Chapter 3 Taking the Lead

The senior brother tilted his head to look at Pei Zhao's slightly solemn expression. He knew that he didn't want to have close contact with the Second Prince. Out of consideration for his junior brother, he joked, "That's great. I've never set a prize when writing poetry before, so my desire to win isn't that strong. Junior brother, I won't give in to you today."

Pei Zhao nodded and smiled, "Senior Brother, you are extremely talented. You will definitely take first place in today's poetry competition."

Xiao Du sipped from his wine cup, his gaze casually scanning the scholars present. He curled his lips and said, "Since I set the prize, I should also come up with the question."

Everyone watched from the sidelines, saying nothing. After all, the Second Prince had been acting tyrannically, relying on His Majesty's favor, for a long time.

Seeing that no one spoke, Xiao Du put the wine glass on the table and moved his gaze from the pavilion to the railing. The flowers and trees in the garden were lush. Today the sky was clear and the air was bright. Looking towards the horizon, you could see green mountains half hidden in the clouds.

"I won't make it difficult for you. Just write a poem about this scene. After you finish, everyone can judge and choose the best one to present to me."

After that, servants carrying pens, ink, paper and inkstone came in one after another and placed the four treasures on each table.

At the same time, a noble lady in purple hurried into the women's seat and passed the news she had heard to several good sisters.

"really?"

"Isn't this a problem for Pei Erlang?"

"Everyone knows that the Second Prince wants to win over the Pei family. Even if those scholars and writers have real talent and knowledge, they wouldn't dare to show off at this time..."

Song Lingyi, with her sharp ears, heard them mention Pei Zhao and urged her cousin to go and inquire. Upon learning that the Second Prince had come to the Bishuiyuntai and was offering a prize for poetry, she asked, puzzled, "From what you say, the Second Prince is quite favored. It's not a bad thing for Brother Jianzhi to befriend him."

Lu Yu whispered, "Things are different now. His Majesty is not feeling well, so he's allowed the Second Prince to take power. Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been away from Kyoto, he still has many ministers supporting him... In short, the situation is very complicated, and neither the Lu nor the Pei families want to be drawn into the factional struggle."

“…” Song Lingyi remained silent.

So it seems that Brother Jianzhi has encountered a difficult problem.

The scholar next door didn't want to get involved in the mess, so he could only hope that the woman would compose a brilliant poem at the banquet. If she could help Jianzhi's brother solve his urgent problem, it would be a great achievement.

While he was still lost in thought, a lady in gorgeous attire clapped her hands and signaled the maid to fetch the four treasures of the study. "Sisters, the Second Prince has just given us a question."

As she spoke, she raised her hand and pointed at the scene outside the railing. "Write a poem based on this scene of Bishuiyuntai. The theme is a fire-painted fan. Sisters, you can start thinking about it."

The eyes of the ladies present turned to the courtyard.

It is not difficult to write poems describing scenery. Some noble ladies even prepare such poems in advance. The simpler the topic, the harder it is to stand out and win the first place.

Not long after, Lu Yu finished writing a poem. Then she looked at Song Lingyi next to her, who was biting the pen in worry and was reluctant to put pen to paper.

"Cousin, don't you have any idea?"

Song Lingyi stared at the white paper with an extremely deep expression.

For a woman majoring in engineering, writing poetry was a monumental challenge. She had studied for over a decade and had memorized at least a hundred, if not a thousand, classical Chinese poems. If she were to compete in five- and seven-character quatrains, she could boast a couple of them. But the poetry competition's requirement to choose a theme based on this particular scene and to stand out from the crowd was a real challenge.

Seeing that all the noble ladies present had submitted their papers one after another, each of them looking determined to win, Song Lingyi simply closed her eyes and let her mind race.

The noble lady on the left glanced at the untouched white paper in front of Song Lingyi, then turned around and joked with her best friend, "It seems that not only is there no suspense about who will take the first prize today, but there is also no suspense about who will be the last one."

A group of people were snickering, with gloating almost written on their faces.

After about a cup of tea, the scholar in the pavilion next door had finished writing his poems and sent a servant to fetch the poems written by the female members of the family.

The lady in gorgeous attire looked at Song Lingyi, who had been slow to submit her paper, and said anxiously, "Lingyi, do you have any idea?"

"Sister Yang, please stop pushing me. Sometimes the more you push, the slower my brain works." The noble lady spoke with a hint of sarcasm, causing the other noble ladies to cover their lips and laugh.

"We can't neglect the Second Prince. Sister Yang should send it over as soon as possible. After all, everyone knows who will win the prize."

The lady in gorgeous clothes did not want to argue with them. Just when she was wondering whether to wait any longer, she saw Song Lingyi start writing. In just a short while, she finished it in one go.

"I'm done."

Song Lingyi handed the 'answer sheet' to the elegantly dressed noblewoman, then turned back to look at the ladies who had mocked her. "Since this is a poem presented to the Second Prince, I must carefully consider my writing."

The noble ladies curled their lips and said nothing.

Anyway, the person who can get the prize is definitely Pei Erlang. No one else can beat him. No matter how much you consider it, it will be useless.

…

After about two quarters of an hour, Xiao Du looked coldly at the scholars who were discussing fiercely, and was obviously getting impatient.

Until the fifth glass of wine was drunk, and the empty glass was put down with a "click", it was obviously a very ordinary action and the movement was not loud, but the subtle movement seemed to strike everyone's heart, and the pavilion gradually became quiet.

Xiao Du took a breath and said slowly, "Hasn't it been chosen yet?"

Inside the pavilion, only his low and cold voice could be heard.

"I've chosen it."

The senior brother pulled out one of the papers and respectfully unfolded it in front of Xiao Du. "Today, the Second Prince set a prize. Everyone's poems are quite good, so we've been discussing for so long."

Xiao Du slowly opened his eyelids, but the first thing he saw was not to appreciate the poem, but to see who wrote it.

After seeing the signature on the rice paper, he frowned and asked, "Are you sure this person's poetry is better than Pei Erlang's?"

"Uh..." The senior brother was choked by the question.

To avoid offending the Second Prince, these talented scholars held back on their poetry. The winner was undeniable, but a poem from a female relative was quite good, so he singled it out.

Pei Zhao intervened, "They say there's no first in literature, and no second in martial arts. Appreciating poetry is inherently subjective. Everyone has their own taste, and it's difficult to single out the best among so many poems. But this poem is truly unique."

"Green mountains swallow up the moons of the past and present, green trees sway in the morning and evening winds." Xiao Du read the first two lines and thought they were nothing special. But when he read the last two lines, his eyes suddenly brightened. "Everything has its end, but this life without me is infinite."

"That's quite interesting. I asked her to describe the scenery, but she was able to develop such profound thoughts. Song Lingyi, who is this girl from? Why haven't I heard of her before?"

The senior brother was stunned again.

Not to mention the Second Prince, even the scholars and literati present had never heard of this name.

Everyone was whispering. Pei Zhao stood up and bowed. "Your Highness, Miss Song is a cousin of the Duke of Jin. She's only recently arrived in Kyoto. It's not unusual for your Highness not to have heard of her."

Xiao Du curled his lips and said with understanding, "So it's the cousin from the Duke of Jin's mansion." He glanced at the guard standing beside him and said, "Go, invite her over."

Pei Zhao's eyes dimmed slightly. Just as he was about to ask, he heard the man sitting at the top say in a slow and drawn-out tone:

"Wenlushan Academy held a poetry gathering, and so many talented scholars attended, but the prize was snatched away by an unknown little girl. Your Highness is truly curious."

The scholars present heard the dissatisfaction in Xiao Du's words, and they all kept silent, not daring to breathe.

Xiao Du tapped the table with his fingers and said nonchalantly, "This fire-painted fan was given by His Majesty. It is a priceless treasure. I must personally hand it to Miss Song and take a look at what this talented Miss Song looks like. She can even surpass all the scholars present here."

Pei Zhao lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Since it was a prize, he had no reason to refuse it on Song Lingyi's behalf.

…

The women were filled with laughter and joy at the table.

Lu Yu hadn't seen the poem written by her cousin just now, so she twisted her body and asked her to write another one. Song Lingyi didn't write anything, but just read it to her alone.

"This poem is good. Maybe it will win a prize. My cousin is worthy of being my aunt's daughter." Lu Yu was delighted.

Song Lingyi pursed her lips, feeling guilty, and didn't dare to say that the poem was "borrowed".

After a while, a maid nodded and hurried into the pavilion, whispering a few words in the ear of the noble lady in gorgeous clothes.

The lady in gorgeous clothes changed her expression slightly. After confirming again and again, she stood up and said, "Everyone, please be quiet for a moment."

Everyone's eyes turned to the lady in gorgeous clothes, and the laughter stopped for a moment.

"Everyone, after the Second Prince's appraisal, the winner of the grand prize has been announced, and it's among us."

The ladies were in an uproar.

With the talented people of Wenlushan Academy headed by Pei Zhao, how could the lucky winner be on their side?

"Sister Yang, who is it?"

"Sister Yang, please tell me quickly. Don't keep us hanging."

The lady in gorgeous attire slowly turned her gaze towards Song Lingyi and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Sister Song. His Royal Highness the Second Prince said that he would personally present the lucky number to you."

Song Lingyi's eyelids twitched slightly.

This result was within her expectations, yet also beyond her reason. Dayuan had separate tables for men and women, so why did the Second Prince insist on giving it to her personally?