laughed out loud: "Brother Fang, you really don't appreciate romance. This is the top courtesan Young Master Yu (Jade) from Ningyue Tower. He rarely favors anyone like this, and Brother Fang hurts his feelings so."
This top courtesan was quite good-looking, but his heavy makeup blurred gender distinctions at a glance. His every glance and smile radiated practiced charm, marking him as a seasoned figure in the pleasure quarters. Fang Yu felt no attraction to such artificial elegance.
"This humble scholar lacks such fortune.Please don't laugh, Brother Li." He pretended to be timid: "Mainly, the management at home is strict."
Hearing this, Li Yun chuckled again: "Brother Fang is truly an honest man. There are probably few men in the world who can openly and honestly say such words."
He found Fang Yu more and more interesting and kindly added: "Although Yuncheng can be considered prosperous, compared to the capital, it's just a tiny place. The social customs in the capital are open, drinking like this with beauties as company is commonplace. If Brother Fang one day achieves success in the imperial examinations, you'll have to get used to such social interactions early. Otherwise, when you go to the capital, it will be difficult to make friends among officials. You should go back early and get your wife to be more accommodating."
"Thank you for the advice, Brother Li." Fang Yu refilled his cup: "I propose a toast to Brother Li."
Li Yun smiled, also drank a cup, and the two conversed for a while. Seeing that Fang Yu truly had not the slightest interest in the courtesans, Li Yun waved for the several courtesans to withdraw.
Fang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. The leading courtesan's perfume had been truly unpleasant to him, especially since it was jasmine—his least favorite fragrance. The scent had made him feel dizzy.
However, as the courtesan stood up to leave, he stumbled and fell directly toward him. It was unclear whether he did it intentionally or had simply drunk too much. Fortunately, Fang Yu reacted quickly and caught him by the arm, preventing him from falling into his embrace.
"Many thanks, young master~"
"You are welcome."
Li Yun, watching from the side, laughed and sighed: "It seems Young Master Yu quite admires Brother Fang."
"Brother Li,vplease stop teasing and making fun of me."
Li Yun raised his wine cup: "Now that those people are gone, Brother Fang can drink freely."
The two men drank a few cups together. The fine wine paired well with the roasted meat, making for an excellent combination. "What has Brother Fang been occupying himself with for amusement recently?" Li Yun asked.
"I haven't been seeking much amusement," Fang Yu replied. "I've merely been managing some household affairs."
"Brother Fang is a modest gentleman," Li Yun said. "It rather makes me feel quite unaccomplished in comparison."
"Brother Li, you are just being polite," Fang Yu demurred.
Fang Yu had originally been thinking of returning, but now that there were no courtesans surrounding them, it was acceptable to simply eat dishes, drink, and discuss the roasted meat. Besides, he was hungry, and he got along fairly well with Li Yun, so he got into the drinking spirit. Li Yun hadn't expected him to be such a capable drinker. The two drank for some time. The delayed effect of the Suihantang wine began to kick in; perhaps he had already drunk quite a bit before, Li Yun began to lose his capacity.
"I cannot drink any more today," Li Yun said. "I will invite Brother Fang another day to drink until we are truly finished."
"Now, Brother Li, that is not very considerate," Fang Yu protested. "I risked returning late and facing a scolding to drink here with you. How can you simply decide to stop like that?"
"I was already eighty percent drunk before we even met," Li Yun explained. "If I had known earlier that Brother Fang's drinking capacity was so remarkable, I would have invited you from the very beginning. In a few days, there is a gathering at Lingxuan Cave Mountain—isn't that perfect! Then you and I can drink until we truly cannot continue."
Fang Yu thought to himself: Why is it Lingxuan Cave Mountain again? Are our birth hour and eight characters not match ?
[生辰八字不合 (shēngchén bāzì bùhé): lit. birth hour and eight characters do not match; fig. fundamentally incompatible, ill-fated for each other]
Just then, he saw Li Yun beckon to his servant: "Brother Fang, please excuse me from two more cups today. I will make it up to you at the gathering. Do you still have any invitations left? Fetch one for Brother Fang..."
After bidding farewell and seeing Li Yun off onto his family's carriage, it was already haishi (9-11 PM). Fang Yu returned to his own carriage, glanced at the Lingxuan Cave Mountain invitation, and still didn't know which class Li Yun was in, or which family's son he was. He just hadn't expected that after all that turning around, he still ended up with an invitation to Lingxuan Cave. Judging by this situation, the Education Commissioner had probably issued an invitation to every student of Hande Academy, and Liang Minxu had deliberately been harsh with him by saying there weren't enough.
He shook his head, thinking that the complicated social intricacies among scholars were truly numerous. But since he had accepted Li Yun's invitation, it wouldn't hurt for him to go take a look at this so-called gathering for scholars, especially since it was hosted by the Education Commissioner.
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