Ban Ruo need not have agonized over it, yet she quietly bit her lip as well. On one side was an outdated, tactless old woman; on the other was a young beauty in the full bloom of her glory, a courtesan queen adored by the entire city. Even a blind man would know which to choose, yet he had chosen wrong?
Yu Lou raised her gaze, her eyes filled with a complicated expression as well...
Lin Su lifted his hand, and Understanding Flower was passed into it. "Sister Yu Lou, my brother asked me to bring you a poem."
Yu Lou's eyes suddenly burned. "Write it down!"
Lin Su turned to the table beside him and picked up the brush...
Everyone's eyes were full of ridicule. He knew how to wield a brush?
Lin Su lowered his brush. His strokes raced like dragons and serpents, and he finished swiftly...
"Read it!" Young Master Jin smiled. "Let us see what sort of poem our Second Young Master Lin can produce."
The richly dressed beautiful woman accepted the poem with a smile. Suddenly, her smile stiffened. Slowly, she recited, "I ask the river tide and sea's ripples: how could they compare with your feelings and mine? Better to resent each other than the tide, for the tide keeps faith; only in longing do I realize the sea is not deep."
After finishing, her face was filled with disbelief, yet she offered no comment. With every previous poem, she had added a closing remark, invariably landing on the point that since the young master praised Ban Ruo, Jade Fragrance Tower would rely on his future patronage. But for this poem, she had no closing remark...
The man seated highest among the scholars abruptly opened his eyes, which had been half-closed.
Zhang Xiu's folding fan stopped midway through its sway.
Young Master Jin's smile froze completely.
The five famed courtesans who had already concealed themselves in the neighboring room exchanged glances. Every one of them saw astonishment in the others' eyes...
The entire tower fell silent as a graveyard.
How was this possible?
How could it be such a fine poem? Its structure was exquisite, its poetic meaning boundless. Every word carried bone-deep tenderness and wholehearted love. Even if this marvelous poem were brought to the grandest literary gathering in the capital, it would surely claim a place of its own.
In a remote corner of the tavern, a Tong Sheng looked at this person, then that one, and quietly asked the young scholar beside him, who seemed entirely out of sorts, "Brother Deng, this poem... how is it?"
The scholar let out a breath. "'Better to resent each other than the tide, for the tide keeps faith; only in longing do I realize the sea is not deep'... Truly, marvelous lines that astonish the world—a single poem suppressing the whole tower..."
Suddenly, someone beside him gave a soft cough. The scholar started and hurriedly shut his mouth...
Though he had stopped himself in haste, some people had still heard him, Ban Ruo among them. The smile on Ban Ruo's face had frozen too. She had gathered all the flowers in the tower, yet missed one—and that one flower she had missed suppressed the entire tower with a single poem. She possessed talent herself, and her eye for poetry was not lacking. In terms of weight, this poem outweighed the more than fifty poems she had received combined. If this poem were a pot of fine wine, then the others were no more than a cup of sour swill...
The taste in her heart was hardly pleasant.
Yu Lou took the manuscript and stared at it for a long while. At last, she slowly lifted her head and softly said, "Third Young Master, please carry a message to your elder brother."
"Please speak, Sister Yu Lou..."
"Though the young master is still ill, he yet keeps Yu Lou in his thoughts. Yu Lou shall personally visit Lin Manor, wash her hands and make soup, to ensure the young master's precious health and well-being!"
The entire tower erupted in uproar!
Those words had truly set the tone.
"To wash her hands and make soup"—that meant entering the Lin Household!
Even though Lin Jialiang had not appeared at all, he had still won the beauty's heart with a single poem!
Zhang Xiu's face turned livid!
The group who had just competed for the courtesan queen likewise wore ugly expressions.
Thus, the Ci Lou Banquet came to a perfect conclusion. Under the richly dressed woman's guidance, the beauties departed one after another, while the two generations of courtesan queens nearly withdrew at the same time.
At this moment, Ban Ruo and Yu Lou reached the only Tacit Understanding of the entire banquet—when they left, the last glance they cast was both upon Lin Su. Yet the meanings in their gazes were entirely different.
There was one more person whose gaze fell upon Lin Su: the Zither-Holding Woman. Her eyes were exceedingly bright...
The middle-aged man seated at the head said, "It is rare for Qu Prefecture's Talented Youths to gather together. Since we are assembled here today, why not seize this opportunity to discuss reevaluating the Ten Talents of Qu Prefecture?"
The moment those words were spoken, those preparing to leave sat back down.
Reevaluating the Ten Talents? This was no small matter. It could practically be considered a grand event of Quzhou's Literary Altar. Anyone with even the slightest connection to literature was reluctant to leave.
Lin Su's heart stirred. A new trick?
Today's Ci Lou Banquet was naturally a banquet at Hongmen set by the Zhang Family. What was its purpose? To suppress the Lin Family!
What were the steps?
The first step: Zhang Xiu wanted to take Yu Lou as a concubine and use her to trample Lin Jialiang—Madam Lin knew of the ambiguous relationship between Yu Lou and Lin Jialiang, so there was no reason these people would not know. If Zhang Xiu took Yu Lou, how could Lin Jialiang hold his head high?
Now Yu Lou had slipped free, leaving Zhang Xiu stepping into empty air.
The other side immediately brought out their second move: reevaluating the Ten Talents of Qu Prefecture.
And what was the purpose of this move?
It was clear now: this group wanted to use this chance to strip Lin Jialiang, the second brother, of his title among the Ten Talents of Qu Prefecture!
The Ten Talents of Qu Prefecture was merely a title. It appeared to be empty fame, but in truth, it greatly affected one's literary reputation. He had originally been one of the Ten Talents of Qu Prefecture, only to be expelled today—how could anyone accept that? If his resolve was even slightly unsteady, this blow would be enough to leave him unable to rise again, cloud his Literary Path, and truly sever his road in literature.
Fine. Let me see how you perform...
"Mr. Lei's proposal accords perfectly with this student's wishes." Zhang Xiu's livid expression gradually relaxed. "Quzhou has possessed deep foundations since ancient times, rich literary brilliance and elegant grace, claiming one-third of Great Cang's spring splendor. What an illustrious title, the Ten Talents of Qu Prefecture! None but those outstanding in both literary reputation and foundation may bear it. A public reevaluation today is indeed necessary: those rich in talent shall rise, while those who deceive the world and steal fame shall fall. I ask Mr. Lei to preside over this grand occasion and create a fine tale for the Literary Altar."
He bowed deeply.
Mr. Lei gently shook his head. "How could this old man possess such virtue or ability as to judge Qu Prefecture's Talented Youths? You should invite another worthy person to shoulder this great responsibility..."
Everyone spoke up in turn. Mr. Dongyang, stop being modest. Most present had only just developed Literary Roots; even we were merely Xiucai, having only formed Literary Altars. But Mr. Dongyang was a Juren and had already forged a Literary Mountain...
"Yes, yes. On the Literary Path, Literary Rank came first. Half a step ahead on the Steps was enough to make one a teacher..."
Lin Su knew all this. He had just read it in Miscellaneous Talks on the Literary Path...
The Literary Path was divided into seven stages: Literary Root, Literary Altar, Literary Mountain, Literary Heart, Literary Road, Literary Realm, and Sage...
Literary Root was the first stage of the Literary Path. There were two ways to obtain it. One was through the Tong Sheng Trial, after which the Holy Hall bestowed a Literary Root; the other was through immense fortune, whereby the Holy Hall directly bestowed a Literary Root.
If Literary Root still had a shortcut, there were no shortcuts afterward.
Those who obtained Literary Roots could take the Provincial Examination. Those accepted were called Xiucai and were bestowed Literary Altars.
Xiucai could take the Metropolitan Examination. Those who passed were called Juren and were bestowed Literary Mountains.
Juren could take the Palace Examination. Those who passed were called Jinshi and were bestowed Literary Hearts.
Lei Dongyang had entered the Literary Mountain stage, which meant he was a Juren.
Measured by academic qualifications, a Juren ranked one level above a Xiucai. Thus, it was only right that he serve as judge.
Lei Dongyang declined for quite a while before finally accepting. He took a sip of grape wine and spoke:
"The world blooms like brocade, and all of you are brimming with lofty ambition and youthful spirit. Let us speak our aspirations through poetry, and use these poems to decide the Ten Talents of Qu Prefecture. Do any of you object?"
"Poems of aspiration are something everyone possesses. Naturally, there is no objection."
"No objection..."
A crowd of people voiced their agreement. None objected...
Lin Su watched coldly from the side. Damn, this underhanded move was awfully targeted...
A poem of aspiration—it specifically had to be filled with heroic spirit...
His second brother had been rubbed raw by society again and again over the past month. How could he possibly be brimming with lofty ambition?
He would be lucky to write, "Ten years of life and death, both vast and blurred"!
After the scholar above Lin Su voiced no objection, everyone's eyes gathered upon Lin Su.
Lin Su spoke. "Why are you all looking at me? Do you need me to voice an opinion?... Mm, I actually do have a question..."
Mr. Lei above him said, "Please speak, Third Young Master Lin."
Lin Su said, "My elder brother was originally among the Ten Talents of Qu Prefecture. Today, he is ill and unable to attend. Sir, are you judging only nine talents, then adding my elder brother to make ten? Or are you simply casting my elder brother aside and forcefully judging ten talents?"
"Since it is a reevaluation, the original Ten Talents naturally do not count."
Lin Su nodded. "Taking advantage of my brother's illness to hurry up and reevaluate the Ten Talents—look at how neatly you slipped through that crack... Mm-hmm... I understand now. You are quite wary of my elder brother."
"Hahaha..."
Everyone burst into laughter...
"Wary? Haha, what is Lin Jialiang worth? Including him among the Ten Talents of Qu Prefecture was purely to make up the numbers..."
"Exactly! He was included only out of respect for the Marquis of Dingnan. And where is the Marquis of Dingnan now?"
Those words were rather harsh. Lin Su raised his gaze and stared at the speaker. He had heard the introductions earlier; this man was Young Master Guiyang.
Young Master Guiyang snapped open his folding fan. "What? Third Young Master is unconvinced? No matter. Go back now and bring your elder brother here. I will make sure he loses all reputation and standing!"
"There is no need to invite my elder brother!" Lin Su said. "I will play with you all instead. It is only writing poetry, isn't it? I have at least studied with my elder brother for a few days. I would not dare claim I can ascend the halls of refined elegance, but I can manage to play along with you."
"You?"
"Hahahaha!" No one could hold back their laughter.
Even Xiao Yao, full and satisfied from eating and drinking, looked at him in astonishment. Brother, you got drunk after only one cup of wine? You can write poetry? How did I not know that?
"Third Young Master wishes to write poetry. How about we indulge him for once?" Zhang Xiu said with a smile.
"Fine, fine. No rule says trash cannot write poetry..."
"Then write. Who would have thought that such a delightful affair would emerge at a grand Literary Altar gathering..."
Sheets of paper were delivered to the tables.
Lin Su picked up his brush. Someone tugged at his sleeve. Turning sideways, he saw Xiao Yao. She leaned her little mouth close to his ear. "Brother, how about I hurry back and have Second Young Master write it? Xiao Yao is full, so I can run fast..."
Lin Su said, "Why are you joining the fun? Go gnaw on your chicken leg!"
"Oh!"
Xiao Yao sat against a pillar. Obediently, she picked up her chicken leg...
Swish, swish, swish...
Brushes danced like dragons and serpents, a splendid sight to behold. The entire tower was full of people wielding brushes...
Time passed minute by minute. At last, Lin Su began to write as well, and once he started, he wrote a great many lines...
Before you continue