Chapter 22 The Fairy in the Painting Composing Poetry
The following day, Shao Yanzhe dressed neatly and went to the Deer Banquet alone.
Originally, Liu Mingyuan and the other three wanted to go to the Deer Cry Banquet with him, but he was going to cause trouble at the banquet, so it was best to keep his distance from them. Therefore, he made an excuse not to go with them.
Even if the adults at the Deer Cry Banquet hold a grudge against you in the future, they will not be implicated by you.
Soon, Shao Yanzhe arrived at the Deer Cry Banquet.
He had deliberately arrived a little early, and before the Deer Cry Banquet began, he wandered around casually, seemingly admiring the scenery around him.
In fact, when no one was looking, he buried the black jade pendant that had fallen from his sleeve into the ground.
These black jade tablets were given to him by Yun Suqing; they were the medium for her ghost realm. With these jade tablets, she would no longer fear the unique national fortune aura of the government and could enter it.
Of course, it can only last for half an hour.
As time went by, the scholars who were going to attend the Deer Cry Banquet arrived one after another. They gathered in twos and threes, discussing their essays with each other, and they all looked like they were eager to learn.
Only Shao Yanzhe sat alone in the seat closest to the head of the table, occasionally pouring himself a cup of tea. Although he was alone, he looked quite content.
Liu Mingyuan and his three companions saw them from afar and originally wanted to go over for a chat, but the four were renowned scholars in the entire Pingshan Prefecture, and the other scholars gathered around them, wanting to admire their talent.
Shen Jingzhou didn't like this atmosphere. He glanced at Shao Yanzhe, who was drinking tea alone, and felt envious. He wanted to switch places with Brother Shao.
A scholar who was talking to him noticed his movements. He followed his gaze and saw Shao Yanzhe drinking tea alone.
What appeared to Shen Jingzhou as a carefree and serene Shao Yanzhe was seen as a source of desolation by this scholar, who couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
It seems this top scholar isn't all that great, lacking any close friends. He must have some character flaws!
That's what he thought.
In fact, after the incident at the teahouse, many scholars wanted to befriend Shao Yanzhe. However, before the Deer Cry Banquet, he gave them some of the problems he had solved before to copy.
They agreed that neither of them could approach him alone until they had solved all the problems.
It was at this moment that Shen Moyuan finally arrived with the examiners.
Upon noticing their arrival, the scholars who were talking quickly stood in their assigned positions according to the ranking list and bowed to the officials.
"Greetings, Your Excellency!"
"Okay, please sit down!"
As the chief examiner for this exam, Shen Moyuan naturally sat in the main seat.
The other two adults glanced at Sun Heqing subconsciously, and seeing that he casually found a seat, they didn't interfere and asked Shen Moyuan to give up the main seat.
Shao Yanzhe sat down and looked ahead, where he met a familiar face.
He raised an eyebrow, surprised to see Zhou Jiming here.
Zhou Jiming also saw him, or rather, had been watching him. After their eyes met, he smiled at him as a greeting.
Shao Yanzhe nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Shen Moyuan in the middle.
He scrutinized the man closely. Because of the special occasion of the Deer Cry Banquet, he was wearing a scarlet official robe, which made him look even more imposing and intimidating, making people afraid to look him in the eye.
Shen Moyuan noticed a scrutinizing gaze falling on him. He looked up and saw a scholar dressed in a moon-white robe.
He recognized the scholar's appearance somewhat; after a brief recollection, he remembered seeing him outside the bookstore before.
He never expected that such a down-on-his-luck, impoverished scholar would be the top scholar in the examination!
He narrowed his eyes, recalling the exam paper he had seen before, and felt only displeasure.
He stared at Shao Yanzhe with a stern face, a hint of malice flashing in his eyes, and then said, "So this is the top scholar this time. He looks dignified, and his writing skills are also quite outstanding. No wonder he was able to suppress all the students in Pingshan Prefecture and win the top spot."
In that case, why don't we compose a poem on the spot for everyone to enjoy, with the theme of the Mid-Autumn Festival? What do you all think?
After hearing this, the scholars below glanced at Shao Yanzhe, some curious about whether his writing skills were truly superior to those of Shen Jingzhou and others, while others were dissatisfied that he had outshone them at such a banquet.
Feeling the various gazes upon him, Shao Yanzhe remained calm and immediately cupped his hands, saying, "Then this student will humbly accept your invitation!"
He stood up, looked at everyone, and said, "I happen to have a rather good poem here. I will read it aloud now for everyone, including Lord Shen, to appreciate and comment on."
When he mentioned Lord Shen, he raised his voice slightly, looked at Shen Moyuan meaningfully, and then began to recite.
Shen Moyuan's expression grew increasingly grim as he listened. He gripped the wine glass tightly, a look of jealousy and hatred flashing in his eyes.
He hadn't expected that this poor scholar not only wrote well but was also skilled at poetry, his level almost reaching 60% of that other person's.
"Excellent! This poem depicts the beauty of nature through the imagery of the bright moon and falling leaves, and also subtly conveys a sense of loneliness and wandering. A fine poem!"
"Indeed! A fine poem! But I think Brother Shao's poem reflects a detached and open-minded spirit, not loneliness!"
"Truly worthy of being the top scholar, you have written a masterpiece in such a short time. I am far inferior to you!"
"Brother, don't underestimate yourself. One day, you and I will be able to write some good poems."
"Yes, yes, you are right, brother."
...
Shen Moyuan's face darkened. He tilted his head back and drank the wine in his hand in one gulp. Listening to the constant praise for Shao Yanzhe's poems, he picked up the wine pot next to him, poured himself another cup, and drank it all in one go. After drinking three or five cups like this, the anger that had been building up in his heart was finally released.
Seeing his actions, Shao Yanzhe couldn't help but smile. Yun Weiyue really understood Shen Moyuan; she couldn't stand anyone being better than him.
He bowed to the crowd and thanked them, saying, "Thank you all for your praise!"
He turned to look at Shen Moyuan and saw that he had drunk another glass of wine.
He spoke directly, "I wonder if Lord Shen could offer some guidance?"
Shen Moyuan put down his empty wine glass, looked up at Shao Yanzhe, and met his calm yet proud gaze.
Looking into those familiar yet unfamiliar eyes, he suddenly felt a little dazed, as if he had returned to the scene of the Deer Cry Banquet when he participated in the academy examination.
That person, like Shao Yanzhe, became the focus of everyone's attention as the top scorer in the provincial examination.
He could only stay in a corner, looking up at her as she made friends, while he drank alone to relieve his boredom, and heard others mocking him.
"I heard that Scholar Yun's husband is named Shen Moyuan, and he only came in second place in this year's provincial examination."
"Tsk! Is Shen Moyuan even a man? How come he can't even compare to a woman?"
"Of course he's a man! If he weren't a man, how could he be so lucky as to marry Scholar Yun?"
"Hehe, what do you think? When Scholar Yun passes the imperial examination with flying colors, or even achieves the highest score and becomes the top scholar, and Shen Moyuan is still second, overshadowed by his wife, won't he be too ashamed to go out?"
"Hmph! If I were Shen Moyuan, I wouldn't even be ashamed to go out! A man who can't even compare to his own wife! Useless!"
For a moment, Shen Moyuan's expression twisted, and he suddenly squeezed the wine glass so hard that the beautiful porcelain glass shattered.
Sharp shards of broken porcelain pierced his palm, the pain snapping him out of his reverie.
Things are different now!
That woman is dead!
Even after death, one's soul is still under one's control!
Thinking of this, a smug smile returned to his face.
"Of course, your poem is quite good, but a few parts are too contrived. Changing the jade plate to the bright moon would be more natural..."
Shen Moyuan spoke eloquently, criticizing Shao Yanzhe's poem as utterly worthless.
The scholars below couldn't help but look a little strange. They had originally thought that Shen Moyuan had made Shao Yanzhe the top scholar because he greatly admired his literary talent.
But looking at Shen Moyuan now, it seems like he has a lot of dissatisfaction with Shao Yanzhe.
They then turned their attention to Shao Yanzhe, wanting to see what his expression was like.
Unexpectedly, Shao Yanzhe remained expressionless and just stood there, as if Shen Moyuan was not criticizing his poem at all.
Finally, Shen Moyuan stopped and concluded, "You still lack experience, and your poems are too thin. Once you have more experience in the future, you will be able to write better poems."
Shao Yanzhe bowed respectfully and accepted Shen Moyuan's seemingly reasonable suggestion with great humility: "Thank you for your guidance, Lord Shen."
Shen Moyuan was very satisfied with his attitude and was about to ask him to leave when he heard him say something.
"Could you please compose a poem at this Deer Cry Banquet, so that everyone present may have the honor of appreciating your work?"
Immediately, all the scholars and officials present looked at Shen Moyuan with anticipation in their eyes.
Shen Moyuan's expression froze instantly.
"Lord Shen is the top scholar in the imperial examinations, achieving the highest honors in all six levels of the examinations. His poetry is particularly outstanding, and the poems he wrote on his examination papers are still circulating today! If we could see Lord Shen compose a poem on the spot today, our lives would be truly worthwhile!"
"That's right! Perhaps the history of the Dayong Dynasty will even record this Deer Cry Banquet and make it a part of history!"
"Watching Lord Shen compose poetry might even improve my own poetry skills, which would make the experience truly worthwhile!"
"Lord Shen, please agree!"
"Yes! Lord Shen, compose a poem!"
Shen Moyuan's eyes darkened. He glanced at Shao Yanzhe, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes. He had thought Shao Yanzhe was a well-behaved person, but it turned out he was also a troublemaker!
Just as he was about to decline, Zhou Jiming, who was sitting next to him, spoke up: "Lord Shen, it's hard to refuse such a kind invitation. Why not compose a poem? I've long heard of your talent, and I'm sure other officials have long admired you as well. So please don't refuse any longer!"
The other officials also nodded in agreement and began to persuade him.
"Alright then, I, Shen, will make a fool of myself today!"
Shen Moyuan knew he couldn't refuse today, otherwise it would affect his reputation.
He began searching his memory for poems related to the Mid-Autumn Festival, poems that were even better than the one Shao Yanzhe had just written.
He originally wrote down many poems, but over the years, he has used up most of them, and now only about twenty remain.
Shao Yanzhe stared at Shen Moyuan's expression and immediately guessed that he was searching for the poems left by Yun Weiyue. He smiled.
What isn't yours will never truly be yours. See, it's about to be exposed today!
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