Bold Witch, Don’T Hurt My Husband

Chapter 6: Searching for the Poet Leader

"Cai Xia, do we still have extra money?"

"Yes, young master!"

"Take out half of it and give it to that mother and daughter. You can keep the rest for yourself."

Just as the group of four left the Wangjiang Tower, they saw a ragged mother and daughter begging not far away. Despite the prosperity of this place, there were still people facing difficulties in their lives.

"Alright, young master!" Cai Xia replied excitedly upon hearing this. After all, there was still a considerable amount of money left, and with the young master's words, she didn't have to return it to the young miss.

Watching their actions, Qi Xiuwen couldn't help but nod approvingly, then looked at Xia Fan with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Young one, even though you have a master-servant relationship, I noticed that you are quite polite to her. Why is that?"

Since they sat down together to eat at the restaurant earlier, Qi Xiuwen had been paying attention. He felt that this child had a unique temperament that seemed out of place among the people around him.

Well-to-do families all have servants, but they rarely treat their own servants so politely, not even the scholars like them.

"Have you heard of equality among all beings, sir?"

"Buddhist teachings?"

Xia Fan shook his head. "No, in my eyes, there is no distinction of high or low, noble or common among people. The only difference lies in the work they do. Why bother considering oneself superior?"

"As the saying goes, don't discuss people during the day and don't discuss ghosts at night. Let the child walk in front, and the adults watch from behind."

"For the first ten years, you laugh at others' misfortunes; for the next ten years, others laugh at your misfortunes. The river flows east for ten years, then west for ten years. Don't laugh at others for wearing tattered clothes."

"Sir, I take my leave."

Xia Fan bowed and, accompanied by Cai Xia who had returned, left.

After the two left, Qi Waner couldn't help but pout and say, "He's just a little child, yet he talks so much about principles. I don't know who he learned it from, pretending to be someone he's not!"

"Waner, don't speak recklessly. Although he is just a child, he has shown some wisdom that I rarely encounter. If I hadn't checked his soul just now, I would have thought he was possessed by an old monster!" Qi Xiuwen stroked his beard.

The chess piece he had handed over earlier was a means for him to investigate whether Xia Fan's soul was different. After all, anyone who encounters such a prodigy would have some guard up.

"Dad, do you think this child could be the Poet Leader in the end?"

Qi Waner asked. After all, Xia Fan's talent had already gained her father's recognition, so she couldn't help but think more about it.

But Qi Xiuwen shook his head. "Having talent doesn't mean having present ability. Not to mention, within Bright City alone, there are at least ten people with a stronger Literary Aura than him. He is not among the top tier."

Bright City at this time gathered most of the talented young scholars from all over the country. After all, not everyone could resist the temptation of becoming a son-in-law.

"Do you think this child will agree to go with you?"

"Of course, your father is not a narrow-minded person. I know how to teach according to the student's aptitude. This child is obviously more obsessed with cultivation, so I will guide him using that method!"

Qi Xiuwen was full of confidence and at the same time removed Xia Fan from the list of Poet Leader candidates. After all, not many people would suspect a child, even if his literary talent was decent.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, Xia Fan's small body was almost unable to hold up, especially after drinking alcohol. The two of them sneaked back through the back door of the Jiaosi District, fortunately, it was daytime and there weren't many people around.

Cai Xia carried the already drunk young master on her back as they walked back. Just as they arrived at the door of Lou Qingxue's chamber, they heard the voice of the madam inside.

"Qingxue, you are now the top courtesan of our Jiaosi District. You must be in high spirits for tomorrow's poetry gathering. There will be many famous scholars present, and if you can recite a few famous poems, we will have everything!"

As they spoke, the two couldn't help but look towards Cai Xia and the young master on her back.

"Xiao Fan!"

"Oh my, my little god of wealth, what happened to you?" The madam also exclaimed.

It must be noted that in the past half month, the business in the Jiaosi District had become much more prosperous than before, all thanks to Xia Fan. Every day, scholars came to visit Xia Fan and Lou Qingxue.

The former is to discuss academic matters, while the latter is to admire the kind of woman who can be described with the phrase "clothes like clouds, face like flowers, and spring breeze brushing the threshold with dewy makeup."

These two lines of poetry are very famous in Bright City, but few people know about Xia Fan himself. They only know that he is a talented person surnamed Xia, but they don't know what he looks like or how old he is.

Of course, this is also what Xia Fan instructed, after all, he came to teach at the Sifang Academy just to make a living.

"Miss, the young master is fine, he just had a few extra drinks," Cai Xia weakly said.

At first, she didn't see any signs of Xia Fan being drunk. But unexpectedly, as soon as they left Wangjiang Tower, he started walking unsteadily. There was nothing she could do but carry him back.

"What? He drank? How could you let him drink? How old is he?" Lou Qingxue stared with her eyes wide open and didn't idle her hands either. She quickly picked up Xia Fan and carried him down.

"That's right, Cai Xia, if anything happens to the little god of wealth, I won't spare you!" the madam shouted from the side.

"Enough, go make a bowl of sobering soup!" Lou Qingxue carried Xia Fan back to the bed.

"Yes, miss!"

At the same time, at the center of Bright City, the Governor's Mansion.

"Princess, I have collected the names of the famous talents in Bright City. Please take a look!" At this moment, the Governor of Jiangnan, Zhang Wenshi, respectfully reported. Although he was a provincial governor, the person in front of him was the current Princess, with a noble status and a practitioner. Even though he was an important minister in the court, he still didn't dare to be presumptuous.

"Put it down, you may leave!" A cold voice came, startling Zhang Wenshi. He quickly handed the envelope in his hand to the maid beside him and hurriedly left.

Inside the room, a woman in white martial attire took the envelope handed over by the maid, glanced at it, and handed it to the middle-aged man beside her.

"Master, they're all here!"

The two of them were from Ten Thousand Sword Mountain, and the woman in martial attire was the current Princess Jiang Ningyun, who was also the most outstanding female disciple of Ten Thousand Sword Mountain. The middle-aged man beside her was one of the four elders of Ten Thousand Sword Mountain, Bai Yiming.

Since they had this condition, they naturally wouldn't let it go. They paid more attention to the talents in Bright City, hoping to find them in advance.

Looking at the list in her hand, Bai Yiming couldn't help but frown. Straightforward sword cultivators hated this kind of roundabout approach the most. If the other party was a cultivation genius, he could just go and test them one by one. The problem was that there was no consensus when it came to literary talent.

"Master, I think this 'Wangqi' person is purely unrealistic. We sword cultivators can achieve great things with our swords. Why should we pin our hopes on others?" Jiang Ningyun frowned.

She was originally a princess of a country, and with her extraordinary talent, she naturally had a proud and arrogant personality. She believed that she didn't need to rely on others, especially when it came to choosing a husband for her.

"Yuner, I know you have exceptional talent, but throughout history, there have been countless people with exceptional talent. Those who can reach the pinnacle of immortality and enter the Opening Heaven Sect are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Many people lack that elusive luck," Bai Yiming said.

"Moreover, you are a princess of a country, connected to the luck of the nation. You can't be careless. Be cautious!"

Practitioners were not that rare, and a country was just a force of cultivation. It was just not as detached. It was precisely because of this that the royal family granted her the position of a princess's husband.

If the princess could truly reach the pinnacle of immortality, then the status of Jiang Country would naturally rise, and their luck would be abundant.

"Send someone to contact these people!"

"Yes, Master!"

Not only Ten Thousand Sword Mountain, but the other factions also had their own methods. No one would sit idly by.

Four Seas Pavilion was wealthy and influential, using money to gather information and directly hosting famous scholars in a restaurant. Celestial Fragrance Gate also used their connections to secretly gather information. Only the two from Dao Sect remained motionless.

"Master, don't we need to make some preparations?"

Inside an inn, a green-robed Taoist asked the old Taoist.

"No need. Even with my divination, I can't find that person, let alone others. Just watch and wait!"

"Besides, there is no absolute first in literature. Until all the dust settles, everything is variable. There is no need to force it!"

(End of this chapter)