Ma Shibin and Feng Daoyou gradually froze, but when they came to their senses, they were instantly enraged.
"Kid, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"I'm just telling the truth. You two look so alike, you must be half-brothers!"
"If you keep talking nonsense, believe me...we'll beat you up!"
"..."
They were, after all, scholars who had never fought before. Jing Zhe was practically pointing his finger at them and yelling, "Your father has been cuckolded!" Yet they remained polite and didn't dare to make a move, which was truly laughable.
"How could I be talking nonsense? Don't you think so, Brother Wei?"
Fatty Wei quickly nodded: "Brother Jing is right! They look so alike, it must be!"
Fatty Wei felt incredibly relieved after enduring so much humiliation, and he hurriedly said.
"You...you all..."
Ma Shibin and Feng Daoyou were filled with grief and indignation. They went to see the other scholars, hoping to get some support from them. Little did they know that after Wei Pangzi wrote this poem, they all pretended to be dead. Who would want to get involved in this mess at this time?
Do you have any evidence?
After thinking for a long time, Ma Shibin finally said this.
Jing Zhe sneered repeatedly after hearing this: "Evidence? When you accused Brother Wei of plagiarism, you didn't mention any evidence!"
"..."
At this moment, everyone present suddenly realized why Jing Zhe had suddenly jumped out to attack Ma Shibin and Feng Daoyou. They had also been wondering how Jing Zhe could tell that their parents were unfaithful when the two were so different.
So it turns out they were standing up for Fatty Wei!
Ma Shibin and Feng Daoyou exchanged a glance, both knowing they were in the wrong this time, but they were also somewhat unwilling. The others had also suspected that Fatty Wei had plagiarized, so why were they the only ones being attacked?
At this moment, Fellow Daoist Feng suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Great! Now I know why Fatty Wei used to write so many doggerel poems, but today he suddenly wrote such a masterpiece!"
"Oh, why?"
Ma Shibin agreed.
"That's because the poem wasn't his at all; you told him about it! Otherwise, why would he help him?"
Then he pointed at Jing Zhe and said, "Don't you all agree?"
"You two must be half-brothers, otherwise why are you both so ugly? Don't you all agree?"
"An eye for an eye"—Jing Zhe has always used this tactic well. After he said this, Ma Shibin and Fellow Daoist Feng fell silent.
Jing Zhe sneered: "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! This poem was written by Brother Wei, so it's his! What do you care who came up with it!"
"..."
The entire audience fell silent. This was tantamount to indirectly admitting that the poem was indeed written by Jing Zhe. But since Fatty Wei had written it, even if it were to circulate in the future, it could only be attributed to Fatty Wei.
The crowd looked at Jing Zhe with complicated expressions, while the young women's eyes sparkled. Some of the pretty girls were even whispering among themselves, seemingly discussing whether they should come and chat with Jing Zhe after the poetry gathering.
After all, such a handsome man…
As for Fatty Wei, he didn't care about his reputation, so it didn't matter to him whether others knew or not that he wrote the poem. What mattered to him most was that he had slapped the faces of those who wanted to see him make a fool of himself.
Wei Pangzi's poem was undoubtedly the first piece of calligraphy to be featured at this year's Peach Blossom Poetry Festival. The next question is whether Feng Mubai and Lin Wan'er's poems can surpass it.
Of course, everyone present felt that it was definitely better than this poem, otherwise wouldn't Jing Zhe's poetic talent be better than that of the number one talent in Jiangling?
Therefore, everyone was even more eager for Feng Mubai and Lin Wan'er to arrive as soon as possible. Unconsciously, the poetry gathering began to have a hint of the "Battle of Jiangling".
At this moment, a commotion suddenly came from the front courtyard of Peach Blossom Temple. Those who could cause such a commotion must think that Feng Mubai and Lin Wan'er had arrived. So everyone in the back courtyard temporarily forgot what had just happened and turned around to look back.
"Prefect Xu and Master Xia have arrived!"
Someone shouted something, and everyone realized that it wasn't Feng Mubai and Lin Wan'er who had come, but someone else. So those who had hoped that the two of them would embarrass Jing Zhe were somewhat disappointed.
When everyone turned around, Ma Shibin did not.
He looked at Fatty Wei, who was chatting enthusiastically with Jing Zhe, and felt a tightness in his chest. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he thought of a good idea.
"Brother Ma, what's going on...?"
"Shh!"
Feng Daoyou was also very aggrieved. He happened to catch a glimpse of Ma Shibin walking to the stone table. As soon as he opened his mouth, he was glared at by Ma Shibin.
Next, Ma Shibin flipped over the sheet of Xuan paper that Wei Pangzi had written on, and since there was a stack of Xuan paper on the stone table, Ma Shibin pressed them all down on top of it.
"Brother Feng, can you swallow this insult?"
"I…"
Feng Daoyou hesitated to speak, and Ma Shibin, seeing this, stepped forward and whispered a few words in his ear. Upon hearing this, Feng Daoyou's eyes lit up.
...
Jing Zhe and Fatty Wei didn't rush to the front yard like the others, because they knew that whoever came would definitely come to the back yard, since the main battlefield of the poetry gathering was here.
Rather than moving there and then back, it's more comfortable to stay put. Besides, the two of them are exchanging their victory speeches, so they don't have time to care about anything else.
"Thank you very much, Brother Jing!"
"Brother Wei, you're too kind. It was just a small favor."
Jing Zhe cupped his hands and smiled, then asked, "Brother Wei, do you have any grudge against Ma Shibin and Fellow Daoist Feng? Why do I feel that they are deliberately targeting you?"
"Those two scoundrels!"
Upon hearing this, Fatty Wei was extremely indignant. Only after he mentioned it did Jing Zhe realize that the three of them were old acquaintances. These two were similar to Fatty Wei in that they weren't particularly talented in poetry, so they used to get along quite well with each other.
Wei Pangzi came from a wealthy family and loved to eat. He frequented restaurants, indulging in lavish meals. Ma Shibin and Feng Daoyou would follow him around, eating and drinking for free. Every time they went out with Wei Pangzi, they had to order a huge table of dishes.
Fatty Wei's personality is like his physique—he's quite tolerant and generous. He doesn't care about a little money, and besides, he's a big eater himself.
However, this situation continued until two years ago when Fatty Wei's father fell seriously ill, and the family business declined significantly. Although they were still wealthier than ordinary families, Fatty Wei became much more sensible as a result and decided to stop being so extravagant.
So he went to restaurants less often, and even when he did, he would never order more or more expensive dishes. He would only order what he could eat. Ma Shibin and Feng Daoyou were already craving food while following him, so they were not willing to go.
The two men thought that Fatty Wei was deliberately trying to annoy them, so they had a big fight and became enemies from then on.
————
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