After hearing his story, Jing Zhe couldn't help but sigh.
There's a saying: "A little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment." Sometimes, you can't always give alms. Once someone feels entitled to it, hatred will spread when your efforts fall short of their expectations.
The most insatiable thing is the human heart.
However, judging from this, Ma Shibin and Fellow Daoist Feng are truly despicable. Fortunately, Fatty Wei had already made enemies with them. If such villains were kept around, who knows what trouble they might cause.
As the two were talking, just as Jing Zhe had guessed, the people who had rushed from the backyard to the frontyard earlier rushed back.
After they gathered again in the backyard, they quickly moved to the sides, leaving a path in the middle of the crowd.
At this moment, two middle-aged men walked in one after the other, politely yielding to each other, from the side path.
The man walking in front was in his forties, dressed in an embroidered robe, with a small goatee, and looked extremely energetic. Although he had a smile on his face, he exuded an air of authority. Jing Zhe was quite familiar with this kind of temperament, because the officials he knew who could enter and leave the court all had this kind of temperament.
However, the people he knew had a much stronger aura than this person. After all, the officials who could enter and leave the imperial court were of much higher rank than this person.
If Jing Zhe's guess is correct, this person is the official in charge of Jiangling City, the current governor of Jiangling.
As for the man in the gray robe behind him, he was more than ten years older than the governor of Jiangling. His temples were already gray, but he was in good spirits. Although he did not speak, he had a scholarly air about him. He must be a scholar. It was just unclear why the governor of Jiangling would be so polite to a scholar.
Seeing that Jing Zhe was engrossed in watching, Fatty Wei leaned over and whispered to him, "The one in front is our Jiangling Prefect Xu Wenchang, and the one behind him is Master Xia Bingrong, who is also Young Master Feng's teacher."
Jing Zhe nodded. "I was wondering why he could stand with the Prefect of Jiangling and be so polite to him. It turns out he was benefiting from his apprentice's influence."
Fatty Wei shook his head: "Brother Jing, you don't know this. Master Xia was a famous talent in Jiangling City when he was young. Although his poetry was not top-notch, his calligraphy was highly praised by all literati! When you came to Jiangling, you must have seen those two powerful characters on the city wall. Those were written by Master Xia!"
Upon hearing this, Jing Zhe nodded in understanding, thinking to himself that those two characters were written by Master Xia, who must have some skill.
The position of Prefect of Jiangling is unique in Anguo. In other cities, such as Yongzhou, Ruzhou, and even Jingzhou, the local officials are all Prefects, who are of the fourth rank.
However, the official in charge of Jiangling was the Prefect, and his rank was fourth grade, which was half a grade higher than that of the Prefect, to distinguish them.
This distinction also highlights the influence of Gangneung as the most developed economic and cultural center of Anguo. This distinction has been established since the founding of Anguo and continues to be used today.
...
While the two were talking, Xu Wenchang and Xia Bingrong had already walked to the stone table. No one noticed that the poem that Fatty Wei had just written had been covered up.
"Mu Bai and Miss Lin haven't arrived yet?"
Xia Bingrong spoke first.
"Master Xia, not yet."
Someone replied.
“It’s one thing for Miss Lin to be a little late, after all, she is a woman. But what’s wrong with Mu Bai? I told him yesterday to come early today, and now Prefect Xu has arrived, but he still hasn’t come. That’s so disrespectful!”
Xia Bingrong said somewhat angrily.
"Master Xia, there's no need to blame me. As you know, I also enjoy poetry. My nephew Mu Bai went to the Prefect's residence last night and discussed things with me until late. I estimate that Mu Bai returned to his residence late at night as well. It's understandable that he's a little late."
Prefect Xu explained to Feng Mubai.
Xia Bingrong nodded after hearing this: "Oh, I see. I was wondering why Mu Bai is usually the most disciplined person, with excellent upbringing. He wouldn't be late for no reason."
"..."
After listening to the two of them talk, Jing Zhe muttered a complaint under his breath.
"This Master Xia is a bit unethical!"
"He came with Prefect Xu, so why didn't he discuss his apprentice's matter?"
"Since you knew Feng Mubai would be late, why did you still say those things? Wasn't that a veiled insult, a deliberate attempt to put Miss Lin in her place?"
"With this kind of behavior, one cannot be worthy of being a scholar!"
"Brother Jing, keep your voice down!"
Seeing that everyone else was looking at the stone table and no one was paying attention to this side, Fatty Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Actually, this is easy to understand. Miss Lin is exceptionally talented and always outshines Young Master Feng at poetry gatherings. As Young Master Feng's teacher, Master Xia must be uncomfortable with that."
"Moreover, I heard that both Young Master Feng's father, Master Feng, and Prefect Xu are disciples of Grand Tutor Bai of the current dynasty. And Miss Lin's father, Master Lin, is an old friend of Prime Minister Zhu. I heard that Prime Minister Zhu and Grand Tutor Bai are not on the same side. Therefore, it is normal for Master Xia to be hostile to Miss Lin."
"..."
After listening to Fatty Wei's explanation, Jing Zhe narrowed his eyes.
Good heavens, it turns out that the Prefect of Jiangling is a member of the Xiang King's faction. No wonder Emperor An said that opening a newspaper branch in Jiangling was the most difficult thing. Besides the Jiangling literati's xenophobia, this is probably a big reason why.
Imagine if the officials of Jiangling City did not support Jing Zhe's work, it would be very difficult to open a branch of the newspaper. Even if the branch were opened and started to operate smoothly, it would probably face the same difficulties.
It seems that after a heavenly start in Kunlun County, we're going to return to hellish start mode after arriving in Jiangling!
As Prefect Xu and Master Xia chatted, they suddenly started talking about the three pieces of calligraphy they had composed that day.
"I wonder what Master Xia's thoughts are on the three calligraphy works that will be presented today?"
Prefect Xu asked.
"Since Miss Lin has agreed to attend the Peach Blossom Poetry Gathering, one of the poems must belong to her. What do you all think?"
After Xia Bingrong finished speaking, he looked at everyone, and they naturally nodded in agreement. They believed that Lin Wan'er always won first place in any poetry gathering she participated in.
Xia Bingrong nodded and continued, "I have been teaching Mu Bai since he was a child, and I am very clear about his poetic talent. Therefore, I can guarantee that this second piece of calligraphy is naturally his. Does anyone have any objections?"
"No."
"Master Xia is right!"
"We also highly admire Young Master Feng's poetic talent, so why would we have any objections?"
"..."
Everyone started talking at once, mostly flattering and praising Master Xia.
————
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