289 You’re Very Lucky! (1/2)

The sounds of two coughs were heard. Then, the old and decrepit teacher of the Wenxing Heavenly literature Institute —Mei Gao Jie— stood up. His body seemed to be trembling under the effect of those coughs. He faced the Emperor, and cupped his hands in salute. Then, he turned around and greeted the rest of the crowd in the same manner, ”Your Majesty; respected seniors… this Golden Scholarly Talent Feast is the finest arrangement this humble man had ever seen. This old man sincerely wishes His Majesty and his lineage the best of fortunes on behalf of the Wenxing Heavenly Literature Institute. May the heavens watch over His Majesty and my Tian Xiang. May the people of the nation always prosper! May the military sweep over the entire continent and unify the land under Tian Xiang's banners. May the entire land prosper under His Majesty's grace! We thank His Majesty's vast and unbounded benevolence to rise above the norms of Imperial Examination and allow scholars like myself to prosper…”

He had drawn a long breath to speak this entire passage in one shot. However, it sounded like it was only the beginning of his speech. He was about to get to the main topic of his speech… when a grumbling voice was heard, ”How can you eat so much at such a majestic Imperial Feast… Fatty! I understand that you have a big belly. But you have to realize that there are more people around. You've finished an entire table worth of food on your own in such a short period of time…”

The sound of this voice was very low. In fact, it had seemed as if the speaker had deliberately lowered his volume. However, the entire hall had solemnly silenced to listen to Mei Gao Jie's speech; there was pin-drop silence in the hall. Therefore, everyone heard these remarks rather clearly, and their faces started to reveal a queer complexion…

The speaker was none other than Jun Mo Xie. The Young Master Jun had his heart set on disrupting matters. He obviously wouldn't have allowed this opportunity to pass-by. As far as the accused was concerned — Tang Yuan merely gazed back at him with a stupefied yet innocent expression on his face. He held half-a-crab in his hand. [Who eats more amongst the two of us Elder Brother? That's obviously me. I do eat a lot, but did I touch your half of the dish? So… why would you accuse me?]

Mei Gao Jie was in the middle of delivering a very moving speech. However, he was suddenly interrupted. He obviously couldn't help but become angry. Moreover, the disturbance had been caused by an utterly shameless person, and for an utterly shameless reason. His lips started to tremble in anger as he turned. However, another gong-like voice sounded; it had a disdainful tone to it, ”I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen someone this shameless. The person who tries to devour the best dishes by himself has the nerve to falsely accuse the others… what's happened to people…”

This voice belonged to Dugu Ying. Dugu Ying had been fighting over the bear paw from the beginning. Hence, he was obviously very angry. Therefore, he deliberately raised his voice to express his dissatisfaction. However, he was far more robust that the Young Master Jun. This was merely his normal speech-volume, but it was akin to an average person's shouting-volume-level. The Young Master Jun had successfully managed to cause more mischief since everyone in the crowd had heard this ruckus. The event's proceedings were getting disrupted, but Jun Mo Xie's plan was only finding more success.

Jun Mo Xie's spirits were lifted to see that someone had unknowingly lent him a hand. He twitched his mouth, ”And now I can't eat fast, huh? Nonsense! Your family has brought more people than any other family. Your family must suffer to feed those hungry mouths of yours. They must've gone bankrupt. And now you sit your plump butts on this table. I reckon I wouldn't even be able to taste the soup if I didn't eat quickly enough…”

Tang Yuan stood-up to resolve the dispute, ”Third Young Master… his reaction is understandable. You see… he knows he doesn't have to pay for this food.”

Even the Emperor was unable to restrain his laughter as he heard these words. He issued a strange ”Pfff” sound as he muffled the sound of his laughter. The faces of the other old men in the hall revealed strange smiling expressions as they attempted to restrain their laughter. However, Dugu Ying stared at the Fatty; it seemed as if he'd eat Tang Yuan whole.

The solemnly silence hall was suddenly overcome with 'pfff' sounds as everyone clutched their mouths to muffle their laughter.

Old Man Mei Gao Jie had started to tremble with anger. He was about to speak-up when a peculiar voice mocked, ”The Jun Family is genuinely very arrogant, ah. Its reputation is fully justified!” Everyone turned their gazes to follow the source of the sound. The speaker was a white clothed youngster seated around the table that was reserved for the feast's guests of honor — the Silver Blizzard City's Xiao Feng Wu.

Xiao Feng Wu was aware of the matter between his Uncle Xiao Han and Jun Family's Jun Wu Yi. Moreover, the Little Princess Han Yan Meng hadn't stopped gloating about having a nephew ever since she had returned from the Jun Family's residence. This had obviously made Young Master Xiao very uncomfortable. Therefore, he had taken the initiative and spoken such ironic words.

”And who are you?” Jun Mo Xie pretended as if he didn't recognize the man he had beaten-up.

”I'm surnamed Xiao; I'm Xiao Feng Wu from the Xiao Family of Silver Blizzard City!” Xiao Feng Wu eyebrows shot-up. He pulled out a folding fan from his bosom, and started to sway it in a confident and easy manner.

”That's a good name!” Li You Ran was quick to speak-up, ”Elder Brother Xiao has a very refined name! It feels like a breath of fresh air!” The enemy's enemy is a friend. The Jun and the Xiao Family hated each other. How on earth could Li You Ran not exploit this?

”He he… now that you've mentioned it… there's a short story behind the origin of my name.” Xiao Feng Wu was feeling awfully pleased with himself. Li You Ran had scratched his itch. Therefore, he started to explain, ”My mother had a dream one evening before I was to be born… in the dream she saw a beautiful phoenix in the sky. The phoenix landed on a Parasol tree. Therefore, she named me Feng Wu.”

”Your name is indeed bestowed by the heavens,” Li You Ran applauded. There was a look of admiration on his face.

”Ha ha…” Jun Mo Xie burst into laughter.

”Why are you laughing?” Xiao Feng Wu seemed angry. He was enjoying a moment of pride. How could he allow interruptions?

”Nothing. I was just wondering… you mother must be very talented. She dreamt of a phoenix land on a parasol tree, and then named you so beautifully… Feng Wu…”

It seemed as if the Young Master Jun couldn't restrain his laughter. He swayed back and forth for a moment, and then continued, ”Your mother dreamt of a phoenix land on a Parasol tree… but what would you've been named if she had instead dreamt of a chicken land on a Banana tree? Imagine that! She dreamt a good dream at the appropriate time. You're very lucky!”

His Majesty chocked on his wine. His face turned red as he coughed for a while; he was literally between laughter and tears.