Seeking Truth with a Sword
Chapter 59 - 56 Heartbreak_2

Chapter 59: Chapter 56 Heartbreak_2

"This is You Douzhi."

Yang Yu said with a beaming smile, "Today, she will act as the Law Recorder, while the Gong Recorder..."

"I’ll do it."

Song Shaoyuan volunteered as if possessed, exchanging a glance with the charming You Douzhi. He quickly took a swig of wine to conceal the faint blush creeping up his cheeks.

Although Pingkang Square was known as a place of pleasure, pure entertainment was only a small part of its function; it primarily hosted banquets and wine parties for officials and scholars.

The Law Recorder and Gong Recorder that Yang Yu mentioned were roles in a drinking game known as a "drinking order."

The Law Recorder served as the judge, sitting at the edge of the table to "announce the decrees"—the rules for the day’s drinking order. Scholars who prided themselves on their knowledge often engaged in "drinking decrees," which involved composing poetry.

Participants might compose poems extemporaneously, about specific objects, according to the calendar or season, or create punning verses about the scenery. Each person contributed one line; failing to continue the verse or producing a poor line resulted in a penalty cup of wine, as determined by the Law Recorder.

For example, if the first person said, "The autumn moon is round like a mirror," the second might counter with, "The autumn breeze is sharp like a knife," the third, "The autumn wind is soft like down," and the fourth, "The autumn grass is fine like hair."

The difficulty of different drinking decrees varied greatly. "Thematic linked verses on autumn," for instance, were among the simplest, and most scholars of a certain caliber considered such drinking orders beneath them.

The most difficult drinking orders demanded that each line be a quotation or reference to the classics, strictly adhere to rhymes and couplets, and be closely related to the people and events at hand.

This required the famous actor serving as the Law Recorder to possess extremely high talent and emotional intelligence, enabling them to instantly judge whether each line complied with the rules and if a penalty drink was warranted.

In some ways, a famous actor who earned the title of Douzhi possessed knowledge surpassing ninety-nine percent of scholars. Even taking the imperial examinations would likely pose no problem for them.

"Speaking of drinking orders, there’s an interesting story from two hundred years ago during Yu Chu. Su Zi, then an unrestrained youth, was at a banquet where an elder, who disliked him, challenged him to a drinking order duel.

The elder mocked Su Zi with two lines of poetry: ’A trivial youth of Chang’an, a white horse and gold shackles.’ These were quoted from Jia Zhi’s ’Two Spring Thoughts’ and Han Shan’s ’Three Hundred and Thirty Poems,’ respectively.

The young Su Zi retorted, ’Yesterday’s handsome youth, today becomes an old and ugly man,’ similarly adapting lines, his from ’Three Hundred and Thirty Poems’ and Liu Xiyi’s ’A Substitute for Mourning the Old Man.’

The enraged elder blew his beard and glared. Meanwhile, Su Zi continued to drink and compose, producing a hundred poems during the drinking contest. He verbally sparred with and cursed everyone at the banquet who sided with the elder—all without using foul language—and became famous overnight.

That elder was the Academic Palace Master at the time. Because of this incident, Su Zi was specially recruited into the Academic Palace, and the story became a celebrated tale..."

Yang Yu chuckled as he recounted amusing anecdotes about drinking orders.

Li Ang, aware of his own limited poetic talents, had consciously seated himself at the rear of the banquet. He was enjoying snacks with Chai Cuiqiao and thinking with amusement, So Su Zi was actually a rapper with a bad temper? AKA Su Zi?

Li Ang looked up just in time to see Song Shaoyuan, the Gong Recorder (tasked with assisting the judge by pouring penalty drinks), sitting bashfully next to You Douzhi, his face flushed.

Li Ang narrowed his eyes.

Brother Song is smitten, huh? Tsk.

Li Ang lowered his head, surprised that Song Shaoyuan, who usually seemed so honest, gentle, and well-mannered, was actually drawn to such an enchantingly flirtatious type.

Appearances can be deceiving, indeed.

Come to think of it, the Academic Palace Master... seems to have the authority to recruit students without exams?

Li Ang took a sip of fragrant fruit wine, pondering absently.

「North Chang’an, Dragon Head Plain, Great Ming Palace, Imperial Garden.」

The tall, white-haired old man stopped and covered his mouth as he coughed. COUGH! COUGH!

"Mountain Master!"

Several eunuchs carrying lanterns to guide him immediately knelt, their hands trembling with fear, silent as cicadas in winter.

The leading yellow-robed eunuch, holding up his lantern, asked with quivering lips, "Are you, are you all right?"

"It’s nothing, just a slight chill."

The old man slowly tightened his white fox fur cloak and said indifferently, "Pay it no mind. Let’s go."

"Yes."

The yellow-robed eunuch struggled to compose himself and led the way, his legs trembling. The moment the old man coughed, the eunuch—despite holding the rank of Assistant Director of the Imperial Eunuch Department and being a close attendant to the Emperor—had felt immense fear.

Lian Xuanyao, the Academic Palace Master of Yu Country, a vital pillar of the nation and a Cultivator who had entered the Candle Cloud Realm thirty years ago, had coughed.

Cultivators, who meditated on the ultimate truths of the universe and whose Qi Sea flowed in endless cycles, rarely fell ill. But if one did, it signified a serious problem.

The Haotian Temple, Nanzhou, West Jing, Nan Zhao... even the long-dormant Turkic tribes—all the nations and powers of the world would be stirred into action by this single cough, potentially unleashing a tempest.

The yellow-robed eunuch led the way in silence, stopping outside a courtyard. He watched as the old man, escorted by Imperial Guard soldiers, entered the building.

Only after the old man’s figure had vanished from sight did the Yellow-robed Eunuch turn. His gaze, as sharp as a knife, swept over the other shivering eunuchs. "No one is to speak of what happened today," he commanded coldly. "Anyone who spreads word of this will die."

Inside a room within the courtyard, a graceful woman stood up. She was dressed in a phoenix crown and phoenix dress, her noble bearing evident, though fatigue was etched into the lines around her eyes. "Mountain Master, you’ve arrived," she said softly.

Inside the Great Ming Palace, only one person could wear a phoenix crown and phoenix dress—Empress Xue.

Beside her, sitting on the edge of a bed, was a middle-aged man in simple black attire. His lips were pursed, and he exuded an air of quiet authority without needing to display anger. This was, naturally, the Emperor of Yu Country.

These were the rulers of the mightiest empire in the world, the Emperor and Empress of Yu Country, whose every word and action could determine the destinies of hundreds of millions.

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