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

Chapter 63 The End of the Poetry Gathering

Grand Secretary Liu Zhenxi walked over with several old men, all smiles.

Shangguan Xiu smiled and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Grand Scholar Liu."

Ning Nan followed suit and also performed the ceremony in a perfunctory manner.

Xu Yang and the others then composed themselves, realized what was happening, and bowed in unison to Liu Zhenxi and the several elders from the north and south, saying, "Greetings, Master."

Liu Zhenxi looked at the poorly dressed young man in white with some surprise.

To his surprise, when he was studying the poem "Sheng Sheng Man" before, he thought it was a poem written by a sick man through the voice of a woman.

Unexpectedly, the real person turned out to be a young man with eyes like a tiger cub.

Perhaps, as the young man said, this poem was originally written by a great woman, but she was not well-known, and today it has helped her gain fame.

Liu Zhenxi smiled and asked, "Do you have the complete poem that said 'The misfortune of the nation is the fortune of the family'?"

The old men behind him immediately showed expressions of understanding.

Ning Nan frowned, thought for a while, and then recited: "Having witnessed the rise and fall of dynasties and the devastation of war, I am but an old man amidst the documents of two dynasties. Misfortune for the nation is fortune for the poet; verses about vicissitudes are always the most skillful."

This poem, which should logically be from the Qing Dynasty, is titled "Inscription on the Collection of Yuan Yishan." It was written to commemorate a poet named Yuan Haowen from the late Jin and early Yuan Dynasty. Yuan Haowen was the poet who wrote "What is love in this world that makes people willing to die for it?" So he was deeply impressed by it.

This timeline doesn't have Yuan Haowen, but it does have a similar great Confucian scholar.

Although he was a Han Chinese, he was also a Jin person, born, educated, and entered officialdom during the Jin Dynasty.

When the Jin Dynasty was destroyed by the Yuan Dynasty, he was seventy years old, yet he single-handedly protected many documents of the Jin and Zhao Dynasties, doing his best to continue the cultural lineage, and became quite famous in this era.

"Two dynasties' worth of literature, a withered old man..." An old man wearing a melon-shaped hat suddenly reddened his eyes, and his tone was somewhat sorrowful, "This is referring to Mr. Wenyuan, isn't it?"

Liu Zhenxi sighed, "It must be Xie Wenyuan." How similar the Northern Jin and Southern Zhao of yesteryear are to the Northern and Southern Dynasties of today!

Ning Nan nodded and said that the poem was recited by a bald-headed monk, who had a good memory and remembered it.

Xu Yang and the others looked at him speechlessly. Liu Zhenxi and the other old men chuckled, but didn't say anything. Their expressions were sarcastic, conveying a sense of "not understanding, but respect."

Ning Nan didn't care; he couldn't care less what others thought or thought.

He had absolutely no interest in the titles of poems or lyrics.

His goal remained the same: to obtain a household registration, write essays in the eight-legged essay style, pass the imperial examinations and become an official, and then... make a small fortune, buy a house, marry a few wives, and have a bunch of kids. That was his "ambition".

He didn't have time to waste on these people's nonsense, so it was better to turn them away as soon as possible to avoid being tested on by someone asking him questions like "How many ways are there to write the character '茴' in '茴香豆'?" which would be incredibly annoying.

These old men, including Liu Zhenxi, were surprisingly open-minded, saying he had the spirit of Yan Hui, who lived a simple life of ease, finding joy even in the face of hardship. Compared to the great path of sages, poetry is indeed a minor path.

But Ning Nan always felt that they were subtly implying that he was poor.

Several talented men bowed and stammered, still spouting something about "a gentleman should be sincere..."

An old man named He Weng immediately retorted, "Being true to oneself and not seeking fame—that is the sincerity of a true gentleman. Using sincerity as a pretext to manipulate others for personal gain... You Chu, is this the great principle you learned from Bailu Academy?"

The talented scholar named You Chu turned pale, seemingly somewhat resentful. He gritted his teeth, but He Weng's words struck his mind and emotions like a resounding bell. After a moment, some of his emotions shattered. You Chu, ashamed, took a deep breath and bowed to Ning Nan in apology, saying, "I examine myself three times a day; today I should examine myself for being jealous of others!"

Ning Nan uttered an "uh..." to indicate that she didn't care.

Then, more and more talented men, their faces flushed, apologized to Ning Nan. They came from both the north and the south, including the talented man named "Shang Duo". Even Xu Yang awkwardly clasped his hands and said, "Brother Ning, I have offended you just now."

Of course, there were also clever ones, such as the eldest grandson of the Prime Minister Qin and the students of the Imperial Academy behind him, who disappeared at some point.

Nalan Que from the Northern Dynasty inquired about the name of the poem he had just read, hoping that he could show it to his master, Emperor Wenzong of the Northern Dynasty, after returning to the Northern Dynasty.

Liu Zhenxi and the others immediately stared intently at him.

Ning Nan could tell what the old men were thinking at a glance, and generously gave them a title: "Mourning Wen Yuangong at the North-South Poetry Gathering in the Year of Dingmao".

When the words "North-South Poetry Gathering" were placed in the poem's title, the elders, including Liu Zhenxi, breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "So fitting, so fitting."

Ning Nan pursed his lips, wondering what kind of occasion a poem mourning the dead should be in.

After the poetry gathering, a collection of poems will be compiled and published.

It will record the famous poems and anecdotes from this poetry gathering.

In addition, a courtesan queen was selected this time, and her portrait will be engraved on it so that she may be remembered for generations to come.

"A poem called 'Sheng Sheng Man' and a poem called 'Lament for Wen Yuan Gong' will surely be remembered for all time..." an old man joked.

The old man in charge of publishing asked what the poem "Sheng Sheng Man" should be named.

Ning Nan looked at Ning Xiao Niangzi and asked her to make a decision, since he had promised to give her the poem.

Ning Xiaoniangzi shook off her dejection at being disliked by her idol, her eyes lighting up as she said, "A gift from Yanchun Pavilion to Ning Beizhi!"

Finally, I chose "Slowly, Slowly - Thoughts on Seeing Ning Beizhi's Poetry at the Jinling Poetry Gathering".

Ning Nan and Jiang Sixue both looked at Ning Xiaoniangzi with a bit of a headache.

If her family knew that this poem associated her name with brothels, Ning Nan doubted she would live past tomorrow.

The phrase "Jinling Poetry Gathering" sets the tone, while "lyrics" separates Ning Xiaoniangzi herself from the brothel. It's not that Ning Xiaoniangzi came to the brothel, but rather that her lyrics came to the poetry gathering.

Ning Nan, Shangguan Xiu, and Jiang Sixue deliberated for a long time, and Liu Zhenxi also considered it before finally deciding on the name.

"This name is too long!" Ning Xiaoniangzi pouted, worried that her name wouldn't stand out.

Jiang Sixue tapped her head: "Brother Ning will be beaten to death by your father!"

Ning Nan smiled immediately.

The atmosphere became much better afterwards.

...but it's also quite troublesome.

Those talented men who knew they had made a mistake came one by one to toast him with wine cups and goblets, showing that they could not win in poetry or reasoning, but they could win in drinking contests!

Ning Nan had a headache. Shangguan Xiuxiu, who was supposed to be the one to fend off the drinking, was already being pestered by the sons of noble families. Those sons of noble families felt that they were going to make a name for themselves tonight, and they kept drinking and bragging. Ning Nan couldn't understand their strange way of thinking.

But in short... I have no choice but to drink it.

What's worse, a courtesan came to offer a toast.

This makes it even more impossible to refuse.

The fragrance of the courtesan blends with the aroma of the wine.

He was so drunk that he almost blacked out, only vaguely remembering that it was the third round of the competition.

Four courtesans were selected, and each of them asked a talented scholar to write lyrics for her. To save face for the courtesans, none of the talented scholars could refuse.

result…

I don't know what happened...

I think I wrote four poems...

"Hehe... Miss Jin'er, what flavor do you like...?"

"Miss Qingyue...you're the bold type...how about the bold type...?"

"Miss Huanyue pinches... hiccup..."

"Cui Cui...you...wait...no..."

Ning Nan patted her cheeks, her eyes red... Cui Cui... Cui Cui...

...

Night fell.

Unlike the Qinhuai River, which flows all night long, Lijia Village is unusually quiet tonight.

Inside the dilapidated house of the Ning family on the north slope.