Most people ignored the critique from the head disciple of the Poetry Master, because everyone knew that whether a poem started with a stunning opening or a plain one that led to a shocking climax, both were grand paths. The line “Delicate clouds craft with skill, flying stars convey resentment, the Milky Way far and distant secretly crossing” was clearly narrative, starting with exquisite words in a conventional manner. It was not as stunning as the opening of “Inscription of the Shabby Room”, but it had no flaws, especially considering the extraordinary process of talent eruption.
Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Fang Yun wrote the second line.
Once the golden wind and jade dew meet, they outshine countless beings in the mortal world.
Talent erupted for the second time, like an orange pillar of light standing on the paper, exceptionally solid, exceeding two feet, it had reached the Prefecture level!
Upon finishing reading, Prefect Dong couldn’t help but add, “Half a poem has reached the Prefecture level!”
Upon hearing this, Feng Yuanjun slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “He did it! Without the sorrow of the Double Seventh Festival, he transformed resentment into cherishing. He broke the convention of inevitably writing about the sorrow and resentment of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl! Since they are separated by the heavens and can only meet once a year, they naturally cherish this moment. After a year of sorrow, they naturally rejoice today. The true feelings between the two naturally surpass others!”
“The autumn wind and dew are originally plain, but on the day of the Double Seventh Festival, they are written as golden wind and jade dew, which is enough to highlight the difficulty of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meeting.”
Everyone nodded involuntarily, and an old Presented Scholar stroked his beard and praised, “The poem ‘Far, far away is the Cowherd Star, bright, bright is the Weaver Girl in the Milky Way’ represents the pinnacle of Double Seventh Festival poetry. Every time the Double Seventh Festival poetry meeting is held, literati wrack their brains to write about how the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are sad and resentful. But this poem glosses over the resentment, the first line is straightforward, but the second line is a sudden peak, they should be happy when they meet, where does the sorrow come from? More real! More wonderful! More touching!”
Even many hostile people from the Jing Kingdom subconsciously nodded their heads. Although they each had their own masters, they were all scholars. The knowledge they had accumulated over the years made them instinctively recognize truly good words.
The head disciple of the Poetry Master swept a cold glance, and all the people from the Jing Kingdom immediately lowered their heads.
Fang Yun pondered for a moment before continuing to write.
Tender feelings are like water, the good times are like a dream, reluctant to look back at the bridge of magpies on the return journey.
This time, the talent on the paper only increased by five inches, not reaching three feet. It still remained at the Prefecture level, unable to reach the State level.
As soon as the third line came out, those who had just praised it immediately shut their mouths, some even feeling a bit awkward.
The head disciple of the Poetry Master immediately laughed and said, “At first, I admired Fang Yun’s novelty. But this line describes the deep feelings between the two when they meet, the brief encounter is as unreal as a dream, and they dare not even look at the bridge of magpies when they leave. Isn’t this the same as those vulgar poems and words! Foolish men and resentful women, sorrow and resentment intertwined. It spoils the scenery and falls short!”
The people of the Jing Kingdom had no words to refute, because the head disciple of the Poetry Master was right. This third line seemed to have taken the old path of the predecessors again. If the next line continued to write about the resentment in the heart, it would be impossible to surpass the line “Between us, a river runs deep, our feelings unspoken”, it would be difficult to reach the State level.
However, those old men and Imperial Scholars were very calm, because the first two lines written by Fang Yun were excellent. Even if the third line was a bit plain, as long as the fourth line was steady, there was a chance to reach the State level.
Fang Yun slowly wrote the fourth line, and Prefect Dong read it out in a steady voice.
“If two hearts are meant to be together, what does it matter if they can’t be together every morning and every night!”
“Good!” Two Presented Scholars from the Jing Kingdom blurted out!
The face of the head disciple of the Poetry Master instantly turned from white to red, from red to green, and finally from green to purple. He angrily stared at the two men, cursing in his heart, Fang Yun is from the Jing Kingdom, what are you shouting good for!
Many literati from the Jing Kingdom couldn’t help but stand up and slap the table, making a loud noise. Then they excitedly stared at the piece of paper.
The surrounding heaven and earth’s energy surged, and the talent on the paper soared into the sky!
The talent on it instantly broke through three feet, reaching the State level, and then surged again. It broke through four feet, and finally, the talent stopped at four feet and five inches, the poem reached the Town level!
The words on the paper emitted a faint glow, and the glow of each word was as bright as the moonlight.
A rich fragrance of ink spread in all directions, just like the fragrance of osmanthus in August spreading ten miles. Everyone who smelled it was invigorated.
“Divine pen! Seeing the past resentment. Seeing the present joy, seeing the future sorrow, the rise and fall are orderly, but in the end, it sees through the bitterness of parting, sees through the difficulty of parting, if the feelings are there, even if they are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, what does it matter!”
“The last line is full of deep and kind feelings! Everyone knows about the love between the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, but for hundreds of years, no matter how much it is said or sung, it ultimately cannot escape the shackles of resentment. This last line shatters thousands of Double Seventh Festival poems, truly transcending ordinary poetry. The weight of the feelings in this poem can be compared to the weight of a thousand mountains!”
“Once this poem comes out, there’s no need to read those Double Seventh Festival poems about foolish men and resentful women!”
“If the stars of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl have spirits, they must sigh that Fang Yun is their only confidant!”
“The artistic conception of this poem really has a transcendent quality. The talent is four feet and five inches. If it is passed down for a hundred years, it will surely rise a few more inches, breaking through five feet, and the poem will be known throughout the world!”
“Exactly!”
“This last line subtly contains the great wisdom of seeing through the world! Now Fang Zhenguo’s title is firmly established!”
An Accomplished Scholar loudly said, “People of the Jing Kingdom, who just said that this poem fell short?”
The head disciple of the Poetry Master lowered his head and remained silent.
Those Presented Scholars and Imperial Scholars completely forgot to refute the head disciple of the Poetry Master, immersed in the last line of the poem “If two hearts are meant to be together, what does it matter if they can’t be together every morning and every night”, many people took out paper and pen to write and discuss repeatedly.
Many people’s expressions slowly changed, as if this poem had stirred up their past.
Suddenly, the stars of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in the sky shone brightly, dropping two beams of starlight, like two pillars of light falling on the southern auxiliary city, each beam of light was ten miles thick.
The light around the Cowherd Star was very faint, but the center was the brightest, even a bit dazzling, shining on Fang Yun.
Fang Yun squinted slightly, feeling as if something like water was flowing all over his body, slowly seeping into his body, but apart from that, he had no other feelings, neither good nor bad.
The starlight of the Weaver Girl fell outside the city.
Fang Yun curiously walked to the edge of the city wall, and saw Yang Yuhuan, dressed in a light blue dress, standing in the brightest place of the Weaver Girl’s starlight.
Yang Yuhuan covered her mouth with both hands, extremely excited, looking incredulously at Fang Yun on the city wall.
The two looked at each other from a distance, like a golden boy and a jade girl, as if all the spiritual beauty of the world was concentrated on the two of them.
Everyone looked at Fang Yun and Yang Yuhuan with envy. They were the embodiment of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars, symbols of love. This event would not only be spread throughout the world, but it was also likely to be recorded in history. As for various unofficial histories, it goes without saying that in later generations, it might be turned into a myth, just like the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, becoming a deeply touching love story.
Zhao Hongzhuang, seated among the guests, glanced at Fang Yun and then at Yang Yuhuan, her eyes filled with envy.
Everyone present was attracted by this magical scene, and many people curiously looked up at the sky, wondering what use the starlight of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars had.
After a while, the pillar of light slowly shrank, then only shone on Fang Yun and Yang Yuhuan, and finally shrank into a line of starlight and disappeared.
The voice of Prefect Dong, booming like spring thunder, spread throughout the city.
“Fang Yun’s ‘Magpie Bridge Immortal’ poem for the Qixi Festival has outshone everyone. The poem has become a national treasure!”
The crowd cheered in unison, especially the young boys and girls. Everyone firmly believed that the starlight of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars was the best blessing for them!
At the same time, gazes that pierced through the void looked at the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars in the sky, and then quickly retracted. Only a few divine thoughts swept over the sky above Yuhai City.
Inside the Dragon Pavilion in the northern part of Yuhai City, an old man was bending over humbly, holding a conch for transmitting sound.
“Your Highness, you speak.”
“Find a way to get that national treasure, ‘Magpie Bridge Immortal’! As long as Fang Yun is willing to trade, meet his demands as much as possible!”
“What if his asking price is too high?”
“I just want to see the manuscript of ‘Magpie Bridge Immortal’!”
The other side fell silent, and the old man looked at the conch with a worried expression, thinking that the princess valued Fang Yun so much. Using force was definitely not an option, but if he went to negotiate the exchange himself, he would surely be taken advantage of by Fang Yun. What should he do?
On the street below the city wall.
Fang Dan excitedly looked at Lai Pianjiang. “Mr. Lai, do you keep your word?”
Lai Pianjiang laughed, “Of course! We’ll discuss your marriage when we get back.”
Fang Dan sneaked a glance at Xiaoying, only to find that she was also looking at him. Their eyes met and quickly parted, their faces flushed.
A young girl from the neighborhood held Yang Yuhuan’s arm and said in a sweet voice, “Sister Yuhuan, I’m so envious of you. Even the Weaver Girl star shone on you. You’ll soon be famous all over the world! You’re the Weaver Girl reincarnated, and Brother Fang Yun is the Cowherd reincarnated!”
Yang Yuhuan’s face turned slightly red, and she was overjoyed.
Fang Dan said, “Our young master is clearly the reincarnation of the God of Literature!”
“But the God of Literature didn’t shine on him.”
“Well… it will soon! If the Cowherd star can shine, can the God of Literature be far behind?”
“Huh? Dan, your words are quite interesting.”
Fang Dan scratched his head and laughed shyly, “Hehe, being around our young master, we’re somewhat influenced by his talent!”
Presented Scholar Pang looked at the city wall and said, “It must be lively up there. I wonder what it will be like after the people of Qing Nation present the poem from the Poetry King.”
On the city wall, the literati of Jing Kingdom were full of praise, but everyone showed a look of regret because they saw Fang Yun put the ‘Magpie Bridge Immortal’ into his bosom at the first moment, cutting off everyone’s thoughts.
“People nowadays have no respect for tradition!”
Fang Yun ignored their comments and asked Feng Yuanjun, who was standing next to him, “What’s the use of the starlight of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl?”
Nunu, with her eyes wide open, listened attentively.
Feng Yuanjun said, “We only know the use of the starlight of the God of Literature. As for the starlight of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, there is no clear record. However, some Semi-Saints have manipulated other starlights, but they didn’t say what those starlights were for. It’s just said that other starlights don’t seem to have much use for the human race, but they are very important to the Demon Clan.”
Fang Yun immediately asked, “Will the Demon Clan come to me?”
“That’s hard to say. But if the Demon Clan really comes for you, the Holy Academy should receive the news in advance and protect you. Actually, you don’t need to worry. The Cowherd and Weaver Girl are not ominous stars, and the Demon Clan should not be interested. I’ll ask my friends in the Holy Academy. If there’s any news, I’ll let you know first.”
“That’s good, thank you, Mr. Feng.”
Feng Yuanjun whispered, “Starlight is extraordinary. It shines down from such a distance, it can’t just be used as a lamp, right? Don’t worry, this time it’s a double star shining, both you and your wife will benefit greatly!”
“Are the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars, which are not ominous stars needed by the Demon Clan, nor the strongest star, the God of Literature, really going to bring great benefits?”
Feng Yuanjun said, “If someone has been illuminated by the starlight of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl, there would naturally be a record. Think carefully, is there a record?”
“No,” Fang Yun said. (To be continued.)