C12 With the Moon as the Topic!

Moo Lingfei's somewhat chubby face was a picture of disbelief, his cheeks twitching uncontrollably. He looked at Lin Han with eyes that mixed grief with anger. Who was this person, so utterly shameless? What was his identity that he should fear Moo Lingfei wouldn't acknowledge a debt? If he didn't need something from this man, Moo Lingfei would have slapped him without a second thought...

"Hehehe... Brother Moo, please excuse me. It's just a small business. Brothers will be brothers, but business is business. Even true brothers settle accounts clearly, right?"

Lin Han felt a bit sheepish, scratching his head before offering what he believed to be a warm and friendly smile. He seemed the epitome of honesty, yet his outstretched hand remained expectantly open.

Moo Lingfei, unable to contain his anger, removed his jade pendant and slapped it down on the table with a resounding thud. Lin Han was utterly fixated on money. Even if Moo Lingfei was wealthy, one simply did not conduct transactions so publicly.

"I'll leave this with you for now. Will that suffice to cover the smell of copper coins?" Moo Lingfei said to Lin Han, his voice laced with contempt. He seemed to look down on Lin Han's money-grubbing ways, while also flaunting his own generosity and disdain for petty calculations. Although Lin Han might help him fulfill his dreams, his character was just too detestable. To call him shameless would be an insult to the word itself. How did such a man ever qualify as a scholar?

The two guards beside Moo Lingfei were dumbfounded as they watched him produce the jade pendant. They wanted to intervene, but realized that the Young Duke Moo had already spoken, and it was unlikely that he would engage in the shameful act of going back on his word. Not everyone could match the man before them in sheer audacity. Speaking up now would risk revealing Young Duke Moo's identity...

"Tsk tsk tsk, the quality is decent, but you're quite the miser... Rest assured, once we're outside, the money will be paid and the item returned to its rightful owner. I trust in Brother Moo's integrity. I only ask that Brother Moo maintains a similar level of trust in my own character…"

Lin Han gave Moo Lingfei a dismissive glance, then his eyes quickly swept over the two guards as if they were mere playthings. His attention, however, seemed genuinely captured by the jade plate. The material of the jade was similar to the one he wore, yet distinct. Engraved with the character "Moo" and exuding a palpable aura of menace, it was clear he recognized the jade plate's true worth.

It looked like Moo Lingfei, the portly fellow, was quite the catch after all...

Moo Lingfei's mouth twitched into a wry smile, mirrored by his two guards. Trust this guy's character? Moo Lingfei's integrity was impeccable, but the First Young Master Lin's? Given Lin Han's earlier antics, all three were dubious about his moral fiber.

The deal was struck, and in that moment, Moo Lingfei felt a shift. Before, his rapport with Lin Han had been uncomfortably close, with Lin Han being the more eager of the two. But after sealing the deal, Lin Han seemed to be keeping him at arm's length. Why was there such a stark contrast in his behavior?

...

Above, on the second floor of the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion...

As Lin Han and Moo Lingfei conversed, three onlookers had taken notice of Lin Han. Lau Mingzhu, momentarily distracted by the entrance of two courtesans, quickly regained her composure. She felt a complex mix of emotions; as his wife in name, she was pleased with her husband's indifference to other women, yet she couldn't help but feel insecure.

The disappointment she had felt when Lin Han seemed unmoved by her beauty now seemed trivial. Watching him disregard the courtesans with the same indifference brought her an inexplicable sense of relief.

But seeing Lin Han chatting and laughing with the chubby man beside him, Lau Mingzhu felt an unexpected twinge of jealousy. Was she less significant to him than another man? A surge of unfamiliar emotions welled up inside her. She never imagined she'd one day be jealous over a man's attention.

In contrast, Zhao Yan, the son of County Magistrate Zhao Zhengkun, seated not far from Lau Mingzhu, harbored a much simpler sentiment towards Lin Han. Lin Han had thwarted his plans, and now the audacious young man had the nerve to show up here. Did he not understand the gravity of his situation? Zhao Yan was seething with rage, barely able to contain himself.

The third onlooker fixated on Lin Han was none other than Su Xiaoxiao, positioned to the right of the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion's owner. She was also the voice that had previously posed a question to Lin Han near Moo Lingfei's boat. Regrettably, while she recognized Lin Han, he showed no sign of recognizing her. What surprised Su Xiaoxiao even more was that, aside from a brief initial glance, Lin Han didn't look her way again for the rest of the evening.

Was she less attractive than a corpulent man? Su Xiaoxiao felt indignant. She had delicate features: a small mouth, willow-leaf eyebrows, expressive almond eyes, and a figure that, while not as voluptuous as the woman next to her, had curves in all the right places. Even in Lin Han's era of rampant artificial beauty, she could easily outshine the majority of so-called goddesses. Had she ever been so blatantly disregarded?

"The Mid-Autumn Festival offers a perfect evening to appreciate the moon's beauty. Tonight's poetry gathering will be themed around the full moon above us... I invite all the talented poets to complete their compositions within the time it takes for three sticks of incense to burn... Do not miss the deadline," announced the owner of the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion. With that, he gracefully withdrew like a swaying willow branch, accompanied by two stunning women, while three thick sticks of incense were presented.

For a while, the only sounds were the flickering lights and the soft murmuring of the attendees.

"The moon as our muse... Interesting," Lin Han mused aloud, feigning contemplation. In truth, he had already retreated into the library of his mind. Moo Lingfei, sitting beside him, began to feel anxious.

But soon, Lin Han's comments sparked a sense of absurd concern in Moo Lingfei, as if his heart had been smeared with lard.

"Only the first place gets a reward? I rate this event poorly. If there are to be prizes, it should at least be for the top three, not just the winner. That way, I could have more opportunities to do business..." Lin Han continued to grumble, while Moo Lingfei nearly face-planted onto the table, realizing that Lin Han wasn't exactly brainstorming poetry.

"I'll say a line, you write the next," Lin Han murmured to Moo Lingfei. They were reciting a poem by the esteemed Li Shangyin. Though not as widely known as some of his other verses, this poem was without a doubt the perfect fit for the moment. It needed to captivate the old scholars while also conveying the young man's own emotions.

The poem was open to interpretation, and even if it were suggested that Moo Lingfei had composed it for the two ladies, no one there could outshine him. Besides, Moo Lingfei was pursuing the aloof beauty known as Yanyan...

And let's not forget that the poem was moon-themed, which, coupled with its charm, made it exceptionally apt!

Moo Lingfei's eyes bulged, his mouth agape—if it weren't for the sockets, his eyes might have popped out. Just moments ago, Lin Han had been utterly fixated on money, and now he had shifted gears entirely...

While Moo Lingfei might not have been gifted in crafting poetry, he certainly had a knack for critiquing it. This poem seemed as if it were made just for him...

After all, both Qing Nu and Su E shared traits strikingly similar to Yanyan's. What defines a true master? This is it: wooing with words, turning poetry into romance. The hundred taels of silver spent could hardly be summed up with the word 'worthwhile.' Moo Lingfei was on the verge of holding Lin Han in the highest esteem...

It was truly unimaginable that such a timeless masterpiece could have been spoken by him.