Qiao Yujing died young in his last life, but after turning into a ghost, he drifted around the human world for many years.

So, when it came to the infamous traitor who left a bad name in history, he naturally had a deep impression, as if it were thunder striking his ears.

Although in his previous life, Xie Wenyuan eventually became a traitor due to a series of misunderstandings and the pressures of reality, looking back at his experiences, his character indeed had serious issues.

After all, he was greedy for power and wealth, and his methods were ruthless—there was no escaping that.

Anyone who caught his eye would definitely not have a good outcome!

They were of the same age, had the same nasty character, and shared the same surname, Xie…

Qiao Yujing was in a panic, tears welling up in his heart as he prayed to all the gods and Buddhas, hoping that the Xie Langjun he had provoked was definitely not the person he was thinking of.

But unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed.

Over there, when the scholar who stood up to expose the theft of others’ poetry pointed out Xie Wenyuan by name, Xie Wenyuan cooperatively stepped forward.

Under everyone’s gaze, he looked at Qian Botu with a disappointed expression.

“Brother Qian, after so many years of being classmates, I never knew you were such a muddled person. To gain fame, you actually stole poetry, and such a classic work at that—truly muddled!”

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded. If it were true, then not only was he muddled, but also quite foolish.

You should know that there were always people looking for ghostwriters at poetry gatherings, but everyone had self-awareness. At most, they would come up with a mediocre piece to avoid embarrassing themselves in front of others.

To use a masterpiece to gain fame, he wasn’t afraid of exposing himself right away. After all, no matter how well one disguised it, a person’s true level of education could not be hidden in conversation.

“Nonsense! Xie Wenyuan, although I may not be good at strategy, I have a talent for poetry. You’ve known us as classmates for years, yet you arranged such a grand scheme to ruin my future—truly malicious!”

Faced with the disdain of the crowd, Qian Botu felt flustered inside, but he still tried to maintain his composure and put on a brave front.

There was no other way; if he didn’t do this, he would be confirmed guilty and lose his future.

As he spoke, he took out the rewritten poetry manuscript and countered, “These three poems were painstakingly created by me over the past few days. I have the manuscript as proof! We studied together in the private school, and you saw my manuscript in advance, so it’s not surprising that you plotted this out.”

“Brother Xie, I know that because my family has a bit of wealth, you come from a poor farming background and have often been jealous of me. But I never expected you to be so malicious and scheming; I misjudged you…”

“You say these poems are included in a rare collection, but with just one book, how can it prove that they weren’t prepared in advance? What a baseless accusation…”

“I may be foolish, but I wouldn’t go so far as to steal someone else’s poetry and leave evidence behind!”

Qian Botu lamented in accusation.

His defense was fine; as long as Xie Wenyuan couldn’t produce any solid evidence, mere words wouldn’t be enough to convict him.

But Xie Wenyuan was already prepared and wouldn’t be led by the nose. With disappointment, he said, “Brother Qian, knowing one’s mistakes and being able to correct them is a great virtue. Whether you stole poetry or not, we all know in our hearts!”

“The truth cannot be covered up by a clever tongue twisting black and white. No matter how you argue, a person’s knowledge cannot be faked. You say you didn’t steal poetry, then why not compose a good poem on the spot?”

Indeed, if one had real talent, wouldn’t composing another poem reveal the truth?

Why bother with so much nonsense?

The crowd wasn’t foolish; Qian Botu’s anxious defense of his innocence contrasted sharply with Xie Wenyuan’s calm demeanor.

The difference in their performances was too obvious.

“I… A good poem requires time, inspiration, and careful crafting. You asking me to compose one on the spot is clearly making things difficult for me!”

Qian Botu’s face turned red; with his level, how could he dare to compose poetry on the spot?

Originally, he had the audacity to steal poetry because he thought the three poems were written by Xie Wenyuan. After being exposed, he had plenty of room to argue, and risking it for the sake of marrying a princess seemed worth it.

But who would have thought that this was a trap set by someone else!

Qian Botu truly regretted it; in a moment of greed, he had accidentally jumped into a pit.

But now, no matter how he argued, it was useless.

Xie Wenyuan focused on the key point, “If you truly have knowledge, even if you can’t produce a timeless masterpiece due to time and inspiration constraints, your level of skill certainly wouldn’t be low.”

In short, the amount of knowledge one had in their belly couldn’t be faked.

Qian Botu was left speechless,

And the crowd could see the truth clearly.

Ordinary people who steal others’ poetry for fame wouldn’t be foolish enough to leave behind solid evidence, but fools might not be so smart!

This guy didn’t look very bright.

“Alright, throw him out. Today’s poetry gathering is rare; let’s not let him ruin everyone’s mood.”

An esteemed scholar spoke up.

Qian Botu, who wanted to say something, was covered up, and under the disdainful gazes of the crowd, he was taken away by the guards.

Everyone’s time was precious; they wouldn’t waste it on such a brainless little character.

The three excellent poems from earlier were the real focus!

The scholar looked at Xie Wenyuan and asked, “Since those three excellent poems are included in your rare collection, may I borrow it to take a look?”

“Old sir, you’re too polite. I came to the poetry gathering today specifically to share my collection with all my classmates and friends…”

Xie Wenyuan, neither humble nor arrogant, smiled as he handed over the collection.

Though he was from a farming family, he showed no signs of fear or inferiority, exuding the demeanor of a gentleman well-versed in poetry.

This made those around him nod in approval.

Not being pleased by material things or saddened by personal misfortunes, a person of worth maintains their composure at all times—this is what a true scholar is!

However,

The few scholars who received the collection had a lukewarm attitude towards him, but because he offered the collection, they still gave him a bit of face and praised him kindly.

As for any closer conversation, that was out of the question.

Because of the earlier farce, the inexperienced students couldn’t see through it, but these seasoned individuals could easily guess the underlying motives.

The student with the surname Qian indeed stole poetry.

But this student with the surname Xie was probably the one who truly schemed against him.

They didn’t despise those who were scheming to climb up, as competition among people was inevitable, but they still felt a bit displeased with those who stepped on others to rise, using underhanded means, and didn’t want to get too close…

The attitudes of the few scholars seemed kind, but in reality, they were distant.

Yet Xie Wenyuan seemed oblivious, maintaining his gentlemanly demeanor, only occasionally showing a glimmer of joy in his eyes at the thought of climbing up to the scholars.

This made many of the nobles present understand.

It seemed this was a very “ambitious” young man.

…

On the boat with the brothers and sisters,

After watching the earlier farce, everyone withdrew their gazes.

Zhi Qin sighed to Qiao Yujing.

“Sir, that Xie Langjun just now had some scheming methods, but unfortunately, he took the wrong path. Ordinary students can’t see through his schemes, but those scholars and we high-born families—who isn’t well-informed?”

“No matter what kind of dirty dealings he has with that classmate who stole poetry, stepping on others to rise is indeed a low move.”

Zhi Shu nodded in agreement, “Sister Zhi Qin is right. This Xie Langjun is clever, but his character is lacking, and his methods are indeed a bit petty…”

A truly smart person wanting to shine at a poetry gathering would never use such a trick of stepping on others.

Because the more esteemed the scholar, the more they valued character and integrity, preferring the younger generation who are clear and bright.

Qiao Yujing listened to their analysis and couldn’t help but smile.

“But what if this Xie Langjun wants people to think he has character flaws?”

“Ah?”

Zhi Qin and Zhi Shu’s mouths dropped open.

Qiao Yujing didn’t continue to explain but sighed in his heart.

Now he understood why, in his last life, Xie Wenyuan could stir up the winds and clouds of various countries all by himself.

Because this guy was just too good at acting!

If he hadn’t been reborn, he would definitely have shared the same opinion as everyone else, thinking that Xie Wenyuan was: overly scheming and not clever enough.

But with the memories of his past life, he couldn’t dare to think that way.

He didn’t believe that a traitor who could leave a bad name in history would have such crude methods of scheming, leaving behind handles for others to grasp.

If that were true, it must have been intentional…

If he wasn’t mistaken,

Xie Wenyuan probably didn’t plan to win the admiration of the scholars today; his main target was likely the noble families.

Since ancient times, civil officials and nobles have been two factions.

Students without family backgrounds or success in the imperial examination naturally belong to the civil official faction.

But the civil official faction has a huge problem: they like to make people endure their qualifications. No matter how talented you are, if you don’t endure a few years after entering the court, you won’t be allowed to stand out.

Nobles, on the other hand, are different.

Nobles don’t have to care about high-mindedness; they can openly use marriage to bind people to their ships.

So, after siding with the nobles, the upper limit of one’s future might not be as high as that of the civil official group, but the speed of promotion is much faster!

Xie Wenyuan was extremely greedy for power and wealth, enjoying riches and glory.

For this goal, in his past life, even at the age of sixty, he was still energetic and stirring up trouble.

Now that he was reborn, how could he be willing to just endure day by day?

Today’s performance was probably a bait.

But,

That had nothing to do with him.

What he needed to worry about now was how this traitor, Xie Wenyuan, planned to squeeze the value out of him, the fat sheep that had come to his door.

“Let’s go, we’ll head to the Peach Blossom Forest to wait for others.”

Qiao Yujing’s expression was sorrowful as he left the poetry gathering early.