Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 27: Mother is an Oiran
In the stone pavilion, Prince Jiashun and the other three read the last part of the poems that were passed up. Liu Yanxiu smiled and said, "The culture of our Great Zhou is still flourishing. Today, some good poems have been published."

The three were just about to pick out the best ones and discuss them with the others, when they suddenly heard someone beside the canal outside the pavilion say loudly:
"Today, the Nanxi Literary Gathering has gathered the best of the scholars in the capital. In response to the prince's elegant topic, all the gentlemen present have contributed their ideas and each of them has produced a brilliant poem and wine. It will surely become a good story in the capital in the future."

Some of the people present knew Qiu Xuanfu, and after hearing what he said, some agreed with him, while others were a little humble.

It is just a nice word to liven up the atmosphere and suit the occasion. Naturally everyone wants to help carry the fancy sedan.

No one expected that Qiu Xuanfu would suddenly change the subject: "But I have seen that this recorder, Xiao Shi, has not written any poems. Since Xiao Shi can serve as the recorder of this literary gathering, his talent must be quite high.

Today is the Nanxi Literary Gathering, all the scholars and literati gathered, everyone is reciting poems, if Xiaoshi brother doesn't write a poem, it would be a bit of a downer, haha."

Jia Cong stood up and bowed, then said in a serious tone: "I am still young and have only been studying for a few years. I have little knowledge and I dare not speak nonsense about poetry in front of you senior scholars."

"You are too polite, my dear brother. If I am not mistaken, you are the son of a first-class general in Rongguo Mansion, Jia Cong, right?"

Jia Cong was stunned. He had been detained in the East Courtyard since he was a child and very few people outside the mansion knew him. Even the families living in the side houses on Ningrong Street might not recognize him.

"Does this wise man recognize me?"

Qiu Xuanfu said with a teasing look in his eyes: "I have relatives in the fifth branch of the Jia family, so I recognize him."

Jia Cong's face darkened slightly. He had seen that Qiu Xuanfu had some ill intentions.

Prince Jiashun, Liu Yanxiu, Zhang Yuzhen and others in the pavilion were all well-versed in the world, and they had all heard that the person asking the question had ulterior motives.

Throughout history, there has been no one best writer, and writers have always looked down on each other. This has been the case for thousands of years. In previous Nanxi Literary Gatherings, there were also some disputes over literary fame, but they were all harmless episodes.

Those who could participate in the Nanxi Literary Society were all veterans in the literati circle. Even if there were disputes of personal opinion, they would stop at a certain point. They were all people of status and would not lose face.

But the person who asked the question just now had a bit of aggression in his words.

Qiu Xuanfu could no longer suppress the sneer on his face and said, "Mr. Jia's mother was famous in the capital back then. She was known as a talented woman who was good at playing the zither and writing poems, and she had great talent.

"Mr. Jia has been taught by his family since he was young, so he must be good at poetry, so why should he be modest?"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a thunderclap out of nowhere, and the faces of many people present changed drastically.

In this top-notch literary and artistic event in Shenjing City, someone actually called another person's biological mother an oiran in front of her. This was a huge humiliation that was worthy of bloodshed!
Liu Bi, who was standing behind Liu Yanxiu, was so angry that her face turned red. She wanted to rush up to help Jia Cong beat that man up. As a son who had his biological mother insulted, she would fight to the death.

The girl in men's clothing who had been standing beside Zhang Yuzhen also had a stern look on her face and tightened her grip on the sword.

Zhou Changyan, Wang Dong and others who were present and knew Jia Cong were all furious when they heard such provocative and humiliating words.

Prince Jiashun in the stone pavilion was so angry that his face darkened. It was he who personally wrote a letter to invite Jia Cong to be the recorder of the literary gathering. For him to be humiliated like this was like someone was humiliating him.

Even though he was usually a gentleman, he was really angry this time. He was about to stand up and speak, but was stopped by Liu Yanxiu beside him.

Prince Jiashun looked at Liu Yanxiu in some confusion, only to see that he was staring at Jia Cong who was sitting below him.

Prince Jiashun followed his gaze and was slightly moved. He saw Jia Cong standing there with a calm expression, not as furious as he had imagined.

He just looked at Qiu Xuanfu with an unusually calm look and said, "My mother died when I was born. Jia Cong was unlucky and was not able to receive my mother's teachings."

As he spoke, he bowed to Xiangnan, with a look of nostalgia on his face: "If my mother were still alive, as long as I could be with her, I would be happy even if I could not read or write."

What he was thinking about in his heart was his parents and relatives in another world. He had disappeared without a trace for no reason. How heartbroken they must be. Thinking of this, his face turned gloomy.

As soon as Shen Jing's words fell, everyone in the room fell silent. There were expressions of admiration, shock, sympathy, scrutiny, etc. in the glances that collided with each other.

After the embarrassment of having his biological mother's lowly status revealed to his face and hearing Jia Cong's words, no one would laugh at him. They just felt that this young man had an open mind, was polite and filial, and was so rare.

Seeing the sorrow on his face just now, everyone present was moved.

Qiu Xuanfu had originally felt somewhat pleased, but now that he was being devoured bit by bit, his face turned somewhat pale.

Prince Jiashun looked at the young man in moon-white gown in the hall with a gentle expression, his eyes full of admiration.

Liu Yanxiu looked at the tall and handsome young man in front of him with burning eyes, the shock in his heart was beyond words.

He was just a young boy, facing others humiliating him to his face and accusing his biological mother of being lowly, but he was able to respond so calmly, neither arrogant nor humble. Such wisdom and calmness are difficult even for adults to achieve.

He did not make the slightest excuse to his biological mother of humble status. He did not dislike his mother's ugliness, but accepted it calmly and cherished her memory. He only felt regretful that he could not receive her teachings, and recounted the pain of losing his mother at a young age.

Without leaving any trace and with ease, the opponent's vicious attacks were rendered invisible.

If this boy was not born to be filial and naturally inactive, then his cunning and scheming would be too terrifying.

Qiu Xuanfu originally used his biological mother's low status to humiliate him, but now it was like a heavy punch on a pile of cotton, making him look like a nobody.

Wu Jinrong, who was sitting next to him, was also shocked. Qiu Xuanfu's attack was so tricky and embarrassing, but this was the result. This young man was so powerful.

He suddenly cried out inwardly that it was not good. Qiu Xuanfu would have a hard time ending up in front of Jia Cong, but he didn't care.

But it was he who introduced Qiu Xuanfu to the Nanxi Literary Society, and he was also his cousin, so this kind of thing could not be kept secret at all.

By then, Prince Jiashun, Liu Yanxiu and others would surely think that they knew about this matter in advance and would allow Qiu Xuanfu to stir up trouble.

He had joined Zhou Junxing, his reputation was tarnished, and he was despised by the scholars. Even so, he did not want to make enemies with the whole world and be unable to move forward. For now, he could only help Qiu Xuanfu, the idiot, to clean up the mess, so that he could get rid of the relationship.

"Xuanfu, you are too reckless. It would be fine if you asked Mr. Jia to write a poem, but why bother to get involved in other people's family affairs?"

Wu Jinrong pretended to scold Qiu Xuanfu, then turned to Prince Jiashun and others in the stone pavilion and said:
"My cousin drank a few glasses and said something frivolous. I apologize to the prince, Lord Jing'an, and Zhang Tianshi on his behalf. Please forgive me."

The three people in the pavilion were all worldly-wise, and Liu Yanxiu was even more experienced. It was obvious to him that he had no idea of ​​Wu Jinrong's background.

He simply said: "For scholars like me, literary knowledge is the foundation, but vision and mind are even more important. We should know that heroes do not ask where they come from, and gentlemen do not care about their origins."

These words sounded kind, but were actually very harsh. They meant that Qiu Xuanfu had revealed the privacy of other people's parents without reason, had behaved badly, and did not have the minimum vision and breadth of mind of a scholar.

Qiu Xuanfu, who was standing aside, looked pale and sweaty.

Liu Yanxiu was a great scholar of his time. He enjoyed an extremely high status in the eyes of the scholars of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and his words were almost followed by the literati.

With this comment from him, Qiu Xuanfu will have a stain on his life. It is his own fault because of his bad intentions.

When Wu Jinrong heard this, his face froze, but he didn't give up.

Qiu Xuanfu was humiliated just now, but after all, he was introduced by himself and he is his cousin. What happened just now will spread all over Shenjing tomorrow.

Qiu Xuanfu's notoriety spread far and wide, and he himself would become a laughing stock. He had to save some face. Otherwise, if the news got out, Zhou Junxing would definitely look down on him, and it would be difficult for him to gain a foothold in the Court of Magistrates in the future.

He smiled at Jia Cong and said, "My name is Wu Jinrong. Although my brother's words may be a bit frivolous, he did not have bad intentions in asking Master Jia to write a poem.

At today's Nanxi Literary Gathering, everyone present responded to each other with poetry. Mr. Jia comes from a noble family, so he must be very talented.

Since I have the opportunity to participate in the Nanxi Literary Gathering, it would be a pity if I did not leave behind a good work. I might as well write a poem to complete this section and celebrate the success of today’s literary gathering.”

Jia Cong heard him speak in a very elegant and polite manner, but every word was like a poem to him. He found it funny that there were people in this world who used poetry to make fun of him.

"In that case, I have the audacity to write a poem. Jia Cong is young and has little knowledge, so I hope you senior scholars will not laugh at me."

After saying that, he bowed respectfully to everyone around him. He was the youngest among those seated, and he acted so openly and cutely that he won everyone's favor.

Wu Jinrong glanced at the thick manuscript of poems on the desk and said, "Mr. Jia just copied dozens of poems about rain, which must have disturbed his train of thought. It would be difficult to write a good work now.

Why don't we try the question again? I wonder if Master Jia thinks it's appropriate."

After these words were spoken, everyone present looked at each other in bewilderment. They all wrote poems to praise the rain, so why was it that only Jia Cong was unable to do so?

Liu Yanxiu and others had experienced all kinds of situations. When they heard Wu Jinrong's words, they knew that Wu Jinrong was preventing Jia Cong from making a sloppy poem to pass the test.

Just now, Jia Cong copied all the poems about rain in the hall. He had some wisdom left, so it was not difficult for him to put together a poem by reciting it.

Wu Jinrong blocked this shortcut in advance. Although he appeared polite and not as domineering and rude as Qiu Xuanfu, deep down he still wanted to make things difficult for Jia Cong and save face for himself.

The Nanxi Literary Gathering was originally an exchange of poetry and prose, and it also had some literary elements.

Although Wu Jinrong was a bit tricky, he was not as evil as Qiu Xuanfu, and his words were within the scope of poetry and prose discussions, so Liu Yanxiu and others could not find any fault with him.

But Jia Cong is young after all, can he handle it?

Although he was an excellent calligrapher, I have never heard of him writing poetry.

After all, at this age, with limited knowledge and experience, it is impossible for him to produce any masterpieces.

At least he can write a poem, and we can just say something to ease the situation and cover up the matter.

This is the idea shared by Liu Yanxiu, Prince Jiashun, Zhang Tianshi and others.

Wu Jinrong was hoping that Jia Cong would get stage-frightened and reject his proposal, so that he could win without fighting. Not only would he gain face in front of everyone, but he would also cover up some of Qiu Xuanfu's ugly behavior.

Unfortunately, Jia Cong said calmly, "Then please ask Brother Wu to give the questions."

In Wu Jinrong's opinion, although Jia Cong's calligraphy is outstanding at a young age, it may be that he has a talent beyond ordinary people in calligraphy. Although such people are rare, they do exist.

However, poetry is more difficult than calligraphy. Poetry is spiritual and requires not only talent but also hard study and accumulation. Only when the two are combined can one gain something.

At Jia Cong's age, he has only received a few years of education. Even if he is a genius in calligraphy, could he also be a genius in poetry?
Wu Jinrong said confidently: "It was snowing this morning, and it started to rain when we sat down. There are also plum trees of various colors beside the winding stream.

Why not use wind, snow, rain, and plum as the theme? Any poem is fine. After Mr. Jia finishes one, I will also write one to match it. What do you think, Mr. Jia?"

Jia Cong suddenly remembered the many wonderful sights he saw when he came here, such as the vast snowfields, the thawing glaciers, and the magnificent poem by the great man in his previous life.

At this moment, his eyes swept across the plum forest, and his sight extended to the cliff at the end of the plum forest. Icicles hung on the cliff, and a wild plum tree was growing tenaciously in the cracks of the cliff.

A flash of inspiration seemed to come to his mind, and he said, "Then let's follow Brother Wu's topic. What a coincidence, I already have a poem right now, so I'll write it down."

Wu Jinrong’s eyes immediately widened. What do you mean I have a song right now?
I had just finished giving the topic, and he didn't even take a breath, but he already had a poem?
This is writing poetry, not digging cabbages in the fields.

Wu Jinrong suddenly felt a panic that something terrible was going to happen, as if he was not much smarter than Qiu Xuanfu.

(End of this chapter)