Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 77: Leaving the county, burning with jealousy! (First update)
Inside the Star-Picking Pavilion.

Before the desk, all the students held their breath and focused their attention on Jiang Xingzhou's rapid writing of "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet".

The ink on this poem, "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet," was still wet, yet it had already drawn a profound silence from the entire audience.

Although they were all students from five counties in one prefecture, they were completely immersed in the rhythm of this poem.

To be honest, given their level of knowledge, it's really difficult for them to judge the depth or sophistication of this article.

After all, during the county examination, the quality of their poems and essays had to be determined by the chief and deputy examiners. How could they have truly recognized such exquisite writing?
"That line, '[It must be seen from the palm of one's hand], is truly brilliant!"

Someone murmured softly, seemingly understanding but not quite, showing a hint of bewilderment.

"But I always feel like something's missing!"

Some people frowned, pondering to themselves.

As their pens moved with the grace of dragons and snakes, they felt that every word was precious, yet they couldn't quite explain its brilliance.

Although they were not versed in the subtleties of language, they instinctively felt that there was something inexplicable hidden in these words and phrases—like looking at candlelight through a gauze curtain, the more blurred it was, the more one couldn't help but want to lift it up and see clearly.

"This should be a 'leaving the county' article, right?"

Ji Yang's chief scholar, Shen Zhiyun, gazed intently and pondered.

He looked out the window and added, "If this were a work of 'Da Fu', the bell in the Jiangzhou Confucian Temple should have already rung. The fact that we haven't heard the bell ring suggests that it hasn't yet reached the level of 'Da Fu'."

The Confucian Temple collects poems and essays, always judging only those whose talent reaches the level of "outstanding beyond the county," regardless of whether they are elegant or vulgar.

If it is indeed a poem from "Dafu", then tonight's poetry banquet will likely amaze the entire Jiangzhou Prefecture.

"But it definitely won't be 'knocking on the gate'!"

Lin Haizhou said decisively, "If it were merely a petition to the governor, how could it possibly make the heads of the five counties so devoted to it?"

"This is absolutely true!"

Du Qingyin gently stroked the scroll and nodded, saying, "This essay, which can make even the students of this prefecture feel ashamed of their own abilities, must be at least 'outstanding' in the county!"

"The elegance and vulgarity of this article are perhaps best judged by Lord Zhou himself before a conclusion can be reached?"

Zhou Wenyuan, the top scholar in Liang Feng's case, gripped his sleeves tightly, his palms already damp with sweat. He paused, a hint of hesitation appearing between his brows. "But I wonder, Brother Jiang, your erotic words are extremely bold; will they offend the examiners?"

He hesitated, his gaze unconsciously falling on the line, "Long sorrowful silk stockings as she glides across the water."

In a trance,
But what flashed through his mind was the image of the courtesan Xiaomannu, the most beautiful girl in the brothel, her jade-like feet and the tips of her socks, a fleeting glimpse that seemed to be branded into his heart, impossible to shake off.

Zhao Zilu, squeezed in the crowd, turned pale and then flushed upon hearing this. He stared intently at the poem "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet" on the table, his knuckles turning white from gripping it so tightly, a burning jealousy raging in his heart.

Leave the county!

Another article about leaving the county!
Why is it that Jiang Xingzhou can write articles that are so outstanding? Does he have an inexhaustible supply of knowledge?
Won't you run out of ideas and empty your mind?

Back when I took the county-level exam, I racked my brains and barely managed to write a poem titled "Knocking on the Town."

In order to gain fame for "leaving the county", he had to spend five thousand taels of silver to invite students from the prefecture and five counties to a banquet to show their support, only then could he hope to achieve the goal of "leaving the county".

He felt a sharp pain in his heart.

After the sound of the pen being put down faded, the entire room remained shrouded in a mysterious silence.

Jiang Xingzhou smiled faintly and said to Xiaomannu, "This poem, 'Bodhisattva's Charm - Ode to Feet,' is titled 'Gift to Xiaomannu.'"

This manuscript is naturally a gift for you as well.

"This humble servant thanks Young Master Jiang for his kindness!"

The little barbarian's fingertips trembled slightly as he held the letter. Suddenly, he bowed deeply, looking up excitedly: "I will reward you with two thousand taels of silver!"

This was the only poem about feet at the entire poetry banquet, and it also came with a prize of one thousand taels set up by Zhao Zilu.

That is three thousand taels of silver.

"Gentlemen, farewell." Jiang Xingzhou tucked three stacks of Jiangzhou Prefecture silver notes into his sleeve and bowed slightly to the crowd.

The lyrics are written!
The top-ranking students and the best students from the five counties of Jiangzhou Prefecture also saw and exchanged ideas on writing.

He no longer stayed at the poetry banquet.

The students from Jiangyin immediately surrounded him and led him out, his blue robe still carrying the scent of ink as it brushed past.

The students from the other five counties looked at the scroll of "Bodhisattva's Charm," some feeling lost and others praising it with admiration.

By the time they came to their senses, Jiang Xingzhou and his party had already left. The moon was full over the western tower, and the poetry banquet had come to an end.

They enjoyed themselves and then left one by one.

Zhao Zilu, the top official in Jiangzhou Prefecture, immediately became anxious, as his second half of the competition had not yet begun.

According to the original plan, the first half of the poetry banquet was to suppress the five top students, and the second half was to show off his own essays to achieve his goal of leaving the county.

"Everyone, please wait!"

Zhao Zilu's expression changed drastically. He slammed his wine cup on the table with a clang and rushed forward to stop the students.

"Brothers, I have a paper for the county examination, and I would like to ask you all to take a look and appreciate it!"

Before he could finish speaking, he couldn't stop all the students from the five counties from leaving.

Zhao Zilu hurriedly ordered his servants to distribute a stack of prepared petitions to the students.

Unexpectedly, the stack of poems and articles was blown away by the wind as the curtain was lifted, scattering them all over the ground.

Someone casually walked over the manuscript, leaving several mud marks on the snow-white Xuan paper.

"Brother Zhao, let's discuss this another day!"

Du Qingyin smiled faintly, gently pushing aside the scroll of poems presented to her with her fingertips, and said meaningfully, "Tonight, with a masterpiece of 'Bodhisattva's Charm' already before me, I will need to carefully study it when I return. I can no longer concentrate on reading any other poems or articles."

No student cared about reading it at all.

The poetry banquet has already produced a poem titled "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet" which has been published at the county level or above.

What's so interesting about Zhao Zilu's poem about knocking on the town gate?

"."

The night wind swirled the tattered manuscript in the air.

Zhao Zilu stood there, watching helplessly as the students retreated like a receding tide.

His meticulously prepared final piece could not compare to the fleeting glimpse of that beautiful and eloquent poem.

The meticulously planned scheme was completely ruined by a single erotic poem!
Inside the Star-Picking Pavilion, the candlelight flickered.
The students from the five counties dispersed.

Zhao Zilu clutched the stack of neglected poems tightly, while more than a dozen scholars and students from Jiangzhou Prefecture looked at the leftover food and dishes scattered all over the building, tears welling up in their eyes.
-
PS:

The background to the creation of this poem, "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet".

This erotic poem was written by Su Shi at a banquet in Hangzhou when he was serving as a sub-prefect and assisting the prefect after being demoted there.

At the time, Wang Anshi's faction, Su Shi's political enemies in the court, did not criticize Su Shi's poem "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to the Feet," and even passed it down!
Even his biggest political enemy in the court couldn't find any flaws in the article. He used this "erotic poem" to attack Su Shi, saying that it was poorly written and incorrect!

This also proves that there is nothing wrong with this poem, "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet," and Su Shi was never implicated or criticized because of it.

Even the ancients were able to face it calmly.

Su Shi's ability and courage to write "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet"—did this damage his literary reputation? Did he become like Liu Yong (Liu Sanbian)?

Are people today more feudal than people in ancient times? They can't even stand or tolerate a poem like "Bodhisattva's Charm: Ode to Feet"?

(End of this chapter)