Hearing this, Jing Zhe became somewhat curious.
"Brother Wei, how old is this Young Master Feng?"
Fatty Wei looked at Jing Zhe and said, "He's not much different from you, probably in his early twenties!"
Jing Zhe immediately asked, "According to Brother Wei, Master Feng has long since retired to his hometown and is probably over sixty years old, while his son is only in his early twenties..."
Fatty Wei immediately knew what Jing Zhe was curious about, so he smiled and explained, "Brother, you guessed correctly, Master Feng did indeed have a son late in life..."
It turns out that when Feng Huanyou was serving as a scholar in Jingzhou, he married his first wife, but they never had any children. Later, when he retired and returned to his hometown of Jiangling, he took a concubine. Feng Mubai was the son of Feng Huanyou and this concubine.
Feng Huanyou had a son late in life, so he naturally attached great importance to Feng Mubai. He not only hired the most famous teacher in Jiangling City for him from a young age, but also often taught him himself. As a result, Feng Mubai showed poetic talent that surpassed his peers from a young age. He shone in various poetry gatherings, big and small, and always managed to get second place.
Last year, in particular, Feng Mubai won first place at the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival in Jiangling, his first time ever winning the top prize in a poetry festival. And at the recently concluded Lantern Festival Poetry Festival, Feng also won first place. After winning first place at two large-scale poetry festivals in a row, he earned the title of the number one talent in Jiangling and even the number one talent in Anguo.
Hearing this, Jing Zhe became even more curious.
“Brother Wei, you said that this young master Feng is very talented. He has shown poetic talent that surpasses his peers since childhood. But why did he only win first place in the first poetry competition last year? And even now, he has only won first place in the poetry competition twice. How can he be called the number one talent in Jiangling or even Anguo?”
After thinking for a moment, Jing Zhe added, "Moreover, according to Brother Wei, before this, Young Master Feng always came in second place in the poetry gatherings he participated in. Shouldn't the title of the number one talent in Jiangling belong to that first-place winner?"
After saying all this, Jing Zhe couldn't help but complain in his heart, especially compared to him, Feng Mubai was far inferior.
Although Jing Zhe has only been here for a little over half a year, he has participated in many poetry competitions, big and small, and has won first place every time.
While in Yongzhou, his poem "Spring waters are bluer than the sky, a painted boat sleeps in the rain" at Chunshui Tower amazed everyone and won him first place.
He then composed a series of excellent poems at the Mid-Autumn Festival poetry gathering, especially the last one, "When will the moon be clear and bright? I raise my cup to ask the blue sky," which defeated the third prince of Southern Qi and won first place.
Moreover, at the Lantern Festival Poetry Gathering that just concluded in Ruzhou, his poem "I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd" also won first prize.
Just counting these three times, he has won first place far more times than Feng Mubai. How can someone who is always second place be called the number one talent in Anguo? Is he shameless?
After listening, Fatty Wei laughed and said, "Brother, you are mistaken! In fact, even if Young Master Feng hadn't won first place these two times, he could still be considered the number one talent in Jiangling!"
"Why? On what grounds? Does he have a big face?"
The three questions of curiosity burst from Jing Zhe's mouth.
Fatty Wei laughed again, "That explains why you're from out of town, brother. You're not familiar with what's happening in Jiangling City. Young Master Feng's poetic talent is evident to all; not everyone has the ability to consistently come in second place!"
"..."
Jing Zhe suddenly realized that the selection of the number one talent in Jiangling was based on a points system, just like the ranking of various competitive athletes in his era.
Although Feng Mubai only came in second place each time, the first place was not always given to the same person. This resulted in Feng Mubai having the highest overall ranking, which is why he was called the number one talent in Jiangling.
As he was pondering this, Fatty Wei spoke up again: "Because the previous first place winners were all Miss Lin!"
"..."
Seeing Jing Zhe's stunned expression, Fatty Wei continued with a smile: "Miss Lin is known as the number one talented woman in Jiangling and Anguo, but only because she is a woman. With Miss Lin's talent, no one in the world can surpass her. And precisely because she is a woman, she cannot participate in the competition for the title of number one talented man. Therefore, the number one talented man in Jiangling can only be Young Master Feng!"
"..."
Upon hearing this, Jing Zhe finally understood that Feng Mubai's title of the number one talent in Jiangling was not due to his big face or any comprehensive ranking, but rather because of Miss Lin's "charity"!
"Brother Wei, who exactly is this Miss Lin? Is she really that powerful?"
"Of course!"
When Miss Lin was mentioned, Fatty Wei looked proud: "Miss Lin comes from the Lin family, the most prestigious family in Jiangling. When I introduced her to you earlier, I mentioned that the Feng family is one of the top families in Jiangling, which is where this comes from. The Lin family is a scholarly family. When the patriarch of the Lin family, Lin Changjun, was young, he was on good terms with the Prime Minister Zhu, and the two addressed each other as brothers."
Prime Minister Zhu is a few years older than Master Lin. He passed the imperial examination with top honors before Master Lin and entered the capital to serve as an official; he is now Prime Minister. Master Lin, on the other hand, passed the examination a few years later and became the Prefect of Jiangling. However, for some unknown reason, more than ten years ago, Master Lin suddenly resigned from his post as Prefect and devoted himself to teaching his only daughter, Miss Lin, at home—I heard all this secretly from my father; ordinary people don't know this!
At this point, Fatty Wei's eyes gleamed with pride, and Jing Zhe only just realized that Zhu Tong was not from Jingzhou, but a native of Jiangling, who had simply passed the imperial examinations and ended up in Jingzhou.
However, after Wei Pangzi's explanation, Jing Zhe instantly understood the enemy-friend relationship. The Feng family and Lin Qingshan were relatives, so their relationship was probably not good. On the other hand, the Lin family and Zhu Tong had a past relationship, so they should be trustworthy...
At this moment, Fatty Wei was still giving his introduction.
"It wasn't a bad decision for Master Lin to resign from his official post and stay home to teach Miss Lin, because Miss Lin is simply exceptionally talented! Miss Lin has been lively and intelligent since childhood. She can learn anything quickly and is proficient in all kinds of arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. In particular, she has a special fondness for poetry, so Miss Lin is also keen to participate in various poetry gatherings."
"At every poetry gathering that Miss Lin attends, the first prize never goes to anyone else. This is why Young Master Feng, despite attending so many gatherings, can only come in second place. With Miss Lin around, who can possibly take first place?"
After listening, Jing Zhe asked curiously, "Then how come he suddenly won first place twice? Could it be that his skills have greatly improved in the past six months, or has Miss Lin's skills declined?"
Fatty Wei shook his head and laughed, "That's not it. It's because Miss Lin didn't participate! Last July, Miss Lin went out for a trip and hasn't participated in any poetry gatherings since. That's how Young Master Feng had the opportunity to win two first prizes! It's been more than half a year since Miss Lin last participated in a poetry gathering. This time, she suddenly announced that she would participate in this Peach Blossom Poetry Gathering. After hearing that, how could anyone not participate?"
"..."
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