Chapter 269 - 212, Assassination
"Young man, come on, think hard, what exactly is the missing verse?"
"It’s so rare to come across such a beautiful piece, yet you’ve forgotten a verse, it’s going to keep us up all night."
The literary men chattered back and forth, already having tossed the incident of ’betraying Prince Jing’ to the back of their minds, insisting on dragging Chen Ji into recalling the incomplete poetry.
To them, a good poem with a missing part was like a beauty’s face half-veiled, unbearable to the itch of curiosity.
The Broken Formation, appeared to be a ’Heroic Poem’ of a General’s gallant heart laid bare, yet it told of frustration and ’regret’ at unfulfilled ambitions. When drunk, he seemed to revert back to that young General, with the cold gleam of swords flashing in the tent, and the unending calls of bugles echoing outside.
Awakening from the drunken stupor, he found no soliders or battlefield by his side. The bow unstrung, hung high, leaving only whitened hair.
How lamentable, how regrettable.
Zhang Zhuo and Zhang Xia looked towards Chen Ji from within the crowd.
Only father and daughter knew that after Chen Ji left Prince Jing with this poem, he could not write another half-line of poetry for the rest of his life.
Zhang Zhuo stepped forward, patted his shoulder and whispered, "You’ve had it hard."
Chen Ji smiled, "It’s nothing."