Everyone was shocked to hear this.

Based on their previous understanding of "Young Master Akun," he was only famous for two poems, and theoretically, he was good at writing poems.

But Jing Zhe's poem just now overturned their understanding; the world of geniuses was indeed beyond their imagination.

Especially when he raised his glass to write, it was more like he was improvising. It was already quite an achievement to write such a high-quality poem. How could he write another one in the blink of an eye?

Comparing people to each other is a recipe for disaster, and comparing goods to each other is a recipe for disaster; this only makes them seem even more worthless.

Brother, you're just trying to make a living, leave us a way to survive!

Zhu Xinning smiled and said, "Okay!"

Seeing this, Qi Junguang was very upset and said with a stiff neck, "Lord Zhu, this is not fair!"

Zhu Xinning glanced at him, sneering inwardly: My Zhe'er wants to write poems, whether it's two or ten or a hundred, I'd agree. You're talking to me about fairness? I spoil my own brother, who can tell me what to do?

"If I say it's okay, then it's okay!"

"..."

Seeing Qi Junguang's discomfiture, Emperor An was very pleased and also became interested. He said with a smile, "Anyway, Jing Zhe won with the first poem, so it won't hurt to write another one!"

With a wave of his hand, he declared, "I grant your permission!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Jing Zhe cupped his hands in greeting to Emperor An, then shifted his gaze to Zhu Xinning.

Zhu Xinning seemed to sense something, put down her calligraphy brush, and without any hesitation, met her gaze directly, her eyes gentle and affectionate.

Jing Zhe smiled, looked away, and said with a smile, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is a night for family reunion. It is a good opportunity to reunite with an old friend. Feeling moved, I composed a poem!"

Zhu Xinning knew who this "old friend" was. She wanted to write it down again, but then she thought that she could have him write it down for her later. For now, she should just enjoy it!

After Jing Zhe finished speaking, he began to read aloud:

"On the night of the fifteenth of August in years past, by the Xingyuan Garden on the banks of the Pengzhou River."

On the night of the fifteenth of August this year, in front of the osmanthus tree in the fairy garden and the Yi River.

Looking northwest, where is my hometown? Looking southeast, how many times has the moon been full?

Yesterday the wind blew, but no one noticed; tonight, my sister is just like in previous years.

Upon hearing the last word, "elder sister," Zhu Xinning's face, which had been carrying a faint smile, suddenly became filled with melancholy.

It has been twelve years since we last saw each other, and I haven't been able to enjoy the Mid-Autumn Moon with him since. The memories are stirred up, how can I not be moved?

With tears welling in her eyes, she thought to herself:

That little rascal!

As one of the few people in the courtyard who knew the truth, Emperor An was quite moved after hearing the poem. More than ten years had passed in the blink of an eye. His once proud minister had passed away, but his son had come of age and seemed poised to inherit his mantle, which was truly touching.

He then called on Zhu Xinning, "Zhu Sheren, why don't you also comment on Jing Zhe's two poems!"

Zhu Xinning stood up, her eyes never leaving Jing Zhe. If there were no one in front of her, she would definitely pounce on him.

"If we only consider the poems themselves, the first one is clearly better than the second one!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. The first poem was superior to the second poem in every respect.

But Zhu Xinning changed the subject: "But I choose the second song!"

"..."

As expected of his older sister, she speaks somewhat like him.

Jing Zhe thought to himself.

The others were equally astonished: Does being pretty give you the right to be so capricious? It seems... it really does!

Emperor An smiled and said, "Everyone sees and feels differently, which is not surprising! Besides, the most important thing in writing poetry should be the poetic sentiment, so Zhu Sheren's comments are not without merit!"

Then he added, "Then, Lord Zhu, please re-rank the works from today's poetry gathering and arrange for their advancement!"

Zhu Xinning nodded, wrote down the list, and handed it to Wang Yingqiu.

Wang Yingqiu smiled as she took the poem, glanced at it, and looked somewhat surprised, but still read it aloud: "Today's poetry competition has five poems that can advance to the next round, which are..."

When he finished reading, a huge uproar broke out in the crowd.

It turns out that Zhu Xinning ranked Jing Zhe's poem as first and second, Qi Junguang, Zhou Zhiwei, and Chen Jiannan as third, fourth, and fifth respectively, while Song Jimao was surprisingly eliminated by another poem by Jing Zhe...

Although Su Xinping wanted Song Jimao to lose on purpose, he could not accept losing in such a way that he couldn't even advance to the first round.

"Your Majesty, this is not fair!"

"How is it unfair?"

"The advancement should be for five people, not five poems!"

Su Xinping yelled and glared at Zhu Xinning.

Zhu Xinning didn't care at all and said calmly, "I set the rules. If I say it's okay, then it's okay."

That's awesome...

A group of talented men were instantly won over by Zhu Xinning's words, while Su Xinping was rendered speechless. Just as he was about to speak again, he saw Emperor An glare at him with disgust.

"Everything will be as Zhu Sheren says! Do you have any objections?"

These words were spoken while looking at Song Jimao, who stepped forward dejectedly: "Your Majesty, this humble subject has no objection and voluntarily withdraws!"

Even if the bottom-ranked team advances to the next round, they'll most likely be eliminated anyway, so it doesn't make much difference.

On the contrary, Zhu Xinning's attitude towards him made Song Jimao completely lose heart, and he just wanted to leave this place of heartbreak as soon as possible and go home to heal.

"In that case, then—"

"Your Majesty, how about I write three more poems? That way, I'll advance by myself, and we won't need to go through a second or third round of competition. Everyone's time is precious, so let's all go home and find our mothers!"

"..."

Everyone was astonished. When did writing poetry become as easy as buying groceries?

If anyone else had said this, they would have just taken it as bragging, but when Jing Zhe said it, they thought, "This is truly amazing!"

Now, Emperor An felt that victory was in his grasp, but it was not easy to leave the palace, and it was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Going back so early would be crazy.

He certainly showed off, but I haven't had my fill yet!

On a deeper level, Emperor An hoped that when they circled the city later, Jing Zhe could defeat Qi Junguang in front of all the people of Jingzhou, making him lose face—who told him to be so arrogant and domineering before?

If we defeat him now, what's the point of playing?

He glanced at Jing Zhe and said, "Shut up!"

"oh…"

But Qi Junguang seemed to have been greatly insulted, and shouted, "No, Your Majesty Emperor An! Agree to his request! I want to see if he can actually write three more poems!"

Even if he was a genius, it was impossible for Qi Junguang to produce five extraordinary poems in one go!

You just want to show off, don't you?

Then I'll grant your wish!

I want to see where you'll put your face when you fail at showing off!

Emperor An was reluctant to agree and was about to wave his hand when he saw Jing Zhe looking at him with pleading eyes. In the end, he had no choice but to say helplessly, "Alright, then Jing Zhe, write a few more poems!"

After hearing this, Jing Zhe smiled broadly and glanced at Chen Jiannan inadvertently. Chen Jiannan immediately felt a chill: Why did he feel that Jing Zhe had ill intentions towards him?

————