"Hm?"
Li Bingzhang's brows immediately furrowed when he heard the servant's report.
The man he called Brother Mou was named Mou Yuanshan. He was the son of Li Bingzhang's former teacher and about the same age as him.
The two had been friends in their youth.
Over the years, however, Mou Yuanshan had developed a distaste for officialdom and spent most of his time traveling and studying.
Today, he had finally returned for a rare visit, yet instead of coming to the Chancellor's Residence first, he had... gone to the Clear Pavilion?!
"Come, let's take a look."
Puzzled, Li Bingzhang slowly rose and headed outside.
Naturally, Li Zhiwei followed him.
Soon, father and daughter entered the Clear Pavilion through the rear gate of the Chancellor's Residence.
The Clear Pavilion was much quieter now than it had been earlier.
The vegetable leaves and eggshells on the ground had already been cleared away.
But quite a few scholars still crowded around the main entrance.
When the two stepped outside, Li Zhiwei immediately spotted a middle-aged man in a grayish-white robe standing beside the wall at the entrance.
He had three long wisps of beard and gentle features, and he lightly waved a folding fan in his hand.
He looked quite refined and scholarly.
At that moment, the man was stroking his beard as he gazed toward the wall.
Li Zhiwei followed his gaze and saw two scholars pasting up a freshly written sheet of paper.
The message was simple: "For the two exquisite couplets presented at the Clear Pavilion today, I, Mou, happened to compose matching lines. Tomorrow, I invite the scholars of the Capital to gather at the Clear Pavilion and appreciate them together."
There were few words, but their meaning was perfectly clear.
Li Zhiwei's expression stiffened slightly.
*Something was