The prefect of Guangzhou stood on the high platform with a calm expression, but he was as anxious as an ant on hot pan.
He was originally trying every means to find Fang Yun's flaws, and then continued to attack to find bigger loopholes, but who knew that Fang Yun not only did not lose his composure, but handled the matter very appropriately. He bluntly said that the new champion's level was not good enough, and then gave him a poem, which convinced the champion. This was not instigation at all, but he was actually trying to make the new champion his apprentice step by step.
What made him most angry was that this poem was so good that no other poem of the same kind could compare to it.
The poems of our ancient predecessors all have their own merits. Some are extremely beautiful, some are magnificent and heroic, and some are deeply emotional. However, this poem combines beauty and truth perfectly, and it excels in terms of words, rhythm, and artistic conception. Moreover, the whole poem is positive and uplifting, without any personal feelings or sadness. It can be compared with any other poems.
The Guangzhou prefect stood on the high platform for a full quarter of an hour before the voices discussing the poem died down. However, someone then recited the poetry-crazy old man's comments on the discussion board, and the literary gathering became lively again.
“… Finally, the poetry-crazy old man summarized this poem in eight words: ‘the most beautiful scene, the most reasonable, the most beautiful, the most courageous’!”
"The old man who loves poetry is really extraordinary! I thought we had discussed it enough, but after reading his comments, I suddenly realized that to go to the next level, isn't that fearless courage?"
The Guangzhou prefect was silent for a long time before he said, "Let the literary competition continue! Marquis Zhujiang, you said that this one-word poem by Jie Yuangong has flaws. What are the flaws? Please point them out one by one."
The young champion and many others frowned. They did not expect that he would pursue them so relentlessly. It was really shameless. But when they thought carefully, if he could harm Zhang Longxiang, he would surely be promoted. This little face was insignificant.
Fang Yun smiled slightly and said, "This one-word poem does have flaws. It says, "A flower, a willow, a fish pier; a slanting sun, a flying bird; a mountain, a water, a courtyard; a forest of green leaves, a returning person." In the last sentence, "A forest of green leaves, a returning person," the word "person" is too abstract. Compared with the previous images of the slanting sun and flying birds, it is too pale. The method to change it is very simple. Just change "person" to a more specific person, such as "older man," "old man," "scholar," etc."
"I've learned a lot!" The young champion was very happy, because after Fang Yun pointed out his problem this time, he would remember it and would basically not make the same mistake again.
Everyone felt that Zhang Longxiang had a strong ability to respond to situations on the spot and were about to praise him when Fang Yun suddenly looked at the prefect of Guangzhou.
Fang Yun said: "After I finished writing this poem "Climbing the Stork Tower", the prefect had a blank expression on his face. It seems that he thinks this poem is not good and looks down on me, Zhang Longxiang. I think he must have noticed some flaws in this poem. I would like to ask the prefect for his advice."
The prefect of Guangzhou was stunned.
The whole place was silent, and then there was a burst of snickering. The young champion even lowered his head and laughed secretly.
Some people even laughed so hard that they choked. Fang Yun's method of using his own method to treat others was too harsh. Not to mention that the Guangzhou prefect could not find any flaws in the poem, even the poetry-crazy old man could not find any. This meant that no matter what the Guangzhou prefect said, his previous attempts to sow discord against Fang Yun would become a joke.
The prefect of Guangzhou secretly glanced at Lu Menhou and Gou Bao.
The two grand secretaries picked up the teacups at the same time and drank the tea in unison.
After a long while, the Guangzhou prefect laughed and said, "Marquis of Zhujiang, you are overpraising me. I cannot find any flaws in your poem. Forget it. The original time for writing poems has passed, but there is a reason. I will add another half a quarter of an hour. Please finish writing your wonderful poems and submit them within half a quarter of an hour. Marquis of Zhujiang, I hope your next poem will win the first prize and get the prize."
Fang Yun smiled and said, "Of course, I will take back the Zhang family's things myself!"
"good!"
The literary gathering returned to calm, with many people quickly writing strange poems.
Soon, everyone handed in their poems.
The prefect of Guangzhou began to read the poems from top to bottom. He would put the ordinary poems aside after reading them, but if he came across a good poem, he would definitely ask someone to evaluate it.
The poems at the beginning were mediocre, but in the middle period, some extraordinary poems began to appear.
Some were reduplicated palindromes, some were embedded-word palindromes, and even a ten-character palindrome that Fang Yun had once written appeared. Before the prefect of Guangzhou picked up Fang Yun's poem page, there were already nine two-odd poems, each with its own characteristics.
Most of the people present were originally neutral, but after seeing Fang Yun present his poem, they were impressed and hoped that he could win the first prize, and they were quite worried.
The Guangzhou prefect took Fang Yun's poem page, but did not open it. Instead, he smiled and said, "As we all know, it is very difficult to overlap strange poems, because strange poems have a special format and are difficult to blend. Palindrome poems can blend with other strange poems. Now, I will take a look at this poem by Zhujiang Hou..."
Before the Guangzhou prefect finished speaking, Fang Yun suddenly stood up and walked out of the literary meeting.
The whole audience was in an uproar, and the Guangzhou prefect hurriedly asked, "Marquis Zhujiang, what are you doing?"
"Remember to send the prize for the first place to my residence in the military camp." After saying this, Fang Yun walked straight out without paying attention to anyone.
The Guangzhou prefect was furious and said, "Marquis Zhujiang, you are too arrogant and don't take us seriously!"
Fang Yun snorted coldly and said, "I don't take you seriously at all!"
"You..." The Guangzhou prefect's face turned pale.
Leaving a literary gathering before it is over is the greatest disrespect to the host of the gathering.
Many scholars in the field looked at the Guangzhou prefect with regret. Even if he could be promoted in the future, his literary reputation would be completely ruined, and scholars who were a little bit careful about their reputation would not get close to him. Once Zhang Longxiang was recorded in the history books, historians would most likely mention this Guangzhou prefect, making him infamous for eternity.
After Fang Yun left, the Guangzhou prefect suppressed his anger and said, "I will recite the masterpiece of the Pearl River Marquis!"
"The red curtain reflects the dim moon, and the lingering fragrance attracts the green weeds.
The sparse shadows in the empty courtyard and the small fence, the thin layer of powder left on the skin due to makeup.
The exquisite bun is surrounded by jade, and the worm-like hairpins are decorated with dewdrops.
The wind is cold and the rain is fine against the window, and I am alone in the building with a cold dream behind the lamp."
After reciting it, the Guangzhou prefect immediately said, "This is a seven-character regulated verse. It does have the imagery of spring. There is nothing surprising in any aspect, and there is nothing remarkable about the poetry. It is nothing more than what a lonely woman saw and felt. If nothing unexpected happens, this should be a palindrome poem... Well, this poem can indeed be read backwards as a palindrome. I will recite it aloud."
"The cold lamp in the lonely building blocks my dream, the drizzle and cold wind blow through the window.
Pearl dew falls on the hairpins, and the insects are woven into the ropes. The jade rings are round and the phoenix hair is exquisite.
Her skin is covered with a thin layer of powder but with residual makeup, and her shadow is standing in the empty courtyard with sparse fences.
The green weeds bring with them a strong fragrance, and near dusk the moon is reflected on the red curtains.
Many people in the audience nodded and took notes. They read the poem several times and confirmed that it was a palindrome.
A hint of joy flashed across the eyes of the Guangzhou prefect, and then he said: "With the ability of the Marquis of Zhujiang, I believe he would not only write one strange poem. Please appreciate it and see if there are other strange things."
Everyone studied it carefully, and after a long while, Xun Tianling's face lit up with joy, but then he shook his head slightly and continued to look carefully.
An old scholar said: "I have sent this poem to the old man who is obsessed with poetry. He will give the result soon."
Time passed slowly, and suddenly, Gou Bao said in a loud voice: "Zhujiang Hou is indeed different. This is indeed not one strange poem, but two strange poems."
A look of disappointment flashed across the face of the Guangzhou prefect, and then he said, "Please appreciate this poem, Lord Qishan Hou."
Gou Bao said: "Turn the page over so I can see it."
The Guangzhou prefect immediately turned the page of the poem so that the main text was facing everyone present.
Gou Bao smiled slightly and said, "I guessed right. Zhang Longxiang played a little trick. He didn't point out the punctuation, but wrote four columns of fourteen words. According to habit, we would naturally think it is a seven-character poem. However, I have re-pointed the punctuation. If you read it again, everyone will know it."
The servant next to him immediately handed the page of poetry that Gou Bao had just written to the stage.
The Guangzhou prefect took one look and suddenly realized what was going on. He smiled and said, "It is indeed so."
"The red curtain reflects the dim moon,
The rich fragrance gradually attracts you.
Green grass, empty courtyard, sparse fence,
The residual powder on the face is thin and the skin is solid.
The exquisite bun is surrounded by jade.
Rope net worm hairpin repair.
Dewdrops and cold wind are pressing against the window,
The rain is falling lightly, and the cold dream is lonesome in the building. "
When the Guangzhou prefect finished reading, many people screamed in surprise.
"This is 'Yu Meiren'! This seven-character poem can be turned into a lyric without changing a single word! As expected of Zhang Mingzhou, turning a poem into a lyric is the most amazing thing. Of the two most amazing poems and lyrics, this one must be ranked first!"
"Indeed, this is a modified version of a palindrome poem. It is also two strange poems, but it is far better than the previous two strange poems!"
"No wonder Zhujiang Hou left early, it turns out he was sure of victory."
"Now I feel relieved."
The Guangzhou prefect smiled and said, "Marquis Zhujiang is indeed a man of great talent, having written two extraordinary poems. However, since there are several two extraordinary poems in the literary gathering, and they are evenly matched, we should ask the three university scholars present to judge and decide who will win the final prize."
After the Guangzhou prefect finished speaking, everyone present suddenly realized. No one had thought about it deeply before, but now the Guangzhou prefect's intentions are known to everyone. No matter what choice Xun Tianling makes, Lu Menhou and Gou Bao will definitely join forces to exclude Zhang Longxiang from the list of top candidates.
"Okay, then please ask the three university scholars to judge all the two strange poems."
Gou Bao and Lu Menhou looked at each other and were about to speak when Xun Tianling suddenly said, "Please take a closer look at this strange poem."
The two looked at each other, realized something was wrong, and immediately checked carefully and soon understood.
The two university scholars looked terribly gloomy.
"What's going on?" the Guangzhou prefect asked cautiously.
Suddenly, the scholar who had consulted the poetry-crazy old man said in a loud voice: "The poetry-crazy old man replied to the letter, these are the three wonderful poems!"
"What?" everyone screamed.
Xun Tianling said with great enthusiasm: "What the poetry-crazy old man said is very true. This is indeed a poem with three wonders. The seven-character regulated verse is a palindrome, which is one wonder. The regulated verse turned into a lyric, which is the second wonder. As for the third wonder, if you read "Yu Meiren" backwards, it is a new "Yu Meiren", which is a palindrome! The poem is a wonder, the lyric is a wonder, and the poem turned into a lyric is another wonder."
Many readers hurriedly re-punctuated and read the text again.
"The lonely building leans against the cold lamp,
The drizzle is pressing against the window.
Cold wind, dewdrops, and hairpin insects.
The jade rings around her hair are exquisite.
The skin is thick and the makeup is thin.
The shadow is small against the sparse fence.
The empty courtyard is full of green and fragrant grass.
As dusk approaches, the moon shines through the red curtains. "
"It's actually true!" The Guangzhou prefect turned pale.
"In terms of the wonders of poetry, the Marquis of Zhujiang is actually half a step ahead of the Saint Fangxu!"
.(To be continued.)