He obtained the God of All Laws from human skin.

Chapter 32 Liu Rushi's Rules

After the dance ended, Lady Liu stood with her sleeves gathered, then bowed gracefully once more before turning and disappearing behind the gauze screen.

The hall was quiet for a moment, then erupted in cheers.

The guests whispered among themselves, as excited as if they were watching a grand event that shouldn't be happening in a brothel.

Someone called out to the steward, "Would Master Liu be willing to come down and receive guests today?"

The steward replied with a forced smile, "Miss Liu's rules are well known to everyone."

Shen Lu then leaned closer and said, "Master, you see her, right? This is Lady Liu, whose maiden name is 'Ru Shi.' She is most skilled in sword dancing. The dance you just saw was a soft dance. If you were lucky enough to see her perform a sword dance, that would be truly breathtaking. Her name is known throughout the Huai River region, and even in the capital, Lady Liu's fame is legendary."

"Oh?" Qin Chuan picked up his teacup, looked around, and asked, "If he's such a person, why would he stay in the brothel?"

"I don't know either. It's just a rumor that Sister Liu was originally from an official family, but her family suffered a misfortune and she ended up here." Shen Lu frowned as she pondered. "But my mother said she was a 'registered resident,' not a 'sold resident,' so she has much more freedom than us."

Qin Chuan glanced at the excited crowd around him and continued, "I heard the person in charge say that Master Liu has rules. What are those rules?"

Upon hearing this topic, Shen Lu's expression instantly became quite excited, and she said, "Master, you've come to the right place. Unlike us, Sister Liu doesn't care for gold or silver, nor does she covet wealth. Her only love is poetry and songs. No matter who it is, as long as they can compose a poem and submit it to her, she will send a maid down to invite that person upstairs for tea and a chat."

Qin Chuan put down his teacup: "Is it that simple? Just by writing a poem, I can go upstairs?"

"Master, this is no simple matter." Shen Lu shook her head. "Master, you don't know, ever since Lady Liu established this rule, countless people have come upon hearing the news. Literati, scholars, and candidates all felt that they were full of literary talent and that one of their poems would surely be chosen. But of all the poems submitted, there were at least eight hundred or a thousand, and only a handful were actually selected by Sister Liu."

"Once, a scholar submitted a seven-character quatrain, which was praised by all the connoisseurs in the neighborhood. Sister Liu only glanced at it twice before ordering her maid to return it with four words—'A line without meaning.' The scholar was so angry that he tore up the poem on the spot and stormed off. But not many days later, he eagerly submitted a new one, which still failed to pass the exam..."

As Shen Lu spoke, she laughed first, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes curving into crescents.

Just as she was getting into the conversation, a small commotion suddenly broke out in the hall.

Qin Chuan looked up and saw seven or eight tea-serving maids filing out from the west corridor, each carrying a vermilion lacquered tray. The trays were neatly arranged with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. The Xuan paper was cut into strips of the same size, with a paperweight holding down one corner. The ink in the inkstone was already ground, black and glossy.

The hall immediately became lively, with scholars and literati asking for brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, clearly intending to compose poems and lyrics on the spot.

Shen Lu glanced at the lively scene around her, then at Qin Chuan, and asked, "Master, would you like to give it a try? The brush and ink are ready."

Qin Chuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and refused.

He doesn't even have a registered residence now, so it's best if he doesn't make a scene.

Don't be fooled by the impeccably dressed and seemingly refined appearance of these scholars and gentlemen around you.

If you really anger them, they'll devour you without spitting out the bones.

After all, there is no first place in literature, but there is a second place in martial arts.

Among scholars, the competition was all about pride; whoever could catch the eye of the great master Liu Zongyuan was considered superior to the others.

He can't afford to get involved in this kind of limelight right now.

After some time,

Some people also wrote poems and lyrics and handed them to the tea-serving ladies.

However, in the end, no one was invited.

It was getting late.

Qin Chuan also stood up, intending to leave.

Through his previous conversation with Shen Lu, he had gained a fairly good understanding of the brothels and singing houses.

Qin Chuan summoned a waiter to settle the bill. The waiter took a palm-sized bamboo tag from his waist, flipped it over to check the table number engraved on it, and then announced with a smile: "Table number six, one pot of Gu Zhu Zi Sun tea, one tea server, sir, thank you for your kind offer, eight and three-tenths taels of silver."

Upon hearing the price, Qin Chuan couldn't help but frown.

This brothel is really expensive.

He only drank a pot of tea and called a tea server; before anything else had even been prepared, he had already spent nearly an ounce of silver.

He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small piece of silver, estimating it to be about an ounce, and placed it on the counter: "Keep the change." He then glanced at Shen Lu, "Consider the extra a reward."

The servant neatly accepted the silver, bowed, and said, "Thank you for the reward, sir."

Shen Lu also curtsied and respectfully escorted Qin Chuan to the door.

After leaving the brothel,

Qin Chuan also sighed.

He admitted that he had underestimated the ancient brothels.

Although he also wanted to talk to the manager of the brothel about the gambling den's maids,

But we also know that based on his current size...

The people in charge wouldn't even give him a second glance; they might even think he was there to cause trouble.

The matter of the gambling den maids still needs to be considered more carefully.

On his way back, Qin Chuan also bought some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, as he still had to hand in the homework assigned by the old teacher tomorrow.

......

The next day,

Mingxue Academy.

The old scholar took the homework Qin Chuan handed him and looked down to examine it carefully.

Although the handwriting on the paper was not exactly neat and elegant, each stroke was clear and distinct, with horizontal lines clearly defined and vertical lines clearly defined, without any carelessness or perfunctory work.

It is clear that he put a lot of effort into writing it, without being impatient or hasty.

The old master nodded slightly.

"Hmm, the handwriting is acceptable."

After checking the students' handwriting, the old teacher changed the subject and casually asked about the meanings of the characters he had taught the day before, as well as some basic knowledge of literature and science.

Qin Chuan answered each question one by one. Although he couldn't answer fluently, his answers were clear and logical, without any pauses.

The old master asked this question not to make things difficult, but to test the child's abilities.

Those who study literature should be wary of having a weak foundation. If they hear a few words today but miss a few tomorrow, they will end up with a half-cooked meal.

He had assumed that Qin Chuan had only listened to the conversation from outside the window for a few days, and that it was already difficult enough for him to write down those few words; he probably wouldn't be able to answer anything else.

Unexpectedly, Qin Chuan not only answered correctly, but also answered quite thoroughly.

The old master deliberately asked some questions two levels deeper, and Qin Chuan, after a little thought, was able to give a reasonable answer.

This doesn't seem like someone who's only secretly learned for a few days.

The old scholar pondered for a moment, then finally couldn't help but ask, "Did you attend school before? Did something happen to your family that prevented you from continuing your studies?"

The question was asked tactfully, yet it was also direct.

The old master had seen many children like this, whose families were originally well-off, but suddenly suffered misfortune, and their path to education was cut off.

After all, the person in front of him didn't seem to have learned by stealing, so he made this guess in his mind.

Qin Chuan shook his head, his expression frank: "Sir, you are wise, I have never attended school."

He paused, and seeing the old teacher's puzzled expression, he told the truth: "To be honest, it happened just a few days ago. That day I was passing by and went to fetch water from the well over there. I heard the sound of reading coming from the school, and for some reason I couldn't move. After that, I came here every day."

"A few days ago?" The old scholar was slightly taken aback. "You mean, you only attended the classes for these past few days?"