On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Lu Yanzhao said he was going to the county town to participate in some poetry gathering with his classmates. He heard that if you won, you could get a set of writing implements and fifty taels of silver.

The county town? Gu Nanjiao had never been there before, and she wanted to go and see it. She was also very curious about what ancient poetry gatherings were like, and most importantly, the winner would receive fifty taels of silver.

Gu Nanjiao solicitously placed a cup of tea in front of Lu Yanzhao: "You must be tired from reading, here, have some tea!"

Lu Yanzhao put down the book in his hand and glanced at her indifferently: "Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious. So, what is it?"

With her little scheme exposed, Gu Nanjiao wasn't embarrassed at all. She leaned back on the table confidently and said, "I heard you're going to the county town for a poetry gathering. Take me with you."

Why should I take you with me?

"You..." Gu Nanjiao was speechless for a moment. Why was Lu Yanzhao always like this, his words were so hurtful.

"Fine, if you're not taking me, I'll go by myself."

Lu Yanzhao put down his book, suddenly moved closer to Gu Nanjiao, and chuckled softly, "If you beg me, I'll take you there."

Um, what does Lu Yanzhao mean by this? Is he begging him? It's just a matter of a word; Gu Nanjiao is flexible and adaptable.

"Alright, please, take me to see it."

"Not sincere enough."

Gu Nanjiao thought for a moment. This guy loves to eat, so making him something delicious would be sincere enough, wouldn't it?

"I'll make you delicious boiled fish tonight, please take me with you." Gu Nanjiao deliberately lowered her voice, but it still sounded like she was pleading. Gu Nanjiao wanted to bite her tongue off after saying it.

Lu Yanzhao smiled, quite satisfied: "Deal."

So the two of them went out together. Gu Nanjiao even tied her hair up in a bun and put on a drab gray dress she'd found somewhere. Looking at Gu Nanjiao's androgynous appearance, Lu Yanzhao felt a bit of annoyance.

When I got to the county town, I found out that this so-called poetry gathering was actually organized by a bookstore, and surprisingly, there were quite a lot of people there.

As soon as Lu Yanzhao and Gu Nanjiao entered, they heard a clear male voice: "Yanzhao, I'm here."

The two turned around, and Gu Nanjiao then noticed that the person who had called them was a scholar of similar age to Lu Yanzhao. The man was handsome, dressed in a blue robe, with an undeniable scholarly air about him, and he appeared refined, elegant, and dashing.

Sure enough, good-looking people only make friends with other good-looking people.

"Brother Lin Ji!" Lu Yanzhao greeted Lin Ji. Turning to Gu Nanjiao, he introduced, "This is my classmate, Lin Ji."

"I hope Brother Lin Ji is well."

Lin Ji's gaze fell on Gu Nanjiao: "This must be Brother Yanzhao's wife. I've heard so much about you."

Upon hearing the words "I've long admired your name," Gu Nanjiao couldn't help but twitch her lips. Lin Ji and Lu Yanzhao were classmates, so she naturally knew about how the original owner of this body had forced Lu Yanzhao to marry her.

"Hurry inside, the poetry recital is about to begin."

The three found a place to sit down, and after a short while, a man who looked like a shopkeeper struck a gong:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the competition is divided into preliminary rounds and final rounds. Only those who pass the preliminary rounds can enter the final rounds. The first place winner of the final rounds will receive the precious Four Treasures of the Study and fifty taels of silver, the second place winner will receive a paperweight, and the third place winner will receive a copy of 'Fragrant Grass Collection'."

Upon hearing about the fifty taels of silver, Gu Nanjiao was very excited and tugged at Lu Yanzhao's arm: "Are you confident that you can win first place?"

Lu Yanzhao replied, rather disappointed, "No."

The preliminary round was easy to pass; most students passed, including Gu Nanjiao and her classmates.

The final exam had no set topic; participants could freely compose a poem. Gu Nanjiao thought for a moment and came up with a simple one. She wrote slowly and carefully; there was no way around it, her calligraphy wasn't very good, and being able to write at all was already quite an achievement.

After finally finishing writing, Gu Nanjiao added a note in the bottom right corner: "Nan Qiao".

Although it was quite cold outside, the students' hearts were warm, and a large group of them were waiting for the results of the finals.

The results came out quickly. The first place winner was a person named Nan Qiao, who wrote:

Several plum blossoms in the corner

Ling Han blooms alone

I know it’s not snow

For there is a faint fragrance

After reading Gu Nanjiao's poem, Lin Ji couldn't help but praise, "What a wonderful poem! Especially the line 'From afar I know it's not snow, for there is a faint fragrance,' it's exquisitely written."

The second place went to a person named Wang Hezhi, and the third place went to Lu Yanzhao.

When the first place was announced, Gu Nanjiao excitedly gripped Lu Yanzhao's sleeve: "It's me! It's me..."

She happily went on stage to receive the writing implements and fifty taels of silver, while Lu Yanzhao received the book "Fragrant Grass Collection".

Lin Ji approached excitedly: "I never expected that you wrote that poem. What a wonderful poem! I admire you."

Gu Nanjiao felt a little guilty. If it weren't for the fifty taels of silver, she wouldn't have been willing to plagiarize other people's poems. If she were really asked to write a poem or use a certain topic as a theme, she really couldn't think of anything, because all she could think of were these simpler verses.

Lu Yanzhao, standing to the side, also had a somewhat complicated look in his eyes when he looked at Gu Nanjiao.

...

Upstairs in the bookstore, a plump but remarkably refined-looking old man was watching them.

"What are you looking at, sir?" the bookstore owner asked.

The man stroked his gray beard and smiled: "Among those three, one couple is a married couple."

The bookstore owner, Yang Gu Nanjiao, glanced in their direction and said, "This...aren't these the first and third place winners of the finals? Two men? This...this is too indecent."

The official turned his head and glanced at him: "Oh, so they are Nan Qiao and Lu Yanzhao?"

"Yes, I never expected it to be homosexuality. It's immoral. What good is literary talent if it's so disgraceful?"

The adult laughed, his tone neither confirming nor denying: "Not necessarily, the short man next to him is definitely a woman in disguise."

The bookstore owner looked at Gu Nanjiao, observed her for a while, and couldn't help but praise, "You have a discerning eye, sir, you can even see that."

The official waved his hand and said, "Don't call me 'sir' anymore. I've retired to my hometown now. Just call me Master Zheng. Go and bring me the poems of the top three so I can take a look."

The bookstore owner hurriedly said, "Please wait a moment, sir! No, please wait a moment, Master Zheng."

A moment later, the bookstore owner presented the three people's poems.

Master Zheng took the paper and looked at it, saying, "The poem by Nanfeng is not bad, but the handwriting is really not very good, and it doesn't seem like it was written by a person with great literary talent."

Finally, Master Zheng pointed to Lu Yanzhao's poem and said, "Although his poem is not as good as this 'South Wind,' his calligraphy is quite good, with strong strokes and a natural flow. It is said that one's handwriting reflects one's character, and I am quite curious about this Lu Yanzhao."

The bookstore owner, as if struck by a sudden thought, slapped his forehead and said, "Master Zheng, you just said that the two of them are like a married couple. In my humble opinion, Nanfeng's poem might have been written by this Lu Yanzhao."

Master Zheng narrowed his eyes: "That makes sense."

Upon hearing that Lord Zheng agreed with his guess, the bookstore owner sneered: "I didn't expect that someone would choose to help others cheat in order to get an extra reward. I'll find someone to retrieve the prize right away."

As he spoke, the bookstore owner turned to chase after him, but was stopped by Lord Zheng: "Come back."

"Master...

"How can we draw conclusions without evidence? Besides, you and I are just speculating. How can we rashly go up and question us and demand the prize back, only to make ourselves a laughing stock?"

“What you say is true, sir.”

Master Zheng waved his hand, signaling the bookstore manager to leave.

If Nanfeng's poem was indeed written by Lu Yanzhao, then he is truly a rare talent. Master Zheng has always respected and cherished talented people.