Wrongfully executed and drowned, the legitimate daughter is reborn and marries the emperor.

Chapter 40, two words: "Acceptable?"

Murong Jin took Chu Yuning's poem, raised his eyes and glanced at him indifferently, "Are you also a student who came to participate in the Banquet of Enlightenment?"

Chu Yuning was slightly taken aback. "What do you mean by that, sir?"

"I thought you were a servant in Master Wang's household. Your hospitality is quite good."

Upon hearing this, a snicker sounded behind Chu Yuning. His handsome brows furrowed. What did Old Master Murong mean by that? Was he mocking him for being too obsequious and lacking the integrity of a scholar?

But what he showed was clearly respect!

If it were Master Wang or anyone else, he wouldn't bother to curry favor. He only flatters learned teachers like Master Murong! How can that be considered servile?

Chu Yuning forced a smile. "Please don't make fun of your student, sir."

Murong Jin didn't say anything more, but instead looked down at the poem Chu Yuning had given him.

Chu Yuning stood behind Murong Jin, his chest slightly puffed out, and recited his own poem aloud. His voice was powerful and resonant, each word clearly reaching everyone's ears.

After listening to Chu Yuning's poem, the scholar outside the pavilion became solemn.

Although they looked down on Chu Yuning because of his failure to repay debts and the fact that he drove his mother to her death, they had to admit that Chu Yuning was indeed a man of real talent and ability.

The poems he casually wrote were on a completely different level from theirs.

One scholar, unable to contain his thoughts, blurted out, "Although Chu Yuning's character is questionable, her poems are truly excellent! I, Du, admire her!"

"Yes! Yes! Brother Chu's poems are perfectly matched in parallelism and elegant in diction, and they are full of allusions. It is evident that Brother Chu is very learned, erudite, and knowledgeable about both ancient and modern times!"

"Compared to Young Master Chu, our poems are utterly insignificant. In today's autumn poetry competition, Young Master Chu will surely emerge victorious! We will accept our defeat wholeheartedly!"

Hearing the praise around her, Chu Yuning's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

It was well worth all the time and effort he put into preparing for this banquet! He even wrote many articles and poems about Nanlu Mountain in advance!

Chu Yuning cupped her hands in greeting to the scholars outside the pavilion and said with a smile, "You flatter me!"

Then he turned to Murong Jin and asked, "What do you think, sir?"

Murong Jin looked down at the poem in his hand. To be objective, Chu Yuning's poem was indeed good. It was more than a hundred words long and not only depicted the magnificent scenery of the South Mountain in all four seasons, but also expressed her feelings through autumn and her aspirations through the mountain, thus deepening the meaning of the poem.

However, this poem... doesn't seem to have been written on a whim, but rather as if every word and phrase was carefully considered, and the choice of words and allusions was repeatedly compared and weighed. There are obvious traces of revision, as if it was written a long time ago.

If it wasn't written in advance, then he possessed the talent of a young prodigy like Wang Bo, capable of composing verses fluently and writing beautifully.

If one were to write down answers in advance to prepare for his tests, then he would be just like his poems—all show and no substance, with too many ulterior motives, which is not a good thing for a scholar.

Recalling the songs he had heard in the city these past few days, Murong Jin remained silent for a long time before finally uttering only two words: "Acceptable!"

Chu Yuning was stunned. Old Master Murong praised the bad sentences written by Master Wang as good, but only gave himself two words—"acceptable."

"Alright?" What does that mean? Does it mean his poem is passable?

How could his poems be mere mediocre?

Could this old gentleman Murong be all talk and no action, completely ignorant of poetry and literature? His poems are clearly the best of all, how could they be only "acceptable"?

Chu Yuning's expression was somewhat embarrassed. He tugged at the corners of his stiff mouth, wanting to argue for his poem, but he knew he couldn't contradict Old Master Murong right now.

Just as Chu Yuning was trying her best to suppress her dissatisfaction, a round-headed man suddenly approached Mr. Murong and snatched the poem from his hand.

"Nephew, this poem of yours... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?"

Master Wang held Chu Yuning's poem and looked at him with a sincere expression.

Chu Yuning's expression changed. "Master Wang, what do you mean by that? I have never been to Nanlu Mountain before, so how could I have written a poem about it in advance? This poem was written in one go today after I climbed Nanlu Mountain!"

“But I think I’ve seen these two lines before in your aunt’s room.” Master Wang frowned, seemingly trying to recall whether he had seen the poem before.

Those outside the pavilion changed their expressions upon hearing this.

Chu Yuning is the nephew of Wang Yuanwai's concubine, and this banquet for learning the Dao was funded by Wang Yuanwai. Could it be that Chu Yuning already knew today's test questions and prepared in advance?

This is simply an unfair victory!

"Brother Chu, this is too unfair to us!"

"That's right, that's right, it's unfair!"

"Elder Mr. Murong, we have all gathered here because we respect you and wish to become your students. But you have leaked the list of poems for the competition in advance, which is unfair to us!"

The scholars outside the pavilion were indignant, believing that Murong Jin and Chu Yuning had a long-standing relationship. Otherwise, why would he have given pointers on the poem written by Master Wang? And why would he be so intimate with Chu Yuning?

When Magistrate Jiang heard those people talking about his teacher, he was immediately furious. Others might not know his teacher, but he did!

In the eyes of the old master Murong, he treated everyone equally, whether they were learned scholars or commoners. He discussed the way of governing the country with scholars and the way of living in the world with ordinary people.

In his eyes, the fact that Master Wang could write simple and easy-to-understand poems was quite good among people of his level, which is why he said "quite good".

It's impossible for him to deliberately favor Wang Yuanwai's relatives just because Wang Yuanwai paid for the banquet.

But now, because of Chu Yuning, even Elder Murong is being misunderstood and slandered, which makes Prefect Jiang very unhappy!

If he doesn't stand up today to clear his teacher's name, these people will probably say in the future that he was able to become Master Murong's student through back channels!

Thinking of this, Prefect Jiang stood up with a gloomy face. "Since arriving in Jian'an City, Elder Murong has been living in his own residence, never welcoming guests nor visiting the Wang family. How could he have leaked today's exam questions?"

"Today we came to the southern foot of the mountain. The original plan was to enjoy the stream and discuss philosophy at the foot of the mountain, which is why so many pavilions were built there. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision for the teacher to climb the mountain and enjoy the scenery, and it was also a spur-of-the-moment decision to ask you to write poems based on the scenery."

"If anyone deliberately did anything, it was Chu Yuning who intentionally led us to Maple Pavilion tonight to enjoy the scenery, so that she could take out the poems she had prepared beforehand about appreciating the autumn leaves. How can you slander Old Master Murong's reputation just because someone is scheming?"

Upon hearing this, all the scholars who had initially doubted Mr. Murong fell silent, their gazes toward Chu Yuning filled with utter contempt.

Chu Yuning is truly cunning!

"No wonder Chu Yuning was expelled from Ziyun Academy. She must have used some underhanded means to make Dean Sun furious!" someone in the crowd couldn't help but sneer.

Enraged, Chu Yuning stormed out of the pavilion: "What nonsense are you spouting? Who said I was expelled from Ziyun Academy? Has the academy issued any notice? I'm only temporarily suspending my studies because of family matters! If you dare to slander me again, I, Chu, will not let you get away with it!"

"I misremembered, I misremembered! Don't listen to me, I'm just talking nonsense!" Master Wang had already realized that he had said the wrong thing and shouldn't have mentioned that he had read the poem.

But those people were talking one after another, and he didn't get a chance to interject.

Only then did he step forward to explain to everyone.

But Chu Yuning had already started arguing with the scholars, and no one could calm down and listen to his explanation.

Finally, it was Elder Murong who spoke up, and everyone quieted down.

"I asked you to compose poems in this pavilion only to observe your character, not to test your scholarship. That is what I will be testing you on next!"