Soon, more than a dozen people came to the table one by one to write their own poems down, but their level was not as good as that previous arrogant man. Instead, they not only couldn’t win the fame but also were laughed at by others. Thus, they failed and retreated in dejection.
None of their poems could be selected for hanging, but they were treated as waste paper, which was directly smashed and thrown into the wastepaper basket on one side.
About half an hour later, another man who looked like a businessman from another place wrote a poem about a beautiful woman, which was full of artistic conception. Although it was not as excellent as Beauty Poem by the arrogant sloven, it was also readable. Hence, it was selected to hang at a height of the second floor.
Then, that ecdemic businessman was transported with joy.
However, that slovenly and arrogant man directly sneered, “Hanging together with your poem, Beauty Poem by me, Song Qingfei is humiliated…”
The strange businessman was suddenly shocked and his face became embarrassed.
But this was just an episode.
After a while, more than 20 people’s poems were eliminated.
Lin Qiushui, the first disciple of Hanshan Academy, stood up and smiled slightly. Then, he came before the table in a haughty manner, and then started writing lively and quickly using the brush pen.
Many people looked at the table.
The writing reputation of the first disciple of Hanshan Academy really matched his strength.
Lin Qiushui wrote a poem on the paper, which told, “Mountain-surrounded capital witnesses the unchanging; rain-falling Chang’an welcomes the loneliness. The mist engulfs the eastern original moon; the deep night strides across the high wall.” When finishing, he smiled slightly and proudly. Before that old female critic spoke, he straightly walked towards the table for selected poems.
“Good poetry.”
“Although there isn’t the word ‘woman’ in it, it strongly expressed the love and missing feeling. Senior fellow Lin’s poetry art has apparently been sophisticated.”
“Hah hah, this poem must be the top one in this night, as it is done for the time and atmosphere.”
Complements rose around him, and other disciples of Hanshan Academy took the role as flatterers to praise him greatly.
Even if Li Mu didn’t know much about poetry or the history of Chang’an City, anyone could generally find that this poem was indeed good. After all, the first disciple of one academy must have some capabilities.
As expected, the result was that this poem was selected.
Lin Qiushui was thus fully satisfied.
At this moment, Liu Muyang, the first disciple of Fengming Academy, sneered. “Just so so.” He strode toward the table and then started to write a poem with a brush pen. This poem was totally different in term of style, which said, “In the quiet midnight is the house door closed; the beauty is standing at the corridor. She, tender, wants to say her love affair; but dares not to do before maids.”
As soon as the poem was made, the scholars of Fengming Academy first cheered loudly, whose consciousness of flattery was totally not worse than that of people from Hanshan Academy. Some people around him also applauded loudly.
This poem was titled Beauty under the Moon, which possessed a very strong sense of a picture. Different from Lin Qiushui’s poem that showed missing feeling without the word “girl”, Liu Muyang’s poem fully and directly described the missing feeling of a beauty who stood under the moon and felt shy when trying to tell her inner secrets.
Two poems showed two styles.
After Liu Muyang finished, he sneered at Lin Qiushui and then directly dashed to the eligible seat.
Sure enough, when the female critic declared the result of the selection, this poem was also chosen.
Later, more than ten people also showed their poems, but they were really at various levels. Miss Hua Xiangrong, at the third-floor pavilion, even didn’t take part in the selection again. Instead, it was several female critics from the Holy House who finished the selection. They reluctantly chose five poems, which were temporarily hanging.
This was because the poems made by the arrogant scholar, Song Qingfei, Lin Qiushui, and Liu Muyang completely raised the level tonight, which could be regarded as really excellent works. Thus, the following people who even performed beyond expectation could hardly satisfy the audience, especially the female critics from the Holy House. They were not only skilled at poetry, but also beautiful, so they could fairly comment the poems. Thus, some people who wanted to have a try dared not show their incompetence.
In the end, ten poems should be selected into the final match, but only nine ones were chosen, since no one could enter the finals.
The atmosphere became a bit cold.
“Young Master, why not write a poem to show off your talents?” Zheng Cunjian consciously or unconsciously incited Li Mu by saying, “With Young Master’s talents, Young Master must be the top one. Stop these vulgar men from being contented.”
His voice was not low.
Immediately, many of the people in the hall heard his words and turned their heads to see.
A female critic who was once reminded by Bai Xuan looked at Li Mu, and then came over with a smile, saying, “Why doesn’t Young Master show the poetry talent?” This was her kind intention and a kind of nice reminding. According to Bai Xuan, even if Li Mu couldn’t write illustrious poetry, he could also be chosen to fill this vacant seat, which indicated that she secretly offered a chance to Li Mu.
But others didn’t think so.
The scholars from Fengming Academy and Hanshan Academy created a disturbance first.
“Since you are here, I will give you a chance to make a poem on the stage.” Lin Qiushui gloated at Li Mu.
Liu Muyang also narrowed his eyes and said, “He’s right, kid. You have a chance to show your talents. Hah hah, don’t worry. Even if you write badly, no one will sneer at you, since no one expects your performance. Hah hah!”
His words also caused another round of ridicule.
Many people were waiting to see Li Mu make a fool of himself, but some people also had sympathy for him. Little poor boy, he was unlucky tonight, because he should bother the scholars of the two famous academies. He would definitely become a joke tonight.
Moreover, the disciples of Heaven Sword Martial Club who shared the same table with Li Mu even explicitly laughed at Li Mu as they pounded the desk.
However, Li Mu was calm, and nodded to that female critic, saying “Well. When the cat is away, the mice will play… Writing a poem to make them swallow their pride is also good.”
Then, he went straight to the table.
At this time, the laughter stopped.
Many people looked at Li Mu, since they didn’t expect that this poor boy really stepped on the stage to write his poem and dared to say such arrogant words.
After Lin Qiushui and Liu Muyang were shocked for a while, they both sneered.
Besides, that arrogant and slovenly scholar, Song Qingfei, didn’t spare a glance at Li Mu, since he hated those who were more conceited than him the most.
However, only Zheng Cunjian was curious about what poem this bastard who was called a golden fish by the magistrate Li Gang could write this time.
Under the gaze of numerous people, Li Mu wrote with a brush pen.
On the earth, when in primary and middle schools, students were asked to practice writing with brush pen, so Li Mu laid a good foundation for brush-pen calligraphy. Besides, in daily life, he followed the old faker to conduct religious rites at any place and many procedures required him to write with a brush pen. Hence, Li Mu’s regular script was excellent, which was praised by the old faker. Although the words of this world were different from those on the earth, they were generally same. Consequently, Li Mu’s calligraphy was outstanding when he was accustomed to it.
The first sentence he wrote on paper was that “A beauty in Chang’an”.
When this sentence was finished, there were sneers around, and Lin Qiushui, Liu Muyang, and Song Qingfei all scorned him. After all, such vernacular and shallow words could be thought by any scholar, which was unlikely to be considered delicate. He was really incompetent at this level.
The critic who asked Li Mu to write also appeared disappointed and thought that she made a mistake. She should not have such a proposal, or this boy wouldn’t make a show of himself on the stage.
However, when Li Mu finished the second sentence, the sneers in the field immediately disappeared by a large part.
What he wrote was: peerless and independent.
After this sentence came out, it seemed that there was magical magic. All of a sudden, the straightforward and plain words were full of significance and taste, giving people infinite and rich associations. Especially, the words “peerless” and “independent” were most fascinating.
Then Li Mu continued to write: The first glance could cause the fall of a city…
The expressions on Lin Qiushui, Liu Muyang, and Song Qingfei’s faces suddenly became solemn.
The more talented the scholar was, the more likely he was to appreciate the charm of the three sentences that had been written.
By this time, all the laughter in the hall had disappeared.
Li Mu wrote the next sentence at ease: The second glance could cause the fall of a state…
Then, it was the last sentence: The fall of the city and the state is not as serious as the loss of the beauty.
After finishing the poem, Li Mu, who didn’t throw the pen on the ground as those people did, gently put the brush pen on the pen rack, and then smiled at the female judge who was dumbfounded at one side. He said, “Can this Beauty Poem be chosen into the list?”
“Ah? Oh, this… is good, good. Come and copy the poem to let everyone see.” The female who invited Li Mu to write a poem immediately became overjoyed.
She had already noticed that this poem was definitely a famous piece that could be popular around the world.
Immediately, there was a maid copying it and sending the verse to the third floor.
However, at this time, the poem had spread throughout the hall.
“A beauty in Chang’an; peerless and independent; the first glance could cause the fall of a city; the second glance could cause the fall of a state; the fall of the city and the state is not as serious as the loss of the beauty.”
This poem departed from the established practice, and its implication could be compared to the best wine. Besides, this poem fully and vividly portrayed the beauty, since the beautiful woman who could cause the fall of a state or a city was really rare. Using such words to describe a woman could enable the woman to be famous around the world immediately.
This poem wasn’t fancy or delicate, but its words were so simple and plain as to possess a kind of touching power. It could definitely be regarded as a famous work around the world, and without doubt, it would spread soon across Chang’an.
On the other hand, the looks of Liu Muyang, Lin Qiushui, and Song Qingfei had been completely stiff, as they could not imagine that this poor boy who was ridiculed and sneered by them actually wrote a poem that was excellent enough to spread through the whole world and to be passed by generations. This poem could definitely be the top one among those works.
Gosh, why did this thing happen?