The Enrong Banquet was held in the Ministry of Etiquette.
Everyone must participate unconditionally. This is a banquet given by the emperor to the new scholars.
As usual, the Enrong Banquet is attended by a representative from the emperor, and then representatives from the Minister of Rites and Wu Xun also attend.
The emperor's representative at the banquet given by the Shangke was King Yan, who was the emperor's uncle.
The emperor's representative at the Jinke banquet was Prince Zhongshun, the emperor's half-brother.
The banquet was not as elaborate as the Chuanlu Ceremony. The scholars arrived on time and sat down to the table according to the guidance of the officials in the Ministry of Rites.
The Xinke Sandingjia ranked first, followed by the second-level Jinshi.
This kind of single-seat banquet is different from the traditional round-table banquet, but it is quite close together. It is really too big for 380 people. It is quite troublesome to arrange so many seats and serve the dishes one by one.
But this means that the face of the Zhou court, no matter how complicated it is, needs to be like this.
Fortunately, Feng Ziying has Hou Xun on her left and Wang Xiangchun, a student from Shandong, on her right.
Needless to say Hou Xun, Wang Xiangchun is a fellow from Shandong. Although Feng Ziying doesn't know Wang Xiangchun, she naturally gets closer to him after hearing the local accent.
However, Feng Ziying still felt that Wang Xiangchun seemed a little cold towards her, but was very enthusiastic towards Hou Xun, which made Feng Ziying a little puzzled.
If he is ranked ahead of him because he is young, but Hou Xun is only three years older than him and ranked higher, and he is his fellow countryman, why is this guy so enthusiastic about Hou Xun, who is from Henan?
After going back and forth, I discovered that others talked about poetry very clearly, but I obviously lacked knowledge in this aspect.
Fortunately, although this guy is not enthusiastic about me, he is not cold-eyed, but it seems a bit uncomfortable when compared with Hou Xun.
Since she doesn't want to see her, Feng Ziying doesn't bother to give her a cold face. In comparison, Hou Xun is much closer. This is the friendship accumulated by everyone in the past two years, which is naturally extraordinary.
Hou Xun is also a shrewd person, so he naturally noticed Wang Xiangchun's cold treatment of Feng Ziying and secretly smiled in his heart.
This Feng Ziying always dominates her side in various affairs with Chongzheng Academy. Even Yang Wenruo has difficulty in gaining the upper hand. Unexpectedly, today at this Enrong Banquet, she is despised by this countryman. , which made him forgive the other party on the surface, but he was still a little happy inside.
It seems that the news that he is not good at poetry but was chosen by the emperor in the palace examination and almost entered the Three Cauldrons has spread among the students. There is no doubt that this must be manipulated by someone deliberately, otherwise it has only been two days. , it became like this. Feng Ziying was also trying to figure out who was behind it.
However, there are too many suspicious candidates. The main reason is that he is really too hateful. He is fifteen years old, the youngest Jinshi in Dazhou, comes from a Wuxun family, and is not proficient in poetry. Well, it cannot be said that he is incompetent, but he is indeed not good at it. On the other hand, nothing can make these new scholars who have just got rid of their status as poor students feel comfortable.
Moreover, he actually won the approval of Emperor Jinkou and almost entered the top three of the Three Cauldrons. Even so, he was still ranked among the top ten of the second class. How could this make those students who spent countless thoughts on poetry feel comfortable?
Seeing the strange smile on Hou Xun's face, Feng Ziying could guess that this guy was secretly happy.
In the past two years, Yang Sichang and the Hou brothers have been dealing with Qingtan Academy a lot. There have been many discussions on various current affairs and policy studies, and naturally some debates are inevitable. These guys rarely take advantage.
However, as long as it came to poetry and poetry, Feng Ziying was respectful and insensitive, and made it clear that she was not good at it and there was no need to say more, so Yang Sichang and the Hou brothers had no excuse to find trouble.
Today I finally got the opportunity, and it was caused by someone else. Not only can I avoid offending others, but I can also take this opportunity to tease Feng Ziying in the future. Well, your own countrymen look down on you. If I want to discuss poetry with you, who can I blame?
This Enrong Banquet was also extremely frustrating. From time to time, Wang Xiangchun discussed poetry with Hou Xun through himself. Occasionally, he would throw in one or two lines of poetry, or comment on one or two great people of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Feng Ziying, who had to sit in the middle, was also particularly uncomfortable.
He wanted to get up and leave. This was an honor banquet, and he wasn't that bold yet. But if he didn't leave, these two people, especially Wang Xiangchun, were talking more and more energetically, and Hou Xun was afraid that he would burst out laughing. , but he still pretended to talk happily with Wang Xiangchun, teasing Wang Xiangchun even more excitedly.
Feng Ziying also sighed secretly. At first glance, Wang Xiangchun was a simple-minded guy with a lack of emotional intelligence. He was played by Hou Xun without even realizing it.
After finally waiting until the honor banquet was about to end, Feng Ziying felt that she could finally escape the two men discussing the development of Zhou poetry culture from a distance, but she never thought that the contempt he had been trying to avoid would still come.
"Ziying, Ruogu said you don't like poetry, do you really mean it?" Wang Xiangchun glanced sideways at Feng Ziying and asked with undiminished interest. It was obvious that the previous discussion with Hou Xun made him very satisfied.
Hou Xun came from a distinguished family, and his father was an official in the court. The Wang family was also a famous scholar in Xincheng, Shandong. His father and brother were both Jinshi, so he was naturally arrogant. Hou Xun's respect made him particularly proud.
And Feng Ziying was just a post-Wu Xun. She relied on her knowledge of current affairs to write an article in Jinke to invite favors, which won the emperor's favor for a while, but she was a little ignorant of the world. Even though they were both from Shandong, he was particularly displeased.
"Brother Ji Mu, I really don't have much talent in poetry and prose. In addition, I have lived in a border area since I was a child, and I have no famous teachers to teach me. My family is not as well-educated as Brother Ji Mu, so I am really ashamed."
Feng Ziying didn't want to argue with Wang Xiangchun on this occasion.
Originally, they were all from the same country, and they were much older than me. No matter what, I should respect my seniors, so my words were very humble and tactful.
"Ziying, you are still young, don't you understand that God rewards hard work? Diligence can make up for weakness. This poem and prose are the foundation of our survival as scholars. If we are lacking in this aspect, how will we educate the people in the future?" Wang Xiangchun still thinks of Feng Ziying's low-key modesty. He was quite satisfied, but he still wanted to teach him as a person who had experienced it, "Now that you have won the Jinshi, you should pay more attention to poetry and prose. Current affairs are important, but it is right to consolidate the foundation."
Feng Ziying glanced at the other party coldly, suppressing the anger in her heart and giving you some face, but do you really think you can be invincible?
"Brother Ji Mu is right. If I have time in the future, I must study hard..." Feng Ziying still nodded in response. After all, the other party had no ill intentions.
"It's not that I have time, but I have to study hard from now on..." Wang Xiangchun's literary talent was obviously a bit advanced, and he said stubbornly: "Think about us scholars studying, leaving a name when we die, and a leopard's death. If you can't leave behind a poem that can be praised by future generations, how can you live up to your status as a scholar? Look at Li Taibai and Du Gongbu, who have been passed down through the ages..."
I really couldn't bear it anymore. Feng Ziying really didn't expect that she would meet such a stubborn and literary fellow, and this was at the Enrong Banquet. Is it appropriate for you to lecture yourself over and over like this?
After all, I am still a native of your country, and the ranking of the second-class Jinshi is still ahead of you. I don't like poetry, so I am not pleasing to you. If you don't educate me and turn me into a great poet, your mentality of being a teacher will be satisfied. No?
"Li and Du's poems have been passed down by mouth thousands of times, but they are no longer new. Talented people have emerged from generation to generation, and each has led the way for hundreds of years. Brother Ji Mu, I think that in the prosperous age of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there may not be a few who can rival each other in all aspects. Li Du’s talents, like you? Don’t you think so?”
When Wang Xiangchun and Hou Xun were discussing poetry, they had actually attracted the attention of many Jinshi around them. After all, these were the top ten in the second class, including the three in front. They all pricked up their ears to listen to a few words from time to time, until Wang Xiangchun " When "teaching" Feng Ziying, many people even snickered secretly.
So when Feng Ziying finally launched a "counterattack," at least a dozen people present heard Feng Ziying's casual comment on Li Du's poem.
Everyone was shocked.
Wang Xiangchun and Hou Xun next to him were stunned.
Doesn't it mean that he doesn't understand poetry? This poem...?
"Ziying, this poem...?" Hou Xun couldn't help it at first. This guy was pretending to be a pig and eating the tiger. He had been pretending in front of his brother and Wen Ruo for the past two years, but now he was at the Enrong Banquet. Coming up like this?
"What poem?" Feng Ziying asked in surprise: "Oh, you are talking about this. I accidentally saw it on a dilapidated city wall when I was patrolling the border with my father when I was a child. I don't know who visited the border wall. I scribbled some random things, and my younger brother memorized them..."
Hou Xun looked at Feng Ziying as if he had seen a ghost, with a look of disbelief on his face. Even Lian Guoshi, Huang Zunsu and Yang Sichang in the front row couldn't help but turn their heads.
Wang Xiangchun's face turned red with anger, but he didn't know how to respond for a moment. Is there such a boring person as you?
Hou Xun had some understanding of Feng Ziying's character. After a long while, he gasped for air as if he had a toothache and grinned: "Ziying, it's boring for you to be like this. Brother Ji Mu also has good intentions. I hope you can spend more money." My mind is on poetry and has no other meaning..."
"Ruogu, I'm very grateful to Brother Ji Mu for his kindness, but when you say that, it seems like I've done something bad again?" Feng Ziying replied angrily: "What have I done?"
The noise here immediately attracted the attention of the three guests of honor at the banquet. This was an honor banquet. Who dared to make such a noise here?
Prince Zhongshun looked over with a pair of sharp eyes like a falcon, while Niu Jizong, the representative of Wuxun and the governor of the Beijing camp, looked at this side with a pleased expression on his face and with interest.
