"Damn it!"
"How could he attract the hatred and taunt me?"
Li Mu felt as if he had been shot in the back. "It's not me who said I'm talented, but Zheng Cunjian, the flatterer … Besides, even if I said it, what did I do to hinder you guys? Do you have to taunt me directly?"
For a moment, Li Mu wanted to retract. But on second thought, he gave up. "Today, I'm here to visit a prostitute … Oh, no, to see a beauty. It's not worthwhile to make a fuss over such a trivial matter."
Beside him, Zheng Cunjian slightly narrowed his eyes.
In Chang 'an, there were people who dared to taunt him, but those people at the next table were definitely not one of them.
However, Li Mu did not refute him, for it was not appropriate for him to meddle in other people's business. Nevertheless, Zheng Cunjian bore the faces of those people in mind. When the day was over, he would take his time to settle the score with those ignorant fools. Because of that, his flattery just now had backfired, so he would not let them off. After all, the title of Heartless Scholar did not come for nothing.
Seeing that Li Mu and Zheng Cunjian did not refute, the five or six young people at the next table became even more unscrupulous.
"Haha, you're smart enough not to refute and humiliate yourself. Do you know who is sitting beside me?" A short and stout scholar, who looked like a short winter melon, sneered and said, "The one beside me is the chief disciple of the Hanshan Academy in Chang 'an. He is the real talent. In this year's imperial examination, he is destined to be a Jinshi. Well, in Liufang Street of the Musical House, no one knows the name of Senior Brother Lin Qiushui?"
The one who spoke first was a fair-skinned young man in brocade clothes. Upon hearing that, he proudly raised his head, as if he was afraid that others did not know he was the chief disciple of the Hanshan Academy.
The other young people at the same table were dressed in the same way as the stout winter melon, so they must be the so-called scholars of the Hanshan Academy.
At that, Zheng Cunjian's face slightly changed, but he did not say anything.
The Hanshan Academy was quite influential in Chang 'an. It had produced some aristocratic bureaucrats and local lords. Moreover, the academies in this world were not just for studying. Among the Six Arts of a Gentleman, scholars also practiced martial arts. The excellent disciples cultivated by the Hanshan Academy could be said to be well-versed in both literature and martial arts.
However, Zheng Cunjian did not pay much attention to them.
If he wanted to mess with someone, he had plenty of methods. When the time came, these scholars would die in the gutter, and no one would know how they died.
Soon, another sneer came from another direction. Someone said in a sarcastic tone, "Haha, is Hanshan Academy that great? How many people passed the imperial examination in Hanshan Academy last time? Are they more than our Fengming Academy? "
On Li Mu's left side, there were also six or seven young scholars. The one who spoke was a tall and thin scholar with a dark face. He had an aquiline nose and sharp eyebrows. He habitually squinted his eyes and looked gloomy. Judging from his clothes, he should be from another academy. Naturally, it was the Fengming Academy he mentioned.
Hearing that, Lin Qiushui patted the table and stood up, saying, "Does the Fengming Academy dare to compete with our Hanshan Academy? Liu Muyang, in the last poetry meeting, you were defeated by me. How dare you speak so rudely? "
The dark-skinned scholar with a hook-nose also patted the folding fan in his hand, stood up, and said coldly, "Last time, because you knew the poem topic in advance and prepared for it, I was careless. Tonight, in Miss Hua's poetry meeting, I will definitely trample on you."
"Really? Liu, I'm afraid you don't have that ability. "The short scholar from Hanshan Academy immediately echoed.
The group of people from Fengming Academy also could not stand it anymore. They all stood up and started to quarrel.
The hall on the first floor of the Holy House, which was originally very lively, immediately became even more noisy.
The quarrel between the two groups of scholars attracted many people's attention. Two madams who were responsible for order hurried to appease them.
Seeing that, Li Mu could not help but laugh.
These were the scholars of the Western Qin Empire. They did not hesitate to curse in the brothel. In the future, could the empire count on such people to be officials and patrol the people?
Seeing Li Mu's smile, Liu Muyang of Fengming Academy snorted and said, "Brat, what are you laughing at? Just now, you were scolded, but you did not even dare to say a word. How dare you laugh here? You are really ignorant and shameless. "
"Yes, in the future, you must not be as useless as this coward. You were scolded, but you did not dare to talk back."
"Being scolded by Lin Qiushui, he did not dare to raise his head. It is really pitiful."
"Forget it. Don't talk about him. He is just an insignificant person. Guys, let's first concentrate on thinking about what kind of works to win the favor of Miss Hua."
"Yes, yes."
A group of scholars looked at Li Mu with eyes full of contempt.
"Ah?"
Li Mu was a little confused at once.
"Damn it, I was shot again."
"A casual smile can be scolded. Today, when I went out, did I not count the almanac or did I not wash my face? Unconsciously, I came out with a mocking face?"
When he was about to lose his temper, suddenly, with a bang, someone slammed the table of Li Mu and Zheng Cunjian and said, "Boy, is there no one sitting here?" Then, without waiting for Li Mu and Zheng Cunjian's reply, he directly sat down and said to his companions, "No one sitting here. Come and sit here."
"Clatter."
Immediately, five or six people crowded around Li Mu and Zheng Cunjian.
The tables and chairs in the hall of the Holy House could generally accommodate about eight people. The table Li Mu and Zhang Lisheng was sitting at was slightly smaller, but it was one of the best tables in the hall. But when the six people sat at it, it suddenly became crowded, which made people lose interest.
Li Mu was originally furious and almost couldn't control his temper. But when he saw the clothes of those men, he knew they were the disciples of the Heaven Sword Martial Club, and they seemed to be the best of the best. They were wearing the flaming soft armor, which was made of rare materials, and each of the six people was not weak. But they did not seem to know Li Mu. Obviously, when Li Mu overturned the Heaven Sword Martial Club that day, they were not on the scene.
Knowing the identity of the other side, Li Mu began to feel bad. But he did not lose his temper and just continued to sit there with a poker face.
Zheng Cunjian could not figure out what Li Mu meant by that. In his impression, Li Mu was never a good-tempered man who would not fight back when he was beaten or scolded. Therefore, Zheng Cunjian knew that Li Mu must be up to something. Therefore, he suppressed his temper and sat aside.
On the other side, the two tables of scholars from the Fengming Academy and the Hanshan Academy also burst into laughter when they saw the scene. Then, they began to talk about Li Mu and Zheng Cunjian with sarcasm.
And some other guests in the hall also looked at Li Mu and Zheng Cunjian with pity, sympathy, disdain, and contempt. They probably also thought that the two were poor scholars or ordinary people without power or influence who wanted to gain fame on the day when Miss Hua opened the window.
This kind of thing had happened before. Some poor scholars racked their brains to prepare poems in order to win the favor of Miss Hua and become famous overnight. Otherwise, it was said that scholars and Top Beauty were born to be intertwined. It was said that Young Master Wen Zongbin of the Western Qin Empire was favored by First Madame Gongsun, the Top Beauty in Qin City, so he began his legendary counterattack from a poor scholar. And this way of becoming famous was also imitated by many scholars of later generations, but the results were different.
But today, in the hall, there were many scholars in ordinary clothes, eagerly waiting for the time when the window was opened.
Among them, there was a man who was not only dressed in rags, but also a little unkempt. His eyes were shining, staring at a direction on the third floor of the attic, like a jackal staring at its prey, and could not wait.
Finally, the song and dance finished, and it was the moment that everyone was looking forward to tonight —
It was the time when Miss Hua opened the window.
In the whole hall, even in the private rooms on the second floor, people from all sides were a little impatient.
Madam Bai Xuan, the director of the Holy House, came out and said a few words, and then directly announced that the window was opened. From the third floor, ten maids dressed in light green scholar clothes, dressed as men, came to the hall on the first floor, and lined up. In front of each maid, there was a table, on which were the four treasures of the study: writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
"Today, the title of Miss Hua's poem is two words — women. Everyone, please take this as the title and show your writing skills."
A beautiful madam stood at the stairway on the second floor and said with a smile.
The hall was immediately filled with exclamations.
Some people looked distressed and disappointed, because the finished poems they prepared and asked for from everywhere were completely different from the title announced by Miss Hua tonight. It seemed that there was no hope. They scratched their ears and cheeks to make some limericks, but they could not be put on the stage, and would be laughed at if they took out, so it was okay.
"Damn, didn't the insider say that the title of tonight's poem is to sing the moon?"
"I also heard that it is to sing the plum …"
"Damn Zhang Guigong, he cheated me of ten taels of silver. Damn it, this time there is no hope."
Someone cursed angrily.
When Li Mu saw and heard such scenes, he could not help but be a little curious about Hua Xiangrong of the Holy House.
This woman's influence was so great that she was just like those superstars on Earth. No, even those superstars did not have such great charm. She opened the window three times a month, and every time she opened the window, she could cause a commotion in the circle of celebrities and nobles in Chang 'an City. These people in the hall could still see it. Those distinguished people in the private rooms on the second floor who did not show up were probably even more prepared. It was not an exaggeration to spend a lot of money.
Soon, someone walked up and wrote down a poem — —
"There is a beauty in the southern country, whose beauty is like peaches and plums. Facing the bright mirror in the morning, leaning against the rouge window in the evening. Beauty is the focus of the times, but who can speak the true words? Looking up to the sunset, glory is hard to rely on. "
The one who wrote the poem was the man in rags and slovenly clothes whom Li Mu had seen before. After he finished writing, he burst into laughter and threw the pen to the ground, looking free and easy as if the fame was as fleeting as the clouds in his eyes.
"Good poem." In the crowd, someone praised.
"It is indeed a good poem. The place and the name match, and the idea is unique."
"Humph, although the poem is good, it is too arrogant. He insinuates that Master Hua's beauty is hard to stay, so how can she be selected?"
"Crazy man, do you want to attract Master Hua's attention with this kind of trick?"
There were all kinds of discussions around.
Some of Hua Xiangrong's "fans" were extremely indignant at this crazy man who insinuated that Miss Hua Xiangrong used her beauty to serve others, and some impulsively wanted to punch him. Only this crazy man laughed and stood behind the table with a look of disdain and ridicule.
Li Mu shook his head.
Whether the poem was good or bad, for the time being, this man was really f * cking pretentious.
Looking carefully, this man's legs were actually shaking under the loose robe. Obviously, he was acting. Although his acting was good, he was much less courageous.
A moment later, they came to a conclusion. A message came from the third floor. This Beauty Poem turned out to be selected and caught the attention of Miss Hua Xiangrong. The maid dried the ink stains on it and then hung it high on the second floor.
This was the first poem selected tonight.
The slovenly man laughed more wildly, and was led to a prepared round table next to him. He temporarily sat down and was served with good wine and dishes.
When others saw it, they immediately became jealous.
-----
"Wow, hurry up, hurry up, come out of the small dark room. So, the time announced on the official WeChat account today is very accurate, right?"
"Welcome to my official WeChat account, Wild Knife in Troubled Times."
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