Zeng asked, "Are you all here to compete in literature?"
The scholars all said yes.
Feng Miao pulled Zeng Zhui to sit down.
Zeng Zhui looked around and whispered to Feng Miao, "Brother Feng, in your opinion, how many of these scholars have a chance of being selected?"
Feng Miao's eyes darkened. "There were thirty names on the red list, but only ten were chosen in the end." He leaned close to Zeng Zhui's ear and chuckled softly, "I think the writings of these people are not as good as Brother Zeng's."
Zeng Zhui felt relieved after hearing this, but then he came to his senses and said, "You haven't read my articles, so how do you know they're not as good as me? You're obviously flattering me."
Feng Miao smiled and said, "Brother Zeng is such a wonderful person, with extraordinary insights into things. His writings are naturally wonderful and extraordinary."
Zeng Zhui agreed easily, "That's true."
Feng Miao's smile froze slightly.
Zeng Zhui felt that favors should be reciprocated, so he followed suit and praised, "Brother Feng's words are beautiful, and I'm sure his writing is beautiful too. Seeing how relaxed and at ease he is, I'm sure he's sure to win. If I'm chosen, I'll definitely read your excellent work."
It was unclear whether he was complimenting her intentionally or was just being sarcastic, but Feng Miao's smile completely vanished, and he replied stiffly, "My talent is humble, and I don't deserve such excessive praise."
"You're being modest." Zeng Zhui patted his shoulder and said, "How can someone who can be on good terms with Jiang Xiaoping be mediocre?"
Feng Miao suddenly stood up, said "I have to go to the bathroom, excuse me," and went out.
Zeng Zhui felt a little anxious too, so he caught up with him, put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Let's go together."
After finally waiting for the gathering to begin, Zeng Zhui finally stopped talking.
Feng Miao sneered in his heart when he saw him staring intently at the stage.
Isn't it because he is proud of his talent that he says he has no talent and no moral integrity? This will dampen his spirit and see if he dares to speak so arrogantly in front of him in the future.
Everyone on and off the stage was in their seats, and Zhou Shancai asked the scholars to present their essays in turn.
After Zeng Zhui submitted his articles, he heard the various bookstores and judges praising the articles to the heavens and earth, which made him feel uneasy.
It was finally his turn.
Zeng Zhui felt a chill in his heart when he saw that his article had passed through the hands of so many people but had not received a single word of feedback. His expectant expression gradually cooled.
Feng Miao saw this and felt extremely happy.
After all the articles were evaluated, Zhou Shancai announced the selected articles.
Looking at the ten proud scholars on the stage, Zeng Zhui couldn't help but frown and thought: There are so many hidden talents in the capital, how could Zeng Zhui not even be among the top ten?
No, he refused to accept it. He wanted to see how the writings of these top ten were better than his own.
Having made up his mind, Zeng Zhui took advantage of the opportunity when everyone was congratulating the selection and came to the table where the tribute articles were presented. He picked up the selected article and began to read it.
After reading just one article, his anger was ignited. After reading the tenth article, he felt as if someone had forced him to eat a bowl of dog shit, and he was so disgusted that he almost vomited.
I suppressed my anger and patiently read the other rejected essays, but I still couldn't make any sense of them. They were full of nonsense, and some of them were even copied from classics to make up the number.
All doubts in my heart disappeared, and my mind became clear.
So that's it! How dare they fool him! Fool the public!
Zeng Zhui flew into a rage, slamming the manuscript on the table and shouting, "How ridiculous!"
The people around him were shocked by the roar and turned around, looking at him in surprise. Feng Miao stood not far away with a gloating smile on his face.
"How could such a ridiculous piece of writing earn the reputation of a virtuous person? It's simply laughable!"
Zeng Zhui overturned the gift case and threw the manuscript in his hand into the crowd, and the manuscript flew all over the sky.
Seeing this, everyone rushed to fish it out.
Zeng Zhui had completely understood the inside story of this gathering, and the rage of being fooled burned in him so much that he wanted to tear the roof off.
"What's this Shiwenya Gathering? I think it's just a money grabbing event!"
Feng Miao could no longer laugh. Seeing that the situation was not right, he quickly encouraged the candidates to step forward and stop Zeng Zhui.
Zeng Zhui was filled with rage, but he was alone and weak, and was immediately knocked to the ground by the scholars who surrounded him. Then, he was beaten by countless fists and feet like a drum.
But the more he was hit, the louder it got, and the more he refused to obey.
Even if he was beaten to death today, he would expose the dirty face of this bookstore and speak up for himself.
Zhou Shancai heard the noise and rushed over with his men to stop the beating, "Stop!"
When the scholars were pulled apart, Zeng Zhui's nose and face were bruised and swollen, with a stream of hot blood gushing out of his nose. He wiped it with his hand, then spat out a mouthful of blood foam. Pointing at Zhou Shancai's nose, he cursed: "You bookstores, you say you're selecting talented people by picking up articles, but you're just trying to get something for nothing. You're asking for money from both sides."
He pointed at the group of scholars who had just pinned him down and sneered, "You took the money from these idiots, raised them up as some kind of virtuous men, and then published their crappy poetry and prose, misleading the young people. How greedy and shameless!"
"It's a great shame that the Beijing literary world has a bunch of maggots like you!"
Zhou Shancai's face changed several times. He hurriedly asked his servant to cover the man's mouth and then take the man away.
Zeng Zhui was held down and was about to shout, but someone blocked his mouth with a handkerchief.
These bastards!
He was filled with despair, but suddenly he heard a deep and solemn voice that split the filth in the building, like a ray of bright light covering his head.
“Wait!”
The crowd was separated, and a scholar in plain clothes came over, stepping on the waste paper all over the ground.
Although this man was dressed in plain clothes, his sharpness could not be concealed. He had been chasing him and was momentarily shocked by his majesty, staring at him blankly.
He walked up to Zeng Zhui, ripped the handkerchief from his mouth, and asked gently, "What's your name? What's your courtesy name? What's your nickname?"
Zeng Zhui didn't dare to act rashly and answered honestly, "I am Zeng Zhui from Shu. My courtesy name is Wenfeng, and I don't have a pseudonym."
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