March 26th, at noon.
The blue sky was cloudless, and the sunshine on the plateau was extremely bright. The second day of the literary meeting began like this.
Yesterday, Fu Xiaoguan only took half a cup of tea to hand in the couplets, which undoubtedly made many students happy - Fu Xiaoguan's failure on the first day was a foregone conclusion, so today's poetry became the top priority for these students.
"Brother Zhuo's couplet yesterday was at least an A-grade. If he can outdo Fu Xiaoguan in poetry today, with two wins out of three, Brother Zhuo will be undefeated. Fellow students, please do not underestimate him. I think Fu Xiaoguan gave up yesterday, so he will definitely put in his best effort in the next two rounds. These two rounds are also his strengths, so please do not be careless!"
Miss Tang San gave a detailed instruction, which made all the students agree - Fu Xiaoguan's poetry and writing are extraordinary, so don't let him surpass him.
Fan Tianning seemed to have become Fu Xiaoguan's follower. He did not stay among the students of Fan State, but came straight to Fu Xiaoguan.
"I just don't understand why a small landowner like you, who lives near the river, can enjoy such privileges?"
This privilege of course refers to the fact that Fu Xiaoguan does not live in this dormitory together.
Fu Xiaoguan laughed heartily, "Brother Fan, I'm not trying to discredit you. Emperor Wen invited students from four countries, but I'm the only one mentioned by name."
Fan Tianning glared at Fu Xiaoguan, "I now feel more and more that you are really the illegitimate son of Emperor Wen, otherwise... he wouldn't be so partial to you!"
"Tell me, if I really am Emperor Wen's illegitimate child, and I have been living away from home for seventeen years, what kind of compensation should I ask him for?"
Fan Tianning looked at Fu Xiaoguan's sly appearance and immediately laughed, "How about we get a prince to be the prince?"
"No, I tell you, if I had to choose, I would choose 100,000 taels of gold."
"If you become the crown prince, you will have everything. What are you thinking?"
Fu Xiaoguan shook his head. "Are you content and happy as the Crown Prince of Fan State?"
Fan Tianning was stunned and thought of Fan Tianyun - his elder brother, the current Crown Prince of Fan State. He was already thirty-three years old, but his father was still strong. He seemed a little melancholy waiting.
"Alright, alright, I was just kidding. That has nothing to do with me. But how about yesterday's couplet, Brother Fan?"
"Of course I think it's okay. Besides, you gave up yesterday. Zhuo Donglai and his gang are quite arrogant. At the banquet last night, although he didn't say anything loud, the others were shouting loudly, saying that Zhuo Donglai had already won the victory. If he won again at today's poetry competition..."
Fan Tianning looked at Fu Xiaoguan, quite worried, "Brother Fu, I'm afraid that your reputation will be taken away by Zhuo Donglai!"
Fu Xiaoguan was very surprised and thought that my two pairs must be A-level. Who gave Zhuo Donglai the courage to win his first victory?
Could it be that the guy used to pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger, but was actually very powerful?
He did not look down on the ancients. He was able to pretend to be someone in this world only thanks to the poems and essays of the ancients.
So he looked towards Zhuo Donglai, and coincidentally, Zhuo Donglai also looked at him at this moment.
Of course, there was no spark between the eye contact, but Zhuo Donglai's eyes were full of fighting spirit, coupled with his cold face with a faint smile, as if saying to Fu Xiaoguan: I'm going to step on you!
This made Fu Xiaoguan a little unhappy, so he raised his middle finger to Zhuo Donglai.
Zhuo Donglai was stunned. What did he mean? Was Fu Xiaoguan trying to say that he was number one?
This is impossible!
So Zhuo Donglai also raised his middle finger to Fu Xiaoguan.
Fu Xiaoguan was stunned. Could it be that this guy understood what it meant?
Forget it, I won’t get angry with him over this shit.
Fan Tianning looked puzzled until Fu Xiaoguan looked away. He smiled and said, "This morning, the morning bell rang. The sound lingered among the mountains and fields, echoing in the distance. It was like the chanting of thousands of Buddhas. It was extremely shocking... Did you hear it?"
Fu Xiaoguan spread his hands and said, "I was sleeping soundly, I really didn't hear it."
"It's a pity. The morning bell rings at the intersection of Yin and Mao hours. I think since we are in Hanling Temple, it is worth listening to the morning bell and evening drum."
Fu Xiaoguan nodded, agreeing deeply, but it was obvious that sleeping was more important than listening to the sound of bells and drums.
At this moment, Wen Xingzhou and Tang Zhuguo came to the high platform. Wen Xingzhou glanced around majestically, and the scene suddenly became quiet.
"Today is the second round of the literary gathering, the poetry gathering."
"The topics for this poetry are in this box in my hand. Later, Tang Zhuguo, Elder Tang, will write all the topics on white cloth and hang it on the legs of the Buddha for you to see."
"The poetry competition will last for one day, not counting the burning of incense. It will begin when the topic is posted and end when the evening drum sounds. Meals will be delivered here during this time. I hope you will produce poems that will be remembered forever."
"Next, I will announce the topic!"
He opened the box and saw Tang Zhuguo standing beside a table with a huge brush in his hand.
"Today's poetry gathering is divided into three parts. In the first part, each student is invited to write a ci poem using the ci forms of 'Xijiang Yue', 'Ding Fengbo', and 'Ru Meng Ling'."
As Wen Xingzhou announced these things one by one, there was a whisper from the audience.
This question may seem complicated, but it is actually not difficult. They are all common ci forms, and many students have written them in their daily lives.
Wen Xingzhou continued, "Secondly, I would like all students to carefully examine a painting and compose a poem based on it."
This is a topic-based essay, so I don't think it's that difficult.
"Third, the Empress Dowager will celebrate her sixtieth birthday in a few days. I would like to invite all students to compose a poem in her honor. His Majesty will offer a special reward for this. The first place winner will receive ten thousand taels of silver! The second place winner will receive a thousand taels of silver, and the third place winner will receive a hundred taels of silver. The top three students will be invited to the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet."
As soon as the third part came out, the students below cheered immediately. They were rich, and more importantly, they could enter the palace to attend the Queen Mother’s birthday banquet!
I will definitely be able to meet many important officials at the birthday banquet, and my name will definitely be remembered by those important officials.
This is extremely important for their future career!
The students from the other three countries were also quite excited, because if they could be invited to participate in the birthday banquet, it would bring glory to their country. When they return home, they will definitely be rewarded by their own emperors, and they might even be directly appointed as officials.
Fu Xiaoguan didn't know what these people were so excited about. He was very interested in the ten thousand gold. As for the birthday banquet, to be honest, although the atmosphere of the birthday banquet was festive, it was actually depressing and made people feel very uncomfortable.
Fan Tianning laughed: "Look at how happy they are. These three questions may seem simple, but they are actually extremely difficult!"
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