Everyone stood up to greet the two great scholars.
The white clouds quickly approached the jade mountain and slowly descended.
Prime Minister Kang Ha-chuan still had his white hair draped behind his back, his white eyebrows were still eye-catching, and his eyes were full of kindness.
The great scholar beside him was the opposite. He had a head of black hair, and even the wrinkles on his skin were less than Kang Ha-chuan's. However, if one looked at his eyes, one would feel that he was at least ten years older than Kang Ha-chuan.
There seemed to be war flags fluttering in his eyes, and war drums roaring. It was as if a war was going on every moment.
His eyes were extremely cold, so cold that there was no trace of emotion. The tens of thousands of people in front of him were no different from rocks in his eyes.
"Everyone, good evening!" Kang Ha-chuan smiled and cupped his hands towards everyone.
"Good evening, Prime Minister!" Everyone hurriedly returned the greeting.
The moment Fang Yun lowered his head, he suddenly felt as if time was flowing backwards. He saw all the chrysanthemum petals and dogwood leaves on the ground fly backwards according to their original trajectories, and finally all fell back to their original branches or calyx.
The flowers of Chongyang fall and bloom again, bringing spring with a single word.
Everyone raised their heads and looked at Kang Ha-chuan with envy and admiration. They were all shocked by the great scholar's power.
General Zhou Junhu, who swept the petals off the ground with his killing intent, was even more convinced.
Kang Ha-chuan stretched out his left hand, his wide sleeves fluttering as he said, "This is the great scholar of Wu Guo, Nangong Leng. He passed by the capital city and specially came to have fun with me. Brother Nangong's poetry is ranked first among the great scholars. Today, he is presenting his poetry at the Chongyang Literary Gathering, which is a grand occasion for Jingguo. "
Everyone once again greeted him in unison.
"Greetings, Great Scholar Nangong."
Nangong Leng nodded and did not say a word. He scanned the tens of thousands of people present, and his gaze paused for a moment on the black-veiled woman, Fang Yun, Nuu, and a few other people's faces. Soon, he recovered his previous expression.
The two Confucian scholars landed below the literary table and disappeared with a single step.
Lei Yuanting hurriedly said, "Great Scholar Nangong, please sit here." He gestured towards the first table on the left.
Kang Ha-chuan smiled and said, "Brother Nangong, please."
Nangong Leng nodded. Kang Ha-chuan sat at the main seat at the first table on the left. Then, he went to the first table on the right and sat down.
Only then did everyone take their seats.
After everyone was seated, Kang Ha-chuan immediately turned to Fang Yun and asked, "Why didn't Fang Zhenguo come to this table?"
Cao Dean smiled and said, "After you sit down, there's only one seat left at the first table. With such beauties around, how could Fang Yun like to sit with us old men? "
"You're right," Kang Ha-chuan said with a smile.
Beside Fang Yun, the head of the Wei Family of one of the wealthy families in the capital stood up and walked over to whisper a few words to Kang Ha-chuan. Then, he walked up to the stage to host the grand Double Ninth Literary Gathering.
After some opening remarks, the Wei Family Head raised the amber Dogwood Wine. He said, "The rise of the human race began with King Wen of Zhou and flourished with Confucius. Without the Headmaster, the human race would not be as prosperous as it is today. On this Double Ninth Festival, I raise my cup to Sage Kong. "
"To Sage Kong!" Everyone said respectfully. Even the children who did not drink raised their small cups of water and drank it like the adults.
"Second, to the saints!"
"Third, to Jingguo!"
"Fourth, to the elders!"
Finally, the Wei Family Head put down his cup and began to say some pleasantries about the Double Ninth Literary Gathering. Then, he let everyone eat and drink to fill their stomachs. At the same time, he began to arrange for the scholars who wanted to write poems at the gathering.
The little fox was originally sitting on Fang Yun's lap. She also raised her cup and drank four small cups of Dogwood Wine. After putting the cup on the table. She used her hazy and charming little eyes to look at Fang Yun. Then, she softly called out and hugged Fang Yun, not letting go.
Fang Yun smiled and patted her head. But she suddenly sniffed lightly. She rolled her little eyes and jumped down from Fang Yun's lap. Her feet wobbled as if she was stepping on cotton and walked to the Prime Minister's feet.
Kang Ha-chuan smiled and lowered his head. He said, "Isn't this Nuu?"
The little fox giggled and nodded. Then, she stood up and cupped her hands towards Kang Ha-chuan.
As a great scholar, Kang Ha-chuan immediately cupped his hands and returned the greeting. He smiled and said, "I also pay my respects to little Nuu."
There was no need to mention how happy the little fox was. She stood up and hugged Kang Ha-chuan's leg. Then, she stretched out her little claw and pointed at his waist.
Everyone looked over curiously. There was nothing there. However, the Prime Minister smiled and said, "Good little fox, are you interested in the things in my Huhu Shellfish?"
Nuu used her other little claw to cover her face and smiled embarrassedly.
Kang Ha-chuan reached out and touched the Huhu Shellfish. He took out some fruits that he liked to eat and asked, "Is it these?"
The little fox shook her head.
Jiang Hechuan came to a sudden realization and said, "I know what you want. You're such a picky little thing!"
"Mmm, mmm …" Nuu was still giggling at Kang Ha-chuan.
"It's just something for brewing wine. It's nothing. Have a taste." Kang Ha-chuan said and took out a small green fruit. It was only the size of a fingernail and looked like a monkey's head. It glowed faintly and emitted a strange fragrance.
Fang Yun hurriedly said, "Nuu, come back. That's the monkey demon's favorite 'Divine Monkey Fruit'. It's a top-grade ingredient for Monkey God Wine and costs a thousand gold each. If you give it to the Half-saint family, one fruit can make a bottle of Dream Recall Wine that's only inferior to Monkey God Wine. "
Nuu was a little tipsy. She turned her head and made a funny face at Fang Yun. Then, she cupped her fists towards Kang Ha-chuan and jumped lightly. She bit down on the fruit and landed on the ground.
Nuu bit down and shuddered from the sourness. Her little face scrunched up and her body leaned back involuntarily. In the end, she fell flat on her back.
"Hahaha …"
The surrounding people burst into laughter. Fang Yun's laughter was the loudest.
The Divine Monkey Fruit was very sour but Nuu couldn't bear to spit it out. She chewed on it bitterly as she walked back. Her little face wrinkled with every step she took. Yang Yuhuan was so amused that she held her stomach and laughed.
Kang Ha-chuan finished laughing and said, "Unripe Divine Monkey Fruit is suitable for brewing wine because of its sourness. Ripe Divine Monkey Fruit is only suitable for making drinks to liven things up."
However, Nuu seemed to like the Divine Monkey Fruit very much. She endured the sourness and kept chewing. In the end, she jumped back onto Fang Yun's lap and lay down comfortably. Then, she burped and smiled satisfyingly. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Fang Yun scratched Nuu's little chin. Nuu whimpered a few times and then went back to sleep.
Kang Ha-chuan said, "This thing is intoxicating but won't hurt. It's fine."
Fang Yundao said, "Thank you, Lord Wen Xiang. Nuu is too willful."
Kang Ha-chuan said with a smile, "This is a gift from an old friend. Since it can smell it, it's fate. It's just a fruit. We humans can't brew Divine Monkey Wine. It doesn't matter if there's one more or one less. However, I really hope to get a cup of Divine Monkey Wine … No, one mouthful is enough! "
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Even Dream Recall Wine is extremely precious, let alone Divine Monkey Wine. If you can get a pot of Divine Monkey Wine, you can really have a dream. It's a rare treasure of the Demon Realm, even more precious than the Life Extension Fruit. "
"It's said that the great scholar Ji Kang, who loved wine as much as his life, hid in the Demon Realm for five years and only got half a pot. Then, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest shared half a pot. They said that they have no regrets in life. If they don't drink this wine, they'll regret it for life. "Kang Ha-chuan was very regretful.
"There's also a rumor that Tao Yuanming and Tao Sheng's Xanadu were actually used to brew good wine. After all, everyone knows that Tao Sheng loves wine."
Everyone laughed.
Everyone ate, drank, and chatted. The atmosphere of the banquet gradually livened up.
Not long after, Wei Yuhuang walked over and handed Fang Yun a piece of red paper. On the front, a black "Literature" character was written, and there was a number at the back. It was number seventy-five.
Wei Yuhuang said in a low voice, "The Double Ninth Literary Gathering is not like other literary gatherings. All the elites of the capital are gathered here. Not everyone is qualified to participate. Our Wei Family has already selected seventy-four people. Most of them are people who have a certain Literary Name in the field of poetry and prose. If some people force their way in, we'll make them hand over their previous poems. There are twelve people like this. You're the seventy-fifth person, of course. You can also choose to be the first to appear. "
"I'm not the last one, am I?" Fang Yun dao.
"The Literary Gathering card we gave Great Scholar Nangong doesn't have a serial number behind it."
"He can choose when he wants to participate?"
"Yes. After all, the other party is a great scholar. No matter how it's distributed, there will be people gossiping. So it's up to him to decide. You don't seem to be happy? " Wei Yuhuang was a little nervous. He was afraid that he would anger Fang Yun at this time. If the Double Ninth Literary Gathering failed, the Wei Family's reputation would suffer a huge blow.
Fang Yun smiled and said, "I admire Great Scholar Nangong's military achievements very much. A pillar of the human race with a high position like him must receive preferential treatment! Capable people do more work, so they should receive more! Don't worry, I won't have any objections. "
"Thank you, Lord Wen Hou, for your understanding. We'll begin the Literary Gathering immediately."
Half an hour later, the sun was high in the sky. Everyone had eaten and drank to their heart's content. The Wei Family Head once again walked onto the literary stage.
The autumn wind blew gently, blowing away the midday heat.
On the literary stage covered with a red carpet, the Wei Family Head announced the specific rules of the Literary Gathering with a thunderous speech. Then, he invited the top five scholars to come on stage and write poems.
Fang Yun listened carefully. It turned out that the poems of the Double Ninth Literary Gathering were written in groups of five. In each group, the person with the worst poem would leave immediately, while the works of the other four people would be read by the Wei Family Head.
After the Wei Family Head finished reading, the second to fourth place people would leave. Then, the Wei Family Head would invite a Hanlin or Great Scholar to appreciate the poem of the person in first place, indirectly helping that person become famous.
The prize for the Literary Gathering was only given to the top three, but out of the seventy-five people, fifteen of them would be able to receive the appreciation of famous scholars. In the eyes of many people, these fifteen places were more important.
To most scholars, this was probably the best opportunity in their lives to become famous.
The other seventy-four people had already been arranged to one side of the literary stage. Fang Yun looked over there and thought that they would wait quietly. Who knew that four of them had sorrowful faces, and some of them were humbly and even flatteringly begging others.
Fang Yun wasn't far from them. He felt strange and listened carefully.
"Brothers, if you help me with this big favor today, I will definitely repay you in the future!"
"Five thousand taels! I can't give you more. My family is not from a prestigious family. If I beg my grandmother, I can only give you this much. I can't give you any more! "
"Don't listen to them. My father is an eighth-rank civil official in the capital. If you help me this time, I will owe you a favor! I swear on my literary courage! "
"Everyone, I was fifth in the Literary Gathering two years ago! Can you bear to see me not receive a single grain in this Literary Gathering? In twenty years, I will be able to become a magistrate! Helping me today is the same as helping yourselves! I beg of everyone! If I am in the same group as Fang Yun, I won't have the chance to receive the appreciation of famous scholars! "
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