Chapter 63: Playing with Yu Xi in the Dragon Washing Garden

  Zhao Xing had already felt satisfied with himself after bringing along Guo Jia and Tian Feng, and was preparing to hurry back to Shangdang. Who knows when the ruthless Emperor would come to extort him again? However, an invitation letter dispelled Zhao Xing's original intention of returning home as swiftly as an arrow, deciding instead to stay behind and meet with those so-called "talented scholars and beautiful women".

  Although Zhao Xing spent money to donate a third-class "Pingbei General", the elegant things between scholars and him were originally unrelated. Warriors have been called "Tu Ba" since ancient times, think about it, even the word "soldier" can't be read, only separated into "Tu, Ba" The big-headed soldiers who can only read can have how much ink in their belly?

  But someone just took advantage of this, wanting to disgust Zhao Xing thoroughly, and sent an invitation over. The one who sent the invitation was none other than the eldest son of the current "Four Generals and Three Dukes", Yuan Feng's legitimate eldest son, Yuan Tuo (courtesy name Gonglu), who is currently serving as a Zhongjun Colonel.

  Historical records say that Yuan Shu was appointed as a Lang when he was young, and "held various positions inside and outside", having experience in many positions. Later, he also served as the Zhongjun Colonel. The Book of Later Han: Biography of Yuan Shu says: "When he was young, he was known for his heroic spirit, often flying hawks and running dogs with other young masters. Later, he somewhat restrained himself." Look at this guy, Yuan Shu is a typical example of an official's second generation! Every day, he hangs out with some hoodlums and rascals, I reckon he must have done many bad things, bullying men and oppressing women! When Yuan Wei wanted to deal with Zhao Xing, this matter was definitely discussed during the family meeting, and Yuan Shu must have been informed. Now, Yuan Shu jumped out to test Zhao Xing's bottom line.

  The invitation reads: Recently, I heard that the heroic Zhao Xing of Shangdang is a young man with a free and easy spirit, who excels in both literature and martial arts, and can be regarded as a model for the youth of Luoyang. The famous scholar Zhang Yan has a daughter who is talented and beautiful. Now, Scholar Zhang wants to hold a poetry meeting and sincerely invites all the young talents from all over the world to attend and show off their skills. Those with outstanding knowledge will have the opportunity to see the beauty of the talented lady. I, Yuan Shi, am not talented, but I sincerely invite General Zhao to go together, please don't be stingy with your presence, give me some face!

  "Go if you go, who's afraid of whom!" Zhao Xing thought to himself, "Maybe at the poetry gathering I can still meet a few useful people. Even if I don't, I can still take in the beautiful women!"

  The poetry gathering will be held on June 6th, at the location of the Dragon Washing Garden. The Dragon Washing Garden is adjacent to the North Palace and is a royal garden with a beautiful scenery, suitable for scholars and poets to recite poems and paint. This garden is generally not open to ordinary people, but this time Zhang Jue and a group of teachers from Taixue went to find Emperor Han Lingdi, Liu Hong heard that there were many beauties entering the garden for sightseeing, immediately became interested, and readily agreed.

  On the sixth day of the New Year, Zhao Xing got up early in the morning and locked himself in his study to start writing something. As the saying goes, "A good memory is not as good as a bad pen." Although Zhao Xing had memorized many Tang poems and Song lyrics when he was reborn, he couldn't bear the fact that he hadn't used them for a long time, and some of them were already vague.

  After noon, the city of Luoyang was still very hot in the midst of summer. When Zhao Xing went out, he wore a white straight-sleeved Chan robe, a white silk hat, a golden qilin belt hook at his waist, and hung a bladeless sword, looking very cool and refreshing. Even Zhao Yu couldn't find fault with him, while Xu Wanlin looked at him with wide eyes that seemed to be able to squeeze out water.

  Guo Jia also received an invitation today. He was originally a student of Yingchuan Academy, and this time he came to Dongdu Luoyang for further study, and had contact with the students of Taixue. Guo Jia was born elegant, after arriving in Luoyang, often lingering among the red makeup flowers. In recent days, however, it was because of competing with others for the beauty queen, losing in a contest of wealth, getting drunk, and finally being "picked up" by Zhao Xing on his way back.

  Zhao Xing considered going to the Royal Garden, Tuo Long Yuan. Although the poetry gathering would continue after dark, safety was not a concern. Even if some people had ulterior motives, they wouldn't dare take action there, so Zhao Xing didn't bring any attendants and just let Zhang Wangcai drive him to Tuo Long Yuan.

  After entering the Dragon Garden, Zhao Xing was attracted by the scenery and couldn't help but feel great, lingering among the pavilions, fake mountains, flowers, grasses, and trees, completely disregarding when the poetry meeting would start. Guo Jia, who followed behind him, was an invisible rogue, except for knowing that this person was known for his unpredictable wisdom, Guo Jia himself was still in a phase of being a talented but underappreciated young man, naturally he wouldn't be interested in some poetry meeting. What Guo Jia was interested in was following Zhao Xing to look at beautiful girls.

  The two of them finally strolled through the entire Rongyuan Garden, and by now it was almost dusk. The garden was filled with a gentle breeze, making it perfect for some leisurely activities. They arrived at an open area in the garden, where they saw a circular corridor and corner towers surrounding a high platform built in the center of the courtyard. On the platform sat seven teachers from the Imperial Academy, who would soon be giving out topics for the young talents gathered around to improvise their creations, a scene surprisingly similar to some modern TV competitions.

  Zhao Xing, who was looking around, suddenly heard a slightly sarcastic voice in his ear: "So General Zhao is hiding here, I thought you wouldn't dare to come tonight!"

  Zhao Xing turned his head and saw a pale face with an evil aura. Zhao Xing had never seen Yuan Shu before, and in his mind, Yuan Shu's image should be that of a pointed mouth and chin, a rat-like appearance, but it was not. If you put aside personal biases, Yuan Shu looked quite handsome, and his figure was not shorter than Zhao Xing's, but from head to toe, he exuded an evil aura, making people feel chilled on their backs even in June.

  "What might I call this gentleman?" Zhao Xing had already guessed who the visitor was, but pretended he didn't know.

  "What a rustic fellow from the mountains of Shangdang, he doesn't even recognize the nephew of the current Taifu and Sikong, Yuan Hongluo, a xiaowei." A burly man who looked like a warrior beside Yuan Shu sneered.

  "Oh, it's actually Brother Highway! Zhao Xing of the Upper Party pays his respects!" Zhao Xing suddenly realized and asked, "Who is the person behind Brother Highway?"

  "I am Yu She, the vanguard of General Yuan's camp!" The robust man replied with a swagger.

  "Oh, you're Yu She, huh? Brother Guo, have you heard of him?" Zhao Xing turned to ask Guo Jia beside him.

  Kuo Chia immediately looked puzzled, with a bewildered expression on his face, "Never heard of it!"

  "Haha, I've long admired you!" Zhao Xing chuckled and directly ignored Yu She. This kind of third-rate character who can't even withstand Hua Xiong's three slashes wasn't worth his attention.

  "You! How dare you humiliate me!" Yu She was publicly rebuked by Zhao Xing, his anger burning, and he was about to roll up his sleeves and fight with Zhao Xing.

  "Pingqian, this is the Dragon Washing Garden!" Yuan Shu said coldly from the side, reminding Yu She that this was not a place where they could use force. "General Zhao, please!" After finishing speaking, Yuan Shu went forward and found a lively spot to sit down. Zhao Xing, however, kept his distance from this second-generation ancestor and found a secluded pavilion. As night fell, Zhao Xing still hadn't clearly seen the inscription on the pavilion's signboard before sitting down with Guo Jia.

  "The poetry contest is now beginning!" an old man on the stage shouted, "The first question, it's summer now, all of you talented scholars make a poem about summer!" As soon as the old man on the stage gave out the first question, the students from Taixue and the young talents from Luoyang started to think and recite loudly. But Zhao Xing didn't have any interest at all, he was quietly introducing the current situation of Shangdang and Wohu Village to Guo Jia, only to hear Guo Jia's blood boiling with excitement, wishing he could set off for Shangdang tomorrow.

  Zhao Xing and Guo Jia were chatting enthusiastically on this side, but the old man on the stage had already recited many poems by young talents, but obviously none of them reached the level of "Inviting Wine" from last time. The elderly gentlemen seated on the stage also looked unimpressed, apparently there was no good poem that could move them.

  At this time, a discordant voice emerged from the crowd, "Why doesn't Zhao Guochang, the talented young man of Shangdang, share his excellent work with us?", looking in the direction of the sound, the person who made the remark was Yu She, under Yuan Shu. It seems that Yuan Shu is not going to let Zhao Xing off easily, finding an excuse to "scold" him!

  Many people had heard about Zhao Xing's purchase of official position with a large sum of money, while others did not know and inquired about who this Zhao Xing was.

  Zhao Xing, who was forced onto the stage by Yuan Shu, had actually been prepared for a long time and didn't want to reveal himself too early. Since Yuan Shu was so good at setting him up, Zhao Xing could only take the bait ahead of schedule. Standing up, he bowed to the old man on the platform and then recited a poem in a thunderous voice!