Chapter 105: Transform the enemy into the enemy

The atmosphere in Linjiang Tower was strange. On one side, scholars were chatting animatedly around a painting, while on the other side, Li Sanlang was drinking in silence with a sullen look on his face.

Li Sanlang's friend had a good conscience. After looking at the painting for a while, he walked back and asked in a low voice, "Sanlang, what are you doing? If someone didn't know you, they'd think you were drowning your sorrows in alcohol."

Li Sanlang wanted to kick him and angrily said, "You still remember to come back."

My friend said with a smile, "Oh, I'm just scouting the enemy for you."

Li Sanlang didn't believe it. He snorted and asked, "What did the reconnaissance find out?"

The friend said, "Su Fengzhang is good-looking, has a good temper, and is a truly wonderful painter. I've never seen Meng Ting admire someone so much. They've become lifelong friends."

Li Sanlang nearly spat out a mouthful of blood in his face and angrily asked, "Are you helping me or mocking me? Are you my friend?"

The friend touched his nose and explained, "I'm telling the truth. Honestly, Su Fengzhang is a carbon copy of Meng Ting, except for his more ordinary family background. However, his temper is much better than Meng Ting's."

"Based on what you just said and what you said, if it was Meng Ting who challenged you to a poetry competition, he would have kicked you down the stairs with his big foot."

Li Sanlang thought it was possible. He had angered Meng Ting many times in the past and was beaten. He felt even more sad.

Li Sanlang, feeling extremely sad, said sullenly, "How dare he? He's just a poor scholar from a small mountain village. He's not good-tempered, he's just a coward. He doesn't dare to go against me."

But my friend disagreed and said, "You are wrong. How could someone who could write 'Song of the Flowers of the Year' be as timid as a mouse? He really doesn't care. Have you read 'Song of the Flowers of the Year'? It's really wonderful, but..."

Li Sanlang became even more annoyed after hearing this. He grabbed his friend and whispered, "Sneak down and help me see who's ahead now. If you see, come up and tell me."

My friend smiled awkwardly, glanced at the other end secretly, and said, "You, you are asking me to help you cheat, no, no."

"What are you cheating about? Did I ask you to help me cheat? Let's see what happens first." Li Sanlang cursed unhappily.

But the friend said, "What difference does it make if I know it earlier or later? Meng Ting is watching over there. You don't know him yet. If I dare to go down, he will scold me. Then I will lose all my dignity. Sanlang, just be patient and wait. I am doing this for your own good."

After saying this, my friend ran away, fearing that he would force him to go downstairs to see.

Li Sanlang could have let his servant go down, but he was a man who cared too much about his reputation and would rather suffer than live. In particular, he absolutely refused to show weakness in front of Meng Ting.

This wait lasted for more than an hour, until the sun set in the west, and the afterglow fell on the Linjiang Tower, and the poetry competition came to an end.

It was the shopkeeper who came up personally, holding the two calligraphy pieces and the book with the names on it. He immediately said, "First of all, I would like to congratulate you two young masters. Your masterpieces are very popular and praised by everyone."

Li Sanlang frowned and shouted, "Boss, just tell me the number of votes."

The shopkeeper, despite being interrupted, remained calm and said with a smile, "Just now, the waiter and I counted the votes three times and confirmed that the number of votes was correct. There were thirty-two people who voted for Master Li."

Thirty-two is not a small number, and Li Sanlang showed a hint of joy in his eyes.

Who knew that the next moment, he would hear the shopkeeper continue with a smile: "There are a total of 132 people who chose Mr. Su, no more, no less, exactly 100 more than those who chose Mr. Li."

"What, how is this possible?" Li Sanlang shouted subconsciously.

The shopkeeper's expression remained unchanged as he continued, "This was chosen by the passersby themselves. I brought my men to keep an eye on it and there was no mistake."

Li Sanlang's face was pale. He obviously didn't expect that he would lose, and lose so miserably.

Meng Ting sneered and asked loudly, "Li San, do you accept the result of this competition? You don't really need to invite the city's masters to come out and comment before you willingly admit defeat, do you?"

Li Sanlang is a man of integrity. He found fault just now because he felt that he had indeed suffered a loss. Now that the final result is out, he can look at it calmly.

Although his face was pale and his body even shook twice, Li Sanlang still held on and said in a hoarse voice: "I lost."

After saying this, Li Sanlang rushed over to pour a cup of tea, held it in both hands and walked up to Su Fengzhang: "Mr. Su, I lost this poetry contest. It's my narrow-mindedness that makes me feel awkward at every step."

Su Fengzhang originally thought that he would definitely not admit defeat directly, but who would have thought that this person would be so decisive.

Li Sanlang showed weakness, and Su Fengzhang's impression of him actually improved a lot.

He reached out and helped Li Sanlang up, with a gentle smile: "Mr. Li, there's no need to be like this. The poetry competition was originally meant to liven up today's literary gathering. There's no need to make a big deal out of it. Besides, Mr. Li didn't mean to make things difficult for me."

Li Sanlang was stunned when he heard this. He now understood why his friend said that Su Fengzhang had a good temper. If he was repeatedly bullied by others, he would not let it go so easily.

Thinking of this, Li Sanlang felt even more guilty. His cheeks flushed with shame as he said, "I did deliberately embarrass you just now."

These words surprised Su Fengzhang. He thought to himself that Li Sanlang looked arrogant and domineering, as if he was the best in the world, but after a few words, he turned out to be a simple and straightforward boy.

In this comparison, he himself became a slutty bitch.

You should know that although this poetry contest was proposed by Li Sanlang, the subsequent development of events was all in Su Fengzhang's plan. He needed to make a name for himself through this poetry contest, and more importantly, spread his reputation as a good painter.

For example, just now when he suggested going downstairs to let outsiders comment, Su Fengzhang knew from the beginning that he would definitely win.

It is just because when Su Fengzhang was first conceiving the poem, it was straightforward, easy to understand and catchy. Readers may find it a little simple, but others like it more.

The fact was just as he expected. In the end, the difference in the number of votes was huge. It was not that Li Sanlang was so much worse than him, but that this competition had been in his plan from the beginning, and everyone around him was a flag.

Su Fengzhang's smile became more sincere. He liked dealing with simple people. "Although it was intentional, it wasn't malicious."

Without waiting for Li Sanlang to speak, Su Fengzhang took the cup of tea, took a sip, and asked with a smile, "I accept the apology. It's fate that we can meet today. Brother Li, why don't we sit down and have a drink?"

"You want to drink with me?" Li Sanlang asked in surprise. He thought Su Fengzhang would be like Meng Ting, who would want to stay away from him when he saw him.

"Brother Li, are you willing to give me this face?" Su Fengzhang asked with a smile.

"Why not? Come on, I'll treat you to the best wine in Linjiang Tower." Li Sanlang laughed and pulled Su Fengzhang away. Before leaving, he glanced at Meng Ting with pride.

Meng Ting was puzzled by his gaze and grabbed the person next to him and asked, "Brother Xu, why is he glaring at me? Is he feeling proud of having snatched my friend away?"

Xu Zifeng couldn't stand the two people arguing over every word, so he quickly said, "I didn't see anything, don't think too much."

"But why are all of you vying with me to be the host today? I don't even have enough money to spend."

As expected, Li Sanlang ordered the best wine from Linjiang Tower. A small pot of this Linjiangchun wine cost two taels of silver, and it was gone in just a few sips. Ordinary people really couldn't afford it.

Su Fengzhang took a sip and found that the taste was indeed very good. The wine was a clear green color and tasted slightly intoxicating.

He took the wine pot and poured a glass of wine for Li Sanlang himself, saying with a smile: "Brother Li just poured tea for me, and now I'm adding wine for you. Can we consider this a drink to settle our grudges?"

Li Sanlang liked this talk very much and said with a smile, "Then I'll do it."

After finishing the glass of wine in one gulp, Li Sanlang said, "If I had known you weren't as annoying as Meng Ting, I wouldn't have bothered you."

Just then, Meng Ting came up from behind. Upon hearing this, he snorted coldly, "When it comes to annoying people, I can't compare to you."

After saying this, he didn't leave, but sat down here and poured himself a glass of wine.

Li Sanlang snorted coldly, "Don't drink the wine I bought. If you want to drink, go buy it yourself."

But Meng Ting was determined to oppose him: "Your money was given by Uncle Meng. Uncle Meng will definitely be happy to treat me to a drink."

Li Sanlang was immediately furious. If Su Fengzhang had not been there, he would have rushed over to fight him.

He simply turned his head away and said, "Brother Su, can I take a look at that painting? I actually liked it when I saw it just now, but I didn't dare to say it because I was afraid you would laugh at me."

"What's wrong with that?" Su Fengzhang said with a smile.

The painting was still on the table at the other end, so the three of them simply walked over. Li Sanlang stopped criticizing and said sincerely, "Meng may have a sharp tongue, but what he said just now was true. I'm far inferior to you."

Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "Brother Li, are you praising me like this now? Are you trying to make me dizzy and drink less so that you can save some money?"

After hearing this, Li Sanlang couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Seeing that the atmosphere on their side had eased, the shopkeeper came over again and said with a smile: "Mr. Su, I have an unwelcome request. I wonder if you can agree to it."

"Please speak first, old sir," Su Fengzhang asked.

The shopkeeper then said, "This poem and this painting were both written for Linjiang Tower. They are a perfect match for our Linjiang Tower. I would like to ask Master Su to keep this calligraphy and have it framed and hung in the tower. I wonder if you would agree."

When Su Fengzhang heard this, he smiled and said, "It was originally made for Linjiang Tower, so the old man kept it."

Li Sanlang, however, smiled and jokingly said, "Old sir, you just agreed to a fee, but where's the money now?"

The shopkeeper quickly said, "I just said it casually just now, thinking it would cheer you up. Who knew your poems and paintings were so exquisite that they are worth more than a hundred taels of silver. Let me prepare the gift and I will give it to you later."

Li Sanlang waved his hand. He actually didn't care about that little bit of silver at all. He just mentioned it casually.

But when he turned around, Li Sanlang smiled and said, "Brother Su, if there is a chance, I would also like to ask for a calligraphy."

"What's so difficult about this? Drawing poems and giving them to friends is also an elegant thing." Su Fengzhang said with a smile.

Meng Ting couldn't help but say, "Then give it to me, not him. Li Sanlang is a mediocre money-grubber, how can he understand your paintings?"

So Li Sanlang started arguing with him again. Both of them were arguing with red faces and looked like they were about to fight at any moment. However, looking at the expressions of the people around them, they seemed to be used to them confronting each other like this and were not worried at all.