“Hero, huh?”
Su Shi pondered a bit, then he picked up a brush and wrote spontaneously.
Chen Qingluan glanced at him.
As a result, she could not take her eyes off him.
Her cherry mouth opened slightly and her eyes were filled with shock.
“This poem!!”
Su Shi quickly finished writing it and said, “Would Brother Hua like to see it?”
Hua Manlou was still drunk and waved his hand, “No need, I believe in Brother Shi.”
Saying so he was just being polite.
After all it was a challenge from the Oiran, Meng Yue’er!
Su Shi only knew a little poetry, how could he compare to Li Mu Bai?
“Brother Shi has been quite helpful, if not for you, I could only hand in a blank paper today.”
Hua Manlou shook his head and smiled bitterly.
He was sure he would lose face today, so he only hoped he wouldn’t be too embarrassed.
Before long, the deadline was up.
The servants collected the papers and placed them all in front of Meng Yue’er.
To protect the guests’ faces, only the best works were brought out and read, the rest were simply set aside. As for the judging criteria, it was entirely up to the Oiran to decide.
When people saw Meng Yue’er flipping through them one by one, none of them caught her eye, and people suddenly became nervous.
The requirements for the Oiran seemed to be rather high!
It wasn’t until the paper was at the bottom that Meng Yue’er stopped flipping through it and said appreciatively, “Prince Chu Qi’s poem is very good!”
“The sky and the earth are full of wonders, and the mountains are full of immortals.”
“He drove ten thousand horses before his words, and thrice he won the chrysanthemum sky.”
“A bit of heroic spirit, looking around at the boundless.”
“Today, I would like to drink to you, not only to celebrate your long years.”1
“Both the diction and the atmosphere are marvelous.”
As they listened to the soft voice of the Oiran girl, the people applauded.
“Good poem!”
“As expected of Prince Chu, he was able to write such a masterpiece in just one stick of incense!”
“Great poem, this is the work of a genius!”
“Excellent, what a beautiful poem!”
The crowd was full of praise.
Chu Qi, with a smug look on his face, arched his arms and said, “This is not a big deal, not a big deal.”
Hua Manlou hummed dismissively.
Who didn’t know that this poem was written by Li Mu Bai?
“It seems that Brother Shi’s poem should have been skipped.”
This was for the best, so that he would not be executed in public.
It was a pity that the Oiran looked like it was about to be plucked by that Chu pig.
Chu Qi urged impatiently, “It should be time to announce the results, right?”
The pimp smiled softly and said, “Looks like the Prince Chu is really impatient, in that case, let’s Yue’er announce it.”
She called out twice, but Meng Yue’er did not hear her.
She looked at the paper in her hand and sat there as if she were a puppet.
The pimp frowned slightly and nudged her, “What’s wrong with you?”
Only then did Meng Yue’er regain her senses, her expression still carrying an unconcealed shock.
She took a deep breath and said softly, “I announce that the grand winner of this poetry tournament is…”
“Hua Manlou, Young Master Hua.”
The air instantly froze.
Chu Qi’s smile froze on his face.
Everyone, including Hua Manlou, all froze.
“I need an explanation!”
Chu Qi’s voice was low, clearly moved with real anger.
The pimp was also confused, “Yue’er, what’s going on here?”
Meng Yue’er shook her head, “There’s nothing to explain, it’s just that Young Master Hua’s words are better”
“Better?”
Chu Qi was about to laugh.
Could it be that Hua Manlou was more talented than the new best scholar?
Li Mu Bai’s brows furrowed and his face was unpleasant, feeling as if he had been insulted.
Meng Yue’er did not explain, “Why don’t you all come and see for yourselves?”
Li Mu Bai continued forward, taking the lead and getting up to walk over.
He wanted to see what was better from the other party!
When he reached out and took the paper, he only gave it a glance and was struck by lightning, standing frozen in place with his pupils shrunk to dots and his hands trembling slightly.
This paper seemed to weigh a thousand catties!
Chu Qi sensed the difference and said suspiciously, “Mu Bai, what’s wrong?”
“These …… words must go down in history!”
Li Mu Bai sat paralyzed on the ground.
All arrogance and confidence collapsed at this moment.
The crowd was even more confused.
What kind of poem could make a scholar of the year give such a judgment?
As the paper fell to the side, someone walked over and picked it up, reading it aloud.
“As the Yangtze River rolls eastward, the waves have tossed heroes about. Right and wrong, success and failure are everywhere.”
“The green hills are still there, the sunset is red for a few times. The white hair of fishermen and woodcutters on the small island of the river, used to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze.”
“A pot of muddy wine and a happy meeting. How many things have happened in the past and present, but they are all laughed at.”
The audience fell silent.
Everyone’s expressions were as surprised as Li Mu Bai’s.
Even if they weren’t literary scholars, they all knew a bit about poetry.
Those words were shocking!
It was a poem that would be remembered for centuries!
Chu Qi’s face was grim.
Of course, he could hear the meaning of this poem.
How could Hua Manlou have such talent?
Hua Manlou was also dumbfounded.
He looked at Su Shi in a daze, his throat a little dry, “Shi, Brother Shi, you ……”
Originally, he had asked the other party to write for him so that he would not lose too much face, but he did not expect that the other party had written a masterpiece!
At this moment, a fragrant breeze came.
Meng Yue’er walked over and shyly said, “I like the poem, I wonder if young Master Hua would like to come with me to the flower boat and we can talk by candlelight?”
The Oiran girl took the initiative to extend the invitation!
The eyes of the crowd were envious and Chu Qi’s teeth were on the verge of gnashing.
However, Hua Manlou was silent.
“Brother Hua, did you really drink too much?”
Seeing him silent, Su Shi reminded, “The spring night is short, don’t make beautiful a woman wait in agony.”
Hua Manlou exhaled and shook his head, “Beautiful Miss Meng, I am indeed eager to spend the night with you, but there is something I must make clear.”
“This poem, I didn’t write it.”
“It was written by this Brother Shi beside me.”
Hearing these words, the crowd looked towards Su Hui.
Su Shi wondered, “Brother Hua, what do you mean by that?”
Hua Manlou smiled bitterly and said, “Brother, if it was an ordinary poem, I would accept your help, but this poem of yours is so good that I really can’t afford it.”
This was a poem that would be famous for thousands of years, if he claimed it, wouldn’t he be the one who deceived the world and stole fame?
Chu Qi frowned slightly, always feeling that this “Brother Shi” seemed like he had seen somewhere before.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed through his mind and he exclaimed, “Su Shi! You are Su Shi, Shengzi of the Demonic path!”
He remembered that he had seen his portrait in his father’s study!
“What?”
“Su Shi?!”
The whole room was in an uproar!
That demon star, who had never been seen in ten thousand years, was actually right beside them!
Hua Manlou reacted and muttered, “Shi Shu, Su Shi …… so it really is you! Brother Su, you really tricked me!”
Su Shi sighed helplessly.
He originally intended to keep a low profile ……
Meng Yue’er beautiful eyes rippled with surprise as she stared at Su Shi, “So you’re the great hero who saved a city!”
“I have heard about your great accomplishment and have been longing for it in my heart. If Mr. Su doesn’t mind, I…. want to comb with you…”
(TLN: Going back to the early chapters, “combing” is a term for a geisha who gives up her virginity, as originally they only sold their art not their bodies)
Beauty often loves a hero.
What’s more, this hero is very handsome!
Even this Oiran girl, who had long been in the world of lust, had her heart fluttering for a while.
Hua Manlou was very sad, “Brother Su please, don’t mind me.”
Seeing Meng Yue’er’s embarrassed and expectant gaze, Su Shi grabbed Chen Qingluan’s slender hand and said with a smile, “Sorry, I already have a girlfriend.”
1. The title of this poem is “Song of Water Tunes” created by an anonymous person in the Song Dynasty. Here is the full version: https://m.cidianwang.com/mingju/2/2adb4890249.htm
2. In Ancient China, a prince’s son was also called a prince. A prince could be born to a queen or concubine.