Chapter Ninety: Debate by Wit

A young man in a brocaded robe stepped through the doorway. He looked to be fifteen or sixteen, handsome as carved jade, yet with an unmistakably delicate and feminine air.

He entered the private room with an ease that brooked no challenge, and behind him came several youths scarcely past their coming of age. Even in the presence of the greatest scions of the Great Tang, they showed no fear; clearly, they too came from powerful families.

“Changsun Chong!”

The moment Qin Huaiyu saw who it was, his teeth clenched in fury.

Only then did Mo Dun understand: this youth was none other than the legitimate son of the current chancellor, Changsun Wuji. No wonder he carried himself with such brazen arrogance. The others behind him were surely also children of eminent houses.

“Changsun Chong, what do you think you are doing? Storming into our private room like this!” Qin Huaiyu demanded.

“Qin Huaiyu, who said we came for you?” A pale-faced youth behind Changsun Chong stepped forward and accused him sharply. “We are here to seek justice for Miss Gongsun. Everyone knows she keeps to her own rules and never receives guests. Since we are here today, we mean to see who dares force Miss Gongsun against her will!”

Du He’s words painted Qin Huaiyu and the others as bullies oppressing a helpless woman.

“Du He! Don’t spit blood and slander people! When did you see anyone forcing Miss Gongsun?” Cheng Chumo roared.

They were all legitimate sons of their respective clans. They carried not only their own reputations, but also the honor of their fathers. If word got out that they were bullying a woman, their fathers would be humiliated as well.

Du He.

At the name, Mo Dun immediately understood. This must be the son of Chancellor Du, the famously unlucky figure of the histories.

Mo Dun could see it now: this was one of the two most elite bands of idlers in the Great Tang, one group made up of the sons of civil officials, the other of military generals. Of course, there was the exception of Fang Jun, that oddity.

“Lord Changsun, there has been a misunderstanding! I am not being forced by anyone. I merely used Lord Mo’s poetry without first obtaining his permission, and came up specially to beg forgiveness,” Gongsun Yue explained.

Though the Hall of Instruction seemed to hold a singular status, before these two great cliques it was still not enough to matter. Neither side could afford to offend the other, so the only option was to mediate.

“Oh? The Lord Mo that Miss Gongsun speaks of—could he be the Mo Dun of the Mo family, whose three frontier poems have spread across the capital?” Changsun Chong’s expression shifted as a strange light entered his eyes. He turned to look at Qin Huaiyu and the others, and finally his gaze fell upon a face he did not recognize.

“Mo Dun of Mo Family Village, at your service, Lord Changsun.” Having no choice, Mo Dun stepped forward and saluted with clasped hands.

“I never imagined that the famed Mo brother, whose talent outshines the Imperial Academy and whose poems are sung throughout the capital, would be standing before me. Forgive me, forgive me!” Changsun Chong said with unusual enthusiasm.

Behind him, Du He and the rest of the dandies also showed surprised expressions. They had long heard of this son of the Mo family, who had recently stirred the winds and waves of the capital.

They were all born to official families, and of course they understood just how important the curved-shaft plow, the artificial hatching technique, and the secret method of keeping live fish were to the Great Tang. They also knew that Mo Dun was now the emperor’s most favored man.

Changsun Chong’s thoughts too were in turmoil. He knew things that the other dandies did not. The crown prince, Li Chengqian, had once suffered from a crippling foot ailment and could barely walk, yet somehow he recovered overnight—all thanks to the ingenious scheme of this young man from the Mo family.

The Mo Hospital opposite the Imperial Academy had been specially established by the Mo family to treat Li Chengqian’s foot ailment; otherwise, how could such a vast stretch of land have ended up in the hands of a medical lineage that had long since declined? Changsun Chong even knew that Li Shimin had once personally stood in for Mo Dun’s family head in the matter involving Kong Yingda.

Changsun Wuji had once sighed in private that with the favor of both the present and future sovereigns, the son of the Mo family had an immeasurable future.

“Brother Changsun, you flatter Mo Dun far too much. I do not dare accept such praise,” Mo Dun said modestly.

“Very well. Since it is all a misunderstanding, you may go back wherever you came from,” Qin Huaiyu said impatiently.

He had finally managed to invite the beauty, and before he had even exchanged a few words with her, these fellows had ruined everything. Naturally, he was displeased.

“Oh, that won’t do. We came upstairs for another important matter as well: we wish to invite Miss Gongsun to our private room for a little conversation. How can we leave before accomplishing that?” Du He stepped forward and said loudly.

“Du He! Are you itching for a beating? Shall I throw you out myself?” Fang Jun bellowed.

Though their elders had once been called Fang’s Strategist and Du’s Decisive Stroke for their perfect cooperation, for some reason Fang Jun and Du He were famously at odds.

Seeing Fang Jun’s broad, powerful build, Du He could not help shrinking back a little. Still, he forced himself to say, “Fang Jun, you great oaf, to be so rude before Miss Gongsun is truly crude beyond measure. A gentleman uses words, not fists. Why not have a literary contest today instead? Whoever wins, Miss Gongsun goes to that person’s private room.”

“A literary contest? Fine! With only your measly scraps of ink? With Brother Mo here, are you sure you still want a literary contest?” Fang Jun said with amused interest, teasing him.

Qin Huaiyu and the others also burst into laughter. If these sons of military houses might have hesitated before, with Mo Dun now among them their confidence surged. After all, Mo Dun’s reputation had been built on the basis of the Imperial Academy students’ five victories and one defeat.

You civil officials’ sons may perhaps be a little stronger than us, but could you possibly compare with the favored students of the realm?

To their surprise, Du He said with confidence, “I admit Brother Mo’s talent is formidable, but today, in order to invite Miss Gongsun, we came prepared. Today we shall compete in painting. Brother Yan, today we are counting on you!”

As he finished speaking, a young man in blue stepped out from behind them.

“Yan Xingjian? This is bad,” Qin Huaiyu exclaimed at once.

“Who is he?” Mo Dun asked in confusion, turning to Fang Jun beside him.

“The nephew of Yan Liben, the foremost master of painting in court, and the most renowned brush in the younger generation,” Fang Jun said bitterly.

“Du He, you sneaky bastard!” Qin Huaiyu shouted in fury.

“Since you agreed to a literary contest, then painting naturally counts as part of literature!” Du He said smugly.

Qin Huaiyu’s heart sank. He certainly knew that Mo Dun was exceptionally talented, but he had never heard that Mo Dun could paint. This was over before it began; they might as well admit defeat.

Yan Xingjian walked up to Mo Dun with a proud smile and said, “This little brother, Yan Xingjian, pays his respects to Brother Mo. I have long admired Brother Mo’s name. I was just moved by Miss Gongsun’s sword dance, inspiration came to me in a flash, and I immediately created this painting. I have specially brought it here to ask Brother Mo for his guidance.”

It turned out Yan Xingjian had come prepared. He held up a painting scroll and slowly unfurled it. Much of the ink was still not dry, clearly a newly completed work.

Mo Dun felt a deep surge of malice. It was obvious that Yan Xingjian intended to use him as a stepping-stone to fame.

As the scroll opened, a lone dancing woman in court attire appeared with graceful bearing. Her long sword swept diagonally through the air, bringing Miss Gongsun’s exquisite dance vividly to life on the page.