Chapter 23 The Fairy in the Painting is Exposed

Shen Moyuan coughed lightly, stood up, rolled up his sleeves, raised his head slightly, and slowly paced back and forth, his hands behind his back, looking thoughtful.

He had only taken seven steps when he stopped and began to recite the poem he had chosen from his mind.

As soon as the poem was finished, the eyes of everyone present, who had been listening quietly, lit up.

"Wonderful! Lord Shen is indeed exceptionally talented!"

Indeed, we are far from being able to catch up with them!

"Lord Shen has added another masterpiece to his collection of timeless works!"

"Compared to Scholar Shao's poems, Lord Shen's poems are worlds apart!"

"What a beautiful poem!"

"That's right, that's right! Lord Shen's poetic talent is unparalleled!"

"Such a masterpiece! Lord Shen was able to compose a poem in seven steps. He is indeed a man of great talent and quick wit!"

"Upon listening to Lord Shen's poems today, I felt as if they were not poems that could be heard in the mortal world, but rather poems written by the God of Literature in the heavens. It is truly astonishing!"

Amidst countless praises, everyone's gaze subconsciously turned to the person who had just uttered such flattering words. They saw a well-dressed scholar holding a folding fan, his face filled with ingratiation. It was immediately recognized that this person was Chen Yunhe, the son of a wealthy merchant.

Everyone couldn't help but mutter to themselves, "What a sycophant!"

Amidst the praise from the crowd, Shen Moyuan tried his best to suppress the corners of his mouth, making himself appear even more humble.

Sun Heqing, sitting in the main seat, frowned in thought. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Shao Yanzhe's poem and Shen Moyuan's poem were inexplicably similar, with some resemblance in word choice and sentence structure. Upon closer examination, he found that Shao Yanzhe's poem was more mature and sophisticated, and its artistic conception was more expansive than that of Shen Moyuan's poem.

Just as Shen Moyuan's vanity was about to reach its peak, Shao Yanzhe spoke up, stepping forward and interrupting everyone's praise.

"Lord Shen's poem is exquisite, especially the last line, which captures the essence of the poem. It not only expresses his longing for his family but also his boundless expectations for his future career."

Hearing Shao Yanzhe's words, the scholars felt goosebumps on their arms. This man was even more shameless than Chen Yunhe, and he actually started to have enlightenment on the spot!

Shen Moyuan couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth. He revealed a smug smile and nodded slightly to Shao Yanzhe. Just as he was about to say a few words of modesty, Shao Yanzhe interrupted him again.

He couldn't help but frown slightly, feeling a little displeased.

“However…” Shao Yanzhe raised his hand and bowed to the crowd, his face showing hesitation, “I once came across a collection of poems, and the poem that Lord Shen just wrote was included in it.”

Upon hearing this, the entire Deer Cry Banquet fell into a deathly silence.

The scholars all looked at Shao Yanzhe, their pupils trembling, clearly shocked by his words.

Shen Moyuan's curled fingers trembled slightly, and then his face darkened: "What do you mean by that, Chief Scholar Shao? Do you suspect me of plagiarism?"

Shao Yanzhe cupped his hands in greeting and said, "I dare not, but I have indeed seen the poem that Lord Shen just wrote in a collection of poems. It just so happens that I have this collection with me. I can let Lord Shen take a look and see if this collection of poems was accidentally leaked by you."

As he spoke, he took out a slightly yellowed book from his sleeve.

Shen Moyuan was about to reach out and take it, but a hand took it first.

"Let me, the young master, take a look first!"

Zhou Jiming, with his spoiled and dissolute demeanor, snatched the poetry collection and began to read it.

When he turned to the poem that had the same content as the one Shen Moyuan had just written, he looked up at Shen Moyuan with a look of suspicion in his eyes.

Shen Moyuan's breath hitched; that look sent chills down his spine.

calm!

Yun Weiyue did not leave behind any collection of poems back then!

The poetry collection in Shao Yanzhe's hands is definitely fake!

Thinking of this, he looked at Zhou Jiming, his eyes flashing coldly: "Young Master Zhou, are you and Chief Judge Shao conspiring to slander me?"

Zhou Jiming rolled his eyes at him and said, "Lord Shen, you're overthinking it!"

After he finished speaking, he had flipped through all the poems in his hand. Then he closed the book and handed it to Shen Moyuan: "Here, take a look for yourself!"

Shen Moyuan glanced at the poetry collection, reached out and picked it up to look through it. When he saw the first poem, his pupils contracted sharply, his lips trembled slightly, and then he pursed his lips to maintain his composure.

He was very familiar with the notes in the poetry collection. He and Yun Weiyue had been childhood sweethearts since they were young, and he knew her notes very well.

He was very familiar with the dozens of poems included here; they were the very poems that Yun Weiyue had recited to him when they were together.

How could this be!

Just as Shen Moyuan was in a state of confusion, Shao Yanzhe spoke up again: "Lord Shen, are you sure? Is this collection of poems yours?"

Shen Moyuan paused slightly, glanced at the poetry collection, then took it in his hand and said with a softened expression, "That's right, this poetry collection does indeed belong to me. It was probably an accident by a servant in my household that caused the poetry collection to leak out."

Shao Yanzhe: "So, all the poems in this collection were written by Lord Shen?"

Shen Moyuan stared at him with dark eyes, a hint of impatience in them: "That's right!"

Upon receiving this answer, Shao Yanzhe immediately smiled.

When Shen Moyuan saw his smile, he felt uneasy. He felt that things were gradually slipping out of his control, and he wanted to escape immediately.

But Shao Yanzhe's presence made him feel threatened, and it also made him lose face at the Deer Cry Banquet.

"Alright, since that's the case, I still advise Scholar Shao not to say anything he shouldn't without solid evidence, lest he bring trouble upon himself."

After Shen Moyuan finished speaking, he was about to leave, thinking that he would find a way to get rid of Shao Yanzhe when he got back.

Unexpectedly, Shao Yanzhe said slowly, "I didn't expect Lord Shen to admit to plagiarism!"

Shen Moyuan immediately glared at him with a livid face and said, "When did I admit to plagiarism? Chief Scholar Shao, don't make false accusations!"

Shao Yanzhe calmly pointed to the poetry collection in his hand and said, "Lord Shen probably didn't see it clearly. The author of this poetry collection is Yun Shang Jushi, the first female top scholar in the first year of Dayong who almost achieved the highest rank."

The first person to object was surprisingly Chen Yunhe, who pointed at him with a folding fan and said, "What nonsense are you talking about! The top scholar who achieved the highest rank in the first year of the Dayong era was clearly Lord Shen!"

"Yes, I remember it clearly. In the first year of Dayong, the first person to achieve the highest rank in the imperial examinations was Lord Shen!"

"That's right! I also remember it was Lord Shen! Who is Yun Weiyue? Do you know her?"

"I don't know her! I've never even heard of her. Judging from the name, it must be a woman's given name. I never expected that Scholar Shao would reveal it. It's utterly ruining her reputation!"

"A female top scholar? Has Shao Xiucai gone mad? The laws of the Dayong Dynasty clearly stipulate that women are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations. How could a woman possibly participate and almost become the top scholar?"

"Even though I am well-versed in history, I have never known when the Dayong Dynasty allowed women to participate in the imperial examinations!"

"What kind of scientific examinations should women participate in? Women should be virtuous, gentle, quiet, and stay at home obediently to marry and have children!"

"That's right! A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent; she has no need for the imperial examinations!"

"I think Shao Xiu is bewitched by something, that's why he's spouting nonsense here!"

"It's likely that Scholar Shao's memories have been altered by those kinds of ghosts, which is why he said that!"

Despite the accusations from those around him, Shao Yanzhe remained unmoved. He ignored them and kept staring at Shen Moyuan.

Seeing that he didn't speak, he chuckled and said, "Could it be that Lord Shen has already forgotten his childhood sweetheart and his wife, Yun Weiyue?"

“Are you perhaps having a memory problem? Lord Shen’s wife is the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Revenue, not Yun Weiyue at all,” Chen Yunhe said.

"That's right! Lord Shen only has one wife. What is the relationship between Yun Weiyue and Lord Shen?"

"That's right! I think Shao Xiucai's brain must be broken, otherwise why would he say such strange things today?"

"First a female top scholar, then accusing Lord Shen of plagiarism, and now they even say that this Yun Weiyue and Lord Shen are childhood sweethearts and husband and wife. What utter nonsense!"

"If this Yun Weiyue is really that amazing, how come neither of us has ever heard of her talent?"

"That's right! I've never heard of it either!"

Shen Moyuan smiled slightly. This was done by that lord himself, erasing Yun Weiyue's memories from everyone's minds.

His fingertips touched the spider mark on his forearm. The uneven texture made him feel very at ease. As long as it was there, no one would remember Yun Weiyue!

After a long silence, he finally spoke: "Scholar Shao, I don't know who instructed you to slander me at this Deer Cry Banquet, but I can tell you that I do not know any Yun Weiyue, and the Dayong Dynasty has never allowed women to participate in the imperial examinations!"

Shao Yanzhe smiled and took out a yellowed booklet from his sleeve. On the indigo cover was a square red seal that read "Seal of Gaoyuan County".

"It's the county gazetteer!"

The scholars present immediately recognized that what he was holding was the county gazetteer, which they had all read before and were familiar with.

Shao Yanzhe opened the county annals and showed everyone the records of Yun Weiyue from that year.

"Why don't you all take a look for yourselves? This clearly records Yun Weiyue's information, and it also includes the existence of Shen Moyuan, the son of the Shen family."

Those who were close to him instinctively moved closer, and upon glancing over, they saw that, just as he had said, the record contained the deeds of a woman named Yun Weiyue.

[The eldest daughter of the Yun family, named Weiyue, could recognize characters at the age of three, compose poems at five, and write excellent prose at nine, her talent renowned throughout the time. At seventeen, she took the imperial examinations and repeatedly achieved top marks. At eighteen, she married Shen Moyuan, the son of the Shen family. In the metropolitan examination, she again ranked first, which amazed her contemporaries.]

Shao Yanzhe showed the county gazetteer to Shen Moyuan and said earnestly, "Lord Shen, I have not slandered you. This county gazetteer does indeed record Yun Weiyue. Why don't you take a look?"

Shen Moyuan's face was dark with anger. That bitch Mo Ying dared to lie to him. She clearly said that she had killed the person who stole the county annals.

Could it be that she betrayed him?