Compared to Zhao Ying's direct insults, Shen Jing's were extremely subtle.
If Young Master Shen hadn't asked Song Lianxin and Zhao Ying's ages beforehand, most people probably wouldn't have considered it insulting poetry, at most a jest about an old man and a young wife.
But since Young Master Shen had asked their ages, it was a different matter entirely!
Everyone present knew the relationship between Song Lianxin and Zhao Jianzhi, didn't they?
Young Master Shen's poem not only insulted Song Lianxin and Zhao Jianzhi but also dragged Zhao Ying into it!
If Zhao Jianzhi and Song Lianxin had an affair, wouldn't Zhao Ying become a cuckold?
Listening to the endless laughter, Zhao Ying found it incredibly grating, and he trembled with rage.
Song Lianxin's chest also heaved violently, her face contorted.
She had been certain that Young Master Shen couldn't write a poem to insult them back, but unexpectedly, he actually did.
And he insulted them so crudely!
"Shameless!"
Song Lianxin completely lost her composure, glaring at Young Master Shen with a face full of anger.
"You wouldn't believe it when I said you were cheap."
Young Master Shen spread his hands. "If I don't insult you, you're not happy, but if I do, you're displeased! Why bother?"
"You…"
Song Lianxin was furious, staring at Young Master Shen, trembling, her back molars almost ground to dust.
"Shen Jing!"
Zhao Ying clenched his fists tightly, roaring with a frosty face, "How dare you publicly spread rumors and slander an imperial official?"
Young Master Shen scoffed, about to speak, but Su Yourong interjected with a smile, "Whether he's spreading rumors or not, you don't get to decide! You can certainly ask your father to memorialize the imperial court and request an investigation into this matter! If the imperial court investigates and finds that Young Master Shen truly spread rumors, our Su Family will absolutely not shield him!"
Memorialize the imperial court?
Zhao Ying's face twitched violently, and he gritted his teeth, looking at Su Yourong.
How could this matter possibly be brought before the imperial court?
Bringing it to the imperial court would be like slapping himself in the face!
The joke would be taken all the way to the imperial court!
But if Young Master Shen wasn't punished for slandering an imperial official, this matter would be impossible to explain!
If it spread, it would only get more exaggerated!
Zhao Ying's face was twisted with anger, but he had no solution at the moment.
"Let's go!"
Zhao Ying didn't want to stay there any longer, growling through gritted teeth.
Staying there would only make him more frustrated.
Zhao Ying didn't even bother with the fifty taels of silver; he just wanted to leave that place quickly.
Watching Zhao Ying and Song Lianxin flee in disarray, Chi Chi immediately burst into laughter, bending over backward, but when she looked at Young Master Shen, a hint of doubt suddenly flashed in her eyes.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave!"
Young Master Shen called out to Zhao Ying and his group, "I still have something to say to you!"
"Oh, really!"
Zhao Ying growled through gritted teeth, "What other shameless things do you have to say? Just spit them all out!"
Lose the battle, but not the spirit!
He wanted to see what kind of ivory Young Master Shen's dog mouth could spit out!
"Stop studying poetry and prose."
Young Master Shen sized up Zhao Ying. "You're already a fool, and spending all day studying these broken poems will only make you seem even more foolish! People need to be calm, and stop thinking about constant 爭來爭去 !"
Fool!
In all these years, it was the first time Zhao Ying had heard someone call him a fool.
However, Zhao Ying, uncharacteristically, didn't get angry; instead, he sneered, "Everyone here today is attending a poetry gathering. By your logic, everyone present is a fool?"
Inciting hatred!
Young Master Shen instantly understood Zhao Ying's meaning.
However, he deliberately jumped into the pit Zhao Ying had dug for him, nodding, "To be frank, if everyone here spends all day studying these broken poems and using poetry and prose to compete, then you are all fools!"
All fools!
As expected, the people of the poetry club were enraged by Young Master Shen's baseless statement.
The scope of his attack was simply too broad!
You're cursing Zhao Ying, why drag us all into it?
Zhao Ying writing a poem to curse you is none of our business!
Li Zhao also looked at Young Master Shen with a speechless expression. Are you, for heaven's sake, not distinguishing between friend and foe?
Did he get so arrogant just by writing a random poem?
The poem Young Master Shen wrote back, while decent, was by no means a masterpiece.
Where did he get the courage to be so arrogant?
Su Yourong gently tugged at Young Master Shen, signaling him not to invite hatred here.
However, Young Master Shen ignored her.
He just wanted to flip the table!
He had barely managed to get by today by plagiarizing poetry, but the limited knowledge in his head couldn't get him through every time.
If he kept playing this game, he would soon be exposed!
He had to flip this table!
Make everyone stop playing!
"Young Master Shen has quite the nerve!"
A middle-aged scholar was the first to express his displeasure. "Perhaps Young Master Shen could compose another poem, in line with today's theme, to show us what it means not to be a fool!"
Young Master Shen is a scholar, and he himself is a scholar!
What right did he have to call himself a fool?
"Exactly! Young Master Shen is so arrogant; it would be inexcusable if he couldn't produce a masterpiece comparable to the 'ode to the goddess of the luo river', wouldn't it?"
"We may be fools, but Young Master Shen might not necessarily be a great talent, right?"
"Young Master Shen, quickly recite your masterpiece! We are all ears!"
"All talk and no action is useless..."
"If you're not a fool, why haven't we seen you pass the imperial examination to become a Zhuangyuan?"
For a time, everyone united against a common enemy, directing their criticism at Young Master Shen.
They wanted to see just how capable Young Master Shen truly was!
If Young Master Shen couldn't produce a world-shattering work, then wouldn't he also be a fool?
Moreover, an ignorant fool!
Listening to the clamor, Guo Sheng was the happiest of all.
Young Master Shen was so arrogant, surely he had a masterpiece?
Exciting!
So exciting!
Young Master Shen had incurred public wrath, and this incident would surely spread!
The Reflecting Moon Poetry Club would surely overshadow the other two poetry clubs!
"A bunch of fools, what good is it to write poetry well?"
Young Master Shen not only didn't restrain himself but, even more arrogantly, swept his gaze across everyone. "Poetry is merely an insignificant minor skill! A true man, born between heaven and earth, should comprehend the Great Dao, to cultivate his character, manage his family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world!"
Comprehend the Great Dao?
Everyone exchanged glances.
This was a bit... too much, wasn't it?
"By your words, have you comprehended some Great Dao?"
Zhao Ying looked at Young Master Shen with intense hatred.
This damned good-for-nothing!
He had made him lose face again!
He still wouldn't believe it; this damned good-for-nothing had actually become a genius!
Comprehend the Great Dao?
Did Young Master Shen look like someone who could comprehend the Great Dao?
"Yes, yes, let us hear Young Master Shen's Great Dao!"
With Zhao Ying's words, many people also joined in the jeering.
The higher Young Master Shen elevated himself now, the harder he would fall later!
The Great Dao?
What Great Dao!
Young Master Shen was only twenty; he was comprehending the Great Dao of heaven and earth?
Perhaps the Great Dao of eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, defecating, and urinating?
"No Great Dao! Merely the Dao of self-cultivation!"
Young Master Shen sighed to himself, then declared loudly, "The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name..."
Come out!
Pikachu...
Bah!
It's, come out... Dao De Jing!
Wahahaha!
I'm not good at poetry and prose, but I'm very familiar with those Daoist classics!
Even if I can't flip the table, I have to lay a good foundation for the future.
In the future, if anyone asks me to write poetry or anything, couldn't I just say my realm is higher and I'm too lazy to compete with them for a moment?
Although doing this is a bit shameless, there's no other way.
His stock of poems was running low, so he had to shut people up!
Ancestral Master above, forgive your disciple for being disrespectful!
But then again, isn't he also spreading the Ancestral Master's Great Dao in another world?