Chapter 65: Yangxue (Promoting Learning)

Jade Shadow Pavilion, the most famous flower building in Jingcheng Prefecture, is also a well-known place for spending money.

Based on the financial resources of the Wu brothers, unless they hold hands and go to the male hall to be a pair of lotus flowers, relying on a gold master to spend a lot of money for them.

Otherwise, no matter how big their capacity is, without financial resources, don't even think about being carefree here.

Xu Qing confirmed again and again that the shoe-throwing and road-asking method pointed to this road, and only then did he continue to explore deeper.

At first, he thought that the two boys had tasted the marrow and learned to be bad, so they spent a lot of money as soon as they arrived at the prefectural city and plunged into the gentle village.

But when Xu Qing walked into the flower building, he found that it was not what he had guessed.

At this time, there were figures of scholars and talented people everywhere in Jade Shadow Pavilion. Many scholars who were good at calligraphy and painting were still waving their brushes on the spot in the building, attracting a crowd to watch and comment.

There were also scholars who were good at poetry and couplets, who were making couplets or standing in front of lantern riddles, racking their brains, trying to solve the answers.

Xu Qing called a waiter to understand, and only then did he know that this was an old tradition before the imperial examination—"Yangxue" (Promoting Learning).

The so-called Yangxue is to build momentum for oneself in advance, such as participating in poetry clubs and literary societies, and then revealing talent during the period, gaining recognition and appreciation from everyone, which is Yangxue.

In addition, making friends with celebrities is also an important means for candidates before preparing for exams.

Simply put, it is to communicate with people of prestige, so that candidates can get more recommendations and recognition, thereby increasing their competitiveness in the imperial examination.

As long as you make a name for yourself during the Yangxue period, even if you fail the imperial exam later, you can use the fame accumulated during Yangxue to find a new way out.

The reason why Jade Shadow Pavilion is so lively today is because this literary meeting was held.

At this time, all the scholars present were like peacocks opening their screens, displaying their talents without reservation in order to get a chance to stand out and get ahead.

Xu Qing saw that everyone was wearing Confucian robes and long gowns, behaving elegantly, but only he was out of place.

He thought, how can this work? He is also a zombie with culture.

Based on the principle of doing as the Romans do, he turned out a folding fan from the Mountain and River Map and changed into a long gown, which was considered to be integrated.

The prefectural literary meeting was held for three days, and today is the second day. Talents from various counties and commanderies gathered together, and even the Crown Prince, who came to inspect Jingcheng Prefecture, set up three prizes for this.

The first in poetry gets a pair of Emperor Longping's imperial poems from his youth.

The one who makes the absolute couplet gets a pair of tribute golden goblets.

In addition, those whose piano, painting, and calligraphy skills exceed everyone else can get a painting of snow plum by the painting immortal Nan Qiaozi, and a calligraphy copybook by the literary master Qi Zhongshu...

If there is a person whose dual talents are the best, the Crown Prince will give another thousand-mile horse, saying that the person who receives the horse can ride it to the capital for the exam next year.

Xu Qing came to the Yangxue list, and the wooden nameplates engraved with the names of talented people were constantly updating their positions.

On the side, there were scorekeepers moving the order of the hanging wooden plates.

Xu Qing took a look, and the names of the Wu brothers were on the list.

"First place Wu Zhiyuan, second place Zhuang Zijun, third place Wu Wencai..."

"Tsk! These two guys are really capable!"

Xu Qing was amazed in his heart. It turned out that the old Wu family next door had produced two phoenixes. He had to ask Wu Yaoxing to find out where the Wu family's ancestral grave was, so he could learn something.

What kind of feng shui treasure land is this to nurture such talents!

Arriving at the literary meeting, Xu Qing had just appeared, and the sharp-eyed Wu Wencai enthusiastically greeted him.

"Is this a friend of Brother Wencai?"

A talented person with extraordinary appearance stepped forward to ask.

There were also scholars who stepped forward and laughed: "Friends of the Wu twins must also be learned people."

Before Wu Wencai could reply, a chubby figure squeezed to the front.

"You have a good eye. Brother Xu's talent is on par with mine, both are talents who hold jade and pearls."

While saying this, Zhu Huaian also winked at Xu Qing with a thief-like smile.

The crowd burst into laughter, just because this little fatty shouted to find a girl to listen to music as soon as he entered Jade Shadow Pavilion, as if he didn't know that a literary meeting was being held here.

The waiter who wanted to maintain order wanted to step forward to drive him away, but the little fatty shouted that he was the son of the Changting Prince's mansion. This was good. The manager looked closely, and it was really that incompetent playboy son.

They did business, didn't dare to offend the Prince's mansion, so they let Zhu Huaian make trouble.

However, the scholars and talented people present were not all like this. Some who considered themselves high-minded didn't care whether the other party was a Prince or not, and they despised him as they should.

Only the Wu brothers and Xu Qing didn't think so.

Ever since they visited the flower building together, Xu Qing had noticed that this Prince was not as playboy as he appeared on the surface.

This little fatty acted too fake.

Which playboy son doesn't have a bunch of followers when he goes out?

Which serious playboy only spends money to visit the brothel?

This little fatty does not dine and dash, does not harass decent women on the street, and when he sees a peddler or laborer fall, he even rushes over to help them up. Once he realizes what he's doing, he starts cursing and telling them to be careful next time, saying things like "If you dare fall again, I'll break your legs," and so on.

A person like this can at most be considered a playboy; if he dared to call himself a dandy, the true sons of wealth and status would be the first to disagree.

The scholars who came up at first were quite curious about Xu Qing's talent, but when Zhu Huaian's sentence that the two were on par came out, everyone subconsciously stopped talking to Xu Qing.

The key is that this little fatty didn't know it, and followed with a sentence: "Brother Xu, you must be like me, here to find fun. I can see it at a glance."

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow, thinking that this little fatty's ability to see people is quite accurate. He really came here to verify the accuracy of the metaphysical magic, and in a sense, it can be considered finding fun.

Yesterday, the literary meeting compared couplets, Wu Zhiyuan won the first prize, and Zhuang Zijun, known as the first talent of the prefectural city, came in second.

Today, it was personally set by Crown Prince Zhao You, comparing poetry and songs.

Xu Qing's purpose in coming to the prefectural city was only one, and that was to get the Licentiate fame, get rid of the "low status," and have the rights that a normal person should have.

As for writing poetry to make a name for himself, he had no interest.

Compared to Xu Qing's indifference, Zhu Huaian was eager to try, as if he wanted to make a name for himself at the literary meeting.

Not long after, the Crown Prince's attendant walked out of the pavilion where the Crown Prince was and sent the topic for testing poetic talent.

"Yesterday the spring rain was like catkins, wetting the clothes. His Highness felt it, and today's poetry is based on this."

Upon hearing this, everyone began to rack their brains, only Xu Qing was out of it, eating the persimmon cakes he stole from the teahouse, watching the talented people show their magical powers like watching a big show.

On the side, Wu Zhiyuan only hesitated for a moment before returning to normal.

Seeing this, Xu Qing couldn't help asking him: "You are best at poetry, don't you intend to make a name for yourself with this?"

Wu Zhiyuan whispered: "Yesterday, Wencai and I were invited by the Prince to go to the Prince's mansion to drink and enjoy flowers. At that time, I had already improvised a few poems. I was just thinking, would it be not very good to do this..."

"But once I thought of what Prince Zhu taught me, that one shouldn't be too kind, I figured it out again."

"..."

Xu Qing was speechless.

Never thought that this little fatty knew quite a few evil truths.

At this time, Zhu Huaian, who had just finished peeing, was full of excitement and pouring wine for himself.

After a cup of hot wine went down, two blushes immediately appeared on his face.

Xu Qing saw him restless and eager to try, so he couldn't help laughing and asking: "So happy, could it be that you thought of a good poem?"

Zhu Huaian glanced at the pavilion where the Crown Prince was, and smiled: "I just went to the latrine, and as soon as I untied my belt, I felt inspiration like a spring. You just watch, today's poetry top three will definitely have a seat for me."

Hearing this, Xu Qing looked surprised, and Wu Zhiyuan and Wu Wencai looked strange, obviously not believing that this playboy Prince could write any good poetry.

An incense stick passed, and many scholars had already written poems. Those with confidence in their hearts stood up and recited them in the banquet, and those who were thin-skinned and introverted handed them to the attendants to read aloud in public.

In the banquet, a poetry-collecting official from the capital was holding a pen to record.

However, very few could catch the eyes of the poetry-collecting official, and not even one could be passed down for generations.

Zhuang Zijun, the first talent of the prefectural city, had already finished his poem. As of now, only his poem could be called excellent.

Facing the praise of his friends, Zhuang Zijun responded modestly, but his eyes couldn't help but drift toward the Wu brothers.

The attendant soon read Wu Wencai's poem. Although it was not a masterpiece passed down through the ages, it could tie with Zhuang Zijun.

Zhuang Zijun just breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the wine cup before he could take a sip to suppress his shock, when he heard the attendant start to read Wu Zhiyuan's poem.

"Spring water and spring pools are full, spring grass grows in spring time."

"Spring people drink spring wine, spring birds make spring sounds."

"You were born when I was not yet born, I was born when you were already old..."

Wu Zhiyuan respected the Changting Prince who had once commanded the world's soldiers, opened up territory, and made great achievements. The Changting Prince had received many honors in his life, such as not being named in imperial edicts, not being named when praising, not rushing into the court, and wearing a sword and shoes into the hall... too many to count. There are only a handful of such figures in history books.

Yesterday he was invited to the Prince's mansion. Although he didn't see the Changting Prince himself, he felt it and wrote this poem.

If he could be in the same era and age as the Changting Prince, and fight for an ideal together, what a happy event it would be...

The paralyzed old man who delivered the poetry topic for the Crown Prince couldn't hide his love for talent, stepped forward and asked politely: "Young Master, can you copy this poem on paper, so I can take it to His Highness for viewing."

Seeing this, Zhuang Zijun felt deeply powerless. This poem was too flattering. Whether it was the current Emperor or the old Crown Prince who was over sixty, they all fit the metaphor of this poem. Wu Zhiyuan was not yet twenty, and the two reflected each other, which happened to touch the aging Crown Prince.

At this time, there were also people in the field who were jealous and secretly despised, feeling that Wu Zhiyuan was not a gentleman, but a sycophant who only knew how to flatter.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 66 =====