Before the day of the poetry competition, more and more people in Chang 'an knew about this matter as time passed. Some people were even considering whether to open a gambling house and bet on who would win.
Wen Ling, Li Han, Chu Han, and the other Confucians were all angry because of Bai Xiaosheng.
'Frog at the bottom of a well, overestimating his own strength.'
These eight words were like a thorn that pierced into their hearts, making them feel uncomfortable. They only hoped that Wandering Know-it-all would come out and compete in poetry as soon as possible. His reputation would be ruined, and he would avenge the hatred from before.
Three days passed in a flash. It was rare for scholars to openly compete with each other. In addition, Wen Ling, Li Han, a few good friends of the Lingyun Poetry Club, and other Confucian scholars had set up fishing boats, which attracted the interest of many people in Chang 'an. That night, the Cuixin Pavilion, which was the venue for the poetry competition, was filled to the brim. There were even more people than in the past festivals. The brothels, tortoises, and hostess in the pavilion were all overjoyed.
Since it was a poetry competition, it was not only scholars and scholars who came. There were also martial arts disciples like the three Cheng brothers who came purely to watch the fun. In order to ensure the fairness of this poetry competition, they even specially invited a few old scholars to judge. The beauty queen of the Cuixin Pavilion, Lancome, was also among the judges.
In the hall of the Emerald Fragrance Brothel, Wen Ling, Li Han, Chu Han, and the other Confucian scholars who were close friends with him had already arrived at the scene. They were already sitting in their seats and couldn't wait to see the defeat of the Wandering Know-it-all.
Wen Ling and Li Han had invited Lin Xiu and Zhao Geng, good friends of the Spirit Rhyme Poetry Club who were quite talented in poetry. Both of them were good at poetry and were quite famous in the literary circle of Chang 'an. Many scholars and scholars present recognized the two of them. They were surprised and could not help but start discussing in a low voice.
"Isn't this Lin Xiu and Zhao Geng? I didn't expect Wen Ling and Li Han to invite them. These two people are also quite famous among the scholars in Chang 'an and have written several poems. No wonder they are confident to compete with Bai Xiaosheng in poetry…"
" That's a good plan. Wandering Know-it-all only wrote a novel, Legend of the White Snake. Although it's popular in Chang 'an, there's no news about poetry. It's obvious that he's not good at poetry. It's very likely that he will lose..."
The seats of the directorate were filled with people, but the seats of the other side were empty. It had been almost an hour, and everyone present could not help but reveal a puzzled expression. They did not understand what was going on.!
Wen Ling and Li Han saw that the seat specially reserved for Wandering Know-it-all was empty. The two of them looked at each other and could not help but sneer.
" This Wandering Know-it-all is still missing, causing everyone to wait here for so long. He really doesn't know the rules…"
"It's been more than an hour, and there's still no sign of him. Where did that arrogant attitude from before go? He doesn't even dare to show his face now. He's really a coward…"
Upon hearing their sneers, the surrounding scholars, scholars, martial arts disciples, and Chang 'an onlookers who were waiting to watch the show could not help but mutter.
"It's been half an hour, and Wandering Know-it-all is still nowhere to be seen. Could it be that he's really afraid of the battle and doesn't dare to come?!”
" Who knows? When he was challenged by these scholars from the directorate, Bai Xiaosheng replied with the words 'frog at the bottom of the well, overestimating his own strength'. With such confidence, it's impossible for him to be afraid of the battle and not come here. Otherwise, his reputation will definitely be ruined. At that time, who would dare to buy his novel..."
The three sons of the Duke of Lu, Cheng Yaojin, Cheng Chusi, Cheng Chuliang, and Cheng Chubi, couldn't help but whisper.
"That shouldn't be. Why hasn't this Wandering Know-it-all come yet? I'm still waiting to see Wen Ling and Li Han make a fool of themselves…"
"Could it be that something delayed him?”
………
After waiting here for almost two incense sticks worth of time, there was still no trace of Wandering Know-it-all. The scholars, scholars, martial arts disciples, and Chang 'an onlookers were a little impatient.
As the competitors, Wen Ling and Li Han, as well as Lin Xiu and Zhao Geng from the Spirit Rhyme Poetry Society, finally couldn't help but speak after exchanging glances.
"I think Wandering Know-it-all should know that he has no chance of winning. Now, he is afraid of fighting and doesn't dare to come. Since that's the case, everyone doesn't have to waste time on such a coward.”
" That's right. The theme of this poetry competition is 'emotion'. We'll just compose a poem for everyone to appreciate…"
At this moment, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside. Three middle-aged men walked in from outside and stood beside the empty seat.
When everyone saw this, they could not help but reveal a puzzled look on their faces as they began to discuss.
"Why are there three of them? Which one is Bai Xiaosheng?"
There were also some scholars and scholars who recognized the identity of these two or three middle-aged men. They could not help but ask," Aren't these the three shopkeepers of Auspicious Bookstore, Changle Bookstore, and Anqing Bookstore? Why are they here?"
Wen Ling, Li Han, and the other scholars from the directorate were also puzzled. They asked in a deep voice,"Why are the shopkeepers of the bookstore here? Could it be that Wandering Know-it-all was too timid to accept the challenge?!”
When the few shopkeepers heard this, they looked at each other and cupped their hands. Only then did they speak with a helpless expression.
" Originally, it had nothing to do with us. However, Wandering Know-it-all sent us a letter. He said…"
At this point, the shopkeepers stopped, as if they were hesitating whether they should say it or not. Wen Ling, who was standing opposite them, sneered," Say what?" Could it be that he doesn't want to embarrass himself and ruin his reputation, so he asked the shopkeepers to come over…"
When the shopkeeper of the three bookstores heard this, he smiled awkwardly and continued," Wandering Know-it-all said…he's thinking of a new novel. A bunch of frogs at the bottom of a well are not worthy of him coming over personally and wasting his precious time. He wants us to directly send him the theme of the poem competition. When the time comes, he'll send the completed poem over…"
As soon as these words were said, the hall of Emerald Resplendence Restaurant instantly fell silent.
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