The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 172

Chapter 172: Seven Steps to a Poem, Aspiring to Be His Majesty’s Favored Official

As soon as he said this, it immediately caused an uproar and anger.

“Who is it? To actually want to assassinate Young Master Xie, what are their intentions?” someone asked angrily.

“Could it be that yesterday’s chess match made some people jealous?”

“Or is it because Young Master Xie’s fame has spread far and wide, and someone deliberately wants to hinder his path?”

“I’m afraid someone really wants to hinder his path to officialdom!”

“…”

Amidst the discussions, Lu Lingxuan’s expression gradually turned from pale to livid, and Mu Tipo beside her was even more horrified and disbelieving!

Clearly, his men had seen Gao Anagong and Erzhu Ying leading seven or eight assassins chasing after that Xie Zhen! A son of an aristocratic family, even if he had some martial arts skills for self-defense, there was no way he could defeat nearly ten assassins, let alone Erzhu Ying, who was a veteran of many battles!

What was going on?

Everyone noticed that there were indeed some bloodstains on Xie Zhen’s black robe, but fortunately, he was not seriously injured, so he could still stand calmly in front of the hall.

“You said someone wanted to kill you?” Gao Zhan also asked in astonishment.

“Yes!”

“Who?”

When Gao Zhan asked this, Xiao Jinyu fell silent, and Prince of Lanling behind her did not speak either.

At this time, the people in the hall became curious, and some even urged: “Yes! Who is it? Young Master Xie, tell us quickly, who exactly wants to kill you?”

Amidst the clamor of indignant questions, Xiao Jinyu sighed softly and unexpectedly replied: “Let’s not talk about it! Zhen is insignificant and powerless, and I don’t dare to point fingers at those in the court! I don’t dare to delay Your Majesty’s important matters!”

The phrase “those in the court” already made people speculate, and the people in the hall whispered even more, some even cast suspicious glances at Zu Ting, making Zu Ting’s face flush red and white, feeling greatly insulted.

“Why are you looking at me, I, Zu Ting, am willing to accept defeat. Since I admitted defeat yesterday, I only have admiration and respect for this Young Master Xie, and absolutely no petty jealousy!”

He spoke with righteous indignation, and Xiao Jinyu also responded with a smile:

“It’s not Assistant Minister Zu! Please don’t make wild guesses! And thank you all for your concern for Xie Zhen!”

She then raised her wide sleeve and bowed to Gao Zhan, “Your Majesty, since Zhen has arrived, please give me the topic!”

A hint of interest appeared on the corner of Gao Zhan’s lips, and his eyes fixed on “Xie Zhen,” he said: “Alright! Yesterday, you already competed with Assistant Minister Zu in the art of chess, so today, let’s compete in poetry and literature, how about it?

I heard that you wrote a fragment of a poem at the Pure Conversation Gathering on Mount Fahua in the Southern Dynasty. Today, I don’t want to see a fragment of a poem. I want to see how you can write a masterpiece that will be passed down through the ages in the shortest possible time?”

When Gao Zhan said this, He Shikai sarcastically added: “What fragment of a poem, I’m afraid he couldn’t write it at all, just pretending to be mysterious to highlight his fame. Some fame-seeking literati like to cultivate their reputation this way!”

As soon as he said this, more literati glared angrily!

Xie Zhen still smiled and ignored him!

At this time, Gao Zhan looked at Zu Ting again, “In the past, Assistant Minister Zu wrote the 《”Stele of Dingguo Temple”》 in two days and wrote a poem about a princess leaving the frontier for the Eastern Wei in one day, far surpassing the original, and became famous throughout the land.

I know your Chenjun Xie Clan is good at poetry, but my Qi State is also full of talented people, and there is no shortage of those who are good at poetry and literature. In the past, Assistant Minister of the Secretariat Pei Rangzhi and Palace Attendant Lu Sidao each wrote a poem about the northern expedition and military campaigns.

How about Young Master Xie and Assistant Minister Zu each compose a poem on the theme of military campaigns and northern expeditions?”

Xiao Jinyu replied: “As I wish, please grant me a brush, Your Majesty!”

Zu Ting also said: “As I wish!”

Seeing her confident look, Gao Zhan couldn’t help but ask with a teasing smile:

“Today, Qing also wants to complete this poem before a leaf falls?”

“Your Majesty is joking. Before a leaf falls, Zhen can’t finish writing a whole poem. Why don’t I learn from Cao Zijian and compose a poem within seven steps!”

Composing a poem within seven steps is also very arrogant, okay?

Zu Ting’s poem about a princess leaving the frontier, written in one day, has been recited by thousands of people. How many people are there with the talent and brilliance of Cao Zijian?

“Young Master Xie is truly arrogant. If he can’t compose a complete poem within seven steps, what then?” He Shikai suddenly asked.

“What does Palace Attendant He mean by that? If he can’t compose it, he can’t compose it. It’s just losing a competition, what else can happen?” Li Mi retorted.

He Shikai turned to Gao Zhan and unexpectedly said: “In my opinion, if he can’t compose it, it only means that this Xie Zhen is a fraud, a fame-seeker. Your Majesty should expel him from our Qi State!”

These words made all the scholars under the Grand Ultimate Hall glare at him!

Prince of Lanling’s always calm face also showed anger!

It was only after seeing Xiao Jinyu’s gesture behind her back that he reluctantly suppressed his anger.

“Yantong, that’s going too far. This is a test for scholars, to select talents for the country. If he is a talent, I will naturally promote him. If not… at most, I won’t let him enter officialdom in our Qi State. There’s no need to drive him out of Qi!”

“Yes!”

Although Gao Zhan spoke in a calm tone, but saying that he would not let him enter officialdom in Qi State was already cutting off a person’s future. This indirect punishment was not light. He Shikai listened and smiled, repeatedly saying yes.

“Then let’s begin!”

As Gao Zhan ordered someone to fetch brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, Xiao Jinyu looked at Lu Lingxuan with deep eyes. She did not expect this woman to want to kill “Xie Zhen” so quickly. But fortunately, from the first step out of Prince of Lanling’s Residence, Gao Changgong and Fenghuang had noticed that they were being followed by a group of assassins. So she had to temporarily change the plan and let Ling Ye help Fenghuang kill these people who were following them!

She needed to buy more time for Fenghuang, and then carry out the second step of the plan!

✿✿✿

As the poetry surge in the Grand Ultimate Hall reached its quietest peak, a fierce battle in the Northern Palace was also about to end.

Erzhu Ying did not expect that the young man, who had been firmly controlled by him and whose neck he could snap with just a little more force, would suddenly become ruthless and stab a broken short sword into his chest.

The young man stabbed him in a vital spot from under his armpit in a suicidal manner!

The fatal blow caused Erzhu Ying’s throat to surge with a sweet and fishy taste, and he suddenly vomited a large amount of blood, looking incredulously at the young man in front of him, who was covered in cuts and stained red with blood.

The young man gasped for breath, supporting the wound on his arm, and slowly stood up, looking down at him.

He saw disdain and pity, and a trace of resentment in the young man’s eyes!

No, impossible! It was clear that he had always had the upper hand, and he could have taken the boy’s life whenever he wanted. The reason he hadn’t done it so quickly was simply to see him struggle and suffer, to get some pleasure from it!

How could he lose?

This boy’s martial arts were mostly taught by him, how could he lose?

“That’s right, most of my martial arts were taught to you, so you assumed that I would never be your opponent, right?”

Fenghuang also smiled mockingly, walked forward, looked at Erzhu Ying, whose face was gradually turning ashen, and grabbed the hilt of the sword that was still stuck in him!

“Originally, I didn’t want to kill you, but you already know my Qing Gege’s identity, and you also want to kill her. How can I let you live in this world?”

“As for what you said, my grandfather betrayed your father, so you want to betray my father… heh, history is written by the victors, how can the grievances and resentments in this world be explained clearly?

Revenge is a vicious cycle, so let it end here!”

After saying that, his eyes suddenly became cold and fierce, and he tried to pull out the sword with force. Unexpectedly, Erzhu Ying actually grabbed the broken sword with both hands, looked at him and smiled: “Wait, let me finish my last sentence!”

“Murong Jue, you like that Princess Consort of Lanling very much, don’t you?”

Fenghuang’s hand paused, and his expression was slightly stunned.

Erzhu Ying seemed to sense the sudden surge of longing and turmoil in his eyes!

“You’ve protected her for so long, but watched her marry someone else, you must feel bad, right?”

“Instead of making yourself suffer, why not take what you want? If one day, you can be the king of this world, you can get whatever you want, including her!”

“Anyway, the monarchs of the Gao family are debauched and incompetent. Why don’t you destroy the Gao imperial family and replace them? What’s wrong with that?”

Seeing the increasingly surprised and unfathomable look in Fenghuang’s eyes, Erzhu Ying chuckled twice and finally said,

“Murong Jue, in fact, you are not the only one of the Murong clan left in this world. The Xianbei military and political factions have always served their own masters. There are still former followers of the Murong clan who are willing to follow you in the army in Jinyang…”

At this point, Erzhu Ying had already exhausted his last bit of strength, but seeing the glimmer of surprise in Fenghuang’s eyes, as he swallowed his last breath, a hint of joy actually appeared in his ashen eyes!

Fenghuang was still in a daze when Ling Ye rushed in. Seeing him standing there motionless and dazed, he hurriedly called out: “Boy, what are you still standing there for? The envoy is about to leave, you have to hurry to the back garden of the detached palace and act according to the lady’s plan!”

✿✿✿

Gao Changgong had already told him where Yuwen Hu’s family was. Next, he needed to sneak into the detached palace alone and find Yuwen Hu’s aunt, Lady Yang, who was about to be sent back to the Zhou State!

Seeing his bloodstained clothes, Ling Ye’s expression changed slightly, and he said worriedly, “Why are you so injured? If someone finds out…”

“No one will find out!” Fenghuang suddenly interrupted decisively, “Qing Gege gave me medicine, I can heal my wounds and stop the bleeding!”

After saying that, he actually took off his black robe, which had been stabbed to shreds, quickly cleaned the cuts on his body, applied medicine, and changed into another set of women’s clothes to sneak into the back garden of the detached palace.

This last thing needed to be done by himself, so Ling Ye didn’t follow him.

But after running a few steps, Fenghuang couldn’t help but look back at Ling Ye.

This look back was as if he had made up his mind, but his heart was as if it was being cut by a knife.

“You must protect Qing Gege, protect her, and don’t let her get hurt again…”

He said in a hoarse voice, and choked for a while. The young man’s long-suppressed tears finally burst out. After Ling Ye nodded solemnly to him, he resolutely ran towards the back garden of the detached palace.

Seeing him sneak into the detached palace, Ling Ye leaped onto the highest point of the Northern Palace, watching two officials in red robes and three-beam hats enter from the main gate of the detached palace and invite an old woman out. The old woman was also supported by a young woman.

Seeing this young woman, both Bi Yiyun and Wei Shou showed hesitation on their faces.

The old woman explained: “She is my maid, A’ying. She has been with me for a long time. Without her to take care of me, I will have many inconveniences along the way. Please allow me to take this maid with me!”

Bi Yiyun carefully scrutinized this maid for a long time, until he couldn’t see any flaws, he reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

Wei Shou was an old official who had served both the Wei and Qi dynasties. He knew all about the old woman’s past, and he couldn’t help but feel pity for her being alone in a foreign country, separated from her children for thirty-five years. He said to Bi Yiyun: “It’s just a maid, let her take her. Our Qi State has indeed detained the old lady for many years. Please ask the old lady to take a letter to your Grand Steward in the Zhou State when she returns. I have already written the content of the letter. The lady can just modify it slightly in her own handwriting.”

“Okay!”

The old woman’s eyesight was already very poor, and the maid took the letter for her and stuffed it into her hand.

“Time is of the essence, let’s go quickly!”

This time, sending Lady Yang to the Zhou State was a secret mission of the envoy. His Majesty had explicitly stated that there was no need to make a fuss, lest the spies of the Zhou State would take action on the way.

The old woman said okay, and then got into the carriage with the help of the maid.

Bi Yiyun and Wei Shou also mounted their horses, and the carriage began to drive towards the official road, and gradually towards the city gate!

Ling Ye stood at the highest point like this, watching the carriage drive out of the city gate, gradually moving away, becoming a shrinking black dot in the rising dust.

It was not until a firework signal came from the direction of the Yecheng Post Station that Ling Ye also took out a bamboo tube and shot a brilliant flame into the air!

At the same time, outside the Grand Ultimate Hall in the Southern City, a firework also exploded in the blue sky!

The firework was like silk and rain, but also like thousands of trees blooming, looking exceptionally beautiful!

After seeing this firework, Xiao Jinyu couldn’t help but smile with tears in her eyes. Her lips parted slightly, and she couldn’t help but recite a line of poetry:

“People have sorrows and joys, partings and reunions; the moon waxes and wanes, it’s hard to be perfect. May we all be blessed with longevity, though miles apart, we share the beauty of the moon!”

Fenghuang, have a safe journey!

Whether or not we will meet again in the future, I will always remember you!

Remember your life-saving grace!

Remember the past when we depended on each other!

At this moment, Xiao Jinyu didn’t notice at all that because of the poem she had just unintentionally recited, all the scholars in the hall were dumbfounded, and the whole place was silent!

Some even took out their brushes and recorded this line!

“May we all be blessed with longevity, though miles apart, we share the beauty of the moon! Today, I have the honor of hearing such a beautiful line!”

“Indeed, once this line is out, it will surely be passed down through the ages!”

Gao Changgong couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart. Others didn’t know the meaning of her reciting this line, but he understood. Seeing the tears in Xiao Jinyu’s eyes, he slightly raised his hand as if to comfort her, but put it down again for fear of being noticed.

But Lu Lingxuan’s face became extremely ugly!

She looked at the sky where the fireworks exploded, as if she had thought of something, and looked at “Xie Zhen” again in disbelief!

He Shikai was still mocking: “What’s so good about it? His Majesty asked him to compose a poem on the theme of military campaigns and northern expeditions, does this poem he wrote have anything to do with it?”

But before he finished speaking, he saw this Xie Zhen actually holding a brush in both hands, writing on one screen after another!

Her brushstrokes were extremely fast, like flowing clouds and water, smooth and unrestrained, making it impossible to take one’s eyes off!

As she calmly wielded her brush and splashed ink, one line of poetry after another was recited from the mouths of the observing scholars:

“After snow on the Tianshan Mountains, the sea wind is cold, the transverse flute blows sadly, making the journey difficult. Three hundred thousand soldiers in the desert, all look back at the bright moon.”

Is that it? Didn’t he even finish seven steps?

Looking at the words on the screen and the lines of poetry, the observing scholars fell into silent silence again.

They thought this one was already a masterpiece! Enough to make his fame spread far and wide again, but unexpectedly, they saw that he didn’t stop writing at all!

“Look, he’s still writing!”

There’s… actually a second one!

“Grape wine in luminous cups of night, ready to drink, the pipa urges us on horseback. Don’t laugh at me for lying drunk on the battlefield, how many have returned from ancient wars?”

“…”

No, the second one is nothing, because there is a third one, a fourth one…

“Long clouds darken the snow-capped mountains of Qinghai, from the lonely city I gaze towards Jade Gate Pass. Through yellow sands, a hundred battles in golden armor, I won’t return until the Xiongnu are defeated!”

It wasn’t until the fifth poem was finished that everyone saw Xie Zhen put down his brush and face the emperor!

“I wonder if composing five poems in seven steps counts as passing Your Majesty’s test?” she asked.

Gao Zhan was already stunned. Looking at this young man in black, standing tall and straight like Mount Tai, behind him were five screens filled with poems!

Seven steps! Five poems!

He’s simply… not human anymore, is he?

And what was even more shocking was not only his poems, but also his calligraphy. The scholars had already surged to the front of the five screens, copying and studying the poems and calligraphy on them!

“Five poems, five styles of calligraphy, not only inheriting the legacy of the Two Wangs, but also having the character of the Wei clan and Suo Jing!”

“This is truly a rare talent in the world!”

“Yes, it’s unbelievable. How can a young man do this? Could this be what they call a gift?”

The exclamations in the hall were endless, and Xie Zhen was still waiting for the Qi emperor’s answer!

It was Li Mi who reminded Gao Zhan, and only then did Gao Zhan come back to his senses and cough lightly: “With such talent, you are truly exceptional. In this test, you have been recognized by all the scholars, unmatched. You are the well-deserved top scorer!”

“I wonder what are Young Master Xie’s aspirations?”

“Xie Zhen” smiled, and actually half-knelt down and said seriously: “Zhen has no great aspirations, I just want to be Your Majesty’s favored official!”

The author can’t write poems, so I’m shamelessly borrowing famous works from ancient people here. In fact, the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties period was also a flourishing time for poetry. Many talented people wrote very good poems, like Pei Rangzhi’s “From the Northern Expedition,” Lu Sidao’s “Military Campaigns”…