Chapter 119: Trivial Skills Trivial Skills
In response to the inquiries from several scholars, Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "If you are interested, I will explain it in detail later. Once you learn it, it will no longer be surprising."
There was no intention of hiding anything at all. This statement won a lot of goodwill, and Su Fengzhang's reputation rose to a higher level.
Su Qu watched coldly, knowing that if he had not invited the two scholars to argue with reason, the outcome would have been decided by now.
He closed his eyes slightly, knowing that he had lost today. Even if he could win in the end, after the competition was spread, people would only remember the painting of the crabapple tree melting into spring breeze instead of his painting of the Scholars' Tower.
He had underestimated Su Fengzhang. As expected, the person who could become Meng Ting's good friend and was valued by him was definitely not an ordinary person.
Even with this situation, Su Qun opened his eyes again, looking elegant and graceful. He even said, "I lost this competition. Brother Su's painting is so amazing that I admit defeat."
He actually admitted defeat on his own initiative. Although he lost, he looked quite graceful, much better than Lin Yuye who had just lost miserably.
Even Shopkeeper Liu consoled him, saying, "Master Su Que, there's no need to be so. Your painting is also quite wonderful and appealing. It's just that Master Su Fengzhang's skill was so unexpected that it's even more astonishing."
Su Que's eyes darkened slightly, but the smile on his face grew even warmer. "Losing is losing. They say there are always people better than you, and there are mountains beyond them. Today, Su has seen it all. I still need to study and practice diligently in painting."
"I just don't know if Brother Su is willing to be my friend, so that we can learn from each other." Su Qun said again.
Su Fengzhang seemed unaware of the deeper meaning behind his words and said with a smile, "If Master Su doesn't mind my limited knowledge, I would be happy to do so."
"Mr. Su, you are too polite. If you are still uneducated, it would make us feel ashamed." Manager Liu laughed.
At this time, another scholar clapped his hands and said loudly: "Well, well, well, today the two Su brothers competed in painting. The accumulated snow melted into spring. The two of you have become friends because of this. Isn't it just like the winter snow turning into spring breeze in this painting? This is also a beautiful story."
Su Fengzhang and Su Qu looked at each other and smiled. They seemed to be having a really good time. However, no one could know what they were thinking in their hearts. At least they kept their composure.
Shopkeeper Liu's eyes flickered as he shouted, "We've had a great time today. Why don't I treat everyone here to a drink?"
This is how a competition is. The winner is elated, while the loser is dejected. What’s even more special about the literary and martial arts tests is that even if you lose, there will inevitably be people present who are dissatisfied.
Lin Yuye's cultivation was obviously far inferior to Su Qun's. He felt that not only did he lose this time, but he also lost very miserably. He really lost all his face and dignity, so his face was gloomy at the moment, and he just drank alone.
After drinking a few glasses of wine, Lin Yuye's anger became even stronger. He suddenly stood up and walked towards Meng Ting.
In this competition, besides Su Fengzhang, Meng Ting also stole the limelight. Now he was surrounded by the crowd and was being complimented. He himself loved drinking and banquets, and now he felt even more at ease.
When Lin Yuye came over aggressively, looking like he was about to hit someone, Meng Ting was not afraid at all. Instead, he challenged him, "Brother Lin, what are you doing? Are you still not convinced?"
Lin Yuye raised the wine jug in his hand and said, "When it comes to writing poetry, I'm not as good as you, and when it comes to drinking, you're definitely not as good as me."
Meng Ting also had a reputation for being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, so he laughed when he heard this: "Why, you want to have a drinking contest with me?"
Lin Yuye said: "Just tell me whether you want to compete or not."
Meng Ting laughed and shouted, "Compare, why not!"
"It is said that we southerners cannot drink much and are not as generous as you northerners. Why don't we see who can drink better today?" Meng Ting is also a man who is not afraid of making trouble.
Lin Yuye ordered someone to bring wine, and soon jars of the best wine were placed in front of them.
Lin Yuye threw away the small wine flask, grabbed a jar and started drinking. He drank more happily than drinking water.
Meng Ting was not willing to be outdone, so he grabbed a jar and started competing. After a while, the two of them turned the wine jars over at the same time, and they found that they were empty. The whole jar was empty.
The crowd watching cheered, and some people even joined in the fun. Shopkeeper Liu had to have people continue to bring in wine, otherwise he wouldn't be able to handle their drinking. This time, as the host, he would have to pay a heavy price.
Su Fengzhang was terrified watching from the side, thinking that these two were not afraid of alcohol poisoning. However, when he thought about the alcohol content of ancient water-based wine, he felt relieved. Anyway, it would be useless to persuade them now.
At this moment, Su Qun walked up to Su Fengzhang with a glass of wine. Su Fengzhang raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile, "Why, Brother Su, do you want to have a drinking contest with me too?"
Su Qun smiled gently and said, "I don't have the same alcohol tolerance as Brother Lin and Brother Meng. I'm sorry for offending you today. I'd like to offer you a glass of wine. Please don't take it to heart, Brother Su."
It is rare to find someone who can bend and stretch so much. If Su Fengzhang had not known this person's background from Meng Ting, he would have thought that he was a scholar with a mild temper.
It was just a pretense, everyone knew it. Su Fengzhang wore a similar smile and said, "Brother Su, your words are too harsh. I should apologize."
"Let's not talk about this anymore. Come, drink this cup to the bottom." Su Qu said with a smile.
The two men clinked their glasses and drank it all. Su Qun then said, "We both have the surname Su. If you're calling me Brother Su, I'm calling you Brother Su. I haven't asked for your courtesy name yet, Brother Su?"
"I'm ashamed to say that I haven't taken a name yet because I'm not yet twenty years old." Su Fengzhang answered with a smile.
Su Qun seemed to have just realized his age and kept saying, "So you are still not yet twenty years old. You are indeed a young talent. I have heard that I, a concubine from Qingzhou, can sing and laugh beautifully, and that you are talented and young. Now I see that it is indeed true."
Su Fengzhang looked at him, not sure whether these words were a compliment or an insult, or perhaps both.
Su Qun seemed unaware that his words were somewhat offensive, and continued to ask, "Would Brother Su mind if I rashly addressed him by his name?"
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "What's there to mind?"
"Then I'll be shameless, Brother Fengzhang." Su Qu said, and then said, "Fengzhang, you can just call me Yuliang."
Yuliang was Su Qun's courtesy name, and addressing him like that made them seem particularly close. Su Fengzhang readily agreed, "Brother Yuliang."
Su Qi personally poured him another glass of wine, and the two of them drank together again, which really felt like a glass of wine to settle grudges.
Even at this banquet, Su Fengzhang discussed painting skills with him and explained his methods of painting one by one, without any intention of keeping anything to himself.
Su Que also suddenly understood after hearing this, and said, "This is the principle, but it is difficult to depict it. Everyone can learn this method, but I am afraid that only a few can achieve the effect of snow accumulation turning into spring."
Su Fengzhang said modestly, "It's just a trivial trick. To be honest, it's nothing new."
Compared to the other side where Meng Ting and Lin Yuye were drinking so hard that the floor was covered with wine jars, the two of them were drunk, and the scholars from the north and south around them were secretly competing with each other. The two of them were talking and laughing and arguing with each other, which made them look like they came to the wrong place.
So much so that after Su Qun left, He Tang couldn't help but come over and ask, "Brother Su, are you two really friends?"
Su Fengzhang just smiled and said nothing. He patted his shoulder without saying much.
Although Meng Ting had a good alcohol tolerance, Lin Yuye was not bad either, so in the end, when the wine was all drunk, they both collapsed completely. In this situation, Su Fengzhang naturally felt uneasy about him going back, so he simply moved him into the house.
Along the way, Meng Ting kept holding Su Fengzhang's hand, mumbling, "Brother Su, thanks to you today, we didn't embarrass the southern scholars. Humph, compete with me in drinking, I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk..."
The only thing to be thankful for was that Meng Ting was not drunk at all. Apart from reeking of alcohol, he just lay down and fell asleep.
He and Su Arong spent the last night together, but the drunk guy had the big bed all to himself.
On the other side, Su Qun was also having a headache looking at Lin Yuye who had passed out from being drunk. This guy's drunken state was not as good as Meng Ting's. After getting drunk, he cried and made a fuss, shouting for fighting and killing. It took several of them working together to move the man back.
As soon as Lin Yuye entered the house, he vomited all over the floor. The smell was so pungent that Su Qun, who followed him in, almost vomited.
That would have been fine, but Lin Yuye was still talking nonsense after getting drunk, and dared to say anything. Su Qun was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat, and quickly sent everyone else away to prevent him from talking without restraint and causing trouble.
After finally settling the people down, Su Qun returned to his room with a gloomy face. The smell of alcohol on his body made him even more unhappy. However, he was usually the most "considerate" person, so he didn't want to ask someone to boil water for a bath in the middle of the night.
Seeing that he looked unhappy, the attendant whispered, "Sir, I've prepared some hot water. Please drink a cup of sobering soup first. I'll help you wipe yourself. This will make you feel better."
Su Que nodded, closed his eyes and gently rubbed his temples.
The attendant asked cautiously, "Sir, although Mr. Su won today, your painting is more profound. His painting only won in terms of novelty."
Su Que closed his eyes and said, "A new prodigy attracts attention. I'm sure by tomorrow, Su Fengzhang's name will spread throughout the capital. Who will remember the other Su Que? I never thought that after planning this competition for so long, it would end up being a wedding dress for someone else."
The attendant slapped his mouth and cursed, "It's all my fault for talking nonsense."
After saying that, he asked carefully, "Young Master, I see you two had a very pleasant conversation today. Will meeting Young Master Su in the future be the same as meeting Young Master Lin?"
Su Qun suddenly laughed and said, "Of course not. You should be more respectful to him."
After saying this, Su Qun got up and lay down on the bed, and his followers tactfully stopped talking.
At this moment, the man on the bed looked at the green mosquito net and sneered in his heart. What was the point of a competition? It was just a competition of painting. The real competition would be held in the spring examination next year, and he would not lose again then!
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