Chapter 29: Utter Bullshit
The crown prince led Fairy Yu to her seat, which suddenly filled everyone with excitement, as it was a sign that the gathering was about to commence. They were eager to showcase their own pieces, and, in a stroke of luck, shoot to stardom overnight.
After taking his seat, the crown prince glanced casually at Fang Chen and smiled at him. “Divine General Fang, what brings you here today?”
Before Fang Chen could reply, Tao Yu answered in his place. “Your Highness, surely Divine General Fang wants to experience the eloquence of poetry and calligraphy.”
The crown prince nodded, as if he had just realized the obvious. “That’s great. If Divine General Fang is forbidden from stepping foot into the court, or from leading the army, he can still contribute to the glory of Grand Xia by abandoning the marital path and pursuing literary arts. Even though Divine General Fang is a martial arts prodigy, if he were to switch over, his achievements in literary arts would not fall short from any of you here."
“Your Royal Highness, have you ever seen a butcher compose poetry?” Ye Qinghe mocked. His words caused a storm of laughter to erupt among the audience. Fairy Yu’s brows furrowed inadvertently. She noted down the names of all the people who laughed—Tao Yu and Ye Qinghe’s names in bold.
Fang Chen waved his hands in the air nonchalantly. “I am here to appreciate poetry and calligraphy, not to hold boring conversations. It’s better we get started.”
The crowd’s expressions changed slightly.
The crown prince grinned. He then addressed the crowd. “The theme of today’s poetry gathering is ‘Stopping War.’ Who will be the lucky fellow to kickstart the gathering for us?” Right as he said that, someone immediately jumped forward.
He recited a well-prepared poem, drawing cheers and applause from the audience.
“What a farce,” Fang Chen muttered under his breath. However, he quickly put on a smile and applauded, his gaze unconsciously observing the followers of the crown prince.
As more poems on stopping war appeared, the atmosphere of the poetry gathering gradually reached its climax. No one cared about Fang Chen’s presence. Everyone focused on trying to leave a lasting impression on the crown prince to gain his recognition.
All his followers are martial artists, the strongest of whom is only at the peak of the Qi Detonation Stage. There doesn’t seem to be any traces of the Spirit Blood Sect, but... Fang Chen thought, and his eyes flashed with a hint of amusement.
His people had already taken action. He would be able to determine the relationship between the Daoist and the crown prince by the end of the day. Were it to turn out that the crown prince was actually associated with the Spirit Blood Sect, then this would be a whole other matter altogether.
“Warriors on horses ascend the mountain peaks, bones of ten thousand loyal souls buried across the Three World. Past achievements have long been forgotten through the wars, and what remains are the tears of family wetting their robes.”
“What a poem!”
“Truly deserving of the top scholar of Grand Xia! I can vividly imagine countless loyal souls weeping, knowing that they can never return to reunite with their families!”
“Brother Tao, if you rise to prominence in the future, you can surely lead Grand Xia to real peace. Just like our Guhe Kingdom, which has not seen war for a hundred years!”
The crowd erupted in applause with unending praises for Tao Yu's poem. It was as if they had personally witnessed the battle of Three World Mountain where countless loyal souls had died tragically!
Tao Yu chuckled lightly, waved the folding fan in his hand, and looked at Fang Chen. His poem carried blatant insinuations.
Originally, the audience had forgotten Fang Chen’s presence, but after hearing the poem, they turned their heads and stared at Fang Chen, their eyes a mix of burning resentment, frustration, discontent, and disdain.
Goddess Xiao was taken aback. She glanced over at Fang Chen, and a glimmer of anticipation surged in the depths of her eyes. What would he do next?
The poem that Tao Yu recited—in Fang Chen’s presence— was clearly filled with blame, disdain, and mockery!
Fairy Yu glimpsed at Tao Yu with a strange glint. Tao Yu noticed her focused on him and glanced back at her. He smiled at her and nodded.
He was pleased with himself; his poem had certainly impressed her.
“Fairy Yu, how do you find Brother Tao’s poem?” The crown prince smiled faintly.
“Please tell me what you think, Fairy Yu.” Tao Yu clasped his hands together respectfully
“Your poem...” Fairy Yu thought for a moment, as if hesitating to speak.
The eyes of everyone sparkled as they waited eagerly for her review of Tao Yu’s poem. With Fairy Yu’s attendance and input, the poetry gathering would surely be a hot topic!
After a moment of brief silence, Fairy Yu answered in all seriousness. “This poem... It’s utter bullshit.”
The crowd was briefly stunned. Their faces displayed a look of astonishment as they exchanged glances with one another.
Had they misheard? Or did Fairy Yu trip over her own words?
Tao Yu, who was anticipating praises, froze as color drained from his face. Even the expression of the crown prince changed. Luckily, he was able to maintain his composure and calmly said, “Fairy Yu, what do you mean? I believe Tao Yu’s poem has fully expressed the sorrows of war and it fully complements today’s theme.”
"Your Highness, I may not understand the big picture, and I do know that avoiding the war would be the best outcome we could have. However, Grand Xia is going through tumultuous times now. I’m afraid that such wishful thinking may become a weakness that our enemies can exploit. We, the people of Grand Xia, should face our enemies head on. On the battlefield, we should be akin to the devil himself. We should wield our blades tightly, behead our enemies, and destroy their armies.” Fairy Yu smiled faintly and continued, "Only by doing so, will our enemies take us seriously and not dare invade us. Only then can an era of true peace and prosperity be achieved."
Fairy Yu’s voice brought with it a moment of fleeting silence.
Goddess Xiao was astonished that Fairy Yu could understand such things clearly. On the other hand, the crown prince was clearly disgruntled. He didn't expect that Fairy Yu, whom he had invited, would stand for war. The person who he explicitly invited to a gathering that called for peace, stood against it. That was equivalent to giving him a big slap on the face.
However, due to her reputation in the capital, he was in no position to scold her openly.
"If that’s the case, then... who can we hold accountable for the dead? For the soldiers who were wounded and injured?" mouthed Tao Yu softly, his gaze fixated on Fang Chen.
Fairy Yu looked at him and said, "When the enemy invades us, and our people are slaughtered, can we hold you accountable?”
Many scholars sank into deep thought.
The scholars from the Guhe, Longdu and Yizhou Kingdoms had just wanted to join in the fun to befriend scholars from the Grand Xia capital. They never imagined that they would witness such a sight.
One woman opened her mouth and said, "Fairy Yu, your words are misguided. If Grand Xia is unwilling to go to war, then there would naturally be no enemies. This is how Guhe has maintained a hundred years of peace.” Afterwhich, she looked toward the crown prince. "Your Highness, it appears that the woman you invited has tainted the atmosphere of the gathering."
The status of the woman who just spoke was not to scoff at. She was a disciple of the Long family, the number one royal clan in the Guhe Empire. Due to frequent ore trading between Guhe and Grand Xia, she, Long Huixin, was in charge of matters in Grand Xia.
Fairy Yu glanced at Long Huixin and smiled briefly. Her eyes were aloof. She had no intention to argue.
Unexpectedly, Fang Chen glanced at Long Huixin and said, “The citizens of Guhe number only in the millions, and many of them reside in poor and remote areas. Even though you possess abundant mineral veins, you offer seventy percent of it every year to an eighth-tier empire in exchange for protection and security. That’s the true reason you are able to enjoy a hundred years of peace.”
Speaking up to that point, his words took a sharp turn as his tone became stern. “But do you know that while you, the nobles and the rich, live a good life without much worries, the commoners under your rule are poorly fed and clothed? So, can you tell me, what’s the use of peace without prosperity?”
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