I'll Do It! I'll Be a Literary Plagiarist!

Jixia Academy's original plan had indeed been to let its scholars display their talents at the palace banquet and show off their superiority.

They had wanted to show Great Qi just how formidable a cultural heritage that had never been interrupted could be.

They had also intended to overawe Emperor Hongyao, who had unified the north, and make him learn from Southern Xia's imperial family and treat them with proper respect.

As scholars, they had never feared imperial power. If Emperor Hongyao did anything wrong in the future, once they had overawed him, they would have the right to join the scholars of the realm in petitioning him.

After all, Great Qi's own scholars were no good. So the people of Jixia Academy would just have to represent the scholars of the realm.

If Emperor Hongyao refused to listen, he would be making an enemy of all the scholars under heaven.

But they had not expected that, before their plan even began, Southern Xia's delegation would disgrace Southern Xia so thoroughly that they would be dragged down with it.

If they still held the contest on Emperor Hongyao's home ground, even a victory would have little impact, given the disgrace Southern Xia's delegation had already suffered.

So they had to find another way, one that would strike the Great Qi Dynasty with far greater force and show all its scholars that the difference between them was like that between clouds and mud.

They would make all the people of Great Qi understand that, if they wanted to study well and pursue learning, Jixia Academy was the sacred hall they should forever aspire to enter.

The plan had gone smoothly. As Great Qi's most prestigious academy, White Horse Academy was no more capable than this.

At this literary gathering, they would trample every scholar in Great Qi underfoot.

Great Qi's civil officials, having received news of the gathering, seemed to have finally awakened from the gossip of the past few days. They still had this hurdle to get over.

Early that morning, everyone made their way to the Ten-Li Osmanthus Grove at the foot of White Horse Mountain.

Shen Anxin got ready and waited at the entrance.

Xiao Yanchen had said he would pick her up on his way.

But when she told the servants at home about the arrangement, she failed to notice how shocked their expressions became.

Then the crown prince's carriage actually stopped at the Marquis of Shuoping's Residence, and Shen Anxin simply climbed aboard as fresh as a daisy.

Everyone was left in disarray in the wind. Why would His Highness the crown prince come to pick up a subordinate!!! Did that make any sense?!?!

Shen Anxin saw nothing wrong with it and accepted the ride without the slightest misgiving.

She was an attendant to the crown prince, and the route from the Eastern Palace to the Marquis of Shuoping's Residence and then to the Ten-Li Osmanthus Grove was clearly a straight line. It was right on his way.

Instead, she was thinking that a few of the servants just now had helped her catch a husband beneath the examination rankings. If they saw the crown prince's true face inside the carriage, they might be petrified on the spot.

The thought was amusing.

Shen Anxin chuckled to herself, but her laughter had already filled the carriage.

The carriage was spacious and comfortable. Xiao Yanchen sat inside with one arm resting on a low table, beside which sat an incense burner and refreshments.

Hearing her, Xiao Yanchen looked up from his book and turned his gentle gaze toward her. "In a good mood?"

Shen Anxin had originally remembered that she needed to bow when she saw the crown prince, but Xiao Yanchen interrupted her, and she promptly forgot all about it.

"Huh? No. I'm nervous. I was so nervous I didn't sleep all night!"

Shen Anxin: I lied. I slept straight through till daybreak, but everyone should be nervous today, so I should act nervous too.

Amusement flashed in Xiao Yanchen's eyes. He raised a hand to invite her to sit and pushed the refreshments toward her.

"There's no need to be nervous. There really is a gap between the scholars on both sides, and it's almost impossible for us to beat them.

"Knowing our shortcomings, we should work all the harder. Imperial Father hopes we'll put on a good showing, not that we'll force ourselves to win.

"Great Qi has only just been brought to peace. What we need is confidence and unity. We can't let the people of Jixia Academy shatter the resolve of Great Qi's scholars.

"As long as the gap isn't too great, we can give Great Qi's scholars confidence and show them that we aren't so far behind. As Great Qi develops steadily, things will surely be better in the future."

Shen Anxin wrinkled her nose and tilted her head in puzzlement. She wanted to ask him a question in return, but was afraid that saying too much would expose her lack of political insight, so she could only give him a perfunctory response while grumbling inwardly.

Shen Anxin: I've heard of people being afraid they don't have enough military strength, but I've never heard of anyone being afraid they don't have enough culture. If you have enough military might to crush everyone around you, you'd be bursting with confidence, okay? They obviously want to slap Great Qi in the face, so why give them the chance?

Xiao Yanchen paused. That's an interesting way of looking at it, but not everything can be solved with violence. And why do I keep feeling that Shen Anxin is a little warlike at heart? Is everyone in her world like that?

Xiao Yanchen said, "Besides, Imperial Father has a purpose in treating them with a little more respect and humility.

"Imperial Father has always wanted Jixia Academy to send people to open a branch here in Great Qi and bring back the written texts, books and traditions."

Shen Anxin was startled. "A branch?"

Xiao Yanchen nodded. "Even though Great Qi has collected all the written material in the north, it doesn't amount to a tenth of what Great Xia had at the height of its power.

"Jixia Academy took most of it with them when they fled south, and they won't share it with outsiders.

"So even the most talented people here are inferior to those of ordinary talent over there. It's because we don't have enough books to draw on.

"Only by asking them to open a branch will we have a chance to obtain those things.

"But if we lose too badly in the contest, they'll have ample reason to refuse.

"Still... judging by their current attitude, even if we don't perform too poorly, they may refuse anyway."

Xiao Yanchen's expression cooled slightly. He had clearly seen Jixia Academy's bone-deep arrogance, which left almost no room for negotiation, but Imperial Father had yet to give up.

Shen Anxin said, "Threaten them with military force!"

Xiao Yanchen looked up at her, and Shen Anxin hurriedly shut her mouth. Why hadn't she been able to hold that in?

Xiao Yanchen smiled. "They're scholars who prize integrity. They would rather break than bend, and die than submit. If we threatened to kill them unless they opened a branch, they really would resist to the death, and in the end we would only burnish their reputations."

Shen Anxin: They can't be forced, and they can't be reasoned with. Does Emperor Hongyao have no choice but to be their punching bag?

In the imperial carriage, Emperor Hongyao sneezed, and Eunuch Chen immediately attended to him.

Emperor Hongyao waved a hand. "I'm fine."

He drank some tea, no longer in the mood to deal with memorials. They were almost at the Ten-Li Osmanthus Grove, and Emperor Hongyao frowned slightly.

Eunuch Chen asked, "Your Majesty, are you worried about the contest?"

Emperor Hongyao tapped his fingers on his knee, somewhat irritably.

"Your Majesty, isn't Miss Shen still here?"

Emperor Hongyao said, "It's already a great help that she can tell us things about the future. We can't expect her to do everything, and hasn't she forgotten most of it?"

Even if she remembered, to be honest, Emperor Hongyao did not think the culture of Shen Anxin's former world could be stronger than theirs. Perhaps Shen Anxin and Chacha had merely been boasting in their conversation.

After all, they often exaggerated when they talked.

Soon, they arrived at the Ten-Li Osmanthus Grove.

Waves of osmanthus fragrance wafted toward them, and even inside the carriage, Shen Anxin could not resist taking deep sniffs.

The Ten-Li Osmanthus Grove had already been cordoned off.

Officials could enter by identifying themselves, while scholars had to use another entrance and pass a preliminary test before they could go in.

The preliminary test was to compose a poem.

The people guarding the entrance were from Jixia Academy. Of every ten who came forward to be tested, only two or three managed to enter.

As the carriage passed, Shen Anxin happened to see a scholar who had failed the test. Deeply unwilling to accept it, he wanted them to look again.

Instead, the people from Jixia Academy threw his freshly written poem on the ground and stomped on it several times.

"What kind of garbage is this? Another glance would dirty my eyes. Don't think that knowing a few rules of composition means you can write poetry. Compared with the standards of our Jixia Academy, people like you have barely managed to stop being illiterate!"

Such humiliating words immediately stirred the anger of the onlookers.

Even Shen Anxin grew angry listening to them.

Seeing that the crowd would not accept it, the people from Jixia Academy had someone hang up a poem and declared, "Anyone who can't reach this standard needn't bother trying, unless you can't even tell the difference!"

When everyone looked, the furious onlookers gradually fell silent, their expressions turning ugly. Quite a few left without another word, and the number of people attempting the preliminary test suddenly dwindled.

Shen Anxin was curious to see it, and the carriage stopped. Xiao Yanchen sent a palace attendant to copy it down.

When the copy was brought back, Xiao Yanchen read it and frowned slightly.

"'The east wind greens the willows by the bank; wild birdsong falls upon the fields of wheat. New grass grows by the stream after the rain; at leisure I follow spring and watch mist veil the hills.' Is this the standard of the lowest-ranking student Jixia Academy brought on this trip?"

Shen Anxin glanced at it a few times.

Xiao Yanchen asked her, "What do you think?"

Shen Anxin steeled herself. "Not bad."

Shen Anxin: This is killing me. I can't tell at all.

Chacha: Host, the ancient poetry of your world was very impressive. Can't you tell whether it's good or bad?

Shen Anxin: I only know that reciting those famous ancient poems really feels different. They're breathtaking in a way I can't describe, just so, so beautiful. You know what I mean, right?

But if you ask me to judge other people's poetry, all I can recognize is a pile of flowery words. Maybe people who studied literature can tell, but I definitely can't.

I can't even tell whether Shen Anlan's poems are any good.

As the carriage entered the grounds, the thoughts inside it naturally carried outside as well.

The officials who had arrived earlier, and even Emperor Hongyao and the princes, heard them.

Everyone thought, It looks like we can only rely on ourselves this time!

An hour later, the literary gathering was halfway through.

Everyone thought, Boo-hoo-hoo, sorry, we can't be relied on either.

A crushing defeat. Great Qi had suffered a truly miserable defeat. Everyone's expression had turned extremely ugly.

On the raised platform, the four great talents sat side by side in Jixia Academy's robes, full of high spirits as they looked down upon all living beings.

They were the representatives Jixia Academy had put forward, the prized disciples of the academy head and deputy head, representing the pinnacle of poetry, lyrics, songs and fu among the younger generation.

White Horse Academy, the other scholars who had traveled from afar, and even the top scholars of successive years in Great Qi's court, tested by the imperial examinations, were all dejected.

Countless people had gone up to challenge them, and every one had returned with broken wings.

Seeing that no one else was coming forward, Mr. Xun smiled and stood. He cupped his hands toward Emperor Hongyao, who sat in the presiding seat, and said, "Poetry, lyrics, songs and fu, and Great Qi cannot produce a single example worthy of notice in any of them? It seems Great Qi places no importance on study. We are truly disappointed. Our Jixia Academy can give you another incense stick's worth of time. If no one comes forward to meet the challenge after that, I fear we shall have to leave disappointed."

Emperor Hongyao's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and the ministers did not dare breathe loudly.

It was not that they lacked learning. All their learning lay in its practical uses, not in splendid prose.

Words that had not been polished were naturally rough, so it was extremely difficult for them to surpass the beauty and artistic conception in Jixia Academy's poetry, lyrics, songs and fu.

Shen Anxin: Damn it, shouldn't reading more make you more reasonable and humble? Why is he so arrogant? I really want to give him two good punches and show him what a land of propriety is!

Chacha, is there any gossip about him I can eat? I want dirt on him!

Chacha: Host, there is gossip, but can eating his melon change the situation right now?

The people who heard her thoughts also knew that even if they learned whatever dirt there was on Mr. Xun now, it could not change the outcome.

They had lost, utterly and completely. For many years to come, Southern Xia and Jixia Academy would look down on them.

Though that was the truth, they were truly unwilling to accept it.

They had originally wanted to seek instruction humbly, but now all they had experienced was humiliation. It was hard to accept.

Shen Anxin: There's no other way, so can't I at least have the satisfaction? I'll find a chance to expose his dirt later and get some real revenge.

Chacha: Host, if you can't remember those splendid poems and lyrics, you can spend points on Tang poetry, Song ci and ancient classics in the shop.

The dejected crowd's eyes lit up in an instant, as though they had seen a straw to clutch at.

Though they did not know whether those works were better than Jixia Academy's, there was a chance, at least.

Even Emperor Hongyao's gaze was full of hope as he looked over.

Shen Anxin: You want me to be a literary plagiarist?

Chacha: Host, do you have misgivings?

Shen Anxin: I don't, but the future Shen Anlan will. If I astonish everyone today and people come to ask him for guidance later, what happens when he can't produce anything of the same standard?

Besides, I remember that a lot of the poetry, lyrics, songs and fu from our world have to do with place names and events. If I recite them and they ask where the names of those mountains and rivers came from, how am I supposed to explain?

Being a literary plagiarist is too risky, and the trouble afterward would be endless. Showing off feels great, but I'd better forget it.

Everyone grew anxious. You don't need to explain! We all understand, and we can help you cover up the lie!

But there was no way for them to say it aloud.

Just then, someone stepped forward to issue a challenge.

He was an ordinary scholar who did not seem well-off. His clothes were clean and neat, but they were patched.

"This student seeks your guidance."

But before he could walk onto the platform, he was stopped.

"Wait, you... what is your background?" Mr. Xun asked outright.

He was the first person to be asked.

The scholar was somewhat ill at ease, but quickly introduced himself.

Yet when he said he came from a farming family, Mr. Xun's face darkened, and he waved a hand and berated him.

"How dare you! A mud-legged peasant dares to come forward? How can someone so vulgar and lowly set foot at a literary gathering? Are these the rules in Great Qi? It's utterly absurd, a desecration of literary spirit."

The people of Great Qi were stunned.

Even Shen Anxin was dumbfounded.

The scholar he had insulted went white and fell to the ground, as though he had been stripped naked. He had come to the literary gathering wearing his very best clothes.

"Mr. Xun, how well someone studies has nothing to do with their background. How can you humiliate him like this?"

The one who stepped forward was the fourth prince, Xiao Yanshu, the young man who loved reading most among the princes. He hurried out of the imperial tent, rushed over to the scholar, and helped him up.

His dimples disappeared as he looked up at the people of Jixia Academy on the platform, his expression extremely grim.

He had always looked up to Jixia Academy. Even though they were arrogant and aloof, he had thought it understandable, but today their conduct had shattered Xiao Yanshu's illusions again and again.

So he was truly very disappointed now.

As Jixia Academy's deputy head, Mr. Xun naturally had no fear of any member of the imperial family.

"Since the fourth prince is standing up for a mud-legged peasant, it seems Great Qi allows people of low birth to sully its literary spirit. No wonder Great Qi's literary spirit is so weak. It's simply an eyesore."

Xiao Yanshu's face went white. The others were even more furious, their bodies trembling and their faces contorted.

Shen Anxin: Damn it, even if uncle can endure it, auntie can't! Sorry, Shen Anlan, but your name is about to become famous throughout the land! Chacha, exchange points!

Everyone was startled and turned toward Shen Anxin.

Chacha: Ding! Host has successfully exchanged one point for Selected Tang Poems and Song Ci.

Ding! Host has successfully exchanged one point for Classical Ancient Prose.

Ding! Host has successfully exchanged one point for Collection of Songs and Fu Through the Dynasties.

At that moment, the people of Great Qi had not yet realized what it meant.

Shen Anxin: I'll do it! I'll be a literary plagiarist!

Shen Anxin stood up and strode out with great, swift steps.

Stand back! I'm about to show off!