But if Longcheng Flying General
A few days after visiting the night market, Qin Liuliu returned to the private school. Actually, she didn't need to go back so early. Qin Jiujiu's idea was that since she was just going to be bored at home anyway, she might as well learn something. This suggestion naturally made perfect sense to Grandpa Tang. So, early in the morning, Tang Feng was ordered to get up and take Qin Liuliu to the private school. When the teacher, still sleepy and looking bewildered, saw Tang Feng and Qin Liuliu standing at the door, equally sleepy, and then glanced at the old almanac hanging above the door, he said, "Young Master Tang, if I'm not mistaken, class hasn't started yet. What's going on here..."
"This is my father's wish," he said, placing a few taels of silver in the teacher's hand. "My younger brother is playful, so please take care of him!"
"Oh dear... Come in quickly! Young Master Tang, please rest assured, I will definitely raise your son to be a pillar of the nation." After saying this, the old man leaned on his cane and pulled Qin Liuliu into the house.
Tang Feng saw that the person had been delivered, so he turned around and headed home.
"Young Master, you're finally back!" Tang Feng was still quite a distance from the Tang residence, but Liu Yiwan practically ran and skipped over.
"What are you doing? You look so lewd," Tang Feng said with some disdain, looking at Liu Yiwan. "Speak quickly if you have something to say."
"Today is the annual 'Floating Wine Cups' ceremony! Didn't Miss Jiu tell you about it a few days ago, sir? Have you forgotten?"
"Huh? Is that so?" Tang Feng thought about it and realized there really was something like that. "Can we not go?"
"Of course, young master, the family rules have all been prepared for you." After Liu Yiwan finished speaking, he pointed towards the main gate of the Tang residence. Tang Feng looked in the direction Liu Yiwan was pointing and saw six servants standing at the gate, three on each side, holding the red lacquered wooden stick that Tang Feng both recognized and found unfamiliar.
"Go away! Go away! I'll go, okay? Just put that thing away right now!"
"Then please get into the carriage, young master! Young Master Zhang will accompany you." Liu Yiwan pointed to the carriage parked at the door. "I apologize that I cannot accompany you the whole way; please be careful on your journey."
After listening, Tang Feng shoved Liu Yiwan aside, glared at him fiercely, then lifted the curtain and entered the carriage. "Oh! Little brother, you've finally decided to come in? I thought you weren't coming!"
"Hmph! Do you think that's possible?" Tang Feng sneered, lifting the carriage curtain and pointing to Zhang Mobai, "See those two big sticks? They're for whipping me. Do you think I dared not to come?"
"Pfft! It's okay, little brother. That winding stream party isn't as boring as you think. At least there's wine to drink and snacks to eat! Don't worry!"
Tang Feng didn't reply after hearing this. He propped his head up and lifted the curtain to look out the carriage window. It was already April, and the weather was gradually warming up. This was Tang Feng's first time leaving the city since coming to this world. The carriage traveled along the small road outside the city, and the April sun shone through the window, making Tang Feng doze off.
"Hey bro, wake up, we're here!"
"Hmm~" Hearing Zhang Mobai call his name, Tang Feng rubbed his eyes and responded softly, "So fast!"
"It's almost noon, let's go." With that, Zhang Mobai got up and jumped out of the carriage, tied the curtain to one side, and held out his hand to Tang Feng, saying, "Hurry up! We're going to be late, or we'll have to recite a poem as punishment."
"You're punishing someone for this?!" Tang Feng's eyes, which had just been half-asleep, widened instantly. "Then let's go, let's go! I don't want to be publicly executed in front of so many people!"
Zhang Mobai pulled Tang Feng down and pointed to the path ahead, saying, "This path is too narrow for a carriage; we'll have to walk."
Tang Feng followed the path; it wasn't long, and he could see the end of it at a glance. Beyond the path was the winding stream where people used to float wine cups. The stream wasn't deep; Tang Feng glanced at it from afar and estimated it was only ankle-deep. Tables and straw mats were set up on both sides of the stream, and most of the people present were teenagers around Tang Feng's age. "Big brother, let's sit over there," Zhang Mobai pointed to an empty seat in the distance. "It's quieter there, fewer people, fewer stones, and the cups won't stop flowing easily."
"You seem quite experienced," Tang Feng said, following Zhang Mobai to his seat. "Are there any rules?" Tang Feng leaned slightly towards Zhang Mobai and asked softly.
"There aren't really any rules; it's just a way for scholars to exchange ideas and pass the time. See that guy in the flowery clothes standing up there? His name is Lu Changyuan. His father is a high-ranking official, but he's not very capable and is quite vain. Lu Changyuan is holding a wine cup that will be placed in the stream in a bit. If the cup stops in front of you, you must immediately copy the poem onto paper."
"This sounds so difficult!" Tang Feng propped his head up, drew a little turtle on the paper, and held it up to show Zhang Mobai. "Little madman! Look, doesn't it look like Liu Yiwan?"
"Pfft! Although it doesn't look like a god, it's still a statue," Zhang Mobai chuckled, covering his mouth.
"Oh my! Isn't this the young master of the Tang family? What brings you here today? Are you going to start crying for your mother again soon?"
Tang Feng followed the sound and saw the person in the floral dress walking towards him. Tang Feng frowned; that "Oh my!" did sound a bit like Wang, the madam of Qinghui Pavilion. Thinking of this, Tang Feng couldn't help but chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?" Lu Changyuan walked over to Tang Feng and looked down at him. "For our first drink today, let's have our little crybaby do it. You set the mood and get everyone excited." With that, Lu Changyuan handed Tang Feng his glass.
After Lu Changyuan finished speaking, laughter erupted from below. Tang Feng didn't look up at them, nor did he respond. He acted completely indifferent. "Lu Changyuan! Don't push your luck!" Zhang Mobai slowly stood up, supporting himself on the table.
"Zhang Mobai, mind your own business. What can you do to me?"
Zhang Mobai grabbed Lu Changyuan by the collar, pulled him close, and whispered in his ear, "I advise you to play it safe. I can't really do anything to you, but I don't know about Zhou Ziliang." He then patted Lu Changyuan's chest. "Take care of yourself, Brother Lu."
Tang Feng didn't know what Zhang Mobai and Lu Changyuan had talked about, but he saw Lu Changyuan suddenly tremble and then turn and leave. "Little madman, what did you say to him?" Tang Feng asked curiously as he saw Zhang Mobai sit down.
"Nothing much, just chatting about everyday things."
"Chatting about everyday things?" Tang Feng, with a calligraphy brush in his mouth, glanced at Lu Changyuan. Seeing Lu Changyuan staring at him through gritted teeth, Tang Feng smiled and waved at him. "Chatting about everyday things, you were so scared just now."
"Maybe he's done too many bad things and is being punished by heaven," Zhang Mobai chuckled. "Little brother, he said that about you, and you didn't even fight back?"
"Counterattack? Counterattack what? That's bad luck." Tang Feng shifted his position, leaning on the table. "The weather's so nice, how can I let him ruin my good mood?"
Tang Feng didn't care about any of that. He'd heard plenty of sarcastic remarks, so one more wouldn't make a difference. Back when he worked in the factory, the sarcastic comments from colleagues, the sarcastic remarks from superiors, and the cold indifference from the boss all paled in comparison. Compared to them, what Lu Changyuan said today was nothing.
"Pfft, this is becoming more and more unlike you. Before, you would definitely have gone up to argue with me while crying."
"I must have been a real wimp before," Tang Feng thought to himself, scribbling on a piece of white paper when he had nothing else to do.
"I now declare that the 'Floating Wine Cups' game begins!" Lu Changyuan, already somewhat overweight, appeared even more clumsy as he climbed up and down the platform. Tang Feng watched as he laboriously bent down, placing the wine cup on a leaf, letting the leaf float with the water's ripples until it stopped moving.
"Warhorses gallop across the border, swords drawn and crossbows ready, what does it matter? The fate of the nation rests on the shoulders of men; with fervent passion, one studies to become a pillar of the state." Having said this, the man picked up the wine cup on the leaf and drank it down in one gulp.
"Bravo!" A cheer erupted from below.
After hearing the poem, Tang Feng, seemingly indifferent, continued writing and drawing. Then he turned to Zhang Mobai and asked, "Whose child is this? If he can't study, he should go back home and farm! That might be a better future for him."
"It seems to be Wu Lai, the son of a high-ranking official," Zhang Mobai tilted his head and craned his neck to take a look.
"A rogue? He certainly seems like a rogue."
"Little brother, it's Wu Lai, not a scoundrel."
"Who cares! His poem is a complete mess. If reading the classics could conquer battlefields, what would be the point of having generals? As a frontier poem about serving the country, what's the use of just worrying about the nation and its people? It lacks even a hint of spirit."
"You're making a very good point! His poems are just like that—ambitious and unrealistic, with no single line that's merely designed to sound smooth."
Tang Feng snorted coldly, crumpled up the piece of paper he had just scribbled on, and threw it on the table. He then picked up another piece of paper, and with a flourish of his brush, wrote...
"If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would never dare to cross the Yin Mountains."
After finishing writing, he didn't forget to write his name, then threw down the pen, saying "Meaningless," and stormed off. Zhang Mobai, who was standing next to him, picked up the paper and nodded repeatedly, "What a fine poem!" Looking up and seeing Tang Feng walking away, Zhang Mobai quickly put the paper back on the table and got up to chase after Tang Feng.
"Hey bro, bro, wait for me!" Zhang Mobai hurried to catch up with Tang Feng. "You only wrote two lines of your poem? Where are the other two?"
I'm too lazy to write the last two sentences.
Zhang Mobai smiled and put his hand on Tang Feng's shoulder. "Then we can say we're free ahead of schedule thanks to you! Shall we go back to the manor?"
"What are you going back to the manor for? To get a beating from my father?"
"So what do we do now?"
"What are you doing? Going back to the carriage to catch up on sleep. My dad woke me up early this morning to take Qin Liuliu to school, and I'm so sleepy." With that, Tang Feng lifted the curtain, got into the carriage, found a cushion, and lay down. Zhang Mobai followed suit, enjoying the peaceful moment.
"Little brother"
"Um?"
I'm a little hot.
"A calm mind brings coolness."
"oh"
Meanwhile, the winding stream party was drawing to a close, and everyone had dispersed. Only Lu Changyuan and his few pageboys were collecting the poems. "Young master, young master, look at this one, 'If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would never dare to cross the Yin Mountains.' Such a powerful and ambitious poem, full of heroic spirit."
Lu Changyuan was stunned. Such a desolate borderland with white grass, yellow clouds, and lone smoke rising from the desert was depicted in just a few words. How ambitious and broad-minded this person must be! The only pity is that there are only two lines of poetry. "Who wrote this?"
"Tang... Tang Feng"
"Tang Feng?!" Lu Changyuan's squinty eyes widened instantly. "This poem was written by Tang Feng?"
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