CH 198

Everyone originally thought that Gong Yangxun and Fang Yun, both being from Jing Kingdom, were either joking or deliberately promoting each other's literary reputation. However, seeing Fang Yun's puzzled expression, they were all taken aback.

Fang Yun looked at Gong Yangxun with a bewildered expression.

Only then did everyone realize that Gong Yangxun had not consulted with Fang Yun beforehand, but had spoken out of the blue, seemingly with ulterior motives.

Many people recalled Fang Yun's experiences in Jing Kingdom and understood that Gong Yangxun was likely targeting Fang Yun. However, he was doing so in a rather indirect manner, which didn't seem like he was trying to put Fang Yun in a desperate situation.

The bewildered and confused expression that Fang Yun had put on faded, and he laughed, "Brother Gong Yang, you're joking. You are a disciple of a prominent Semi-Saint family, how could you need my help? Everyone makes mistakes, even you, Brother Gong Yang. However, you can't represent Jing Kingdom, and neither can I."

Gong Yangxun casually replied, "You're taking it too seriously. I'm just asking for help. Maybe if I draw the topic I've prepared for, I won't need Fang Zhenguo to step in."

Many people present looked displeased, especially the Imperial Scholar from the prominent family of Da Prefecture.

Calling Fang Yun "Fang Zhenguo" in private was a compliment, but doing so at a literary gathering like this would only make others more jealous and hostile towards him.

Fang Yun smiled at Gong Yangxun, staring at him for dozens of breaths. The Si Shui Academy fell silent.

"Alright, since Brother Gong Yang and I are both from Jing Kingdom, and you are from a Semi-Saint family of our kingdom, contributing to the human race, if I, Fang Yun, don't even help with this small matter, it would be too unkind, disloyal, and cowardly of me. I'll help! Even if I can't write a poem, I'll stand there for a quarter of an hour, letting everyone watch me, Fang Yun, make a fool of myself. But this is only our embarrassment, it has nothing to do with Jing Kingdom!"

Fang Yun's voice was resounding, earning praises from countless people in their hearts.

The Hanlin Scholars and Grand Academicians secretly sighed that Fang Yun was indeed a genius. If the two continued to argue, they would lose face for Jing Kingdom before even writing a poem. Fang Yun decisively chose to help, and he didn't hesitate to accuse Gong Yangxun of being unkind and disloyal, but he wouldn't do the same. He could lose his own face, but he couldn't lose face for Jing Kingdom in front of others.

"The demeanor of a true scholar." A Grand Academician from the Kong Family couldn't help but sigh, feeling somewhat regretful.

Gong Yangxun's expression didn't change at all, he was still smiling. He reached into the box and pulled out a piece of paper, then sighed helplessly, "Emotions. Alas. I wasn't prepared, Fang Yun, it seems I really need your help."

Fang Yun immediately stood up and said, "Since I've promised, I can't refuse." After saying that, he walked towards the desk next to Gong Yangxun.

Li Fanming hurriedly whispered, "Save your best Mid-Autumn Festival poems for tomorrow's Holy Land Literary Gathering! Use them in the Holy Land, don't be provoked by them!"

Fang Yun nodded and continued to walk forward.

"Can't refuse? Good, but where does this phrase come from if it's not from the classics?" A Grand Academician asked.

The Master of Words pondered for a moment and laughed, "It must be Fang Yun's words. His language and poetry are always novel."

The other Grand Academicians, who were well-read in the classics of All the Saints, heard this phrase for the first time and believed it was Fang Yun's words.

"There's a book called 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'." Fang Yun thought about the origin of the phrase "can't refuse" as he walked to Gong Yangxun's side.

Gong Yangxun immediately started grinding ink for Fang Yun, laughing, "Thank you for your help, Fang Mao Cai. If you need anything in the future, I won't refuse either!"

Fang Yun picked up the brush and said, "Brother Gong Yang, you're too polite. A few days ago, I was admiring the moon by the Jade Sea City and came up with a line, but I didn't know how to follow it up. Today, seeing the talents of ten nations gathered here, far away from home, I was moved and came up with the next line."

As Fang Yun spoke, he began to write.

The moon rises over the sea, sharing this moment with the ends of the earth.

Here in the Kong Family Academy, as soon as these two lines came out, an orange aura of talent permeated through the paper, one foot, two feet. Just two lines had reached the level of a prefecture, surpassing anyone at the literary gathering.

The Master of Words immediately stood up and recited with a voice like spring thunder, "The moon rises over the sea, sharing this moment with the ends of the earth."

When everyone heard the Master of Words, the words of the poem immediately appeared clearly in their minds. His voice seemed to write the two lines of the poem in their minds with ink and brush.

"This line can be passed down through the ages," said a Grand Academician from the Kong Family.

"This 'rises' instead of 'ascends', implies the idea of nurturing and birth, brilliant!"

"The line 'sharing this moment with the ends of the earth' expresses the longing for reunion on the Mid-Autumn night."

Many Presented Scholars and Imperial Scholars looked gloomy, as most of them couldn't reunite with their families on this Mid-Autumn Festival.

Then, Fang Yun finished the remaining six lines of the famous poem by Zhang Jiuling, a prime minister of the Tang Dynasty.

Lovers, resentful of the distant night, rise at dusk to think of each other.

Extinguishing the candle, they cherish the full moonlight, putting on their clothes, they feel the dew.

Unable to bear the gifts in their hands, they return to sleep, dreaming of the good times.

Finally, Fang Yun wrote "Gazing at the Moon and Thinking of the Distance" at the top.

The aura of talent reached three and a half feet.

"A poem from Ming State, if it's passed down for a long time, it might reach the level of a town!" someone whispered.Li Fanming praised, "What a wonderful poem! The first two lines blend scenery and emotion perfectly, while the following lines narrate the story of longing for a loved one as if it's happening right before our eyes."

Some people were still immersed in the poem. It started with the scene of the moonrise, then described a lover's distress at the long night, and the longing in their heart. They wanted to extinguish the candle and sleep, but the bright moonlight compelled them to go out and admire the moon. However, they ended up getting wet from the dew because they stayed out too long. They wished to send the moonlight to their distant loved one but couldn't, so they could only sleep and place their hopes of reunion in their dreams.

"Fang Yun must have written this poem while missing his lover yesterday. Without real experience, it would be impossible to write such a detailed and lingering poem."

A Grand Academician chuckled, "As expected of Fang Yun, even if he writes on a whim, his poems can still resonate throughout the state, comparable to the Poet King."

However, the Poet King laughed, "'The moon rises above the sea' is grand and majestic, yet it also has a beautiful artistic conception. 'At the ends of the Earth, we share this moment' is a line that encompasses everyone in the world, he is far from it."

Many people didn't pay attention to the Poet King's words, but a few remembered them. The Poet King and the Poem King were originally good friends, but now he was clearly very dissatisfied with the Poem King, only referring to him as "he" and not mentioning his name. Everyone knew that the Poem King and Fang Yun had become enemies due to the death of a disciple, it seemed that the Poet King was siding with Fang Yun.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "The Tree Master is moving! The leaves are falling!"

Everyone looked up and saw hundreds of ancient trees swaying without wind, making a rustling sound. Then, leaves began to fall, fluttering like butterflies under the bright moon.

Everyone could feel the joy of the ancient trees. This feeling was strange and absurd, but it was real.

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Some people picked up a few leaves from the ancient trees. The ancient trees in the Confucius Mansion Academy were evergreen, their leaves never fell in wind or rain, only poetry could make them forget themselves and wither. Because they fell due to the Path of the Saints, the leaves of the Tree Master were the most popular souvenirs in the City of Confucius.

After asking their elders, a few children immediately ran under the tree, opened their arms in the falling leaves, and cheered happily.

The falling of the ancient tree leaves was a great honor in the City of Confucius, especially for those who had studied in the Confucius Mansion Academy. They looked at Fang Yun with envy. After this leaf fall, Fang Yun's name would surely be recorded on the stone wall that recorded the falling of the ancient tree leaves.

At the same time, people were shouting everywhere in the Confucius Mansion Academy.

"The Tree Master's leaves are falling! The Tree Master's leaves are falling!"

"Quick, go outside the Si River Courtyard to pick up the leaves of the Tree Master!"

Liu Zicheng suddenly strode over and said while walking, "Fang Yun, if I can't write a poem, would you be willing to help me?"

Fang Yun stared at Liu Zicheng and said, "Your Liu family is known for its loyalty and bravery. Liu Zicheng is upright and honest, and the Chancellor Liu even shed blood for our human race. Seeing the barbarians' corpses all over the field, how could I not help!"

Fang Yun's tone didn't carry any resentment, but the "facts" he described inexplicably gave rise to a strong sense of resentment.

"The shame of Jing Kingdom, the great traitor of the human race!" A Presented Scholar couldn't help but curse the Left Chancellor.

Many people sighed. The news that Fang Yun, a role model for the literati of One Kingdom, was almost killed by the family of the Left Chancellor of Jing Kingdom had already been published in the "Literature Report", and all the literati of the ten nations knew about it.

Liu Zicheng's face remained unchanged. He took out a piece of paper from the box, and his face finally showed a slight change. He seemed reluctant to say, "Unfortunately, the paper has the words 'frontier fortress'. I have never been to the north of the fortress and can't write a poem. I wonder if Fang Yun could write a frontier fortress poem?"

Liu Zicheng looked at Fang Yun, his heart full of resentment. He didn't believe that Fang Yun could write another good poem in such a short time.

Fang Yun picked up his brush and said, "Why not? Let me write a poem titled 'Moon Over the Frontier Fortress, Sending Off General Liu and His Soldiers', to praise the great achievements of Chancellor Liu!" As he spoke, Fang Yun began to write the famous frontier fortress poem "Moon Over the Frontier Fortress" by the poet Li Bai.

The bright moon rises over the Tianshan Mountains, amidst the vast sea of clouds.

The strong wind blows for thousands of miles, passing through the Yumen Pass.

As Fang Yun wrote each line, the Poet King recited it aloud with his thunderous voice. When Fang Yun finished the first four lines, thousands of people couldn't help but stand up, causing a cacophony of chair and table noises.

"This... is so grand! Such a broad mind, just like a sage!"

"Upon careful consideration, it's like a painting before my eyes, no, it's like the real scene is right before my eyes. The moon rises over the Tianshan Mountains, travels through the sea of clouds, and the strong wind blows. It's as if it's right in front of me!"

"This poem and this scene are too majestic! The previous poem 'The moon rises above the sea' is grand and majestic but the scenery is beautiful. The first four lines of this poem are grand and the scenery is magnificent. The former is like a Great Scholar composing a poem by the sea, the latter is like a great general of the Military Strategists standing outside the fortress admiring the moon. Excellent!"

A member of a Prominent Family excitedly repeated, "I made the right choice coming here! I made the right choice..."

"The Tree Master is moving again!"

The rustling sound of the ancient trees shaking continued, and the leaves fell one after another.

Fang Yun lowered his head and finished writing the rest of the ancient poem.

The Han descend the white path, the barbarians peep at the green lake bay.

This has always been a battlefield, no one has ever returned.

The frontier soldiers look at the border color, their faces full of longing to return home.

On such a night, in the high tower, sighs should not be idle.The poem was completed, its brilliance once again exceeding three feet, nearly four.

"Again, it's about the border town near Mingzhou!"

"Hmph, if it weren't for the Left Chancellor of Jing Kingdom meddling last year, how could there be 'no one to return'? Fang Yun wrote it so well! I really want to smash this poem in the face of that treacherous chancellor!"

"Alas, the last four lines are truly dedicated to the soldiers. Under the moonlight at the border, they think of their families at home. On the same night, their wives are also sighing sleeplessly at home."

Liuzi Zhi looked at Fang Yun as if he were seeing a ghost. It was clearly a slip of paper drawn on the spot, but Fang Yun not only wrote a frontier poem, not only stuck to the theme of the bright moon, not only included the Left Chancellor, but also wrote it so well and so quickly. Who could compare with such talent? Who could suppress it?

.(To be continued.)