As the saying goes, when a scholar meets a soldier, he cannot be reasoned with. That was how Chen Licheng felt.
The person in front of them was clearly a scholar, but he did not follow the rules of a scholar. He was determined to fight with force instead of words. The other party's bodyguard was obviously an expert that had been carefully selected. Even if there were only two of them, the few of them were definitely not a match for them.
Only an idiot would agree to a physical fight.
Li Xuan frowned and looked like he was in a hurry. He said impatiently, "Fine, if you want a literary fight, then so be it. What are the rules?"
Seeing that the person in front of him was finally being reasonable, Chen Licheng was overjoyed. He said, "It's simple. It's the season for plum blossoms and we're in the middle of a plum forest. Why don't we use plum blossoms as the theme and compose a poem? Let everyone here judge who is better. This is a literary fight."
With that, he whispered to the person beside him, "Hurry and invite Young Master Shen over."
"It's your turn." Li Xuan crossed his arms and glanced at Li Yi. Once again, he looked like he was watching a good show.
The ball went around in a circle and returned to Li Yi.
"There's no need for a literary fight..." Li Yi was more inclined to Li Xuan's suggestion. What couldn't be solved with one fist?
If not, then two fists.
Clean and efficient, without the slightest hesitation. If Miss.Liu was here, she would have done this long ago. After spending so much time with her, it was inevitable that she would influence the way she did things.
"Haha, if you're afraid, you can just admit defeat." Chen Licheng smiled and said, "You only need to apologize in person and break the hands and feet of those who attacked you. Then we can forget about this. What do you think?"
After seeing the other party's hesitation, Chen Licheng was even more certain that they were just two idiots. The last bit of worry in his heart disappeared.
"See, if they don't want to, then there's nothing to talk about..." Li Xuan said with a hint of schadenfreude.
The scholars of Qing 'an Prefecture had already been harmed by him. The mere mention of the name "Li Yi" would make one's heart tremble. He was very happy to see the same thing happen in the capital. Only then would it be fair.
Whispers of discussion could be heard from the surroundings.
"This Chen Licheng is also a genius with a little bit of fame, but he doesn't know right from wrong and acts shamelessly. Today has really opened my eyes."
"The people around him are all famous talents in the capital. In terms of poetry, how could those two young masters possibly compete with him?"
"Look, he even invited Young Master Shen here. Could it be that — Although Young Master Shen hasn't been in the capital for long, he made a name for himself during the Lantern Festival, using his poetry to win over most of the scholars. I heard that he intends to curry favor with the Chen family. Looks like Chen Licheng really doesn't care about his reputation anymore in order to win."
…
Even though the surrounding scholars and young ladies were mostly standing on the side of Li Yi and Li Xuan, they didn't think that they would be able to win. How could two nameless people compare to those outstanding scholars?
What's more, there was a top talent like Young Master Shen holding the fort.
"Does it hurt?" Li Yi wiped the dust off the fatty's face and asked.
"No!"
Even though he grimaced in pain from being touched, he only breathed in and out, but he didn't admit it at all. He patted his chest and said.
"This kid has some backbone." When the fatty showed off his prowess, Li Xuan was also there. He walked over and patted his shoulder.
Hearing the compliments, the fatty puffed out his chest even more. He held the young lady's hand like a victorious rooster.
"Brother Shen, you're here." When a young man walked over, Chen Licheng smiled and went to greet him.
The young man called Brother Shen cupped his hands and said: "I wonder why Brother Chen called me over?"
"I do have something to trouble Brother Shen with." Chen Licheng smiled and said: "Let's go over and talk."
"Haha, we're all friends, there's no need to be so formal." The young man looked at Chen Licheng in surprise and said with a smile, but he kept an eye on Chen Licheng.
He knew that even though he called these people brothers on the surface, they were all from wealthy families in the capital. He was just an outsider. With the difference in status, they wouldn't treat him as a friend.
Moreover, the scholars of the capital and Qing 'an had always looked down on each other. If it weren't for the fact that he had no background in the capital and needed their help, and the fact that they needed his poetry, they wouldn't be so friendly on the surface.
As he brought him over, Chen Licheng briefly explained what had happened. He smiled: "We are scholars, so we're not like those boorish mountain people who rely on strength to win. It's a disgrace to our culture … but if it's a battle of words, we'll need Brother Shen's help. After all, in terms of poetry, Brother Shen is still better. This way, we'll be absolutely safe."
"Brother Chen, you are being too modest. The Lantern Festival is just my luck. All of you here are famous scholars in the capital. How could I dare to show off in front of you all?" The young man cupped his hands and said.
The two complimented each other, and the crowd automatically opened up a path for them.
Chen Licheng walked to the front and looked at Li Yi. "For the sake of fairness, each side will send one scholar to fight, and one poem will decide the winner."
He still wanted to save face in front of others. He couldn't let a group of famous scholars bully two nameless juniors. As long as Shen Zhao made a move, it would be enough to sweep them away.
Even though Shen Zhao came from Qing 'an, it was said that when he was there, he was quite famous. In terms of poetry, there weren't many in the capital who could guarantee that they could beat him.
With him here, they wouldn't lose today.
Li Yi helped the naughty child dust off his body and turned around.
Shen Zhao's heart sank when he saw that silhouette when he walked over from the other side.
When that person turned around and saw his face, Shen Zhao's heart finally sank to the bottom of the valley.
As the second scholar of Qing 'an, countless people followed him wherever he went. Countless young mistresses pursued him, and he could even make the prostitutes pay him money if he wanted to.
Of course, this was all in the past.
He didn't want to be the leader of the scholars of Qing 'an Prefecture. Why did he come to the capital? It was because he didn't have the face to stay in Qing' an Prefecture. One poem, "Immortal at the Magpie Bridge", and one poem, "Shuidiao Getou", made him lose all of his pride there. It wasn't until he came to the capital and made a name for himself during the Lantern Festival that he regained some confidence.
In terms of poetry, he wasn't afraid of Yang Yanzhou. He wasn't afraid of all the scholars of Qing 'an Prefecture. He wasn't even afraid of the famous scholars of the capital — except for one person.
That person was standing right in front of him.
"Brother Shen, I'll have to trouble you with this poem." Chen Licheng walked over and patted his shoulder with a smile.
After seeing Shen Zhao's poems, he had unparalleled confidence in Shen Zhao. He was also the one who was least likely to lose.
If he could help him regain his face today, even if it was just a little bit of effort, it wouldn't matter if he managed to get on the Chen family's good side.
Shen Zhao came back to his senses and finally realized what Chen Licheng wanted him to do.
"Brother Chen."
Shen Zhao turned around and looked at Chen Licheng with an incomparably serious expression as he slowly spoke.
"I think, you guys should fight …"
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