Tong Li's friends slowly retreated. They also recognized the style of the sword. Although the status of the emperor of the royal family was not as high as that of the Half-saint, those below the Hanlin Academy were nothing in front of the emperor.
Seeing that Tong Li had given up on escaping, the imperial guard sheathed his sword and looked at the dragon boat on Yudai River.
After the poem was completed, the second dragon boat that Fang Yun was on sped forward at a terrifying speed. The dragon boat was so fast that it was almost flying on the water. The drummer was so scared that his legs turned to jelly. He threw down the drumstick and hugged the drum stand tightly, afraid that he would fall.
In just a few seconds, the second dragon boat approached Gyeongo's first dragon boat.
Juren Qian shouted angrily, "Shi Dehong, last year you said that there was no one in Jingguo. Do you dare to say it again today?"
The two boats approached each other and separated. Everyone could see each other's expressions.
Other than Yan Yukong, the rest of Gyeongo's six people had interesting expressions, especially Lord Shi's disciple, Shi Dehong. He looked as if he was sleepwalking. He still couldn't believe that Fang Yun could write a battle poem that didn't have the word "boat" in it but could increase the speed of the boat. Even his teacher's good friend, "Lord Ci", had to spend a long time to write such a poem.
The dragon boat sped past and splashed a lot of water. Everyone on the first dragon boat was drenched by the water. No one dared to say a word.
Fang Yun's dragon boat continued to move forward. Juren Qian turned around and said, "Fang Yun, I will never forget what you did today. Without you, Jingguo would never be able to rise again! "
Another person said, "If you need anything in the future, the Ye family of the Jade Sea will definitely help you!"
"It's an honor to be on the same boat as Fang Yun!"
"You're all too kind." Fang Yun smiled humbly.
The dragon boat quickly reached the Dragon Head Bridge. It was controlled by the power of the official seal and quickly stopped. The drummer who was hugging the drum stand wiped his sweat and sat down weakly.
Juren Qian stood up, his face flushed red. With trembling hands, he pulled out the flagpole and waved it with all his might.
Countless Jingguo people on the bridge and on both sides of the river cheered loudly. Those unmarried girls who had been waiting on the Dragon Head Bridge threw their embroidered handkerchiefs onto the dragon boat. Everyone's target was the elegant young man at the end.
Fang Yun looked at the sky full of handkerchiefs falling towards him. He didn't know whether to accept them or not, so he simply pretended not to see them.
That was the custom of the Ten Nations. In such literary gatherings, unmarried women were allowed to express their love, and if the handkerchief holder agreed, they would be allowed to marry him directly without having to consider other complicated formalities. Many scholars and beauties used this method to get rid of arranged marriages.
The girls on the bridge giggled. They didn't have to marry Fang Yun. They just wanted to join in the fun and hope that their future husband would be as talented as Fang Yun.
"Win the prize, take the dragon head!" Wave after wave of people began to shout.
"Win the trophy and take the dragon head!"
The last time the people of Jade Sea City shouted these words in unison was 17 years ago.
Juren Qian held the flagpole and couldn't bear to do it. Finally, he turned to look at Fang Yun and said, "Fang Yun, you do it. You are the greatest contributor!"
The girls on the bridge also shouted loudly.
"Let Fang Yun do it!"
"I haven't thrown my handkerchief, let him come over. I must throw it on him!"
Many girls were playing around.
Fang Yun said, "Brother Qian, you do it."
Juren Qian hurriedly said, "I didn't participate in the dragon boat race to be in the limelight, but to wash away Jingguo's humiliation. As the greatest contributor to this event, you must be the one to pick the brocade! "
Fang Yun said seriously, "I know that Brother Qian is not a person who is greedy for glory, so I let Brother Qian take the dragon head. The people of Jade Sea City have borne too much for Jingguo. Today's honor should be taken by the people of Jade Sea City! Brother Qian, please! "
Juren Qian was stunned for a moment before his eyes turned red. Every year, the dragon boat races would be held in Jade Sea City. Every time they lost, the people of Jingguo would scold the people of Jade Sea City.
Even if they knew that it would be hard to win against Gyeongo, even if they knew that they would lose face, Juren Qian and the other scholars of Jade Sea City still insisted on participating. They could lose in the race, but they could not lose face!
The scholars of the city had been a foil to the enemy for 17 years!
Only the scholars of Jade Sea City who had personally participated in the dragon boat races understood how difficult this process was.
"Fang Shuangjia, if anyone taints your Literary Name in the future, I will wash it with the blood of my enemies!"
"Thank you, Brother Qian." Fang Yun smiled.
Juren Qian raised his head and shouted, "Take the brocade, take the dragon head!" He shouted out all the grievances in his heart for 17 years, then used the flagpole to take the brocade from the dragon's mouth and raised it high.
"Good …"
The cheers were thunderous, and half of Jade Sea City seemed to be shaking.
Not far away, Yang Yuhuan and Zhao Zhuzhen smiled as they watched the cheers of the people on both sides of the river. Under the bridge, a dragon boat lay on the blue waves, with the red flag and brocade fluttering in the wind.
After 17 years, Jade Sea City's Dragon Boat Festival once again had the atmosphere of the festival.
On Dragon Boat No.1, which was still far away from the bridge, Yan Yukong looked at everything calmly, his expression unchanged.
"I will definitely not accept this humiliation! I will not be the sinner of Gyeongo! " Shi Dehong clenched his fists and roared. He did not dare to believe that Gyeongo's 17 years of hard work had been ruined by his own hands. He did not dare to believe that he, a scholar, had lost to an elementary scholar. He also did not dare to believe that he, the disciple of Lord Shi, had lost to a commoner.
Yan Yukong said indifferently, "Why do I not feel that this is an insult?"
"I am different from you! You don't care, but the person our Shi clan is attached to is competing to be the next patriarch of the Xun clan. If I can defeat Fang Yun, who wrote 'Man is born good', that person will naturally be valued more in the Xun clan and our Shi clan. "
"You can try. If he loses to you, then there is no need for me to wait for him in Xuehai," Yan Yukong said.
Shi Dehong calmed himself down and said, "Don't worry. Even though Fang Yun is familiar with the scriptures, he has irreparable flaws. I have a way to defeat him!"
"Are you talking about Book Hill?"
"Book Hill is just a backup plan. The imperial examinations test 'essence', while Book Hill tests' miscellaneous'. How can a commoner like him learn the various arts? Noble families like us have the money to learn the various arts, such as the Six Arts of the Gentleman, and so on. How can a poor elementary scholar like him surpass us? Maybe he was born with talent, but he was not born with everything! "
"That's true. At first, I didn't understand why my esteemed teacher wanted me to learn those seemingly useless things. I only understood after I obtained the literary heart. Book Hill is indeed too difficult. Even Yi Zhishi and I could only obtain the mid-level literary heart. However, the so-called 'miscellaneous' test is only for the first three hills. It is different from the fourth hill onwards. I can't tell you the specifics. After all, other than the Saints, everyone's memories of Book Hill are blurry. They only know the general idea. "
Shi Dehong wiped the water off his face and looked at Fang Yun's back under the Dragon's Head Bridge. He said resolutely, "Today, the river water splashed on me. In the future, I will pour the river water to repay it! Fang Yun underestimated the power of Gyeongo and the Half-saint clan. He may not be able to reach the top of Book Hill. "
Yan Yukong's gaze changed slightly. He said sternly, "Are you planning to use … the power of the Notre-Dame?" Yan Yukong glanced around and didn't finish his sentence.
Shi Dehong looked at the Jingguo officials not far away and said confidently, "I am using an open and aboveboard scheme. They can't do anything to me. Moreover, we have other helpers. In June, the Notre-Dame's Imperial Examination Inspector will definitely come to Jade Sea City! "
Yan Yukong was stunned for a moment. In the end, he shook his head and recited the contents of the Analects of Confucius in a low voice, "Confucius said: Do not pass on your responsibility to your teacher. Confucius said: A gentleman is loyal but does not forgive … "
His voice seemed to have a strange power that made Shi Dehong's beliefs even purer. He firmly believed that he was doing this for his clan and was doing this for the greater good. This made his literary courage unwavering.
Yan Yukong recited the Analects of Confucius in a low voice as he looked forward. His gaze became empty again. There was only heaven and earth in his eyes.
On the tall building, Magistrate Dong and Magistrate Feng looked at each other angrily. Their official seals covered the entire stretch of the river, so they heard Yan Yukong and Shi Dehong's words clearly.
Magistrate Dong said, "They are too arrogant. They are treating us as if we are nothing!"
Magistrate Feng Zimo said in a low voice, "I didn't expect them to be so despicable! Once the Imperial Examination Inspector interferes, any flaws will be magnified. Those people are good at picking bones from eggs, but they still abide by the rules. I will not participate in the celebration banquet. I will personally go to the Grand Source House to report this to Magistrate Li. "
Magistrate Dong nodded and said, "Go ahead. I am the chief examiner of the capital examination. Even if someone from the Notre-Dame dares to disobey the Emperor's orders, they will have to go through me first! I will go to the Peaceful Ocean Restaurant to prepare the celebration banquet. "
Fang Shouye was shocked and said, "What's going on? Why are they interfering with the Imperial Examination Inspector? Those people are like awls. Even if there is no problem, they will still poke a hole. "
Magistrate Dong recounted what happened. The surrounding officials were furious. Shi Dehong purposely said that to tell all the officials in Jade Sea that even if Gyeongo lost the Dragon Boat Cultural Competition, they would be able to get back at them from somewhere else.
"This disciple of Lord Shi is too arrogant!"
"We must invite the Half-saint Aristocratic Family of our country to stop them."
However, no one responded, and even the young official's expression darkened.
The Xunzi Aristocratic Family was one of the six great quasi-saint aristocratic families, second only to the Confucius Aristocratic Family. No aristocratic family in Jingguo could compare to them.
Fang Shouye said slowly, "Unless Sage Chen comes out of seclusion and personally goes to the Notre-Dame, no one in Jingguo can stop them. The Xunzi Aristocratic Family is a quasi-saint family. As long as the family head can become a Grand Scholar, even if he doesn't make any progress, he can still become a Notre-Dame. He will continuously receive the Talent Empowerment and become a great scholar. However, the family heads of the quasi-saint aristocratic families are all prideful. No one accepted the Talent Empowerment and gave this opportunity to someone else in the family. However, this is enough to ensure that the quasi-saint aristocratic families will always have a great scholar overseeing them. Sometimes, there will even be many great scholars, comparable to our Jingguo. "
"It is because the quasi-saint aristocratic families are deeply rooted that Shi Dehong is so arrogant. It is a pity that the Xunzi Aristocratic Family Head doesn't have much time left and won't care about such things. Otherwise, we will jointly request that he will not let the Xunzi Aristocratic Family suppress the human race's great talents. "
"Do we have no other way?"
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