Chapter Sixty: Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

Fearing he might have misunderstood something, Bai Yu asked carefully, "What on earth is going on? There are many ways to win over a beauty. Which specific one are you referring to?"

Without hiding anything, Lu Baiyi said bluntly, "I've recently been patronizing a beauty who excels in singing and acting. However, she has a rival who is also famous for her performances, so the two have started to lock horns.

Now, the spring weather is glorious and there are many travelers about, so they have agreed to set up a stage publicly the day after tomorrow by the Gaoliang River, where travelers gather the most, to fight for supremacy and decide who is the best!

I was thinking of asking you to lend a hand and help write some lyrics!"

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, with the prosperity of the commodity economy, folk popular culture gradually flourished.

Entertainment forms such as opera and theatrical performances reached a peak period, and several great masters of dramatic creation emerged in succession. Consequently, theatrical lyrics became popular in the pleasure quarters and brothels.

Yet, listening to Lu Baiyi's explanation, Bai Yu felt a sense of surreal detachment. Disregarding the historical context, he would have thought this was just a wealthy young heir of the Republic era sponsoring an opera star, or a top-tier livestreaming patron supporting an influencer.

Times differ, but the essence remains the same—what a tiresome hobby for the rich!

Out of poverty, having never enjoyed such a luxury across two lifetimes, Bai Yu could only accuse them with righteous indignation:

"With the nation in such a difficult state, you are still holding competitions like this. What possible meaning does it have for the country and its people?"

Rolling her eyes, Lu Baiyi retorted, "Whoever wins will be the First Courtesan of the West City! Isn't that meaningful?

As for the state of the nation, hasn't it been brought to this by old men of the older generation with bellies full of schemes, just like my uncle? Surely you aren't blaming us young people for finding our own amusement?"

Having figured out the cause and effect, Bai Yu felt like backing out again. Although his dormant madness often made him as swift as a startled hare when provoked, he remained as steady as an old dog when not.

Suppressing his desire for silver ingots, Bai Yu once again calmly refused:

"Anyone daring to challenge you must also have an extraordinary background, perhaps even matching yours, otherwise you would have long since had them physically eliminated.

If I help you, wouldn't I be needlessly offending other big figures? It's really not worth it. Let's just forget about it!"

Angered once again, Lu Baiyi felt like whipping Bai Yu and scolded him irritably, "What are you pretending to be timid for? When you talked back to my uncle, and when you hacked people to death at the yamen, why weren't you timid then?"

Bai Yu defended himself, saying, "Those incidents all had justifiable causes, or I was forced into a corner with no other choice, or I couldn't back down due to matters of principle."

As a transmigrator, the most important thing is to clearly distinguish who one can afford to offend in the future and who one cannot.

Yet, because outsiders cannot see the future, they harbor misunderstandings about Bai Yu, thinking he merely acts crazy from time to time.

Lu Baiyi swung down from her horse and demanded, "Since you are afraid of offending others, aren't you afraid of offending me?"

Unfazed, Bai Yu replied, "Of course I'm not afraid of you. I am your uncle's most scarce and irreplaceable ghostwriter; what can you possibly do to me?"

Ahhhhh—Lu Baiyi roared inwardly, feeling as though she were going mad.

She had witnessed with her own eyes Bai Yu composing masterpieces in the span of ten steps, and she knew very well that as her uncle's ghostwriter, he had single-handedly resisted the faction of Yan Song and his son, Shi Jie, and the four mid-generation grandmasters. Whether in poetry or sacrificial essays, he always effortlessly claimed the upper hand.

Knowing full well that this man was a rare and peerless master, and that very few people knew this secret,
yet having such a sharp divine weapon constantly flashing before her eyes without ever being able to use it herself—this feeling was utterly vexing. It was almost worse than not knowing at all!

Fearing he might completely push Lu Baiyi over the edge, Bai Yu brought up Commander Lu Bing to explain: "You know my situation well enough.

Your uncle has issued strict orders forbidding me from displaying my literary talent in front of outsiders, lest I be discovered by political rivals."

"If you won't help, then get lost!" Lu Baiyi snapped. "At worst, we'll lose the contest and the pride, plus forfeit two hundred bolts of silk as a wager, and become the laughingstock of others!"

Seeing Lu Baiyi's volatile temper, Bai Yu guarded against the whip while asking out of lingering curiosity, "The capital is crawling with literati and famous scholars. Why must you insist on finding me?"

Lu Baiyi replied, "Of course I've asked others to help as well, but they certainly won't be of much use. Do you even know who is assisting the rival?"

"Who? Could it be they've invited the leader of the literary world?" Bai Yu asked back.

Lu Baiyi dropped a name: "Wang Baigu!"

What? Bai Yu's knowledge blind spot was triggered once again. Bewildered, he asked, "Who is Wang Baigu?"

With a look of disdain, Lu Baiyi said, "You're supposedly in the literary field, yet you don't even know Wang Baigu?
He is the closing-door disciple of Wen Zhengming, hailed as the foremost romantic genius of Jiangnan today, and he is currently traveling north to tour the capital!

Surely you understand the weight of the title 'Foremost Romantic Genius of Jiangnan'? The last person to be called that was Tang Bohu!"

Feeling somewhat ashamed by the rebuke, Bai Yu quickly opened his AI assistant's virtual screen and began searching for information.

Name: Wang Zhideng. Courtesy name: Baigu. Twenty-five years old this year. Able to compose matching couplets at age four, accomplished in calligraphy by six, writing poetry by ten, and famous throughout Jiangnan.

Historical achievements: Leader of the Suzhou literary circle, the preeminent commoner poet under heaven, representative of the late Ming hermit culture, and the man whom Ma Xianglan, the foremost of the Qinhuai Eight Beauties, longed to marry for the rest of her life.

With great agitation, Lu Baiyi said, "You tell me! Where else am I supposed to find someone capable of rivaling Wang Baigu?"

Bai Yu closed the virtual light screen, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looked up forty-five degrees at the blue sky and white clouds, and said indifferently, "Then it seems only I can step in."

Lu Baiyi: "..."

This plot twist came so swiftly it almost strained her waist.

Just two sentences ago, Bai Yu had been dead set against it. Just as she was about to give in, Bai Yu had actually agreed again.

"Are you deliberately toying with me?" Lu Baiyi roared, beyond endurance.

Sidestepping the issue, Bai Yu said, "Don't act like a woman, fussing endlessly over details and attitudes.

The crux of the matter now is that I can help you, right?"

Swallowing hard, Lu Baiyi forced down her rising anger. "Didn't you say you were afraid of offending big figures?"

With a warm and comforting tone, Bai Yu replied, "I am kind-hearted; I simply cannot bear to see you at your wit's end."

Being afraid of offending people was because the stakes weren't worth it, but when the expected returns became sufficiently large, offending people wasn't entirely out of the question.

Under normal circumstances, how could Bai Yu, who hadn't even managed to break into literary circles, ever get such an opportunity?

Troublesomely, Lu Baiyi asked, "Didn't you emphasize earlier that my uncle issued a ban against you?"

Flexibly, Bai Yu answered, "As long as one has good intentions, there are always more solutions than difficulties.

I can remain behind the scenes and use a pseudonym or a literary alias. Don't literati nowadays love adopting a sobriquet alongside their given names?

I've already thought of it. From now on, my sobriquet shall be Bai Yujing. Li Bai has a verse that goes: 'In heaven stands the White Jade Capital,' and I've plucked it right from there."

Lu Baiyi called out to her companions not far away, "I won't be inspecting the site outside Xizhi Gate today. You all take a good look yourselves!"

After dismissing the others, Lu Baiyi turned back to Bai Yu and said, "There's no time to lose. You're coming with me right now!

For the next couple of days, you will stay at the beauty's residence in Xiyuan Alley to compose lyrics and music and make preparations!"