The moment Sun Jian saw Governor Yao, he knew that this man was no ordinary person.

Governor Yao, like Magistrate Wang, had a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. However, Governor Yao looked much older than Magistrate Wang, probably close to sixty years old.

Governor Yao's hair was mostly white, even his eyebrows and beard were white. But strangely enough, despite his appearance, he was tall and had a straight back. In particular, his bright eyes looked very spirited.

He looks very much like Kao Hsiung, a veteran Hong Kong star in a later film starring Sun Jian.

The three chatted happily in the study, like old friends meeting again. They talked about everything from local customs to poetry and songs. Yao Tianzheng's words were full of praise and admiration for Sun Jian, but he didn't mention potatoes, compound bows, grenades, or even medical skills. He also didn't imply that Sun Jian should serve as an official in the court, which made Sun Jian feel even more strange.

Since others weren't bringing up these topics, Sun Jian naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to stir up trouble.

Lord Yao was very humble in front of Sun Jian, referring to himself as "Yao Mou" or "this humble one," while addressing Sun Jian as "sir" and "you." He lowered himself considerably in his words and did not hold back his praise, which pleased Sun Jian greatly but also made him more confused.

Born into a lowly family, his home was destitute, he had no clothes to cover his body, no land to cultivate, and he went hungry nine times out of three days.

Another official of the second rank, a high-ranking minister of the court, a minister in the Imperial Study, and the governor of Yongzhou and the grand tutor of the crown prince.

It must be understood that in an era that placed great emphasis on status and hierarchy, the gap between Sun Jian and Governor Yao was enormous, an insurmountable chasm.

Sun Jian understood why Lord Wang was so polite to him, but the fact that Governor Yao was the same way left him somewhat puzzled.

After chatting for two hours, Lord Wang saw that they had arrived at the restaurant and suggested that they go to eat together. He said that he had already made a reservation at Juxianlou Restaurant in Hongnong County and wanted Sun Jian and Lord Yao to go together and have a drink.

"All right."

Sun Jian reluctantly agreed, after all, they had waited for him for several hours, and he had to give them this much face.

When they arrived at Juxianlou, it was already afternoon. Sun Jian had been starving all day, so he ate heartily.

The three began to drink and chat at the dinner table. After a few rounds of drinks, it got dark.

Governor Yao was enjoying his drink to the fullest today. Gazing at the full moon outside the window, he raised a glass of wine and was suddenly inspired to write poetry.

"The moon splashes across the Milky Way, the willow shadows fade, and the gentle breeze caresses the face as winter's stillness arrives."

"The solitary lamp does not think of the jade-like brilliance, but must be Chang'e gazing at the mirror."

After saying this, Lord Wang suddenly downed a cup of wine and exclaimed, "What a fine poem! What a fine poem!"

"What a fitting description: it must be Chang'e gazing at the mirror!"

"My esteemed teacher's literary talent remains undiminished! This poem is of exceptional talent and brilliance, with words that are finite but meaning that is infinite."

Seeing how Magistrate Wang was exaggerating Yao Tianzheng's words, which were extremely pretentious, Sun Jian rolled his eyes, awkwardly rubbed his forehead, and turned his face away.

That's it? And you call that poetry?

So, they're only at a mid-level, okay? Have they never seen what poetry is?

This is not the fault of Governor Yao. After all, he was just a general, and his level of poetry was quite good.

Magistrate Wang is really something, how come he acts like those old folks in the village?

If Sun Jian hadn't known beforehand that he was an honest official, he would have thought Sun Jian had gotten his position through flattery, given his current servile demeanor.

It's strange, though. Magistrate Wang's mentor was a high-ranking official of the second rank in the imperial court. How come he's almost fifty years old now and has only managed to become a seventh-rank magistrate?

Could there be something fishy going on here?

"Sir, sir?"

Magistrate Wang called out to Sun Jian twice, but found that he did not respond, so he gently nudged Sun Jian with his arm.

"Ah! I'm here, what's up?"

Sun Jian suddenly came to his senses and quickly responded.

"What are you thinking about, sir?"

"Oh, I was just thinking... thinking about Lord Yao's matter... what about the poem?"

"What do you think of your teacher's poems, sir?"

Holy crap!

He really is an old hand!

Magistrate Wang looked at Sun Jian with an expectant expression, his eagerness to get unanimous approval from Sun Jian made Sun Jian's scalp tingle.

“Very good, very good.” Sun Jian nodded and replied casually.

The answer itself wasn't particularly wrong, but the perfunctory attitude was obvious to anyone, instantly creating an extremely awkward atmosphere.

"Uh... Yao's poems do indeed have a lot of room for improvement. I would appreciate Mr. Sun's guidance."

Yao Tianzheng wasn't angry. Instead, he suggested that Sun Jian give him some pointers.

Sun Jian glanced helplessly at Magistrate Wang, then smiled slightly and said, "Lord Yao is too kind. Actually, your poem is quite good. If I were to give my opinion, well... I think..."

Before he could finish speaking, Magistrate Wang, based on his past experience, thought Sun Jian was being modest and promptly interrupted him.

“My dear teacher! You hold an official title, so you must have unique insights into poetry and literature. In my opinion, I will leave it at that. Why not take advantage of today’s Mid-Autumn Festival and have Mr. Sun compose a poem as well?”

"hiss."

Sun Jian gasped in shock, his eyes widening as he stared at Magistrate Wang.

You old rascal!

How can you not tell if someone is being nice or mean?

When did I ever have unique insights into poetry?

“Alright, then let Mr. Sun recite a poem as well, so that our acquaintance today will not have been in vain.” Before Sun Jian could refuse, Yao Tianzheng spoke up.

Now Sun Jian was caught in the middle, and there was no way he could escape even if he wanted to.

Sun Jian was dumbfounded.

He can't recite poems. He can recite them, but writing them would be too difficult for him.

Wait! Reciting poetry?

Yes, why don't I just copy down some poems by those literary masters from my past life to get by?

Anyway, nobody in this world knows Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi, or anyone like that, and their poems have never appeared before, so I can just copy whatever I want.

The Daqian Dynasty has always been militarily strong but culturally weak, producing very few renowned literary figures throughout history. As a result, the people of Daqian have always been referred to as the Northern Barbarians by the Great Zhou and Great Xia kingdoms.

This has been a long-standing problem for the Great Gan Kingdom, and Emperor Ganwu has always been troubled by it. However, this is not something that can be solved in a short time.

"Alright, then I'll humbly offer my humble opinion."

Helpless, Sun Jian picked up his wine cup, stood up, paced to the window, and gazed at the full moon in the sky, beginning to gather his emotions.

Reciting poems can't just be done off the cuff; it has to be accompanied by acting skills, otherwise, it'll be obvious at a glance that it's fake.

After about half an incense stick's time to brew, Sun Jian closed his eyes, drank the wine in his cup in one gulp, and began to shake his head.

Seeing that he had almost finished his act, Sun Jian didn't hesitate and directly copied Su Shi's "Prelude to Water Melody: When Will the Moon Be Bright?"

Sun Jian raised his wine cup and looked up at the moon.

"When will the moon be clear and bright? I raise my cup to ask the blue sky."