As night falls, the lights come on and a full moon hangs in the sky.
There are many Dragon Palace Night Pearls placed in the Palace Square. The largest one is just above the literary platform, illuminating everything within a three-mile radius as if it were daylight.
All the streets leading to the academy were blocked by dense crowds of people, and even the roofs were crowded with people.
For the people of Kongcheng, the greatest reunion is to watch the literary gathering with the family.
The stage for literary gatherings was very simple, a six-foot-high platform. The tables and chairs in front of the platform were already full of guests. At the round table in the front were great scholars, university officials, children of aristocratic families, and royal relatives.
There was a table with only four people sitting at it, but it was one of the focuses of the whole event because the four great talents of this generation gathered there.
In addition to the four great talents, the tables belonging to the saintly families also attracted the attention of many people.
On the contrary, few people pay attention to those great scholars because they are introverted and unless you observe them carefully, you can't see what's special about them.
Those scholars with higher literary status paid more attention to these great scholars, and some of them stared at the table belonging to the Meng family.
A luxurious Wuhou carriage stood there, and the evil king Meng Lintang was sitting on the carriage.
The umbrella on the Wuhou chariot was replaced with a black canopy, and the original pure solid wood exterior was also painted, making it look more elegant and making people ignore the Wuhou chariot's reputation of being able to come and go freely among thousands of troops.
Fang Yun looked at the Wu Hou chariot. For hundreds of years, the Shengyuan Continent had been reciting the story of Zhuge Liang. His image of riding in the Wu Hou chariot, wearing a feather fan and a royal scarf, and talking and laughing calmly was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Even the great scholars who did not seek false fame liked the Wu Hou chariot very much, not to mention that the Wenbao Wu Hou chariot had powerful capabilities.
Fang Yun was also looking at the people in Wu Hou's car.
The fierce king had a square face, a broad forehead, thick eyebrows, deep eye sockets, and a very large hooked nose. His eyes were like a lion, and his momentum was like a tiger. Just sitting there casually made everyone around him breathless, and even a few ordinary university scholars felt depressed.
Unlike most scholars who liked to wear scholar's robes, he wore a light golden dragon scale armor. The armor was not as bright as the ceremonial golden armor, but everyone who saw the armor would feel a surging power from it, as if a giant dragon would rush out at any time.
Fang Yun saw at a glance that it was a real dragon scale of the Great Demon King level. One piece of armor can be exchanged for a city.
Fang Yun's eyes fell on the carved bamboo pen holder on the table of Wu Hou. There were four pens in the pen holder, and each pen exuded an aura of talent. The aura of talent on one of the pens was even not inferior to that of the dragon scale of the great demon king. It was a cultural treasure of a great scholar.
There are three other cultural treasures on the table that have a similar aura to that pen: a paperweight, a pen holder, and an inkstone. They are all cultural treasures of great scholars.
Two words popped up in Fang Yun’s mind: local tyrant.
Although the evil king's eyes were facing the platform, they were slightly upwards, passing through the platform and looking at the sky, but in fact he didn't take anything seriously.
Everyone in the Meng family who was sitting at the same table with him, whether they were juniors, peers, or elders, were all very nervous. Some even secretly looked into his eyes, full of envy and awe.
Every time he blinked, a blood-red meteor flashed across each of his eyes. The light of the meteor was unpredictable, composed of countless battlefield scenes, which was extraordinary and magical.
From the beginning to the end, the evil king kept looking at the high platform of the literary gathering. No matter whether they were the four great talents of this generation, the four great talents of the previous generation, or the great Confucian scholars, he turned a blind eye and looked down on everyone.
Under the bright moon, there was no one worthy of the evil king's words.
A wolf demon was lying at the feet of the evil king, wagging its tail like a watchdog from time to time and looking at the evil king in a flattering manner.
Fang Yun saw with his own eyes that day that the Wolf Demon Lord scared a demon general to pee in the street with just a glance.
Fang Yun looked away, and thinking of the bloody meteors in the evil king's eyes, he had to admit that the evil king had the confidence to be evil.
Confucius and King Wen had eyes full of stars, and although eyes full of shooting stars were far inferior to them, it can be said that the evil king had a path to them because of them. Even if the chance of completing the path was very small, it was still much higher than those who did not have it.
Before the literary gathering started, many people were visiting each other, making it extremely lively.
Although Fang Yunwen is famous, he is a junior after all. He has to observe proper etiquette and visit relevant people one by one, such as the Grand Secretary of Jing State, the aristocratic families of Jing State, including the Ji Sheng family with whom he has a good relationship.
After the visit, Fang Yun returned to the side of the literary platform, and at this time other people also came back one after another.
Li Fanming sat next to Fang Yun, while the big rabbit lay under the chair and fell asleep.
Li Fanming had more than a dozen classmates, but he was the only one who came here.
At first, the two of them were just talking about the Holy Ruins, but as they talked, they began to talk about the people present. Li Fanming identified the celebrities one by one, including the Painting Master among the four great talents of the previous generation, the famous Confucian scholar who lived in seclusion in Kongcheng, and the university scholar who held an important position in the Holy Academy.
Fang Yun had read the masterpieces of those great scholars and wanted to communicate with them, but because no one introduced him, he had no excuse to even visit them, so he could only wait for another opportunity.
As they were talking, two men in university scholar robes approached. Fang Yun was surprised. Li Fanming had introduced these two men before, because they were the two editors of the "Holy Way" Editorial Institute. The status of "Holy Way" was extremely high, and the hidden power of the editors was terrifying, so they were often rotated.
Almost everyone around was well-informed. They recognized Grand Secretary Meng and Grand Secretary An at a glance. Even the children of semi-saint families did not dare to be arrogant and stood up one after another.
The old scholar Meng smiled and said, "It's okay. We are here just to see Fang Yun. Can I have a word with you?"
Those people immediately looked at Fang Yun with great envy. It was not easy to get two ordinary university scholars to take the initiative to get to know each other, and these two came directly without any introduction, which was almost like "asking for an audience", which was the limit between peers. The two elders could do it, which showed that they were not only free and easy, but also valued Fang Yun very much.
With these two people "carrying the sedan chair", no one below the level of a great scholar can be arrogant in front of Fang Yun.
"I did not go to pay a visit, but asked you two to come instead. I feel ashamed." Fang Yun said, and followed the two university scholars to a deserted place beside the platform.
Scholar Meng smiled and said, "I review your poems and essays every month. I thought I knew you well, but you surprise me every month. Not to mention that one of your essays was published on the front page of the Holy Way, you actually passed the Holy Ruins Road as a scholar. I really can't help it, so I have to come to see you with a thick face."
"You are a real celebrity, and I am unworthy of your honor." Fang Yun said politely.
The Grand Scholar An at the side said with a smile: "You don't need to be polite to Master Meng. When you were not around, he praised you even more. In fact, the two of us wanted to see you many times, but we really couldn't find the time. We never thought that Luo Wenzong saw you first. After Luo Wenzong came back from Yuhai City, he praised you repeatedly, and we both felt unfair. When the two of us were arguing for your poems and essays in the "Sacred Way", he, Lan Wenzong, was still sleeping soundly."
Scholar Meng joked, "Be careful that Master Wenzong hears it."
Fang Yun joked, "Even if Lord Wenzong heard it, after careful consideration, he must have felt that it was too much trouble to intervene and simply pretended not to hear it. Otherwise, he would not be the lazy Wenzong."
The three of them laughed together.
The people not far away would sneak a glance over from time to time, wanting to know what the three were talking about.
Meng Daxueshi said: "The three poems you wrote yesterday for the Mid-Autumn Festival will definitely be included in the "Holy Way". I have already kept them. Please don't let me down today. I have already threatened that your four poems will definitely appear in the "Holy Way" next month."
"Then I will work harder and write a good poem to make Master Meng proud." Fang Yun was very grateful to these two people. He had heard about them from Feng Yuanjun and Li Wenying. If it weren't for Master Meng's argument and Master An's secret help, his poems would have encountered many twists and turns.
There were some things the two grand secretaries could say, but he couldn't, so he didn't mention anything like repaying the favor.
Meng Daxueshi was a straightforward person. He smiled and said, "Your poems make me proud. I should have left the Editorial Office a few days ago, but Master Dongsheng said that I have a keen eye for talent and the Editorial Office lacks an editor like me, so he let me stay for another year. I have no hope of becoming a great scholar. I can spend more energy on editing, thanks to you."
Scholar An smiled and said, "I came here for something else. The line 'How many flowers have fallen' in the Spring Dawn is lamenting about what?"
Afterwards, the three of them began to talk about poetry and literature, mainly about some doubts in poetry and literature.
It was not until the full moon rose high that the two grand secretaries reluctantly left, and agreed to find an opportunity to drink and chat together in the future.
Fang Yun had just sat back in his chair and before he could say a few words to Li Fanming, the literary meeting began.
Dozens of students from the Confucius Mansion's Qin Academy came up with their qins and played the famous qin piece "A Night of Beautiful Flowers and Full Moon".
After the song, a young scholar walked up to the stage with a smile, said a few words of blessing, and then introduced the significance of the Shengxu Literary Meeting, the guests and related matters. Finally, the MC announced the results of the Shengxu Road, and pointed out that Fang Yun not only broke the record of Jingguo, but also became the only scholar who passed the Shengxu Road.
The master of ceremonies for the Jinshi degree selected the last five scholars from the hundred people who were eligible to enter the Holy Ruins and asked them to go to the stage and write a poem on the theme of Mid-Autumn Festival. At that time, the people of King Wen's family would control the moon and bestow moonlight on the five people.
After the emcee finished speaking, the five scholars walked to the prepared tables on the platform to write poems, while Fang Yun looked at the huge bright moon in the sky.
There is an ancient land on the moon, which is nominally owned by the family of the Second Sage, but actually controlled by the family of King Wen. Even the Kong family cannot interfere, because it is the fiefdom given by Kong to the family of King Wen.
Soon, the five scholars finished writing the prepared poems. Even though these five scholars were the best among the scholars in the world, only two of them had poems that were worthy of being recommended by the county. The other three's poems were not even one foot long enough to be recommended by the county, ranging from seven inches to nine inches.
"The five scholars have finished writing. Please send down the moonlight from heaven to strengthen our human race!" said the Jinshi master of ceremonies respectfully.
The five scholars also bowed to the bright moon in the sky and said, "Please send down the moonlight to strengthen our human race!"
At the same time, the light of the brightest night pearl disappeared, and the platform immediately became dark.
Then, a bright moonlight shone on the high platform and split into five, forming five beams of light that enveloped the five scholars. The five beams of moonlight had different brightness and quickly dissipated.
Fang Yun saw the five people's eyes light up slightly, and then gradually faded, with no difference from before.
The five scholars were delighted. With the protection of Yuehua, it would be much safer to enter the Holy Ruins. (To be continued...)