The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 389: Poetry Competition (Part : Lin Ruhai is Critically Ill)
Seeing that He Wensheng and Wu Changshi were about to fight, everyone stepped forward to pull them apart and persuade them to ease the situation. However, Wu Changshi still insisted on changing the person who asked the questions, while He Wensheng refused to do so because changing people would be tantamount to admitting that he had colluded with Jia Huan.

The two gentlemen started arguing with each other across the table, and even greeted each other's ancestors. They even blurted out vulgar words like "Dunlun ru mother", which was really ridiculous and disgraceful.

Finally, Sun Chengzong could no longer bear it, so he asked an academic official from the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall to stop it and be responsible for setting the questions, which calmed the dispute.

The scholar was about thirty years old and was obviously a little nervous under the watchful eyes of the crowd. He thought for a while before saying, "You all have won the top prizes and gathered here to enjoy the Deer Singing Feast. Why don't you write a poem on the theme of the Deer Singing Feast?"

This question is really poorly posed, because writing poems at the Lu Ming Banquet has been around for a long time and is almost a tradition. I would like to ask, which candidate who comes to attend the Lu Ming Banquet would not prepare one or two poems in advance to praise the Lu Ming Banquet?
Sure enough, as soon as the scholar finished speaking, Wu Changshi hurriedly said, "I got it!"

"We have students too!" Wu Weiye and Yang Tingshu said almost in unison.

"Well, there are students now!" Zhang Pu coughed lightly and looked at Jia Huan, who was smiling but not saying anything, a little unnaturally.

The student official obviously realized that he had lost his mind. This question was very poor, so he could only bite the bullet and said, "I have them all. Please recite them one by one. The best one wins. The rest will be fined."

Wu Changshi immediately chanted: "The deer's cry is elegant, and the imperial examination is held to select Jinshi. The country's dynasty has been passed down for thousands of years, and the literature flourished during the period."

This school official was also a juren, so he had some appreciation for the subject. He was not surprised after hearing the story, and just nodded slightly: "Not bad, next one!"

Wu Changshi seemed slightly embarrassed. Although the scholar's words were euphemistic, his meaning was very clear. His poem was very ordinary (indeed, it was very ordinary and mediocre).

At this time, the plump and white Yang Tingshu began to chant: "The land is blessed with many talents, and the students in the south of the Yangtze River are even more outstanding. The ink pond is not worried about the sutras covering the bottles, and the zither platform has poems that soar to the sky. The small skill of writing is just to make a living, and the original intention of Taoism is to serve the king. The wealth and fame are starting now. I would like to see the high achievements in the history."

Jia Huan could not help but nod secretly. Yang Tingshu's poem was several levels better than Wu Changshi's in terms of word choice, sentence structure, and structure.

Next, Zhang Pu and Wu Weiye each recited a poem, but their level was not as good as Yang Tingshu's, which shows that it was no accident that the latter won the second place in the provincial examination.

The scholar finally looked at Jia Huan and asked with a smile, "Jia Ziming must have had one too, why don't you recite it and comment on it together?"

Jia Huan smiled calmly and said, "I am ashamed of my lack of talent and knowledge. Let me drink first as a sign of respect!" After that, he picked up the wine bowl in front of him and drank it all.

There was a burst of applause all around. Although Jia Huan took the initiative to accept the punishment, no one thought he couldn't do it. They were probably just disdainful. After all, all the new candidates were here to attend the Luming Banquet. How could they not prepare one or two poems about the Luming Banquet in advance? Jia Huan had just composed an excellent poem about poetry, wine, flowers and the moon in a flash, which had already demonstrated his strength.

Zhang Pu and others obviously thought so too, and did not think that Jia Huan could not do it. Even Yang Tingshu, the winner of this round, instantly lost the joy of winning. Instead, Jia Huan's calm look as he drank and accepted the punishment made him feel a little ashamed, because he had indeed composed the poem for the Deer Singing Banquet in advance, and his victory was unfair.

The student official was a little embarrassed at this time. After all, he was careless and gave a low-level poem question, which Jia Ziming was unwilling to do. So he woke up in the third round and said, "This round, I will give a relatively difficult one. Everyone, please listen carefully. The poems of the poet Li Bai have been passed down for generations and admired by thousands of people. Among them, there is a popular poem "Asking the Moon with Wine". How about you all write a poem with the title "Asking the Moon with Wine"?"

When this was said, Zhang Pu and others took a deep breath. It was not difficult to write it, but with Li Bai as a shining example, who dared to compare with the Immortal Poet? Even if he was not as good as the Immortal Poet, at least he could not be too far behind. Otherwise, he would be just imitating others and add to the jokes!
After a cup of tea, the officer asked with a smile, "Has anyone finished it?"

Zhang Pu was a little hesitant. He did have a preliminary idea, but it was not very good. Compared with Li Bai's, it pales in comparison and he was afraid of being laughed at.

At this moment, Jia Huan smiled and said, "I have done it. I am so bold as to recite it here for your comments."

Zhang Pu was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly gave it his all, saying, "What a coincidence, I have a student too."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "In that case, please let Zhang come first."

Zhang Pu smiled and said, "The first to succeed is the first. So, classmate Jia should go first."

The school official stroked his beard and smiled, "Since Jia Ziming spoke first, you should start."

"It would be disrespectful for a student to refuse!" Jia Huan bowed, stood up and chanted:

There was originally a moon before Li Bai, but only Li Bai's poems can describe it.

Now that Li Bai has passed away, how full and waning is the moon in the blue sky?
Today people still sing Li Bai's poems, and the bright moon is still as bright as when Li Bai was alive.

I imitate Li Bai's poem about the bright moon, but how can the moon and Li Bai know each other?
Li Bai was good at poetry and drinking, I can drink a hundred cups and write a thousand poems.

Although I am not as talented as Li Bai, I expect Yingyue will not think I am ugly.

I will not board the emperor's ship, and I will not sleep in Chang'an.

A thatched cottage outside Jinling City, with thousands of peach trees and a full moon in the sky. "

After Jia Huan finished reciting the poem, he bowed and said with a smile, "I just wrote it for fun. I'm sorry to make you all laugh."

Zhang Pu couldn't help but secretly groan, you call this a game, then mine is not even as good as mud?
Wu Changshi, Yang Tingshu and others looked at Jia Huan with a hint of resentment. You kid said you were not good at poetry. You are clearly playing the pig to eat the tiger. It's too insidious! At this time, Sun Chengzong and other officials at the table all had different expressions. They were obviously still savoring Jia Huan's imitation of Li Bai's "Asking the Moon with Wine". Since ancient times, there have been imitations that surpass the original, but they are few and far between. Jia Huan's poem is naturally not as good as Li Bai's, but it is undoubtedly a rare masterpiece. It seems straightforward, but it is very tasteful to read. It echoes and answers Li Bai's original poem. The more you read, the more interesting it is. It also has its own wildness and unrestrainedness. It is really amazing.

The student who was in charge of setting the questions finally reacted at this time, and stroked his beard excitedly and chanted: "Li Bai was good at poetry and drinking, and I can drink a hundred cups and write a thousand poems. Although I don't have the talent of Li Bai, I hope Yingyue will not think I am ugly.

Haha, Jia Ziming, Jia Ziming, are you being modest or arrogant? Interesting, interesting, but you really won't get on board when the emperor calls you? Young man, you are too wild! "

Jia Huan laughed and said, "That's why it's called a game. Dong Shi is imitating others and making a fool of herself. How disrespectful and rude!"

Hearing this, the school official stroked his beard and smiled, "That's not the case. This poem of yours is a rare masterpiece. The last line, 'A thatched cottage outside Jinling City, with ten thousand peach trees and a full moon in the sky', refers to the cottage where you have lived for the past three years. It's so rare. You are worthy of being praised by the emperor himself as a model of sonship and a model of filial piety."

Jia Huan couldn't help sweating, you are really good at association. But coming back to the point, it's quite a coincidence. Tang Bohu's original poem was "A thatched cottage outside the city of Gusu", and he just slightly changed it to "A thatched cottage outside the city of Jinling", and it turned out to be a good idea. Well, I remember there happened to be a wild peach tree by the river. In the spring, the petals fell in profusion, which coincided with the last sentence "Ten thousand peach trees and the moon fills the sky".

After the scholar finished commenting on Jia Huan's poem, he turned to Zhang Pu and said, "Zhang Tianru, it's your turn now. Please recite it for everyone to comment on."

Zhang Pu smiled bitterly and said: "With the example of classmate Jia, I will not embarrass myself." After saying that, he picked up the wine bowl and drank it all.

Wu Changshi, Yang Tingshu and Wu Weiye had no choice but to admit defeat and accept the punishment, and drank the whole bowl of wine obediently.

Except for Jia Huan, everyone else had already drunk two large bowls of wine and was a little tipsy, especially the fat little Yang Tingshu, who was not very good at drinking. His face was red and his tongue was a little big when he spoke. He waved his hands and said, "No more competition, no more competition. If you drink any more, I will have to lie down under the table. I will pour wine for you and serve you dishes. Just don't let me compete in poetry."

Everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter. After this incident, naturally no one dared to doubt Jia Huan's talent anymore. Jia Huan was also completely cleared of his reputation. He deserved the title of top scorer in the provincial examination.

Afterwards, everyone continued to feast, eat venison and drink fine wine. Although there were other talent competitions during the meal, everyone was much more sincere with each other, toasting each other and having a great time.

The Deer Singing Banquet lasted until the afternoon. The candidates said goodbye to each other, agreed to meet again in the capital next spring, and then went their separate ways.

Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng were both about 60% drunk and walked out of the gate of Yingtian Prefecture supporting each other. However, Shi Tou Xingwei came forward with an anxious look and whispered something in Jia Huan's ear.

Jia Huan's face suddenly changed, and he was no longer drunk. He said in a lost voice, "Really?"

Shitou nodded and said, "It was a fast horse sent by Huzi, how could it be fake!"

Jia Huan couldn't help but look sad. Alas, what was supposed to come finally came!
Lu Xiangsheng asked hurriedly: "Ziming, what happened?"

Jia Huan said in a deep voice: "Master Lin is critically ill and has summoned me to return to Yangzhou immediately!"

"Ah!" Lu Xiangsheng was stunned, tears welling up in his eyes. He said in a deep voice, "Without the guidance and instruction of Teacher Lin, I might not have passed this exam. Teacher Lin's kindness is like a rebirth!"

Jia Huan patted Lu Xiangsheng on the shoulder and said, "Jiandou, now is not the time to be sad. We should set off for Yangzhou immediately without delay. I hope we can meet Master Shanglin."

Lu Xiangsheng quickly wiped away his tears and said, "Yes, I really lost my mind. Get on the horse!"

The two of them immediately mounted their horses and galloped towards the city gate.

"Student Jia, Student Lu..."

Zhang Pu and others had just walked out of the government office gate and wanted to say hello to Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng, but Jia and Lu ignored them and left directly.

Wu Weiye frowned and said, "Brother Tianru, Jia Ziming and Lu Jiandou seem to have something urgent to do. Forget it. It won't be too late to invite them to join the club next time we meet."

It turned out that Zhang Pu had planned to invite Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng to join Yingshe, but unfortunately, they left before he could say anything.

The political environment of the Jin Dynasty was relatively relaxed, especially since Emperor Qiansheng came to the throne. In order to weaken the influence of Emperor Kangping, he greatly improved the status of literati and allowed the public to discuss politics. Therefore, the atmosphere of forming associations in the Jin Dynasty was very popular, and literati were particularly keen on it. Everyone gathered together to discuss current affairs in the world.

Zhang Pu and his friends including Yang Tingshu founded Yingshe, which is simply an "examination group". They usually studied together and discussed knowledge to prepare for the imperial examinations, which is equivalent to the various examination groups today.

Of course, in addition to reading and learning from each other, members also discuss current affairs, give advice and write inspiring articles, just like most clubs. The most influential club in Dajin at present is naturally the Donglin Poetry Society under the Donglin Academy.

An organization like Yingshe is just a small one, but Zhang Pu has strong organizational skills and a quick mind. Under his management, Yingshe has gained some fame. Moreover, just today, he has recruited ten new candidates to join the organization. As the winner of the Nanzhili area provincial examination, Jia Huan is undoubtedly Zhang Pu's number one target.

If Jia Huan could be brought into the society, the society's fame and influence would naturally be further enhanced. Unfortunately, Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng suddenly left due to urgent matters, so Zhang Pu was naturally quite regretful at this moment.

(End of this chapter)