As everyone walked on, Fang Yun asked quietly, "Mr. Fangge, I've heard Grand Academician Tang Jianqiu's name, but my uncle has never mentioned him to me."
Ye Fangge said gravely, "If I were Zhaochен, I wouldn't have the face to mention that traitor either."
"What did he do?"
"Though Tang Jianqiu has plenty of little faults-you could even say his heart is crooked-he's a genuine genius. But he never put that genius to proper use, or his achievements would have far surpassed ours. We've known each other since we were Metropolitan Graduates, and our friendship ran deep. Even when he took advantage of others and did wicked things, we turned a blind eye. After all, we'd been friends for years. Until..."
Ye Fangge sighed softly and continued, "Until Wei Huangan rose to fame, and Tang Jianqiu revealed his true nature. His talent clearly fell short of Wei Huangan's, yet he couldn't stomach being surpassed by someone more than ten years younger. So he attacked Wei Huangan at every Literary Assembly. Back then, like Wei Huangan, we were all Hanlin Academicians. None of us had become Grand Academicians yet. Zhaochен and I repeatedly tried to talk sense into him, but not only did he refuse to listen, he nearly fell out with us."
"How could we abandon years of friendship over an outsider? So even though Zhaochен and I didn't attack Wei Huangan, we stood firmly by Jianqiu. In those days, Wei Huangan blazed like the sun at its zenith, growing stronger and stronger. Seeing no hope, Tang Jianqiu grew ever more unsettled. Whenever anything involved Wei Huangan, he would rush forward like a mad dog to hurl abuse and attack him."
"Before Wei Huangan became a Grand Academician, he kept enduring it. But once he became one, he found a