Gate of God

"Mislead?" Fang Zhengzhi glanced at Ping Yang with disdain. How could he have misled Yan Xiu when the examination was in such an open area.

However...

How could he fail?

Even though he did not know what were the key pointers to look out for in a policy paper in this world, he was confident about his "New Six Nations".

"If what Wu Feng says is true, how is it possible that both of you didn’t receive the invite to meet with the Emperor?" Wen Dabao was confused.

"The meaning of the policy." Yan Xiu said softly.

"The meaning?" Wen Dabao was confused. He had no idea what the question was, so he had no way of understanding what Yan Xiu meant.

However, at this point, the melodious music wafted out of the Intellectual Loft. It was intoxicating and calming.

"Let’s go inside first. How can we enjoy the music at the door?" Ping Yang did not seem bothered about whether Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu passed or failed.

Before Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu could say anything, she dragged them both into the loft.

Wen Dabao followed behind without any objection.

Once they were inside, Fang Zhengzhi realized that the ‘fireworks’ here were quite different from those he knew. There was no intoxicating lights here, only poetic and elegant art.

The inside of the loft felt like a circus tent. It was completely empty inside, with four staircases leading up to the second floor.

In the middle of the loft were dozens of tables filled with snacks and wine. There were scenic paintings all over the ceiling.

On the second floor were eight slightly raised platforms. There was a lady in a long dress on each platform, their faces covered by a white veil.

Each one of them had a different instrument.

On the third floor of the loft were four floating stages. They were in the directions of north, south, east, and west. There was a lady in a long dress on each stage.

Their dresses were in four different colors - green, red, gold, and white.

Fang Zhengzhi glanced at it. He had a feeling that the Intellectual Loft was set up rather uniquely. There were four staircases, eight stages in the middle, and four floating stages at the top.

"Four Symbols, Bagua!"

...

"Oh? Fang Zhengzhi is here!"

"And Yan Xiu... greetings Princess Ping Yang!"

Very quickly, all of the talents at the center table saw Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu. Then, when they saw Ping Yang between the two gentlemen, they all stood up.

The owner of the Intellectual Loft recognized Ping Yang instantly.

The moment Ping Yang was seen, a thirty year old lady in a white dress came to them.

"Your highness, do you want your usual seat?"

"Of course." Ping Yang raised her head haughtily.

"Your highness, please hang on a moment. I will arrange for it right now."

"Do it quickly."

"Yes your highness."

Before long, they were all led to a table in the middle of the loft. From this position, Fang Zhengzhi could see all of the art inside the Intellectual Loft.

PIng Yang looked at the seat, then blinked at Fang Zhengzhi. It was almost as if she was showing off her experience to Fang Zhengzhi.

"Not bad." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

"Hahaha... of course it’s not bad." Ping Yang smiled immediately when she heard this.

All of the other talents looked on scornfully. The talents who had just been chased out of the seat brooded by the side.

"They will always be failures!"

"We will see who has the last laugh when the results are announced tomorrow."

"Young Master Wu, tell us more about your policy. It will also allow some others to understand their lack of abilities."

"Hahaha..."

Very quickly, chuckles could be heard from around them.

"Today’s meeting should be about making friends and sharing knowledge. We should all make merry and enjoy the art. Let’s not talk about the policy paper." Wu Feng waved all the other talents off, smiling as he did so.

"Young Master Wu, you are wrong there. The policy paper is the only component of the court theory examination. Anyone who can produce such stunning work is better than those who just memorize the Law of Dao!"

"Exactly. Young Master Wu already called this a gathering of intellectuals, why hold back?"

"Even though we also participated in the court examination, but we were not invited to meet with the Emperor. It is our good fortune to be seated next to Young Master Wu today. We hope that you will impart some knowledge to us."

All of the talents pleaded with Wu Feng to discuss his paper with them.

Wu Feng looked rather conflicted even as he smirked. He knew that the policy paper discussions would take center stage today.

After making a show of rejecting them initially, Wu Feng decided to accede to their requests.

"Since all of you think so highly of me, I will just tell you all my two cents worth." Wu Feng glanced at Fang Zhengzhi. "My policy paper is centered around honesty when dealing with the vassals."

"Honesty when dealing with the vassal states?"

"Is that the statement found in the Law of Dao?"

The eyes of the talents brightened when they heard this.

"That is correct. The Emperor must ensure order and prosperity for the country. The officials must respect the wishes of the Emperor. Children must be filial to their parents and parents must be forgiving towards their kids. When dealing with other countries, honesty is the best policy."

"I think that the Emperor values this very much. During the court examination, I noticed that the Emperor turned to look south. The uprising in the Southern Mountain Range must be on his mind. Yet, in the distance, there is also the problem of the demons. As officials, we cannot just solve the immediate problems, we must also prepare for the future."

"Even though I do not know the details, the Southern Mountain Range have been our allies for centuries. They have also been a natural barrier against any invasion by the demons."

"The Great Xia Dynasty has provided the Southern Mountain Range with support as well. We have helped them in the excavation and opening of roads. The Southern Mountain Range is bound to be grateful to us."

"In order for a country to be powerful, we must be able to accept! In dealing with others, we must be honest and trust each other. Only then can we prosper together."

"As such, I proposed that we needed to be sincere and honest in our dealings!"

Wu Feng’s voice was slightly raised when he got to this point. He sounded like he truly had a passion to save the world.

"By being sincere, we can gain their trust? Young Master Wu is wise!"

"It is no wonder you are third on the Rising Dragon Roll. Your talents are not easily matched. Your policy paper is much better than some of the books I have written."

"Young Master Wu’s policy paper is unique. It is meaningful and draws on knowledge laid out in the classics. I think even Nangong Hao would be hard pressed to write a better paper."

"That is true. Even though I used similar concepts in my paper, my ideas were not as lucidly laid out as Young Master Wu’s."

All of the talents gasped in amazement when Wu Feng finished. Some others also sighed in disappointment.

"Naive." Fang Zhengzhi’s mouth twitched in disdain.

The ideas laid out were all true. However, the key was in when and how to use those concepts.

There was no problem in trust and honesty.

To advocate trust between countries was not wrong either.

However, trust was not something that was easily achieved. They could not simply say they trust each other and go about leading their lives happily ever after.

All trust was still built upon the foundation of power. Only when both sides stood to gain would there be trust and cooperation.

Without the above foundations, trust was meaningless.

Wu Feng did not here what Fang Zhengzhi said. After he finished, he turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.

Then, he quickly walked over to the group of them.

"Young Master Yan, Young Master Fang, Princess, I wonder what the three of you thought of that?" Wu Feng asked respectfully.

All of the talents chuckled when they saw this.

For a talent who had met the Emperor to ask for advice from two failed candidates was quite the sight to behold.

They all fell vindicated when they recalled Fang Zhengzhi’s arrogance during the theory examinations. This was compounded by the fact that Fang Zhengzhi had handed in his script early.

"Fang Zhengzhi, I bet you didn’t expect this to happen when you handed in your script early!"

Yan Xiu glanced at Wu Feng but did not reply. He opened up his Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan and fanned himself.

Then, he turned to look at the four dancing ladies on the third floor of the loft.

"Could you please not block me?"

"..."

All of the talents, who were waiting in anticipation, were stunned. They looked at each other in disbelief.

Could you please not block me?

Fang Zhengzhi also did not expect that someone as cold as Yan Xiu would say something so sarcastic. He wanted to give Yan Xiu a standing ovation.

After Ping Yang recovered from the initial shock, she burst out laughing, her hands clutching her belly as she did so.

"Hahahahaha..."

As for Wu Feng, he was completely stunned.

He looked at Yan Xiu’s icy expression. His face turned red as his eyes glimmered. His lips quivered, almost as if he wanted to say something. However, he remained silent.