"A guest of the Prince's Mansion teaches the children of the royal family!" Pan Hongda shouted, "This is not a child's play. If today was just a game of poetry, and someone came in to swindle some reputation, we could just kick him out. But if such a person became a teacher of the Prince's Mansion, who could bear the responsibility of teaching the Little Prince and Little Princess astray? Normally, I wouldn't be able to ask about this matter. However, I've been running this school for dozens of years. Since I've met you today, I can only get to the bottom of this. Ning Liheng, tell me now. Have we misunderstood you? "
Pan Hongda's words were filled with righteousness and were powerful and resonating. The people around were already excited. Yan Lingzhong said, "A few days ago, I met with the Princess of Prince Kang, Zhou Pei, and tested Her Highness's talent. Her Highness is intelligent and extremely knowledgeable. She lives up to her reputation as a talented woman. Later, when we chatted, she admired Young Master Ning very much. Therefore, I am willing to believe that Young Master Ning is worthy of his name. But I still have some doubts about his performance today. Ning Liheng, it is true that you have not written a single word in today's poetry gathering. In the past year, I have not heard of any new works of yours being published. If you can write such masterpieces as' When Will the Bright Moon Appear 'and' A Night of Fish and Dragon Dance ', but not a single word has been spread in the poetry competition. Isn't this … very strange? "
From the very beginning, this Grand Scholar's attitude toward Ning Yi could be considered amiable. As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Qing said, "These past few days, Cousin Zhou Pei has come to the capital. When she talked about this Shifu of hers, there were indeed a lot of overflowing praises. I am also very curious, what kind of person is he to be praised so highly by Cousin. Today's meeting, I wanted to see the talent of this Young Master Ning, but for now, I am a little disappointed … "
After she said this, the noble young masters who came with her also shouted, shook their heads, or laughed at him. At this time, a few young men were quietly walking to the side, but they saw the face in the distant courtyard gate. In fact, among the men who came with Zhou Pei this time, most of them had a favorable impression of Zhou Pei. It was just that when Zhou Pei talked about Ning Yi, she was a little carried away, so they all wanted to come and watch the fun, especially to prove that Ning Yi was not that powerful. When he saw that face, he couldn't help but start to clear his name.
"Hey, Princess Pei is here …"
"How did she know …"
"What should we do now …"
"What else can I do? Even if she came, she wouldn't be able to save this teacher. Could it be that she would be tested in place of her teacher …? "
"Will he know that we did it …"
Whispers could be heard amidst the noise around them. Yan Lingzhong said, "Before today's matter is concluded, I am still willing to believe that you, Ning Liheng, are a talented person. Most of the people here are people of high status. We were just discussing that today's national examination, just based on Nian Nujiao, we should recommend Shaoyuan to enter the Directorate. Liheng, you are still young, but you are already able to enter the Prince's Residence as a guest official. If you really have such talent, we will also recommend you to enter the Directorate. What can you do? "
At this time, the Directorate students were recommended from all over the country, but a large portion of the spots were occupied by the children of officials. Although the few people here had a lot of influence in Bianliang, the number of spots that could be recommended every year was still very small. Once one entered the Directorate, he would have a better chance of advancing in the imperial examinations, becoming an official, and working in politics. All the talents and scholars flocked to it like ducks. At the side, Princess Qing and the others were all rich and idle people, but at this time, they also said that if he really had talent, he would naturally be able to help.
On the other side, Xue Gongyuan was still saying, "Even if he really has talent, I still doubt his character!" Yan Shu said that he would recommend Yu Shaoyuan, but at the same time, he also recommended Ning Yi. Yu Shaoyuan smiled and cupped his hands.
"Thank you, Your Excellency Siye. Since this is the case, I am also willing to compete with the Young Master Ning and everyone here in terms of poetry and knowledge. For the position of supervisor, I will be a gentleman's competition."
This immediately turned the matter into a competition. Everyone was happy to see this, and they were all waiting for Ning Yi to embarrass himself. As expected, they heard Ning Yi say, "I have no intention of entering the Directorate. This kind of bet, let's forget about it."
Someone laughed and said, "Look, how clumsy. As expected, he's acting as if he doesn't care about fame."
"Pretending to be noble and virtuous? Can you even pretend …"
Yan Shu, who was at the front, had already become serious. "We study and learn both civil and martial arts to offer to the imperial family. It's not like I haven't seen people with a simple temperament. But at your age, Ning Liheng, if you use this as an excuse, are you trying to bully everyone here for being idiots?!"
Ning Yi hadn't finished speaking. "It's just that I've only been in Bianliang for a few days and haven't visited anyone. I'm very curious, where did the rumors about me come from, and why do they sound so miraculous …"
On the other side, Princess Zhou Qing said, "Teacher Yan is right. Ning Liheng, I was originally curious to know what kind of outstanding figure my cousin thinks highly of, but you've been pushing it off time and time again. What on earth are your intentions? I'll also say this: if you're really fishing for fame and praise, using deceit to obtain the position of a visiting official in the prince's mansion, and deceiving my cousin, I won't forgive you. Do you really think that no one can do what Teacher Pan said?! "
Just as everyone was about to agree with her, another voice rang out from the other side, "Ninth Sister, no matter what, this matter belongs to Prince Kang's Mansion. Sir Ning is my little sister's teacher, aren't you going too far? "At that moment, the girl who had appeared in the crowd was none other than Zhou Pei.
*****
Watching the situation unfold, Zhou Pei wasn't sure what Ning Yi was thinking, but she knew that she had to go out. The others didn't recognize her when she walked in, but Zhou Qing and the others had already seen her. She smiled and said, "Little Pei, so you're here too. Although this has nothing to do with Prince Chong Mansion, you and I are sisters. If you've really been deceived by this person, how can I just sit back and do nothing? "
"But in this situation, isn't it a little too reckless?"
As the sisters talked, someone in the crowd pointed and whispered to those who didn't know what was going on, "This is the princess of Prince Kang Mansion, Zhou Pei."
Xue Gongyuan said, "Princess, don't be deceived by these lowly people …" Yan Shu also said that it was necessary to verify this matter. Zhou Qing also had a concerned attitude. In reality, in this kind of situation where everyone was saying the same thing, even Zhou Pei, who had grown up in the Prince's Mansion and had not seen much of the world, couldn't handle it. She argued for a few words, and suddenly heard Ning Yi say, "I see … Little Pei, come here."
*****
The current situation was also rather unexpected for Ning Yi. However, what he was most concerned about was not how to break out of this troublesome situation. Instead, he was concerned about the ins and outs of the entire matter. Just who was targeting him from the back?
After all, he was really innocent in this matter. After coming to the capital, he admitted that he didn't come into contact with many people, and he didn't form a feud with anyone that needed to be publicized. Before the incident happened, Yu Ho-chung, Chen Sifeng and Li Shishi would never have thought that someone would target him. He was still thinking about how difficult it was to be the capital's top courtesan. Who knew that suddenly, all the spearheads were clearly pointed at him. What made Ning Yi the most helpless was this kind of sudden incident.
It wasn't that this kind of difficult situation couldn't bring him a sense of urgency, but his silence, delay and even provocation were mainly to observe the expressions and performance of the people. Ning Yi could already form a rough outline of these things amidst the hubbub, but it was only when Zhou Pei suddenly appeared, heard her words, and saw her expression that Ning Yi was able to piece together the general context of the entire matter.
Then … he sighed.
He never would have thought that it would be because of this.
Looking at Zhou Pei's flushed face, the slight beads of sweat on her forehead, and her slightly messy hair, Ning Yi recalled Zhou Pei's mood when she came to find him yesterday. Everything was good here, everyone took good care of her, and the sisters in Prince Chong's Mansion were very concerned about her … It seemed that they were all lying. Thinking back, when she came to find him yesterday, there were times when she wanted to say something but hesitated …
After she came to the capital, she didn't have many acquaintances. Coming to find him, she probably had the intention to complain, and even … It seemed that she was looking forward to him going to the poetry meet in the garden two days ago …
If it was some friction at a normal poetry meeting, or if it was Ji Xianqing who wanted to give Li Shishi face and deliberately find fault with him, he could understand it and would treat it as normal. However, he had never thought about the matter of Zhou Pei before, which made him unable to suppress the anger in his heart. In fact, judging from the attitude of Yu Shaoyuan and some of the others, they should have known about it before. So he sighed, "So that's how it is … Little Pei, come here."
His tone was calm. Towards Zhou Pei, he was a little too arrogant. On the other side, Xue Gongyuan slammed the table, "How dare you speak to the princess like that …" The rest of the people probably felt that their etiquette was not good enough. In fact, the current trend in the Wu Dynasty was for the scholars and the emperor to rule the world together. Because of this, Princess Qing and the others were participating in this poetry competition with everyone else. Even if there were many people who did not have any scholarly honors, they would not really behave submissively towards these royal family members. But ordinary respect was still necessary.
However, Zhou Pei had already walked towards Ning Yi.
She was wearing a long and large dress, and at this moment, her body looked a little small. She had sweated a little earlier, so she did not pay attention to her bearing. Now that she was in front of Ning Yi, she looked a little wronged and guilty, not knowing what to say. Ning Yi smiled, "Didn't you say that you were living a good life here …" He reached out and gently patted Zhou Pei's head, then walked to the side, "Fine, brush and ink."
Zhou Pei shrunk her head, "Ah?" she exclaimed softly, then followed him.
There were many papers and brushes around, and Ning Yi was actually still holding Yu Shaoyuan's "Remembering Your Charm" in one hand. After putting it down, he pulled over another piece of rice paper and started writing.
"Writing poems, writing poems, you only know how to write poems …" The brush moved on the paper, and his expression was cold. He sighed, "If the poem is good, and the essay is good, then this person is really good. He still knows how to do things a little better than the average person … You guys …"
The two people sitting at the side stuck their heads out to look at what he was writing. In other places, the crowd was still sneering, "Let's see what he's trying to be mysterious about." "Pretentious." The few elders saw that he was finally willing to write, and looked at each other. Xue Gongyuan said, "Finally willing to write? This old man also wanted to tell you, even if you can really write two crooked poems, it does not mean that you are outstanding! "
Ning Yi did not pay attention to them. He was in a bad mood and wrote quickly. Not long after, he finished writing. He took Yu Shaoyuan's and his two pieces of paper and walked forward. Zhou Pei followed beside him.
The surrounding people either sneered or protested, not knowing what he was playing at. Ning Yi shook his head and said, "It seems that we are, after all, country bumpkins from Jiangning … I've finished writing the poems you wanted. I don't want the position of Guozi Academy, but Brother Shaoyuan, you can also forget about it … Such a lively poetry gathering is a place where everyone should participate. I still have important matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave first." He walked to a small table in front of the long pavilion, and put down the two pieces of paper and brush. Then, while tidying his sleeves, he bent down and whispered in Shishi's ear, "I'm leaving. Sorry, let's meet again next time."
Shishi nodded.
In the midst of the noise, Xue Gongyuan and the others had already slammed the table and stood up. The old man roared, "What do you mean! Do you think you can deliberately mystify things like this! Do you think you can suppress everyone by just writing a poem? You didn't explain clearly about the matter of the Prince's Mansion guest today, and they thought you could really leave! What kind of bullsh * t are you writing … "
He took a few steps forward and grabbed the Xuan paper on the table. At this time, everyone in the gathering was talking about Ning Yi's behavior of wanting to escape, but in the end, no one stopped him. After all, after today's matter became a laughing stock, even the government would not let Ning Yi off. Amidst the noise and mockery, not many people noticed that the two people who had watched the entire process of Ning Yi writing the poem were now sitting there in silence, or looking at each other with a bewildered and uncertain expression.
Ning Yi had already walked a few meters away. Xue Gongyuan trembled when he saw that they wanted to escape, "Your Highness, don't be deceived by this swindler …" Hmph, what … Mu Lan's daughter, Sha Tang Zhou, Yu Xiao Jin Guan, sit at both ends … What bullshit sentence, Ning Liheng, stop right there, don't even think about leaving … Fine wine … Honorable … Uh, uh … You, you … "
As he roared and cursed, he even chased a few steps forward, preparing to refute the poem on the paper as trash. However, his footsteps finally slowed down, and the words in his mouth also began to become softer. He then stood there, staring at the poem on the Xuan paper, his hands gradually trembling, and his old face seemed to be filled with excitement, alternating between red and white. Seeing him like this, the curses around him lessened. No one knew what had happened, and Yan Lingzhong walked over hesitantly. Yu Shaoyuan, Ji Xianqing, and the others looked at the distant Ning Yi and Xue Gongyuan. They couldn't understand what was going on and what was written on the paper. Even Shi Shi, who was sitting quietly on the side, couldn't help but stretch out her neck, wanting to know what kind of poem Ning Yi had written. She threw it away and left, causing the atmosphere to become like this …
*****
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