The Reversal of Heaven Begins with The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

Lin Mu knew the inside story, but for the sake of obtaining the side quest reward, he did not reveal it for the time being, thinking that he would protect Teng Zijing and help his family reunite in the future.

As for Guo Baokun, he was nothing more than a pawn in the hands of Crown Prince Li Chengqian, a mere clown.

At this moment, Guo Baokun, holding a copy of "Dream of the Red Chamber," looked around and announced loudly, "Gentlemen, I am Guo Baokun, and my father is the Minister of Rites."

"I am not very talented, but I am also a compiler in the palace."

“Since childhood, Guo has studied the classics and values ​​etiquette above all else. As scholars, you should be reading the classics. Such filthy and disreputable books are a disgrace to literature!”

After saying that, he threw "Dream of the Red Chamber" on the ground and stomped on it several times. Then he glanced sideways at the upstairs with a defiant look in his eyes.

"In my opinion, this book should be banned from today onwards."

Relying on the Crown Prince's backing, he acted recklessly, unaware that he had already become cannon fodder in the political game.

Is he usually this brave?

Lin Mu sat quietly in the same spot, leisurely sipping his tea, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.

Just then, a noble young man in fine clothes stepped out slowly: "Guo Baokun, what an arrogant official you are!"

The newcomer was tall and slender with clear features; he was none other than Li Hongcheng, the heir apparent of the Prince of Jing'an.

He belonged to the Second Prince's faction, so naturally he had to protect the Second Prince's interests.

Li Hongcheng's gaze swept over the people upstairs, lingering briefly on Lin Mu and Fan Xian, a faint smile playing on his lips.

His gaze then fell on Guo Baokun, his smile vanished, and he said coldly, "Editor Guo's recent high-minded remarks were full of Confucian wisdom and etiquette, and he denounced 'Dream of the Red Chamber' as a filthy and wicked book. I wonder if he has read the whole text and knows its true meaning?"

Li Hongcheng walked slowly and gracefully, and wherever he passed, the crowd naturally parted to make way for him.

"Furthermore, the words of banned books are not something that a mere compiler in the palace could decide, are they?"

Upon seeing that it was the Prince Jing's heir, Guo Baokun's arrogance immediately diminished by three points, but he still forced himself to stand tall and said, "Your Highness! The book's content is extravagant, its language frivolous, and it is morally offensive—this is an indisputable fact!"

"We scholars should naturally condemn this with our words and writings!"

"Oh? Is it offensive to public morals?"

Li Hongcheng chuckled and walked up to Guo Baokun: "But I've heard that even several empresses in the palace are fond of this book. Could it be that Compiler Guo thinks that the empresses' taste is also questionable?"

Guo Baokun was speechless for a moment, his face turning red: "This... this official absolutely did not mean that!"

Li Hongcheng stopped looking at him and turned to face the second floor, raising his voice slightly: "Today is a fortunate occasion. Tomorrow, I will host a poetry gathering in my residence, inviting talented people from the capital to make friends through literature."

"Young Master Guo is renowned for his talent. Why not take advantage of this poetry gathering to have a contest of verses, so that the world can see who the true talent is?"

"how?"

[Ding! You have encountered the auspicious figure Li Hongcheng, triggering the side quest: Poetry Gathering at Prince Jing's Mansion.]

[Task Requirements: Outperform all other competitors and win first place at the poetry gathering at Prince Jing's Mansion.]

[Task Reward: Randomly selected.]

A notification sound rang in Lin Mu's mind. His expression remained unchanged as he gently stroked the rim of the wine glass with his fingertips.

Li Hongcheng was indeed a vanguard of the Second Prince's faction. This move was clearly intended to push him and Fan Xian to the forefront to oppose Guo Baokun under the Crown Prince's banner, thereby suppressing the arrogance of the Eastern Palace.

Having just arrived in Kyoto and being unfamiliar with the place, Fan Xian casually asked, "Who is this person?"

Fan Sizhe pulled Fan Xian aside and whispered, "This is Prince Jing's heir, Prince Li Hongcheng."

"And who is Prince Jing?"

Fan Xian has no respect for the powerful and wealthy of the feudal dynasty. He was just born into privilege, being Ye Qingmei's son, and protected by his biological father and a group of unrelated fathers.

In an ordinary setting, such a reckless outburst would either land him in jail for life or get him severely beaten.

Chapter 79: Poetry Gathering

Although Fan Xian constantly talks about "equality for all," he himself is a beneficiary of the privileged class, and is somewhat unaware of his own good fortune.

If he weren't Ye Qingmei's son, but just an ordinary citizen, he wouldn't even have the right to sit at the same table with Fan Sizhe, let alone yell at Prince Jing's son, Li Hongcheng.

Wasn't Ye Qingmei the same?

Despite having advanced ideas, they ultimately became detached from reality, squandering their advantages and leaving only regret.

[Fan Xian, this young man, is still too young!]

Unlike me, whose current vision and strength are entirely due to my own hard work and perseverance. System, issue me a new task!

Lin Mu silently complained to himself, then turned his gaze to Li Hongcheng, who was talking to someone downstairs.

He originally had no interest in these kinds of pretentious poetry gatherings, but since the system had issued a task with rewards, he decided to change his mind.

Poetry gathering is great, I have to go!

Lin Mu lightly twirled the wine glass between his fingers, his gaze sweeping over Fan Xian's nonchalant demeanor, and raised his voice, "Your Highness, I wonder if I, Lin Mu, may have the honor of participating in the poetry gathering tomorrow?"

Li Hongcheng looked up upon hearing the voice and, seeing it was Lin Mu, immediately smiled: "The poetry gathering is about making friends through poetry. I am most pleased that Young Master Lin would grace us with his presence."

He didn't put on any airs in his words.

Although Lin Mu has no official position or power, he was able to defeat a ninth-rank expert in one move, which in itself represents a force that should not be underestimated.

In this world, absolute force is often a form of power itself!

Left standing to the side, Guo Baokun's face turned pale and then red, but he dared not act presumptuously in front of the young master. He could only retreat to a corner in a huff, his eyes sweeping over Lin Mu and Fan Xian with a sinister look.

Fan Xian raised an eyebrow and looked up at Lin Mu upstairs, his tone slightly teasing: "Brother Lin, when did you become interested in such refined matters?"

"Sages and worthies of the past are all forgotten, only drinkers have left their mark."

Lin Mu chuckled and raised his glass in a gesture of respect: "Nine years of compulsory education, if not now, when?"

"If you don't go, you might never have another chance to become famous so easily."

Fan Xian originally detested such occasions where scholars belittled each other and flattered one another, but seeing the strangeness in Lin Mu's words, he became somewhat curious about it.

He paused for a moment, then changed the subject: "Brother Lin, do you think Guo Baokun and His Highness the Crown Prince are here today for you or for me?"

He already knew the secret of his origins and now only wanted to stay away from the vortex of power. However, he also understood that his marriage to Lin Wan'er involved the inner treasury's finances, and that the Crown Prince, the Eldest Princess, the Second Prince, and even Emperor Qing were all secretly vying for power. It would be easier said than done to extricate himself from the situation.

Before Lin Mu could answer, Fan Sizhe, who was standing next to him, couldn't hold back any longer and sneered, "Fan Xian, you're really shameless! What kind of status does the Prince Jing's son have that he would come all the way for you? What kind of class do you have that you dare to compare yourself to my brother Lin? You're dreaming!"

He rolled his eyes and continued, "Besides, who knew you'd come to this Stone Residence today? Do they think they can predict the future?"

Fan Xian took a leisurely sip of wine: "If someone is willing to follow the carriage, they will naturally find it."

Fan Sizhe scoffed at this, "Ha! According to you, His Highness the Crown Prince would have to wait for you at the door just to see you? Is that even possible? You're really trying to make yourself look good."

Lin Mu watched the two brothers chatting away like they were performing a comedy routine, and found it quite amusing, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips.

After the meal, Lin Mu leisurely left with Si Lili.

An upcoming poetry gathering has quietly stirred up undercurrents in Kyoto.

Deep within the palace, Emperor Qing also received word of the news.

After a brief chat with Eunuch Hou, Prime Minister Lin came to visit. Between the emperor and his minister, a subtle power struggle took place. Emperor Qing instructed Eunuch Hou to "stir up trouble" and give Prime Minister Lin a few words of warning.

Inside the Eastern Palace, Crown Prince Li Chengqian also wanted to stir up trouble and had already instructed his subordinates to secretly spread rumors that Fan Xian was "untalented and immoral".

Meanwhile, the Second Prince Li Chengze leaned against the couch, tapping his fingertips lightly on the book, his eyes filled with a mixture of amusement and anticipation, wondering what kind of "surprise" the suddenly rising Lin Mu would bring tomorrow.

None of Emperor Qing's sons were easy to deal with; they were all cunning and calculating.

Emperor Qing himself, seemingly sitting high behind the scenes controlling everything and watching the Crown Prince and the Second Prince fight each other, as if he had everything under control, was actually raising a poisonous insect, which would eventually backfire on him.

Throughout history, emperors have always emphasized checks and balances, but few have so deliberately indulged their sons in killing each other.

The purpose of establishing the eldest son as heir was to stabilize the foundation of the country and avoid internal strife within the royal family. However, Emperor Qing went against this principle, advocating competition under the guise of selecting the virtuous and capable, but in reality, he only added to the internal strife and brought disaster upon himself.

In the original storyline, Emperor Qing forced Li Chengze to commit suicide, which in turn drove Li Chengqian into rebellion, resulting in him being abandoned by everyone. Ultimately, this was all Emperor Qing's own fault.

Lin Mu saw this clearly and felt quite contemptuous of Emperor Qing: he was nothing more than a stubborn, cowardly, and playful feudal patriarch who always thought he could control everything, but ended up playing with fire and getting burned.

the other side.

After careful consideration, Fan Xian finally accepted the invitation to the poetry gathering.

However, this time he was not looking for the so-called "chicken leg girl," but rather he planned to deliberately tarnish his own reputation so as to successfully break off his engagement with Lin Wan'er.

The chicken leg he once treasured has long since been thrown away to feed wild dogs.

Those powerful and influential people wanted to use him for political maneuvering, while Fan Xian himself planned to completely give up.

As long as I'm useless enough, no one can take advantage of me!

This is also the result that Lin Mu is happy to see.

Otherwise, if Fan Xian, a proper liberal arts student, went to a poetry gathering and, with great enthusiasm, recited three hundred Tang and Song poems all at once, I, a fellow time traveler and a former academic failure, might not be able to out-copy him.

The following afternoon, carriages and horses rumbled and officials gathered in front of the Prince Jing's residence.

The poetry gathering was held at Tingyuxuan in the back garden of the Prince's Mansion.

But one sees a winding stream with swaying bamboo shadows, a scene of quiet elegance that reveals the extravagance of a wealthy and powerful family.

The most talented young men and noble sons in the capital gathered together, with the sons of officials from the Second Prince's faction being the majority, while Guo Baokun was the leader of the Crown Prince's faction. Men and women (from the Qian and Li families) sat on either side, seemingly chatting and laughing, but in reality, a subtle confrontation was forming.

Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo arrived late in sedan chairs from the Fan residence. Prince Jing's heir, Li Hongcheng, personally greeted them outside the gate, showing them great respect.

Just then, the crisp sound of horses' hooves came from Song.

Everyone turned their heads and saw Lin Mu, dressed in a green robe, riding a fine horse, and the radiant Si Lili gracefully arriving.

When Fan Xian saw Lin Mu, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "Brother Lin, you've arrived even later than me."

Do I have a habit of arriving early?

Lin Mu chuckled, deftly dismounted, and casually tossed the reins to a servant from the Prince's residence standing nearby, saying nonchalantly, "Take good care of the horse, or I'll break your legs."

His tone was extremely arrogant, giving off a very irritating vibe.

The servant's hand, which was taking the reins, suddenly froze.

He had worked in the Prince's mansion for many years and had seen many arrogant young masters, but he had never seen one so blatant and openly threatening.

Chapter 80: He was using all my words!

In the back garden of Prince Jing's mansion, flowers bloom in profusion, and the sounds of string and wind instruments can be faintly heard.

Kyoto was a gathering place for talented men and beautiful women, who gathered in small groups to enjoy tea and conversation, or to appreciate flowers and discuss paintings, creating a scene of great elegance.

Fan Xian and Lin Mu walked into the garden side by side, immediately attracting many gazes.

Fan Xian, dressed in Danzhou-style clothing, remained calm.

Lin Mu, dressed in a blue robe, was upright and composed.

Fan Ruoruo and Si Lili, who entered afterward, drew the attention of all the young men present.

"Young Master Fan, Young Master Lin, this way please."

Li Hongcheng smiled warmly: "The presence of the two of you today will surely add much to the poetry gathering."

The women sat on the other side out of courtesy, to avoid any impropriety.

Si Lili's gaze lingered on Lin Mu for a moment before she gracefully took her seat.

As the host, Li Hongcheng clapped his hands three times upon seeing that all the important figures had arrived, and the garden immediately fell silent.

"Today's poetry gathering is open to all, and everyone is welcome to wield their brushes and express their talents."

As soon as the prince finished speaking, those at the table were already eager to try.

Upon hearing this, Guo Baokun's eyes darted around, and his gaze fell on Fan Xian. He immediately raised his voice and said, "I didn't expect Young Master Fan to be here today. Why don't we start this round with Young Master Fan and broaden our horizons?"

Fan Xian came here today simply to make an appearance in front of everyone in the capital, as ordered by Fan Jian.

He had been thinking of giving up, but when he heard his name called, he just smiled slightly and waved his hand, saying, "Young Master Guo is joking. I am but a humble scholar, how dare I presume to teach others?"

Seeing Fan Xian back down, Guo Baokun felt he had gained the upper hand and was secretly pleased, but on the surface he pretended to be regretful: "Today is a poetry gathering, and we should be competing with poems. If Young Master Fan is afraid to compete with me, I will not make things difficult for you. You only need to kneel down and admit defeat."

Before he finished speaking, several people at the table covered their mouths and chuckled.

Fan Xian, however, remained unperturbed, leaning back lazily in his chair and raising an eyebrow, saying, "Since Young Master Guo is so keen on competition, why not have a friendly exchange with Brother Lin?"

"But in my opinion, you're the one who's going to lose."

Guo Baokun was speechless for a moment.