Chapter Thirty-Four: Scholars Gather at the Flower-Garland Banquet

"Very good, very good. What a diligent young scholar. This old man has not ventured out for many years, yet there are still such outstanding talents in the world. It truly fills me with admiration."

An aged voice drifted from the distance, yet it seemed to sound close at hand. By then, Li Zisheng had already noticed the situation for what it was. Aside from the hidden passage by which he had entered, there was simply no other way into this cavern.

He scanned the surroundings but saw no doorway at all. From where, then, had that voice come? Li Zisheng could not make sense of it no matter how hard he thought, so once his cool temper returned, he simply chose to ignore it.

He said only, "Thank you for the praise," and then fell silent again.

For the moment, Li Zisheng kept his eyes on the books before him, quite clear on what he ought to do. Because of this, he paid the world around him no mind at all.

The old voice did not speak again. For a full half an hour, Li Zisheng sat there reading in silence, each side enduring the stillness and waiting to see who would speak first.

Li Zisheng did not know exactly what was happening, but one thing was certain: the old man from the Green-Veiled Residence who had spoken possessed ample authority and a vigorous voice, enough to show that he must be a person of high standing. Those in lofty positions naturally carry their own dignity, an air that seems almost innate.

This old man was exactly so, utterly unmasked, his tone filled with the confidence of command, vivid and unmistakable. At the thought of this, Li Zisheng found a faintly wicked amusement in his heart.

He continued reading the book in his hands. Fortunately, the light was strong, so reading posed no difficulty. Before long, another person emerged from the passage he had used to come in, and after not much time at all, one scholar after another entered the cavern.

One thing was clear, however: the scholars who arrived later evidently paid one another no heed. They merely sat quietly reading the books in their hands, just as Li Zisheng did. Naturally, Li Zisheng noticed them. He then took out the books he had brought with him.

All around him, the scholars remained silent and ignored one another. Li Zisheng, of course, had no desire to invite awkwardness, so after taking a look at the surroundings, he lowered his head as well.

Two attendants with trays of food glanced at Li Zisheng and did not make trouble. They simply waited quietly at one side.

Nearly another half hour passed before the old voice that had vanished earlier rose once more.

"All of you scholars are dragons among men, the finest talents of your age. For that reason, this old man has prepared a Floral-Hat Banquet here to specially entertain you all."

Hearing this, Li Zisheng was also struck with curiosity. He had thought he alone had been invited here, but to his surprise there were so many scholars. More than that, a banquet of such standing had been arranged specifically for them. Once a Floral-Hat Banquet is set in motion, it almost always means the master of the Green-Veiled Residence has some favor to ask, or perhaps simply intends to test the literary foundations of the scholars present.

Yet one thing puzzled Li Zisheng: why arrange such a banquet on the very day before the grand examination and contest? To outsiders, the exchange and literary contest with the Turkic envoy, and everything happening here, seemed to have almost no connection at all.

Floral-Hat Banquets had existed since ancient times. They were both an honor and a welcome ceremony for scholars entering literary society. Here, one either showed one's face before high officials and great masters of education, or demonstrated one's talent through poetry and prose in groups of three, five, or even dozens. Even those scholars seated at the long tables in the corners would find ways to make their presence known.

Thus, anyone capable of hosting a Floral-Hat Banquet was certainly a great scholar of literary learning in the present age, or else a prime minister among the court's highest mandarins. Ordinary people need not even be mentioned; even the arrangement and scale of such a banquet were exceedingly rare.

Looking at the layout and setting around him, Li Zisheng found it almost identical to the Floral-Hat Banquets he knew of. That was enough to show that the people of the Green-Veiled Residence had not held such a banquet merely once, but many times.

There was no doubt that this move by the Green-Veiled Residence was intended to gather more talented people to serve them. This was the only possibility Li Zisheng could think of.

The scholars in the cavern were all guided one by one to their seats by masked maidens who seemed to have entered from nowhere. One after another, they took their places.

Li Zisheng was assigned the very last seat. In the ordering of seats at a Floral-Hat Banquet, the arrangement was said to be highly particular. The order in which one sat reflected one's foundation in literary learning, and more than that, it was often taken as a measure of one's future achievements.

This left the attendant with him rather indignant as well. Why had their master been placed in the very last seat? How could any of these motley people compare with his young lord? He was just about to speak up when Li Zisheng quickly stopped him and signaled that it was of no consequence.

The banquet's standards were exceptionally high, so the dishes and wines offered were all unusual delicacies. Although Li Zisheng had only just finished lunch, the winding passage had long since emptied his stomach, so he did not care for such things and simply began eating the food before him.

As for the attendant, though he had a small table of his own behind Li Zisheng, covered with an abundant spread of dishes, he remained completely unmoved, staring resentfully at the inexplicably appearing old man seated in the high place.

What was more, his own young master seemed not to care either, eating and drinking with gusto in front of him. The attendant could only feel helpless. If it had been him, he would already have rushed up to argue with the old man over how exactly these seats had been arranged.

Li Zisheng remained as calm and unhurried as ever. A mere Floral-Hat Banquet seat was nothing more than drifting clouds, unworthy of concern. So long as trouble did not come looking for him, that was all that mattered. Especially with so many fine wines and exquisite dishes before him, it would be a pity to let petty matters spoil the feast.

With that, he picked up a chicken leg and began gnawing at it. Li Zisheng liked fish, and before he had even swallowed the chicken, a piece of rich, tender fish was already being placed into his mouth.

Seeing his young master behave in this way, the attendant had no choice but to give up on worrying. He too began eating his own food in angry bites. If he did not eat it, it would only go to waste. There was no need to save money for that old fellow or for this Green-Veiled Residence, which looked so wealthy and grand.