In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned toward Chen Hao.
But Chen Hao’s face had already turned pale with anxiety, and beads of sweat even rolled down his forehead.
Chen Fan had already produced three masterpieces, each one so exquisite and unparalleled that even those who had never studied would find them remarkable.
As for his own poem, although it had some merit, it was simply incomparable to Chen Fan’s three works.
He didn’t even dare to present it.
He felt that doing so would only bring him greater humiliation.
Moreover, he lacked Chen Fan’s talent for composing poetry on the spot.
What should he do?
With so many people watching, what should he do?
Chen Hao suddenly felt a wave of panic and instinctively glanced toward Chen Guogong.
But Chen Guogong’s face was already clouded with gloom and displeasure.
From the moment Chen Fan wrote his first poem, he knew Chen Hao was likely to lose.
After Elder Liu personally interpreted it, he realized Chen Hao had no chance of turning the tables.
With Chen Hao’s literary talent, even if he racked his brains, he couldn’t come up with a poem better than Chen Fan’s three works.
“What’s the matter? Has the Second Young Master not finished his poem yet?”
Chen Fan deliberately spoke up again: “It’s alright, Second Young Master, no need to rush. Good food is worth waiting for. We can give the Second Young Master a little more time!”
Hearing this, Chen Hao’s expression grew even more unpleasant.
Wasn’t Chen Fan deliberately trying to embarrass him?
Giving him more time? The longer it took, the more humiliating it would be. Was Chen Fan intentionally trying to make him a laughingstock among the scholars of the world?
But what could he do now?
Just then, Lin Feng, standing nearby, spoke up with a smug and disdainful expression: “Chen Fan, what are you so arrogant about?”
“I admit your poems have some merit, but do you really think you can defeat the Second Young Master?”
“The Second Young Master is a scholar capable of writing timeless masterpieces like Ode to the Goddess of Luo and Spring River, Flowers, Moon, Night. How could he possibly fear a profligate like you?
Once the Second Young Master writes his own timeless masterpiece, let’s see how you keep up your arrogance!”
Hearing this, Chen Hao’s face darkened to the extreme, and he felt the urge to strangle Lin Feng on the spot.
He was already struggling to find a way out, and now Lin Feng was adding fuel to the fire.
How could he have such a foolish ally?
“Haha!”
But Chen Fan merely chuckled disdainfully. “Indeed, since the Second Young Master can write Ode to the Goddess of Luo and Spring River, Flowers, Moon, Night, composing a poem should be a trivial matter for him, right?”
“By the way, since Ode to the Goddess of Luo was written by the Second Young Master, I wonder if he could answer a few questions for me?”
Hearing this, Chen Hao’s expression suddenly changed. What did Chen Fan mean?
What was he trying to do now?
But before Chen Hao could respond, Chen Fan continued: “May I ask, Second Young Master, who is Feng Yi mentioned in Ode to the Goddess of Luo?
What does Gourd Star mean? What about Ping Yi? And what is Wen Fish?”
Hearing this, everyone’s expressions shifted, and they all looked at Chen Hao with confusion.
After all, these were the very questions they had encountered while reading Ode to the Goddess of Luo.
They didn’t know the answers either, nor did they recognize who Feng Yi was.
But Chen Hao’s face turned even more unpleasant. This… this was something he didn’t know either. Now that Chen Fan had suddenly asked, how was he supposed to answer?
But he had already claimed that Ode to the Goddess of Luo was his work. If he didn’t know the answers, what would that mean?
“Feng Yi is… is a person I imagined!
Gourd is… is a type of melon fruit, Ping Yi is a type of screen, and Wen Fish is naturally a type of fish!”
Chen Hao spoke with an extremely unpleasant expression.
“Hah!”
But upon hearing this, Chen Fan gave a disdainful laugh. “Feng Yi beats the drum, Nüwa sings clear songs—doesn’t the Second Young Master think Feng Yi should be a deity like Nüwa?
Moreover, according to lesser-known northern myths, Feng Yi is the River Earl.
There is also a saying: the River Earl governs the marshes, Ping Yi commands the wind, so Ping Yi is the god of wind.”
As Chen Fan spoke, he continued: “Lamenting the unmatched Gourd Star, singing of the solitary Cowherd. Gourd Star is the name of a star, also known as the Heavenly Rooster, located east of the River Drum Star. A rhapsody says, grieving the Gourd Star’s lack of a mate, sorrowing for the Weaving Maid’s solitary toil. This draws from that reference.
As for Wen Fish, it truly is a type of fish, but not an ordinary one—it has bird-like wings and can fly.”
“But how is it all different from what the Second Young Master said? What’s going on? Was ‘Ode to the Goddess of Luo’ really written by the Second Young Master?”
Upon hearing this, everyone looked astonished.
Clearly, Chen Fan’s explanation was the one that made sense, backed by sources and allusions.
As for what Chen Hao said—some melon fruit, a screen—does that fit reasonably into ‘Ode to the Goddess of Luo’?
If ‘Ode to the Goddess of Luo’ were truly written by Chen Hao, could he give such an explanation?
And Chen Fan even knows the origins of these allusions!
Isn’t it obvious that ‘Ode to the Goddess of Luo’ was written by Chen Fan? Otherwise, how would Chen Fan know these obscure allusions that even scholars like them were unaware of?
In that moment, even Lin Feng understood something.
Chen Hao’s face grew even more unsightly; he truly didn’t know what to say.
Poetry—he couldn’t write it. Explanations—he couldn’t provide them.
What was he supposed to do?
Meanwhile, the crowd began to murmur quietly.
“I always said, if ‘Ode to the Goddess of Luo’ and ‘Spring River, Flowers, Moon, Night’ were really written by Chen Hao, why are those the only two pieces in his collection worth reading?”
“Exactly. If he could write ‘Ode to the Goddess of Luo’ and ‘Spring River, Flowers, Moon, Night,’ why can’t he produce a single poem now?”
“So, the real plagiarist is Chen Hao!”
“And he even had the shamelessness to claim that Chen Fan plagiarized him!”
“Although Chen Fan may be a profligate, with such talent, who dares to say anything? He casually produces three masterpieces—why would he stoop to plagiarism?”
“He even deliberately set up this Literary Gathering to humiliate Chen Fan. Doesn’t he know his own limitations?”
“Praise him a few times, and he really thinks he’s a genius who can write ‘Ode to the Goddess of Luo’? Ridiculous!”
…
Listening to the crowd’s discussion, Chen Hao looked even more desperate and wretched. How could he argue now?
Bang!
But just then, a loud crash suddenly rang out. Chen Guogong, who was nearby, slammed his palm onto the table.
“You unfilial son! How could I have fathered such a despicable and shameless villain!”
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Chen Guogong.
Chen Guogong, furious, pointed at Chen Hao and scolded directly: “Losing to someone in skill is one thing, but you dare to claim his work is plagiarized from yours! Who taught you that!
Since you were young, I’ve taught you to be down-to-earth, especially in writing and scholarship! Yet you… you!”
“You’ve completely disgraced our Guogong Mansion!”
At these words, everyone’s expressions changed. Chen Hao panicked and hurriedly said, “Father…”
But before Chen Hao could finish speaking, Chen Guogong directly rebuked in anger, “Shut up! Don’t call me father! As a scholar, you could actually do such despicable and shameless things, and still dare to call me father! I don’t have a vain and despicable son like you!”
As Chen Guogong scolded, he also cupped his hands and bowed to the crowd, saying, “I apologize for making a fool of myself in front of everyone. I never expected this unfilial son to stoop to such actions for the sake of a little vanity!
He has completely disgraced the reputation of scholars! From today onward, this despicable man has no further connection to my Guogong Mansion! He is expelled from the Genealogy!”
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. Chen Guogong was too decisive—he had directly disowned Chen Hao.
Chen Hao wore an expression of disbelief. Just a few days ago, Chen Fan had been expelled from the family, and now it was his turn?
“Father! Father! I…”
Chen Hao still wanted to say something, but Chen Guogong, fearing that Chen Hao might drag him into it, directly shouted, “Guards! Throw this despicable man out! I don’t want to see him again!”
Upon hearing this, attendants immediately stepped forward, seized Chen Hao, and dragged him away, leaving him no chance at all.
Seeing this, the crowd dared not say anything further.
Only Chen Fan remained calm and composed. He had long been familiar with Chen Guogong’s methods.
He simply looked calmly at Lin Feng and said, “Young Master Lin, with this, does this Literary Gathering count as my victory?”