The maid came in and reported: "Second Miss, there is a visitor named Mr. Zhan at the door who wishes to see you."

  Lin Han Yun happily said, "They've submitted their manuscripts." After going out for a while and coming back, she held a stack of manuscripts in her hand and smiled, saying, "Sister, Zhou Xuan, let's take a look at the wonderful writings about 'untouchable' things and choose the best one."

  Hundreds of guests gathered at the gate of the imperial palace, dozens of whom were good writers. Each and every one of them participated in this writing contest. Lin Hanyun's chosen manuscript was awarded fifty taels of silver.

  Zhou Xuan forced himself to read a few more, and it turned out that there were indeed many ancient literati who didn't make sense. In several articles, he didn't see the name "Mo Bu De", but the protagonist was a beautiful woman, describing how she was stunningly beautiful, how radiant she was, and how the author admired her and vowed to pursue her until he got her.

  Jing Yixian listened to Zhou Xuan's words and smiled, saying: "This is a common problem with those pedantic scholars. 'Beautiful maiden' refers to the fact that one cannot touch a cricket, as for pursuing and so on, they are all clichés, not worth looking at."

  Zhou Xuan fell to his stomach and laughed wildly, saying: "Dào Yùn sister, bother you to choose one, as long as the text is clear and smooth."

  Lin Han Yun laughed with a silvery voice, saying: "Later I'll go check who wrote those few articles, and then reward each person with one three-tailed female insect to comfort their longing pain. There are many 'Little General Zhang Bao' insects in the place, just bring a few over."

  Jing Yi Xianzi suppressed her smile and hastily stopped her. This younger sister of hers wasn't joking around, she would really do something like that.

  Finally selected one, this article is well written, with a heroic spirit of "untouchable" great war in Hongzhou, the momentum is magnificent, and the emotions are stirring. It has a strong appeal.

  Lin Han Yun was quite efficient in handling matters, saying: "I'll go find a guest with good handwriting right away and have them write it out overnight. Tomorrow morning, I'll ask the carpenter to make a large wooden board and paste it up."

  Zhou Xuan said: "Don't use paper, write it on a zhang of yellow silk instead, this way it won't be easily damaged."

  Lin Han Yun responded with a single word and went to handle it with lightning speed, showing great power as the vice president of Lin.

  Lin Han walked away, and Jingyi felt a bit uneasy when she was alone with Zhou Xuan. She said: "Zhou Gongzi, it's getting late. Please go back first, I'll wait for you at Baiyun Temple tomorrow afternoon."

  Zhou Xuan was taken aback, having come to the "Jiunan Mountain House" many times before. This was the first time that Jingyi Fairy had issued an order to expel guests. In the past, he would leave on his own when night fell, and although Lin sisters didn't say anything, they could all see that he was reluctant to part with them. Zhou Xuan was indeed a good friend to talk to, speaking with wit and humor, often sharing strange and unusual views. The lonely "Jiunan Mountain House" would immediately fill with joy whenever he came, but when he left, Lin Hanyun also returned to the other courtyard, leaving the "Jiunan Mountain House" in solitude once again. However, cultivators had not yet reached the level of having hearts as hard as wood and stone!

  Jingyi fairy saw Zhou Xuan looking a bit embarrassed, so she quickly said: "Since Han Yun is not here, I'll have the female Taoist send you off instead." She personally held the lantern and walked out of the courtyard, through the side alley, and over the hundred-meter-long corridor to send Zhou Xuan to the outside of the west wing gate. The area was relatively open here. The moonlight poured down, illuminating the ground as clear as water, with several ancient cypress trees casting uneven dark shadows. The autumn wind rustled, causing the tree shadows to flow like seaweed in the water.

  Zhou Xuan stopped in his tracks, gazing at the serene and elegant Jingyi fairy, who was as pale as the moon and as refined as a chrysanthemum. Suddenly, he had an overwhelming urge to see her face and asked, "Dao Yun sister, with this veil covering your face tonight, won't you have trouble seeing the road?"

  The fairy saw Zhou Xuan standing here and not leaving, she also didn't want to turn around and go back, saying: "A woman's way is a habit."

  Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "What night is without a moon? What place is without pines and cedars? But there are few idle people like me and Dao Yun's sister, just the two of us." He bowed, turned and left, leaving Jingyi Xianzi alone in a daze.

  Zhou Xuan's mouth twitched with a hint of a smile as he thought to himself: "Who told you to issue the order to expel me? I'll just tease you a little!"

  *********************

  Rui had been working hard as a teacher, and early in the morning, she had already found ten excellent dancers from Pingkang Lane to come to the Zhou Mansion. They were all top-notch dancers with great figures and looks. The news spread like wildfire last night, and over a hundred dancers came to "Miao Yin Lou" looking for Rui, all wanting to enter the Zhou Mansion to perform and increase their value. Rui was living proof of this, as she was now a high-ranking disciple of Master Zhou Qijia. Many scholars came to "Miao Yin Lou" specifically asking for Rui to play the piano and sing, and they were all very polite and respectful, not daring to be rude.

  Rui Chu spent half a night carefully selecting ten beautiful and skilled dancing girls. Those who were not selected cried in front of everyone, begging Rui Chu to speak to Zhou Qi Jue again, saying they would rather not have silver than enter the Zhou household as dancers.

  A group of dancing girls with flowers in their hair fluttered into the Zhou mansion like beautiful butterflies, entering from a side alley directly into the fifth courtyard.

  Madam Qin frowned and said: "What is this son-in-law of mine doing? He's raising a family of prostitutes, gathering dancing girls... isn't he being a bit excessive in his pursuit of pleasure?"

  "Ma'am, don't forget your son-in-law's identity. He is the prince of Australia, one of those high-ranking officials and wealthy individuals. Who doesn't have concubines and maids in their households? The other day, when Xu Cishi summoned me to receive the official document appointing my son-in-law as an assistant professor at the Jiangzhou Medical Office, he said, 'Mr. Qin, your son-in-law is a man of great wealth and nobility. I will have to rely on him more in the future.' In the past, Xu Cishi would address me as 'Old Qin', which seemed friendly but also somewhat impudent, like a servant, don't you think, ma'am?"

  Madam Qin nodded, she fully understood the warmth and coldness of human relationships. Thinking about that time when servant girl Yiniang almost ran away in despair, it was really unbearable to recall. As people age, they fear this the most. Now everything is thriving and prosperous, isn't it all because of a good son-in-law?

  Suddenly remembering something, Madam Qin lowered her voice and said: "Master, last time I asked Xiaoxiang, Xiaoxiang said that Young Master had already slept with Que'er, this..."

  Dr. Qin twirled his mustache and laughed: "They are already married, what's strange about sharing a room? On the contrary, sleeping alone is not good, it's discordant."

  Madam Qin comforted herself by thinking: "According to Xiaoxiang, the son-in-law did not sleep with Zhen, it seems that the children are still observing propriety."

  ……

  In the fifth courtyard, sleeves fluttering in dance, voices singing in harmony, swallows and orioles chirping, fragrant hair ornaments shining.

  Zhou Xuan sent someone to "Yun Shang Nv Zhuang" to fetch those ten dresses, and had the ten dancing girls put them on. They walked back and forth with a gentle swaying motion, reminding them that their expressions should be dignified and not flirtatious, but their movements could be as seductive as they pleased.

  It's true, but those geishas were all sending flirtatious glances at Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan was a bit overwhelmed, and Qin Xiao and Zhen Ke were both watching from the side, both of his little wives had a hint of jealousy.

  Just then, a servant woman came to report that Miss Lin Er had someone bring over a large wooden signboard. Zhou Xuan entrusted Zhen and

  Train these geishas and make them walk in unison.

  Arriving at the front courtyard, I suddenly saw a huge plaque one zhang long and five chi high. The plaque was covered with yellow silk, on which was written in bold and powerful brushstrokes a piece called "The Unattainable First Prize of Hongzhou". It was in the running script style of Wang Xizhi, elegant and beautiful. Each character was as big as a bowl, very eye-catching.

  Zhou Xuan Zan said: "Very good, Vice President Lin is very capable, I'll remember your contribution."

  Lin Han said with a smile: "You haven't given me the silver you won from Hongzhou yet, don't think I'll forget. And also, the 50 taels of silver for writing this article should be mine too. That guest is still chasing after me for it."

  Zhou Xuan smiled and said: "The dividend will also have to wait until the end of the year, where can you get a little profit and divide it? The fifty taels of silver I gave, Come Fu, give the silver."

  Liao Yin invited a group of drummers and pipers, who were all men, to play the sheng, flute, guanzi, and drums, aiming for loudness and excitement.

  Zhou Xuan rented an ox cart to hang a huge banner. Two strong men supported it. Another two ox carts with broken canopies were filled with drummers and pipers, playing music as they started the procession. Liao Yin and Si Chou followed, while Xiao Di carried by Lai Fu watched the excitement.

  The streets are abuzz, the people of Hongzhou look down on those from Jiangzhou, and the people of Jiangzhou despise those from Hongzhou even more. But when they heard that our Jiangzhou's cricket had won first prize in Hongzhou, it was a proud moment, men and women followed in large numbers, packing the streets and alleys, "Mò Bù Dé" became a heroic insect, the other three major insect clubs of Jiangzhou immediately proposed to hold a challenge match, where each club's champion would take turns challenging "Mò Bù Dé", welcome insect friends to place their bets.

  These things were all handed over to Liao Yin and Si Chai by Zhou Xuan, Si Chai loved doing these things the most. As for the upcoming Dou Cha Hun, he was not concerned about whether he would win or lose, nor did he know if he had a surefire way to win.

  In the afternoon, Lin Hanyun came to invite Zhou Xuan to go to Ximen Baiyun Temple in Old Dong's carriage. The trouble was that San Chou also followed, and Zhou Xuan told him not to protect her and let him stay in the mansion, but San Chou seemed to ignore her and followed closely behind.

  Zhou Xuan thought to herself, "If I'm going to follow him, then I'll just follow him. Last time I went to the Guardian Temple, San Chi followed me too, and he knew I was going to learn tea ceremony from Jingyi Fairy, but it seems like he never mentioned it to Si Chi."

  Five miles west of Ximen, a shallow and clear stream flows from west to east, with a wooden bridge on it. When the horse-drawn carriage passes over the bridge, the wooden bridge creaks "creaks".

  Baiyun Temple is located on the southwest side of a small stream, with its back against the mountain and facing the stream. The scenery is serene and secluded, surrounded by yellow walls, with tall temples inside.

  Baiyun Guan can be said to be the private property of the Lin family, the master of the temple is also the aunt of Jingyi Xianzi and Lin Huanyu, who became a nun after being widowed and spent her remaining years studying Buddhism.

  In front of the gate of Baiyun Temple, hundreds of rare and precious white magnolias are planted. The trees are tall and lush, and although it is not the flowering season now, there is a subtle fragrance floating in the air. Lin Huan said that Baiyun Temple has been around for over 100 years, but these white magnolias have been here even longer. In the spring when they bloom, they look like clouds or snow, just like the mist from Mount Lu floating and lingering here, which is why this Taoist temple is called White Cloud Temple.

  Two female Taoist children came to answer the door, entered the mountain gate hall, with green dragons and white tigers guarding on both sides. Zhou Xuan let San Chi wait in the mountain gate hall, while he followed Lin Hanyun and the two female Taoist children past the Lingguan Hall, bypassing the Sanqing Hall from the side, to a secluded and elegant courtyard, where the layout was exactly like that of the "Nine Difficulties Mountain House" in Du Hu Fu. Not only had Jingyi come, but also two maidservants, Jianyue and Mingfeng.

  After entering the tea room and sitting down, Jing Yixian let two maids bring out ten teacups. These ten teacups looked exactly the same on the surface, but upon closer inspection of the figures painted on the outside of the cups depicting people drinking tea, it became apparent that these people were raising their left and right hands in turn, each with a different number of fingers extended.

  "Master Zhou, please remember that when distinguishing water, if you see the thumb of the left hand raised, it is the spring water from Lushan Valley's Quanquan Spring; if you see the thumb of the right hand raised, it is the snowmelt water from Lushan Valley's Quanquan Spring. If you see the index finger of the left hand raised, it is the spring water from Lushan's Zhaojin Spring; if you see the index finger of the right hand raised, it is the dew-collected water from Zhaojin Spring after a snowfall. If you see the middle finger of the left hand raised, it is the Wuxi Huishan Stone Spring; if you see the middle finger of the right hand raised, it is the Zoulan Creek Spring. If you see the ring finger of the left hand raised, it is the Xizhou Liuhe Spring; if you see the ring finger of the right hand raised, it is the Guangling Shuangfeng Peak Spring. If you see the little finger of the left hand raised, it is the Jiujiang River water; if you see the little finger of the right hand raised, it is the small stream in front of the White Cloud Temple."

  Zhou Xuan laughed and said: "How does Daoyun sister have such a set of tea cups, it's simply specially used for cheating in tea competitions."

  Jing Yi Xianzi smiled and said: "Don't get it wrong, I'll say it again -"

  Zhou Xuan had a good memory and was able to concentrate and remember things well. After Jing Yixian said it twice, he remembered it firmly.

  Lin Han Yun chuckled on one side: "This time we're going to make that Fourth Idiot - no, let Master Fourth take a big fall."

  Zhou Xuan had warned Lin Huanyu not to mention Si Chai in front of her sister, lest she be startled.

  Zhou Xuan said: "I must have won in distinguishing water, but what about the other eight difficulties? In the nine difficulties, I must win at least five of them."

  Jingyi Xianzi said: "Since Mr. Fourth said he wouldn't bring his own tea set, the first three difficulties - creating, distinguishing, and utensils - are no longer comparable, it's just a comparison with the last five difficulties. You only need to win three rounds, and at that time, Nü Dao will disguise herself as your maid to help you brew tea, which doesn't count as cheating, as it's common for tea servants or maids to assist in tea competitions. In this way, Nü Dao can help you win him in the four items of fire, steaming, ending, and brewing. As for drinking, you are already unbeatable, but Mr. Zhou must remember that."

  Zhou Xuan heard Jing Yixian want to disguise herself as his maid, and his heart was really shaken. He smiled and said: "Nine games all won, Mr. Fourth must be angry and ashamed, it's better for Sister Dao to let him win one or two games." After thinking about it, he said: "No, if this Mr. Fourth is just pretending, actually bringing his own tea set, then I will lose the first three games!"

  Lin Han said: "No way, I think Old Fourth Master is not as cunning as you."

  Jingyi Xianzi rebuked Lin Sunyin with a sentence, and said to Zhou Xuan: "Young Master Zhou's thinking is meticulous, and his consideration is not wrong. This must be prevented, but the first three difficulties are not good for cheating, because we can't know what tea sets and tea leaves Mr. Fourth will bring. So it's hard for us to win in these three rounds. Water shouldn't be brought, so don't worry about that. Just adapt to the situation at the time, Young Master Zhou just pay attention to Nü Dao's gestures. Nü Dao will teach you how to fight the ninth difficulty - 'Yin' (drinking), what tea cup is for what tea water, remember it clearly, and don't get it mixed up."

  ……