Chapter 46 - RecallOn a high platform in the Apricot Altar Garden, a follower beside Xiang Jinglei shouted, "Lin Feng from Nanping County, Duke Fu Zhou "Righteous Li". All the poems written at the prince"s birthday banquet have stood out, and they have announced that they will be coming to the pavilion in the spring to meet the prince and receive his bestowment!"
"Hua!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire apricot tree began to boil with excitement. Some people applauded for the two of them.There were also those who sighed in disappointment because their poems were not chosen. Of course, there were also those who drank wine, ate meat, and did not compose poems. They cheered together to join in on the fun.
On a table rather far away from the Spring Pavilion"s pavilion, a slightly plump man with thick lips, wearing a green robe and a square handkerchief, stood up from the south side of the Apricot Altar Garden.The latter appeared to be in his twenties, fair and clean, with a moustache on his face. At a glance, he looked extremely intelligent and astute.
The moment this person stood up, the surrounding people cupped their hands and congratulated him, "Congratulations, brother w.a.n.g. This time, your highness is going to bestow a gold coin. Brother w.a.n.g, you"ve struck it rich!"Everyone looked at this moustached man with envious eyes, their hearts were filled with envy.
He was the one who wrote the novel that w.a.n.g Wenjing had taken a fancy to.
w.a.n.g Shouyi of the "Fifteen Nights on the Moon" poem.
The latter came from Cla.s.s C of the Orthodox Academy and had already obtained a reputation and was conferred the t.i.tle of "Four Doctor" by the imperial government. Although he was only a seventh rank official, he had already made a name for himself and was in the limelight.
Hearing that his poem had been ranked among the top three, w.a.n.g Shouyi could no longer suppress the joy in his heart. His white, chubby face was flushed red and his eyes shone with excitement.
He knew that not only had he received a reward of a thousand gold, but more importantly, he had also made a name for himself at the birthday banquet of the King. He knew that at that time, he would definitely be valued by some influential figures.
As w.a.n.g Shouyi returned the greeting, he did not forget to straighten out his robes and his head scarf. He tidied up his appearance so that he would not leave a bad impression in front of the prince and the other powerful figures.At the same time, on the east side of the Apricot Altar Garden, at a banquet table closest to the Spring Pavilion, a handsome and dignified young man dressed in silk clothing stood up under the escort of a crowd of n.o.bles!
The latter had a pair of peach blossom eyes that looked down on everyone as he proudly walked towards the Spring Pavilion. Facing the compliments from the crowd behind him, the young man simply nodded to them without the slightest hint of surprise!
He was the scholar that was currently studying in the Orthodox Academy"s A cla.s.s, Lin Feng. As the eldest grandson of the current dynasty"s great scholar, Lin Xuan, his grandfather was a great scholar of the Wind Cloud Nation, whose peach blossoms covered the entire world. As for him, he was Lin Xuan"s only grandson!
Since he was five years old, Lin Feng had been able to recite poems and paint, revealing his talent as a genius. Now, he was even able to rank amongst the best in a place where geniuses like the Orthodox Academy gathered.
Lin Feng was not the least bit surprised that he was able to enter the top three this time around.
To be able to create a masterpiece like "Xi Jiang Yue, A Great Dream of the World" in just a short amount of time, even Lin Feng himself felt that he had surpa.s.sed his level.
With these words, even that perverted woman of the Orthodox Academy, as well as that youth who had taken control of the Orthodox Academy and had come, might not have been able to defeat him.
With such a masterpiece, what was so difficult about entering the top three? Lin Feng was even certain that this time, he would definitely be able to win first place. Not only would he be able to win a thousand gold, he would also be able to obtain the cloud weapon bestowed by the Prince.
Seeing w.a.n.g Shouyi and Lin Feng enter the apricot tree, the crowd couldn"t help but curiously ask, "Aren"t we going to choose the top three? Where is the other person?""Right, aren"t there three people? Where"s the other person?"
At this time, a middle-aged official scoffed, "You guys are really stupid, aren"t there a few other princes in the Spring Pavilion, as well as His Highness the Crown Prince and his highness the Princess? His highness is a disciple of the Crown Prince, he must be an outstanding talent, maybe it"s him who"s ranked in the top three!"
Everyone heard this and came to a realization. It seemed that two of the top three had come from the Apricot Altar Garden. There was still one more spot that had to be taken by someone from the Spring Pavilion.
What they did not know was that at this time, in a corner outside the Apricot Altar Garden, Xiang Yun was gorging himself on delicious wine and delicacies. To his side, Lin Wan"er was holding her chin in her hands, her eyes filled with confusion, as if she had just met Xiang Yun.
"Girl, you"re not drinking with me, nor are you eating? Why are you looking at me like that?" Xiang Yun ate and drank for a while, helplessly looking to the side. Lin Wan"er, who had been staring at him and sizing him up, spoke up."Did you really write that poem?"
Lin Wan"er was still lost in her intoxication. She was shocked. She had never expected the crown prince to be joking.
He had completed such a beautiful poem in an instant with brushstrokes that were akin to flying dragons and serpents!
She did not know how good Xiang Yun"s poem was, but she could swear that in her entire life, she had never seen a better poem than this one.What she had never expected was that the person who wrote the poem was herself, her master, who did not know any tricks. Furthermore, she had done it herself in front of her own eyes!
"Hehe, this is just a small matter. I, your son, have a lot of things in my stomach!" Xiang Yun put down his wine cup, a pleased smile on his face.Just now, in order to obtain the first place in this full moon battle poem, Xiang Yun had thought for a moment before finally deciding to choose the great scholar Su Shi"s" Shuidiao Getou "from his previous life.
Even in the five thousand years of Chinese civilization in his previous life, this poem had been able to excel in the vast sea of literature. It was truly a G.o.dly work of art!"Crown Prince, you didn"t copy someone else"s name did you?" Lin Wan"er, the young maid at the side, could not help but ask doubtfully as she looked at Xiang Yun"s unflattering appearance.
Hearing this, Xiang Yun"s expression immediately turned somewhat awkward, but he immediately vowed, "This prince can swear that in this world, I am definitely the original creator of this poem. If I were to lie, I wouldn"t be able to marry a young wife."
He himself had not lied. Now that he had been transported to this world, he was naturally shouldering the responsibility of spreading Chinese culture and promoting traditional literature."This …"
Lin Wan"er, seeing Xiang Yun"s solemn promise, was momentarily unable to make heads or tails of it. She thought back to when she had been writing the words for her son, that lonely figure who seemed to have come to live in another world, as well as the words that she had never seen before.
For a moment, Lin Wan"er couldn"t help but think to herself, could it be that the crown prince has always been concealing his talent? In fact, the crown prince is the real genius in this world, and the latter"s lack of knowledge was just an act?
But how can the crown prince pretend to be so similar, just like the real thing, both l.u.s.tful and does not like to read books!
Xiang Yun turned his head to look at the dazed Lin Wan"er. The latter smiled evilly as she moved closer to her, her face almost touching Lin Wan"er"s.
"Little girl, do you admire your son very much now? Do you wish to immediately repay me with your body and become my wife?"
"Ah!" Lin Wan"er, who had been lost in her thoughts, was startled by Xiang Yun"s sudden approach. After being stunned for a few seconds, she suddenly let out a low cry as she hurriedly retreated."Prince, you"re really bad!"
The little girl"s eyes were as wide as autumn water. It was unknown if it was because she was shocked just now, or because she had drank some wine, but her face was red and her breathing was rapid. Her small hands covered her well-developed chest, the peaks rising and falling.
"Hehe." Xiang Yun looked at Lin Wan"er"s appearance and did not feel that it was funny. He felt that this maid of his was really cute.Just as Xiang Yun was about to continue teasing Lin Wan"er, a figure suddenly rushed out from the west garden"s gate, heading straight for Xiang Yun. The figure grabbed Xiang Yun"s arm and was about to pull him up.
Xiang Yun was stunned. Raising his head, he saw that his second brother, Xiang Jinghong, was currently pulling at him.
"Second brother, what"s wrong?"
"Royal father and Prime Minister w.a.n.g want to see you, brat. Come with me quickly."Hearing this, Xiang Yun laughed coldly, saying to his second brother, "Second brother, you can go back. I have no interest in going to the Spring Pavilion, it"s filled with important figures. I"m just a vice city lord of a small, remote city, what virtue or ability do I have to be able to share a room with them? I don"t want to go." Xiang Yun waved his hands repeatedly.
"You brat, you are also the son of my royal father. You are no small character at all. You are the son of the n.o.ble Prince"s Mansion."
"Please, second brother, the crown prince is about to sit outside the garden. He almost sat on the floor. My ident.i.ty as the crown prince is way too n.o.ble."
Hearing this, Xiang Jinghong knew that Xiang Yun was angered, so he released his hand and smiled, "You"re still angered that you haven"t arranged a seat for you at the Spring Pavilion, right? I"ll personally go and help you carry a chair up, alright?"
Xiang Yun still shook his head, "Second brother, you don"t need to persuade me. Although I, Xiang Yun, am not a big shot, I"m not someone who comes just because I"m called, or someone who goes when I"m called. They asked me to go up later to present my gift, then told me to come down after I"d paid my respects, and now they"re asking me to go up again. Did they think I was playing with a monkey?"At this point, Xiang Yun"s expression had already turned a little cold and stern. He said to Xiang Jinghong, "Second Brother, help me tell them that it"s fine if they want me to go up. They"ll personally come over to invite me!"
"Xiao Yunzi, stop messing around!" When Xiang Jinghong heard Xiang Yun"s words, he thought that this kid had drunk too much and had gone insane with alcohol. He actually dared to ask his father to come down and invite him.
However, Xiang Yun was looking at Xiang Jinghong with a serious expression as he said resolutely, "Second Brother, I"ll be waiting for them here."
"You …" Xiang Jinghong was a little dazed. He could tell that his third brother"s gaze was currently extremely bright and firm. He was obviously not speaking gibberish. This kid really wanted everyone in the Pavilion to come down in the spring to invite him.
For a moment, Xiang Jinghong was a little confused. When had his younger brother become so temperamental? He clearly remembered that when he had met Xiang Yun last year, not to mention just a single sentence from royal father, even a single sentence from his big brother had scared the latter into a battle. He did not dare to defy it in the slightest.
But now, not only did this kid dare to point at his big brother"s nose and curse, he even dared to look down on father"s decree. Did this kid eat the heart of a bear or the guts of a leopard?While Xiang Jinghong was hesitating on whether he should force his third brother to bring the pavilion along with him, Lin Wan"er, who was at the side, started to persuade him.
"Your highness, the prince has already given the order. You should follow him, otherwise, the prince will be unhappy."
However, Xiang Yun"s eyes slanted to the side as he snorted coldly, "Hmph, they"re not happy. Could it be that I"m very happy?"
"
Hearing this, Lin Wan"er did not seem surprised at all. The latter patted Xiang Yun"s back comfortingly and said with a smile, "Your Highness, the Prince and the rest must have seen your poem and wanted to reward you. If you did not go, those treasures would definitely have been given to someone else."
Hearing this, Xiang Yun, who had been looking wildly arrogant, as if the heavens were calling him a noob, stood up with a swoosh as if his b.u.t.tocks had been sprung, speaking to Xiang Jinghong who was still in a daze.
"Second Brother, let"s go. Bring me to see Royal Father!"