First place was Xiang Ruzhen.
Second place, however, was not Lu Jinlan.
The three of them searched downward from the top. At the eleventh position, they finally found Lu Jinlan’s name. Beneath it was a line of small characters:
“This student caused a disturbance in the examination hall with severe negative impact. Therefore admitted as last place as a disciplinary warning.”
Lu Jinlan ground her teeth. This ranking was truly beyond reproach. If you called it unfair, they’d say there was a reason. If you called it fair, well—half the people above her clearly weren’t as capable. She’d gone through thirteen desperate maneuvers… only to land dead last again.
Zuo Suizhi clapped her hard on the shoulder. “Jinlan, you must hold strong.”
Lu Jinlan waved it off with feigned nonchalance. “It’s just last place. So what? I got in. That’s what matters. Suizhi, you take it easy too. If one place won’t keep you, another will.”
Zuo Suizhi sighed. “I can handle it. No one’s talking about me anyway. But you… I heard a few storytellers saw the rankings and have already gone back to write a piece about you.”
Ah. No wonder she triggered the Rising to Fame achievement.
Once a storyteller embellished a tale, the whole capital would know it by nightfall.
Lu Jinlan sighed helplessly. “What’s done is done. I’ll walk my own path—let others talk.”
Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin both gave her thumbs up. “Sister, that’s magnanimous!”
Lu Jinlan forced a laugh. Whatever—fun was still fun. She boarded the carriage with everyone else and headed straight to Yan Wuxin’s estate outside the capital.
Classes would begin in three days. Three whole days to revel freely.
Nineteen out-of-town candidates plus Yan Wuxin, the lone local—twenty young women together. The place was alive with energy.
On the first day they composed poetry, drank wine, talked grandly of heaven and earth, and galloped on horseback. The second day they toured the capital in groups. Everyone else was thrilled, but Yan Wuxin had grown up with such amusements and was already bored of them. By the second night, she was scheming something more interesting.
________________________________________
Lu Jinlan had just finished bathing and was about to hang a lesson in her system before bed when Yan Wuxin knocked and entered.
“Change into something pretty. I’m taking you somewhere good.”
Lu Jinlan assumed it was some stargazing or firefly-catching excursion. She didn’t suspect a thing, changed clothes, and got into the carriage. Only after it began moving did she ask curiously, “Shouldn’t we call Ruzhen?”
Yan Wuxin snorted. “For this? The moment she opens her mouth it’s ‘The Sage says form is emptiness,’ and when she closes it it’s ‘Emptiness is form.’ Yesterday she even tried to persuade me to dismiss my attendants and properly marry a principal husband. If we invite her, she won’t come—and she’ll lecture me.”
The more Lu Jinlan listened, the more uneasy she felt. “Where exactly are we going?”
“Fengchun Pavilion. Tonight’s the annual Flower Lad selection. You and I are among the capital’s foremost connoisseurs of romance. When it comes to appreciating male beauty, who could rival us? If we don’t go, what could those mediocre fools possibly choose?”
Yan Wuxin’s eyes glittered with pride as she spoke.
Lu Jinlan felt an inexplicable resistance. “Um… I didn’t bring any money. Maybe we should forget it.”
“I brought enough. My treat.”
“That’s not what I meant—”
The carriage stopped before Fengchun Pavilion. Yan Wuxin was still coaxing her. “We’ll just take a look. If there’s no one you fancy, we leave immediately.”
Lu Jinlan was about to respond when her system chimed:
[Ding! Congratulations, host. New task triggered—Visit a brothel.]
Well then. No more resisting.
Lu Jinlan resigned herself, smoothed her robes, and said, “Fine. Let’s go in.”
Watching her stride forward, Yan Wuxin clicked her tongue with a crooked smile. “You and your fake propriety.”
________________________________________
Fengchun Pavilion was packed that night—distinguished guests everywhere, silk and music filling the air, wine cups clinking in dazzling splendor. Even so, when the two entered, a stir rippled through the hall.
“Whose young lady is that? Such youthful bearing, such elegance in dress!”
The moment they stood there, the proprietor hurried over, smiling as though they were old acquaintances. “Honored guests, what kept you? All the private seats are full. Boy! See if there’s anywhere left.”
Hearing this, Lu Jinlan whispered quickly, “If there’s no seat, forget it. We’ve gained some reputation lately—if someone sees…”
She meant that being seen entering a brothel would harm their reputations.
Yan Wuxin misunderstood completely.
Thinking Lu Jinlan felt slighted, she deliberately made a scene—stepping onto a stool and raising her voice. “The capital’s foremost talented lady graces your establishment, and this is how you treat her? Proprietor, do you even know how to run a business?”
The hall fell abruptly silent. All eyes turned toward them.
The proprietor froze—then lit up. “Could it be… you are the famed and romantic talent of this year, Lu Jinlan?”
Yan Wuxin snapped open her folding fan and waved it lazily. “My surname is Yan.”
The proprietor’s eyes widened. “Yan Wuxin?”
Yan Wuxin blinked. “This is my first time here. You know me?”
The proprietor laughed. “Yan Wuxin, Xiang Ruzhen—‘Bring in the Wine, do not let the cup stop.’ The manuscript of Bring in the Wine came from the Yan residence. Even three-year-olds in the capital can recite it now! And your righteous stand at the examination hall for your friend—what a tale of loyalty! The whole city sings your praises. You two are heroes who rose to fame overnight. Heaven knows how many men across Hua Nation admire you. I never imagined you’d honor this humble place with your presence. Fengchun Pavilion is truly blessed!”
As he spoke, he grabbed Lu Jinlan’s sleeve as if afraid she’d leave.
He showered them with compliments, barked at attendants to add a table upstairs, personally escorted them up, and ordered the musicians, “Play Bring in the Wine!”
“We’ve set both Bring in the Wine and Spring River, Flower, Moon Night to music. Later we’d be honored if the two young ladies would offer guidance.”
Yan Wuxin beamed, her chin nearly lifting to the ceiling.
Lu Jinlan, however, felt conflicted. She knew she’d gained some fame—but she hadn’t realized it was already household-level. Clearly, tonight’s brothel visit would spread just as fast. That “romantic talent” label was never coming off.
Well then. No point bearing a false reputation for nothing.
Lu Jinlan squared her shoulders and strode upstairs. Along the way, people bowed to them. She nodded in acknowledgment and returned the courtesy before sitting.
Yan Wuxin nudged her proudly. “Tonight’s guests include nobles and high officials. The capital folk are notoriously cliquish. For them to treat you—a Yunzhou talent—with such respect, you’ve truly made your name here.”
Lu Jinlan cast her a sideways glance. “Should I thank you for spreading my fame?”
Yan Wuxin chuckled. “A fine work should be shared. That poem shook the literary circles of Hua Nation—how could I keep it to myself?”
Lu Jinlan took a sip of tea and said nothing.
After a moment, Yan Wuxin asked quietly, “You’re not angry with me, are you?”
“Mhm.”
“I don’t mean about spreading the poems.”
Lu Jinlan looked puzzled. “What else is there?”
Yan Wuxin pressed her lips together, visibly guilty. “That day in the examination hall… I—I reacted too slowly. You don’t blame me, do you?”
“Oh, that?” Lu Jinlan smiled. “Thanks to you bringing the Headmaster in time, who knows how things might’ve escalated otherwise?”
Yan Wuxin sighed. “I should’ve stepped forward sooner. I admit it—I was scared at first. I’d never seen anything like that. When you stood up, my mind went completely blank. I overthought a thousand messy possibilities and lost precious time. It’s strange, really. The capital is full of hidden talents, but growing up I never truly admired anyone besides my mother and elder sister. You and Ruzhen… you’re the most extraordinary people I’ve ever met.”
Lu Jinlan smiled gently. “No need to say more. I understand your position. Surrounded by Shenjing candidates, even if you’d chosen to stay neutral, I wouldn’t have blamed you.”
Yan Wuxin gave a helpless laugh. “I already feel guilty for stepping in late. If I’d stayed neutral, would I still deserve to be your friend? I promise you—from now on, no matter what happens, I’ll stand with you at the first moment. No hesitation.”
Just then, the music stopped. The proprietor took the stage and formally announced the beginning of the Flower Lad selection.
With a clap of his hands, ten exquisitely talented young men filed onto the stage in turn, singing or dancing, doing their utmost to display their charms.
The first performer made a strong entrance—singing and dancing with lively energy, his round bright eyes sparkling with animation.
Yan Wuxin watched delightedly. “What do you think of Number One?”
Lu Jinlan shrugged. “He’s fine. Good singing and dancing. As for looks… about the same as my Qing’er.”
“Tsk, showing off again?”
Lu Jinlan shook her head. “Not showing off. I just don’t like that type.”
“I do. I’m missing someone like that at my side. I’m voting for him later. You already have Qing’er—don’t compete with me.”
“Qing’er and I are just master and servant. It’s not what you’re thinking.”
Yan Wuxin snorted. “If Qing’er doesn’t like you, I’ll dig out my own eyeballs and serve them as bar snacks.”
Lu Jinlan fell silent for a moment. “Lively and obedient isn’t my preference. I like someone… distinctive.”
Yan Wuxin waved it off. “What’s distinctive about men? Strip them and they’re all the same.”
“….”
Lu Jinlan took a deep breath, momentarily speechless.
She’d been transmigrated into this novel for over two months now, and she was still trying to adjust.
For a fleeting second, she thought of the white-robed gentleman she’d once encountered by chance. Only someone like that—aligned with her aesthetics, possessing a truly unique soul—could move her heart.
But she was quickly proven wrong.
Because when the tenth performer stepped onto the stage, he struck her aesthetic just as precisely.
He was the final act. His features were firm and striking, his build broad-shouldered and tall. There was a mature, composed air about him. His nose bridge was high, his brows shadowed with a trace of melancholy. The chill in his eyes clashed sharply with the fiery revelry of Fengchun Pavilion.
Lu Jinlan took a sip of tea. “Number Ten… now he’s interesting.”
Yan Wuxin glanced over and shook her head. “Why’s he got such a stiff face? Like he’s here against his will. Strange.”
Lu Jinlan smiled faintly. In a place like this, doing this kind of work—wouldn’t it be stranger to look delighted?
His performance was no ordinary song or dance. Holding a long sword in one hand and half a jug of wine in the other, he walked slowly onto the stage. Tilting his head back, he drank deeply. The musicians immediately began playing Bring in the Wine.
With sword in hand, he began to dance. His elegant, practiced sword forms drew an immediate wave of applause.
“Oh? He’s definitely trained,” Yan Wuxin murmured, her gaze sharpening. She pulled a thick stack of banknotes from her sleeve and set them before Lu Jinlan. “He’s eye-catching. You won’t have few rivals. See those gold silk ribbons tied at their waists? Highest bidder wins.”
Lu Jinlan thought to herself: Not my money anyway. Might as well experience the thrill of being the top spender for once—collect some ‘merchandise’ for fun.
At that moment, she had absolutely no idea how serious this would become.