The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

The atmosphere in the lobby on the third floor of Wanghu Tower was somewhat strange.

Dozens of prominent figures from Hangzhou sat in their respective seats, their eyes occasionally glancing in Su Shi's direction.

Su Shi sat in the front seat, holding a teacup in his hand, slowly skimming the tea leaves.

Jiang Lin and Zhao Lingjun stood behind him, looking just like two dutiful bodyguards.

Jiang Lin was filled with doubt.

These people are really just bored and have nothing better to do than hold a poetry gathering in the middle of the night instead of sleeping.

If it weren't for wanting to see what kind of wicked scheme this Salt Commissioner Wang was plotting, he wouldn't have bothered coming. He'd rather be lying in the courtyard eating a watermelon.

Lord Wang sat in the main seat, cleared his throat, and the hall immediately fell silent.

"Gentlemen, I have hosted this banquet today for two reasons. First, to celebrate the flourishing literary culture of Hangzhou and to allow everyone to gather and exchange ideas. Second, it is also to welcome our newly appointed Prefect Su." Lord Wang said, turning his gaze to Su Shi with a forced smile on his face.

Su Shi put down his teacup, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Lord Wang, you are too kind. I am new here and will have to rely on the guidance of all my seniors."

"I wouldn't presume to offer guidance," Lord Wang waved his hand. "Prefect Su has achieved the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations, and his talent is renowned far and wide. The scholars of Jiangnan have long been eager to witness his brilliance. Today, let's discuss the topic of West Lake and speak freely. Who would like to begin?"

The Lin family head quickly chimed in, "Lord Wang, since this is a poetry gathering, there should naturally be a prize. That Duan inkstone you mentioned earlier is something everyone is very eager to own. I propose that a few talented scholars from our Hangzhou Academy start by offering their suggestions, what do you say?"

Lord Wang nodded: "Granted."

As soon as he finished speaking, a scholar dressed in a long robe, as thin as a bamboo pole, stood up. He walked to the center of the hall, first bowed to Lord Wang and the head of the Lin family, and then began to recite the poem, swaying his head.

"West Lake was originally a paradise, with its clear waters and green hills that captivated all who visited. But recently, a great uproar has arisen, and the mud and sand have been brought down, ruining its pristine beauty."

As soon as the poem was finished, cheers erupted in the hall.

"What a beautiful poem! What a wonderful poem!"

"Brother Li's poem truly expresses the sentiments of the people of Hangzhou!"

"Absolutely! The once beautiful West Lake is now a complete mess, smog and pollution, what a disgrace!"

Su Shi listened to these comments and sneered inwardly. This wasn't poetry; it was clearly a veiled attack on him, accusing him of wasting resources and damaging the feng shui of repairing West Lake. These people really weren't even willing to try to cover it up.

He turned and glanced at Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "This lousy poem dares to be praised? It doesn't even follow the rules of tonal patterns, and the vocabulary is so vulgar that it wouldn't fool a three-year-old in Bianjing. Is this the level of the literati in Hangzhou?"

Zhao Lingjun covered her mouth with her folding fan, almost bursting out laughing. She leaned close to Jiang Lin's ear and said, "Sir, this person is clearly a shill sent by the Lin family head. Look at how smug the Lin family head is, he's practically strutting around like a madman."

Jiang Lin ignored her and continued watching the show.

After the skinny scholar finished reading, a plump scholar stood up.

This person was even more direct, starting with: "The long dike blocks the water and locks up the dragon, merchants pursue profit and disrupt the true path. It's a pity that the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan has been tainted by the stench of money."

This poem is even more direct than the previous one. It directly criticizes Su Shi for selling land to build a lake, saying that his involvement of merchants in the project tainted him with the stench of money and corrupted the literary style of Jiangnan.

The cheers in the hall grew even louder. Several old scholars even slapped their thighs excitedly, echoing the applause.

Magistrate Wang stroked his beard and nodded with satisfaction. He looked at Su Shi and slowly asked, "Prefect Su, what do you think of these two poems?"

Su Shi stood up and patted the wrinkles on his clothes.

He wasn't flustered at all; in fact, he found it somewhat amusing. Before coming, he had worried that these people would present him with some profound questions, but this was it? They were just trying to disgust him with this kind of doggerel?

"Your Excellency, these two poems..." Su Shi deliberately drew out his words, glancing around at everyone in the hall.

Everyone pricked up their ears, eager to hear what rebuttal this top scholar, who had achieved the highest honors in all three imperial examinations, would have to say.

The head of the Lin family sneered repeatedly, thinking to himself that if Su Shi dared to talk back, he would immediately have someone label him as someone who wouldn't listen to advice and was stubborn.

"These two poems are really..." Su Shi paused, then suddenly laughed, "They're so bad that even my servant wouldn't want to wipe his bottom with them."

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.

Everyone was stunned. No one expected that a high-ranking official, a top scholar who had achieved the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations, would utter such vulgar words at such a literary gathering.

Lord Wang's face instantly turned ashen. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Su Shi! How dare you! This is a poetry gathering! How dare you utter such vulgarities, an insult to literature!"

The Lin family head also jumped up: "Lord Su, your words are too much! Brother Li and Brother Zhang are both renowned talents in Hangzhou. How dare you insult them like this? Do you have no respect for the scholars of Jiangnan?!"

The skinny scholar and the fat literati were so angry that they trembled all over, pointing at Su Shi for a long time without being able to say a word.

Su Shi completely ignored them. He turned to Jiang Lin and asked loudly, "Young servant, do you think this poem is rough?"

Jiang Lin cursed inwardly that Su Shi had gone astray, actually using him as a shield. But since the act had gone this far, he couldn't back down.

Jiang Lin took a step forward, crossed his arms, and said lazily, "In response to your question, sir, it is indeed crude. The first poem, West Lake versus green water, immortals versus green mountains, the parts of speech don't match at all. The phrase 'destroy Qingwei' is even more of a forced and incomprehensible addition. As for the second poem, the broken water on the long dike barely qualifies as a scene, but the forced connection to merchants pursuing profit is abrupt and lacks any poetic quality. If this kind of thing were taken to Bianjing, it wouldn't even get into the Imperial Academy."

Jiang Lin's words were well-reasoned and supported by evidence, directly criticizing the two poems in terms of their meter and artistic conception.

The people in the hall were stunned.

How could a mere page know so much? And he spoke so eloquently that no one could refute him.

The skinny scholar and the fat literati blushed, wishing they could disappear into the ground. They were hired by the Lin family head to read from manuscripts; they knew nothing of profound poetry or classical Chinese poetry.

Lord Wang was so angry his mustache stood on end. He pointed at Jiang Lin, his hand trembling, "You...you're just a servant, what right do you have to speak here!"

Jiang Lin curled his lip: "Lord Wang, you're mistaken. You asked my master what he thought of the poem, and he thought it was rough. I was just explaining why. What, can't people tell the truth at a poetry gathering?"

"You!" Lord Wang was speechless for a moment, then turned to glare at Su Shi. "Su Shi, is this the servant you trained? So disrespectful to his elders, he's practically rebelling!"

Su Shi shrugged, looking completely innocent: "Lord Wang, please calm down. My pageboy usually enjoys reading miscellaneous books and is rather blunt. However, I think there's some truth to what he just said. These two poems are indeed not presentable."

Seeing the situation turning sour, the Lin family head quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Very well, what a fine example of a triple-crown winner like Prefect Su! Since Lord Su thinks these two poems are beneath him, why don't you compose one yourself and broaden our horizons? Let us country bumpkins from Jiangnan see just how capable this top scholar from Bianjing really is!"

The Lin family head's words were undeniably venomous. He was putting Su Shi in a very difficult position. If Su Shi couldn't compose a poem, or if the poem he did silencing everyone, then Su Shi would be completely finished tonight. He would never be able to hold his head high again in Hangzhou's scholarly circles.

All eyes were once again focused on Su Shi.

Some gloated, some watched the spectacle, and some secretly worried.

Su Shi looked at the provocative face of the Lin family head, but felt no emotion. He knew the time for retaliation had come.