Pei You rushed over excitedly and reached toward the ink and paper in Gao Yingâs hands. âLet me write it this time!â
He had missed out on a chance to leave his name behind in history, so there was no way heâd let the opportunity slip past again. He and Gao Ying were the ones with the most confidence in Zu An. When he heard Zu An speaking so confidently, he knew Zu An would create something great again.
Gao Ying quickly pulled back the pen and paper, saying vigilantly, âYour writing isnât anything special, so just let me take care of it. Otherwise, we might end up ruining brother Zuâs extraordinary poem.â
âIâ¦â Pei Youâs face turned red. He wanted to retort, but he didnât know where to even start. As such, he could only remain helpless and annoyed. Suddenly, however, he thought of something. He grabbed the ink slab and exclaimed, âLet me make the ink then!â
Gao Ying was speechless. You really are something else!
The others were also stupefied. These two aristocrat kids really are buffoons! Theyâre actually going that far in their bootlicking!
However, they knew that if they had been in that position, they might also fight for the chance to leave behind their names in history. But unfortunately, they didnât know Zu An too well, so they couldnât even offer up their assistance themselves.
The mysterious woman upstairs frowned. The two men were moving about and standing in her way. There were many powerful cultivators present too, so if she failed on the first attempt, there might not be a second chance.
After some hesitation, she decided to give up on taking action immediately. It hadnât been easy for her to get to where she was in the capital. It would obviously be good if she could eliminate this calamity for her race, but if she failed and ended up exposing herself, the gains wouldnât make up for the losses.
If push came to shove, sheâd just leave the task to Nan Xun.
Zu An began in a loud and clear voice.
âThe braves who face the fiend barbarians are undaunted by perils; five thousand elites in brocaded robes have perished.
Their pitiful remains scatter endlessly across the northern lake, even as wives dream and await their return.â
He obviously couldnât use the word âHunsâ from the original poem, so he substituted it with fiend barbarians. As for the lake part, there just happened to be a similarly named lake to the north near the fiend raceâs borders, so he just used the line as is.
âTheir pitiful remains scatter endlessly across the northern lake, even as wives dream and await their returnâ¦â The mysterious woman upstairs mouthed the two verses. She slowly lowered her hand, and the killing intent in her eyes gradually faded.
The maid next to her was surprised, asking, âHuh? Are you not going to kill him anymore?â
âI wonât. He isnât like ordinary humans,â the mysterious woman said slowly. Her eyes were filled with a different expression as she looked at Zu An.
The entire place fell dead silent as those present all pondered the poetry verses. A solemn and stirring battlefield appeared before their eyes, in which many of the courtâs soldiers pledged their lives to cut down their enemy. In the end, many of them were sacrificed.
The north was cold, and most soldiers only wore cotton-padded clothes. Only the elites would be dressed in brocaded robes, and yet even they lost five thousand of their men. It was easy to imagine the intensity and bitterness of such a battle.
What was most shocking were the last two sentences. âTheir pitiful remains scatter endlessly across the northern lake, even as wives dream and await their returnâ; the stark contrast was just too intense.
Those present had previously thought that there could be nothing worse than receiving news that oneâs loved ones had died. But now, it seemed that even though receiving news of oneâs loved one dying was sorrowful, at least one could hold a memorial service.
However, the scene Zu An portrayed was one of no news for families back home, all year round. The soldiersâ wives would long for their husbandsâ early return in their dreams, and yet they would have no idea that those men had already become withered bones across the northern lake. That stark contrast of hope and despair was the true feeling of tragedy.
Those present felt a powerful feeling surge within them. They wanted to say something, and yet they discovered that anything they could say would seem lackluster in comparison.
Lady Nan Xunâs eyes turned red, tears streaming down her face as she looked at Zu An. She said, âYoung master, you are too heartless.â
If it had been any other time, Pei You would have been overwhelmed with jealousy after seeing the goddess of his dreams look at another man in that way. But now, he instead accepted it wholeheartedly. Big bro Zu is formidable after all!
But he was more concerned about another thing. He quickly moved over to Gao Yingâs side. Sure enough, Gao Ying had added his own name! Pei Youâs eyes widened as he asked, âWhat about me?â
Gao Ying felt a bit guilty, so he added another line saying, âInk grinded by Pei You.â
Pei Youâs annoyance changed to happiness. He had finally made it onto that paper!
Bi Ziangâs expression changed several times. That kid was actually this frightening! Thank goodness itâs only in the field of literature. I should still be able to control him⦠Right? However, he no longer had the same amount of confidence as before.
On the other hand, Yu Nanâs expression paled. His entire body shook uncontrollably. He had never expected that this kid, whom he had just considered a rascal off the streets, would have such literary prowess! Forget about himself, not even the successive generations of scholars could compare to Zu An!
When he recalled everything he had done today, all of it now seemed as if it had only served to set the stage for Zu An. In the end, he had just become a stepping stone for Zu Anâs rise to fame. He closed his eyes bitterly. He could already imagine that after today, he would become the capitalâs greatest laughingstock. His name might even be left behind in history⦠but it wasnât going to be for something good.
What kind of blasted luck was this? He had actually ended up running into a little demon like this?! He was experiencing extreme internal conflict at the moment. Even though he still paid close attention to his etiquette, he still couldnât help but curse at Zu An inwardly.
Yi Zhibing suddenly spoke up again. âHow brazen! The courtâs army has just left for war, and yet youâre cursing them to suffer heavy losses? This is a crime punishable by death!â
Yu Nan gave him a blank look. Even though he knew that Yi Zhibing was deliberately causing trouble, he was like a drowning person who wasnât even willing to let go of the last straw.
When they heard Yi Zhibingâs words, many people who were close to him echoed their agreement. Several others felt that the poem was a bit inauspicious.
Qin Guangyuan harrumphed and said, âWhat do any of you understand?! What Ah Zu has described is the great battle from thirty years ago! For various reasons, the courtâs army suffered severe losses, and there were corpses strewn all across the riverside. Ah Zu is warning us to not repeat that tragedy, that itâs actually something that must be given careful thought!â
Zu An was shocked. He hadnât expected the poem to match up with history. It seemed his luck wasnât that bad! The reason he had chosen it was merely to express that he didnât want war anymore. After all, as an ordinary person, he related more to the ordinary soldiers.
Lady Nan Xunâs lips parted slightly as she said softly, âThis humble one has gained some understanding from this work. I am not sure if I should voice my thoughts.â
Those present immediately focused their attention on her. âLady Nan Xun, please speak your mind!â
Look at all these simps! Zu An thought.
Nan Xun gave Zu An a look and slowly said, âEveryone present is capable and influential, but I am of common birth. As such, I sympathize with the common peopleâs suffering. In war, regardless of who wins or loses, many soldiers lose their lives. They have family and loved ones back home, and yet all this time, no one has spoken of their sorrows. Young master Zuâs poem greatly illustrates their bitter lives. I personally believe that young master Zu is a kindhearted and gentle person, and that apart from the warning that young master Qin has spoken of, the poem should also describe a peaceful and anti-war attitude.â As she spoke, she looked at Zu An with an expectant gaze.
Zu An was quite shocked. This courtesan really did know some stuff! He nodded and said, âIndeed, there was such a message.â
Someone like Zu An who came from a peaceful era really had no interest in war. For flesh and blood to fly, for countless people to lose their lives, all for the sake of the prestige and honor of a few peopleâwhat meaning was there in something like that?
The mysterious woman grinned. âAs expected!â She thought, This man is quite interesting.
But many others didnât think the same way. They said with a smile, âHe is a scholar through and through after all.â
âLady Nan Xun is too kind. The fiend races are savages. If you donât kill them, theyâll only kill more of us!â
âIndeed, this battle only began because the fiend races slaughtered our city. Speaking of peace with them is just being inflexible in oneâs thinking!â
â¦
The others present pretty much had similar thoughts. After all, the Zhou Dynasty had been founded on martial might. They had waged war in all directions and defeated enemies from all sides. These men came from prestigious clans, so they would always prioritize gaining achievements. They naturally didnât sympathize much with ordinary people.
The mysterious woman harrumphed. âAll of them are truly hateful!â
The maid next to her also huffed and exclaimed, âExactly! How about we just kill them all?!â
The mysterious woman gave her a look and said, âSure, Iâll give you a sword. Why donât you go and do it?â
The maid pouted and said, âThereâs no way I could do thatâ¦â
The mysterious woman chuckled and replied, âSo you knew that, hm? Then stop blabbering about such unrealistic nonsense.â
â¦
Even though the onlookers felt that Zu An was a bit too meek and weak-willed, they had to admit that his poems were excellent.
Now, they didnât even feel as if his prior boasting about having eighty percent of the worldâs literary talent had been too much. Forget about the entire world in the present, there was no one from past generations who had talent comparable to Zu An.
With the Qin clan brothers stepping forward to defend Zu An, and Lady Nan Xunâs praise on top of that, Yu Nan could only stop Yi Zhibing from continuing. With how things were, it would be useless even if they said anything else. It would only serve to tarnish their reputation further.
Lady Nan Xunâs ears moved slightly, as if she had heard something. She was shocked inwardly, but she didnât show it on the surface.