Those Who Seek the Way: The Secret Strife Between Great Houses and Humble Families

The next day, scholars gathered in one place.

The lecture was to be held in a separate courtyard of the Meng Residence.

This courtyard covered a considerable area and had clearly been renovated. The yard lay open and empty, rows upon rows of desks and chairs arranged within it. One could vaguely still see traces of artificial hills and stone platforms that had been leveled.

Without question, the Meng Residence had gone to great lengths and spared no expense for this lecture.

Qiu Yan's seat was located at the very back of the courtyard, atop a set of steps beneath the sheltering eaves. From there, he could take in the entire courtyard at a glance.

Early in the morning, the Meng Residence's servants had already begun bustling about. As one scholar after another arrived, this separate courtyard became filled with the vitality of people and Literary Thought.

Yet the stirring Literary Thought was not occupied with pondering essays or classics, but with discussing news related to Qiu Yan.

Unlike other Grand Confucians, Qiu Yan's emergence had been rather legendary. As his reputation grew louder and his accomplishments multiplied, news concerning him gradually spread.

The changes in that reputation directly affected how others viewed him.

At first, he had gained a little fame in Qingchang County because he had provided disaster relief and distributed porridge. Then Ma Yang had given him some guidance. During that period, Qiu Yan's scholarly reputation itself was nothing remarkable; whenever others mentioned him, it was always because of other matters.

Soon after, he had been invited to Wuxin City. After experiencing all manner of events, he had finally revealed his brilliance following the turmoil at the literary gathering, surpassing Jiannan's famed talents Fang Ziyan and Gu Yanzhi. He had even clashed with Geluolan, the Marshfolk prince