Starting with choosing a wife, creating the most powerful Xia

This pleasure boat was meticulously crafted by the Linyang City government, with gilded railings, vermilion hangings, and jade steps, making it incomparably luxurious.

It has always been moored on the banks of the Qinxiang River as a totem, and it is only used when a literary gathering is held.

As Chu Xuan and his companions handed over the list and entered the cabin, they immediately noticed that countless eyes were focused on them.

There was doubt, disdain, and pity in their eyes.

Chu Xuan didn't seem to care much. He led the three women to their seats, while Liang An and the others sat down on the sides.

Regardless of what others thought, Chu Xuan picked up the pastries on the table in front of him and handed them to the three women.

"Try it. This is the chef's cooking from the government office. You can't find this anywhere else on the street. I didn't even eat dinner tonight because I was in a hurry, and I'm starving."

After handing it over, I picked up a piece and stuffed it into my mouth.

Chen Xuening rolled her eyes and looked at him helplessly.

I don't know if my husband is truly confident of victory or just carefree. Doesn't he see the extremely strange looks people are giving us? Yet he still has the mood to eat and drink.

In particular, after eating the pastries, Chu Xuan poured himself a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.

At this moment, all the talented men had gathered. Chu Xuan put down his wine cup and saw a graceful figure sitting down in front of him, behind a gauze curtain.

Although the face could not be seen, one could sense a fragrance-like aura emanating from the person's posture and demeanor.

Chen Xuening said in a low voice.

"My lord, it would be best not to have any improper thoughts about her. She is the most talented man participating in this literary gathering, the delicate and graceful Xiao Ziqi."

"Xiao Ziqi? The foremost talent, even ahead of Lin Luo?"

Chu Xuan was somewhat surprised.

He was already curious about who this person was, that their ranking was even above Lin Luo, who came from the Lin family.

Now that I know he was a courtesan, I am even more surprised.

Chen Xuening nodded slightly.

"Yes, Xiao Ziqi is said to be extremely skilled in poetry and literature, and she herself is as beautiful as a fairy. She is only twenty-nine years old now. Countless people are moved by her talent and want to meet her, but Xiao Ziqi has set a rule that to see her true face, one must write a poem that satisfies her. But this condition has caused countless people to fail. Both Lin Luo and Qi Feng, who had a conflict with his husband, have tried, but they have all returned empty-handed."

"A great Confucian scholar once commented that if we only consider poetry, this woman's talent is unparalleled in the world."

Chu Xuan was surprised that Chen Xuening, who was always proud and arrogant, would give Xiao Ziqi such a high evaluation, and his curiosity about the courtesan grew even stronger.

"Speaking of Lin Luo, do you know him, sir? He seemed very familiar with you just now."

Chen Xuening seemed to remember something and asked a question in confusion.

Chu Xuan didn't go into details, but simply nodded and mentioned that they had some interaction.

Knowing he didn't want to talk about it, Chen Xuening didn't ask any further questions, and then it was time for the literary gathering to begin.

Behind the curtain, Qi Xiaoluo and two old men emerged.

With Liang An's explanation, Chu Xuan learned that the two old men, the one dressed in gray, were Lu Yao, a clerk in the government office, who held a very high position.

The other person in white was Chen Liang, a highly respected Confucian scholar from Linyang City, who had retired and settled in his ancestral home.

These three are the examiners for today's literary gathering.

The three of them came up first. Lu Yao and Chen Liang gave some encouraging words, and then Qi Xialuo announced the rules.

Many talented people wrote down the topics they wanted to write about. After the list was compiled, the topic with the most writings was selected. Each person wrote a poem or verse on the topic, and after their names were sealed, they handed it to three examiners to determine the ranking.

Actually, this rule has been around for many years, and everyone knows it to some extent; now it's just a matter of going through the motions.

Chu Xuan could sense that when Qi Xialuo spoke, her gaze was always fixed on him with a half-smile, full of mockery.

After each person wrote down their topic and submitted it, and after a little calculation, Qi Xiaoluo walked to the front of the stage, holding two pieces of paper, and smiled at the people below.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today's themes have been announced: the frontier and mourning."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, some people were immediately taken aback.

It's not that they're making a fuss; rather, in previous literary gatherings, both of these topics were truly obscure, probably appearing only once every few dozen times.

Not to mention they appeared at the same time.

This is almost impossible, because it would mean that most talented people would choose these two themes, which would leave much to the imagination.

Even Chen Xuening frowned slightly.

She was worried that Chu Xuan would not perform well at the literary gathering and that the Qi family would take advantage of his misfortune, so she had been secretly practicing the poems from previous years' literary gatherings.

Thinking that if it didn't work out, she could write for Chu Xuan.

But most of those poems and essays were about lamenting the passing of spring and the coming of autumn; she was completely unprepared for today's topic.

All their efforts over the past few days had come to nothing, which annoyed Chen Xuening: "The Qi family really has no shame! They actually instigated so many talented men to trip up my husband!"

Instead, Chu Xuan smiled faintly and patted the back of her hand, indicating that she didn't need to worry.

"But……"

Before Chen Xuening could finish speaking, she met Chu Xuan's calm gaze and, for some reason, felt a sense of peace settle down in her heart.

Just as Qi Xiaoluo was about to step down from the stage, she suddenly turned to look at Chu Xuan.

"By the way, everyone, we also have a newcomer here this time, Young Master Chu Xuan. I heard that everyone here is a famous talent in the area, so he has become competitive and specially asked the prefect for a spot to compete with you all. You can all look forward to it."

After saying that, he walked down and sat down.

These words were too much for even the usually composed Chu Ling'er to bear.

"Husband, this person has gone too far! Isn't he putting you on the spot?! He called it a literary gathering, but it was all rigged!"

The two women were filled with righteous indignation, but Ah Leng secretly sneered.

The Qi family is being so difficult, yet they have no idea that your poetic talent far exceeds their wildest imagination!

At the same time, she felt a little sweet. Even Ling'er and Chen Xuening didn't know that her husband could write poetry, but he told her alone. What else could this be but showing him respect?

The crowd's gazes grew increasingly strange; those who had already been bribed were all waiting to see Chu Xuan make a fool of himself.

Those who were initially unaware of the situation now understood and realized that Chu Xuan had been secretly sabotaged. Besides feeling schadenfreude, some also felt a pang of pity.

If there was any possibility of getting away with it at the beginning, now Chu Xuan is undoubtedly exposed to everyone. As long as his poems are not good enough, he will become the target of everyone's attacks.

It can be said to be killing people and destroying their hearts.

But Chu Xuan was not alarmed at all; instead, he found it amusing.

“Of course, since Lord Qi has put it that way, I will naturally like to learn from you all.”