Starting with choosing a wife, creating the most powerful Xia

Plagiarism? Ghostwriting?

"This poem wasn't written by Chu Xuan himself?"

"No way! You know, these literary gatherings are recorded and sent to the court later. If any poems or essays become famous, they will be compiled into a book and circulated throughout the world. Even His Majesty might take a look. Who would have the audacity to do something like this here?"

"It's hard to say. Chu Xuan's reputation wasn't very good when he was in the Chu family. It's said that he only knew how to seek pleasure with women and birds every day. It's really a bit strange that he suddenly produced such a poem."

Everyone was talking about it.

Hearing their words, Qi Feng felt a little more at ease.

He didn't really believe that Chu Xuan wrote the poem himself, but since there was no evidence, the reason he spoke out was simply because he didn't want to see Chu Xuan step on his Qi family to rise to power.

Chu Xuan became famous overnight, but the Qi family's reputation was truly ruined.

That's why he took such a big gamble, and the words of those scholars undoubtedly reassured Qi Feng.

He was certain that Chu Xuan had hired someone to write it for him, but as for who that person was...

Qi Feng saw Chen Xuening beside Chu Xuan: "Scholar Chen, I know you, but I'm a little curious now. You have such good poems, why would you hand them over to an incompetent good-for-nothing?"

"Scholar Chen?"

Qi Feng's words drew everyone's attention to the cold and beautiful woman beside Chu Xuan, causing them to be somewhat surprised.

They were very familiar with this person: Chen Xuening, the first and only woman in the history of the Great Xia Dynasty to become a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

She had previously rebelled against the aristocratic family and was sentenced for treason, being sent to the Chu family as a slave. Unexpectedly, she ended up by Chu Xuan's side.

If the poem was written by Chen Xuening, then although everyone still had some doubts, everything would make sense.

It's at least more palatable than if Chu Xuan wrote it.

Chen Xuening frowned upon hearing this.

"Young Master Qi is mistaken. This poem was not written by me, but by my husband. How could anyone entrust such a masterpiece to someone else?"

Qi Feng shook his head.

“Scholar Chen, after you were demoted, you ended up in the Chu family and now you’re by Chu Xuan’s side. I’m afraid he has your life in his hands, which is why you had no choice but to do this. So it’s not your fault.”

"Don't worry, although my Qi family is no match for the Chu family, it's not difficult for us to give you justice in this matter."

"As long as you admit it, this poem alone will make you famous again. With the help of my Qi family's influence, although I can't get you back into the cabinet, I can at least free you from Chu Xuan's control and give you your freedom."

"What are your thoughts, Scholar Chen?"

Qi Feng patiently and skillfully guided him.

After hearing this, even if the poem wasn't actually written by Chen Xuening, the conditions promised afterward would likely be enough to sway people with money, turning black into white and causing them to betray her and claim the poem as her own.

However, Qi Feng still made a mistake: he underestimated the relationship between Chen Xuening and Chu Xuan.

They are not in a state of one controlling the other, but rather exist in a symbiotic way.

Naturally, they would not choose to betray their cause for such benefits.

Despite the constant bickering between A Leng and Chen Xuening, even she couldn't believe that Chen Xuening would betray Chu Xuan at this moment.

as predicted.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuening simply smiled and looked at Chu Xuan beside her.

"Husband, what do you say?"

Chu Xuan sneered and downed another glass of wine.

“Interesting. If you hadn’t told me, I would have thought that the entire Wenhui... no, the entire Linyang City, was surnamed Qi.”

He looked at Qi Feng.

"Since you've participated in this literary gathering, the examiners should be the ones to speak on matters of right and wrong. What right do you, a mere scholar, have to speak up? Or do you think you can control everything here and just say whatever you want?"

"Okay, so you say I had someone else write it for me? What proof do you have? If you don't have any, you can still accuse me of plagiarism. Now I'm saying you're my son, how can you prove you aren't?"

"Pfft..."

Behind the gauze curtain, Xiao Ziqi finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, finding Chu Xuan to be a truly interesting person.

"you……"

Qi Feng was momentarily speechless. Chu Xuan's words, though rough, were true; he had indeed been too hasty and had overstepped his bounds.

Doing this is really against the rules.

It would be fine at other times, but now Lu Yao, the clerk of Linyang City, and Chen Liang, the great scholar, are still around. If he dares to agree, wouldn't that be stepping on the face of the government and the great scholar?

Chu Xuan, that scoundrel, truly kills not only the man but also his spirit.

"cough……"

Hearing this, Lu Yao and Chen Liang looked at Qi Xiaoluo with some dissatisfaction. At this moment, the latter even felt like tearing Qi Feng apart. She was a complete waste and couldn't do anything right.

After exchanging a glance, the two looked at Chu Xuan with some admiration.

To be fair, although this young man was a bit arrogant, what kind of scholar wouldn't be a scholar if he wasn't a little arrogant?

Lu Yao cleared his throat and laughed.

“Young Master Chu, although Qi Feng went too far, now that someone has raised questions, we hope that you can resolve this matter so that the literary gathering can continue.”

"Since it is Lord Sili who has spoken, this junior should naturally comply. However, I wonder how Lord Sili requires this junior to provide proof?"

"Simple."

Seeing how respectful Chu Xuan was to him, Lu Yao felt more approving and nodded in satisfaction.

"Since you were able to write such a masterpiece, young master, you must have a wealth of literary talent. If you were to write a few more, even if they weren't as good as the one you just wrote, as long as they are excellent works, they would prove everything. With the facts before us, no one would have anything to say."

Lu Yao's words set the tone for the matter: as long as Chu Xuan later wrote a few decent poems, his stains would naturally be wiped clean.

The reason for doing so was partly due to the desire to test the teaching skills.

In recent years, thanks to Qi Chunsheng, the Qi family has become increasingly prominent in Linyang City, sometimes even surpassing the prefectural government in influence. Their arrogance has grown, and there are subtle signs that they are about to turn the tables.

If Chu Xuan can produce another masterpiece today, not only will Linyang City, as a place where poetry is spread, benefit from the glory, but if the Qi family ever has other ideas in the future, they will also have someone to keep them in check.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Chu Xuan, and even Xiao Ziqi's beautiful eyes were filled with anticipation.

Qi Feng secretly prayed that Chu Xuan wouldn't be able to write it.

If he actually writes it, even if it's not as good as the previous one, his reputation for being jealous and framing Chu Xuan will be completely confirmed, and his fate will be far more tragic than the initial suppression.

“It is indeed not a difficult task. Since the clerk has said so, I will do as he says. Do not say that it is only a few poems, but even if it is ten or a hundred poems, I will still present them.”

Chu Xuan laughed.

"Bring the wine!"