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A scholar surnamed Liu sighed, “That’s to say, the poem Mr. Sun wrote when he entered Splendorous Garden was also praiseworthy. I caught a glimpse of a line: ‘Warm winter, red stove, snow as a robe, wine-stained green bamboo, flowers still fragrant.’ I found it quite extraordinary and excellent.”
“Mr. Guo, are you saying that the two lines you just recited were written by Mr. Sun?” a scholar named Mr. Zhang frowned.
“Indeed,” Mr. Liu nodded. “I entered Splendorous Garden on the same day as Mr. Sun. There were many scholars who came to Splendorous Garden that day, but only Mr. Sun and I passed the assessment. When I saw the poem Mr. Sun wrote, I felt quite ashamed of myself.”
“But…” Mr. Zhang paused, “I was drinking and composing poetry with several other scholars from the capital who also took the spring examinations a few days ago. I met Mr. Feng Liangyi, who was quite disappointed not to have entered Splendorous Garden. He showed me the poem he wrote at the time and asked for my critique. The first two lines of the poem were exactly the same as what Mr. Liu mentioned.”
The essays or poems written upon entering Splendorous Garden were not to be shown to others without the author’s consent. It could be said that others would definitely not know about them.
And if the poetry was composed in a public setting, many people would know who wrote it, and naturally, no one would dare to steal it to tarnish their own reputation.
The situation where two people’s poems are exactly the same…
“I remember, Mr. Feng ranked 121st in this year’s spring examinations.”
“Now that you mention it, I seem to recall Mr. Sun mentioning a fellow townsman surnamed Feng who also came to the capital to take the spring examinations…”
With the conversation reaching this point, the situation became very clear.
When Sun Huaiqing and Feng Liangyi went to Splendorous Garden together, Sun Huaiqing stole Feng Liangyi’s poem to gain entry into Splendorous Garden.
Realizing this, everyone took another two steps back, and the looks they gave Sun Huaiqing were now filled with disdain, contempt, and disgust.
Sun Huaiqing’s face turned pale, and he hurriedly explained, “I didn’t do such a thing. I didn’t secretly switch my paper with Feng Liangyi’s. I entered Splendorous Garden with my own talent!”
“We never said you switched your paper with Mr. Feng’s,” someone shouted.
They had only assumed that Sun Huaiqing had accidentally obtained Feng Liangyi’s poem and claimed it as his own.
Now that Sun Huaiqing had said this, it undoubtedly confirmed his misconduct.
The looks in everyone’s eyes were filled with unconcealed disgust, and Sun Huaiqing also realized this, his face turning pale and then red, eventually becoming a liverish hue.
The situation that had unfolded here was quickly reported by the young page boy to the manager, who arrived almost immediately.
“Mr. Sun, by using someone else’s poem to enter Splendorous Garden, you have violated the garden’s rules. Please leave Splendorous Garden at once.”
Seeing that Sun Huaiqing remained unmoved, the manager’s tone grew colder, “Someone, escort Mr. Sun out!”
Robust servants stepped forward, not bothering to exchange any words with Sun Huaiqing. They simply restrained his limbs and lifted him up high, as if he were an object, and carried him towards the gate of Splendorous Garden.
The commotion here was not small and naturally attracted many onlookers from within Splendorous Garden.
Amidst the spectacle, they couldn’t help but point and comment.
“I heard this Mr. Sun used someone else’s poem to enter Splendorous Garden, and he failed the spring examinations this time. What a disgrace!”