My Wife Turns Out to be an Empress of the Dynasty

Approaching a group of scholars, Gu Lan glanced inside and saw two young scholars bowing over two desks, writing something. One wore white, and the other wore black, seemingly engaged in a meaningful competition.

The surrounding scholars were all excited, staring without blinking as the two alternately wrote and paused.

"Brother, may I ask what they are doing?" Gu Lan asked a nearby scholar.

"They are engaged in a poetry competition. This is the most iconic activity in the literary meeting, where poetry is used to make friends, and everyone judges and determines the winner. Is this your first time here, brother? You seem unfamiliar with it," the scholar explained.

"Uh... Indeed, it's my first time!" Gu Lan felt a bit embarrassed to be labeled as a country bumpkin right after opening his mouth. He chose to remain silent and looked inside.

At that moment, the scholar in black suddenly stopped writing, happily displayed the finished paper, and presented it to the surrounding scholars.

"I am Jiangzhou's Lu Jing. This is a five-character poem for all fellow students to appreciate and judge!" As he finished speaking, the crowd craned their necks to get a better look.

Of course, Gu Lan's spiritual sense followed suit and read the words on the paper.

Uh... How should I put it? If compared to any of the three hundred poems he had copied from his past life, it couldn't be said to be barely acceptable. It could only be described as... well, not anything!

The comprehension of ancient poetry in this world was far from what he had seen on the shoulders of giants like Gu Lan. Even the crooked calligraphy didn't look as comfortable as those in his previous Chinese textbooks.

However, although the writing might be somewhat poor, Gu Lan had no intention of standing out to criticize. Instead, he continued to stand behind and observe.

Unexpectedly, after the crowd finished reading the poem of the scholar in black, they couldn't help but applaud.

"Great poem! The language is magnificent, and the author is erudite and talented!"

"Excellent poem, worthy of Jiangzhou's top scholar, Lu Jing. It seems that in the upcoming Tianji Literary Rankings, Lu Jing will secure a place!"

"Not necessarily! The scholar in white next to him is our Huangzhou's top scholar, Ren Hai. His literary skills should be on par with Lu Jing!"

"..."

A bunch of people were praising their own fellow villagers.

At this moment, a somewhat familiar guy approached Gu Lan, poked his clothes, and said with a smile, "Young Master Gu Lan, you are our Langzhou's top scholar. How about competing with these two later?"

Gu Lan glanced over. It turned out to be one of the fellow scholars he met when he first came to the capital, the one who accompanied Wei Zhi to Dulcet Pavilion. He was a fellow scholar from the same hometown.

He was thin, weak, and small, with a sharp, monkey-like face.

"Who are you?"

Gu Lan asked casually, not showing much enthusiasm.

He could clearly catch a fleeting expression of jealousy in the guy's eyes. That night, when Gu Lan entered the courtesan's fragrance chamber, he might have attracted the attention of these envious scholars.

Now, encouraging him to step forward was likely just an attempt to see him lose and embarrass himself.

"I am Zhang Yuan, a Langzhou fellow scholar. I currently rank just below you in the autumn examinations. I didn't have the chance to witness the elegance of the top scholar that night, so I want to see it today," Zhang Yuan explained.

Zhang Yuan's lips curled up.

In fact, he had been jealous of Gu Lan since the autumn examinations were announced. After coming to the capital, he was eager to know what talents Gu Lan possessed. He not only stole his top scholar position but also shamelessly slept with the most beautiful woman in the capital.

Now that they met at the literary meeting, he naturally wanted to show some favor. He hoped to see Gu Lan fail miserably.

However, Gu Lan remained unmoved after his self-introduction. He just smiled faintly and said, "So, it's Brother Zhang. Since Brother Zhang is the second place in Langzhou's autumn examinations, why don't you go first? If you can defeat them, I'll follow. If Brother Zhang can defeat them, what's the point of me going up?"

After hearing this, Zhang Yuan was stunned. His face immediately looked somewhat unsightly.

Gu Lan's words were dripping with sarcasm. Indeed, as the second place, he should act as the vanguard for the top scholar.

If Zhang Yuan could defeat them, wouldn't it be even easier for Gu Lan, the top scholar?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Gu Lan returned the flattery without any change.

Zhang Yuan felt both stifled and resentful but couldn't find words to retort.

"That's boring."

Gu Lan shook his head and ignored this clown who was standing still. He also thought that this poetry competition was boring.

The poems written by top scholars from various places were nothing more than ostentatious language, lacking any logical reasoning.

They were far from reaching the level of classical Chinese poetry.

Gu Lan left with Zhongren.

At this moment, cheers erupted from a nearby stage. Gu Lan looked over and saw two martial artists sparring with each other. The crowd of scholars was excitedly watching.

"Brother Gu, what kind of performance is this?" Zhongren tugged at Gu Lan's sleeve and asked seriously.

Before Gu Lan could answer, the scholars nearby heard this question. They looked displeased and glanced at them. After looking at the child for a while, they finally didn't want to make trouble for him.

However, what they didn't know was that even the most powerful martial artists among them couldn't withstand the strength of this seemingly outspoken child's punch. Calling it a performance was already an overestimation.

"Not a performance, but it's almost the same. Let's go see something else to broaden your horizons," Gu Lan patiently explained.

The two arrived at another gathering of scholars. This time, it wasn't a poetry competition but a verbal exchange, with one person proposing a riddle, and others trying to solve it. There was a table with wine and some silver coins.

They explained the rules: any scholar in the crowd could propose a riddle, and others could answer. If answered correctly, they could take the silver as a reward; if answered incorrectly, they had to drink a bowl of wine.

"Big brother, this place is livelier than those before!" Zhongren observed some scholars arguing over a few silver coins, turning red in the face. Eventually, they had to drink wine helplessly. He couldn't help but say to Gu Lan.

"Then let's watch here. Does Tianji Pavilion have this kind of guessing game?" Gu Lan asked in a low voice.

"Guessing game?" Zhongren thought about it seriously and shook his head. "If we want to know something, we can calculate it directly."

Gu Lan was speechless. Well, guessing this word was indeed a bit of an insult to Tianji Pavilion. You guys are really straightforward!

At this moment, someone in the crowd loudly proposed a riddle, attracting the attention of the scholars present.

"Brothers, I have a riddle: In the end of the year, there is no shortage of fish and rice (at the end of the 年and岁, there is no shortage of 鱼 and 米)!"

It was a plump scholar who said this, then he smiled and put a silver coin on the table in front of him.

Listening to his riddle, the scholars' gazes fell on the silver coin. They furrowed their brows, pondering.

In the next moment, in the silent crowd, Zhongren's childish voice was exceptionally clear:

"Brother, is it Lin(鳞: consisting of the different parts of the Chinese characters in the riddle)?"