Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 390 Nobody is an idiot
Faced with An Yan's challenge, Sheng Changquan remained silent, simply watching him quietly, using stillness to counter his attack.

To be fair, Sheng Changquan didn't believe that An Yan would really turn against him here.

As a member of an official family and a noble scion, An Yan, who had been influenced by his family's traditions for a long time, would not easily make enemies just for a petty squabble.

It's not that Sheng Changquan is arrogant or thinks his family is so great in other people's eyes.

Of course, he is remarkable to ordinary people, but!
The son of the Duke of Jingguo is someone we can disregard.

However, it should be noted that Sheng Changquan's position as the top scholar in the provincial examination was determined by Grand Secretary Zhai Jingnian. If An Yan were to fall out with him at this literary gathering, it would not only be a sign of disregard for Sheng Changquan, but also a slap in the face to Grand Secretary Zhai.

Even though the Duke of Jingguo has an impressive background, it is unlikely that he would offend the Grand Secretary for this reason.

After all, the title of Grand Secretary was an extremely prestigious and sacred official position, which was highly regarded by many scholars.

In the arena, An Yan seemed oblivious to anything amiss, and instead continued to speak wildly: "If you want me to submit, that's very simple!"

He raised the wine jug in his hand and tossed it forward.

"If you can defeat me with what's in this pot, I'll submit to you!"

"Buzz!"

Everyone looked at each other in shock!

"coax!"

An Yan's words immediately brought the previously silent scene to life!
"Haha, so that's what Young Master An meant!"

"I share the same thought!"

"That's right, I'm not convinced either!"

"Please, Scholar Sheng, convince me completely!"

"..."

After hearing An Yan's seemingly joking words, everyone burst into laughter and joined in the joke.

However, although everyone appeared relaxed on the surface, they were not without a hint of frustration in their hearts.

It's like reading "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and seeing Lü Bu—you originally thought he was a brave and invincible general, but you never expected that this guy was actually a traitor who served three masters!

What a disappointment!

"Hehehe, since everyone is in such a good mood, then I'll gladly keep you company!"

Sheng Changquan raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "Just as I thought."

"Gentlemen, drink up!"

Sheng Changquan raised a glass in invitation.

"please!"

Everyone raised their glasses in response.

Of course, Li Yancheng was not among these people.

"Hey? Brother Li, why aren't you drinking?"

After everyone finished drinking, An Yan noticed that Li Yancheng didn't move. Especially after seeing Li Yancheng's astonished expression and twitching lips, as if he had gone mad, he deliberately pointed it out and said loudly, "But, this wine doesn't suit Brother Li's taste?"

"If so, why not try this cup of osmanthus wine in front of me?"

"This wine is smooth on the palate with a long-lasting sweet aftertaste; it is truly remarkable!"

An Yan squinted at Li Yancheng with a grin, his eyes full of mockery.

"Huh? No! No need!"

Li Yancheng swayed for a moment, but quickly regained his composure, and even his expression returned to normal.

Because An Yan's voice was quite loud, Li Yancheng acted very quickly. Before everyone's eyes could turn to him, he grabbed the wine glass in front of him and drank it all in one gulp.

After a long pause, he smiled and replied, "Thank you for your concern, Young Master An. I was just a little distracted and a bit tipsy."

"Oh, that's how it is!"

An Yan smiled slightly, indicating his understanding.

However, An Yan's smile was rather interesting. He glanced at Li Yancheng and the corners of his mouth inexplicably turned up.

"You little punk, you think you can use me as a pawn? Do you really think I'm some kind of fool?"

Li Yancheng, who received An Yan's strange look, remained "unmoved" and simply lowered his eyes silently, taking it all in stride, as if he really knew nothing.

However, his hands, tucked into his sleeves, betrayed him. His clenched fists were so hard that they caused the sleeves to bulge out at the edges!
"Haha! Let's all raise another glass to Brother Sheng!"

An Yan shook his head, then laughed loudly and walked towards Sheng Changquan.

An Yan may seem carefree, but he is actually quite shrewd. His words are bold and unrestrained, but he has been subtly building a closer relationship with Sheng Changquan, turning him from a top scholar into an elder brother.

……

As for the final outcome of this battle, it's quite obvious.

Although Sheng Changquan reeked of alcohol, he eventually returned sober.

Of course, at the literary gathering, it was impossible for everyone to target him alone and let him drink the whole room by himself. However, Sheng Changquan ultimately blocked the main attack.

Therefore, his incredible capacity to "drink a thousand cups without getting drunk" ultimately made him famous at the literary gathering, winning unanimous praise from everyone.

As for not being convinced, there's nothing that can be done about it, since Li Yancheng was also present at the literary gathering.

This guy, even if you beat him to death, he'll never be convinced.

It is worth mentioning that Yuan Shanjian, the son of the Yuan family, and Lou Ben, the son of the Lou family, who also passed the imperial examination, did not attend this literary gathering. It seemed that they had no intention of associating with the crowd. Everyone was unhappy about this, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Sheng Changquan guessed that these two people probably wouldn't participate in the upcoming imperial examination, and might even skip the next few sessions.

"It seems that these powerful families in Henan Province are planning to take up official positions only after the situation becomes clearer," Sheng Changquan thought to himself.

……

After Sheng Changquan told Aunt Wei and Minglan about the literary gathering, the three of them parted ways.

Aunt Wei only stayed at the Sheng family's house for one night before returning to the Jiang family's courtyard. It seems that she was unwilling to stay at the Sheng family's house for long and did not want people to say that she was taking advantage of the Sheng family.

Green gauze wardrobe.

After telling Xiao Tao and the others to go out and play, Minglan stayed quietly in the room by herself. She casually picked up the embroidery next to her and began to embroider while pondering to herself.

"wrong!"

"My aunt's attitude this time is completely different from before!"

"There must be something wrong here!"

Although Aunt Wei insisted that what happened back then was just a misunderstanding, Minglan still refused to believe it; her intuition told her that something was wrong.

"correct!"

suddenly!

Minglan remembered the letter that Aunt Wei had written before.

Upon thinking of that letter, Minglan quickly put down her work, got up, and found it.

"Xiaodie..."

Looking at what was written above, especially Aunt Wei's joy at finding Xiaodie, it was all there between the lines.

"No! No!"

Minglan shook her head, her eyes growing increasingly certain: "Auntie must be lying to me!"

"If that matter was truly just a misunderstanding, why would Auntie have said she wanted to bring Sister Xiaodie to Bianjing to see me?"

"Moreover, the surprise in those words is completely unexpected!"

Minglan abruptly sat back down, increasingly convinced that her guess was correct.

"If it were really as Aunt said, then her letter wouldn't have been filled with such joy; it should have been filled with... regret and disappointment!"

After glancing at the letter again, Minglan finally realized what had happened. She closed her eyes and asked, "So, Auntie doesn't want... me to know?"

Recalling the events of that year, especially the worried look in Wei Shuyi's eyes before his death, Minglan felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

"Little girl..."

As a result, a tear slowly rolled down Minglan's cheek.

"Little girl..."

"I will absolutely not let you get away with this!"

In stark contrast to her usual cautious and reserved demeanor, Minglan's eyes now revealed a fierce glint!
……

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(End of this chapter)