"Have you not seen the bright mirror in the high hall reflecting the sorrow of white hair, which was like black silk in the morning but turned to snow by evening?"

"Enjoy life to the fullest when you're successful, for your talents will surely be put to good use..."

"Ahem!" Finally, an old man with a white beard interrupted the empress's affected recitation, cleared his throat, and asked, "Your Majesty, if I remember correctly, these are... lines from Li Bai's poem, right? Where is your own poem?"

When asked the question, the old man's eyebrows furrowed slightly, clearly showing his displeasure.

Putting aside the fact that stealing other people's poems is despicable for scholars, even the empress's affected and pretentious recitation style was, in his eyes, an insult to Li Bai!

The chivalrous poet who roams the world with his sword is far superior to these pretentious palace women!

Li Bai? Who is that?

Countless suspicious gazes fell upon her, and the Empress was momentarily stunned, her confused mind barely functioning. It took her considerable effort to finally understand.

—That good-for-nothing Zitong actually plagiarized someone else's poem!

They embarrassed her; they should be dragged out and whipped!

But it's alright, the Queen took a deep breath and comforted herself, thinking: She has other poems to memorize, it's just one poem, it won't delay anything.

"I apologize, everyone. I was just joking to test your abilities." The Empress bowed slightly, composed herself, and spoke again.

"Clouds remind me of her clothes, flowers of her face; the spring breeze caresses the balustrade, the dew is heavy..."

"Ahem, Your Majesty." Someone interrupted again, their face darkening, "This is still a poem by Li Bai."

Or...or Li Bai?

how so?

The Empress was unaware that five days was enough time for Si Jin to use his divine power to turn back time and create a "Collection of Chinese Poems" to be distributed throughout the entire Northern Yan Dynasty.

These famous poems, along with the great poets, have left an indelible mark on the hearts of the people of Northern Yan, influencing them to this day.

Now, the woman was only flustered, and her face turned even more pale. She could only clear her throat and continue, "The Candle Dragon dwells in the cold gate, its light still shines like dawn, how can the sun and moon not reach this place..."

"Enough! Empress!" This time, not only the famous scholars of the world, but even the emperor on the high platform looked grim, and he slammed his fist on the table and shouted angrily.

"You can't write poetry, so just say you can't. Are you just fixated on Li Bai's poems?"

The Empress was startled by the sudden shout, and when she saw the Emperor's eyes, she panicked even more.

Because she could clearly see the disgust in the emperor's eyes!

What to do? The Emperor hates her now, she can't live without him, think of a way, think of a way!

The Empress bit her lower lip, almost crying with anxiety.

She didn't know who Li Bai was, and she didn't know if reciting other poems would attract even greater malice.

But this is the Jiuhua Palace, where countless eyes are watching. A slight mistake could lead to disgrace and ruin!

With nowhere else to retreat, the Empress could only speak again: "A sparse branch rustles in the cold, a lonely shadow is cast by the waning moon, and as autumn deepens and leaves fall, who will understand my lingering sorrow?"

No one suspected anything as she carried the torch here. The Empress's lips curled up slightly, and she gradually felt at ease.

That's great, that's great! This poem has nothing to do with Li Bai, and nothing to do with anyone else. Her hope has arrived!

The woman continued reading excitedly: "A desolate, cold frost, with whom can I share my lofty ambitions? The past wasted time and resentment, how can a mere wind and snow settle them?"

After the entire poem was recited, the crowd below fell silent, seemingly all seriously appreciating and commenting on it.

The Empress finally breathed a sigh of relief, her cold sweat almost soaking through her winter clothes.

That's great, her position... is finally secure.

"Your Majesty." A scholar spoke up, and the Empress immediately straightened her posture, adopting the demeanor of a "talented woman," and gestured for the man to speak: "Please speak, sir."

"This poem is very well written, but what is the meaning of these three 'ones' in the poem? We... don't quite understand."

"Huh?" The Empress was just reciting the words; she had no idea what they meant.

Just as she was racking her brains, she saw the emperor stride toward her with a stern face, raise his hand, and slap her hard across the face.

"You scoundrel! You even stole the lyrics that Jinjin wrote the other day and claimed them as your own. Is your reputation as a talented woman based on theft?!"

The empress's hair was knocked askew from the blow, and the gilded phoenix hairpin on her head fell to the ground. Five bright red handprints were left on her face, and her ears began to ring.

What is the meaning of "司" in the context of "司矜"?

How could it be his lyrics...?

"Your Majesty!" The Empress was unaware that Si Jin had deliberately slipped this piece of paper into her stack of poems. Having finally found a word that could save her life, she could only look up and spout nonsense.

"These are the lyrics I wrote, how can you say I am Sijin? You have truly been bewitched by demons!"

"I have long advised you that the fox demon should not be allowed to live, but you insisted on..."

"Enough!" The old emperor was still thinking about how beautiful Si Xiaohu had looked when she gave him the poems.

At that time, Jinjin, with a pair of beautiful fox ears, lowered her head and said to him, "Your Majesty, knowing that you like ginkgo, I stayed up all night to write this poem for you."

Now, he was unwilling to listen to the Empress's sophistry and continued to question her sharply: "The several 'ones' in the words were actually horizontal lines drawn by Jinjin. He left them blank because he hadn't decided what to write in them!"

"So the words you stole were incomplete! How dare you even show them off?"

"If you really wrote these words, then fill in those blanks!"

The Empress was stunned by the shout, and the burning sensation on her face made her feel utterly humiliated and ashamed.

She has absolutely no knowledge of rhyme and meter, how could she possibly write lyrics and poems? Heaven knows what words should be written in those blank spaces.

Tears welled up in the Empress's eyes as she gritted her teeth and looked at Si Jin: "This poem was written by me. Those places were supposed to be left blank; there's no need to replace any words!"

"If that fox demon knew the original words, why didn't she fill them in herself?"

"What poetry could a fox understand?" The Empress glared at Si Jin with hatred, her eyes almost overflowing with anger.

She refused to believe that Si Jin, that bitch, could actually write the lyrics!

However, the next moment, Si Jin had a eunuch bring her a pen and ink, and while reading aloud, she wrote down the entire poem.

"To the Tune of Bu Suanzi: Ode to the Ginkgo"

"The cold dew stirs the sparse branches, the waning moon casts its lonely shadow. Autumn deepens once more as leaves fall, who will understand my lingering sorrow?"

"In the stillness, the cold frost gathers; with whom can I share my lofty ambitions? The past wasted time and the lingering resentment are now left unresolved by the wind and snow."

———

[Quick Science Time]

The clouds yearn for her garments, the flowers for her face; the spring breeze caresses the balustrade, heavy with dew. If not seen atop Mount Qunyu, she will surely be met beneath the moon on the Jade Terrace.

—From Li Bai's "Qing Ping Diao, Part 1"

The Candle Dragon dwells in the cold gate, its light shining as brightly as dawn. Why do the sun and moon not reach this place? Only the north wind howls angrily from the heavens. Snowflakes from Yanshan are as large as mats, each one falling upon Xuanyuan Terrace.

—From Li Bai's "The North Wind"

The cold dew stirs the sparse branches, the waning moon casts a lonely shadow, and as autumn deepens and leaves fall, who will understand my lingering sorrow?

The frost is cold and desolate; with whom can I share my lofty ambitions? I feel resentful for the wasted years of the past; how can I let the wind and snow settle them?

—This was written by Tuanzi, who loves to cook, and it follows the rhyme scheme of the "Bu Suanzi" series. It describes the ginkgo grove in front of the school classroom in autumn and is titled "Bu Suanzi: Ode to the Ginkgo".