Chapter 62: An Eternal Masterpiece

At these words, all the scholars present turned their gaze toward Zhao Hongwei.

"Ahem, ahem..."

Zhao Hongwei cleared his throat before continuing.

"The courtyard floor is white, trees shelter roosting crows; cold dews silently moisten the osmanthus flowers. Tonight the moon is bright, and everyone gazes afar; I know not upon whose home autumn's longings fall."

As soon as Zhao Hongwei finished reciting, the eyes of the surrounding scholars lit up, and they nodded in silent approval.

In terms of both diction and artistic conception, this poem was vastly superior to the previous ones, well deserving to be called a rare masterpiece.

"Not bad."

A glimmer of appreciation flickered in Fang Zhengru's eyes as he spoke.

Though it was merely a short pair of words, Zhao Hongwei's heart was filled with boundless excitement at this moment.

Beside them, Director Liu, even though he disliked Zhao Hongwei, nodded silently as well; this poem was indeed exceptionally well-written.

"Is there anyone else who has composed one?"

Fang Zhengru looked toward the scholars below and asked.

Yet no one spoke up at this moment. Even those who had already composed something did not dare to voice it now.

With Zhao Hongwei's masterpiece already presented here, wouldn't speaking up now be sheer self-humiliation?

Unless one was confident of surpassing the brilliant work Zhao Hongwei had just recited, the only sensible choice at this moment was to keep quiet.

Seeing that everyone below remained silent, both Fang Zhengru and Director Liu turned their gazes simultaneously toward Chen Fan.

However, Chen Fan's mind was not on this at all. At this very moment, he had already reached out, grabbed a braised pig's trotter, and started gnouring on it.

His mouth was smeared entirely with grease.

This caused both Fang Zhengru and Director Liu to instantly frown.

"Chen Fan, have you composed anything?"

Fang Zhengru asked, unwilling to give up.

The surrounding scholars also looked at Chen Fan with expectant eyes; after all, Chen Fan's previous display in matching couplets had been utterly formidable.

Everyone was eager to see whether Chen Fan was equally adept at composing poetry.

"Pardon me, this humble one does not know how to write poetry."

Chen Fan said with a brilliant smile, his mouth still covered in grease.

Chen Fan knew that he certainly could not display his past-life talents any further at this juncture.

Otherwise, these two old men would likely bind him by force and drag him straight to the Imperial Academy.

Hearing this, the surrounding scholars all wore expressions of disappointment.

Meanwhile, Fang Zhengru and Director Liu exchanged glances, both revealing looks of utter disbelief.

"Chen Fan, you write storybooks so brilliantly and match couplets with such profound skill; you are simply the pride of our Dongyang County!"

"To say you cannot write poetry—isn't that rather hard to believe?"

"Or could it be that you simply disdain composing poetry in front of us scholars and these two honorable lords?"

Zhao Hongwei said with a sarcastic and mocking tone.

Between the lines, his words carried the distinct implication that Chen Fan looked down upon composing poetry in the presence of Fang Zhengru, Director Liu, and the assembly of scholars.

Hearing Zhao Hongwei's remarks, the scholars below furrowed their brows slightly.

Indeed, Zhao Hongwei's words were not without reason. Given how talented Chen Fan was, how could he possibly be incapable of writing poetry?

Seeing that his words had taken effect, Zhao Hongwei immediately flashed a triumphant smile.

"Chen Fan, Lord Fang is the current Emperor's Preceptor. Could it be that you deem Lord Fang unworthy of listening to a poem composed by you?"

Zhao Hongwei continued, directly slapping a heavy accusation onto Chen Fan's head.

Upon hearing this, Fang Zhengru naturally recognized that Zhao Hongwei was employing a method of provocation. Therefore, he remained silent, and instead felt an urge to play along.

"Chen Fan, do you look down upon this old man?"

"Not even His Majesty dared to speak such words in my presence back then. Do you consider yourself even greater than the Emperor?"

Fang Zhengru feigned anger and spoke in a cold voice.

Seeing Fang Zhengru's dissatisfaction with Chen Fan, the smile on Zhao Hongwei's face grew even wider.

"This humble one wouldn't dare."

"In that case, this humble one shall compose a poem! But I hope the two honorable lords and everyone here will not laugh at my clumsiness."

With such a weighty accusation pressed upon him, Chen Fan had no choice but to reply with a helpless expression.

Chen Fan's original plan was to casually throw together a nonsensical, rambling doggerel just to get by.

However, before Chen Fan could even open his mouth, Director Liu had long since seen through his thoughts.

"Chen Fan, if the poem you compose fails to satisfy both Zhengru-兄 and myself, you can forget about ever having your storybooks designated as mandatory reading for the imperial examinations."

"Conversely, this old man and Zhengru-兄 will spare no effort in strongly recommending your storybooks as must-reads for the exams."

Director Liu threatened with a faint smile.

Hearing this, Fang Zhengru nodded in agreement.

At these words, Chen Fan's brows knitted together.

This old man Liu now knew precisely what he cared about most.

"Chen Fan, how about we make another wager?"

"If the poem you write surpasses mine, you win; otherwise, you lose."

"Do you dare?"

At that very moment, Zhao Hongwei stepped forward and spoke.

Having lost the couplet wager to Chen Fan last time, Zhao Hongwei had been utterly humiliated in front of the scholars of Dongyang County.

He had been searching for an opportunity to exact revenge.

Now, seeing Chen Fan hesitate and evade, Zhao Hongwei concluded that Chen Fan's poetic abilities must be mediocre at best.

How could he possibly let such an opportunity slip away?

"What do you wish to wager?"

Meeting Zhao Hongwei's provocative gaze, Chen Fan asked.

"Whoever loses must imitate a dog barking in public, and it must sound convincing."

"Do you dare or not?"

Zhao Hongwei said coldly.

Chen Fan had humiliated him thoroughly last time, and now he intended to subject Chen Fan to the same public degradation.

The scholars present fell completely silent at these words.

This wager was far grander than the one at the Literati Assembly!

After all, the Imperial Preceptor Fang Zhengru was right here!

To bark like a dog in his presence—wasn't that tantamount to ruining one's own future?

"Very well."

Chen Fan agreed without the slightest hesitation.

At this point, Chen Fan knew he could no longer afford to be modest.

After all, the temptation of having his books made mandatory reading for the imperial examinations was simply too great.

As for Zhao Hongwei's wager—since he was so eager to bark like a dog, how could Chen Fan refuse to grant him his wish?

Hearing Chen Fan's agreement, Zhao Hongwei instantly wore a look of eager anticipation.

In his mind, he could already picture the scene of Chen Fan howling like a dog.

The surrounding crowd instantly quieted down, all casting curious gazes toward Chen Fan.

"When was the moon last bright? Raising my cup, I question the azure sky."

The moment Chen Fan uttered this opening line, the entire gathering fell into absolute silence.

Zhao Hongwei, in particular, widened his eyes in sheer disbelief as he stared at Chen Fan.

Everyone present knew instinctively that this single line alone was destined to become an eternal masterpiece.

"Not knowing what year it is tonight in the palaces of heaven up above?"

As Chen Fan finished reciting the next two lines, Fang Zhengru and Director Liu sprang directly to their feet.

"When was the moon last bright? Raising my cup, I question the azure sky. Not knowing what year it is tonight in the palaces of heaven up above?"

The surrounding scholars continuously murmured the poem Chen Fan had just recited.

"An eternal masterpiece! A peerless masterpiece!"

"Never did I imagine that in this lifetime, I would actually witness the birth of an immortal poem composed right on the spot."

"This old man can die with no remaining regrets."

Fang Zhengru said, tears of deep emotion welling up in his aged eyes.