CH 201

Chapter 201: Today I won’t participate, but I will still crush you!

On the side of Great Yan, they were in deep thought, scratching their heads, and anxiously pacing like ants on a hot pan.

On the side of Great Wu, they leisurely watched this scene, feeling very relaxed.

In order to defeat them, Great Yan had to come up with an extraordinary poem. However, creating a poem that can stand the test of time is not easy.

Over the years, there have been countless scholars and intellectuals, but how many of them have been able to write poems that can truly be passed down?

One could say they are extremely rare!

Writing a poem that can be passed down is more difficult than achieving the top score in an imperial examination.

Not to mention, they have to do it within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Therefore, it can be said that Great Wu is essentially unbeatable!

Everyone couldn’t help but look at Liao Rumin, who stood proudly in the field, with admiration and astonishment in their eyes.

They didn’t expect this young talent, who had performed averagely in the previous four rounds, to actually produce a poem of such caliber in the fifth round of the literary competition.

Truly, appearances can be deceiving, and the depths of the sea cannot be measured!

“Liao Rumin, your poem is well done, We really like it!” the Empress spoke.

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your appreciation!” Liao Rumin’s heart was filled with excitement.

She had thought she would just be a bystander in this literary competition, but unexpectedly, she had the opportunity to showcase her talent and become the center of attention in the entire crowd!

Now, she, Mo Hong, Shoufa, and Xian have all received the personal praise of the Empress!

From today onwards, she would definitely rise to great heights and achieve success!

She felt immense gratitude towards Lin Beifan.

If it wasn’t for his last-minute intervention, reading her collection of poems and making some revisions, she wouldn’t have had the chance to perform as she has now.

Mr. Principal, I love you to death!

At this moment, time slowly passed.

The incense stick had burned halfway, and the remaining time was slipping away.

However, Great Yan was still racking their brains, but they still couldn’t come up with a poem to respond with.

The Third Prince’s head was spinning with worry!

He had thought that once they dealt with Lin Beifan, victory was theirs, but now this unexpected turn of events had emerged, and a nobody like Liao Rumin had wiped them out!

If they couldn’t come up with a solution, they would truly lose the literary competition!

Unconsciously, half of the time had passed, and the incense stick was gradually burning to its end.

The referee issued a reminder, “Great Yan’s scholars, please send your representative quickly, time is running out!”

The Third Prince stuffed a poem into Liu Hai’s chest, saying, “You go!”

Liu Hai shook his head, “But Your Highness, this poem is not suitable!”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. We can’t afford to be picky. Go now!”

So, Liu Hai took the stage with this poem.

Unfortunately, although his poem was considered decent, it only barely reached the level of national stability, far from Liao Rumin’s “Bamboo and Stone.”

As a result of the final vote:

“Liao Rumin received 77 votes, Liu Hai received 0 votes, Liao Rumin wins!”

“Literary competition, round 5, Great Wu wins!”

Great Yan’s side had a face full of despair!

Great Wu’s side was overjoyed!

“We won! We won round 5, we won the literary competition!”

“We defeated Great Yan!”

“Five consecutive victories! Haha!”

…

The Empress, along with the officials, all had happy smiles on their faces.

Such a splendid victory was truly rare!

Even they couldn’t have imagined that their country’s representatives would win so decisively, and with such ease!

It was truly groundbreaking in the history of literary and martial competitions, worthy of being recorded in the annals!

Although the result of the literary competition was already determined, there were still four rounds left to compete in.

Great Yan’s side, once again, rallied their spirits under the encouragement of the Third Prince, “Everyone, even though we lost in the literary competition, the competition is not over yet. We must continue to compete in the remaining four rounds! Even if we lose, we must lose gracefully and honorably!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” The crowd responded weakly.

Both sides of Yan and Wu each sent out another talented scholar, who stood on the field..

For Great Yan, it was the Heavenly Prodigy Ding Shaojie, and for Great Wu, it was still Liao Rumin.

At this moment, the Empress was about to draw the topic again.

Lin Beifan subtly gestured with his finger, a gentle breeze blowing, causing a piece of paper to fall into the Empress’s hands.

The Empress didn’t pay much attention and casually took it out to read: “Flower!”

This was also a relatively simple topic, and both sides immediately started writing.

However, Liao Rumin’s poem fell short and was eliminated from the competition.

But among Great Wu’s representatives, there was one scholar who became excited.

“I know this topic, let me do it! Let me do it!”

The peonies in the courtyard are enchanting,

The lotus in the pond lacks emotions!

Only the peony truly represents the country’s beauty,

Blooming in the season, it captivates the capital!

…

As soon as this poem was revealed, it immediately stunned the audience!

“What a great poem! With just a few strokes, it portrays the beauty and grandeur of the peony!”

“I now have a liking for peonies!”

“This poem is definitely at the level of being passed down through generations!”

…

The Empress couldn’t help but praise, “This poem is really well-written. You have depicted the beauty and grandeur of the peony, making people irresistibly yearn for it! I didn’t expect you, my subject, to have such talent!”

“Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty!” The scholar was overjoyed in his heart.

He never expected that as an ordinary scholar, he would have the opportunity to show off in front of the Empress and the officials!

It was worth it in this lifetime!

To return a favor, he said, “Your Majesty, when it comes to talent, compared to Mr. Principal, I can only be seen as a firefly to the moon! Mr. Principal is a celestial being in poetry, while I am merely a novice!”

The Empress laughed, “He has great talent, and you’re not bad either!”

Ultimately, Great Yan’s side couldn’t come up with a better poem and suffered another defeat!

The morale of the entire delegation was further diminished.

The Third Prince felt bitter inside, but as the pillar of support, he had to hold on and comfort them, saying, “Let’s not dwell on the last round. No one could have anticipated that the other side would present another masterpiece. We can only blame our luck for being unfortunate! Although we lost again, we still have three rounds left. As long as we win them back, it’s all that matters!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Everyone responded weakly.

Round 3 of poetry and song competition, round 7 of literary competition.

The Empress drew the topic: “Moon!”

It was another very simple topic!

As soon as the topic was announced, one of the representatives from Great Wu’s side became excited.

“I know this topic! I’ll do it! Let me do it!”

Without hesitation, he rushed up, pulled down the scholar who was still on the stage, and started writing a poem titled “Drinking Alone Under the Moon” gracefully.

A bottle of wine among the flowers, alone toasting without a companion!

Raising my cup, I invite the moon, forming a party of three with my shadow!

…

As soon as this poem was revealed, it amazed the entire audience!

“What a great poem, ‘Drinking Alone Under the Moon’! With just a few strokes, it captures the solitude and bitterness of drinking alone under the moon!”

“I especially love the last line: ‘Raising my cup, I invite the moon, forming a party of three with my shadow!’ It combines the romance of a poet’s sentiment and the pain of parting in reality, blending the emotions perfectly!”

“Wonderful! Another masterpiece to be passed down through generations!”

…

The Empress clapped and exclaimed, “Great poem! Such a great poem!”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your praise!”

The talented scholar was ecstatic and loudly said, “Actually, this poem was inspired by a poem previously written by Mr. Principal titled ‘Water Melody: When Will the Bright Moon Appear?’ It’s thanks to Mr. Principal’s brilliant work that this poem exists! Mr. Principal’s poetry gave me inspiration! Compared to Mr. Principal, I am infinitely inferior…”

Then, utilizing all his knowledge, he lavishly praised Lin Beifan from head to toe…

Hearing this, Lin Beifan felt regret.

In his heart, he resented, “If only I had known that you were a flatterer, I would have… arranged an even better poem for you! Come on, keep flattering! Don’t pity me!”

In the end, Great Yan’s side couldn’t come up with a better poem and suffered defeat once again.

Their morale hit rock bottom, and their faces were filled with despair.

The Third Prince was on the verge of collapse, feeling disheartened.

But as the backbone, he had to hold on and said some words that lacked sincerity, “Everyone, hold on! Although we lost another round, we still have two more rounds. We just have to win them back! I refuse to believe that they can come up with another masterpiece!”

Poetry and song competition, round 4.

Literary competition, round 8.

The topic drawn by the Empress was “草” (grass), which posed a greater difficulty.

However, one talented individual from Great Wu’s side became excited, “I know this topic, let me handle it!”

Saying that, he rushed up, picked up the brush, and vigorously wrote his poem.

Waving the brush, he passionately wrote:

On the fields, grass withers and blooms with each passing year!

Unextinguished by wildfires, it regenerates with the spring breeze!

…

It was another masterpiece!

Once again, they completely crushed the delegation from Great Yan!

Great Yan’s delegation felt hopeless.

The Third Prince was going crazy.

He felt crushed.

Another round lost!

Eight consecutive losses!

Even in the literary competition, let me win at least one round!

How cruel!

How heartless!

Is this the way you treat your guests, Great Wu?

It’s too inhumane!

“Your Highness, I feel upset, can you comfort me?” The scholars from Great Yan looked at the Third Prince with anticipation.

The Third Prince covered his chest and said in anguish, “Stop talking. I feel upset too, so heartbroken that I can’t even breathe. Can you comfort me first? You have only lost some reputation, but I have not only lost my reputation but also a lot of money! Who is more miserable than I am? Oh~~”

The scholars from Great Yan: “…”

On the other hand, Great Wu’s side was already rejoicing.

The Empress and the officials looked at the scholars from Great Wu with satisfaction on their faces!

Today, each person had delivered stunning performances, presenting a masterpiece, and leading Great Wu to four consecutive victories!

Indeed, it was impressive!

Contrarily, Lin Beifan, who had amazed everyone in the past two days and was the most active, became more low-key.

He sat in the back, leisurely sipping tea and eating snacks, as if he was purely there to watch the show.

However, even though Lin Beifan had not made a significant contribution today, no one could ignore him.

His talent and knowledge had long been recognized by the world, and he didn’t need any further proof!

He was like the pillar of the Great Wu delegation, the guiding light for the talented scholars.

As long as he sat there, he would bring endless confidence to everyone!

Despite the previous stunning performances of the four talented scholars from Great Wu, who had defeated Great Yan with their masterpieces and were full of spirit, they maintained a humble and respectful attitude in front of Lin Beifan.

Even when receiving rewards, they admired Lin Beifan immensely, praising him endlessly.

But everyone could tell that their admiration was genuine.

The Empress narrowed her eyes. This guy was so arrogant yesterday and so low-key today; there must be something wrong!

The four talented scholars previously had average performances, but today they all collectively exploded, indicating a big problem!

He must have been manipulating things behind the scenes again!

Not only did he accept money from Great Yan, he also tricked them!

His heart was truly malicious!

At this moment, Lin Beifan was feeling comfortable, sitting in the back and enjoying himself.

He leisurely sipped tea and watched with satisfaction as the people from Great Yan cried, feeling despair and misery.

Even without me participating today, I still crushed all of you!