Actually, Mu Wenfu had already noticed He Shen when the three of them stepped into the Apricot Blossom Pavilion.
During this period of time, he, Yu Minzhong, You Yougong, and the others had been seeking pleasure in this Apricot Blossom Tower, so He Shen naturally couldn't avoid being bumped into by him when he came to this Apricot Blossom Tower.
As He Shen's defeated opponent, he had no face to stand out.
Yu Minzhong, You Yougong, and the people who mocked and framed He Shen at the entrance of the examination hall also hid behind the curtain and looked at He Shen with jealousy.
However, when they saw He Shen being visited by the owner of Apricot Blossom Tower, and even the entire Apricot Blossom Tower, they were so jealous that they were about to burn with anger.
After being defeated by He Shen, Mu Wenfu lost a lot of face and became the laughingstock of the scholars. In the end, he couldn't help but feel jealous and ridicule He Shen.
"Who is he?"
Qianlong asked curiously when he saw someone provoking Heshen.
"Brother Qing, he is just a loser who was defeated by me in Spring Breeze Yard. He is not worth mentioning at all.”
He Shen said calmly.
"Oh, is that Mu Wenfu, one of the Four Great Talents of Jiangnan?”
Qian Long's eyes flashed with interest.
"That's right, it's Mu Wen Fu."
He Shen said calmly.
Seeing He Shen and his friends talking about him without any restraint and not taking him seriously at all, Mu Wenfu immediately flew into a rage out of humiliation. He felt insulted.
"He Shen, you were lucky to win that day. Do you dare to compete with me in this Apricot Blossom Pavilion today?”
Mu Wenfu then challenged.
Unfortunately, He Shen only looked at him quietly and did not respond to his challenge.
Seeing that He Shen did not respond to his challenge and completely ignored him, Mu Wenfu was extremely angry.""What's wrong? Heshen, you came here today because you heard that Miss Lee Xiangjun wanted to compete in calligraphy and felt that her calligraphy was inferior to mine, so you didn't dare to accept the challenge?”
He Shen was a little surprised that this brothel girl called Lee Xiangjun was going to hold a calligraphy competition today. Then, he said,"You are really funny. Why would I agree to compete with you?”
Now, he was the top scorer in the imperial examination and had obtained the "Huiyuan" ranking. He was a tribute scholar with a bright future, while Mu Wenfu was just a civilian scholar who had passed his prime.
The two of them were not on the same level at all, and agreeing to compete with Mu Wenfu was simply lowering his status.
Why would he agree?
"Heshen, are you afraid?”
"That's right, if you're afraid of Brother Mu, just say it.”
Yu Yougong and Yu Minzhong, who were sitting at the same table as Mu Wenfu, were completely watching the show and were not afraid of things getting out of hand. Their tone was strange as they squeezed He Shen.
"I think he's afraid!"
"Last time, He Shen was lucky enough to beat Brother Mu. I'm afraid it won't be so easy to beat Brother Mu this time.”
"Everyone, don't say that. After all, he is 'Huiyuan', who had just obtained first place in the general exams.”
The other people sitting at the same table as Mu Wenfu, Yu Minzhong, and Cong Yougong also started to mock He Shen.
He Shen was still unmoved. How could he not see the evil intentions of these people? They wanted him to accept the challenge so that Mu Wenfu could defeat him in calligraphy and ruin his reputation.
However, they would probably be disappointed.
Not only was He Shen's calligraphy not bad, but it was also very good. He had obtained master-level calligraphy from the system lottery. In terms of calligraphy alone, He Shen was probably not inferior to calligraphers like Ouyang Xiu of the Northern Song Dynasty and Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
But even so, he would not easily agree to Mu Wenfu's challenge.
There was no other reason. In this kind of competition where the weak fought the strong, there was no benefit to him if he won. If he lost, his reputation would be ruined.
Although he would not lose, why should he agree?
"Brother He, I can't stand them provoking you like this. I think you should accept the challenge! Let them see how powerful you are. I'll applaud and cheer for you here.”
Who knew, at this moment, Qianlong suddenly winked at He Shen.
Others might not know, but Qianlong, who had seen Heshen's exam paper, knew. Heshen's calligraphy was excellent. It was probably comparable to some ancient calligraphy masters.
Calligraphy practice required time and patience. He really didn't know how He Shen managed to practice calligraphy at such a young age.
He Shen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He just remembered that Qianlong was only seventeen years old. No matter how deep his thoughts were and how much he learned from the imperial family, he still had a youthful side to him.
This side might be rare, but it did exist.
When he was wearing the dragon robe, Qianlong deliberately suppressed his youthful temperament. However, once he changed into the clothes of ordinary people, he seemed to have changed into a different person. He had the usual temperament of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old teenager.
Qianlong was the emperor, and He Shen naturally could not object to his words. However, he would not agree to Mu Wenfu so easily.
"It's fine if you want to compete, but you can't do it without some stakes.”
He Shen looked at Mu Wenfu.
"What do you want to bet?"
Mu Wen Fu asked and Shen.
"This problem doesn't lie with me, but with you.”
He Shen shook his head. His idea was to win a large sum of money from Mu Wenfu. This way, he could slightly ease his financial situation. One had to know that during this period of time, Cao Rui had paid for all his meals and lodging in the inn.
Although Cao Rui was loyal and he had secretly made up his mind to repay Cao Rui in the future, a man could not be without money for a day.
The system he had was a corrupt system that was greedy for money.
Mu Wenfu looked at He Shen and thought about how this competition was about calligraphy, which he was best at. This was probably his only chance to win against He Shen, so he thought of a " great " bet.
Mu Wenfu laughed coldly in his heart, He Shen, don't blame me if you lose this time.”
"I've thought of a bet. If any of us loses in this competition, we'll be banned from participating in the imperial examinations.”
Mu Wenfu said shockingly.
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