Chapter 143: You’ve Seen This One Too? Then What About This Song?

With a loud shout, all eyes turned to Young Master Wang.

He was staring at Chen Xiang with utter fury, as if he wanted to skin him alive, strip his flesh, and drink his blood.

Everyone was baffled. What had gotten into Young Master Wang?

Even Chen Xiang looked at him with curiosity, eager to see what kind of absurd trick he was going to pull.

Young Master Wang pointed a trembling finger at Chen Xiang, as though choking with rage, and shouted furiously: "This poem is titled *The Carefree Kettle*. Years ago, I once met a mysterious gentleman who lent me a long-lost ancient book to read. Inside it was a poem identical to the one you just recited, word for word! You... you..."

Young Master Wang choked, as if unable to catch his breath, still pointing accusingly at Chen Xiang.

The onlookers were dumbfounded.

Could such a thing even happen?

His claim was watertight.

He had provided the title of the poem, which made people believe him by a fraction. As for the mysterious gentleman whose existence was unverifiable and the long-lost ancient book, no one would be able to check even if they wanted to. Who could prove whether this person and this book existed? Even if they did, finding them would be practically impossible.

"So Chu Liuxiang is actually this kind of person! Taking a lost tale and passing it off to compete with Young Master Wang in poetry—how utterly shameless!" shouted a scholar who was in cahoots with Young Master Wang.

Immediately, many others began to point fingers and condemn him.

"So that's how it is. The poem was plagiarized after all."

"Damn it, I knew it! How could such a masterpiece appear before us so easily!"

"To think Chu Liuxiang is such a man. I regret ever thinking highly of him!"

When Chen Xiang's poem had first been uttered, Young Master Zhang and the others had been utterly stunned, unable to believe it was true.

A triple defeat—when had they ever tasted such humiliation? But Young Master Wang's words snapped them back to reality.

They exchanged glances and instantly realized that Young Master Wang was seizing the moment to smear Chen Xiang, and this was their only chance!

If they succeeded, the literary gathering could be cut short, the wager would be voided, and Chu Liuxiang's reputation would be ruined beyond repair!

Let's do it!

After a brief internal struggle, the four of them immediately joined the army of accusers targeting Chen Xiang.

However, there were also those who stood up for Chen Xiang.

"You bunch of idiots! You believe him just based on Young Master Wang's unilateral claim? Who has ever seen that ancient book? Who has ever heard of this poem? You're just barking blindly here!"

"That's right! Young Master Wang and the others were targeting Young Master Chu from the beginning. Now that Young Master Chu has produced such a masterpiece and they've lost, of course they're going to deny it and smear Young Master Chu's reputation!"

"Young Master Wang, bring out that ancient book and let us see it!"

Most of the defenders shouting in Chen Xiang's corner were female scholars. Chen Xiang was so handsome and immensely talented; the appearance of such a rare figure was bound to breed jealousy!

"I already said, that ancient book belonged to a mysterious gentleman passing through Liuxiang City. That gentleman's whereabouts are erratic, and I was merely fortunate enough to read a few pages!" Young Master Wang said in a deep voice.

This cut off all leads for the defenders, as there was no way to verify it.

Madam Xiao's face turned slightly cold.

She could tell at a glance that Young Master Wang and the others were lying. If not for the crowd present, she would have really wanted to slap them to death.

A playful smirk appeared on Chen Xiang's face. "Oh? You say this poem was from an ancient book you once saw?"

"That's right! Chu Liuxiang, I never expected that you would resort to such shameless methods just to win against us. I truly misjudged you!" Young Master Wang declared with righteous conviction.

"Heh." Chen Xiang let out a cold chuckle.

To be honest, this fellow's antics were starting to tick him off.

Although he hadn't written this poem himself, Young Master Wang's blatant framing made him rather displeased.

At Chen Xiang's cold smile, Young Master Wang and his cohorts suddenly felt a tightening in their chests, a bad premonition welling up inside them.

"The famous teapots of Yangxian are crafted by Gongchun, their spiral grain is hidden, their hue even and pure. If anyone has ever laid eyes upon them, bring them forth to share the fragrant dust with me," Chen Xiang slowly chanted.

The grand hall fell abruptly silent.

"Hiss!"

A moment later, everyone drew a sharp breath.

What the hell? Another tea-themed poem, and yet another masterpiece!

"Young Master Wang, I wonder if you've ever seen this poem in that ancient book of yours?" Chen Xiang asked, smiling amicably at Young Master Wang.

The faces of the five men darkened.

"I... I've seen it! Chu Liuxiang, I never thought you'd have read that ancient book too! Is there any point to you doing this?" Young Master Wang said through gritted teeth, his voice filled with feigned anger.

Little did anyone know, cold sweat was pouring down his back.

"Oh? You've seen this one too? Then what about this?" Chen Xiang chanted with a smile: "Kneading purple clay and molding sand for sixty years, a lifetime of solitary heart transcending worldly Zen. Mourning your departure after Gongchun's death, to whom in the mortal world should one turn to draw the tea spring?"

"Have you seen this poem or not?" Chen Xiang demanded in a booming voice.

"I... I've seen it!" Young Master Wang was startled, but he blurted out the response by reflex.

"Purple stamens containing cinnabar descend to the emerald spring, spring robes cast aside in a drunken dragon's slumber... Seen it or not?"

"I..."

"True water has no fragrance yet observes its true self, the green robe immersed, then steeped in crimson red... Seen it or not?"

"..."

Chen Xiang's booming voice rang out wave after wave. Young Master Wang was left dazed, more overwhelmed by the endless stream of masterpieces Chen Xiang was reciting than anything else.

Finally, with a vacant gaze, Young Master Wang collapsed to the floor, repeatedly muttering in a daze, "Seen it... I've... seen it..."

The hall was pin-drop quiet.

They were shocked by how Chen Xiang had systematically crushed Young Master Wang's confidence, but even more shocked by the relentless succession of poems pouring from his lips.

These poems—every single damn one of them was a masterpiece!

They were all men and women of letters; naturally, they could judge the quality of the poems Chen Xiang recited, and they could tell that every single one was a classic!

"Young Master Chu, are all these poems... written by you?" Madam Xiao asked with a complex expression as she looked at Chen Xiang.

She was deeply shaken as well, finding it hard to believe that Chen Xiang could compose so many poems in such a short span of time. Yet she had never heard these verses before, and she had no way of knowing their authenticity.

Everyone else in the hall pricked up their ears.

Chen Xiang nodded quite naturally and said, "Of course. Though, aside from the first two, the rest were not composed on the spot, but rather written when I was enjoying tea in the past."

He delivered these lines without a blush or a flutter of his heart, acting completely natural, making it sound as authentic as truth itself.

In his own words, in a world where these poems had never existed before, anything he brought out from his own hands naturally belonged to him. After all, who could prove otherwise?

"So that's how it was." Madam Xiao nodded in sudden enlightenment. It was a plausible explanation.

The artistic conceptions of these poems varied widely. Just think—how could anyone have so many profound insights in such a short period of time? If he claimed to have composed them on the spot, he would surely be lying! But even if they were poems written in the past, they were still extraordinary!

"So all these poems were written by Young Master Chu! Look at Young Master Wang's expression—he was definitely lying just now!"

"Young Master Wang used to be such a refined and elegant gentleman; I never expected his true face to be like this!"

"And Young Master Zhang and the others too. The top-ranking talents are apparently all cut from the same cloth."

The crowd began to curse Young Master Wang and his cohorts. Seeing the tide turn, Young Master Wang's accomplices didn't dare to speak up anymore and quietly slipped out of the hall.

Shopkeeper Sun stepped forward and pressed both hands downward in the air.

The noise in the hall died down.

Shopkeeper Sun smiled and said, "Heh, this literary gathering was originally meant to be just for fun, but since I am acting as the referee, and Young Master Chu has won three matches in a row, the remaining two rounds are no longer necessary. Therefore, I announce the winner: Young Master Chu Liuxiang!"

"Bravo!"

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!

The entire audience cheered, and a wave of applause erupted.

Madam Xiao also stepped forward, handing over the written wager and Chen Xiang's notes worth several hundred thousand taels of silver.

"Young Master Chu, congratulations," Madam Xiao said with a faint smile.

"Haha, pure luck, pure luck!" Chen Xiang replied modestly.

Madam Xiao smiled faintly, but lowered her voice to add: "Young Master Chu, you are now carrying a massive fortune, so you'd best be careful in the future. As for this written wager... in my opinion, you'd better tear it up!"

Chen Xiang smiled and asked, "Oh? Why should I throw it away?"

Madam Xiao cautioned him carefully: "Those six great families are bound together as one. Even though you hold the written wager and have the testimony of the people of Liuxiang City, you are an outsider after all and cannot possibly fight them. Besides, both the Wang family and the Zhang family have immortals backing them as patrons!"