Awaken Chapter 132

Kyoto, Great Wei.

Inside the Liyang Palace.

With the appearance of a national poem, the talented scholars of the ten countries all got excited.

Although they came from different countries, they were in Great Wei at the moment.

Great Wei was the Supreme Heavenly Kingdom, and the Ten Kingdoms were affiliated to it, but that was before. Nowadays, the Ten Kingdoms were developing rapidly, and with the decline of Great Wei, if the heritage left behind was not too strong.

The Ten Kingdoms might really have chosen to break away from Great Wei.

But such a matter is too involved, and to truly break away from Great Wei, several things need to be accomplished: cultural heritage, economic heritage, and military heritage.

One of these three conditions must be met before one is qualified to negotiate with Great Wei. If all three are met, one may simply break away without any hesitation.

Right now, the Taiping Poetry Festival is a counter-attack of cultural heritage. Great Wei claims to be the saintly orthodoxy, after all, the fifth generation of saints came from Great Wei, and the Great Wei Palace of Literature is also in Kyoto.

This cultural suppression was terrifying. All the world’s scholars had to respect Great Wei as the orthodoxy, especially the Zhu Sheng lineage, so that the literati were proud of Great Wei. In that case, if the ten kingdoms wanted to break away from Great Wei or betray it, would the literati at home tolerate it?

But if they could counter Great Wei, it would be a different story. In the various events, if the talents of the Ten Kingdoms could overpower the talents of Great Wei.

In this way, the cultural transcendence will be accomplished, the self-confidence of the people will be built, and the self-confidence of the literati will be built.

One generation is not as strong as the next. On the contrary, we, who hold up the facade of the saints, are the ones we do not care to be a*sociated with.

We have stood our ground culturally, and when the literati in the country hear this, you don’t say, it really makes sense.

The rest is a matter of military and economic success. It is not necessary to surpa*s the Great Wei, but only to qualify for secession.

It is also not afraid to send first-rate martial artists to the Great Wei, because there are first-rate martial artists in the Sudden Evil Dynasty, and there are also first-rate martial artists in the First Yuan Dynasty.

This is the way of checks and balances.

Inside the Liuyang Palace.

The talented sons of the ten kingdoms were excited, each laughing loudly, afraid that the literati and people of Great Wei would not hear them.

“Brother Li, you are truly worthy of being the number one talent of the Tang Kingdom, poetry out to subdue the country, good, good, good, let’s drink to Brother Li.”

“Poetry Zhen Guo, to be able to appear above a banquet like this, it shows that if Brother Li had a flash of light, perhaps the poem would have come out in a thousand years.”

“That’s right, generally speaking, at such a feast, when the talented people gather, there will be talent suppression, and it is very difficult to make a thousand ancient poems, the Zhen Guo poem is already the limit, if today is just a chance gathering, and brother Li has a little inspiration, a thousand ancient poems, it is not a matter of saying.”

The talented scholars of the ten kingdoms sighed in admiration, how could they not know what Great Wei was thinking now?

After all, Xu Qingnian had written the most famous poem in the history of the world, the most famous words in the history of the world, and the most famous ekphrasis in the history of the world.

But in their hearts, they know what they are doing, but they will not admit defeat.

They think that Xu Qingnian’s talent is not bad, but it is all accidental, a flash of light, and that he has strength, but also luck.

But in a place like the Taiping Poetry Competition, it’s completely different, because it’s a formal poetry competition, where the world’s literati gather and their talents are suppressed.

They may be nervous, or they may be influenced, and there is also innate suppression, so poems made on such occasions will be more or less suppressed.

This is not a made-up statement, because in ancient times and in modern times, there are few poets who can produce poems for the ages at such a banquet.

Talent suppression, in fact, exists.

Of course it still depends on the quality of the poetry, and good writing can break it.

In the crowd, Li En took a sip of wine, he was extremely excited inside, even though he was always calm on the surface, but his hand trembled slightly as he drank, betraying his unsettled heart.

The Zhen Guo poem!

A poem of the kingdom!

If he could produce the Zhen Guo poem at such a banquet, his status as the number one genius of Tang would be secure, and with this poem, he could even bring a lot of talent and fame, and with the power of the country, he could become a great scholar.

If that was the case, he would have been satisfied in his life.

Li En was so excited that if it weren’t for the presence of others, he would have shouted hooray.

The Zhen Guo poem was an honour in itself, and now he had even made a Zhen Guo poem at the Taiping Poetry Festival.

How could this not make people excited? I am afraid that after tomorrow, his name will be heard throughout the world, including the Sudden Evil Dynasty, the First Yuan Dynasty and the Great Wei Dynasty.

The poem “Who in the world does not know you?

It says it all.

“I really admire the talent of Brother Li, after today, I’m afraid everyone in the world will know Li En’s name.”

Someone came up and toasted a gla*s of wine, emoting from the bottom of his heart.

“You’re welcome, it was just a flash of light.”

Li En was modest, or at least more modest with his own people.

“Brother Li, there is no need to be modest. If a scholar of my generation is talented, he is talented, why should he be so modest?”

“Yes, don’t be modest, lest people look down on us and say that we are all stinking fish and rotten shrimps.”

“Don’t say that, don’t say that, don’t you see that the faces of the governors and the great scholars have changed?”

The talented sons of the Ten Kingdoms were mocking at every opportunity.

They had suffered a lot of anger yesterday, and even the major merchants and innkeepers, who had not allowed them to stay, would not let go of this great humiliation.

And on the stage, the six ministers did look a little ugly.

For they had humiliated not only the literary world, but more importantly, they had humiliated Great Wei and given it a slap on the wrist.

As a Minister of the Six Ministries, how could he not be angry?

The reason for the anger of the great scholars of the Palace of Literature was also simple: the talented scholars of the Ten Kingdoms were really becoming more and more inflated.

They, the Great Wei Palace of Literature, are the orthodoxy of the world’s literati, and all the talented scholars of the world should respect the Great Wei Palace of Literature, but to think that they would ridicule them like this?

As for the scholars and the people of Great Wei, they were all completely speechless, and they only hoped that Xu Qingnian would arrive.

This was the only hope!

“Talented scholar of the Ten Kingdoms, acting like this, it seems that there are other things hidden this time.”

Great Confucian Chen Xin spoke quietly, he had nothing to sulk about, his gaze calmly said, feeling that this matter, was not as simple as he had imagined.

“Yesterday’s poetry ranking, we are indeed not biased, poetry conference, the competition is poetry, but this group of people are making a scene with this, there must be a push behind this.”

Another great scholar echoed the sentiment, saying that Chen Xin was right in his guess.

“For now, we don’t care if there is a pusher or not, but if this matter is not dealt with properly, it will be very troublesome for Great Wei.”

Chen Zhengru spoke out, he didn’t care if there was a pusher behind him, he only cared about one thing.

Power over the great talents of the ten kingdoms.

“When will Shouren come?”

At this moment, the Minister of Penalty, Zhang Jing, spoke up, of all the people present, he was the one who thought Xu Qingnian could suppress this bunch of curmudgeons the most, so he appeared impatient.

“Someone has already been sent, I guess it will be soon.”

Chen Zhengru gave his reply.

The crowd put their hearts down a little, although Xu Qingnian might not necessarily be able to make the famous poem of a thousand years, but there was one thing to say, he could indeed bring hope to the crowd.

And among the crowd, someone came to Li En and said with a suppressed voice and a laugh.

“Brother Li, you are in a great position now, look at the southwest direction, all of you, this woman is very attractive, but she keeps looking at Brother Li, it seems that Brother Li is blessed with a beautiful woman today.”

Someone spoke up, with some laughter.

In an instant, many talented people looked towards the southwest, even Li En couldn’t help but look to the southwest.

Indeed, in the southwest direction, there was a woman in white standing quietly not far away. The woman used a white veil to cover her face, but it still could not hide this captivating aura and that mind-blowing figure.

Sensing the woman’s gaze, Li En’s heart was filled with joy, and for a moment he was so drunk that he was already imagining the evening’s story.

But as the feast was not yet over, he could not go forward to talk to her.

Let’s wait until the banquet is over.

And that was when.

In the capital of Wei, the Shouren Academy.

Xu Qingnian had several plans floating around in his head, but each of them had been rejected by Xu Qingnian.

He had to come up with a solution, a perfect solution, to get the three chambers to give the materials honestly, but also to get the three chambers to lower their prices.

And it was extremely low, even at a loss.

The solution was difficult, but what Xu Qingnian was most unafraid of was difficult problems.

In fact, Xu Qingnian had already thought of quite a few solutions, but these solutions were easy to deal with the three major chambers of commerce, but if they wanted to deal with the people behind the three major chambers of commerce, they were not enough.

Xu Qingnian had thought of a way to investigate the taxes, to investigate one group of people and mess with one group.

But the problem is, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, whether the three chambers of commerce will give you the tax books is a problem, even if the emperor gives you the books by decree, they are definitely fake.

How do you find the real books?

Send someone there? People immediately offer bribes, do not accept bribes? Accept beauty or not? You don’t accept beauty? You always have something you like, right?

Nothing?

Then we’ll send you home.

What? The emperor sent someone to investigate the case and he actually died? You ask if I’m afraid? Yes, but what’s it to me? It’s not like I killed him.

He didn’t have any enemies? He doesn’t get into trouble?

The empress has no power in her hands, and in other people’s territory, if she gives you face and calls you “Your Majesty”, what kind of a person are you if you don’t?

If you are not able to do this, you will be able to do it in a way that will not only cause civil unrest.

Checks and balances.

The first thing you need to do is to get rid of it.

At this moment, Xu Qingnian finally understood how uncomfortable it was for the emperor to be without power.

If the five battalions of military power are in the hands of the empress, and then the va*sal kings are all cleaned up, when the time comes to fear the broadsword?

The Chamber of Commerce would dare to raise the price of the land? If we raid your house, we will have new merchants to make up for it.

How dare the foreigners say anything? A decree will be issued, and all the va*sal kings will go and cut them down, without the need to use the power of the court.

The va*sal king won’t do it? Then F**k the va*sal king.

This is the advantage of holding power. Nowadays, the Great Wei has too much to do and too many things to do, and in such a situation, the kingdom is shaky.

And to secure the kingdom, power must be centralised, and there is only one voice in Great Wei, otherwise, any one thing, will be infinitely hindered and postponed.

Therefore, at this moment Xu Qingnian understood why the empress valued the military talisman so much.

To this extent, Xu Qingnian recalled that if she had been the emperor herself, she would only have done the same.

Without military power, one had to think before and after doing anything, and every step was a reserved battle, afraid of making a mistake if one was not careful.

Because there are not many opportunities left for the Great Wei to make mistakes.

The brain is hurting, the brain is hurting, the brain is hurting.

Xu Qingnian indeed felt that his brain was hurting, and now the problem was becoming more and more serious.

The three major chambers of commerce are sitting on the price, the court will definitely not agree, the Ministry of Finance will not agree, but the material is in the hands of others, what can you do if you do not give it to them?

The more you think about it, the harder it will be for Wei to suffer, and the merchants will definitely make trouble.

In that case, half a year, or even a year, would not do to promote the waterwheel.

And the time left for oneself was not much.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingnian could not help but close his eyes, he was now a little distracted.

But at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out.

“Report!”

“Lord Xu, the Prime Minister has asked you to go to the Li Yang Palace for a banquet at the Taiping Poetry Festival.”

The voice rang out, the voice of a guard, requesting Xu Qingnian to go to the poetry party within the Shouren Academy.

“No way! No way! Tell Shang Shu Chen that Xu is not feeling well and will not go.”

Hearing this voice, Xu Qingnian spoke directly.

It was already the time, and he still had the heart to go to the banquet, so he didn’t go.

“Lord Xu, now that the talented scholars of the ten kingdoms are flaunting their power at the Taiping Poetry Competition, the Great Wei literary world has lost its face, so I hope Lord Xu will go to save the day.”

The guard’s voice rang out, full of anxiety and eagerness.

Inside the room, however, Xu Qingnian frowned slightly.

A talented son from ten kingdoms, flaunting his power at the Taiping Poetry Society?

“Where’s Hua Xinyun? Didn’t he go too?”

Xu Qingnian couldn’t help but ask.

“Lord Xu, Lord Hua did go, and his poetry is a thousand words, considered an extreme work, but it was suppressed by the Zhen Guo poem.”

“Lord Hua wanted to compose two poems, but Prime Minister Chen had previously drawn up the rule that one person could only compose a maximum of one poem.”

“So Lord Hua is not qualified, right now in the whole of Great Wei, you are the only one who can suppress these ten national talents.”

The guard said excitedly.

However Xu Qingnian’s brow tightened even more.

One word for a thousand gold?

It did sound good, but Xu Qingnian later got to know Hua Xinyun, a great talent, and a great talent at that, how could he only compose one such poem?

There was something wrong with that.

But after thinking about it, it should be normal to leave a backhand behind without any real intention.

“Go back and tell the Prime Minister that Xu has official business to attend to, so I won’t be going.”

“Again, the Great Wei Palace of Literature is full of talented people, and it is not Xu’s turn to go.”

Xu Qingnian gave his reply, saying that if he didn’t go, he wouldn’t go, and that he would teach the Great Wei Palace a lesson.

The Chinese government has been thinking of itself as the rightful saint.

Now even the ten national talents can’t be suppressed, just like this?

“Lord Xu.”

The guard spoke again, while Xu Qingnian’s voice cooled down in this moment.

“Just go back and inform.”

The voice rang out, and the latter froze, but after thinking about it, he finally sighed and turned to leave.

As he watched the guard leave, Xu Qingnian didn’t care about this, a loss was a loss, it was a lesson to the Great Wei Wen Gong, lest he pretend to be invincible to whom?

This is not really revenge, Xu Qingnian does not think so.

The matter of the waterwheel is a matter of urgency, one, involving the people of the world, and two, involving their own safety and security.

It’s like being in the middle of a quagmire and the first thing you think about is not saving yourself, but where to go for dinner tonight.

Isn’t that a brain problem?

Xu Qingnian had her own reasons for not going.

It was also the same as giving a lesson to the Great Wei Palace of Literature to stop thinking that they were invincible in heaven and on earth.

Liyang Palace.

The guard returned from the Shouren Academy, and then quickly came to Chen Zhengru’s side.

“Your Excellency, Lord Xu said that he was busy with business and could not come.”

The guard said with a suppressed voice.

And since he came in, the Ten Kingdoms Talents also noticed, and in fact they were a little worried about Xu Qingnian, after all, Xu Qingnian’s prestige was still there, in case he really made a thousand ancient poems, then it would be a little humiliating today.

So the ten talented scholars also stopped talking and all looked at Chen Zhengru.

When he said this, Chen Zhengru’s face was calm and he nodded, not saying a word.

The Ten Kingdoms Talents were a little curious and even sent someone out to see if Xu Qingnian had come.

Soon, the result appeared, there was no one outside, Xu Qingnian had not come.

At that moment, quite a few voices rang out.

“Xu Qingnian didn’t come?”

“It seems that Xu Qingnian wasn’t invited, right?”

“En, it should be that he didn’t come.”

People whispered and did not dare to speak too loudly.

At the banquet.

Sun Jing’an’s voice rang out.

“At this time, he doesn’t show up either?”

Sun Jing’an frowned, his first reaction was unhappy to learn that Xu Qingnian was not coming, thinking that Xu Qingnian was doing it on purpose.

“Whether he comes or not is his business, who has stipulated that he must come?”

The government’s official authority is really something. If Xu Qingnian doesn’t come, he doesn’t have to come.

Of course Gu Yan was sticking up for Xu Qingnian, in fact he also wanted Xu Qingnian to come.

“Heh! I can see that Xu Qingnian is indeed talented, but today someone has made a Zhen Guo poem, so he doesn’t dare to come.”

Sun Jing’an sneered, not answering Gu Yan’s words either, but mocking Xu Qingnian.

When this was said, many people frowned slightly, this Sun Jing’an did have some problems, people didn’t come and said they were afraid?

If this was said by the Ten Kingdoms talent, they would have put up with it, but one of their own talking about one of their own? Isn’t there something wrong with your brain?

You hate Xu Qingnian so much?

“Sun Ru, at this point in time, you’re still talking about your own people? You’re really a great Confucian.”

Minister of Justice Zhang Jing couldn’t help but speak up, this was so disgusting.

If Xu Qingnian heard this, he probably wouldn’t have come even if he had the strength.

Nuts, right this is?

“Sun Ru, watch what you say, as a great Confucian, what is your intention to belittle your own people?”

At this moment, Chen Zhengru also could not help but speak up, he was very good-tempered, but listening to Sun Jing’an’s words, he was really a bit disgusted.

The unanimous attitude of the three Shang Shu made Sun Jing’an inwardly unhappy, but he also knew that he had indeed said something wrong, so he did not reply.

“All right, let’s not argue about anything at this time, I’m afraid today is a foregone conclusion, let’s think of other ways, why don’t we have Nebula compose another poem? It’s a bit of a loss of face, but at least we can get some back.”

The dean of one of the four great academies spoke up and made this suggestion.

“Impossible.”

Chen Zhengru shook his head straight away, if Hua Xinyun was allowed to compose another poem, even if he produced a masterpiece, what could be done?

The talented scholars of the ten kingdoms themselves already had complaints, if this broke the rules again, Great Wei’s face would really be lost.

“Forget it, I’ll go and find Xu Qingnian myself.”

At this moment, Zhang Jing could not stand it anymore, and he intended to go and find Xu Qingnian.

But in an instant, Gu Yan, the Minister of Household Affairs, pulled him back.

“Shouren has his plans.”

Gu Yan said with a suppressed voice.

When this was said, Zhang Jing fell silent, understanding the meaning of the words.

Why didn’t Xu Qingnian come?

Was it really a battle of wills?

No.

Xu Qingnian still knew what was right and wrong.

The only possibility was that Xu Qingnian himself did not have a clue.

That’s why he refused.

Yes, come to think of it, it’s true. Who can guarantee that Xu Qingnian will be able to produce a thousand ancient poems?

If you come up here, even if you make a poem, it will be even more troublesome.

The Great Wei today.

It’s a loss.

A complete and utter loss.

The great talents of the ten countries, after seeing the expressions of Chen Zhengru and the others, almost guessed something.

“Xu Qingnian won’t be coming.”

“He doesn’t dare to come.”

“Right, he doesn’t dare to come, with the Zhen Guo poem around, who dares to come?”

“Xu Qingnian is famous, this kind of person would never take the risk.”

The talented scholars of the Ten Kingdoms whispered that Xu Qingnian wouldn’t dare to come, because when you think about it, it was true, there was a Zhen Guo poem here.

Who would dare to come and touch his brow?

Who would dare to come?

Even if you also wrote the poem, what could you do? What had happened two days before had already made people angry, and if this were to happen again today, these people would never agree.

As the crowd chattered, the voices soon grew louder.

“So this is the Great Wei’s talent of the ages, he doesn’t even have the courage to go to the banquet.”

“Yes, I thought how strong this Great Genius of the Ten Thousand Ancients was, but I didn’t expect that, just this?”

“The Great Talent of Ten Thousand Ancients, hahahahahahahaha!”

“And don’t laugh, Xu Qingnian is still very smart, with the Zhen Guo poem in front of him, it’s normal for him to be afraid.”

Some voices were extraordinarily harsh, drawing the anger of the people, the phrase great talent, at this moment, stung beyond belief.

Among the crowd, the person who laughed the loudest was Wang Fu.

But even Li En, the number one talent in Tang, showed a smug smile.

As the people of Great Wei watched, the cheerful laughter also reached outside the palace.

At this moment, the streets of the capital of Wei were a bit quiet, after all, the people could not laugh when the literary world of Wei was dealt such a blow before the happy news came from Li Yang Palace.

In fact, the people also understand Xu Qingnian’s ‘hardship’.

There will always be times when the poem is played or not played well. Who has the confidence to suppress the Zhen Guo poem? Even a great Confucian would not dare to say that he could suppress it.

And at that moment, inside the Li Yang Palace.

A figure left silently and without a sound.

It was the figure of Chen Xinghe.

A quarter of an hour later.

The Shouren Academy.

Li Guangxiao looked at the location of the Liyang Palace, and then after watching the sky at night, he could not help but sigh.

“The Great Wei literary world, it’s going to suffer a fatal blow.”

Li Guangxiao muttered to himself in his heart, and in fact he had been following the events of Liyang Palace.

At first, he also thought that Xu Qingnian would be able to suppress the other side if he appeared, but now that he thought back, it was not that Xu Qingnian was not able to do so, but that Xu Qingnian was so high in the hearts of the people that he was thought to be omnipotent.

But what about the reality? Xu Qingnian had never said he could definitely produce a thousand ancient poems, had he?

With the Zhen Guo poem in front of him, Xu Qingnian was under great pressure, and it was only reasonable that he refused not to go.

Not going at least gave the last bit of hope to the Great Wei.

If he had gone and lost, it would have been the end.

So he supported Xu Qingnian not to go.

But at that very moment, a voice rang out.

“Senior brother! Senior brother!”

“Senior brother, hurry up and go to Li Yang Palace, if you don’t go, the Ten Kingdoms Talents won’t know how arrogant they’ll be.”

Chen Xinghe’s voice rang out.

He ran back, trying to talk Xu Qingnian into it.

Inside the room.

Xu Qingnian was still thinking of a countermeasure, and had already had some thoughts, yet with Chen Xinghe’s voice ringing out.

The thoughts were once again interrupted.

“Ugh!”

If the person who came was not Chen Xinghe, if it was anyone else, Xu Qingnian would have had to say a few words.

Do not be so annoying.

But when his own senior brother came, Xu Qingnian could only get up and smile bitterly.

“Senior brother, I really don’t want to go, I have a very troublesome matter right now, this poetry meeting, if I lose, I lose, what’s the big deal.”

Xu Qingnian spoke, his tone quite helpless.

“Senior brother, you can’t lose, if you lose this, our Great Wei will really lose face.”

“Do you know how the talented students of the ten countries humiliated us? They said that the Great Wei literary world is nothing more than a mere name, they scolded you, saying that you have been scared out of your wits, not knowing how smug and arrogant you are, senior brother can’t stand to see it.”

Chen Xinghe appeared in the room, huffing and puffing.

“They can say whatever they want, their mouths are on them, can they still be controlled?”

Xu Qingnian didn’t care, he had heard this kind of talk too many times.

It wasn’t like it was the first time.

“Senior brother, why don’t you understand? How many people are expecting you to appear?”

“If today, we lose, then in the future, the people of Great Wei will simply have no face when they go out.”

Chen Xinghe said somewhat helplessly.

The Great Wei Palace of Literature had always claimed to be the rightful lineage of the saints, and the people were proud of it, but if they were now overwhelmed by the talents of the Ten Kingdoms, would they still have the face to say that in the future?

Just before Xu Qingnian could think more, Chen Xinghe’s voice rang out again.

“Senior brother, let me ask you one thing, answer truthfully, do you have the confidence to overpower Li En? It’s the one who wrote the Zhen Guo poem.”

“If you don’t have confidence, pretend that senior brother hasn’t come, if you have confidence, then come with me.”

He said with an incomparably serious and grave face.

Faced with such an enquiry from Chen Xinghe, Xu Qingnian had wanted to casually deal with it, but after thinking about it, he still sighed and said.

“Talented students from ten countries, all of them have prepared carefully for this banquet.”

“But the Great Wei literary world, this time is suddenly faint, senior brother feels that there is something fishy about it.”

“I don’t want to wade through the muddy waters, as to whether I can overpower it.”

“Senior brother, there is one thing they actually said that is quite right.”

“I’m not going to the banquet, and I do feel that they are a bunch of stinky fish and rotten shrimps.”

Xu Qingnian replied seriously.

And Chen Xinghe froze, good man, his own senior brother was getting more and more skilled at pretending to be a bleep.

“But they, have already written the Zhen Guo poem.”

Chen Xinghe couldn’t help but say.

“Heh.”

However Xu Qingnian didn’t reply, he just sneered.

Zhen Guo poem?

Zhen Guo poems were nothing, there was more than a Zhen Guo poem in his mind, right?

But still, I’m in a lot of trouble, I don’t want to go to the banquet, plus I do have to let the Great Wei Palace of Literature get a whip, so don’t think …… yourself number one in the world.

Seeing this expression on Xu Qingnian’s face, Chen Xinghe came to a clear understanding.

“Senior brother, since you are so confident, go ahead.”

“Whatever whether there is something fishy or not, go now.”

Chen Xinghe was about to pull Xu Qingnian after he finished speaking.

Instead, Xu Qingnian shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Senior brother, senior brother’s mind is already made up, not going means not going, unless His Majesty decrees that I must go, otherwise, I won’t go.”

Xu Qingnian was resolute.

And Chen Xinghe was persuading bitterly from the side.

However, just then, Li Guangxiao in the dining room froze, he didn’t expect that he had actually guessed wrong, Xu Qingnian was either afraid of the Zhen Guo poem, or simply didn’t want to go.

Good man, this isn’t a good idea.

The next moment, he took out a new copy of the heavenly decree and quickly put pen to paper, followed by placing it on a candle and burning it.

With a wisp of cloudy smoke dissipating.

Close to a quarter of an hour later.

Finally, Xu Qingnian had convinced Chen Xinghe, and was completely relieved.

At the same time, he was also a little restless inside.

But the good thing was, finally things were settled and one could make plans in peace.

But the moment Chen Xinghe had just walked out of the room.

A voice broke the peace once again.

“Xu Qingnian receives the decree, His Majesty’s dictate, the Taiping Poetry Fair, a literary event, is a matter of Great Wei’s face, order, Xu Qingnian, Minister of the Household Department, to go to the banquet to write poems, no matter how good or bad the results are, but not to escape, Qin Hao.”

As the eunuch’s voice rang out.

Inside the room.

Xu Qingnian was frozen.

Chen Xinghe also froze.

His Majesty had really given the decree?

“Senior brother, His Majesty has issued a decree!”

“Senior brother, why are you looking at me with such eyes?”

Chen Xinghe was very excited and folded over to speak, but found that Xu Qingnian’s eyes were a little odd.

“It’s nothing.”

Xu Qingnian shook his head, before rising and saying, “My servant, accept the decree.”

After saying this, Xu Qingnian went back into the room and placed the white paper filled with scribbles on the candle flame to burn.

Ugh!

Annoying!

Annoying!

Annoying!

Isn’t this sick? It’s just a poetry party, why does everyone care so much?

Why do you have nothing better to do? Isn’t the Great Wei Palace of Literature quite capable?

Xu Qingnian was really angry, all her plans and thoughts were gone, and she was interrupted one after another.

After the white paper was turned into ashes, Xu Qingnian walked out of the room with a cold face and headed towards the outside of Shouren Academy, walking with his hands behind his back and a very unpleasant look on his face.

“Senior brother, wait for me!”

Chen Xinghe chased after him.

Soon, when Xu Qingnian left Shouren Academy, he arrived at the Southwest Long Street, which was brightly lit up with people’s merchants, literati and elegant guests, and beautiful ladies, which should have been a very lively scene, but now it seemed extremely quiet.

But with the appearance of Xu Qingnian, people instantly raised their voices in alarm.

“Xu Qingnian is here.”

“Lord Xu has come.”

“This is Lord Xu.”

The people’s brows were furrowed as they all gazed at Liyang Palace, and suddenly someone noticed that Xu Qingnian had arrived, drawing the attention of countless people for a moment.

Various voices rang out at once, and many of the people even revealed their excitement.

Some literati, moreover, looked at Xu Qingnian in surprise, while some women, upon seeing Xu Qingnian’s face, could not help but keep gazing.

“Quickly give way to Lord Xu, Lord Xu is going to Li Yang Palace.”

“Quickly give way to Xu Wangu.”

“What are you still standing there for, give way to Xu Wangu.”

The next moment, the people immediately shouted, because the streets were extremely crowded and blocked Xu Qingnian’s way, so someone spoke up and told everyone to make way.

In an instant, the people consciously gave way without a hint of disobedience, while at the same time even chanting.

“Lord Xu, suppress the sharpness of the Ten Kingdoms’ great talents.”

“Lord Xu, you’re here, we have hope.”

“Lord Xu, I have high hopes for you.”

The people were excited and showed all kinds of solidarity.

And Xu Qingnian also clasped his fist towards the people, he was fast and in a very upset mood, but he still had to remain gentle on his face to the people.

Walking along the way.

Xu Qingnian’s row was so big that in the long southwest street, everyone gave way consciously, only the emperor was afraid that in the whole Great Wei, only the emperor had this row.

“Wait for me! Wait for me!”

Chen Xinghe chased after him, Xu Qingnian’s pace was too fast, so he was a little out of breath.

With the appearance of Chen Xinghe, many people could not help but speak up, curious about Chen Xinghe’s identity.

“Who is this man?”

“Who else could it be? It must be Lord Xu’s schoolboy.”

“Yes, yes, yes, it must be Lord Xu’s schoolboy.”

“This schoolboy is quite handsome too, eh, worthy of Lord Xu.”

The people were talking, but unfortunately Chen Xinghe couldn’t hear them because he was still catching up with Xu Qingnian.

And at that moment.

Inside the Liyang Palace.

It was still inexplicably eerie.

The laughter of the ten great talents was intense, while the people and literati of Great Wei, one by one, could not laugh, the songs and dances were in front of them, but no one had the heart to watch, the wine was in the cups, but no one had the heart to taste.

It seemed bizarre.

However, just at that moment, a voice rang out.

“Report! Lord Chancellor, Servant Xu Qingnian of the Ministry of the Household has come to the banquet!”

As a voice from the retainer fell.

In an instant, the entire Great Hall was abuzz with excitement.

“What? Shouren has come?”

“Shouren is actually here?”

“Good boy, I told you he would definitely come.”

“Yes! Good! Good!”

Chen Zhengru was somewhat surprised, while Gu Yan and Zhang Jing were excited at first, and Zhou Yan, the Minister of War, could not help but shout out in approval.

Ever since the appearance of the Zhen Guo poem, their mood had been like falling into the ice cellar, and now that Xu Qingnian had arrived, how could they not be excited?

They were not the only ones, the people were also excited.

They had been waiting for Xu Qingnian.

Originally, they thought that Xu Qingnian would not come, after all, the people could understand if Xu Qingnian did not come because of the Zhen Guo poem.

But what they didn’t expect was that Xu Qingnian had actually come.

For a moment, the people perked up, and even some literati got excited.

“Lord Xu has come, let’s see if this Ten Kingdoms great talent still dares to be arrogant.”

“If Lord Xu dares to come, he has the courage, I want to see if the Ten Kingdoms Great Talent still dares to be arrogant.”

“Good! Bravo! Bravo, Lord Xu never lets us people down, everyone get ready to cheer for Lord Xu later.”

The people were already excited.

And Chen Zhengru’s voice rang out.

“Please ask Shouren to enter.”

Chen Zhengru spoke, and his use of the word please was proof of the joy and excitement within him.

Everyone was excited, except for the Ten Kingdoms Talented Son who was not.

But some other voices, too, followed.

“If you’re here, you’re here, can you come and change your fate against the odds?”

“With the Zhen Guo poem in front of us, I don’t believe that this Xu Qingnian is really so capable.”

“Even if he were to compose another Zhen Guo poem, Xu Qingnian would still be no match, one in front and one behind, just in case the Great Wei is biased again.”

The voices of the great talents of the ten kingdoms rang out, especially the last sentence, which ridiculed Great Wei.

Only, at that very moment.

A figure walked into the Great Hall.

It was Xu Qingnian.

He walked inside the Great Hall.

His expression was slightly unhappy.

He seemed to be in a bad mood.

At this moment, the Great Hall seemed extraordinarily quiet, and the people had also quieted down.

The great talents of the ten kingdoms had inexplicably quietened down as well.

All of them looked at Xu Qingnian.

The wind was magnificent.

It just seems …… somehow in an unhappy mood, ah.

For a moment, the crowd was a little curious.

They did not understand why Xu Qingnian was unhappy.

Walking into the main hall.

The first thing Xu Qingnian did was to look at the ten national great talents.

His gaze was so powerful that the ten great talents of the ten kingdoms were inexplicably a little afraid.

Just as quickly, Xu Qingnian withdrew his gaze.

Looking towards Chen Zhengru, he spoke extremely quickly.

“Lord Chen, my subordinate still has important matters to deal with, and my official duties are tied up, so I hope your lordship will understand.”

“Your Excellency, please tell me directly what today’s topic is. I have to hurry back after I finish.”

“There is no time to delay.”

Xu Qingnian spoke quickly and appeared to be in a bit of a hurry.

This tone of voice and behaviour instantly made everyone present a little confused.

Everyone felt as if Xu Qingnian was running over to make a perfunctory gesture, this was the Taiping Poetry Conference, why could Xu Qingnian behave like this?

It felt as if he was, well, a bit reluctant.

Big brother, you are here to compose a poem.

Also, you have a Zhen Guo poem pressed in front of you ah.

Why are you putting on a perfunctory posture?

On what grounds?

It wasn’t just the people who were surprised, but the Ten Kingdoms talent had a feeling of being insulted.

I’m not saying you have to take it seriously, but at least don’t take such an attitude, as if someone owes you something?

You don’t really think you can write a thousand famous poems for the ages, do you?

“Banquet!”

Without any hesitation, Chen Zhengru directly said the title.

For some reason, the more Xu Qingnian did so, the more he felt that Xu Qingnian was well prepared.

“Banquet?”

Xu Qingnian frowned.

His mind raced, searching for a poem about a banquet.

He stood in the main hall.

All eyes fell upon it.

Little by little, time pa*sed.

Everyone was looking at Xu Qingnian, and no one dared to disturb him.

A full half a quarter of an hour pa*sed.

Finally, a voice rang out.

“Thinking for so long? It seems Xu Wangu is not ready yet.”

Some voices came from the Ten Kingdoms Great Talent.

It was slightly sarcastic.

But just a moment after his voice fell.

Xu Qingnian’s voice rang out.

“Pen come!”

The voice rang out.

It was deafening.

It rang out in the great hall.

At this moment, everyone was completely quiet.

Even the talented sons of the Ten Kingdoms did not dare to make a single sound.

The purple Hao Rang Qi coalesced into a pen in Xu Qingnian’s hand.

Xu Qingnian!

It’s time to compose a poem!