Like a joke, it had barely been told when everyone burst into laughter.
Jing Zhe wasn't angry. "I'll rely on my poetry!"
"Your poems?"
The scholar glanced at him and said, "With a brain like yours, you can't even compose poetry?"
After he finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter again.
"If you insult me like this, I might not attend the poetry gathering."
"Hahaha!"
As if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, the Grand Scholar could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.
"Please, don't participate!"
Every year during the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival, countless scholars gather in Jingzhou City. Not only are there local scholars from Jingzhou, but also many from other places who come to admire the poetry. Of these people, how many can actually enter Wuxian Garden to participate in the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival?
"So one more or one less makes no difference," the Grand Scholar retorted sarcastically.
"Fine, so you're the one who kicked me out!"
As he spoke, Jing Zhe pulled Zhang Xiaoyu away as if to leave. Zhang Xiaoyu looked completely bewildered: "We agreed to come to the poetry competition and win first place. Why are we leaving before we even get inside?"
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
The Grand Scholar was not afraid of him at all and continued to mock him.
"Alright, if anyone asks later why Young Master Kun didn't attend the poetry gathering—"
Then Jing Zhe pointed at the Grand Scholar, "Just say that he drove you away!"
"..."
After saying this, Jing Zhe really started walking out.
...
The scholar was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening.
If we were to name the most famous talented scholar in Jingzhou, it would undoubtedly be Song Jimao, the son of Grand Academician Song. And below Song Jimao would be Chen Jiannan, the talented scholar from Yongzhou whom they had just been flattering.
But these past few days, someone has been even more popular than them, and even a single poem of his has overshadowed both of them. That person is Ah Kun!
To put it bluntly, this Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering is actually about how the talented scholars of Anguo will resist the poetry gathering of the third prince of Southern Qi. If they lose, not only will Princess Mochen be forced to marry into Southern Qi, but all the scholars of Anguo will also lose face.
In the imperial court, Song Baiyun admitted to Song Jimao that he was no match for the third prince of Southern Qi. Emperor An placed all his hopes on this young master Akun. Of course, these two Grand Secretaries were of low status, otherwise they would not have come to do this kind of work. They had only heard about it.
Furthermore, Emperor An even summoned this young master Akun to a private meeting…
Therefore, Young Master Akun holds a very important position at today's Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering, and is not someone that high-ranking scholars like them can afford to offend.
Just as Jing Zhe was about to squeeze into the crowd, the two scholars exchanged a glance and rushed out.
"Young Master Kun, you can't leave!"
"We two were blind to your greatness. If our words have offended you, young master, we hope you will forgive us!"
"..."
In front of so many scholars, the two Grand Secretaries personally demonstrated the "birth of sycophants." Rather than humiliating themselves, they valued their official positions, or rather, their lives, more.
If the Third Prince of Southern Qi were to win a great victory because Young Master Akun was unable to participate in the poetry gathering, then when Emperor An blamed them, they wouldn't have enough heads to be chopped off!
"Weren't you trying to kick me out?"
Jing Zhe turned around and looked at them with a half-smile.
"We were blind to recognize Young Master Kun!"
"If they knew you were the young master, they would have let you in without saying a word!"
Jing Zhe glanced at the two men and thought to himself that their bullying of the weak and fear of the strong was a perfect example of their behavior.
He had no interest in arguing with such a small fry. With a cold snort, he led Zhang Xiaoyu into Wuxian Garden.
...
The Wuxian Garden was slightly different from the last time I visited. Colorful lanterns hung everywhere in the building, swaying in the wind, but there were not many people in the hall, making it seem rather deserted.
Jing Zhe asked a servant and learned that the talented scholars who had come in had all gone to the backyard, and that the first round of today's poetry competition was being held in the osmanthus grove in the backyard.
The first match?
Could it be more than one event?
Jing Zhe wanted to ask more questions, but the servant was clearly very busy and ran away after answering the first question.
So Jing Zhe and Zhang Xiaoyu went directly into the back courtyard through the back door of the hall.
The courtyard is filled with pavilions and towers, with hidden rockeries and streams. In the middle of the courtyard is a large open osmanthus grove, filled with all kinds of osmanthus trees, including golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus, and red osmanthus.
It is now the golden autumn season, with trees adorned with jewels and trees in full bloom, their fragrance wafting for miles, refreshing the soul. At this moment, the full moon shines brightly in the sky, its soft white halo cascading down, illuminating the various osmanthus blossoms, creating a truly beautiful scene.
"Young master, look!"
This was Zhang Xiaoyu's first time here. Seeing the osmanthus tree full of tiny golden flowers, dotted with delicate red leaves, her mood instantly improved. Holding a bunch of osmanthus flowers in front of her, she smiled and called out to Jing Zhe.
Seeing this, Jing Zhe was somewhat lost in thought.
In his hazy memory, there was a huge osmanthus tree in the old house in Jingzhou. Because Jing Zhe was too young at that time, every autumn, his older sisters would climb up the tree and shake the branches. Jing Zhe would stand under the tree, and his body would be covered with osmanthus petals in an instant.
He had promised his sisters that when he grew up, he would shake a shower of osmanthus blossoms for each of them.
But the good times didn't last long. Not long after, he moved to Pengzhou, and the promises he made became empty words. In the courtyard in Pengzhou, Jing Wenmao also planted an osmanthus tree. Whenever it bloomed, Jing Zhe could only sigh to himself, with no one to shake it.
"Young Master..."
Zhang Xiaoyu thought Jing Zhe was staring at her in a daze. The fragrance of flowers wafted through the air, and the young girl was moved, her voice becoming somewhat charming.
Jing Zhe was immediately brought back to his senses by her shout. He felt a slight sadness in his heart and was completely unaware of the charm of the girl in front of him. Looking at the crowd gathering in the distance, he let out a soft sigh.
"Let's go take a look!"
After saying that, he walked away.
"oh…"
Zhang Xiaoyu bit her lip, her eyes sparkling, and followed closely behind.
...
A row of long tables and chairs was set up directly in front of the crowd.
Several people were sitting on either side of the seats.
The only person Jing Zhe recognized was Emperor An, and the two young men sitting beside him, dressed in magnificent robes, bore a resemblance to him; they must be the Crown Prince and the Prince of Xiang.
Prince Su Xinping, the heir apparent of the Prince of Jin, also arrived, but he didn't even get a seat. He stood like Jing Zhe, except that he stood behind Emperor An, looking quite miserable.
On the other side sat another young man, imposing and dignified, only slightly less impressive than him.
Judging from the villainous aura he exudes, he must be the third prince of Southern Qi.
At the front of the crowd sat three people. Zhu Xinning was in the middle, and two elderly men sat on either side. One of them looked seven or eight parts like Song Jimao, while the other was wearing an official robe. Although his hair and beard were already white, he had a very imposing presence.
Behind them was a screen, and the candlelight cast the figure of the woman behind them onto the screen. This figure was all too familiar to Jing Zhe; who else could it be but Su Mochen?
About fifteen minutes later, Sui Shouren came in from outside and whispered a few words to Emperor An. Emperor An nodded after listening, then glanced at Zhu Xinning and said in a low voice:
"Master Zhu, let's begin!"
————
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