At the entrance of the alley in Lao Shi Lane, a group of scholars were talking excitedly.
For decades, Jing Kingdom had not produced a single poem or essay that could represent the nation, but now they had not only produced two in a row, but also witnessed the birth of another one right in front of them. Everyone was overwhelmed with emotions.
Even the children of aristocratic families were praising Fang Yun endlessly. In the face of the national literature, the barrier between the poor and the wealthy no longer existed, and only the respect for literature remained.
“This man’s talent can only be described as shocking and extraordinary. He is truly full of knowledge and experience.”
“Fortunately, he is writing here. If he were to write by the sea, the sentence ‘the water is not deep, but there is a dragon’ would surely alarm the Dragon Palace, and the consequences would be unpredictable.”
“Those dragons are different from ordinary demons. They love talent the most. When Sword Eyebrow Gong injured a dragon’s son, the dragon’s son did not get angry, but instead praised Sword Eyebrow Gong while running away, saying that they should have another competition someday.”
“If Zhuge Liang, Yang Xiong, and Confucius, the three sages in ‘The Eulogy of the Humble Room,’ knew that there were people like this in the world, they would surely be pleased.”
“We scholars have sages in our hearts and thousands of troops in our bellies. Wherever we are, how can it be simple? That Yan Yue is really a pair of dog eyes!”
“The root of ambition lies in literature. This child has made a vow in a humble room, comparable to the three sages. With his talent and ambition, he is like a tiger with wings. The Palace of Literature is afraid that it will be deeply rooted.”
“Confucius also achieved success after years of hard work. Fang Yun’s family background is poor, and he has studied hard for many years. With ‘The Eulogy of the Humble Room,’ he naturally succeeded and became famous.”
“I, Jing Kingdom…dare to ask! Who is driving the car so recklessly in the city?”
“Shh, don’t you see that it’s the carriage of the State Criminal Investigation Department?”
“That…that can’t run so fast in the city. What if someone gets hurt?” The man’s momentum suddenly weakened by nine points.
“There should be a big shot inside, at least a Presented Scholar, who should not let the carriage hurt people. Oh? Why is there another fast carriage behind, it seems to be from the Inspectorate? The big shots of the Criminal Investigation Department and the Inspectorate have come, and only the Judiciary is missing. Could it be that some official has caused trouble and forced the three departments to come together?”
“Oh no! There’s also a carriage from the City Guards on the other side. It seems to be surrounding us. Could they be here to arrest us?”
“If we can be surrounded and captured by so many big shots, even if I die, I won’t have any complaints.”
“That seems to be the Prefect’s carriage.”
All the scholars stopped discussing “The Eulogy of the Humble Room.” Many people who had done nothing at first felt guilty. The situation was too frightening. Even the demons captured and brought into the city were not as scary as this.
The fast carriages got closer and closer, and suddenly, six extremely high-pitched and melodious horse neighs came from the east. All the horses trembled, and a few even knelt on the ground.
The speeding carriages immediately slowed down and stopped. All the horses were not under the control of the coachmen and were scared, leaning against the wall, making way.
Six silver-white horses, each a head taller and three feet longer than ordinary horses, pulled a carriage. The six horses were proud and did not even bother to look at the other horses.
Unlike ordinary horses, the six horses were covered in thick silver-white scales instead of horsehair.
“The only six dragon horses in Jiangzhou. Sword Eyebrow Gong is here too!” whispered one of the scholars.
The people in the carriages started to curse.
“Lord Yuan is so powerful that those who know you would think you are a Grand Academician, and those who don’t know would think a Sage has arrived!”
“Li Wenying! Do you still have any camaraderie with your former comrades?”
“Hmph, if Sword Eyebrow Gong didn’t want to compete with me, an Imperial Scholar, for a page of paper, I would definitely give in.”
One high-ranking official after another got off the carriages, and all the powerful officials of Dayuan Prefecture gathered together.All the officials from the fourth-ranked magistrate of the state criminal office, the fifth-ranked governor of the Dayuan Prefecture, the fifth-ranked prefectural court minister of the prefectural government, the fifth-ranked prefectural general of the prefectural army, and the sixth-ranked deputy general of the city defense army were all present.
The talented scholars present were stunned. Were these officials, who usually appeared amiable on the surface, really so aggressive? They all looked at Li Wenying with resentment.
At this moment, these people had completely abandoned their official identities and appeared as scholars.
The six dragon horses were frightened, but they could not frighten the presented scholars and imperial scholars.
The six dragon horses had to stop, constantly snorting, their hooves trampling around, eager to try. Each dragon horse could fight a talented scholar alone, and they all refused to submit to anyone except Li Wenying.
Li Wenying, who looked to be in his early thirties, opened the door curtain and walked out, looked around at everyone, smiled slightly, and his two sword eyebrows became even more heroic.
“Hello, everyone. My dragon horses have a bad temper, so please bear with them.” Li Wenying smiled.
The six dragon horses were praised and immediately began to neigh loudly, raising their heads high.
Governor Sun said righteously, “I heard that Sir Li snatched the original manuscript of Dream Record of the Pillow from Zhou Zhubu, and was also able to annotate the Three Character Classic. You have gained both fame and fortune, why are you still not satisfied?”
It was unimaginable for a fifth-ranked official to question a third-ranked official before the Holy Academy was established, but now everyone thought it was normal and believed that Governor Sun had the demeanor of a scholar.
Li Wenying said calmly, “The article ‘Refining the Will in the State of the Nation’ is a famous masterpiece that has not been seen in a hundred years. As the leader of the state’s literary academy and the mentor of millions of people, and also holding the position of Grand Academician, I should be magnanimous. If this ‘Epitaph for a Peasant’ can help me become a great scholar, everyone will be happy.”
“This is wrong. Everyone knows the great talent of Sir Li with his sword eyebrows. Chen Sheng once said that Sir Li will surely become a great scholar within twenty years. Why compete with us imperial scholars for this article?”
Suddenly, Zhu, the sixth-ranked inspector, who was in his sixties, said, “I am a presented scholar. Can’t I compete?”
“Mistake, mistake. Zhu, don’t misunderstand. Don’t fall for Li Wenying’s trick. I have always respected your impartiality. If I get the ‘Epitaph for a Peasant’, I will let you see it first.” Governor Sun said.
“What do you mean if you get the ‘Epitaph for a Peasant’? Our lord sent a letter from Yuhai City, saying that he is determined to get this ‘Epitaph for a Peasant’!” The sixth-ranked deputy general said.
The state yamen and the literary academy were both in the Dayuan Prefecture, but the garrison of the state army was stationed in Yuhai City, mainly to guard against sea monsters.
“Everyone, don’t argue. Let’s first deal with Sir Li, or we won’t have a chance if he sees Fang Yun.” Another person said.
The internal conflict stopped, and everyone looked at Li Wenying.
“This article is very useful to me, and I will not let it go to any of you!” Li Wenying stood at the front of the carriage, wearing an official robe, with a resolute tone.
“Why don’t you give us the original manuscript of Dream Record of the Pillow and the annotations of the Three Character Classic, and we will leave immediately. If you’re eating meat, you have to share some soup with us, right?”
“Hmph, you are all powerless to annotate the Three Character Classic. As for Dream Record of the Pillow, it’s something I, Li Wenying, have swallowed. Who has ever forced me to spit it out? Stop talking nonsense. The ‘Epitaph for a Peasant’ belongs to Fang Yun, and it’s up to him to decide who to give it to. I, Li Wenying, am not a person who takes things by force. I have prepared something to exchange with him before coming here.”
As he spoke, Li Wenying took out an object from his sleeve pocket.
It was a half-foot-long ink stick that was two fingers thick. Unlike ordinary ink sticks, the surface of this ink stick was covered with fine red blood vessels, like jade and fire, seeming to flow. Above the ink stick was a lifelike dragon head carving.”A Dragon Blood Ink Tablet!” an accomplished scholar exclaimed in envy.
Sun Sizheng said, “Your Dragon Blood Ink Tablet is only made from the blood of the demon king’s dragon grandson. It’s much inferior to the blood of the great demon dragon son, let alone the blood of the Dragon Saint. The original manuscript of ‘Inscription on a Dilapidated Shack’ is enough to be passed down for generations. Fang Yun has no use for it, but it can help our Jing Kingdom produce more Hanlin scholars. A low-grade Dragon Blood Ink Tablet is not worth exchanging for it. If you bring out the Dragon Bone Dragon Whisker Pen, we won’t argue anymore.”
Li Wenying snorted coldly, extremely displeased. He had gone to great lengths to obtain the Dragon Bone Dragon Whisker from the demon king’s dragon grandson, which was much more precious than the Dragon Blood Ink Tablet. If it were refined into a treasure of literature, its power would be even stronger. He was not willing to give it away.
“Although your Dragon Blood Ink Tablet can enhance war poetry by two or three percent, it can only be used for a few years. I have an Imperial Scholar treasure of literature in my hand, which I can exchange with Fang Shuangjia.”
Li Wenying said, “It’s just an Imperial Scholar treasure of literature. I have an Imperial Scholar treasure of literature in my family called the ‘Demon-Subduing Pen.’ Although it can only kill demons and not harm people, it can also enhance the power of war poetry by one percent.”
Everyone fell silent. Their status was not low, but they were much inferior to Li Wenying and could not produce an Imperial Scholar treasure of literature to exchange.
Sun Zhifu said unwillingly, “Fang Yun is only a Child Scholar. He has to become a Presented Scholar at least before he can use an Imperial Scholar treasure of literature. Even if we give it to him now, it won’t be of much use.”
“How far away is the day he becomes a Presented Scholar? A year or two?” Li Wenying asked back.
Sun Zhifu couldn’t answer. Fang Yun’s chances of becoming a Presented Scholar in a short time were too high.
At this moment, the Minister of Culture and Education suddenly said, “Since this article is so important and Fang Yun has no use for it, why not donate it to the court and keep it in the Jing Kingdom Academy? Following the example of the Holy Academy, let deserving officials read it. Isn’t that a win-win situation?”
Many people looked at the Minister of Culture and Education with disgust. Although he was in the Academy, he was the Left Chancellor’s lackey. It was clear that he had ulterior motives and did not want Fang Yun to benefit.
Li Wenying’s face darkened and said, “It belongs to Fang Yun. If he wants to donate it, he can. If he doesn’t want to, no one can force him. It seems that the Minister of Culture and Education wants to exchange it with Fang Yun? I wonder if the Prefecture has anything valuable to offer?”
The Minister of Culture and Education straightened his chest and said, “This item is extremely important to our Jing Kingdom. Since Fang Yun is a scholar of our Jing Kingdom, it is only natural to donate it to the court.”
Sun Zhifu sneered, “Minister of Culture and Education, your family has tens of thousands of silver, tens of thousands of acres of good land, and countless treasures, which are also extremely important to our Jing Kingdom. You are also a scholar of our Jing Kingdom, so why not donate them to the court? As long as you can do it, I will immediately persuade Fang Yun to donate ‘Inscription on a Dilapidated Shack’.”
“You…you are making trouble out of nothing!” the Minister of Culture and Education said angrily.
Li Wenying’s sword-like eyebrows moved, his eyes cold as he said slowly, “Before I get angry, you’d better stay away. Tell the old dog Left Chancellor that if he dares to touch Fang Yun, I will slaughter his entire family!”
The surrounding area was dead silent. This was the Sword Eyebrow Duke, who almost slayed a dragon. He was too terrifying. Even the current Prime Minister dared to threaten him.
On the other hand, the officials were relatively calm. Li Wenying’s official position was not as high as the Left Chancellor’s, but his goal was to eliminate demons, not to be in the court. Both were Grand Academicians, and the Left Chancellor might have more talent, but if they fought to the death, Li Wenying had a better chance of winning.
The Wind and Rain Sword Poet Li Wenying had the strength to threaten the Left Chancellor.
The Minister of Culture and Education did not expect to have offended Li Wenying’s taboo and was scared away, not even sitting in the carriage. He just clenched his right fist tightly.