A Poem is Born

"If Ziqian 1had not left for Qingzhou, this would've been his duty," said Zhang Zhen.

"He's the best poet among us."

Chen Tai's long beard swayed as a cold wind blew into the room. "Brother Jinyan2 is more fit for the courts than myself."

"Are you accusing me of passing the buck?" Zhang Zhen quickly followed up with a challenge. "Well, I can't wait to hear your poem. I'll be sure to have my ears wide open."

As an argument was about to break out, a student of Zhang Zhen's entered the room. He greeted them with a bow before saying, "Xu Cijiu is here."

'Xu Cijiu? Why is he here? Has he finished copying the sage's quote?' Zhang Zhen nodded. "Bring him in."

The student nodded and left. Zhang Zhen stared across the chessboard at Chen Tai and smiled. "Speaking of which, I recently took in a new student, Xu Cijiu's cousin. He's an incredibly talented poet."

Li Mubai immediately spoke up, "He's also my student."

Chen Tai looked between the two elders—realization dawned on him. "The man who wrote the line, 'Fear not a journey of loneliness, for you are not a stranger to the realm'?"

Li Mubai and Zhang Zhen grinned.

Chen Tai let out a howling laugh as he wagged his finger at the two elders.

"What are you laughing at?"

Chen Tai held back his laughter and mocked, "I'm laughing at the fact that you're both blinded by fame and jealousy. Yang Ziqian's name will live on in the poem but you two should stop daydreaming. Beautiful poems are few and far between. Not every poem will end up in the history books.

"That epic poem probably took up all his talent. And now you expect him to come up with two more masterpieces so your names will be remembered? Has the noble spirit in you been swallowed up by greed?"

Li Mubai and Zhang Zhen were silent.

They knew Chen Tai was right about the scarcity of good poems. The man was not even a scholar, and the creation of the farewell poem could have just been a coincidence.

To pin their hopes of being written into the history books on some low-level constable was a tad ridiculous.

"Youping is right. As a scholar, we should be humble. For our names to be written into history, we should walk the proper path instead of seeking shortcuts. We have strayed from the teachings." The two elders folded their hands and bowed before Chen Tai.

"To have a mistake rectified is the greatest deed," Chen Tai intoned as he nodded.

Moments later, Zhang Zhen's student came back with Xu Qian and Xu Xinnian in tow.

The two brothers greeted the room. "We're here to see the teachers."

Li Mubai and Zhang Zhen exchanged a glance—the arrival of Xu Qian was unexpected but welcomed.

"Sit," Zhang Zhen said.

"Ningyan, you came. Is it because inspiration has struck you again?" Li Mubai probed.

Xu Qian shook his head and said, "I'm here to ask for a favor."

"Go on."

Xu Qian told the two elders about the request but hid the fact that it was part of a revenge plot against the Assistant Minister of Revenue. He did however mention Assistant Minister Zhou could be the mastermind of the missing tax silvers and once the inspections were over, it was highly likely that he would punish the Xu family.

"This…" Li Mubai looked over to Zhang Zhen who was equally as concerned. "The academy doesn't allow outsiders to stay over, it's the rule."

Rules were important to scholars.

Before Xu Qian could argue, Xu Xinnian spoke up, "The crown princess often stays over in the academy too."

Zhang Zhen shook his head. "She's the crown princess."

Xu Xinnian nodded. "So the academy's rule applies to everyone but the Emperor's kin."

'This young man hasn't learned anything about tactfulness.'

The three elders in the room laughed.

Xu Qian withheld his giggle—his brother's tongue was as sharp as ever.

Li Mubai shook his head and said, "Brother Jinyan, I can't wait for your student to enter the fateweaver rank."

'That's a horrifying thought.' Zhang Zhen's lips twitched.

Chen Tai was the only person beaming. He looked at Xu Qian and said, "You are Xu Ningyan?"

"Yes." The man who was undercover as a scholar folded his hands in greeting.

"I hear you're a great poet. How about this? If you can come up with a poem that impresses all three elders in this room, I'll allow the women to seek refuge in the academy and personally safeguard them."

Staying in the academy was one thing but more importantly, the elder was promising their safety.

That was the real reason why the Xu brothers came to the White Deer Academy.

A glimmer of hope appeared on Xu Xinnian's face. He turned to Xu Qian and uttered, "Brother…"

He was elated but also nervous. Writing poetry was not difficult—every scholar could string words into a rhyme or stanza. The difficult part was impressing the elders.

Was it really that difficult?

Yes. Yes, it was.

'Poetry? You're asking me to give you poems for free?' Xu Qian did not immediately agree. Instead, he asked, "Any themes? Or do I get to choose?"

The three elders eyed each other. Zhang Zhen said, "The theme is learning."

'Of course they have something in mind. Else, I could just randomly pick one from my memory,' Xu Qian sighed in his heart.

Despite that, he was relieved as the theme was still within his scope of knowledge.

He was reminded of the text he studied in high school titled, On Learning. However, being an essay, it did not fulfill the criteria.

'Through books, you will find grand houses and graceful ladies!'

The proverb came from a famous poem that survived the centuries.

It was known to be one of the essential readings when it came to the theme, learning.

Just as he was going to present the poem, he suddenly remembered the precarious position the White Deer Academy was in since 200 years ago.

'If I remembered correctly, this poem was written by the emperor during the Song Dynasty. It mainly spoke about the merits and successes that came with studying but the White Deer Academy students have been ostracized by the courts.

'When Cijiu passed his exams, he was worrying about which remote town he would be sent to.

'This poem would be a slap to the face for the academy students…'

The prolonged silence from Xu Qian worried Xu Xinnian. Zhang Zhen and Li Mubai stared expectantly at Xu Qian while Chen Tai sipped his tea, an amused smile on his face.

Then, Xu Qian stirred from his thoughts. He folded his hands and said, "Forgive my dullness. Cijiu, please ready the ink."

Xu Xinnian placed the brush, ink, and paper on the table. He prepared a fresh batch of ink and dipped the brush, staining the bristles black. Pulling his sleeve up, he angled the brush, gesturing for Xu Qian to accept it.

'I better not humiliate myself with my horrible calligraphy skills.' The turmoil in his heart was not shown on his face. Xu Qian struck a pose, looking like a scholar rousing the mountains with his words.

"Cijiu, be my brush."

Xu Xinnian nodded obediently and sat down before the table.

"The candlelight burns from midnight to morn.

"That's when scholars should study the most.

"When young, we neglect studies for fun.

"When old, we regret not learning enough."

Xu Xinnian finished writing and put down the brush. He stared at the neatly-written seven-character quatrain and felt a pang of emotions in his heart.

Silence filled the room. Xu Xinnian could feel the lingering sadness of the poem. The three Confucian elders walked over to the table and stared at the end-product.

They studied the words in silence.

The long-bearded elder in black robes found his eyes prickling with tears.