In the capital, the people of the Meng family were gathering in a large courtyard.
"What a spoilt moment!" one person said.
"It's just a last gasp. At most, the divine punishment of the Sun and Moon Tree will come in four or five days. Even if many noble families try their best, they can't save him!"
"As long as Fang Yun dies, my Meng family will have a chance to take back the relics! The Ancestral Dragon's True Blood has nothing to do with my Meng family, but I must get the Ten Thousand Year Old Dragon Ginseng!"
"Fang Yun blocked the great opportunity for my Meng family to rise, and also let our Meng family be tainted by evil. When the day he dies, I will laugh out loud in the mourning hall! Even if he dies, this hatred will not end. Our Meng family must use all our strength to suppress the Fang family. We absolutely cannot let the Fang family produce another Fang Yun!" Meng Li gritted his teeth and said.
The demon world.
Four huge moon trees are located in the east, south, west and north. The moon trees are as thick as mountains and thousands of miles high. On each of them there is a blood-red moon, illuminating the demon world.
Soon after Denglongtai was opened, the four moon trees underwent tremendous changes.
The roots of the Moon Trees suddenly increased, and a large number of roots were exposed on the ground. The ground within a thousand miles radius of each Moon Tree was covered with dense roots, and a large number of monsters migrated to thousands of miles away from the Moon Trees.
The bark of each demon tree has many black blood vessels ranging from one foot to several feet thick. These blood vessels are connected to the roots of the tree, constantly absorbing power from the underground of the demon world and sending it into the demon moon at the top of the tree along the blood vessels.
These days, the four demon moons have been growing larger and their blood color has become richer, forming an overwhelming pressure that intimidates all the demons.
The surface of the demon moon was no longer calm, but was covered with blood-red thunder, making rumbling sounds day and night.
Countless monsters madly absorbed the power emitted by Yao Yue, and their strength increased at a speed several times faster than usual.
A deep blue vortex appeared in the sky above the center of the four moon trees. The vortex grew larger and larger, and its diameter was now ten thousand miles, like a hole in the sky of the demon world.
The demon saints are distributed on the four demon trees, making final preparations for the Moon Tree Divine Punishment.
If the Moon Tree Divine Punishment is carried out in the demon world, there is no need to accumulate so many days of strength. If the cross-border divine punishment is carried out, especially against the human world that is most repulsive to the demon world, a large amount of strength must be accumulated. The strength consumed in breaking through the human world barrier and the flight process alone accounts for 70% of the total strength of the Moon Tree Divine Punishment.
Even if only 30% of the power enters the human world in the end, it is enough to kill a sub-saint. If all the current semi-saints do not rely on external objects to resist together, they will be blown to ashes.
Both the monsters and humans are busy.
West Sea.
A white dragon appeared outside the gate of the Dragon Palace in the West Sea. Its scales were like jade, its horns were like crystal, its eyes were like blue lakes, and there was not a single flaw on its body. It seemed to be the most beautiful life in the world, stunningly beautiful.
The Dragon Palace in the West Sea is magnificent, and the Dragon Gate is golden and magnificent, but in front of the white dragon, it is like a thatched hut, dim and lifeless.
All the sea creatures guarding the Dragon Palace looked intoxicated, and many of them even prostrated themselves on the ground in worship.
"Yu Wei pays respect to the Dragon Saint of the West Sea!" Bai Long's voice was mellow and sweet.
"Yuwei, what are you doing here?" A deep voice sounded, as loud and vast as a tsunami.
"Yu Wei is here to borrow your ancient artifact."
"It's just a dead thing, I won't mind lending it to you. However, you and I are both from the White Dragon clan. If you want to marry into my West Sea Dragon Palace, I can give you that ancient divine object as a betrothal gift. What do you think?"
"Yuwei has made a solemn vow that she will not marry until she becomes the Dragon Saint. I hope Your Majesty the Dragon Saint will forgive me."
"That thing is a rare treasure. This Saint can only exert 10% to 20% of its power. However, if this Saint takes action, and with the assistance of the Saints of the human race, there is a great chance to save Fang Yun. If you really pity Fang Yun's talent, why don't you marry into the West Sea? When you become a Dragon Saint, this Saint will personally hand over the West Sea to you!"
"If there is a fortune in the West Sea Dragon Palace, Yu Wei will be happy to marry him."
"Forget it. I won't make it difficult for you. Ask Fang Yun to give me that drop of Ancestral Dragon's blood and the dragon ginseng, and then ask that old man Ao Yu for an Ancestral Dragon Order, and I will lend you the ancient divine object for a hundred days."
"I don't know why the Ancestral Dragon's blood entered Fang Yun's palace. Not to mention that it is difficult to take it out, even if it is taken out, it will cost too much to exchange it for the right to use the ancient divine object for a hundred days with an Ancestral Dragon Order. Fang Yun is a friend of our clan. His poems are like flying dragons. If he can write a few more imperial poems in the future, the significance to our dragon clan will be far greater than an ancient divine object. How about exchanging Fang Yun's next imperial poem for your ancient divine object for a few days?"
"Yuwei, how did you learn the human race's way of doing business that makes a lot of money without any investment? I only want the Ancestral Dragon's true blood, dragon blood, and the Ancestral Dragon Order. I don't want anything else! This ancient divine object contains a great secret. It was discovered by my ancestors in the Kunlun Mountains in ancient times. I will never lend it out casually!"
"Then how about I make a promise in exchange?"
"Hahaha... You are even more arrogant than that old man Ao Yu. Why would my West Sea Dragon Palace ask anything of you?"
"In that case, from now on, Yu Wei will only fulfill her duties as a dragon to the West Sea Dragon Palace. Beyond that, we will have no further ties! Yu Wei bids farewell!"
The beautiful white dragon moved and turned into a beam of white light, plunged into the nearby sea eye and disappeared.
"Arrogant! When this saint comprehends the mystery of that ancient divine object, I will surely become a great saint. With the help of the ancient divine object, even if the ancestor god descends, it will be difficult for me to do anything! That ancient divine object has made some unusual movements recently, which must be a great opportunity for me! Hahahaha..."
In front of the imperial palace in the capital of Jing State.
A eunuch came out and shouted, "The Queen Mother has ordered that Yang Yuhuan and the other ladies come to Changle Palace for a chat."
Many ladies with imperial decrees, led by Yang Yuhuan, slowly entered the palace.
When passing by Wenyuan Pavilion, Yang Yuhuan heard a chaotic quarrel coming from inside, and words such as "Fang Yun", "Fang Zhenguo" and "Fang Wenhou" appeared frequently.
Yang Yuhuan sighed softly. Wenyuan Pavilion was where the four ministers, namely the Left Prime Minister, the Right Prime Minister, the Assistant Prime Minister and the Minister of Literature, worked, which was also the "cabinet". The ones arguing at this time must be a group of important ministers.
When Yang Yuhuan entered the palace, the golden seal above the dungeon of the Tiger Prison sucked away Fang Yun's third patriotic poem "Bamboo and Rock".
Outside the Tiger Prison, everyone in the academy was waiting for the final result and discussing it at the same time.
"Fang Wenhou's last poem, Bamboo and Rock, also has the ability to strengthen one's courage, but it is not as good as "Humble House Inscription" or "Lime Chant", which is a pity."
"What a shame? Do you think poetry is a dish that can be cooked at will? Writing three poems in one day, it is rare for the first one to be passed down to the world. If the third one is better than the first one, wouldn't it be a great surprise to the emperor?"
Qiao Juze said: "But I prefer "Bamboo and Rock". Although "Lime Chant" is good, it is too perfect and too passive. Even if it leaves innocence, it is just polished by external forces. Of course, it doesn't mean that "Lime Chant" is bad, but compared with Gao Jie, I prefer tenacity!"
The students around stopped talking and listened attentively.
"This "Bamboo and Rock" is unusual. The first line is 'Hold on to the green mountains and never let go'. The opening scene is the bamboo expressing its determination and actively fighting against the green mountains, refusing to admit defeat!" A faint smile appeared on Qiao Juze's face as he spoke.
All the students nearby also smiled knowingly, because both the original poem and Qiao Juze's explanation alluded to the Left Prime Minister Liu Shan.
"The second line, 'The roots are originally in the broken rocks', is the bamboo's self-awareness. Now that it has come here, it not only has the adaptation that the "Lime Chant" has, but also has the initiative to take root in the rocks and actively change the environment, which the "Lime Chant" does not have."
Everyone nodded, realizing that there was indeed a difference between the two poems.
"Compare the third line, 'No matter how many blows it takes, it still stands strong', with the line 'I am not afraid of being crushed to pieces' in 'Lime Chant'. The latter is not afraid, while the former is still strong! So I like 'Bamboo and Rock' more. As for the fourth line, 'Let the wind blow from all directions', it is so active that it is even 'sarcastic', as if the bamboo is laughing at all the hardships."
"Brother Qiao is right! Although I prefer "Lime Chant", when we compare them, we find that the overall artistic conception of the two is not much different."
"Brother Qiao is right, but why didn't the latter immediately defend the country?"
Qiao Juze smiled and said, "Structure and rhythm. The structure of "Lime Chant" is smoother and clearer than "Bamboo and Rock", and the theme of the sentence "Leave a clean heart in the world" is even clearer. In terms of artistic conception, the two are naturally similar, but in terms of sentences, "Lime Chant" is better. If you recite it repeatedly, you will find that the rhythm of "Lime Chant" is more beautiful. And Lime Chant is more simple, which is really rare."
Everyone immediately compared and felt that what Qiao Juze said was right.
Chen Liyue nodded and said, "After listening to Brother Qiao's analysis, I finally understood Fang Zhenguo's intention. After all, "Lime Chant" is too passive, while "Bamboo and Rock" is more optimistic and proactive, so he first endured the hardships with "Lime Chant" to show his innocence, and finally used "Bamboo and Rock" to mock the enemy and show his spirit. I suspect that if Zuo Xiang was by Fang Yun's side when he wrote "Bamboo and Rock", he would definitely be hurt by this poem."
"Hard to say… "
Soon, the voice of an elder from the Criminal Hall resounded throughout Jing State.
"Fang Yun wrote one poem to spread across the country and two poems to protect the country. He used his poems to atone for his crime and was given the right to participate in the imperial examination. If he gets first place in the Jingguo imperial examination and becomes the champion of the year, all his crimes will be forgiven. During this period, all other charges will be postponed and will be heard after the imperial examination is over."
The whole country cheered.
All the sounds near the Left Prime Minister's Mansion were originally suppressed, but at this moment the force was suddenly dispersed.
"Lord Zuo Xiang, please come and warm my bed! You are so brave in the court, you will surely show your might in our Yufang Tower..."
"Come to think of it, the eldest son of the Liu family was a frequent visitor to our place back then, and he almost married a girl from our courtyard!"
"You heartless Liu family, my lover came all the way here, but they didn't even go out to greet him! The second son and second uncle of the Liu family must have forgotten about going to the ** with me..."
“Hahahaha…” the prostitutes laughed wantonly.
Dozens of miles away, the gate of the Tiger Prison creaked open, and Fang Yun, dressed in the uniform of a juren, stepped out calmly.
Thousands of scholars outside the door bowed together.
"Congratulations, Fang Wenhou!" Everyone spoke in unison.
Fang Yun smiled slightly, raised his head and chest, bowed his hands in return, and said: "Good winter, everyone." (To be continued...)