Chapter 98

The long river flows through the city like a jade belt, its surface shrouded in mist, as if covered by a light fog. Willows on both banks drape their green branches, and countless people crowd the riverbanks.

On the sandbank, everyone on the dragon boat stands up.

On the black-tiled high-rise, the magistrate of Yuhai recites a sacrificial text to honor the ancestors, marking the official start of the dragon boat race.

"Raise the flag!" a man on the sandbank shouts.

The drummers on the five dragon boats hold up the red flags, securing them one last time to prevent them from falling during the race.

"Beat the drums!" the man shouts again.

The five drummers beat their drums in unison, the rhythmic beats loud and deafening. The crowd on both banks cheers again, the noise so intense that Nunu covers her small ears.

"Let's begin," says Mr. Qian, the scholar.

The people on the second dragon boat sit down and start grinding ink.

Just as Fang Yun finishes grinding the ink and is about to pick up the brush, someone in the crowd exclaims, "The first dragon boat has talent! It's still rising."

Fang Yun immediately looks at the first dragon boat, where the people from Qingguo are located. Under the power of the official seal, he sees a beam of orange talent light rising from the paper in front of Shi Dehong, a disciple of Poet Lord. The light continues to rise, now exceeding one foot, reaching the standard for leaving the county.

The scholar in front of him snorts coldly and says, "They were indeed well-prepared, probably spending months drafting in their minds, but never writing it down."

A scholar on the third dragon boat sighs, "No wonder he is a disciple of Poet Lord. We might not be able to write a poem that can leave the county in our entire lives."

"They have no external enemies in Qingguo, so they are naturally good at writing such romantic poetry. If we were allowed to write about boats, we could write war poems with dragon boats as the theme. Our literary talent might not be as good, but we could mobilize more elemental energy and wouldn't lose to them!"

"Enough talk, let's start writing!"

The talent light in front of Shi Dehong continues to rise. By the time he finishes the entire poem, the light reaches one foot and seven inches, just three inches short of reaching the prefecture, which is quite astonishing.

Shi Dehong smiles slightly, then glances at the dragon boat of Jingguo, where Fang Yun and others are. Seeing no one has started writing, he recites his own poem: "On the Jade River during the Dragon Boat Festival..."

He only recites one line when he notices everyone looking behind him. He sees the talent light on the paper in front of Yan Yuxuan, a disciple of the Half-Sage, growing even faster.

On the black-tiled high-rise, Magistrate Feng Zimo, using the power of the official seal, reads Yan Yuxuan's poem as he writes it, reciting each line.

The surrounding officials are either silent or offer praise, no one would belittle him, even though Yan Yuxuan is from an enemy country. As a disciple of the Half-Sage, he is not someone they can criticize casually, especially since his writing is excellent, and talent cannot lie.

When Yan Yuxuan finishes, a talent light two feet and one inch high appears on the paper in front of him.

"Poem completed, reaching the prefecture!"

The people of Jingguo on both banks let out a long sigh, the willow branches swaying as if blown by the collective sighs.

The people from Qingguo on the first dragon boat look pleased, with just two people's talent already reaching four feet.

The other four people from Qingguo immediately start writing, their talent lights surging. One writes a poem, and three write lyrics. After they finish, the combined talent light of the entire dragon boat reaches five feet and seven inches.

Subsequently, the talent light of the first dragon boat stirs the elemental energy, a faint green light appearing on the boat, which will later be used to propel it.

"Last year, the first round of poetry from the Qingguo team only had four feet and six inches of talent. I didn't expect it to be so much more this year."

The people from Qingguo on the other four dragon boats sigh, unsure whether to write or not, fearing that poor writing would embarrass them.

Fang Yun notices that the expressions and actions of the people on the second dragon boat are somewhat off, clearly suppressed by the momentum of the Qingguo team. Even though they had prepared their poems and essays, they now need to make some adjustments, and without the momentum, they might mess up their writing.

The dragon boat race emphasizes teamwork among the six people. If the other five lose their momentum, even if Fang Yun writes a poem with four feet of talent, they will surely lose.

Fang Yun takes a deep breath and says, "Fellow scholars, if we lose to Qingguo, the scholars of Jingguo will bear the stigma of eighteen consecutive losses. Even if we win next year, our country will never be able to wash away this shame! The talent of Qingguo is five feet and seven inches. If our dragon boat has five feet and eight inches of talent, we can surpass them! I can contribute two feet and five inches. Can the five of you contribute the remaining three feet and three inches?"

Two feet can reach the prefecture, and there will be a chance to be published in the *Sage's Way*.

The five people in front turn around, looking at Fang Yun in surprise. Seeing his determined expression, they are greatly encouraged!

"Just six inches of talent each! How can I not do it!"

"We will definitely gather three feet and three inches!"

"We will not lose this battle!"

The momentum of the five people rises, dispelling the gloom brought by the Qingguo team.

Shi Dehong, the disciple of Poet Lord, laughs and says, "The people of Jingguo are indeed arrogant! Do you think it's so easy to write a poem that reaches the prefecture? A scholar dares to speak so arrogantly, you are even more arrogant than the first madman, Yi Zhishi!"

Mr. Qian turns his head and says, "The Qingguo people's verbal attacks are getting more and more skillful, but now it's about writing poetry and essays, not just talking. When we win the silk banner at the Dragon Head Bridge, you will realize that the arrogant ones are you, not us!"

"I'll wait! If you can win first place, I, Shi Dehong, will eat the dragon heads of all five dragon boats!"

The people of Jingguo on the second dragon boat ignore Shi Dehong and start writing slowly.

Fang Yun does not participate in the argument, first writing the name of the ci tune, "Washing the Silk Gauze," and then adding "Dragon Boat Festival."

The officials on the black-tiled high-rise nearby immediately become excited.

"Fang Shuangjia has started writing!"

"Zimo, what is he writing?"

"‘Washing the Silk Gauze Dragon Boat Festival’!"

"He's writing again, read it quickly."

"You... I'll read it. Light sweat slightly penetrates the green silk, tomorrow on the Dragon Boat Festival, bathing in fragrant orchids. The river is filled with the scent of perfumed oils..."

"Good! The scene of women playing during the Dragon Boat Festival comes to life, especially the description of the perfumed oils, which is quite novel. The water used by women for washing, filled with cosmetics, naturally fills the river with the scent of perfumed oils."

"The talent is rising even faster than Yan Yuxuan's!"

The people on the second dragon boat continue writing, but the people on the other dragon boats watch Fang Yun.

Yan Yuxuan, who is indifferent to everything, looks at Fang Yun.

At this moment, Fang Yun turns his head to look at Yang Yuhuan and Zhao Zhuzhen on the boat. The little fox immediately waves her small paws at Fang Yun.

Fang Yun smiles slightly and continues to write the second half of the ci.

Magistrate Feng Zimo on the high-rise continues to read, "Colorful threads lightly wrap around the red jade arm, small charms hang from the green hair. The beauty will meet for a thousand years."

Someone claps and praises, "The colors are bright and vivid, as if seen in person. It turns out he is praising his young wife, the beauty of Jiangzhou. The colorful threads wrapped around the arm can prevent dampness; the small charms worn can ward off misfortune. Writing about her beauty and wishing for her health and longevity, and to be with her for a thousand years. The first part describes the Dragon Boat Festival, and the second part blesses the beauty with Dragon Boat Festival items, which is much more skillful than Yan Yuxuan!"

Everyone nods, poetry ultimately needs emotion.

Yang Yuhuan, who cannot see clearly or hear, just smiles at the rising talent light in front of Fang Yun.

When Fang Yun stops writing, Yang Yuhuan asks softly, "Sister Zhao, how many feet of talent does Xiao Yun's poetry have? I am too far away to see clearly."

Zhao Zhuzhen, not minding that Yang Yuhuan revealed her gender, looks at a scholar behind her, who immediately says, "Two feet and eight inches, reaching the prefecture, exceeding Yan Yuxuan by seven inches."

Zhao Zhuzhen asks, "What did he write?"

The scholar says, "We will row the boat to the building where the magistrates and magistrates are, and someone will inform us."

"Good."

The others continue writing, and the boat quickly stops at the shore below the building. Someone hands up the ci written by Fang Yun.

Yang Yuhuan, who has just learned to read, cannot understand it, but she likes it just because it is written by Fang Yun.

Nunu, however, looks at the ci word by word, her face beaming with joy.

Zhao Zhuzhen reads softly, "Light sweat slightly penetrates the green silk..." and then looks at the river, repeatedly murmuring, "The beauty will meet for a thousand years, the beauty will meet for a thousand years..." with a faint sadness in her eyes.

After a while, she looks up at Fang Yun and says softly, "No wonder you are Fang Shuangjia, your talent is astonishing. Yuhuan, he wrote this ci for you, you must remember it well."

"Ah? He wrote it for me?" Yang Yuhuan is delighted.

"Yingying! Yingying!" Nunu smiles and nods.

Not long after Fang Yun finishes "Washing the Silk Gauze Dragon Boat Festival," the others on the same boat finish writing. None of their poems or essays reach the one-foot level required to leave the county, and together they do not reach three feet and three inches, but the talent of Mr. Qian's poem reaches more than nine inches, an exceptional performance.

In the end, the talent of the second dragon boat, led by Fang Yun, reaches five feet and nine inches, two inches higher than the first dragon boat, and even people far away can clearly see the difference.

"Heaven has eyes! Our Jingguo can finally hold our heads high!"

"Jingguo will surely win!"

The crowd on both banks erupts, some scholars even shedding tears, not expecting to finally turn the tide after seventeen consecutive losses.

Many people scream wildly, cheering for Fang Yun and the others on the second dragon boat.

Tong Li, who had bet with Fang Yun, stands at the head of the Dragon Head Bridge, clutching the stone railing tightly, unable to believe what he sees.

"Idiots! A disciple of Poet Lord and a disciple of the Half-Sage can't even match a single Fang Yun! A bunch of idiots!"

Someone nearby immediately shouts, "What country are you from? If you dare to slander Fang Yun, I'll break your legs!"

"Someone is helping Qingguo? Who? Step forward!"

"Who dares! Not you?"

"Not me! You heard wrong!" Tong Li waves his hands frantically, terrified.

The people around him look at Tong Li a few times. Seeing his brocade robe, they know he is wealthy and do not attack him. One person points at him and says, "If you dare to help the enemy country again, don't blame us for taking action!"

"Misunderstanding, all misunderstanding!" Tong Li quickly leaves, and his friends also hurry away.

On the first dragon boat, except for Yan Yuxuan, who remains calm, the other five people are in a state of panic.

"Who is that person? He is just a young scholar, how could he write a poem that reaches the prefecture?"

"Could it be that the Jingguo officials are cheating, and the talent is fake?"

"Very likely!"

Yan Yuxuan says calmly, "If I am not mistaken, that person is Fang Yun, the first child scholar of Jingguo, who is now the first scholar."