Chapter 5

First Volume, Chapter 5: Your Poem Was Bought!

Was this poem truly written by Qin Feng?

After a moment of bewilderment, Liu Hongyan shook her head and cast aside this absurd thought.

She knew her younger brother too well—he was an expert in drinking, eating, gambling, and whoring, but ask him about poetry and verse, and he couldn't spit out a single line.

Yet upon reflection, Liu Hongyan felt a pang of relief—at least Qin Feng took this Poetry Contest seriously enough to secretly prepare a backup poem.

Cheng Fa's face turned as pale as paper; he refused to believe this poem "Exiting the Frontier" was Qin Feng's own creation—it must have been plagiarized or stolen—but without proof, he couldn't openly refute it.

Not only would it pass the preliminary round, but with this poem alone, he could be crowned champion of this Poetry Contest!

Qin Feng smiled broadly at Cheng Fa: "Bring the money to my mansion before nightfall, or I'll go straight to your father for it."

Cheng Fa's face flushed red and white—he came from a strict family; if his father found out he'd been visiting courtesans, he'd be flayed alive.

And… Ten Thousand Li Silver—sell Cheng Fa ten times over and he still couldn't scrape it together.

Cheng Fa could only cast pleading glances into the crowd; when he received a response, he exhaled slightly, then turned to Qin Feng, gritting his teeth:

"Qin, don't get cocky! There's still the retest and the Metropolitan Examination—if your next poems aren't as good as 'Exiting the Frontier,' you're just faking fame!"

This struck a chord with the crowd—truth or lie, they'd find out soon enough.

Qin Feng, however, didn't care at all; he teased, "What did you just call me?"

Cheng Fa froze, his face instantly burning red; he stubbornly retorted: "Hmph! You? You're not even worthy of me calling you Master!"

"Oh? Then, Second Sister, we shouldn't wait till night—send someone to Cheng's house right now. Tell his father this brat not only refuses to pay me Ten Thousand Li Silver for his whoring debts, but also breaks his word and disgraces the Cheng family name…"

Qin Feng had always been a scoundrel; now that the river's cold had fried his brain, he was even more shameless—he'd absolutely go to Cheng's house and throw a tantrum.

Watching Qin Feng stand with hands on hips, smirking "What are you gonna do about it?", Cheng Fa nearly spat blood.

Just as he was gritting his teeth, preparing to bow his head in surrender, an discordant voice interrupted him.

"Wait."

Cheng Fa, moments ago ashen as a corpse, suddenly looked reborn—as if a drowning man had seized a straw.

He turned to see a man who had appeared out of nowhere—dressed in a clean, plain robe, his hair tied high, holding a Folding Fan, his two Golden Sword eyebrows radiating an innate air of arrogance.

Based on the former body's memories, Qin Feng recognized this scholar: it was Li Rui, who had previously schemed to ruin him!

This bastard… finally shows up…

The crowd stirred; male students bowed respectfully to Li Rui, adopting postures of deference.

Female students were even more direct—grouping in threes and twos, covering their mouths with giggles, openly praising their ideal lover.

Qin Feng was seething inside!

Sure, he'd lost the spotlight—but this guy wasn't even half as handsome as him! Why did girls adore him?

Auntie could tolerate it, but Uncle couldn't!

"Oh? Isn't this Young Master Li? When are you taking me again to the Hua Fang to have fun with the courtesans?"

Qin Feng feigned a flattering smile, but inside he was already offering sincere greetings to Li Rui's ancestors.

His words plunged the scene into awkward silence.

The female students glared at Qin Feng with bitter resentment—how dare this lecher slander their beloved ideal man?

Li Rui's face stiffened—he hadn't expected that the moment he appeared, Qin Feng would strike first.

Had this fool truly had his brain frozen by the river? He'd forgotten shame entirely—constantly blabbing about the Hua Fang!

And what was that nonsense word "hai pi"? He didn't understand it, but he knew it was a vulgar, crude term!

Utterly disgraceful to scholarly decorum!

The best way to deal with a scoundrel like Qin Feng was to ignore him.

Li Rui didn't respond; he glanced at Cheng Fa sideways and put on a moral high ground: "I hear someone dares to act as a teacher while still being a student himself—how ridiculous! Others might tolerate this, but I, Li Rui, will never condone such corrupt customs!"

At these words, the surrounding students' gazes burned with admiration—they now saw Li Rui as an unshakable idol.

Qin Feng sneered inwardly—you're a master at pretending. Back at the Hua Fang, you spouted filth and chased women nonstop; now you play the moral paragon?

More importantly, the instant he looked at Qin Feng, a flicker of surprise flashed across his face, then vanished—replaced by a cold, chilling malice…

As a top salesperson, Qin Feng excelled at reading people's expressions.

That look in his eyes practically screamed: Boy, so you're still alive…

This confirmed Qin Feng's suspicion—his earlier poisoning and being thrown into the river was tied to Li Rui.

First poison, then public humiliation—by this pattern, Li Rui wouldn't stop until Qin Feng was dead.

As Qin Feng suspected, to avoid complications, Li Rui wanted to eliminate him as soon as possible.

He donned the mask of a virtuous gentleman, shaking his head and saying: "This poem 'Exiting the Frontier' is indeed excellent—but I heard your sister, Liu Hongyan, paid ten thousand taels of Silver to Scholar Xie to obtain it?"

At these words, the crowd erupted.

"Ssshh—I thought Qin Feng had truly changed his ways, but this poem was bought?"

"Young Master Li wouldn't lie! So this is almost certainly true—who can't even memorize a few poems suddenly writes a masterpiece like this? Do you believe it?"

"That makes sense! Let's see how he answers…"

Seeing Qin Feng become the target of everyone's suspicion, Li Rui smirked.

You fool. Do you think you can play me?

Yet Qin Feng acted as if nothing had happened—as if the accusation had nothing to do with him. He narrowed his eyes, his curiosity blazing.

"How did you hear such a secret? Were you secretly surveilling my sister? Damn, you're really twisted." Qin Feng widened his eyes, recoiling two steps with clear disgust.

Li Rui froze, then his face flushed crimson—this bastard didn't play by the rules!

Buying poems was strictly confidential; how could Li Rui possibly have heard this rumor? He must have used underhanded methods—no matter the motive, it violated the principles of a virtuous gentleman.

Admitting he used underhanded tactics made him a villain; denying it made him a pervert in Qin Feng's words.

This scoundrel, though spouting nonsense, struck straight at the heart of the matter.

Liu Hongyan had been tightly nervous, but Qin Feng's words made her burst out laughing, her small face flushing red—yet she played along with Qin Feng with a look of disgust: "This lady has high standards; how could I possibly be interested in someone who follows and surveils others… pervert?"

Hearing this, Li Rui's face flushed alternately red and white; he resorted to his old trick again, pretending not to hear, and waved his hand: "I knew you'd deny it, but fortunately, Scholar Xie is here at the academy today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged, shabby Confucian stepped out from the crowd.

Thin and small, with two tiny mustaches, his face oozed sleaziness.

Though he held the title of Jinshi and was exempt from bowing to officials, he now bowed obsequiously to Li Rui: "Hehe, greetings, Young Master Li, greetings to all."

Liu Hongyan's heart sank—Scholar Xie had been bought too!

Though that poem "Leaving the Frontier" had nothing to do with him, if word got out that he'd sold poetry, it would surely damage the Qin Family's reputation.

What to do?

Just as she panicked, Qin Feng beside her burst into loud laughter.

"Hahaha, so you're Scholar Xie? No wonder you hold a title but can't enter the Imperial Court."

"Our Shedynasty has clear laws: anyone insufficiently 'grand and far-reaching' is barred from officialdom!"

"Scholar Xie, with your appearance—if you became an official of Shedynasty, wouldn't foreign nations laugh at us?"