After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Shangguan Xiu sized up the handsome young man—

Qin Yun, courtesy name Baixia, was named after the phrase "white light emerges from the box, and the dust remains untouched."

Qin Baixia held a folding fan in his hand. The fan ribs were made of ivory, and under the bright red lanterns, they shone with a pale red luster, giving them a crystal-clear feel. The fan surface was embroidered with a famous painting, which seemed to be the work of Mr. Xishan, and was covered with a layer of gold powder.

He was accompanied by several scholars, some dressed in moon-white long robes, others in purple-blue round collars, and all wearing square headscarves. Each of them was arrogant and looked down on others, as if they were Xie Lingyun himself.

One of the scholars was wearing a scholar's robe with a cross-collar and right-fastening, tied with a black beaded belt, and wearing a red and purple melon-shaped hat. He walked side by side with Qin Baixia, his face was slightly pale, and his eyes were somewhat indifferent.

Shangguan Xiu glanced at the man's melon-shaped hat. The brim was pulled down very low, so there should be no hair inside, or rather, there was a tuft of hair hidden inside.

Ha, a dog from the Northern Dynasty with its head shaved.

"Qin Baixia," Shangguan Yun said calmly, "Poetry is inherently a matter of personal interpretation. Just because a frivolous courtesan says it's bad doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. People's perspectives are often biased. What harm is there in Young Master Ning debating with him?"

Ning Beizhi puffed out her chest, her small face tense.

Jiang Sixue supported her arm, her eyes filled with helplessness, but then she glared at the brothel madman.

She had heard of this arrogant young man; he was quite famous.

His name was Du Zi, courtesy name Muyou. His grandfather was Du Xinchai, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet during the Fuye era. After Du Xinchai passed away, his father died early and he failed to pass the imperial examination for a long time, leading to the decline of his family.

This man was fond of poetry, beautiful maids, whoring, gambling, and drinking. He frequented brothels for many years, calling himself a "refined young master from a prominent family." After squandering his family fortune, he made a living by painting and calligraphy. However, because of his background, he looked down on everyone and earned the nickname "madman," becoming a laughing stock on the Qinhuai River.

But the grandson of the Grand Secretary is still the Grand Secretary. To pass the imperial examination, one must write in the eight-legged essay style, which he said he disdained. However, his talent was not fake. It is said that he could recite the "Zhaoming Anthology" and "Poetry Commentary" backwards.

Therefore, he is still invited to many poetry gatherings along the Qinhuai River, and he is considered one of the topics of conversation at these gatherings.

He is talented, but also stubborn and has a bad temper. He is not afraid of offending people. Out of respect for Mr. Xin, the nobles and talented people will not really hold it against him. Choosing him as the gatekeeper tonight is a thoughtful gesture from the seven judges.

Jiang Sixue's glare was useless to the brothel madman. He stroked his gray beard and said calmly:

"You can come in whenever you want. You are of noble birth, and I can't stop you. Thirty years ago, I would have been even more arrogant than you. But poetry is poetry, and it's poetry. Even if the emperor came, it still wouldn't be good enough. Your poetry," he glanced at Ning Beizhi, "isn't even worthy of being called inferior!"

Ning Beizhi's already red eyes suddenly became even more sore, like gushing spring water, watery and glistening. She bit her lower lip tightly with her pearly teeth, her chest heaving with anger.

Jiang Sixue tried to pull her away, but couldn't. The little girl stood there angrily, as if she were a loyal minister who had been wronged and just wanted to smash her head against the Golden Palace to prove her innocence.

Jiang Sixue could only quickly rub her forehead and comfort her, "This old geezer is talking nonsense! Haven't I read your poems? Who in the manor hasn't read them? Who doesn't say they're good? Do we read more poems than him? Why are you listening to him..."

The old man leaned back in his chair, his feet propped up on the table, and scoffed.

His words were delivered with great force. The group of poor scholars who had been criticized and blocked behind the screen, who had previously felt wronged, now felt a sense of pride. They raised their chins slightly and scanned the powerful and influential people in the room.

Qin Baixia listened to Shangguan Xiu and the brothel madman's words, smiled, glanced at Jiang Sixue and Ning Beizhi, but did not expose their female identities, assuming that they were female members of the Zhenguo Marquis's family.

The sons of noble civil officials and those of high-ranking officials naturally don't get along, especially since his father and the Marquis of Zhenguo have long been at odds in the court.

He wasn't about to miss an opportunity to label the Marquis of Zhenguo's most beloved son as someone who "refuses to admit his poor skills and even caused a scene at the North-South Poetry Gathering."

With a snap, Qin Baixia closed his folding fan and smiled at Shangguan Xiu, "Brother Yushan, the eccentric Senior Du was personally appointed by Grand Scholar Liu to oversee this place and prevent anyone from stealing the limelight of tonight's grand North-South gathering. Senior Du is naturally a man of sound judgment. If everyone is this difficult to deal with, then will Senior Du still be able to read the poems of other talented scholars? If you can't appreciate their poetry, then step back and don't block the way of the talented scholars."

Shangguan Xiu raised her chin and sneered: "Qin Baixia, in the art of poetry, if one is only skilled in phrasing but neglects emotion, only concerned with the tones and rhymes of words, ignoring the ups and downs of the human heart, only focusing on the word choice and sentence structure of the present moment, regardless of the grand vision of the future, then this art of poetry is far too narrow!"

He stepped forward with his hands behind his back: "This young lady's work is innocent and naive, though the lyrics are poorly crafted. Senior Du's words are a bit too harsh!"

Qin Baixia shook his fan: "Anyone can spout grand principles."

"Would you listen if I told you?"

Sparks flew between their eyes as they exchanged a sharp retort.

The scholar in the melon-shaped hat stepped forward, glanced at Shangguan Xiu, and said coldly, "Writing is an eternal affair. Although there is indeed no unified standard, an expert can tell at a glance how much talent one has by examining the words and phrases. Young Master Shangguan has not written many poems. He would probably find Xie Lingyun's poems and third-rate poems from the marketplace wonderful, but he would hardly know the subtlety of poetry and the source of Senior Du's resentment."

That was all.

Qin Baixia and the others immediately cheered, "Brother Lu is right!"

"rational!"

Because your skill level is so poor, you have no idea how indignant Senior Du felt when he saw the terrible poem... Shangguan Xiu narrowed his eyes.

He had a poem in his arms, which he had commissioned from a second-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) last year. He originally intended to write it on a purple scroll and give it to Miss Jin'er.

But it seems we have to show it to the brothel madman for his opinion, otherwise it will be hard to get rid of the label of "not understanding poetry"!

At this moment, before Shangguan Xiu could speak, a scholar behind Qin Baixia shouted loudly, "I am Liu Tong from the Imperial Academy. My humble work is 'Bu Suanzi.' I would like to request Senior Du to appreciate it."

The scholar stepped forward, walked to the side of the desk, took out a piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it over.

Whether it was intentional or unintentional, I don't know.

His movement was a bit too forceful, and he bumped into the table from the right.

The paper and pen that were originally on the table suddenly fell to the ground, and the paper on which the poem "Sheng Sheng Man" was written floated down to the floor.

Seeing her poem fall to the ground, Ning Beizhi's slightly calmed emotions were stirred up again. Her face was full of tears, but she also felt deeply powerless. At this moment, she also felt that her poem was too bad, and she would definitely be attacked even more severely by those annoying people over there.

The eccentric courtesan raised an eyebrow slightly, appreciating Liu Tong's poem.

Shangguan Xiu was very loyal and used the spirit of one against a hundred to argue with Guapi Mao and Qin Baixia about whether the rules of poetry or the emotions were more important when writing poetry. This debate attracted many talented people from behind the screen.

Several renowned scholars chimed in, some supporting one side and others the other, making the scene increasingly lively.

Some of them were born in the Imperial Academy, some in the Bailu Academy, and some were disciples of a great Confucian scholar. In short, they all had a certain confidence in defying powerful figures.

Those who supported Shangguan Xiu gradually gained the upper hand. Seeing that professionals were starting to support Shangguan Xiu, some of the noble sons who had previously been hiding on the sidelines stepped forward and began to shout their support. They couldn't say the same things as Shangguan Xiu, but they naturally knew which side to stand on.

At that moment, the pale yellow paper with Ning Beizhi's poem on it flew to the railing, and a calligraphy brush rolled to the vicinity of the paper.

Jiang Sixue led Ning Beizhi back a little, leaving the increasingly noisy and crowded venue.

Following Ning Beizhi's gaze, she saw the paper on the ground. She was silent for a moment, then took a few light steps forward, intending to pick it up.

But to her surprise, a figure who hadn't spoken a word walked ahead of her.

The figure, dressed in shabby white clothes, bent down to pick up the poem, paused, and then reached out to pick up the wolf-hair brush from the ground.

Jiang Sixue stared blankly at the figures slowly walking towards her and Ning Beizhi: "Brother Ning?"

"Well written. 'Sheng Sheng Man' is a good ci poem title. You have good taste." The figure spoke with a gentle voice and clear eyes.

Ning Beizhi pouted.

"Do you mind if I help you revise it?" Ning Nan smiled at her, holding a pen in one hand and paper in the other.