Chapter 209: None Survives (2 / 2)

Too late.

[Wow! The ‘Poetry Sage!’ ‘A century of literary classics, a millennium of Guo’s legacy!’ So impressive! Let me see…]

Xu Yanmiao blinked, even his inner thoughts slowing and stretching out.

[Woooow… Ohhhh…]

The officials collectively began to panic.

Every time Little Baize used this tone, it was never a good sign!

Stop it! At least leave us one of the two legends intact!

[Wait, is that really a thing? While still young, they prepared over a thousand poems—some average, some occasionally brilliant—and then sought out accomplished, elderly literary masters, pestering them to revise and provide guidance…]

The officials were puzzled.

What’s wrong with that? Isn’t consulting mentors normal? Sure, a thousand poems is excessive, but perhaps that persistence was what made them a great Poetry Sage.

[Then, after all the masters who revised the poems had passed away, they brought out the polished, refined masterpieces!!!]

“???”

“!!!”

[So the ‘Sage’ part of ‘Poetry Sage’ was actually about sagely borrowing from others?!]

No!!!

That’s not true! It’s the sage of profound wisdom!

The fans of Guo the Great screamed internally, but their minds couldn’t stop replaying it:

“Polished masterpieces.”

“Guided by famous masters.”

“After all the elders had passed away.”

Damn it!

Centuries later, they were somehow still “fortunate” enough to learn the truth?!

—A historical figure from hundreds of years ago, and yet they still managed to “fall from grace” in their eyes???

The fans of Guo the Great felt as though the sky was collapsing, the earth was spinning, and tears were threatening to fall.

Meanwhile, the officials who only admired Peng Wenzong and didn’t care much for Guo the Great suddenly felt like they had narrowly escaped disaster.

So what if he was young and reckless, indulging in Five-Stone Powder? At least he felt ashamed afterward and worked hard to redeem himself! And he wrote his own books, crafted his own essays! Doesn’t that make him better than Guo Whats-his-name?

The elderly emperor had been reviewing memorials all day.

As the sun set and the palace gates were about to be locked, he estimated that the people in Wenhua Hall should also be finishing up. Summoning the commander of the Jinyiwei, he asked, “How’s the situation over there?”

After a brief but peculiar silence, the commander’s expression turned subtle. “No survivors.”

The emperor’s eyes widened slightly. “…What?”

That night, across the capital, faint, sorrowful sobbing echoed from numerous households.

This left their relatives and friends utterly baffled.

“Husband, what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing, let me be alone for a while. Guo the Great… why… woo woo woo—”

“Dad? What’s wrong? Why are you locking yourself in the study as soon as you come back?”

“I’ve thought it through. Tomorrow, I’ll send you to Baima Academy, which is a thousand miles away to study!”

“Huh?”

“Son, I’m doing this for your own good! If you ever hear about anything like the ‘Eagle Family,’ just ignore it and focus on your studies. Don’t think too much about it!”

“What’s wrong with the name ‘Eagle Family’? It sounds nice…”

His father gave him a deep look and sighed softly, “You don’t understand.”

Crying, lamenting, preemptively worrying, drowning in alcohol, hoping the misfortune would spread to other families… Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night, but Xu Yanmiao slept soundly until dawn.

That’s right! Today! He had a day off!

The cook knocked on the door: “My lord, today’s small meals are noodle cakes, ring cakes, and milk tofu.”

Noodle cakes are made from noodles. Ring cakes are fried twists. Milk tofu is a type of dairy tofu.

Xu Yanmiao got up cheerfully, washed up, and had breakfast.

The noodles were particularly chewy, thin, round, and long, dipped in soy sauce. The toppings were fresh cucumber slices and blanched mung bean sprouts, both fresh and crispy. The ring cakes were golden, fried to a crisp, and had a sweet flavor.

After finishing, Xu Yanmiao happily continued to eat the milk tofu. It was hard to bite, so it was either dipped in milk tea or sucked on like candy.

The lion cat sat nearby, looking up and seriously watching the dining table. It didn’t touch the noodles, nor the ring cakes, until the milk tofu was served. Then it “pounced” onto Xu Yanmiao’s lap, sitting properly, its tail tapping gently on the young man’s abdomen.

“Meow~”

Xu Yanmiao glanced at the milk tofu and then at the lion cat, swirling the dairy block in his mouth, speaking in a mumbled tone, “I’ll let you have some… but can you even eat this?”

Before the lion cat could continue to act spoiled, Xu Yanmiao quickly grabbed a bowl of cat food made from chicken breast and said, “Eat this!”

The lion cat immediately became satisfied, licking, biting, and gnawing on the chicken breast, battling it fiercely.

Xu Yanmiao then noticed the cook, who usually left by now, was still standing in place, unmoving. “Huh? What’s going on? Is there something wrong?”

The cook hesitantly said, “My lord, my family has come to the capital to find me. May I take the day off from cooking today?”

Xu Yanmiao glanced at him and generously said, “Sure! I was planning to eat out today anyway.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

The lion cat was startled, leaping to the wall and staring with wide eyes.

Xu Yanmiao quickly wiped his mouth and said to the cook, “I’ll be leaving now. Please lock the door after me.”@@novelbin@@

He then stood up and quickly walked to the door, opening it. “Lian Hang, let’s go! We should still make it in time for the performance by the Tanjiku Hu people.”

“It’s not too late. If we head to the East Market now, we’ll be just in time for their performance. Let’s go!”

The cook gratefully glanced toward the door.

When he was first sent here, he thought he would be serving a particularly picky and difficult master, but he never expected to meet Xu Yanmiao, who was so easygoing and pleasant to work with.

“Need to quickly sort out all the matters regarding my third uncle, and then hurry back to cook—ah, the master likes to watch plays. It seems my third uncle can control snakes, so I’ll ask him if he’s willing to perform for the master.”

Liu Ling was indulgent in his drinking, often carefree and uninhibited, sometimes even stripping naked to stay in his house. When people saw him and criticized him, Liu Ling replied, “I take the heavens and earth as my roof and the room as my clothes, so why do you come into my trousers?”

— Shishuo Xinyu

(Shishuo Xinyu is a collection of anecdotes from the Eastern Han to Eastern Jin period, focused on the behavior and sayings of scholars, particularly those from the Jin dynasty. It was compiled during the Liang dynasty by Liu Xiao, who referenced over 400 books, becoming famous for its wide-ranging knowledge and preservation of valuable historical materials.)

On the Titles of Poets:

Poetry Demon — Bai Juyi

Poetry Hero — Cen Shen

Poetry Bone — Chen Zi’ang

Poetry Saint — Du Fu

Poetry Madman — He Zhizhang

Poetry Slave — Jia Dao

Poetry Immortal — Li Bai

Poetry Ghost — Li He

Master of Seven-Li Verse — Li Shangyin

Great Wall of Five-Word Verses — Liu Changqing

Poetry Hero — Liu Yuxi

Poetry Prisoner — Meng Jiao

Poetry Prodigy — Wang Bo

Master of Seven-Character Quatrains — Wang Changling

Poetry Buddha — Wang Wei