Creation Color Master

A manor somewhere in Floating Cloud City, the entire manor has changed drastically.

There was no longer the desolate feeling of yesterday. The clean stone steps at the door, a few spiritual plants placed on both sides, and lanterns hanging high all added a bit of liveliness.

Two guards stood meticulously on both sides of the mansion gate, their serious eyes showing a hint of vigilance.

Even though there are only two of them, they still give people the momentum of facing thousands of troops.

The courtyard of the manor was kept clean and bright, with chairs and benches neatly arranged, and spiritual fruit snacks, tea, wine, etc. placed on them.

Maids and servants could still be seen busy at work in the courtyard. It was still early for the banquet to start, and there were already three or five people seated in the courtyard.

A pair of students in white clothes were chatting happily. Judging from their every move and words, you would find that they must have been friends for many years.

A student in white linen clothes sat upright at a table, behaving a little stiffly, and taking a sip of tea from time to time.

Chen Gong sat in a corner, drinking tea by himself while quietly observing the situation in the courtyard.

At this time, two more people came together. The one on the left was dressed in gorgeous clothes, with a jade pendant and a sachet on his belt, leaving a faint fragrance in the air wherever he passed. The one on the right was also dressed in gorgeous clothes, but lacked the elegance of a literati, and was more bold.

Seeing the two people coming in, the white-clothed students who had been chatting happily before stood up one after another and said very politely: "Hello, Brother Su, Brother Wang, I didn't expect you two to come so early?"

The slightly bold Su Ming bowed symbolically and said, "Hello, Brother Liu, Hello, Brother Zhang. It seems that you have been here for some time."

Wang Yan, who was wearing the sachet on his belt, simply nodded as a greeting and turned his head away.

Zhang Menghao and Liu Qinliang looked at each other. There was no anger in their eyes. They still said politely, "Would you two like to sit together?"

Su Ming smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry, a few of our friends will arrive later. There are limited tables and chairs, so we won't sit here. We'll have a chance to chat again."

Zhang Menghao and Liu Qinliang were only polite symbolically, and when they saw that they were being rejected, they politely sent the two people away.

As for the poor student and Chen Gong, two unfamiliar faces, the two naturally didn't care about them.

Chen Gong saw everything and was not surprised by the situation.

Su Ming was born in the Su family of Jixiang City, which was considered a prominent family in Liufeng County. Every generation in the family would produce famous people who were well-known in the state and county, and was quite famous.

Wang Yan’s grandfather was the previous Minister of Personnel. Wang Yan was known as the "Qilin Son" of the Wang family. He was brought up by his grandfather and taught personally since he was a child, and he also became famous in Liufeng County.

Being of noble birth, they were naturally the objects of fawning by common students. Even in the face of their attitude just now, people like Zhang Menghao and Liu Qinliang would naturally pretend not to see it and make themselves familiar in front of them.

As time went by, more and more students came. They sat together in groups of three or four, chatting with three or five close friends, and the scene gradually became lively.

The place where Chen Gong sat was in a remote place, so everyone who came in would automatically ignore this place after a quick glance, so Chen Gong was still the only one sitting in front of the table.

Chen Gong sat there, still drinking tea calmly, not caring at all about the strange looks from people around him.

After a long journey, Chu Mo finally arrived at Fuyun City and found the manor where the literary banquet was held.

Looking at the many people gathered around, many of them were pointing at the manor and seemed to be discussing something.

Chu Mo glanced at Yao Guangxiao beside him and realized that this literary banquet did not seem to be that simple.

At this time, a thin young man in a thin cotton coat was walking towards the gate of the mansion step by step. Although the cold weather had frozen his hands blue and purple, his back was straight.

Seeing that the young man seemed to want to participate in the literary banquet, the people around him laughed at him.

But the young man seemed not to hear anything, his expression did not change at all, and he walked towards the gate of the manor very consciously step by step.

At this time, a man dressed like a butler stopped the boy and said in a low and disdainful voice: "Hey, little beggar, do you know what this is for? This is the place where the governor entertains students and adults. Do you want to die?"

The young man's eyes were filled with wisdom. He raised his head and puffed out his chest and said, "The governor seemed to have said that all Confucian students, regardless of their academic level or cultivation level, can enter to participate in this banquet. Could it be that the steward does not respect the governor's order?"

The steward scanned the crowd in panic, then stammered, "How could I disobey the governor's order? But look at your clothes, you don't look elegant like a student at all, get out of here now."

The young man raised his head and made eye contact with the housekeeper, then said, "Wealth and poverty are determined by nature, how can we judge them based on this? Not all saints and sages in ancient times were born rich. The most important thing is a person's acquired learning and hard work. I am a master of Confucianism, so I am qualified to enter."

Just as the butler was about to stop him, an old voice came from the side.

"Well said. No one is born rich. The noble families are just relying on the blessings of their ancestors. Everything depends on future efforts. My friend is poor but determined. He will definitely achieve something in the future."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards the person who had spoken, and saw a young man supporting a white-haired old man walking slowly towards them.

Before Chu Mo could take a closer look, someone in the crowd recognized the person's identity.

"It's Yuan Xingchu, the 62nd ranked Yuan Xingchu in the Dynasty's Ascension Strategy. Next to him is Master Wei who taught him."

Suddenly the crowd became excited and greeted Yuan Xingchu one after another, wanting to come forward and make his acquaintance, but they were all blocked outside by the guards arranged by Sun Anzheng.

Master Wei walked to the side of the housekeeper, and Yuan Xingchu took out the invitation and handed it to the housekeeper, saying, "Confucian Yuan Xingchu is invited to attend the literary banquet."

The butler smiled flatteringly and said, "My two lords, please come in."

But Master Wei ignored the housekeeper and said to Gao Zhan, "Boy, follow me. You are qualified to enter the mansion and attend the literary banquet."

Gao Zhan came to Master Wei and bowed respectfully, saying, "I am Confucian Gao Zhan, thank you Master."

Master Wei pointed at Yuan Xingchu and introduced him, "This is my student Yuan Xingchu. You guys of the same generation can exchange academic ideas with each other."

But Yuan Xingchu on the side seemed to be in a trance and did not hear what the master said at all. It was not until Master Wei tugged at the corner of his clothes that he came back to his senses.

Yuan Xingchu realized that he had lost his composure and immediately said respectfully, "Sir, I just saw a familiar figure. I seem to have seen him somewhere before. I was thinking about him for a while."

After saying this, he bowed politely to Gao Zhan.

Master Wei smiled and said, "Let's not block the door. Let's go in first."

The three of them entered the manor one after another, and the crowd outside the door looked at Gao Zhan with jealousy.

The person they had tried so hard to get to know was lost to the young man named Gao Zhan because of a small incident.

No one noticed that before entering the mansion, Yuan Xingchu quickly scanned the crowd, trying to find the figure that looked familiar to him.

Because of the restless crowd, Chu Mo and Yao Guangxiao hid behind a stone lion, so Yuan Xingchu could only see a hint of their figures.

Only then did Chu Mo understand that all Confucian students could attend this literary banquet, and those who received the invitation were Sun Anzheng's special guests.