A vortex of cloud, a shuttle of jade, a light shirt made of thin silk, a slight frown on the double black curls.
The autumn wind is strong and the rain is mixed with it. Outside the curtains, there are three or two banana trees. The night is long, what can we do?
Villa in Santai Mountain.
On the second floor of the bamboo building, Xu Yan and Shen Mingchen sat by the window, reciting poems and drinking wine.
It was late at night, but the two of them were not sleepy.
As Xu Yan's first and only student so far, Shen Mingchen naturally seizes every opportunity to exchange poems with his teacher, hoping to improve his poetry skills.
He had always believed that his poetic talent was unparalleled. It wasn't until he met Xu Yan that he realized there were always people better than him. He became Xu Yan's disciple, hoping to learn more from his mentor.
Xu Yan did not hide anything and took out many of his hidden poems.
The two sides exchanged poems, and naturally talked about the sequel to "Journey to the West" which has caused a lot of controversy recently.
"Teacher, this Zhouji Bookstore is shameless for using someone else's name to publish a book. I've also read Journey to the West, and it's incredibly well-written. How can this poorly written, shoddy work compare to it? It's truly disgraceful."
"Jia Ze is right. The sequel is worlds apart from the original."
Xu Yan continued the conversation.
Shen Mingchen certainly knew that "Journey to the West: The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was first published and launched by Xu's Miaofengtang. Later, Miaofengtang withdrew from the Hangzhou book market due to an incident, and the Zhou family took the advantage of it.
This made people feel unfair for the young master Xu Yan.
"My dear teacher, you are just too kind. This kind of profiteer should be condemned by everyone! I wish I could speak up for my dear teacher and vent my anger on his behalf!"
“Drink, drink!”
Xu Yan smiled and raised his glass.
Shen Mingchen had no choice but to refill his glass and drink it all in one gulp following Xu Yan's rhythm.
After drinking three or five cups, Shen Mingchen was already a little drunk, with his cheeks flushed.
"Master...I can't drink anymore."
Shen Mingchen burped and shook his head repeatedly.
"Yes. Jia Ze, I think you drank a little too much today, but you can write good works under the influence of alcohol."
Hearing this, Shen Mingchen subconsciously cheered up a little, and was about to chant: "Don't you see..."
As soon as the other party opened his mouth, Xu Yan interrupted:
"Have you not seen the meticulous search of snatching mud swallows' mouths, sharpening the tips of iron needles, and scraping the golden Buddha's face: finding something in nothing. Looking for peas in a quail's crop, chopping the tender meat from a heron's legs, and extracting the fat from a mosquito's belly? It's all thanks to the old gentleman!"
Shen Mingchen was in a daze, his consciousness was a little scattered, and he was muttering Xu Yanyin's poems.
Xu Yan took the opportunity to force him to drink a few more cups. After drinking, Shen Mingchen could no longer hold on and fell on the table with a bang.
No words were spoken that night.
The next morning, Shen Mingchen woke up from a hangover and felt a splitting headache.
Xu Yan pointed at the basin and said, "Wash your face."
Shen Mingchen nodded, scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on his face, then woke up with a start.
"Teacher, did I lose my composure last night?"
Shen Mingchen looked embarrassed when he woke up. He felt ashamed when he thought about how he had to trouble his mentor to take care of him after he was drunk last night.
"It's nothing. Li Bai wrote hundreds of poems after drinking a cup of wine. Although Jia Ze is not as good as Li Bai, he also wrote some good poems."
Xu Yan smiled faintly.
"Oh? If so?"
Perhaps because he was too drunk, Shen Mingchen had completely forgotten what happened last night. He only vaguely remembered writing a poem with Xu Yan, but he couldn't recall the specific content of the poem.
"Have you not seen the meticulous search of snatching mud swallows' mouths, sharpening the tips of iron needles, and scraping the golden Buddha's face: finding something in nothing. Looking for peas in a quail's crop, chopping the tender meat from a heron's legs, and extracting the fat from a mosquito's belly? It's all thanks to the old gentleman!"
Xu Yan recited it again and exclaimed, "Jia Ze's little poem is very appropriate for the occasion."
"Was this made by a student?"
Shen Mingchen, however, didn't remember anything at all.
"Of course. I've written it all down for you. Last night, Jia Ze lambasted the Zhouji Bookstore for its greed and self-interest, and then he wrote this poem."
Xu Yan said without changing his expression or heartbeat.
In fact, this poem was certainly not written by Shen Mingchen, but a short song from the Yuan Dynasty, and its author is no longer traceable.
It is precisely because the author is unknown that although it was once circulated among the people, there has been no official written record.
The first time it was seen in the classics was in Li Kaixian's "Yixiaosan". Li Kaixian was a man of the Jiajing period. After passing the imperial examination, he served as an official in the court until the 20th year of the Jiajing reign, when he was dismissed and returned to his hometown.
After that, he wrote many operas in succession, such as "The Story of the Precious Sword" written in the 26th year of Jiajing.
However, the collection of Sanqu (ci songs) "Yixiaosan" was collected and compiled from various places in his later years, which was already the end of the Jiajing period.
The process of collecting and compiling "Yixiaosan" was very complicated and exhausted Li Kaixian's efforts.
It was also after the publication of "Yixiaosan" that many Yuan Dynasty songs that had been forgotten for many years became known to the world.
But Xu Yan doesn't have to wait because he has innate advantages.
"This poem...is so sharp."
Shen Mingchen swallowed.
"Jia Ze used his pen as a sword to denounce the shameless behavior of Zhouji Bookstore. This is really gratifying for me as a teacher."
Xu Yan didn't give Shen Mingchen any time to react. He continued, "Last night, you shouted that you wanted to speak for your master, that you wanted to vent your anger. Now your chance has come... All you need to do is copy this poem onto paper and spread it throughout the streets of Hangzhou. It will stir up public excitement."
"Well..."
Shen Mingchen always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Why, Jia Ze doesn't want to?"
Xu Yan looked disappointed.
Shen Mingchen quickly said, "Master, you have misunderstood me. How could I not be willing to do so? If I had not been in a poetry competition with you, I would not have been able to come up with such sharp words. I... I am willing to do anything for you..."
"That's great." Xu Yan nodded and said, "I'll find someone to help you transcribe it. Just stamp it with your personal seal at the end."
Shen Mingchen said respectfully, "It's all at the Master's command."
Xu Yan added: "Don't forget the one carved by Lu Zigang."
Shen Mingchen: "..."
"Finally, Jia Ze needs to go to Zhouji Bookstore in person and recite this poem outside the shop. The renowned Ningbo poet Shen Mingchen wrote this poem to denounce the evil deeds of unscrupulous merchants... Tsk tsk, I can't wait to see how the people of Hangzhou react."
A hint of joy appeared on Xu Yan's face.
"Oh, by the way, don't forget the three things you promised when you became my disciple."
Xu Yan suddenly remembered something and said leisurely, "When we're out, don't reveal our teacher-student relationship."
Shen Mingchen quickly said, "Master, don't worry. I understand. This poem was written by me and has nothing to do with you."
Xu Yan nodded with satisfaction: "The boy is teachable."
It’s that easy and simple to talk to smart people.
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