Golden Resonance of Jade

Many people instinctively stepped back, avoiding being drawn into this dispute.

Those who cherished their reputations would never help Guan Yaoyuan at a time like this, because that would be the same as helping the notorious Liu Zicheng.

Those who feared trouble likewise helped neither side, because Fang Yun was Fang Shouye's nephew, and it was said that he also had some connection with Grand Academician Li Wenying.

With a single speech, Fang Yun isolated Liu Zicheng, Guan Yaoyuan, and their cronies, completely cutting off their chance to use the other academy students to damage his literary reputation.

Guan Yaoyuan did not seem angry at all. He sighed and said, "Fang Yun, you have truly misunderstood. I was not trying to isolate you. Because you were born into a Cold Gate family, you harbor resentment toward the wealthy and the officials, believing that we of noble families must wish to harm you. I admit that I should not have mentioned Liu Zicheng. Once again, I solemnly apologize to you. Sigh, do not laugh at me, but I spent so much money myself because I wanted to build my literary reputation. If Fang Yun did not come, I would find a way to claim first place. But if Fang Yun came, I would be happier than anyone. If a State-Ringing or Nation-Quelling lyric came from the gathering I hosted, would that not add to my literary reputation as well?"

Fang Yun said, "Fine tactics, Brother Guan. Since you could not isolate me, you now wish to set me against the noble families. We Cold Gate students have never resented wealth. What we resent is wealth without benevolence! It is clever of you to show weakness at every turn, but I have a question. Is Guan Yaoyuan normally such a smooth and accommodating gentleman that even when someone points at his nose and curses him, he never talks back? When something is abnormal, there must be a demon at work!"

Everyone suddenly understood.

Guan Yaoyuan's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively looked around at the others.

Some avoided Guan Yaoyuan's gaze. Some wore cold smiles. Some gently shook their heads.

Everyone knew that although Guan Yaoyuan was usually polite enough, he was not normally so willing to swallow humiliation. Yet today, he had deliberately acted this way, clearly retreating in order to advance. He had dressed himself up as a pitiable victim, all to make Fang Yun seem like an aggressively overbearing petty man.

Gao Minghong immediately said in a strange, mocking tone, "I was wondering why Young Master Guan had gone so soft today. You have been apologizing from start to finish, looking as aggrieved as some little maiden. So you had another scheme in mind. Well, it makes sense. You and Liu Zicheng can even share the same concubine. Your relationship is so good, of course you would avenge him."

Everyone's curiosity was piqued. Two academy students sharing a concubine was not some enormous scandal, but it would certainly damage their literary reputations.

Guan Yaoyuan gritted his teeth and swallowed the curse that was about to burst from his mouth. He knew that if he truly started cursing, Fang Yun would certainly seize the chance to say that his true nature had been exposed.

Guan Yaoyuan said angrily, "Gao Minghong, how can you insult me like this? If I were not swallowing my grievances for the sake of this lyric gathering and my literary reputation, I would have challenged you to a contest of war poetry long ago! I, Guan Yaoyuan, may be easy to talk to, but do you take me for a soft persimmon to squeeze? I now curse Liu Zicheng as a beast. Are you satisfied?"

Someone behind Guan Yaoyuan suddenly sneered. "What Saint-Before-the-Sages Double-A Honor? You are simply afraid! Afraid that our lyrics will surpass yours, afraid that you cannot preserve your literary reputation, so you deliberately dragged the topic toward Liu Zicheng. Otherwise, Guan merely made an offhand remark. Why would you react so fiercely? Where is the broad-mindedness of Fang Double-A? Where is the bearing of Case First Fang?"

"Yan Yue! Say no more. Fang Yun is not that kind of person!" Guan Yaoyuan reprimanded in a low voice, then revealed a helpless expression.

Pan'er said, "Stop talking. Every fault, every mistake, is Pan'er's fault. Pan'er should not have forced Fang Double-A to compose a lyric just because she admired him. Actually, Pan'er is no longer young and wishes to find a good home. Because she loves Fang Double-A's literary reputation so deeply, she wished to marry him. Whether as wife or concubine, she would be willing. But a woman's skin is thin, after all, so she made an agreement with Young Master Guan. If Fang Double-A came, they would say that tonight she would give herself to the champion of the lyric gathering. If Fang Double-A did not come, the matter would not be mentioned. Pan'er never expected that her eager admiration would lead her to do such a foolish thing."

As Pan'er spoke, she slightly bent her knees and offered Fang Yun a formal bow. Then she said, "I beg Young Master Fang for mercy. Everything is this concubine's fault. This concubine should not have insisted that you compose a lyric. This concubine is willing to punish herself with three cups."

Yan Yue shouted, "How can that be allowed! Fang Yun is clearly afraid of being surpassed, which is why he dares not compose a lyric. What does it have to do with you? You cherish talent, even rejecting a Provincial Graduate, yet Fang Yun treats you like a pig or dog. Why must you make things difficult for yourself?"

"Yan Yue!" Guan Yaoyuan growled.

Bright Jade Tower fell silent.

Fang Yun sighed softly, and ripples stirred within his heart.

What a Liu Zicheng. I almost believed it. Back then, he used this very method. If Yuhuan had not been steadfast and faithful, that Fang Yun would have counted money for him even after being sold. Now he is using the same half-real, half-false tactics again. If the lyric I write is poor, he will surely slander my literary reputation far and wide. If I write well, this Pan'er will certainly use it to draw close to me. If I accept her, who knows what future troubles will follow? If I refuse her, then should she commit suicide, it will certainly enrage the literati. They will smear me as a heartless man and will always find a way to strike at my literary reputation. Thus, unless I use a method that satisfies both sides, Liu Zicheng will find an excuse no matter what I do.

Liu Zizhi likely contributed to this as well. Perhaps sullying my literary reputation is only the beginning. Afterward, the Left Prime Minister's faction can not only ruin my literary achievements, but even attack the officials who help me and purge their political enemies. Literary reputation is a double-edged sword. But am I, Fang Yun, someone you can simply topple?

Fang Yun made his decision and looked at the mung bean cakes on the table.

What a waste of Five-Li Village mung bean cakes.

After saying that, Fang Yun strode toward the exit, with He Yutang following closely behind him.

Guan Yaoyuan grew desperately anxious and immediately signaled Yan Yue with his eyes, telling him to keep Fang Yun here.

Yan Yue shouted, "Fang Yun, I despise you! You are nothing but a straw bag, without even the courage to compose a lyric before everyone! I am ashamed to be in the same Dayuan Prefecture as you! You cannot compose lyrics at all. Your literary reputation is nothing but an empty shell!"

Fang Yun laughed loudly, stepped through Bright Jade Tower's doors, then stopped outside with his back to everyone.

"Since you insist that I compose a lyric, then I shall compose one. Since I once said that I came to this poetry gathering only with my mouth and not my hands, out of respect for the host, I shall recite a Butterflies in Love with Flowers here, titled Spring Scenery."

Everyone held their breath and listened intently, afraid they would miss Fang Yun's next lines.

As Fang Yun spoke, he took a step forward.

"Faded blossoms shed their crimson; green apricots grew small."

Several academy students could not help nodding. The line described flowers withering and green apricots growing on the trees, precisely the scene of late spring and early summer. It perfectly suited today's Start-of-Summer Literary Gathering.

After reciting the first line, Fang Yun took another step forward.

"When swallows flew, green waters wound around the homes."

Lai Yong, who had composed the first lyric, relaxed upon hearing this. Though the line was not bad, it was merely ordinary and even slightly inferior to his own lyric.

"On willow branches, drifting floss blew ever fewer." Fang Yun took another step.

Lai Yong could not help smiling. This line was still quite ordinary, merely saying that there was less and less willow fluff, and spring had already departed.

Fang Yun took another step.

"At Heaven's edge, where could fragrant grass not grow?"

More than ten people who had been holding their breath could no longer endure it and all drew in sharp breaths.

Lai Yong's smile froze on his face. The line said that spring had indeed gone, but there was no need to worry. Spring would return, and lush fragrant grass would grow again across the ends of the earth. With one line, it lifted the lyric's realm to towering heights.

The literal meaning alone was not enough to affect Lai Yong so deeply, but his Literary Qi was exceptional. He immediately thought that Fang Yun might be saying this to Pan'er, giving the line an entirely different flavor.

A few academy students secretly glanced at Pan'er. Yet Pan'er was ultimately only a manufactured "female academy student," and this was her first time hearing it. Thinking the lyric was simply about spring scenery, she only vaguely felt that there was something hidden within its words.

Fang Yun continued, one step for each line.

"Within the wall, a swing; beyond the wall, a road."

"Beyond the wall, a traveler; within the wall, a beauty laughed."

"Her laughter gradually went unheard; the sound gradually fell still."

"The affectionate, instead, were vexed by the unfeeling."

As Fang Yun recited the lyric, the Literary Qi within his body trembled. Joined with his voice and the lyric, it formed a strange resonance that continuously spread outward.

All jade and gold objects suddenly began trembling softly along with Fang Yun's voice. Their vibrations did not become noise. Instead, they rang crisply in harmony with his cadence, as if they were voluntarily accompanying him.

"Golden Resonance of Jade!" someone whispered in shock.

Everyone present was affected by the Golden Resonance of Jade. Most revealed joyous expressions, as though they had entered the most exquisite spring scenery.

Several sour academy students even swayed their heads, repeatedly murmuring the lyric under their breaths as if drunk.

Several singing girls could not resist humming it to the tune of Butterflies in Love with Flowers, growing happier the more they sang.

Even the illiterate maidservants were affected by the lyric. They stared foolishly at Fang Yun's retreating back, wanting to keep this great talent here, willing to pay him instead if that was what it took.

That was the terror of Golden Resonance of Jade. Even gold and jade could be stirred, much less human hearts.

The more Literary Qi one possessed, the less one was affected.

Those few who were less affected looked at one another, each seeing astonishment in the others' eyes. Golden Resonance of Jade in an ordinary poem or lyric was nothing extraordinary, but if war poetry could also produce Golden Resonance of Jade, its range would multiply. It could instantly annihilate vast numbers of enemy invaders, making it an exceptionally terrifying poetic phenomenon.

This meant Fang Yun's future war poetry had a tiny possibility of triggering Golden Resonance of Jade as well.

Without showing it, these people moved farther away from Guan Yaoyuan and his group.

As Fang Yun departed, the Golden Resonance of Jade weakened. Some people looked at Guan Yaoyuan and Pan'er with strange expressions, because the latter half of the lyric described a traveler hearing a woman playing on a swing behind a wall, only for her laughter to soon disappear, leaving the affectionate traveler with the feeling of having been abandoned.

The final line was incomparably direct. Pan'er's face turned deathly pale.

Others might think the lyric said she was being self-indulgently affectionate, but to Guan Yaoyuan and Pan'er, it sounded as though Fang Yun were mocking them: no matter what methods they used, all would be futile, and they would only seek their own vexation like the traveler in the lyric.

Fang Yun had taken eight steps and finished reciting the lyric. Then he slowly walked away.

Fang Yun did not turn back, because he believed in the charm of Lyric Sage Su Shi, Su Dongpo's masterpiece.

"Write it down quickly!"

An academy student hurriedly took up his brush and wrote out the entire Butterflies in Love with Flowers: Spring Scenery.

Faded blossoms shed their crimson; green apricots grew small. When swallows flew, green waters wound around the homes. On willow branches, drifting floss blew ever fewer; at Heaven's edge, where could fragrant grass not grow?

Within the wall, a swing; beyond the wall, a road. Beyond the wall, a traveler; within the wall, a beauty laughed. Her laughter gradually went unheard; the sound gradually fell still. The affectionate, instead, were vexed by the unfeeling.

The many people looked at the complete lyric and remained silent for a long while.

"Literary Qi pressed upon us. It is at least State-Ringing."

"Perhaps within a few years, this lyric may reach Nation-Quelling."

Everyone nodded one after another.

"That line, 'At Heaven's edge, where could fragrant grass not grow?' simply says all there is to say about spring coming and going."

Once those words were spoken, many people looked at Pan'er again.

A complete lyric lay before Pan'er as well. As she read it, tears blurred her vision. What appeared on her face was regret and self-reproach, not the disappointment of one abandoned.

Golden Resonance of Jade most easily stirred the emotions buried in one's heart. Once someone sank deeply into it, they could no longer conceal themselves.

The academy students present now understood that this Pan'er had certainly been among those who laid a trap to harm Fang Yun. Unfortunately, because her Literary Qi was insufficient and she harbored guilty intentions, she had instead been affected by Golden Resonance of Jade.

Gao Minghong had always felt guilty toward Fang Yun. He believed he should not have invited Fang Yun to the Start-of-Summer Literary Gathering, nearly causing damage to Fang Yun's literary reputation. He bitterly hated Pan'er and Guan Yaoyuan.

Gao Minghong rose and was about to chase after Fang Yun, but the corner of his eye caught the mung bean cakes on the table. He stopped where he was, thought briefly, adapted the Han Kingdom's Song of the Beauty, and recited it on the spot.

"In Jiangzhou lived a beauty, peerless and standing alone; though the beauty smiled again and again, she could not compare to mung bean cakes."

After speaking, Gao Minghong quickly left.

None of the academy students present laughed, but the singing girls and maidservants, who envied and were jealous of Pan'er, all began laughing.

Gao Minghong of the Lishan Society had left, and the others immediately followed him out. The members of the other Cold Gate literary societies also departed one after another.

Pan'er wept without stopping.

Guan Yaoyuan secretly thought that things were bad. Pan'er had no Literary Qi to protect herself and had sunk too deeply into the effect. She had taken herself for the person in the lyric and might truly fall in love with Fang Yun, revealing their plot.

Just as Guan Yaoyuan was about to persuade her, Pan'er suddenly cried, "Pan'er has wronged Young Master Fang! Today, Pan'er shall go far from the clamor of the world and cleanse herself of her sins. Every day, Pan'er shall pray for Young Master Fang's blessings." After saying that, she ran away weeping.

Guan Yaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that Pan'er would not betray them.

Yan Yue, beside him, said softly, "Yaoyuan, what should we do about Young Master Liu's satirical poem mocking Fang Yun? Fang Yun took the initiative all along just now, and I never got the chance to recite it. Later, his Golden Resonance of Jade was too powerful. I could only watch helplessly as he left."

Guan Yaoyuan said hatefully, "If this ends just like that, Young Master Liu will certainly not be pleased. Besides, that satirical poem was written by Young Master Liu and cannot be withheld. We will immediately follow Fang Yun. Once he stops or reaches home, we will recite that poem before everyone to mock him, then spread it far and wide and continue ruining his literary reputation."

Yan Yue sighed. "Sigh, we truly should not have invited him. Look at this now. We forced him to produce a State-Ringing lyric, which will certainly enter Sacred Way. With a little circulation, it may become Nation-Quelling instead, and we have helped him. If the events of this Literary Assembly are published in Sacred Way, we will become clowns remembered for all eternity."

But Guan Yaoyuan gnashed his teeth and said, "If he could not produce such a fine lyric, perhaps he could have lived a little longer. This lyric will soon become Nation-Quelling. Who will be able to suppress him afterward? Will the Liu Household dare let him run free? He will not live long!"

Yan Yue suddenly understood.

"Go! Follow Fang Yun!"

Guan Yaoyuan shouted, "Fang Yun is a great talent! I shall take Yan Yue to apologize to him. It is not that he cannot write lyrics, but that he keeps his talents hidden in modesty. He is a truly broad-minded scholar!"

After speaking, he took the members of the Elite Society into their carriages and pursued Fang Yun's carriage.

Even the host of the lyric gathering had left, so the others no longer lingered. They boarded their carriages and followed Guan Yaoyuan, whether to offer genuine apologies or for some other purpose.

On the road from Five-Li Village to Dayuan Prefecture City, more than twenty carriages stretched into a single line, dust rising lightly behind them.