Seeing that everyone was giving him face, Xia Bingrong smiled and nodded with great satisfaction.
"Master Xia, what about the third one?"
Of the three calligraphic works, Feng Mubai and Lin Wan'er were bound to have two of them. Even a fool in Jiangling City would know that, let alone Xia Bingrong. Therefore, his answer was not particularly original, and the crowd did not have much expectation for it.
What everyone was most curious about now was the third song, and they hurriedly asked about it.
"The third one..."
Xia Bingrong scanned the crowd again. "The third poem should naturally be composed by one of you. By now, is there anyone who hasn't written a poem yet?"
The group looked at each other and then shook their heads.
There was no lie, because everyone knew that Feng Mubai and Lin Wan'er would be attending the poetry gathering on the last day—which was today. Their poems were definitely no match for the two of them, and some of the poems they wrote were truly rubbish. If they were to write them in front of them, they would surely become a laughingstock and embarrass themselves.
Therefore, everyone finished writing in the first two days.
"Oh? Now that everyone has finished writing, you must all know the most outstanding poems, right? Let's choose this one for the third piece of calligraphy!"
"..."
Xia Bingrong's statement made no mistake, as this was the pattern of the Peach Blossom Poetry Festival in previous years. Feng Mubai and Lin Wan'er would each have two of the three poems, and the last poem would be chosen from among the others as the best one, but it was just an extra. In the end, it was still Feng Mubai and Lin Wan'er who became famous.
However, after Xia Bingrong finished speaking, there was complete silence, and no one answered.
This is easy to understand.
Indeed, as Xia Bingrong said, everyone had written their poems before yesterday evening, and they had already selected the most outstanding one. If nothing unexpected happens, the third piece of calligraphy today will be that poem.
But today, an unexpected incident occurred. No one expected that Fatty Wei would suddenly appear and even write such a good poem. Of course, they all thought the poem was written by Jing Zhe. However, regardless of who came up with it, it was written by Fatty Wei after all, and he even left his calligraphy. It was well-deserved, which made them feel a little uncomfortable.
Most people assumed that since Magistrate Xu and Master Xia were standing by the stone table, and the calligraphy on the Xuan paper was so conspicuous, they could see it with a turn of their heads, so they didn't want to say anything—most importantly, they really didn't want to praise Fatty Wei.
However, observant people noticed that Wei Pangzi's calligraphy on the stone table had suddenly disappeared, replaced by a thick stack of blank Xuan paper. This was quite interesting...
...
Seeing that no one answered, Prefect Xu said, "Since no one is speaking, does that mean that no one has written any particularly satisfactory poems in the past two days?"
"..."
Everyone remained silent.
Prefect Xu didn't mind and laughed, "Since no one responded, I'll take it as everyone's tacit agreement. But that's understandable. With Mu Bai and Miss Lin's masterpieces as examples, it's difficult for other talented scholars to showcase their abilities, so it's understandable that they can't write good poems!"
Prefect Xu suddenly changed the subject, saying, "In my opinion, there are only three truly talented people in the world."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's interest was piqued.
"Prefect Xu, which three people?"
Even Xia Bingrong was very curious and immediately asked.
"Although he is called a talented man, in the final analysis, he is just a very talented young man, and it is not limited by gender. So Miss Lin must be one of them. What do you all think?"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Over the years, Lin Wan'er had won countless first places in poetry competitions, big and small. In her entire poetry competition career, she had never won second place, which was enough to show how amazing she was. Therefore, everyone was convinced of Lin Wan'er's talent.
Prefect Xu smiled and nodded, then continued, "As for the second person, I would first recommend Young Master Feng Mubai."
"..."
This answer can only be described as somewhat far-fetched. After all, the world is too vast, and in Jiangling City, Feng Mubai has been suppressed by Lin Wan'er for so many years. Compared with the talented scholars in other places, it is even more uncertain how he would fare. Therefore, everyone is looking forward to Prefect Xu's explanation.
"The world is vast, but if we're talking about which city has the most literati and scholars, then Jiangling should be the first choice. What do you all think?"
"right."
There is no doubt that Jiangling City is number one.
"So, all the scholars in other places combined probably don't even equal the number in Jiangling alone. The quality of the talented people in other places is definitely not as good as in Jiangling. Don't be fooled by their reputation as the best scholars in their localities; they're just the tallest among the short. If they were placed in Jiangling, they would probably be inferior to you all."
"Prefect Xu is absolutely right!"
"The talented scholars of Jiangling are renowned throughout the land, and this reputation is well-deserved!"
"They didn't come to Jiangling. If they had, we would have shown them what a true talent is!"
"..."
Prefect Xu instantly ignited the local pride of the crowd. Seeing this, Prefect Xu was delighted and continued, "So, although Mu Bai is still a bit inferior to Miss Lin, Miss Lin is exceptionally talented, beyond the reach of ordinary people. Therefore, apart from Miss Lin, Mu Bai is undoubtedly the number one talent in Jiangling. If he can be called the number one talent in Jiangling, he can be called the number one talent in the world. So, does everyone think there is a problem with Mu Bai taking one spot?"
"..."
This time, everyone nodded in agreement, because after Prefect Xu said that there are only three talented people in the world, and now Jiangling City has two of them. As people of Jiangling, they also felt much more proud.
Therefore, everyone became even more curious about the third person.
"Prefect Xu, who is the third talented scholar?"
Someone asked.
"I guess it's the third prince of Southern Qi. I heard he's the number one talent in Southern Qi, winning first place in every poetry competition, big or small. He's incredibly talented!"
"Yes, I've heard that too. The third prince of Southern Qi came from a prestigious family, but in just a few years, his talent surpassed that of his teacher, and no one could teach him anymore, which is truly amazing."
Immediately, someone nominated the third prince of Southern Qi, and he received support from some people, which shows that the third prince of Southern Qi is quite famous. However, they were immediately questioned.
"The third prince of Southern Qi? What did Prefect Xu say just now? 'The tallest among the short,' understand?"
“Brother Wu is right. What kind of place is Southern Qi? Compared to Anguo, it is nothing but a crude and uncivilized place. How many people in Qi know how to compose poetry and lyrics?”
"If you ask me, the literary style of Southern Qi is not only inferior to that of Jiangling, but also to that of a place like Jingzhou. So, although the Third Prince of Southern Qi is the number one talent in Southern Qi, he is really nothing special and cannot be compared with the talents of our Anguo!"
"What you brothers say is absolutely right; it was our oversight..."
Even those who initially nominated the third prince of Southern Qi are now admitting their mistakes.
————
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