Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Xu · Demon King · Qian

Ma Ji called for a clerk to hurry and find that... so-called masterpiece, *Red Flower Red*. At the same time, he said with a beaming smile, "I wonder if you, young master, would be willing to share your great work with us here, so we may all have the pleasure of experiencing it? If your masterpiece was truly overlooked by our establishment, we will certainly take full responsibility and offer you an apology."

’With a title like that,’ Ma Ji thought, ’Xu Qian’s poetic abilities probably aren’t all that great.’

Xu Qian cleared his throat. "Why not?"

With that said, he snapped open the folded fan in his hand with a flourish. He began to pace around his private room on the second floor, shaking his head and reciting his masterpiece with dramatic cadence—

"The garden’s red flowers are so pretty,"

"I praise their beautiful face."

"Butterflies fly back and forth,"

"Redder than the evening clouds."

The moment this "masterpiece" was out, a roar of laughter, even louder than before, erupted in Wangxian Building.

"Hahaha, the Ziwei Star is writing poetry again!"

"Xu Qian, will you ever give it a rest! They should ban you from this place forever for this! Just listen to yourself—what kind of nonsensical bullshit is that poem? Stop embarrassing yourself!"

"I have to say, the young master’s courage is commendable."

"If this can get selected, then that would be real corruption, wouldn’t it?"

The patrons in the restaurant burst out laughing, especially those who knew Xu Qian and were mocking him directly to his face.

After hearing Xu Qian’s recitation, Ma Ji felt a wave of relief wash over him.

’Even I can tell this piece of utter nonsense is exactly that—nonsense. Since the patrons of Wangxian Building all think so too, the problem definitely isn’t with our establishment.’

"Young master, you see, your poem... it might indeed be good, but, well, the other young masters’ works are also excellent, perhaps just a slight cut above, so..." Ma Ji wanted to tell him to just drop it.

But when these words reached Xu Qian’s ears, how could he possibly be pleased?

"What do you mean? How is my poem worse than others? What do you mean they’re a ’slight cut above’? Where are they better?!"

Xu Qian hadn’t heard a single bit of Ma Ji’s praise—insincere as it was, it was still praise. He only heard Ma Ji say he wasn’t as good as the others.

’How am I not as good as them?’

’I won’t accept this!’

Ma Ji: "..."

’Aren’t scholars supposed to care about their dignity? This young master looks like a scholar, so how can he be so shameless?’

’To be so smug about such a "masterpiece"... I’m finding it hard to watch.’

"Young master, perhaps your poem isn’t... elegant enough..." Ma Ji offered his opinion. Phrases like "pretty red flowers"... even he cringed just hearing them. He had no idea what was going through this young master’s head upstairs, reciting his own poem with such feeling.

Xu Qian shot back, "Do you even know how to appraise poetry? If you don’t, then bring the person from your restaurant who selects the poems to this young master right now! This young master wants to have a good long talk with him face-to-face!"

As much as Ma Ji didn’t want to offend Xu Qian, he couldn’t just bow to his every demand.

"Young master, please don’t make things difficult for me. You heard it just now; it’s not just this humble one who thinks your masterpiece falls a little short of the other talented scholars. Everyone present feels the same way. How about this? Wangxian Building will cover all of your expenses for tonight as our way of making amends. What do you say?" Ma Ji felt he was being more than humble. Any normal person would have surely agreed.

But Xu Qian was no normal person.

Was he, the great Young Master Xu, short a few taels of Silver?

What he lacked was validation!

What he lacked was a patron who could recognize his genius!

Xu Qian snorted coldly. "Fine! Since you’re unwilling to bring him out, this young master will find him myself!" With that, Xu Qian ordered the group of servants behind him, "Go find him! Bring that person before this young master. This young master wants to see for himself who is so utterly blind!"

The men following Xu Qian were all trusted aides who had served him since childhood.

At their young master’s command, they quickly sprang into action.

Ma Ji hadn’t expected this man to be so unpredictable, and his expression soured.

He was a merchant, yes, but Wangxian Building was backed by the Xie Mansion, and its business in the West Market was second to none. Now, to have his dignity trampled by some young brat—and being a man who was not particularly magnanimous to begin with—how could he not feel a flicker of resentment?

Seeing that Wangxian Building was on the verge of chaos, Li Yan, still seated, couldn’t help but furrow his little brow.

’The Wangxian Building staff and the servants Xu Qian brought with him are probably going to start a fight soon.’

’He had come to watch the drama, not get dragged into the chaos.’

’Besides, his mother was still in Wangxian Building. If some idiot carelessly bumped into her, he wouldn’t let them off easy.’

"Mother, why don’t you let my men escort you home now?" Seeing that the men he had sent out had not yet returned, Li Yan was momentarily unsure what sort of leverage Wangxian Building might hold over him. But right now, leverage and all that wasn’t important. What was important was getting his mother home safely.

Ming Lingyi replied, "You’ll arrange for people to send me home?" She looked as if she had just heard something utterly fascinating, unable to hide the smile spreading across her face.

’Here she was, a mother, about to have a five-year-old Little Bun arrange for men to send her home. It sounded so... strange, didn’t it?’

"Yes." Li Yan nodded with a very serious expression. "Don’t worry, Mother. The men I have with me are all highly skilled in combat."

Ming Lingyi: "..."

’Was that what she was asking about?’

"I’ll take you back to the Crown Prince Mansion today," Ming Lingyi said.

Since they were already out, and judging by the hour, she guessed Li Yan wouldn’t be returning to the palace tonight. That meant he would be going back to the Crown Prince Mansion, located not far from the palace walls.

Li Yan almost instantly forgot that just moments ago he had wanted to be a reliable man like his father, the Emperor. His face lit up with surprise. "Really?"

He had never been taken home by his mother before.

Seeing his reaction, Ming Lingyi’s heart suddenly ached.

For others, this might be the most ordinary thing in the world, but for her Little Huachao, it had become an incredibly rare possibility.

"Really," Ming Lingyi said.

Li Yan was about to hold out his hand to make a pinky promise, but then he seemed to think of something. He looked at Ming Lingyi tentatively and asked, "Then, Mother, can you come back to the mansion with me tonight?"

’Of course, his home was his mother’s home too. It would be wonderful if his mother could stay with him.’

’Even if it was just for one night.’

The proposal put Ming Lingyi in a difficult position.

However, "No, I can’t. But if Little Huachao is willing to come back with Mother, there’s a room for Little Huachao in the rear courtyard," Ming Lingyi said.

"Yes! I do!" Li Yan blurted out without a second’s thought, his face alight with excitement. "I want to go home with Mother."

Just as Li Yan was nodding excitedly, a series of violent knocks suddenly came from outside their private room.