Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

"Oh?"

"A person from the State of Chu?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qi hurriedly got up and went over, only to see the woman pointing to a young man who stood out from the crowd in the front hall and saying:

"Young Master Zhou, that's him!"

"This person claims to be Zhong Wen!"

"Your surname is Zhong?"

He was taken aback when he learned the other person's surname, because it was understandable in other places, but in the State of Chu, the surname Zhong represented the status of a noble scholar, and a person from the Zhong family was indeed talented.

Seeing that the men and women of the Zhou family inside the building were being suppressed by Zhong Wen, Zhou Qi angrily slammed his fist on the railing:

"How hateful! There is no one in my Great Zhou who can rival him."

"If this gets out, wouldn't it be a disgrace to our dynasty?"

"No, I cannot stand idly by!"

After talking to himself, he turned to look at Lu Xiao:

"Brother Lu, do you have any good lines to bring down that guy's arrogance?"

As the sons of the Prime Minister and the Minister, Zhou Qi and Zhao Qing had long heard the news of the Chu state defeating their Great Zhou, and they were already holding a grudge. Now they were even more unwilling to see a Chu scholar overshadow them.

At this moment, they regretted not reading more books.

Who would have thought that people from the State of Chu would come to participate in the poetry gathering of their Great Zhou?

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao shook his head with a wry smile:

"Brother Zhou, you flatter me. I am but a soldier, and I usually devote my time to fighting. How could I possibly have the leisure to write poetry?"

"Then we can only rely on Miss Qingyu."

Zhou Qi sighed helplessly, and after speaking, looked at the four people:

"Come on, let's go downstairs together!"

"Even though we can't really help everyone, we can at least lend a hand and prevent that guy from getting too arrogant!"

"If he doesn't learn his lesson... humph!"

"Don't blame me for using force then!"

In the lobby on the first floor, Zhong Wen recited his own poem aloud to the public, then looked around with a smile:

"I have long heard that the Great Zhou Dynasty has many talented men and beautiful women, which is why I came here to exchange ideas with you all. However, I never expected that no one here could produce a poem or essay better than mine."

"Miss Qingyu, the time you set for one incense stick to burn is almost up."

"If no one's literary talent surpasses mine, then I'll have no choice but to find another place and have a late-night conversation by candlelight!"

"you……"

Before Qingyu could speak, the other guests clenched their fists in anger, but could not utter a word.

They could only secretly resent their inferior skills and their defeat at the hands of a guy from an enemy country!

As the time it takes for an incense stick to burn was about to pass, the men and women present kept whispering among themselves, trying to pool their wisdom and efforts to compose a poem that could rival Zhong Wen's.

But after thinking for a long time, no one could come up with a solution.

Sitting in the main seat, Qingyu remained calm, as if the matter had nothing to do with her.

Faced with the aggressive Zhong Wen, she simply turned to the side and gave a single instruction:

"Prepare five hundred taels of silver. When the time comes, I will personally hand it over to Young Master Zhong."

"Yes……"

The maid went down reluctantly.

She knew that her young mistress meant that she believed she couldn't write a poem that surpassed Zhongwen's, and intended to give the prize of this poetry competition to him.

The title of leader and the silver are minor matters; the key is...

Since Qingyu debuted, no one has been able to surpass her in talent.

Is it really going to fail now?

Everyone felt regret and anger at that moment.

Many of them came for the chance to get close to Qingyu, but even if they lost, as long as someone from the Great Zhou defeated the other, it would become a legendary tale.

But what kind of situation is it to let someone from an enemy country win the championship?

"May I ask, Miss Qingyu, what poems or writings did this traitor from the enemy state compose just now?"

Just then, Zhou Qi and his group came down.

He walked up to Qingyu without even glancing at Zhong Wen:

"Even if we're going to lose, we want to lose knowing why!"

"So it's Young Master Zhou. I greet you."

The young lady, Qingyu, rose and greeted him, then said:

"Young Master Zhong's poem is indeed excellent. Gentlemen, listen carefully."

"My dream by the cold forest is half-full; at night, the snow's light shines through the curtains."

"The gates of the Ming Dynasty are now buried, the sound of breaking branches echoes from the window!"

"According to Young Master Zhong, this was written when he encountered a heavy snowfall on his way to our Great Zhou."

Upon hearing this, the four playboys frowned and glared at Zhong Wen with unfriendly expressions.

Although they were illiterate, they were not uneducated; rather, they were compared to the scholars of the Great Zhou Dynasty who had passed the imperial examinations and were able to become officials.

This does not mean they lack the ability to appreciate poetry and prose.

Otherwise, they would truly be useless cowards who live off their parents' achievements and wait to die!

Therefore, when Qingyu repeated it, Zhou Qi and the other three immediately understood that Zhongwen was mocking them.

They mocked the literary spirit of their Great Zhou, saying it was like a heavy winter snow breaking withered branches and burying the road ahead, severing all of their Great Zhou's literary spirit, which is why no one could produce poetry or prose far surpassing his talent.

What else could this be but a thief?

This is clearly a curse upon their Great Zhou, that they will never achieve anything in terms of civil administration.

Upon hearing this, Qingyu felt quite guilty and said:

"If I hadn't insisted on using 'snow' as the theme, he wouldn't have succeeded and produced such arrogant poems."

"Young Master Zhou, you mustn't act impulsively!"

She had long heard of the reputation of the four纨绔 (playboys) and had even experienced it firsthand, so she was now afraid that Zhou Qi and the other three would do something that would cause a big mistake.

If things develop to that point, then their Great Zhou will have truly lost both face and substance.

"I was merely composing a poem at Miss Qingyu's request. Why are you all so angry?"

Across from him, Zhong Wen smiled and asked a question in return. Seeing Zhou Qi and the others staring at him indignantly, his smile became even brighter:

"Gentlemen, heavy snow in winter causes everything to wither and die. Even within my own Chu Kingdom, people often lose their homes and families because of it. Is it wrong for me to compose this poem?"

"I was just moved by the scene before me. If I have offended you in any way, please forgive me."

"snort!"

"You clearly have ulterior motives!"

Zhou Qi snorted angrily, and after thinking for a moment, he gave Zhao Qing, Qian Haiyun and Wang Xingrong a look, planning to teach this arrogant guy a lesson when no one was around.

Suddenly, Lu Xiao stepped forward, signaling everyone to calm down, and then said loudly:

"Although I am just a warrior, I studied for a few years before joining the army and fought against the Hu people in the snow. Therefore, I have a lot of feelings about this."

"When I was at White Wolf Mountain, I personally saw off several friends to their respective places."

"It was a snowy day at the time!"

Amidst the astonished and puzzled gazes of the crowd, he said:

"Today, Miss Qingyu has chosen snow as her theme, so I, the Marquis, will use this scenery to express my feelings, combining the sorrow of parting from a friend with the sentiments conveyed by the heavy snow."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room held their breath and strained to listen.

Lu Xiao didn't keep everyone waiting any longer and announced loudly:

"The north wind sweeps across the land, snapping the white grass; in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, snow flies in the northern regions."

"Like a spring breeze overnight, thousands of pear trees burst into bloom..."