It was precisely because of this that Liu Yan, a scholar in the art of conversation, found himself mingling with people like Lub Su. Now even Lub Su and Liu Ye both held this man's abilities in high esteem. Gaining reputation isn't something you can just speak into existence, but this guy seemed to have hacked the system—say the word, and his reputation soared!
Of course, this had a lot to do with Liu Yan's agreeable personality. Apart from being a bit of a playboy and enjoying literary debates with other scholars, he wasn't much different from Jian Yong. Moreover, he was extremely self-aware. He didn't meddle in politics, and even when in high positions, he never gave reckless advice.