"This line, 'Crystal curtains stir with a gentle breeze, a trellis of roses perfumes the entire courtyard,' is exceptionally written. It expresses feelings directly, with refined prose and perfectly matched couplets. The mood is beautiful, tender, and moving, stirring the soul. The vocabulary is exquisite, the depiction of the scene is flawless, and it is unspeakably wonderful!"
Grand Tutor Xia read this poem many times, praising it without pause. He then handed the scroll to the Emperor for them to appreciate together.
"Your Majesty, look how wonderfully this poem is written!"
The Emperor immediately took the scroll and read the poem aloud several times, also praising it highly. He and Grand Tutor Xia admired it for a long time before remembering to ask who had written it.
"Who wrote this poem?" the Emperor and Grand Tutor Xia asked in unison.
As soon as they spoke, the women participating in the poetry competition looked at each other. Both shook their heads, and then everyone began to whisper.
Woman A: "I bet this poem was written by the eldest daughter of the Qin family. After all, the Qin family's eldest daughter is the most outstanding talent among us."
Woman B: "Didn't Grand Tutor Xia just critique the Qin family's eldest daughter's 'Summer Fun'? This 'Summer Day at the Mountain Pavilion' he's critiquing now is much better than her 'Summer Fun'."
Woman C: "Indeed! This 'Summer Day at the Mountain Pavilion' is written so beautifully, but we just don't know who wrote it?"
Woman D: "..."
Qin Xixue, sitting at the front row of the women, was almost so angered by the whispers of the other women that she felt like spitting blood.
She was determined to see who had written this "Summer Day at the Mountain Pavilion"!
Meanwhile, the "author" of this poem was struggling with whether or not to respond, because she was not the author of "Summer Day at the Mountain Pavilion" either. She had merely borrowed it from the Tang Dynasty poet Gao Pian's "Summer Day at the Mountain Pavilion."
After a long time had passed since the Emperor and Grand Tutor Xia had spoken, and no one responded, the Emperor directly looked at the Grand Academician who had collected the scrolls.
"Zhang Shurong, whose table did this scroll come from?" the Emperor asked curiously.
"Replying to Your Majesty, this is the scroll from the Cold King's consort's table," Zhang Shurong answered truthfully.
"So that means this poem was written by the Cold King's consort?" the Emperor said with a hint of amusement.
So this girl, Li'er, wrote such a good poem and still wanted to hide her talent.
The Emperor and Zhang Shurong's conversation instantly shocked everyone present, especially the Empress Dowager and Grand Tutor Xia, who were almost struck dumb by Leng Ruoli.
"Heavens, Li'er, you wrote this poem? I, who have read ancient and modern books for decades, have never written such a refined and exquisite poem. Your poem is simply unparalleled!" Grand Tutor Xia exclaimed, his expression so excited he almost jumped up.
"Li'er, my dear, you can write poetry. Why didn't you tell your Imperial Grandmother earlier? You made your Imperial Grandmother worry for nothing," the Empress Dowager chided Leng Ruoli gently.
"Imperial Grandmother, I, I..."
Leng Ruoli frowned, raised her hand, and scratched her head awkwardly. She thought to herself, "What a sin, what a sin! Poet Gao Pian, today I will borrow your masterpiece to save my face."
Leng Jinyu, the Xia family, and the wife of Marquis Jingyuan, Princess Qingling, had also been holding their breath for Leng Ruoli just moments ago.
"My word! This 'Summer Day at the Mountain Pavilion' was actually written by the Cold King's consort. This is truly incredible!"
"Isn't it? No wonder the Cold King's consort was unwilling to participate in the poetry and painting competition earlier. It turns out she didn't want to steal the spotlight and disdained competing with us, unlike some people who always want to be the center of attention."
"Speak a little softer. We mustn't let them hear."
"..."
Two women among the contestants were constantly murmuring.
However, their words were still heard by Qin Xixue, Shen Yuejia, and Ye Meiqian without missing a single word.
Instantly, the three were so enraged they gnashed their teeth.
Next, the Emperor, who was seated at the head, slowly opened his mouth and said, "Since everyone has made up their minds, who should be awarded first place in this poetry competition?"
"The Cold King's Consort!"
Everyone present answered in unison.
"Haha, so this poem written by the Cold King's consort has conquered everyone present. Then I shall now announce that the Cold King's consort has won first place in this poetry competition."
The Emperor's loud and clear voice reached everyone's ears.
As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, everyone rushed to congratulate Leng Ruoli. Leng Jinyu and the Xia family were also surrounded by a group of flattering officials and sycophants, who kept congratulating Leng Jinyu and the others.
"Then, for the upcoming painting competition, let's all take the Empress Dowager as the subject and paint her portrait. Whoever paints the best will be the first place winner. The time limit is half an hour. Everyone begin."
With the Emperor's command, everyone began to paint. On the stage, only Leng Ruoli was still staring blankly at the brush in her hand. Then, she slowly took out a charcoal pencil and began to draw.
After much thought, Leng Ruoli decided to draw a sketch for the Empress Dowager. She had initially wanted to paint a colored picture for the Empress Dowager, but preparing the pigments was too troublesome, so she opted for a simple sketch instead.
...
Meanwhile, in the Empress's Fengqi Palace.
Today was the Empress Dowager's birthday, but the Empress, citing discomfort, did not plan to attend the Empress Dowager's birthday celebrations.
Therefore, she summoned Lin Zhenfan and Prince Qing to Fengqi Palace early in the morning.
"Your subject, Lin Zhenfan, pays his respects to the Empress!" Lin Zhenfan bowed to the Empress with a somewhat pale face.
"Your son pays his respects to Mother Empress!"
Prince Qing also looked gaunt and listless as he bowed to the Empress.
"Why do you two look like this?" the Empress said angrily.
"Eldest Sister, my old ailment has flared up again," Lin Zhenfan said perfunctorily.
"Isn't this all your own doing? The moment your severe injuries had just slightly recovered, you went to play the hero and insisted on leading the troops to guard the southern borders. What kind of place is the southern border? It's damp, full of poisonous miasma and insects. You were gone for many years. It would be a miracle if your injuries healed!" the Empress Dowager taunted Lin Zhenfan without politeness.
"Eldest Sister, I had no choice back then!"
"If our Duke Lin's mansion did not send someone to guard the southern borders, the Emperor would have taken back our Duke Lin's mansion's military authority. At that time, our Duke Lin would have been at the Emperor's mercy." Lin Zhenfan said reasonably.
"Alas, yes. That person used all sorts of methods to suppress us," the Empress sighed.
"So my little brother had no other choice."
Lin Zhenfan frowned and replied, as he spoke, he covered his chest and coughed twice. These actions were not feigned; his chest truly ached, with waves of intense pain. However, this was not a sequela of his old injury, but rather the backlash from casting a Gu spell on someone else.