Chapter 104: Become famous

“Good poem!”

“The calligraphy is good, the poetry is even better!”

"I just don't know who will win in this competition with Master Li."

Su Fengzhang smiled, but did not put down the wolf hair brush in his hand. Instead, he picked up the brush and started painting next to the poem.

I saw a landscape painting in ink taking shape under his brush. The smoke and clouds between the sky and the earth changed, and the weather changed from windy to rainy. The bushes on the distant hilltops looked like mushrooms, and you could even vaguely see an old man wearing a hat walking.

The Qingjiang River flows down the mountain, and one can almost hear the sound of the rushing water. Passenger ships go downstream, which is clearly a scene of prosperity.

A corner of the eaves is visible on the right side of the painting. Although Linjiang Tower does not appear in the entire painting, people who are familiar with it will think of Linjiang Tower at first sight.

If everyone praised the poem when they saw it, then at this moment there was complete silence upstairs, and no one disturbed the changing clouds in the painting, for fear of disturbing the beautiful scenery in the painting.

Su Fengzhang put down the wolf hair brush, looked at himself and was quite satisfied, then took out his private seal and pressed it down.

This seal made of Tianhuang stone was given by Gu Beichen. He found a good craftsman to make it. It has the four characters "Lake and Mountain Stranger" engraved on it. I'm afraid only he knows the meaning of it.

The bright red private seal was imprinted, and only then did those who were immersed in the painting come back to their senses.

Meng Ting was the first to praise, "I didn't expect Brother Su to have such extraordinary talent in poetry and painting. With just a few strokes, he brought Linjiang Tower to life, making it feel as if you were right there in the painting. It's a great honor to be able to see such a meticulously detailed masterpiece today."

Meng Ting's words opened up the conversation, and the others also praised him:

"As the saying goes, when a pen is full of ink, it must be referring to a master like Brother Su."

"Look at this painting, it's so powerful that it can be seen through the paper. It's really amazing."

"Even the mulberry fungi in the mountains can be vaguely seen. The rocks are thick and vigorous, and the Qingjiang River is broad and majestic. It is even more rare."

"The most precious thing is this artistic conception. Many people have painted Linjiang Tower, but very few can capture this artistic conception..."

Li Sanlang's face turned dark blue, and he felt even more annoyed when he saw the painting. He wished he could paint one right now.

But at least he still had self-awareness, knowing that he couldn't produce such a masterpiece in a short period of time. He could only snort coldly and say, "It's a good painting, but Mr. Su, have you forgotten that we are competing in poetry, not painting?"

Su Fengzhang laughed and said, "Indeed, it is true. I was reckless. I was so excited about painting that I forgot about the poetry competition. Please ignore this painting when you comment on it."

Having said that, once this painting appeared, it immediately enhanced the poem's charm, and it was not something that could be ignored at will.

Meng Ting laughed out loud and said, "What's so reckless about this? If Brother Su hadn't written it just now, it would have been a pity for everyone present."

This statement was agreed by most people present, and several painting enthusiasts even said loudly, "That's right! Mr. Su's masterpiece is rare to see, and it really opened our eyes."

Su Fengzhang smiled implicitly, acting like a pure and innocent white lotus.

In fact, he did this on purpose. After all, Su Fengzhang's talent in poetry was just average. Even with Lin Changqing's teaching, he was only making progress, and there was still some distance between him and being a brilliant talent.

This is determined by the level of talent. Su Fengzhang deeply feels that unless he plagiarizes the poems of the ancients, his level in this life will be just like this, and there is no way he can overtake others in poetry.

But as a writer, he will definitely have countless literary gatherings in the future, and such poetry competitions will happen more or less. Su Fengzhang doesn't want to lose more than he wins, so he has to rack his brains to deal with it every time.

Since he couldn't avoid it, he could only find another way, such as painting.

It would be a waste if the skills brought from the previous life were not used. Others present thought this painting was amazing because the layout and techniques used in it were very advanced. The composition combined high, deep and flat methods, presenting the beauty of the golden ratio.

Sure enough, as soon as the painting came out, everyone's attention shifted from the poem to the painting, and they commented and praised it.

Li Sanlang, growing impatient, snorted coldly, "You all have plenty of time to admire the paintings. Why don't we decide the winner first?"

Meng Ting laughed without giving him face, "Li San, why are you jumping up and down? Open your eyes and take a look. Everyone is only focused on Brother Su's poems and paying no attention to yours. Isn't it obvious who won?"

Li Sanlang's face darkened. He was unwilling to admit this and only said, "They are looking at paintings, not poems."

Meng Ting said, "There's poetry in the painting, and painting in the poetry. This artistic conception alone far surpasses your craftsmanlike quatrain. Why bother to invite humiliation?"

Li Sanlang was furious. He looked up and saw that everyone around him actually agreed. Even some of his friends were crowding over to look at the painting. He pushed forward impulsively and shouted, "Su Fengzhang, what do you say?"

Su Fengzhang bowed slightly and said innocently, "I'm unworthy of your high praise. In terms of poetry, this poem of mine is mediocre. I can only say that there are no mistakes. It's on par with Brother Li's, and it's hard to tell who's better."

"You all are praising me now because of this painting. If I win, it would be an unfair victory."

"It's good that you know." Li Sanlang snorted, "You're so self-aware. Just compete in poetry. Why bother with all these weird tricks? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at if you tell others about it?"

As soon as these words fell, the painting enthusiasts in the crowd became unhappy and shouted, "Writing poetry is talent, and painting is also talent. Li Sanlang, I respect your talent, but you can't insult your painting skills with your tricks and gimmicks."

Many scholars love painting, so they naturally felt uncomfortable after hearing this and echoed it.

Li Sanlang had just spoken hastily and regretted it the moment he said it. Now he was in a difficult position and said with a cold face, "Am I wrong? This Su Juren previously made his name with his vernacular novels and operas, but now his poetry competition has turned into painting. This is clearly not the behavior of a gentleman."

Meng Ting's face turned cold, and he angrily shouted, "Li San, you're going too far!"

Su Fengzhang, however, remained calm and said, "Brother Meng, don't be angry. What Brother Li said makes some sense."

"How about this, let's put this painting aside for now, and I'll make another copy for everyone to comment on." Su Fengzhang said.

The shopkeeper of Linjianglou couldn't take his eyes off the painting. Upon hearing this, he said repeatedly, "Mr. Su, please allow me to keep this painting. If it is damaged in any way, it will be the fault of Linjianglou."

Su Fengzhang nodded, copied another poem and put it down. After the two poems were dry, they were hung up for people present to comment on. If they thought a poem was good, they could add a note to the booklet below.

This was a relatively fair method of poetry competition, but this time the people present were extremely biased, and only a few people were on Li Sanlang's side. He was so angry that his cheeks turned red, and he looked like he was ready to bite anyone.

What Li Sanlang didn't know was that the more angry he acted, the more the people around him felt that he lacked the bearing of a scholar. In comparison, Su Fengzhang, who was standing next to him and was handsome and gentle, was much better.

There was already a huge difference in appearance, and now even the temperament was no match. When the two poems were equally matched, unless Li Sanlang was a good friend, people would subconsciously vote for Su Fengzhang.

Seeing the vote gap widening, Li Sanlang squeezed out a sentence through his teeth: "This is unfair. They have all seen the painting and remembered it. Of course, they are biased towards you."

Meng Ting was extremely impatient with his relentless insistence and sneered, "Then what do you think is fair? According to you, everyone present is more familiar with you, Li Sanlang, and is unfamiliar with Brother Su. Isn't that unfair to him?"

Li Sanlang's face darkened and he said angrily, "That's not what I meant."

Meng Ting sneered: "What do you mean?"

Su Fengzhang came out and said, "Mr. Li's words make sense. It's all my fault for just wanting to paint. I do have an idea. Why don't you all listen to it?"

Xu Zifeng quickly said, "Brother Su, please speak."

"Everyone upstairs has certainly seen it, but the people downstairs and outside haven't. Why don't you ask the shopkeeper to take down the two poems and hang them at the entrance of Linjiang Tower so that passersby can comment on them? Brother Li and I can't be in person. Isn't that fair?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zifeng immediately said, "That's a good idea. Those outside the building, let alone the painting, even Brother Su and Brother Li have never seen it. If this isn't fair, wouldn't it be fairer to let His Majesty personally comment on it?"

Li Sanlang also snorted coldly: "You are sensible."

Meng Ting said unhappily, "Li San, Brother Su is good-tempered and always polite, and you are not aggressive."

Li Sanlang glared at him and said, "If I lose this time, I, Li San, will pour tea and wine and personally apologize to Mr. Su."

The shopkeeper personally took down the two poems and hung them outside the door. He also asked two servants to guard the door and call out, and even had people bring out tables and chairs and put out tea and snacks, attracting passers-by to come and see.

Li Sanlang glanced down from the window and was very satisfied. He thought to himself that Su Fengzhang was also a fool. If they went down and stood beside him, others would see that he was good-looking and would definitely vote for him.

Now that they are not going down, even if Su Fengzhang looks like Pan An reborn, it will not add any color to the poem, which is a loss.

He looked at the increasing number of people downstairs with smugness, thinking to himself that he must be the winner today. If he had known this good idea earlier, he should have used it when he had a poetry competition with Meng Ting last time. He wanted to see if Meng Ting could still beat him without that pretty face!

After Li Sanlang finished being happy, he turned around and his face became gloomy again.

Meng Ting paid no attention to him at all. He was just surrounding Su Fengzhang and asking, "Brother Su, quickly take out that painting. We won't be reviewing it now, so this is a good time to appreciate it."

The others nodded in agreement. Li Sanlang even saw some of his good friends in the crowd and was immediately furious.

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Author's words: First update

First shot in the early morning