Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 394: For Money or Fame
The news that Xia Daosheng personally visited the Little Red Building spread quickly, and the speed at which word of mouth spread was only matched by light.

He was a legend. Although a long time had passed, there were always rumors that he was dead. Some said that he offended the powerful and died on the way to exile. Some said that he fell off the boat and drowned after getting drunk. Others said that he died young because of his great literary talent and his usurpation of the throne of God.

Everyone who heard the news felt sorry for it, but today he suddenly appeared in a painting boat in the city known as the Little Red Building.

Young talents in the capital flocked to him just to catch a glimpse of Xia Daosheng.

Xia Lin was not panicked at all. Lao Zhang once said that being shameless is not scary, what is scary is that scholars are shameless. Xia Lin is now that shameless scholar. He did not feel any psychological pressure when copying poems and essays. His ability to remember everything he saw also made him feel at ease in such occasions.

"Zuo Qian Huang... I told you to Zuo Qian Huang!"

Dugu Han saw that when he was writing about Zuo Qianhuang, his feet under the table had been crushing Xia Lin's toes. Now that he was held by Xia Lin, he couldn't break free, and the family culture of the Dugu family was to slide to one's knees at the speed of light.

However, it seemed that most of the people who came were concerned about Xia Lin himself, but did not pay too much attention to Dugu Han who was feeling uneasy beside him.

The literary talent displayed by Xia Lin at this moment had actually reached a point that was despairing. He was proficient in parallel prose, articles, poems, prose, and essays. Especially when it came to poetry, the girls in the pleasure boat collectively began to transform themselves into recorders.

This was not so much about meeting a star as it was just a pure purchase of goods for them. You have to know that other people's lyrics sounded a bit lacking when sung and were more or less not worthy of being sung in a high-class setting. Only Xia Daosheng's lyrics sounded like heavenly music, and many guests with high tastes specifically requested his lyrics to be sung.

The guests are of high class and generous in spending. If you serve them well, you can make money. So Xia Lin's coming here is more about poverty alleviation than display.

Whenever Xia Lin copied out a poem, the people around him would come together to appreciate it, with waves of applause getting louder and louder. Xia Lin must have been very proud of this. After all, every piece of his poem was a famous one throughout the ages, and naturally could shock people of all ages when it was copied out.

Then Xia Lin even sat there and started to teach them, but during this process, he kept holding Dugu Han in his hand. He even introduced Dugu Han several times because he was afraid that others would not recognize him.

"Speaking of which, what do you think, Brother Dugu?"

"I see you..."

Dugu Han decisively withdrew a family member, then sat there with a cold face and did not say a word.

But the more she acted like this, the more they looked like a quarreling couple in the eyes of outsiders. Naturally, everyone was curious, so who was the person Xia Lin had been holding close to her?

With curiosity, naturally there will be people who inquire, and naturally there will be people who make up stories, and naturally there will be people who make up stories, and naturally there will be people who spread rumors, and naturally there will be people who believe in rumors...

The industry has closed the loop.

"That guy is incredible. He is the patriarch of a well-known family in Beijing." Passerby A proudly showed off his knowledge.

Passerby B said with envy, "Whose family is this? It's good to be able to connect with a madman like Xia Daosheng."

"It's hard to say who got better, that's the Dugu family's head." Passerby C looked up and sighed, "I've heard that the Dugu family's head is hard to tell whether he is male or female. Now it seems to be true. There is such a beauty in the world."

"But that's a man." Passerby B said in astonishment: "Between men..."

"What do you know? Xia Daosheng is the son-in-law of a royal family. How can he have an affair with a woman? But this man is not under control, and it is a good story. Besides, I think they are a good match. Look at the Dugu family leader sitting next to Xia Daosheng. Doesn't she look like a shy young lady?"

Passerby B took a deep breath and said, "If that's the case, then I can do it too, right?"

"You?" Passerby C rolled his eyes. "Your beard is like a pig's bristle. Others kiss their lips and it's smooth and tender. Kissing you? What's the difference between kissing you and chewing a wild boar, fishy and smelly with a mouth full of pig bristles."

"You bastard, today either you die or I die!"

Just when Xia Lin was showing off, someone suddenly shouted from outside: "The number one scholar is here, the number one scholar is here!"

When people heard that the number one scholar was coming, their hearts immediately became excited. It would be great fun if the number one scholar met the legendary young king, so people tacitly made way for the number one scholar.

The person who came was none other than this year's new champion, and also an old acquaintance of Xia Lin, Xiong Wentao from Hongdu Prefecture. Back then, he was in Yangzhou, and in Tengwang Pavilion. Now they met in the capital, which was really a bit sad.

The top scholar came forward, looked Xia Lin up and down with a smile, then bowed and said, "Master Xia, long time no see."

Xia Lin looked up and laughed: "So you are the top scholar."

"It's just an empty reputation. Compared with Lord Xia, it's like a rotten firefly compared to the moon. It's not worth mentioning."

Xiong Wentao, who was so noisy back then, now that he has become the top scholar and an adult, seems quite gentle and refined. However, even Xia Lin could not have imagined that such a guy who looked like a passerby could stand out as a casual cultivator in the fierce battle between the two academies of Ehu and Yuzhang.

In other words, this person actually has some abilities.

"Where does Lord Xiong serve now?" "Dali Temple." Xiong Wentao said with a smile, "I usually investigate cases."

After saying that, he turned his head to look at Dugu Han, and was also stunned: "Who is this?"

"This is my best friend, Dugu Han." Xia Lin's voice was particularly loud, and he even took Dugu Han's arm and said, "Come on, Muqiu, say hello to the number one scholar."

"I'll hit you..."

Dugu Han once again withdrew a relative, but this half-sentence made him seem like he was acting like a spoiled child. Not to mention the number one scholar, even the others understood what he meant.

"That's not what I meant. I just..."

"I know." Xia Lin deliberately said in a doting tone, "How could Mu Qiu bear to hit me?"

"You..." Dugu Han raised his head and looked at Xia Lin's profile, but was met with a pair of cunning eyes.

The two were interacting passionately when suddenly there was a noise outside. Xia Lin turned around and looked: "Who's here again?"

After a while, seven or eight people in their twenties came over. They were all unfamiliar faces to Xia Lin. When the leader saw the champion here, he immediately came up to him with a smile and said, "Xiong Champion, what a coincidence, you are here too? It seems that the champion is here to challenge Xia Daosheng as well."

"Huh?" Xiong Wentao was stunned. He looked at him and then at Xia Lin: "Me? Challenge him?"

At that moment, Xiong Wentao cursed in his heart, what about the number one scholar? There is only one number one every three years, and Xia Daosheng only appears once in a hundred years. Using a number one scholar who appears every three years to challenge a genius who appears once in many years, is he crazy?
"Okay, okay." Xiong Wentao was really mature. He took a step back and said, "Please go ahead, everyone. I am no match for you."

Xia Lin sat there and looked at the people who came curiously: "No, you are planning to use me to gain fame?"

This one sentence instantly broke their thoughts. Challenging Xia Daosheng, winning is a big deal, but even if they lose, it will still be a big honor.

The unknown student challenged the world-famous Xia Daosheng, but was defeated by him.

Look, hasn’t this suddenly risen to the second place in the world?
These people were really thick-skinned. Even after being exposed, they didn't blush. Instead, they looked arrogant like teenagers. They even found a low stool and sat down. "We can't compare with him in literary talent, but I heard that Xia Daosheng is not only good at writing, but also knows everything about algorithms, water conservancy, astronomy, and geography. Why don't we compare these?"

Xia Lin scratched his head after hearing this: "You might as well compare couplets."

"Don't panic, Master Xia."

Panic? Xia Lin looked at the faces of these little guys. They were full of confidence, and they had a bit of the youthful arrogance.

"Okay, let's compare it if you want."

Astronomy, geography, mathematics, etc., the best school in the world is Ehu Academy. Today, the scale of Ehu Academy has expanded to nearly 3,000 people, and students from all over the country are in it. It is even divided into four colleges, including literature, history, mathematics, and science. The four colleges have many small subdivisions. Mathematics includes astronomy, geography, economics, etc., and science includes architecture, bridges, ships, logistics, etc.

These guys are here to challenge the founder and textbook writer of Dawei Science and Engineering, right?
Xiong Wentao bowed beside him repeatedly: "Awesome."

But if you think about it carefully, these people are doing it for fame, and it would be enough as long as they don't lose so badly. And among so many people, even if one of them could beat Xia Daosheng in one question, they would be famous all over the world.

This feeling is just like Korea in 1951. Those small countries in the multinational coalition, even if they could luckily win against the main force of the Korean aid forces once in an encounter, would be able to brag about it for fifty years when they go back.

"Then come on." Xia Lin sat there, and his posture even gave people the feeling of a hero.

In terms of aura, Xia Lin is naturally not inferior. People who have seen big scenes have a completely different temperament. Even someone like the last emperor can be seen with a strong aura when testifying in the trial.

Faced with Xia Lin's aura, these people first took a deep breath, and then began to ask questions.

Their questions are actually very classic. They are not the chicken and rabbit in the same cage problem. They are much more difficult than that. For example, they will have an architecture question, such as how a canal should deal with the dry season and flood season respectively.

Another question is where to start if we want to open a road to Bashu.

Of course, in addition to these, there are many other very direct problems. One person even asked Xia Lin about the issue of grain prices during the locust plague.

Xia Lin was still thinking after hearing other questions, but when he heard about the grain price issue, he pointed at his nose and said, "Why are you asking me this question?"

"Huh? Hmm!"

Xia Lin pursed his lips and said nothing, but Dugu Muqiu next to him suddenly covered his mouth and burst out laughing...

(End of this chapter)