Xuanmen Prodigal Son - Chapter 50
Chapter 50: The Movement of the Sacred Page
TL: Sungmin
“Ha ha ha ha!”
“This is the funniest joke I’ve ever heard!”
“Unifying Shenzhou by being prodigal? What kind of absurd statement is that!”
“I’ve always said that such a prodigal son is unfit for noble company, but he doesn’t believe it!”
“Is he seriously trying to provoke us? And he actually dared to write it! It’s simply hilarious!”
“Haha… A prodigal son is a prodigal son, truly sullying the literary competition!”
The “scholars” in the audience, already harboring deep hatred for Chu Tianxiao due to the earlier incident, couldn’t help but mock him when they saw the argument he had written. For a while, the venue was filled with jeers, laughter, and biting sarcasm.
Qin Yun sneered, “So this is the so-called absolute confidence… Truly an extraordinary argument.”
Mo Jun echoed with a laugh, “I’ve really learned something new. Who knew being prodigal had such uses? How come we scholars didn’t know?”
If these words had been spoken earlier, the previous batch of geniuses might have rebutted them. But now, they sighed deeply, speechless, thinking to themselves that it was indeed unrealistic to expect an ignorant prodigal son to write a groundbreaking argument.
Could it be that tonight they would have to endure the arrogance of those from the capital?
How infuriating!
“Chu Tianxiao! What the hell did you write!” At this moment, even Lu Xianyuan, with his usually good temper, was so angry that his neck was twisted. Pointing at Chu Tianxiao, he snapped, “You, you, you… Are you playing with me on purpose!”
Chu Tianxiao, however, seemed indifferent. He shrugged, “Your Highness, I said it wasn’t finished yet. You insisted on reading it early.”
“I… I…” Lu Xianyuan was choked by this remark, unable to respond. Ignoring Chu Tianxiao’s distortion of the facts, he roared angrily, “Not finished, not finished… Even if you finished it, what use would it be! What nonsense are you writing about being prodigal? Unifying Shenzhou by being prodigal… How could you even think of that!”
Chu Tianxiao said nothing more. He simply took the rice paper back from the attendant, sat down, and continued writing.
Lu Xianyuan was speechless, waving his hand in resignation, inwardly sighing—asking this prodigal son to win first place in the literary competition was indeed too much to ask…
Just then, Chu Tianxiao looked up and gave Lu Xianyuan a meaningful glance, causing him to pause and frown. Naturally, no one noticed this scene because no one was paying attention to Chu Tianxiao anymore. Obviously, everyone had dismissed his threat.
The literary competition continued, with many diligently writing, the sound of brushes on paper unceasing.
Seeing that the incense on each person’s table had burned more than halfway, Lu Xianyuan took a deep look at Chu Tianxiao, hesitated for a moment, then turned and shouted, “The time is half up. Please present the Sacred Page!”
At these words, many people were shocked. Although Lu Xianyuan had mentioned invoking the Sacred Page at the start of the competition, it was thought to be for the prodigal son. But now… was it still necessary?
Many were puzzled, but Qin Yun glanced at Chu Tianxiao, snorted coldly, and Mo Jun, noticing his expression, also sneered, “A last-ditch struggle… Invoking the Sacred Page at this time, does he think he hasn’t lost badly enough?”
The so-called Sacred Page was one of the four national treasures of the Great Zhou, presiding over all literary matters. It had existed since the founding of the Great Zhou, weathering the ages and sharing the nation’s sorrows and joys. Whenever a brilliant argument was near the Sacred Page, it would tremble slightly, making it the most impartial method for the Great Zhou Dynasty to select national policies—for in hundreds of years, the Sacred Page had never made a wrong judgment!
The standard for the Sacred Page’s judgment was just two words—practical use.
If an argument was highly practical for the nation or family, the Sacred Page would move. Otherwise, no matter how eloquently written or beautifully phrased, it wouldn’t make the Sacred Page budge!
The extent of the Sacred Page’s movement indicated the practicality of the argument.
Unfortunately, the Sacred Pages were rare. Those that still existed couldn’t judge every single argument, as doing so would exhaust their spiritual power. Even in the Great Zhou, only three princes were granted Sacred Pages by imperial grace, with Lu Xianyuan being one of them as a strong contender for the heir apparent.
He raised his right hand, making a gesture of invitation. Instantly, a white light flashed around him, gradually forming into the shape of a sheet of rice paper suspended in mid-air.
The Sacred Page was plain and unadorned, almost indistinguishable from ordinary rice paper, except that it hung in mid-air, naturally emitting a faint white glow with an aura of sanctity.
“We pay respects to the Sacred Page.” Everyone in the literary competition slightly bowed, as was the custom, though whether the Sacred Page acknowledged the gesture was unknown.
After the salute, everyone continued writing their arguments, though now with increased excitement—if they could make the Sacred Page move, they would gain nationwide fame!
However, as time passed, people completed their arguments and presented them, but the Sacred Page remained still, hanging in mid-air. This left many disappointed, especially those “scholars” with dreams of fame, who looked at the indifferent Sacred Page with a sense of grievance…
After a while, the sound of a brush being set down loudly was heard. It was Mo Jun, looking smug, with his white rice paper full of words, clearly having finished his argument. Almost the moment he presented it, the Sacred Page trembled slightly!
“It moved! The Sacred Page moved!”
“As expected of the descendant of the Mo family…”
“Brother Mo, you’re truly formidable. I admit defeat!”
“Would Brother Mo allow us to read your argument?”
Mo Jun laughed heartily, “It’s too early for you all to be astonished!”
As he finished speaking, the Sacred Page moved again, its light contracting and expanding!
“Two movements?”
“My heavens… Two movements from the Sacred Page, this argument must be extraordinary!”
“Tonight’s Literary Feast Master has been decided…”
“Alas… it’s always the people from the capital…”
The venue was abuzz with chatter. Mo Jun became even more smug. He had known the topic beforehand and had spent a great deal to prepare this draft. It was only natural for the Sacred Page to move once, and twice was a delightful surprise.
How could Mo Jun not be beside himself with pride?
The master of tonight’s literary competition was now beyond doubt!
Just as Mo Jun was thinking this, someone slowly stood up, “I have finished as well.”
Everyone turned to look—it was Qin Yun. He placed the final punctuation mark and presented his work, causing the Sacred Page to move suddenly!
Then… it moved twice!
Next… three times!
Everyone was stunned. Even Mo Jun was incredulous, trembling as he said, “This… How is this possible? The Sacred Page moved three times, this argument… this argument…”
It was well-known that the Sacred Page moving three times had a great chance of securing the master position even at the Autumn Night Banquet in the capital! For a moment, Qin Yun basked in the admiring and astonished gazes of everyone, feeling even more triumphant.
“Thank you, Master!”
“Hehe… It’s nothing. My student, your argument is so profound and wide-ranging that I thought the Sacred Page moving three times was less than expected!”
“Teacher jests. The Sacred Page moving three times is a rare occurrence even at the Autumn Night Banquet in the capital. The master position for this competition is already in my grasp!”
With this thought, Qin Yun couldn’t help but lift his head slightly. His old habit flared up as he cast a provocative glance at Mo Jun, a mocking smile playing on his lips, inciting Mo Jun’s fury! Then, he looked around the room with contempt, as if saying—Look at you useless lot, oppressed by those from the capital, yet still needing me to turn the tide. How about that? Aren’t you quick to admire?
The crowd, though furious, dared not speak out. Their poor performance left them without grounds to argue, and they could only bow their heads in silence. Qin Yun then turned his gaze to Chu Tianxiao, who was still writing, albeit slowly, often pausing to think after writing a few words. Seeing this, Qin Yun felt even more self-satisfied. He looked arrogantly at Lu Xianyuan and sneered, “Your Highness, should you announce the master of the literary competition?”
Lu Xianyuan frowned, pondered for a moment, then said, “Someone hasn’t finished yet.”
“Hehe… Your Highness must mean that prodigal son?” Qin Yun shook his head, sneering, “Fine, I’ll wait then. Let’s see what kind of surprise he can give us. Haha, being prodigal, haha…”
Hearing this, Lu Xianyuan also looked worriedly at Chu Tianxiao. He saw that Chu Tianxiao seemed deeply absorbed in his writing, completely ignoring the gazes around him…
What was Chu Tianxiao writing?
Simply put, he was writing about how to be prodigal.
“If the Great Zhou wants to unify Shenzhou, it must learn to be prodigal. What does it mean to be prodigal? Just spending money!”
“Being prodigal has three benefits for the nation…”
“Firstly, tactical deception.”
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