The people on the third floor of the Ji Family Restaurant were in disbelief. This Marquis Zhang first destroyed the Mansion of Duke Ming, then beheaded Gou Bao, and then actually wanted to enter the palace to meet the King of Chu. Was he walking into a trap, or was he trying to kill the king
Several scholars on the third floor were discussing in low voices.
"Who knows what Zhang Mingzhou intends to do?"
"In my opinion, it means to bring the power of the two world mountains to overwhelm the King of Chu!"
"No, he is definitely not that stupid. The king of a country in the literary world is indeed not as good as the university scholar who wrote the war poem that was handed down from generation to generation. Whether in terms of fame or achievements, the King of Chu is far from being comparable to Zhang Mingzhou. However, you should not forget that this literary world is the seven kingdoms plus the Zhou Dynasty divided by Confucius. It was Confucius who personally bestowed the kingship on the Chu Kingdom for generations! The King of Chu, in a sense, symbolizes Confucius and the Kong family. If Zhang Mingzhou wants to touch the King of Chu, it is equivalent to tearing his face with the Kong family!"
"That makes a lot of sense. Even if the Kong family doesn't break up with him, the Holy Academy will punish them."
"Is it really that serious?"
"A university scholar is still a university scholar after all. No matter how famous a university scholar is, he cannot fight against the king of a country."
"Even if you are a great scholar, you can only force the monarch to compromise, but you can't force him too much! After all, the literary world was created by Confucius, and it has the great will left by Confucius."
"By the way, you have heard of a rumor, right? The Confucius World actually holds a lot of power from Confucius. Once the monsters rush through the Two Worlds Mountain, the power accumulated in my Confucius World will surely be able to wipe out all the monsters!"
"This rumor is very likely! Because of this, Zhang Mingzhou will never be stupid enough to attack the King of Chu, but he will probably retaliate or ask for benefits."
“I’m just afraid…” Liu Xiucai frowned and said nothing.
"What are you afraid of?" The scholars nearby looked at Liu Xiucai together.
"I'm afraid the King of Chu will be desperate and use the Imperial Seal to mobilize the Chu Kingdom's destiny and the power of the Holy Temple to suppress Zhang Mingzhou, and then order people to crush his literary courage and destroy his literary palace!"
"Is the King of Chu crazy?" Wucuo Novel Network did not skip words. Everyone was puzzled, and no one cared to say that the King of Chu was "a desperate dog jumping over the wall."
"The hatred between the King of Chu and the Zhang family cannot be resolved. Moreover, the Zhang family has always been known as a traitor. Once Zhang Longxiang enters the palace, he will be dead!"
"What then?"
"With Zhang Longxiang's intelligence, he would never be so reckless. In my opinion, he must have some means hidden. Perhaps, he has already gained some support in Liangjie Mountain."
"Indeed, the King of Chu would not be so foolish as to kill Zhang Longxiang without sufficient evidence. Once he does, he will abdicate! After all, the scholars of Shengyuan Continent will also put pressure on him, and the Kong family will also compromise."
"I hope so."
As everyone was talking, the waiter on the third floor who had once ridiculed Fang Yun also went up to the third floor and secretly looked out the window.
Seeing Fang Yun was about to fly to the palace, the restaurant owner was extremely anxious and could not help but shout, "Lord Zhang, can we at Ji's Restaurant hang your poem "Climbing the Ji's Restaurant" in the restaurant?"
The scholars present looked at the restaurant owner with strange eyes. Fang Yun was full of murderous intent and wanted to confront the king, but this restaurant owner was so fearless.
Fang Yun turned his head and glanced at the restaurant owner. He realized that the owner was afraid that the waiter would get into trouble and bring serious consequences, so he wanted to put the poem in the restaurant to eliminate the negative impression it would bring.
How could Fang Yun, as a university scholar, hold a grudge against the waiter? So he nodded slightly and left in a carefree manner.
The innkeeper was so excited that his face turned red, and he shouted loudly: "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"
The restaurant owner noticed from the corner of his eye that the waiter had also gone upstairs. His face changed and he was about to scold him, but he rolled his eyes and shouted, "Why don't you kneel down and thank Lord Zhang?"
The waiter then realized that his danger was over. He burst into tears and knelt on the ground facing Fang Yun, kowtowed repeatedly, and his forehead hit the floor with a thud.
"Thank you very much, sir, for not punishing me! Thank you very much, sir, for not punishing me! Thank you very much..." The waiter thanked while crying.
The other scholars looked at this scene and felt deeply moved.
The restaurant owner smiled at the scholars on the third floor and said, "You are all witnesses of today's literary gathering. Since Lord Zhang is participating in the literary gathering, why don't you copy "Dengji Family Restaurant" for Lord Zhang, frame it, and hang it on the wall?"
The eyes of the scholars present brightened up. This was a great opportunity to promote their literary reputation.
"I think it would be better if Brother Liu copied it and we described the whole story and left our names at the end as witnesses. How about that?"
"Okay, I think only Brother Liu is qualified to copy this poem!"
The other scholars nodded one after another. The three students who had stopped Fang Yun first had complicated expressions. If they had taken the initiative to make friends with him at that time, it would probably be their turn to copy the poems. Their literary reputation would increase greatly, and in future literary gatherings, today's events would become an excellent topic of conversation. Their names might even appear in unofficial history or folk tales.
"It is better to obey than to be respectful. When Lord Zhang's matter today comes to an end, I will write his "Deng Ji Family Restaurant"."
Everyone nodded, looked in the direction of the palace, and waited quietly.
The lights were bright inside and outside the Chu Palace, and a large number of government troops poured into the palace from all directions. Not only were there many soldiers inside the palace, but there were also densely packed soldiers standing all around outside the palace.
Fang Yun landed outside the palace gate and walked forward with square steps, not looking around and with steady steps.
The soldiers stood on both sides of the road loyally, performing their duties. Once Fang Yun approached, their breathing would become heavier, their heartbeats would speed up, and they would become very nervous.
Fang Yun walked as if he was in an empty place. After a long while, he finally reached the gate of the palace.
The hall was magnificent with red pillars standing upright. The King of Chu sat high on the dragon throne, with four university scholars standing on both sides. Apart from them, there was no one else in the hall.
Fang Yun's eyes swept across the screen deep in the hall and he smiled indifferently.
Fang Yun was about to enter the hall when a general in golden armor at the door stopped him and said, "The palace is strictly guarded. Please allow me to search you, my Lord!"
Fang Yun glanced at the Jinshi general indifferently, and with the power of his literary talent, the Jinshi general staggered back, dizzy and dazed.
Fang Yun stepped over the threshold of the hall, looked up at King Chu, and walked forward slowly.
"How dare you!" Prince Jing shouted angrily.
"Uncle Wang, forget it. Zhang Longxiang is arrogant. When he was young, he often ridiculed me. You still remember him, Longxiang?" The King of Chu looked at Fang Yun with a smile.
Fang Yun looked at the King of Chu and said, "I can't remember those trivial things."
The King of Chu was wearing a black dragon robe and a flat crown on his head, with a pearl curtain hanging down, blocking his face.
Behind the beaded curtain was the face of a middle-aged man. He was quite handsome, but even when he smiled, he looked gloomy, like a dark cloud on a sunny day.
"You and I are of similar age. When we were young, we discussed poetry and essays, rode horses and hunted. We can be considered old friends. But why did your father betray the human race and turn against us?" The King of Chu's face became increasingly gloomy as he finished speaking.
Fang Yun bowed slightly and said politely: "King of Chu..."
“How dare you!” Prince Jing interrupted Fang Yun, because officials could only address the King of Chu as “Your Majesty”, “Your Majesty”, “The Great King”, etc., but they could not call him directly, which was a very disrespectful title.
The King of Chu snorted coldly and said, "Forget it. Longxiang is no longer the same as before. Don't worry about these details. Just say whatever you want to say."
(To be continued.)