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

"Medium grade".

The brothel madman's voice wasn't loud, but it easily drowned out the noisy arguments in the room.

The paper was tossed in the air, making a "rustling" sound.

Liu Tong, who came from the Imperial Academy, immediately cupped his hands and accepted the letter.

"Thank you for your appreciation, Senior Du."

Those who excel in poetry and prose are already at a level where only one in ten can be considered as "talented scholars".

This poem, "Bu Suanzi," was written in only seven days and lacks refinement; it doesn't reflect his true skill level, so a mid-grade rating is quite appropriate.

Many scholars around Liu Tong cast admiring glances at him, raising their hands to congratulate him with "Brother Liu, you are truly talented!" Liu Tong humbly returned the greeting with a smile.

Qin Baixia tapped his folding fan and praised, "Yang Shu's talent is outstanding. My mentor has praised him to me many times before, and seeing him today, I can see he is indeed extraordinary!"

Liu Tong, whose courtesy name was Yangshu, knew that Qin Yun was trying to make him famous. His eyes welled up with tears, and he repeatedly clasped his hands in gratitude, saying, "Senior Brother, you flatter me!"

He called out "senior brother" willingly.

The other person also came from the Imperial Academy and found his words agreeable. If nothing unexpected happened, he would pass the imperial examination in the future, and with just a word from his senior brother, he could be appointed as a county magistrate and then return to the capital, thus becoming his senior brother's right-hand man.

Temporarily calming the heated debate, Lu Jing, a talented scholar from the Northern Dynasties wearing a melon-shaped hat, raised his eyebrows and asked the steward and servant for paper and pen. His pale face had become somewhat flushed from the heated argument.

The servant bent over as he ground the ink.

Lu Jing laid out the paper, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write.

In an instant, a poem titled "Huanxi Sha" was composed like flowing water, displaying the talent of a scholar who could write with ease. After drying the ink, the poem was handed to Du Zi.

The crowd gasped in surprise and whispered among themselves, asking questions like, "I wonder how good they are?"

Qin Baixia had just glanced at the letter with a complicated expression. After a few breaths, his expression and tone turned to admiration, and he said with a smile, "Brother Lu is indeed a man of unparalleled talent, worthy of being a disciple of the literary master of the Northern Dynasty."

Many talented scholars from the North have actually arrived tonight, but they are all at Ya Ming Xiao Zhu now, discussing poetry and essays with several great talents from the South, seven judges, and renowned figures from various regions.

He didn't join in the fun. He brought his fellow students from the Imperial Academy and Lu Jing to the third floor, intending to wait until the second round of the competition before making his move. Unexpectedly, he saw this outstanding student of the literary master wielding his brush here.

Lu Jing's flushed face faded a bit: "Young Master Qin flatters me. Among my master's students, Lu Jing is the least talented."

Because he was sent by his teacher to the Imperial Academy to study the history of the Southern Dynasties, he traveled with a group of people from the Imperial Academy.

He didn't consider himself a show-off, but seeing this noble son's eloquent and sophistical arguments, and being the son of the Marquis of Zhenguo, a mortal enemy of the Northern Dynasty, he couldn't help but teach him a lesson.

With this poem tonight, the resounding title of "single-handedly overpowering the talented scholars of the Southern Dynasties" is unlikely to be suppressed.

However, he was somewhat unhappy and felt a bit self-deprecating. After all, the talented people here were all second-rate, and Xu Yang, Xu Yi, Shang Duo and others were not around, so it was inevitable that they would bully him.

Seeing this, Shangguan Xiu and the others' hearts jumped.

Those well-known talented men were alright, after all, they had knowledge and skills, but the faces of the noble sons were somewhat pale.

When they saw that Brother Shangguan was being choked by Qin Baixia, that pretty boy, everyone wanted to help. However, they knew their own limitations when it came to poetry and were worried that they would only make things worse. Later, when they saw that many talented people were on Brother Shangguan's side, they straightened their backs and hurriedly came over to cheer him on.

After an unsuccessful debate, the Northern Dynasty's queue-wearing dog sneered, "The real test lies in poetry!"

If Liu Tong produces a poem of "medium quality," and if this guy's poems are also rated as medium or high quality by the brothel madman, while I can't produce any good poems, then continuing to talk about "emotion in poetry taking precedence over the skill of word choice and sentence construction" would be meaningless and would just seem like stubborn mule talk.

Everyone stared expectantly at Du Zi, the brothel madman, hoping that he would support the Southern Dynasty scholar out of consideration for the braid hidden under Lu Jing's melon-shaped hat.

But unfortunately...

Du Zi, who had been reclining in her chair, looked serious when she saw Lu Jing's poem. She put her feet off the table, sat up straight, and softly recited: "Do not blame the north wind for blowing from the west, for the yellow sand whistles and swirls with dust..."

Everyone frowned immediately.

Even the talented men who had previously sided with Qin Baixia and Lu Jing lost their smiles at this moment.

Discussing the Dao is one thing, but seeing that the poetry of the Northern Dynasties surpasses that of the Southern Dynasties is quite another matter.

"Top grade!"

Du Zi slammed the poem on the table and added, "Tonight's champion."

Instantly, low shouts, like muffled thunder, echoed throughout the arena.

The talented scholar who had originally sided with Lu Jing now had a very complicated expression, showing no trace of triumph.

If it were just "superior quality," there would still be a few people who had come up with some good poems that could be put to the test, but the words "the best tonight" immediately dampened everyone's enthusiasm.

Otherwise, if they went up to them, they would be no match for the Northern Dynasty's queue-wearing dogs, bringing shame upon themselves while helping others gain fame.

Qin Baixia smiled mockingly at Shangguan Xiu, but naturally he would not utter any provocative words, otherwise he would inevitably be branded with the infamous reputation of "colluding with the Northern Dynasty to bully the scholars of the Southern Dynasty." However, from today onwards, the legendary story of "Shangguan Xiu overestimating himself and disgracing the scholars of the Southern Dynasty" would circulate in the streets.

Lu Jing raised his eyelids: "Gentlemen, if poetry doesn't concern itself with diction and focuses solely on emotion, then one can simply express one's feelings directly. Why bother writing poetry at all? If you disagree with what I've said—"

He pointed to the black plaque with gold lettering next to Du Zi: "Please write a good poem to broaden my horizons!"

There was silence in the room, and the people looked at each other in bewilderment.

Although great talents like Xu Yang and Shang Duo were not present at this time, the other party was neither Wu Yuan nor Nalan Que, who wrote "A lone horse with a broken hook, how many spring breezes have passed?", but simply Lu Jing, who had been unknown until tonight.

Some of the people gritted their teeth and exchanged glances in silence. A few, showing a strong sense of responsibility, made up their minds and took out their carefully crafted poems, which they had originally intended to write on the purple scroll. They handed them over, saying, "Please, madman, appraise them!"

Once you've made a start, the rest doesn't matter. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. Just give it a try!

About ten poems were submitted, not all of them were worthless. Most were of inferior or middle quality, but there were two superior ones. Although they were not as good as Lu Jing's "Huanxi Sha", when the madman read them out, he at least made Lu Jing frown, which saved some face for the talented scholars.

The conversation then turned to poetry, and the atmosphere became lively. Qin Baixia picked up a fine poem copied by a servant and discussed it with Lu Jing, Liu Tong, and others.

Lu Jing smiled faintly: "Brother Qin, rest assured, I am not so arrogant. I am well aware that the Southern Dynasty is still full of hidden talents."

Qin Baixia chuckled and said with a smile, "Qin Yun naturally knows Brother Lu's character well."

Xun Gui approached and asked Shangguan Xiu what to do now, and whether they should just withdraw.

Shangguan Xiu looked up and saw the eldest son of the Earl of Yongcheng, the young marquis of Fuyuan, and several others. They were all sons of military noble families who were uneducated but quite righteous.

Shangguan Xiu gritted his teeth, reached into his robes, and pulled out a poem he had secretly bought from that second-class scholar, a poem titled "The Mountains Gradually Turn Green," which he had originally intended to give to Miss Jin'er.

He was still somewhat confident, as the scholar who had passed the imperial examination was the top poet in the year.

"Brother Shangguan~"

"Hmm?" At this moment, Shangguan Xiu's ears twitched. Amidst the noise, it seemed that someone was calling him.

"Who?" He looked up, searching for the source of the voice.

"Brother Shangguan~"

Following the sound, he looked closely and saw a figure dressed in shabby white clothes standing in front of the screen, beckoning to him.

"Uh... Brother Ning!" Brother Shangguan slapped his forehead, feeling somewhat ashamed.

He got so engrossed in arguing with Qin Baixia that he forgot about Brother Ning. He'll have to apologize to him later and arrange for two young ladies to keep him company.

Perhaps the shout was too loud, because the noise in the arena gradually subsided, and everyone looked in that direction.

"We can go in now!"

Ning Nan smiled and waved to Shangguan Xiu.

"Uh..." Everyone frowned, somewhat puzzled. "Who is this?"

A young man dressed in shabby white clothes stood in front of the screen, followed by two young ladies, both of whom were exceptionally beautiful.

Everyone's gaze shifted to the brothel madman who had been guarding the gate, who was holding a piece of paper in his hand. He seemed both silent and excited. He took a deep breath and stood up.

"Tonight's champion!" He raised the paper in his hand.