"Ode to the Goddess of Luo?"
After Jiang Xiaobai spoke, everyone present looked astonished.
Who was this Luo River Goddess?
Could she be a character from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Jiang Xiaobai had just mentioned?
And judging by his words, would this book soon make its debut in the Capital City?
Standing before the writing table, Xiao Qin was equally surprised.
From the look of it, Jiang Xiaobai intended to compose a rhapsody on the spot, and... he was even drawing its subject from his own book?!
Now that was interesting. Utterly unheard of!
Xiao Qin immediately smiled and shook his head.
A rhapsody was an extremely lengthy composition. It demanded not only elegant diction, but elaborate development of its themes and echoes between beginning and end.
How could anyone simply open his mouth and produce one?
Especially... one based on his own book.
Simply laughable!
Teng Zixiu's expression relaxed slightly, and a trace of a smile surfaced.
Looks like... this round is in the bag!
Many of the scholars and students present also looked surprised.
A rhapsody based on his own book, and on a character within it at that?
That... already put him a cut below!
How could that be as immediate and vivid as writing about a real person?
Under everyone's bewildered gazes, Jiang Xiaobai merely smiled faintly, then slowly began, "In the third year of Huangchu, I attended court in the capital, and on my return crossed the Luo River."
"The ancients said that the goddess of this river was named Fu Fei."
"Moved by Song Yu's account to the King of Chu of his encounter with a goddess, I composed this rhapsody."
"Its words were as follows..."
As his voice fell, the surroundings gradually quieted.
The third year of Huangchu?
The Luo River?