Daqing Reborn Prince, Intercepting Si Lili at the Beginning

Chapter 25: Fan Ruoruo Attends the Poetry Banquet? He Zongwei? Yang Wanli!

Two days later, at dawn, the Fan residence.

The Fan family was enjoying breakfast together in a harmonious atmosphere.

As they were almost done with their meal, Fan Ruoruo, daughter of Fan Jian, suddenly spoke up: “Father, tomorrow the Third Prince is hosting a poetry banquet at the manor. Do you think I should attend?”

“Wait a minute!” Fan Sizhe, who sat across from Fan Ruoruo, asked in confusion, “Sis, didn’t they say you need to pass an approval process to attend the poetry banquet? But from the way you talk, it sounds like you’re definitely going.”

Fan Ruoruo raised her head proudly and said, “Hmph, do you know who your sister is?

I’m a famous talented woman in the capital. Do I need approval to attend a poetry banquet?”

Fan Sizhe immediately fell silent.

And to be fair, Fan Ruoruo really did have the qualifications to attend.

Beside Fan Sizhe, Liu Ruyu glanced at Fan Jian, opened her mouth as if to speak but then thought better of it.

Although she was the mistress of the house, she was merely Fan Jian’s concubine, not the official wife.

Thus, her status in the family was actually lower than Fan Ruoruo’s.

After all, Fan Ruoruo was the legitimate daughter of Fan Jian’s official wife, the true daughter of the household!

Fan Jian, still eating, sighed inwardly when he heard Fan Ruoruo mention the poetry banquet organized by the Third Prince.

As Vice Minister of Revenue, Fan Jian was well aware of the implications.

He had previously sought out Chen Pingping, asking him to secretly advise Li Chengyuan against getting involved in the battle for the throne, calling it a dangerous pit.

But unfortunately, Chen Pingping did not listen to him, and Fan Jian had no way to stop the situation.

He could only watch as Li Chengyuan jumped into the “fire pit.”

Fan Jian had been keeping a close eye on Li Chengyuan.

After all, Li Chengyuan and Fan Xian were both the sons of Ye Qingmei.

Although Li Chengyuan was now a prince and not particularly close to him, Fan Jian didn’t care about that.

In his heart, he still cared about Li Chengyuan.

Fan Jian always hoped that both Fan Xian and Li Chengyuan could live peaceful lives without taking unnecessary risks.

But now, Li Chengyuan had already jumped into the fire.

There was nothing Fan Jian could do to save him.

Now, the only thing he could do was maintain a good relationship with Li Chengyuan and try to help him as much as possible.

If Li Chengyuan truly made it to the end, Fan Jian wouldn’t hesitate to throw the full weight of his family behind him.

So after thinking it over, Fan Jian said, “Ruoruo, if you want to go, then go. And when you’re there, make sure to chat with the Third Prince. You young people should get closer; it would be a good thing.”

Fan Ruoruo was stunned.

“Father, didn’t you say before that I shouldn’t get too close to the royal family? Why are you suddenly changing your mind?”

“The Third Prince is different. Just listen to your father.”

“Alright, I understand!” Fan Ruoruo didn’t ask further.

In truth, she was also quite curious about this Third Prince.

More importantly, Fan Xian was curious.

In his most recent letter, Fan Xian had specifically asked Fan Ruoruo about the Third Prince.

And as a devoted sister, Fan Ruoruo felt that since her brother was interested, she must help him gather information.

So even if Fan Jian had refused, she would have snuck out to attend.

Now that Fan Jian had given his approval, she had no reservations at all.

Beside her, Fan Sizhe couldn’t help but ask, “Sis, can you take me with you? I want to attend the poetry banquet too!”

Fan Ruoruo rolled her eyes and said, “Why would you go? Can you even compose poetry?”

Fan Sizhe froze for a moment, then stubbornly replied, “Do I have to write poetry? Can’t I just be good at arithmetic?”

Fan Ruoruo: “(*￣︿￣)”

Liu Ruyu: “(lll￢ω￢)”

Fan Jian: “￣へ￣”

’

It wasn’t just the Fan family; almost the entire city was buzzing about the Duke of Li Manor’s poetry banquet.

The reason was that the literary scene in the Qing Kingdom had been weak for too long.

The entire nation was eagerly awaiting the emergence of a great literary figure.

And now, one had finally appeared—none other than a prince.

How could this not drive the scholars of the capital wild?

Whether it was for “paying homage” or climbing the social ladder, no one wanted to miss this opportunity.

What’s more, there were rumors that those who performed well at the poetry banquet wouldn’t just receive gold and silver rewards, but might even get a poem personally written by the Third Prince!

Just for that alone, not only scholars but also the noble young ladies from various households were desperate to attend.

They clamored to participate in the poetry banquet.

Due to the overwhelming interest, the Duke of Li Manor could no longer accommodate everyone.

In the end, the Third Prince decided to implement a selection process for the banquet’s guests.

Anyone who wanted to attend the poetry banquet had to submit their work—poetry, essays, or even stories were acceptable.

As long as the writing was good, they would be granted entry to the banquet.

With time running short, Li Hongcheng invited several friends to help with the selection process.

Even Li Chengyuan himself wasn’t idle.

He personally helped review the stories.

After all, poetry and essays weren’t really his forte.

He was merely a plagiarist, not a true literary master.

’

That morning, just after breakfast, Li Chengyuan gathered Qingniao and Sangwen to help him sift through the story submissions.

Since Qingniao and Sangwen had copied out Journey to the West before, they had developed some basic literary judgment.

This was already their third day of reviewing submissions.

It turned out that although the literary world of Qing was weak, there were still quite a few talented storytellers.

And while novels weren’t considered mainstream literature, many scholars, in order to increase their chances of “winning,” had submitted poems, essays, and stories.

As a result, the workload for Li Chengyuan’s team wasn’t any lighter than that of Li Hongcheng’s.

’

In the study, Li Chengyuan, Qingniao, and Sangwen all sat behind his large desk, with Li Chengyuan in the middle and the two women on either side.

On the other side, Old Huang lounged in a chair, drifting off into a sweet dream.

“Look at this story, Your Highness!”

Suddenly, Qingniao handed a piece of paper to Li Chengyuan.

Li Chengyuan took it and read through it, finding that the writing was indeed decent.

It didn’t reach the ideal level he had in mind, but compared to the other “submissions,” it was definitely above average.

He was about to pass it through without much thought when he glanced at the author’s name, and his brow furrowed.

He Zongwei?

It was him?

Li Chengyuan had a deep impression of this man.

In the original story, He Zongwei was someone who would do anything to climb the ranks.

He even tried to become Fan Xian’s godson just to enter the officialdom.

However, Fan Xian refused.

Later in the novel, He Zongwei caused Fan Xian no end of trouble.

When it came to being a nuisance, this man had a special talent.

He was like a mad dog.

Li Chengyuan couldn’t stand people like him.

His first thought was to immediately reject He Zongwei.

But after a moment of reflection, Li Chengyuan decided to keep He Zongwei’s entry.

After all, having a mad dog on your side wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

If He Zongwei wasn’t in his hands, he might end up in someone else’s.

And if that were the case, it could become a problem later.

So instead of being bitten by a mad dog in the future, it would be better to hold the leash himself and have He Zongwei annoy someone else.

After all, as a prince, Li Chengyuan wasn’t afraid of He Zongwei turning on him.

No matter how crazy He Zongwei was, he wouldn’t dare bite a prince—not if he valued his life.

After some thought, Li Chengyuan decided to keep He Zongwei in the running.

Setting He Zongwei’s story aside, Li Chengyuan moved on to the next submission.

However, when he read this one, he was immediately captivated.

The story, the writing, the style—it was all brilliant!

Li Chengyuan, intrigued, looked at the author’s name.

And once again, he was stunned.

It was… Yang Wanli!

’

Footnotes:

1. 1. 1. 1. 哥控 (gē kòng): A slang term used to describe someone (typically a sister) who is deeply devoted or overly protective of her brother.

1. 1. 1. 1. 文抄公 (wén chāo gōng): A slang term meaning “plagiarist,” used humorously or derogatorily to describe someone who copies others’ literary work instead of creating original content.