"If Yang Ziqian didn't go to Qingzhou, we could push this job onto him." Zhang Shen said.

"Among us, he is the most skilled in this area."

The mountain wind blew into the room, causing Chen Tai's long beard to flutter as he laughed, "Brother Jinyan is more suited to being an official in court than me."

"You old man, are you mocking me for playing football?" Zhang Shen wasn't angry and had a bachelor's demeanor, "If you can do it, I'll listen respectfully."

Seeing that they were about to argue again, Zhang Shen's book boy entered quickly, bowing and saying, "Master, your student Xu Cijiu is here."

Xu Cijiu? What is he here for, has he finished copying the three hundred sayings of the sages? Zhang Shen nodded, "Please let him in."

After the book boy left, Zhang Shen looked at Chen Tai on the other side of the chessboard and said with a smile, "Speaking of which, I have recently taken on a new student, Xu Cijiu's cousin. His poetry is astounding."

Li Mubai immediately added, "He's also my student."

Chen Tai looked at Zhang and then at Li, and his heart stirred, "The poet who wrote 'Don't worry that there's no one to share your hardships, everyone in the world knows you'?"

Li Mubai and Zhang Shen smiled proudly.

"Hahaha..." Chen Tai burst out laughing and pointed at his two friends.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing that fame and fortune have blinded you, oh, and jealousy too." Chen Tai's laughter stopped, half admonishing and half mocking, "Yang Ziqian's name is sure to be passed down to future generations because of this poem. It's truly enviable. But have you two ever thought that good verses are rare? How many scholars only have a few good poems in their lifetime, and even fewer that can be recorded in history?"

"Just because you came up with the line 'Don't worry that there's no one to share your hardships, everyone in the world knows you' is already a stroke of genius. Expecting another one, no, two, to make you both famous for eternity is too much to ask for."

"Being too concerned with fame and fortune, how can the righteousness in your hearts continue to exist?"

After a scolding, Li Mubai and Zhang Shen felt a little embarrassed.

They knew that Chen Tai was right. Good lines that are passed down through the ages are not something that can be easily created. Moreover, the other party was not a scholar. It was a great coincidence that he came up with one good poem.

It was a bit too ambitious to expect a constable to come up with another good poem and make them famous for all time.

"Young Tai speaks the truth." The two bowed and said solemnly, "Scholars have three immortals, even if we want to be remembered in history, we should walk the right path with dignity, rather than taking shortcuts. We were biased."

"Knowing our mistakes and correcting them is the greatest virtue." Chen Tai nodded slightly.

After a moment, the book boy led Xu Qi'an and Xu Xinnian into the elegant room.

Both of them bowed at the same time, "Students greet the teachers."

Li Mubai and Zhang Shen looked at each other, surprised and delighted by Xu Qi'an's arrival.

"Please sit!" Zhang Shen said.

"Ningyan, did you come to the academy because you have a good line of poetry to show me?" Li Mubai asked tentatively.

Xu Qi'an shook his head and said, "I came here with a request."

"But it's okay to speak."

Xu Qi'an told the two old teachers his purpose, concealing his intention to retaliate against the Household Department's assistant minister. He only said that the mastermind behind the tax and silver case was most likely the assistant minister Zhou, and if he passed the imperial inspection, he would definitely seek revenge on the Xu family."This..." Li Mubai looked at Zhang Shen, who also looked troubled, and said helplessly, "The academy prohibits outsiders from staying overnight. It's the rule."

Scholars value rules the most.

Just as Xu Qi'an was about to make a request, Xu Xinnian said, "But the princess often stays at the academy."

Zhang Shen shook his head. "The princess has a different status."

Xu Xinnian nodded. "The academy prohibits outsiders from staying overnight, unless they are imperial relatives."

Hey! This naive guy still doesn't know how to speak.

The three scholars present laughed.

Xu Qi'an almost laughed out loud. Xu Erlang's sharp tongue was still as potent as ever.

Li Mubai shook his head. "Brother Jinyan, I'm looking forward to seeing him enter the realm of cultivation."

That would be terrifying... Zhang Shen's mouth twitched.

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Only Chen Tai smiled and looked at Xu Qi'an, and at this moment, he interjected, "You are Xu Ningyan?"

"That's right, student." Xu Qi'an, dressed in a Confucian robe, pretended to be a scholar and bowed.

"I heard that you have some talent in poetry. How about this, if you can make a poem on the spot that satisfies all three of us, I will decide to let the women of the Xu family stay temporarily in the academy and ensure their safety."

Permitting the Xu family women to stay in the academy was not the point. The point was his last sentence, ensuring their safety.

That was the purpose of Xu Qi'an and his brother's visit.

Xu Xinnian's face showed a slight smile as he turned to his cousin. "Brother..."

He was both happy and worried. Writing a poem was not difficult. Every scholar could write a decent poem, but the hard part was satisfying three great scholars.

Was it really that difficult?

It was too difficult.

Write a poem? Are you guys trying to make me mooch off you? Xu Qi'an did not immediately agree, but instead considered and said:

"Shall I compose freely or stick to a fixed theme?"

The three scholars exchanged glances, and Zhang Shen said, "Quanxue!"

It was impossible to compose freely. Otherwise, I could come up with another masterpiece in a matter of minutes... Xu Qi'an sighed inwardly.

At the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief because this theme was not beyond his scope. His literary foundation could handle it.

The two characters "Quanxue" reminded Xu Qi'an of the essay he had read in high school, "Quanxue," but since it was a poem, this ancient text was not suitable.

There is a golden house in the book, and a beauty in the book!

In Xu Qi'an's mind, the persuasive poem that had been passed down through the ages emerged.

In the field of "Quanxue," there were few that could be compared to it in terms of fame.

He had just decided to mooch off the three scholars with this poem when he suddenly thought of the situation of the Yunlu Academy over the past two hundred years.

"If I remember correctly, this poem was written by an emperor of the Song Dynasty. It contains the taste of fame and fortune, and the graduates of the Yunlu Academy have always had a difficult time in their careers."

"When I passed the imperial examination, I felt that I would be sent to some remote and impoverished place in the future..."

"If I copy this poem, won't I be poking at the heart of the Yunlu Academy? It will backfire..."

Seeing him remain silent for a long time, Xu Xinnian's brows furrowed even more. Among the three scholars, Zhang Shen and Li Mubai had been looking forward to it, while Chen Tai was smiling and sipping tea.

Xu Qi'an brought his thoughts back and said, "I will present a humble work. Xijiu, please grind the ink for me."Xu Xinnian found ink and paper, placed them on the desk, and personally ground ink for his cousin. With one hand holding the brush and the other rolling up his sleeves, he dipped the brush tip into the ink and turned his head to signal for his cousin to take the brush.

"My terrible calligraphy won't embarrass me... No, I don't know calligraphy at all..." Xu Qi'an thought in his heart, but put on the appearance of a learned man pointing out the country's problems and said, "Write it for me, Ci Jiu."

Xu Xinnian nodded and sat upright in front of the desk.

"At three in the morning, the lamp is still burning; at five in the morning, the rooster crows. This is when a man should study. Black hair doesn't know the importance of diligence in learning, but white hair regrets having studied too late!"

After Xu Xinnian finished writing, he put down the brush and stared at the seven-character poem on the paper, his eyes shining with excitement and his face slightly flushed.

There was a brief silence in the room as Xu Xinnian savored the lingering charm of the poem. The three great scholars walked quickly to the riverbank and silently stared at the paper.

Silently staring.