6: Poor students, Yingzhou Poetry Festival

Evening, Ying Province West Lake.

Atop Huangyun Tower, Qin Chuan looked at Liu Yu before him with a smile.

From his initial restraint to gradually opening up to eat and drink, his adjustment of mindset was quite good.

— Liu Yu, Chen Zhou's proud protégé.

Years ago, he entered Yingzhou Academy with results that left others far behind.

But later, because he needed to care for his mother at home and lacked the money for exams, he had no choice but to temporarily give up on the imperial examinations.

Chen Zhou valued this person highly and directly gave him his own recommendation spot.

In other words, Liu Yu was now a scholar.

But Qin Chuan remembered that Chen Zhou had once said — based on Liu Yu's level and knowledge, passing the exam to become a Recommended Man would be easy.

That was a matter from several years ago.

In these two years, Liu Yu's mother had passed away, and while observing the mourning period, he had focused on his studies; it was likely even more terrifying now!

All that was missing was an earth-shattering opportunity!

The reason Qin Chuan sought him out was, firstly, because he truly wanted to befriend this Genius, and secondly, because Liu Yu indeed knew the news about the poetry gathering.

For poetry gatherings like this, organizers mostly provided brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and would not take them back after the event ended.

This situation caused some scholars of humble origins to come here to take advantage of the freebies.

Of course, not just anyone could participate in this poetry gathering.

Liu Yu relied on his status as a student of Yingzhou Academy, while as for Qin Chuan, the brand of the Chen Family of Ying Province was still quite solid.

At dusk.

As if to welcome the arrival of Qingming tomorrow, the slant wind and fine rain stirred up ripples on the West Lake of Ying Province.

The silk-like raindrops could not stop the enthusiasm of the people in Ying Province city in the slightest.

On the West Lake, the flower boats had already hung up lanterns, and from time to time, laughter and songs could be heard; one did not know which courtesan had been amused.

Qin Chuan did observe those flower boats carefully.

Well, don't misunderstand, he didn't want to go; he just wanted to see if he could find traces of Chen Zhou.

He remembered that his own father had left in a hurry after getting off work today.

A moment later, Qin Chuan shook his head with some disappointment.

This was a pity because he hadn't found Chen Zhou.

It was definitely not because his pockets were empty and he couldn't board the flower boat!

He really, truly didn't want to go!

"It costs ten taels just to board, why don't you go rob someone? The anti-vice squad should do something about this."

Liu Yu didn't hear his words clearly and asked suspiciously: "Young... Wen Yuan, what are you saying?"

"Nothing, where is the poetry gathering? Let's head over."

— The poetry gathering naturally couldn't be on the flower boat; if it were, given Liu Yu's financial situation, there was a high probability he wouldn't be able to go up.

Sure enough, the next moment he heard Liu Yu say: "It's at the Purple Bamboo Garden. It's said that the Prefect and the Chen Family Clan Leader will also be there. Don't you know, Wen Yuan?"

Qin Chuan rolled his eyes. How would he know this news?

"Then let's go now, let's not be late."

After arriving at the Purple Bamboo Garden, Qin Chuan discovered that this place was far livelier than he had imagined.

Not only were there many scholars dressed in green robes, but even the students from the academies who had previously said they were going to Cui Xiang Tower or Huangyun Tower were among them.

Not working hard on the surface, but secretly engaging in internal competition?

That wasn't it; Qin Chuan discovered that many people still had a reddish flush on their faces, and one could smell a hint of alcohol when close by.

It was likely they had either just finished having fun or had come over halfway through drinking.

Qin Chuan's attention was not focused on that, but rather on the platform above.

At this moment, no one had arrived there yet.

Once he arrived here, he didn't need Liu Yu to lead the way.

Seeing someone greeting Qin Chuan over there, Liu Yu whispered a word to Qin Chuan and headed to the corner.

Qin Chuan looked over and, sure enough, saw a group of scholars of humble origins dressed similarly to Liu Yu.

It was just that the fruit plates and decorations in front of them were clearly of a lower grade than the others.

Seeing this, Qin Chuan couldn't help but sigh.

Families of Prominence? Humble origins?

If he wanted to completely fulfill the life goal of 'Sage Teacher' in the future, this was an unavoidable problem.

"Brother Chuan, I didn't expect you to come too. Quick, quick, over here."

Looking at the person greeting him, Qin Chuan smiled in return.

— Those were all things to consider in the future; for now, he should just sit straight as a scion of a Family of Prominence.

The moon was full, and long songs echoed.

"The Prefect has arrived!"

"The Chen Family Clan Leader has arrived!"

"The Ning Family Clan Leader has arrived!"

Following the announcements, the seats at the top of the Purple Bamboo Garden were gradually filled with people.

The lively atmosphere in the venue also eased up.

After all, having fun outside is very different when elders are present versus when they are not.

The Prefect of Ying Province, Su Qing, had not been in office for long.

He was not from a Family of Prominence in Ying Province, but no one looked down on him for that.

Not to mention his brother, who was listed among the Seven Sages, even he himself had a wide literary reputation.

Su Qing: "Ying Province is a place of outstanding people. This happens to be the time of Qingming, for paying respects to ancestors, and talents are gathered together."

After some polite formalities, it was time to encourage the various Families of Prominence in Ying Province.

— The relationship between local officials and Families of Prominence is a subject of study in itself.

If they could complement each other, that would naturally be best; if not, one side would inevitably have to yield.

Of course, there were the worse ones, but those won't be mentioned much right now.

Su Qing hosting this poetry gathering was, in a way, to get closer to the local Families of Prominence.

After he finished speaking, he chatted and laughed with the Clan Chiefs of several Families of Prominence.

As for the poetry gathering, it wasn't brought up immediately.

There was no reason to ask people to compose poetry right off the bat.

Such matters should be done after the wine is flowing freely, to express one's feelings.

For Su Qing and the others at the main table, this might just be a way to pass the time, but for the young people below, many took it to heart.

Regardless of the purpose, they all wanted to seize this opportunity.

Many people were already frowning, seemingly brewing poetry in their hearts.

A moment later, Su Qing and the others at the main table seemed to feel that it was about time.

They looked at the group of anxious young people below and couldn't help but smile, as if remembering their former selves.

Su Qing nodded to the others, then stood up and said under the gaze of everyone.

"It happens that the talents of Ying Province are gathered here today. Why not compose poems? Hmm, let's use 'Qingming' as the theme. If there are excellent works, there will naturally be rewards for you all."

After Su Qing's words fell, many people below showed joy.

Obviously, they had guessed correctly and hit the theme.

However, many people's faces dimmed, clearly unprepared.

But the next moment, Su Qing's words made their expressions soften slightly.

Su Qing: "Of course, it doesn't matter if there are other excellent works, but the rewards for the poetry gathering will not be for them."

The meaning of the words was very clear — the assigned theme was 'Qingming'.

If others wanted to use this to make a name for themselves, they could, but there would be no reward.

This sentence reached Qin Chuan's ears, and he felt puzzled.

— What? There are rewards?

Regardless, this Qingming poetry gathering had officially begun, and what followed was the stage for this group of young people to perform.

At the main table, Su Qing smiled and said to the Clan Chiefs of the other families:

"I wonder if, this time, someone can move the Literary Star and hang a wisp of literary Qi."

The Chen Family Clan Leader shook his head: "Difficult! These young people are at most scholars; it is too difficult for them to produce works that stir up literary Qi."

Su Qing nodded upon hearing this: "That is true."

On the other side, Qin Chuan watched his companions go forward one after another to wield their brushes and ink, but he wasn't in a hurry to act.

"Brother Chuan? Aren't you preparing to go? It's a rare opportunity, I'll go first."

Qin Chuan nodded, watching this distant relative of the Chen Family leave.

It wasn't that he couldn't produce a poem, but that he was pondering which one to choose.

A moment later, Qin Chuan shook his head and sighed inwardly — well, since it is this kind of assigned topic (copying) poetry, then I will choose the most famous one!