Chapter 46: If I Use Fourth Grade Poems, You Can Consider Me A Bully

“Hey hey, Brother Li, this great piece is not bad. Aren’t you going to send something over?”, the old temple keeper teased while holding Miss Doukou.

Li Chaosheng, face darkening, said, “Send what? Send him two girls?”

The old temple keeper laughed heartily and drank a cup of wine. The head of the Four Great Talents of Yanggu County, Tang Zishu, also recovered and clapped repeatedly, saying, “Good, Brother Wen, at first the poem sounds coarse, but when you savor it there is another kind of scenery. Not bad, not bad, Brother Wen, you are greatly talented.”

“Exactly. The verse is simple, but it is full of realistic style. I like it. Brother Wen, if you do not mind, I would like to include this poem in my collection. Is that all right?”

“Of course you may, haha… Gentlemen, you flatter me, you flatter me.”

The world had plenty of shameless people, but never so shameless that a poem like this could still being praised. But they had no choice. The Four Great Talents of Yanggu County had lost their fourth member. The fourth had bowed to all kinds of social pressure, quit the club, and moved out of Yanggu County. That left only three. If these three did not keep unity and warm each other, the reputation of Yanggu County’s Four Talents would collapse.

So even if the poem was trash, they had to praise it. This was what survival required.

The crowd fell silent. Then the head maid standing on the stairs said, “Is there any guest with a great work to show?”

When she said this, everyone present fell quiet. How could such poetry be made casually, especially among these gallant talents who preferred romance to studying by lamplight? Some of them might come up with one or two lines better than the Four Talents of Yanggu County, but if they presented them now, they probably would not pass scrutiny.

Miss Summer Lotus’ poetic talent was not something to be claimed lightly, so everyone present fell silent.

At that moment Miss Doukou, who was drinking, looked at the old temple keeper and said, “Master Zhu, did you not say last time that you had considerable poetic talent? Why not write one now to astonish everyone? Then have our courtyard head serve one night. That would give me ten thousand times more delight.”

The old temple keeper laughed and said, “I originally planned to compose a poem to scare them, but my heart belongs only to you, Miss Doukou. I do not care for Miss Summer Lotus.”

“Hmph, you only know how to tease. I think you simply cannot compose.”

Miss Doukou pouted in a coquettish way but did not let him off. The old temple keeper did not want to lose face in front of his lover. He frowned and said, “See, you still do not believe. Do not blame me. Even my two younger brothers are full of literary talent. They could casually compose a poem and slay a crowd.”

The old temple keeper used a trick called “shift the blame eastward” and basically tossed the ball to Zhou Bo and Li Chaosheng. The meaning was clear: I will not compose; let my two younger brothers show you a poem. Of course, if Zhou Bo and Li Chaosheng refused to compose, that would be their business and he could not force them. If they did not do it, that would be the end of it.

To put it plainly, the old temple keeper used Zhou Bo and Li Chaosheng to cover his shame. Zhou Bo and Li Chaosheng could have casually laughed it off and diverted the topic.

But Zhou Bo took it seriously. That foolish boy frowned and said, “I, I am not good at composing poems. Brother Li, how about you?”

Li Chaosheng was about to say he also could not and leave it at that, but Miss Doukou, whose tongue was quite sharp, had already spoken, “Hee hee, I fear Brother Li cannot either. You three big men are truly embarrassing. If you cannot do it, just say so. Why pretend otherwise?”

Hearing this, a surge of determination rose in Li Chaosheng’s heart. *I, Li Chaosheng, am a real man, I do not flinch at killing. Today to be laughed at by a brothel **maid *is too humiliating. Besides, if I truly could not compose poetry that would be one thing. But in this age there are no Tang or Song poems that are widely sung.

He could casually pull a few poems from elementary school texts and shock these fools. If it were not for the fact that this world had demons, ghosts, and fox spirits, and people sought immortality, Li Chaosheng could live comfortably as a copyist. But compared with the pursuit of long life, poetry was only ornamentation. Spending too much time on it was not worth it.

But if he did not show something today and let this woman say he was no good, that would be an enormous humiliation. Today he would show that woman how capable he was!

“Who says I cannot compose poetry?”

Li Chaosheng drank a mouthful of wine, and wiped the grease from his hands with a nearby table cloth. Miss Doukou snorted with laughter and said, “Brother Li, do not show off. A real man saying he cannot, what is so difficult about that?”

“A man cannot say he cannot, Miss Doukou, do you not understand?”

Li Chaosheng looked at Miss Doukou and asked her that. Miss Doukou thought of something, her face flushed, and she then said with some coyness, “You men always love to show off. If you lose face, do not hold it against me.”

“Naturally.”

Li Chaosheng smiled. Miss Doukou then stood up and said, “All guests, quiet please. Our Mr. Li is going to compose a poem.”

Everyone turned to look curiously. Li Chaosheng slowly rose and said, “When I entered the yard just now, I saw a small pond and lotus flowers. This inspired me to compose a poem titled ‘Little Pond’.”

“The spring’s eye is silent, pitying the fine stream. Tree shade lights the water, loving the clear gentleness. The young lotus just shows its pointed tip, and already a dragonfly perches on top.”

Li Chaosheng finished with a smile. It was an ancient poem taught in third grade language textbooks. Seeing everyone around silent and savoring it, he knew it was enough.

To deal with a bunch of fools, using an eternal classic would be too much. A third grade poem was sufficient. Using a fourth grade poem would be outright bullying.

But this little fresh piece was not simple. It was written by Yang Wanli, who the Song people called the patriarch of poetry, and it is praised as one of the freshest lines with the strongest imagery.

Actually Li Chaosheng was still a bit unfair. Any poem chosen for an elementary school textbook was not simple. Each was a work that had passed down through the ages. But there was no helping it. Li Chaosheng really could not remember poems from nursery.

“Good, good. ‘The young lotus just shows its pointed tip, and already a dragonfly perches on top.’ Vivid and picturesque. Young master, great talent.”

The head maid standing on the stairs praised him generously, then bowed and said, “Young master, wait a moment. I will go tell my miss.”

After saying this she hurried off. The other guests were full of amazement. They rose and cupped their hands to Li Chaosheng, saying, “Young master, such poetic talent.”

Li Chaosheng returned the bow and said, “You honor me. It is but a clumsy piece. Please forgive me.”

Hearing this, they all waved their hands, saying, “Young master, this is not clumsy. What we would write might be dog dung. Do not be overly modest.”

They all laughed and flattered Li Chaosheng, who returned their compliments one by one. This scene made the Four Talents of Yanggu County green with envy. At that moment Zhu Caisheng, Tang Zishu, and Wen Buzhi looked at Li Chaosheng with envy. The scene of being honored in public was something they had dreamed of many times.

“I say Brother Zhu, I feel his ‘Small Pond’ is on par with your ‘Steamed Carp.’ Why is his verse so popular while yours is so neglected?”

Wen Buzhi looked at Zhu Caisheng. Zhu Caisheng lifted his head and said, “Who says it is not popular? That gentleman just now even sent me a plate of steamed carp.”

“This shows he greatly appreciates my poetic talent. It is just that the others are too vulgar and do not understand poetry.“

“Oh, that is true. Hey, Brother Tang, our Four Talents of Yanggu County are currently missing one member. If we attract him to our poetry society, we will have four people. That might one day be told as a fine story,” Wen Buzhi murmured.