How can one cultivate immortality without learning modern knowledge?

"The Grand Elder has a son named Mo Sanqiu, whose mastery of ink techniques is woefully inadequate. He possesses only a fraction of poetic talent, and despite the Grand Elder's painstaking efforts to cultivate him, he is unlikely to amount to anything. Therefore, the Grand Elder plans to use the Nanyang Poetry Gathering to stage a play with the Great Yu Dynasty to help him rise to literary fame and eventually marry the Dynasty's Seventh Princess!"

Zhou Wenju's eyes widened: "So, your brother's actions directly thwarted the Grand Elder's scheme?"

"Exactly!" said Mo Ziyi. "Therefore, the nature of the upcoming Nanyang Poetry Gathering will be completely changed!"

"Of course!" Zhou Wenju laughed. "What was originally a friendly exchange of literary praise will turn into a real competition because of our involvement!"

"Yes!" Mo Ziyi said, "From the perspective of the Grand Elder, he would definitely want us to be humiliated."

"I understand!" Zhou Wenju nodded.

What was originally a mutual praise among literary figures has suddenly changed, with the person being praised now being someone else.

What do you expect both sides to think?

The imperial court will ruthlessly crush you!

What about the Grand Elder?

Will they consider the reputation of the Mohists and hope that he, as the representative of the Mohists, will gain fame and recognition?

How is that possible?

Given his magnanimity, his conduct, and his position, he would only hope that Zhou Wenju would step into Waterloo...

There are many reasons...

Firstly, his own son had no chance, and as a father, he felt he had to take revenge.

Secondly, this is still a battle of wits between him, the Grand Elder, and the Holy Son.

The Holy Son intervened to thwart his scheme. If the thwarting succeeded, his authority as the Grand Elder would be greatly diminished within the Mo family.

How could a powerful elder like him not retaliate?

He had to humiliate Zhou Wenju before he could tell the entire Mohist school that the Holy Son was young and impetuous, had misjudged people, and had damaged the Mohist school's reputation...

What was originally a harmless poetry gathering was thus transformed.

Mo Ziyi raised her beautiful eyes: "With Young Master Zhou's intelligence, I don't need to say more. You have two more days, so you can focus on devising a plan to deal with their various schemes."

"Okay!" Zhou Wenju nodded in agreement.

"Rou'er, you must also remember one thing: don't constantly ask Young Master Zhou for inspiration. All inspiration must be stored in Young Master Zhou's mind, just in case..."

"Hmm, Rou'er, seal your mouth!" Rou'er reached out and placed a piece of silver cloth, resembling a plaster, on her mouth.

Zhou Wenju smiled.

Seeing Rou'er's expression, Mo Ziyi laughed, "You little brat, hurry up and peel it off, it's hilarious..."

The atmosphere became relaxed again because of this interlude.

The flying boat traversed countless mountains and rivers, heading towards Nanyang.

Nanyang is located in the Jiangnan region of the Great Yu Kingdom.

This can be considered the last vestige of prosperity in the Jiangnan water towns.

Why is it called the last?

Because once you cross Pingfeng Ridge, you'll reach Lingnan.

Lingnan, a place of exile, could hardly be considered prosperous.

A poet wrote two lines that perfectly capture the essence of Nanyang…

"The spring light stretches for ten thousand miles to Nanyang, but the year is unknown once the screen is erected."

This poet was an official who committed a crime and was exiled to Lingnan. Before crossing Pingfeng Ridge, he looked back to the north and recited these two lines of poetry. He entered Lingnan, died there, and his remains were never able to return home.

Fate did not favor him, but literature did. The two lines of poetry he left behind have been passed down orally in Nanyang, becoming the most authentic portrayal of Nanyang.

As winter approaches, the Mo family, located at the northernmost tip of the Great Yu Kingdom, is already frozen over for thousands of miles.

However, in the Jiangnan region, the willows are still green.

The Yangtze River winds through mountains and valleys, and here the bone-chilling cold brought from the distant north dissipates, giving way to the dynamic movement of spring water.

The rolling green hills have also donned a new green coat here.

A land of water and lakes, with pavilions and terraces, a place of poetry and wine, and a city shrouded in mist and clouds for thousands of miles.

The Yangtze River converges here, forming a lake.

The lake is named Biyan.

On the shore of Biyan Lake stands Nanyang City, an ancient city with a history of three thousand years.

Nanyang City boasts a profound literary tradition, respects teachers and values ​​the Way, and the status of scholars is extremely high.

Take this one incident as an example, and you'll see...

Almost every business in the city has poems engraved on the doorposts of its shops.

Regardless of whether the poem is profound or not, every household has it anyway.

There are no poems at the door, and even when doing business, people don't really respect you.

Look at this, how can one even begin to describe its profound literary and moral depth?

It was nearly noon, and a light autumn rain was falling.

Biyan Lake is shrouded in mist.

The entire city of Nanyang resembled a water town in Jiangnan. The misty rain washed away the dust on the streets, and the hundreds of bluestone lanes in the city took on a unique charm in the rain.

An elegantly designed restaurant stands beside the misty Biyan Lake.

Building name: Biyan Tower.

At the top of the restaurant, five scholars displayed their refined tastes.

They were the participants in this Nanyang Poetry Gathering, and each of them was the dream lover of the city's eighty brothels and countless courtesans.

Why?

Listen to the lively discussion among the people downstairs...

"Today, Biyan Tower is truly shining brightly, with five great literary figures gathered here."

"Is that even a question? Master Cui spent a fortune to invite these five to his establishment; I heard it was three thousand taels of silver..."

"Huh? Three thousand taels? They invite people to eat and drink at the restaurant for free, and then give them three thousand taels?" someone exclaimed.

"So, you, Boss Ding, can't make your business work. People who truly achieve great things don't nitpick like you. You only see the petty profits in front of you, but you don't know how much reward a top-notch writer can bring to a hotel."

"Top-tier writers, they..."

"It seems you still don't quite understand these five. Let me tell you, each of them is a shining star in the literary world..."

"Tell me, who are they?" The old man, Mr. Ding, was getting interested, probably wondering if there was a chance to invite them to his hotel…

So I said it.

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up with excitement...

Do you remember the local Li family that produced a child prodigy ten years ago? Li Muyun, the very same Muyun Gongzi who wrote "Sunset over the shallow green pond, mist shrouds the evening cloud tower"! He was hailed as one of the Ten Outstanding Talents of Jiangnan, and last year he passed the imperial examination and became a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations) at the tender age of twenty!

He is already considered one of the few outstanding poets in the local area in the past century, but among these five people, he is still at the bottom.

Li Yufei, also one of the Ten Outstanding Scholars of Jiangnan, passed the imperial examination this year! He's the one who wrote the poem "Golden Light" during the examination.

Everyone gasped in shock.

Jin Guangshi, a place where the literary style flourished in Jiangnan, occasionally produced poems. However, poems written during the imperial examinations were on a completely different level from those written casually in ordinary times.

The poems written during the scientific expedition were assigned topics.

And there are time limits.

The person who wrote the poem of golden light is fully capable of writing the poem of color.

Moreover, he was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations)!

A Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) is not only outstanding in poetry, but also excels in classical texts and commentaries.

There's also Wang Luoshui, a relative of the poet Sage. It's worth noting that he became a relative of the poet family without any nepotism; it was purely because he wrote good poetry. The poet family took the initiative to choose him as their son-in-law, which speaks volumes, doesn't it?

There's also Du Yuxin, the poetic genius who became famous ten years ago.

Do you know who the most powerful one is?

The gossipy man lowered his gaze and stared at Boss Ding.

Boss Ding was already speechless with astonishment at these top four prodigies, and at this moment he asked, "Who?"

"The newly appointed third-ranked scholar, Li Yuecheng!"

"This year... the newly appointed third-ranked scholar? Is that the same poetic prodigy who repeatedly refused the invitations from the family of the Poet Saint?"

"Exactly! The poets recruited him, making a clear promise that if he joined their ranks, they would immediately bestow upon him a literary heart to help him cultivate his literary talent. But he refused, and they announced to the world that if I entered the imperial examinations, I could also obtain a literary heart and literary talent!"

"With his talent and learning, he might have a 70% chance of passing the imperial examination and becoming a Jinshi. However, to win the Wenhua Award, he had to be among the top three! At that time, did he guarantee that he could be among the top three?" someone sighed.

"Indeed, who wouldn't dare bet on ranking among the top three if they weren't a learned scholar with such strong self-confidence?" An elderly man dressed in scholar's robes stood up. "With so many talented poets gathered here, is this really just an ordinary poetry gathering?"

"Old sir, your words are spot on!" A young man stood up and ushered the old man to a seat: "The gathering of the five great talents in Nanyang this time is no ordinary poetry gathering; it is prepared for the Mo family."

The group looked at each other in bewilderment...

The Mo Sheng family is the only one of the eighteen literary families located in the Great Yu Kingdom.

The status of the Holy Family and the Imperial Dynasty is roughly equal. The Imperial Dynasty cannot command the Holy Family, and the Holy Family cannot control the Imperial Dynasty. Generally speaking, if the Imperial Dynasty and the Holy Family within its territory have a good relationship, the country will be peaceful. If the relationship is bad, then there will be great conflicts.

Although various nations maintain a relatively harmonious relationship with the Holy Family due to their domestic stability, there is also competition between the two sides. Why do they compete? To recruit talent!

People strive for higher positions, just as water flows downhill. If the Holy Family is powerful, talented people will naturally flock to it; if the Imperial Dynasty is powerful, talented people will naturally flock to it.

Therefore, competition does exist. However, the competition between the imperial dynasty and the holy family is not as peaceful and civilized as the competition between nations. It mostly involves competition in a certain field of literature and morality, with friendship first and competition second...

The fact that the five prodigies of the imperial dynasty held a poetry gathering with the disciples of the Mo Sheng family clearly indicates their intention to "compete for the Dao through literature."

At the top of the Biyan Tower, the young master at the head of the table smiled gently.

This person was none other than Li Yuecheng, the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examinations, as these people had mentioned.