The two older young masters across the way quickly interjected, and it was clear they were deliberately hyping up Shen Hao.
Praise that kills, indeed—let's see what kind of work you produce in a moment. If you can't make the Ink List, or if even half fail to give their approval, it will be humiliation of the worst kind. Who knows what sharp-tongued scholars will say about you then?
Even Zhang and Gan, who knew nothing about poetry, felt instinctively nervous. They understood better than Shen Hao how formidable these scholars were in the current Jingjiu Dynasty's climate, and did not wish the promising youth aboard their ship to suffer future career setbacks over something so needless.
