Chapter 157: Playing Drinking Games

As the sun sank behind the western hills, Chen Jianchen and his party managed to enter the city gates of Zhezhou just before they closed. Without stopping, they headed straight for Kaitai Academy.

Located in the eastern part of Zhezhou city, Kaitai Academy spanned over twenty mu of land, making it nearly twice the size of Minghua Academy. Inside, lush trees lined the pathways, creating the pleasant, serene atmosphere of a grand estate. The massive front gate faced south, and on its right side, identical to Minghua Academy, stood a straight and solemn Monument of Sacred Precepts.

The academy rules inscribed on the monument seemed even more numerous than those at Minghua Academy; a quick glance revealed no fewer than five hundred clauses. Many of these regulations had a long historical lineage, but as they were passed down to the present day, quite a few had become mere formalities. Students could offset the constraints of certain rules by making monetary donations. For instance, at Minghua Academy, there was originally a strict limit on the number of leave days each student could take per month, but nowadays, one only needed to pay a double leave fee to take unlimited time off, and the academy proctors could not be bothered to care.

Upon entering the academy, Kaitai had already arranged for dedicated personnel to receive them and escort them to the western guest reception area. The reception area was divided into independent courtyard compounds assigned to each academy. Because Minghua Academy had the fewest members, they were allocated the smallest courtyard right at the edge.

The accommodation environment was quite good, with every student representative having an independent room. As for meals, they were issued wooden nameplates that served as proofs of identity. With these certificates, they could dine for free in the Kaitai Academy dining hall.

Once settled, Academician Gu instructed Chen Jianchen and Xiao Hanfeng to stay properly inside the courtyard and not wander around blindly before he went out with the two masters to socialize.

"Senior Liuxian, please come over for a moment. I have a painting that I would like you to inscribe!" Xiao Hanfeng called out after dinner.

Chen Jianchen walked over to his room and saw a painting unfurled across the desk. Stepping closer, he saw that the colors were vivid and the figures lifelike—it was precisely a vibrant erotic painting.

It was not strange for Xiao Hanfeng to paint erotic art; what was strange was the content of this particular work. It depicted two stark-naked, youthful young men "at work" on the grass beneath a willow tree. The meadow was even dotted with a few tiny yellow flowers. On the other side, a stream rippled and flowed murmuringly.

Ever since he had been led onto this path by Wang Fu, Xiao Hanfeng rarely painted pure, chaste portraits anymore. A regular portrait fetched at most two or three hundred cash, whereas an exquisite erotic painting could command over five hundred cash. The difference in price was too vast, so he naturally chose the latter.

Chen Jianchen looked at him with a half-smile and asked, "Junior Hanfeng, when did you acquire this new taste?"

Naturally, Xiao Hanfeng could not reply that he had been inspired by Chen Jianchen and his pageboy, so he casually replied, "In our line of work, we must also keep pace with the times and continuously innovate in order to maintain our sales."

Chen Jianchen chuckled dryly and asked, "You want me to provide an inscription?"

"Indeed. Senior's calligraphy is superb, making you the absolute ideal candidate."

Calligraphy and painting were two art forms that were almost always inseparable. Especially on a painting, if inscribed with fine calligraphy and a good poem, its value would multiply manifold.

Chen Jianchen said, "I can do the inscription, but I will not leave my seal."

Xiao Hanfeng smiled and said, "That doesn't matter." He himself likewise left no seal, all to minimize certain troubles.

Thus, Chen Jianchen picked up his brush, composed himself slightly, and wrote eight characters in one stroke:
*Where are those fair ones blowing the flute?*
*Across the river, fond of playing with the back-garden flowers!*

Xiao Hanfeng read it through once and clapped in praise, shouting, "Wonderful calligraphy! Excellent poem! Why doesn't Senior write two more lines to complete a seven-character quatrain?"

Chen Jianchen smiled, put down the writing brush, and said, "My inspiration is exhausted." With his hands clasped behind his back, he walked out.

Xiao Hanfeng read the couplet again, sighing inwardly: *Without intimate practical experience, how could one write such wondrous lines? The character 'blowing' and the character 'playing' capture the artistic conception to perfection. He truly has mastered the inner essence of the art. Marvelous...*

Stepping outside, Chen Jianchen pondered that there were still three days until the formal commencement of the competition. This three-day window presented a perfect opportunity to make a trip to Jinahua to visit Nie Xiaoqian. With this thought in mind, he decided to ask Academician Gu for leave the next day to depart from Zhezhou.

Under the shroud of night, Kaitai Academy was exceptionally bustling. Recently, invited representatives from various academies had been arriving in a continuous stream. Although the formal talent competition had not yet begun, "literary exchanges" among the student representatives behind the scenes were already in full swing. They engaged in impromptu poetry composition, couplet matching, and riddle-solving in an endless variety of forms. Rumor had it that several astonishingly brilliant talents had emerged among them, such as Chen Yi from Yuelu Academy in Huzhou, Yi Feng from Shuntian Academy in Hangzhou, and Mo Yuan from Shigǔ Academy in Hengzhou. All of them were outstanding representatives and strong contenders for the title of "Number One Talent under Heaven."

Of course, besides them, the local students of Kaitai Academy possessed formidable strength. Moreover, one must not forget the representatives from the Imperial Academy.

Yet, Chen Jianchen had very little interest in all this commotion. Having endured a bumpy journey, he badly needed rest, and thus he even cut his customary nightly reading and calligraphy practice in half and went to sleep early.

"Young Master, did you come to Zhezhou for some other matter?" In the dark, Yiying suddenly asked from the other side.

"Mmm!"

"If there is anything Yiying can do, Young Master, please don't hesitate to give your orders directly."

Chen Jianchen murmured another "Mmm," because some words naturally did not need to be spoken aloud.

The night passed uneventfully. The next morning, Chen Jianchen went to ask Academician Gu for leave, offering the excuse that he wanted to sightsee around Zhezhou. To his surprise, Academician Gu flatly refused him: "Liuxian, it is your first time in Zhezhou; how can you run about aimlessly? Do not mention this matter again. Remain peaceably here at Kaitai Academy. Today, I am taking you to attend a banquet, and attendance is mandatory."

Since the Academician would not consent, Chen Jianchen could not well sneak away. After thinking for a moment, he changed tactics, personally wrote a letter, and handed it to Yiying, instructing her to deliver it to Nie Xiaoqian.

Given Yiying's abilities, sending a letter was child's play; by using her arts, her speed was simply unmatched. Yiying took the letter, giggled, and said, "Don't worry, Young Master, Yiying will definitely deliver this letter."

After tidying up briefly, she stepped out and departed.

The banquet mentioned by Academician Gu was to be held at dusk. It turned out to be a rather formal welcoming banquet. Today, representatives from all twenty invited academies had arrived in full, and with everyone gathered together, a grand feast was naturally arranged so that they could all meet and mingle.

The banquet was set at the Moon-Plucking Tower in Zhezhou, with the entire third floor booked out. The first floor was designated for the servants and pageboys to dine, the second floor served as the banquet hall for the various literary talents who sat as honored guests, while the third floor was reserved for the officials and scholars.

Taking advantage of the three-hundredth anniversary of the academy's founding, Kaitai Academy had devised the novel idea of holding a "Number One Talent under Heaven Arts Competition," which had generated an immense splash and attracted countless gazes from across the empire. Even the reigning Emperor Zhenghming, struck by a surge of refined inspiration, had personally penned a plaque reading "Number One Talent under Heaven" and had the Imperial Academy representatives bring it and deliver it to the organizers, declaring that whichever person carried off the crown in the competition would be rewarded with this very plaque.

A plaque personally inscribed by the Emperor himself, bearing the title "Number One Talent under Heaven"—the weight of this honor was heavier than ten thousand jun. It was a peerless distinction, equivalent to a noble title bestowed directly from the imperial lips, worth more than ten thousand pieces of gold and impossible to buy.

Once this news spread, nearly all the student representatives went wild with excitement, their faces radiant as they rubbed their palms together in eagerness, resolved to seize the title of "Number One Talent under Heaven."

As the banquet commenced, over seventy student representatives from various academies were seated on the second floor at separate tables, eating, drinking, and chatting merrily.

Chen Jianchen and Xiao Hanfeng shared a table, along with four student representatives from Beiyuan Academy in Yanzhou. Yanzhou and Jiangzhou bordered one another, both situated in the remote and barren north. Beiyuan Academy likewise lacked renown, basically sitting at the tier of a third-rate institution.

Meanwhile, at a table by the eastern window, four young scholars sat drinking. They possessed refined demeanors and arrogant expressions—they were the proud favored sons of heaven hailing from the Imperial Academy.

*Crack!*

At that moment, one of the scholars, clad in a blue gown, snapped open the folding fan in his hand, stood up, bowed to the surrounding tables all around, and said in a ringing voice, "This unworthy Zheng Shuliang, hailing from the Imperial Academy, has the great fortune today to gather together with the talents of the empire. Come, let us drain this cup!"

With that, he raised his wine cup and downed it in a single gulp.

Naturally, the others would not deny him face and raised their cups in response.

This Zheng Shuliang possessed an ethereal, willow-in-the-wind grace. In his every gesture, there was a natural air of leadership; no matter where he was, he would inevitably be the center of attention. As for the backgrounds of the four Imperial Academy representatives, they had already been investigated on the very night they arrived. This Zheng Shuliang turned out to be the grandson of Duke Zheng, and within the Imperial Academy, he belonged to the undisputed category of "direct admissions students." Although the other three also had notable backgrounds, they paled considerably in comparison to Zheng Shuliang. The Imperial Academy's arrangement made it obvious that Zheng Shuliang was the core, while the other three existed to provide escort and support.

Without a doubt, as the preeminent academy in the realm, unless the Imperial Academy sent no representatives at all, since they had come, how could they possibly let the title of "Number One Talent under Heaven" slip into someone else's hands?

Many people understood this point clearly in their hearts.

After drinking a cup of wine, Zheng Shuliang swept his burning gaze across the room and continued, "Tonight gathers outstanding talents under the bright moonlight. When drinking wine, how can one lack poetry? Why don't we play a drinking game to add to the merriment? Though unworthy, I am willing to serve as the game master."

Playing drinking games during a banquet was standard practice, so when Zheng Shuliang proposed it to liven the mood, those present raised no objections. Instead, they grew eager to try, hoping for a chance to showcase their abilities.

Zheng Shuliang smiled and said, "Tonight's game will focus primarily on poetry commands. We will take academies as our units; as long as one representative from a group can answer, they pass. For those who cannot answer, every member of their group shall be penalized with three cups of wine."

Hearing these convoluted rules, Chen Jianchen felt a massive headache coming on. He truly had never played such games before and said to Xiao Hanfeng, "Hanfeng, when our turn comes later, you go up."

Xiao Hanfeng made a bitter face and said, "Senior, I'm only half-baked at this myself."

Chen Jianchen suggested, "Shall we just forfeit?"

"Is that wise? If Academician Gu finds out, he will surely reprimand us."

In fact, by this time, the officials and scholars on the third floor had long caught wind of the situation and had dispatched servants downstairs to gather intelligence. Poetry drinking games—whether employing double entendres, homophonic rhymes, or linked-rhyme palindromes—were endlessly shifting and exceedingly complex. They were the ultimate test of a scholar's talent and served as a major rehearsal prior to the official competition.

It was believed that after this bout of drinking games, the candidates truly qualified to compete for the title of the Number One Talent under Heaven would basically emerge into the light.