Chapter 54: Literary Resonance and Heavenly Phenomena

Bewildered though he was, the moment Liu Xuan saw everyone staring at him, he instantly realized something was terribly wrong.

Such a massive burden was something he absolutely could not carry on his shoulders!

Regardless of how Gu Fangchen had managed to come up with that poem, it was certainly not something he had assisted with. Matters like this were not to be joked about.

Liu Xuan’s expression immediately turned stern as he stood up, his voice ice-cold and laced with deliberate emphasis:

"Master Gu, watch your tongue!"

"If I had truly cheated for the Heir, I would own up to it right now, without a second word."

"Yet, this baseless accusation is something I, Liu Xuan, cannot bear, nor can the 'Lineage of Poetry'!"

Upon seeing this, the crowd fell silent once more.

The truth that had seemed so clear moments ago now grew murky and elusive again.

Gu Youren’s provocation had shown signs earlier, and Liu Xuan’s strange reaction back then had suggested that her words were far from groundless.

Yet now, Liu Xuan was flatly denying it, his attitude so resolute...

Gu Youren frowned. Liu Xuan did not look like he was lying, but it also somewhat resembled someone putting up a stubborn front to protect their reputation.

Had she not caught Liu Xuan secretly projecting his soul to Gu Fangchen’s side just moments prior, she might have hesitated.

However, because Liu Xuan had momentarily lowered his guard and his attempted cheating had been caught by Gu Youren herself, her preconceived notions had already led her to a firm conclusion. From that point on, no matter how she thought about it, her judgment would only skew toward the outcome she desired.

Besides, if it wasn’t Liu Xuan...

Who else could possibly have written that poem?

Could it possibly be Gu Fangchen?!

Believing that Gu Fangchen wrote it would be like believing the sun could rise from the west!

More importantly, she had already witnessed Gu Fangchen’s ability to blacken white and white black, and she knew deeply that she could not give him any room to maneuver; otherwise, catching him in the act again would be exceedingly difficult.

She had to strike a fatal blow immediately without hesitation!

Therefore, Gu Youren did not back down, saying coldly:

"Do you dare deny that just now, hiding it from everyone, you secretly projected your soul to feed this poem to Gu Fangchen?"

Gu Yuandao bowed respectfully to Liu Xuan, speaking in a deep, earnest tone:

"Senior Brother Liu, the sages say that to know one's errors and be able to reform is the greatest virtue—that is what a gentleman does."

Naturally, he didn't believe for a second that the poem could have been written by Gu Fangchen!

Gu Yuandao sneered inwardly, thinking that fellow had truly lost his mind. Disregarding how notorious his reputation already was, he was actually trying to salvage his pride through Liu Xuan's cheating.

Presumably, under the gaze of the crowd, he simply couldn't bear being outdone by Gu Yuandao like this.

The others chimed in one after another, urging Liu Xuan to just admit his mistake.

"Indeed, indeed. What manner of man is Senior Brother Liu? He must have been threatened and deceived by a villain, causing him to hand over his masterpiece to another."

"Senior Brother Liu wrote such a fine poem, yet this Gu Fangchen is utterly devoid of human decency, forcefully claiming such a magnificent piece for himself. How utterly shameless!"

"Using power to bully others—despicable to the extreme!"

Seeing the public indignation rising as everyone began denouncing Gu Fangchen as a shameless villain, Gu Fangchen's expression remained unchanged as he continued to lazily fan himself.

Watching Gu Youren stubbornly refuse to let go of her conviction, the smile on his face deepened.

Furious, anxious, and filled with regret, Liu Xuan let out a long sigh and made a deep, formal bow toward Gu Fangchen:

"Your Highness the Heir, this entire matter is entirely my fault for being momentarily possessed. It is solely my wrongdoing, causing you to suffer this wrongful accusation. Liu Xuan was truly muddle-headed."

"I will definitely clear Your Highness's name..."

Gu Fangchen closed his fan with a snap, pointed it at Liu Xuan, shook his head, and laughed:

"Ah, Brother Liu, you exaggerate."

"After all, regarding this matter, everyone isn't actually wrong..."

He raised an eyebrow and admitted frankly:

"I did indeed cheat. I did not write this poem; I merely brought it out for everyone to appreciate."

As soon as these words fell, the crowd below erupted into an even greater uproar of condemnation, sarcasm, and jeering.

Gu Youren finally let out a breath of relief, joy blooming in her heart.

At last, at last she had turned the tables!

This wicked wretch had finally fallen today due to his own arrogance!

To pull such an absurd stunt at the Qionglin Banquet meant that even Mother would no longer be able to protect him!

On the other side, Gu Yuandao’s heart gave a sudden lurch as an ominous premonition blossomed within him.

Could Gu Fangchen really be the type to admit fault so directly?

Before he even had time to ponder why Gu Fangchen was acting so out of character, Gu Fangchen grinned widely, leaped straight onto a tabletop, and raised his voice:

"To enjoy oneself alone is inferior to enjoying it with the masses. The Qionglin Banquet is a wonderful place, and seeing that you are all top-tier talents, I was struck with inspiration to share some fine works."

"Looking at you now, you are indeed intensely interested and discussing it quite passionately!"

Gu Fangchen swept his gaze across the surroundings, his smile brilliant:

"Since that is the case, I have a few more masterpieces here that I would like to share and appreciate with all of you!"

What?!

A few more masterpieces?!

Gu Yuandao’s expression shifted abruptly, while the rest of the crowd was utterly dumbfounded, having no idea what nonsense Gu Fangchen was spouting.

A poem of that caliber was a rare gem that might not appear even once in several centuries—a work destined to be forever remembered in history.

And yet he claimed to have a few more?

This time, even Liu Xuan’s eyes widened in disbelief, wondering if His Highness the Heir had been angered out of his wits.

Even if one wanted to salvage their pride, this was no way to do it...

An elderly official below wore an ugly expression and pointed immediately at a pine tree nearby, demanding:

"A few more? Do you think fine poetry grows on trees like cabbages?! If you can actually recite them today, I will immediately find a rope and hang myself from this very tree!"

Gu Fangchen smiled:

"You said it yourself. What was that saying scholars live by? A gentleman's word is as good as a team of four horses?"

The old official snorted coldly:

"Out with it!"

Li Qingguang sighed, already certain this was nothing more than a farce.

As the daughter of the "Poet Immortal," she understood the caliber of that previous poem all too well. Even for her own father, verses of that level were one in a hundred, a matter of serendipity rather than design.

How could anyone possibly casually churn them out by the wholesale?

Lowering her head, she picked up a pastry, only for Gu Fangchen’s softly recited opening lines to drift into her ears.

Li Qingguang’s movements paused. She raised her gaze in a daze, watching the handsome young man with a hint of wicked charm standing tall atop the table, lazily fanning himself as he paced and delivered the next couplet.

"The boundless lotus leaves stretch out a brilliant jade; the reflection of the sun makes the lotus blossoms uniquely crimson."

The minds of everyone present went completely blank, their varied expressions freezing on their faces.

It was... it was not a whit inferior to the previous one!

How could this be?

At this very moment, Gu Youren had been watching Liu Xuan the entire time. Had the latter projected his soul, he undoubtedly would have been discovered.

Without Liu Xuan cheating, where on earth did Gu Fangchen get this poem?

Could it be... leftover works that Liu Xuan had never published in the past, handed over all at once just now?

Just as this speculation surfaced in the crowd's minds, they saw Gu Fangchen pause his steps, pivot in another direction, and resume his pacing—making everyone's hearts skip a beat.

No way...

"That was the second one."

Gu Fangchen swept his gaze over everyone below, then spoke in a ringing voice:

"Next, the third!"

He was simply there to bully people, reciting without a moment’s pause:

"The spring fountain quietly cherishes the gentle stream; tree shadows mirror the water, loving the bright serenity. The tiny lotus tip has just broken the surface, and already a dragonfly rests upon it."

"The fourth!"

Gu Fangchen pivoted, radiating arrogance:

"...The red lotuses lean on one another as if drunk; the white egrets silently harbor their own sorrow."

"The fifth!"

He shook his head, the fan inscribed with "One's Moral Principles" standing out remarkably. The lines drifting into the crowd's ears exploded like thunder:

"The fairy of ripples rests in quiet fragrance, wearing rosy drunken makeup... Blossoming fully in the morning dew with intent, closing lazily against the slanting sun for no reason."

"And the last one."

Gu Fangchen paused, looking toward Gu Youren, who had slumped back into her seat in a daze of lost soul, and curved his lips into a cold smile:

"This final poem is dedicated to my elder sister, who has always been so impartial and unforgiving of evil."

Slowly, word by word, he recited:

"The world's flowers and leaves are unequal; flowers enter the golden basin while leaves are ground to dust. Only the green lotus and red blossoms unfold and close, following their pure nature. These flowers and leaves forever reflect one another; the fading green and withering red are enough to break one's heart."

Clearly the same plant—why pluck the flower into a golden basin while grinding its leaves to dust?

Disregarding right and wrong, turning a blind eye to the truth—was it truly for the public good, or...

For personal reasons?

This verse struck like an arrow straight into Gu Youren’s heart, draining the color from her face.

"Boom!"

A bolt of thunder cracked across the sky.

The crowd gasped. Gu Youren snapped her head up in a fright as storm clouds gathered above, and torrential rain instantly poured down.

The lotus flowers within the Qionglin Garden, which had not yet fully bloomed, were struck by the rain and burst open all at once, radiating colorful glows like a fairyland in the heavens.

Resonance of literary talent, a phenomenon of heaven and earth!

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ps: The next chapter will be posted shortly, bringing this arc to a close.