Chapter 65 Chapter 65 Daiyu's Birthday
Because banquets and music were not allowed during the national mourning period, and Daiyu lived in the Rongguo Mansion, Princess Zhongshun was reluctant to interfere with her birthday, so she just had people send various gifts to her and specially allowed Wu Tianyue to visit her.
Unfortunately, Feng Jieer, the manager of the Rongguo Mansion, fell ill a few days ago. In addition, all the ladies in the mansion had to go to the court to attend the sacrifices, so there was no one in the mansion to arrange Daiyu's birthday.
However, Daiyu did not care. Fengjie was a smart person. She knew that Princess Zhongshun doted on her and her birthday was well celebrated every year. So when Tanchun, who was temporarily in charge of the affairs in the garden, suggested setting up a few tables of banquets in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion and inviting the sisters in the garden to have fun, Daiyu also found it novel and happily joined her in the preparations and had fun with the sisters for a whole day.
So when Wu Tianyue came over after finishing his work, everyone was tired and had left early. Only Daiyu was lying on the couch reading a book.
Daiyu was turning the pages when a red sandalwood box suddenly appeared before her. Startled, she turned around and saw Wu Tianyue. He smiled and said, "How come you're walking so quietly?"
Today was Daiyu's birthday, and perhaps she had drunk some wine. A blush had spread across her flawless face, and her eyes flickered with a charm not usually found in them. Wu Tianyue couldn't help but move closer to her: "Perhaps he wanted to get closer to her."
Daiyu was amused by his words. She closed the book and patted him on the head: "Stop talking nonsense."
Wu Tianyue took the book and put the box in her hand, saying with a smile, "Yu'er, take a look and see if you like it."
"Didn't someone send something over yesterday?" Daiyu sat up and opened the box while speaking. Inside were several books. The cover of the top one was moon-white, with only a small branch of pear blossoms and a few petals that were about to fall painted on it. There were two lines of words beside it: "Steal three parts of the white from the pear core" and "Xiaoxiang Poetry Draft".
Daiyu was surprised to see her own poem and name, "What is this?"
"Your poetry collection." Wu Tianyue looked at Daiyu expectantly, a smile on his face. "I drew all the illustrations in it. Yu'er, do you think they match your poems?"
"Then I'll have to take a good look at it." Seeing his eyes shining and the look of being ready to accept praise, Daiyu smiled sweetly and reached out to take out the top album of poems and look through it.
The entire collection of poems is divided into four volumes. The first volume is Daiyu's childhood essays. Although the language is still a little immature, the imagery is lively and has a clear and elegant style. The second volume begins to be filled with melancholy, and the third volume is even more melancholy, showing the author's loneliness and resentment. But the fourth volume begins to change again. The sense of loneliness fades away, leaving only openness and cleanliness, as if there is a sense of "arrogance".
In addition to classifying the poems according to their artistic conception, each poem is embellished with a minimalist ink painting, such as a solitary lamp, an autumn window, or a few fallen leaves, which just perfectly bring out the artistic conception of the poem.
As the pages turned, the scent of ink became stronger and stronger. Daiyu's fingertips stroked the words and paintings, as if she saw again the scene of a little man sitting in the courtyard watching the flowers and snow, and suddenly a figure brandishing a sword and a gun rushed in, abrupt yet harmonious.
Daiyu's whole heart seemed to be soaked in the fermented rice wine she drank today, making it soft, soothing, and slightly drunk.
Wu Tianyue saw her looking down at it for a long time without saying anything, and he couldn't help but feel anxious: "What's wrong? Is there something you don't like?"
Hearing Wu Tianyue's voice, Daiyu's tears, which she had been holding back for a long time, suddenly welled up in her eyes and her vision blurred instantly. However, she didn't want him to see her lose her composure, so she put down the poetry book and turned to bury her head in his arms.
Wu Tianyue hugged her, feeling his shirt wet, and said jokingly, "It seems that the young lady is very satisfied with the gift I gave her."
Daiyu cried for a while and gradually calmed down. However, she was not good at expressing her emotions. Even if she had thousands of words in her heart, she couldn't say them. At this time, she was relieved when she heard his teasing. She raised her head and pulled his ear: "You can't say anything nice."
Feeling that she was reluctant to exert any strength, Wu Tianyue raised his eyebrows, winked and said with a smile: "It is me who is rude to you, young lady."
"Why don't you just talk nicely?" Daiyu heard that he was still trying to make fun of her, so she exerted force on her hands.
Wu Tianyue felt pain and said hurriedly, "There's more underneath."
Daiyu then let go and took out the books at the bottom. Seeing that they were poetry reviews, her brows furrowed slightly.
Wu Tianyue was puzzled when he saw that she was suddenly unhappy: "What's wrong?"
Daiyu knew his intentions, but the grievance still surged in her heart uncontrollably. She blinked to hold back her tears, but the tears still fell along her long eyelashes.
"What's going on?" Wu Tianyue was so scared that he took the book and looked through it, but found nothing unusual. They were all carefully selected by him, with nothing missing or too much.
Just as I was wondering, I heard Daiyu sobbing, "You actually spread my poems around? And let people comment on them at will."
Wu Tianyue understood and couldn't help laughing.
Seeing that he could still laugh, Daiyu opened her eyes wide in disbelief.
Seeing Daiyu's tearful eyes, as desolate and beautiful as pear blossoms wet with rain, Wu Tianyue's heart moved slightly. He half-knelt down and looked at her seriously: "I did distribute them. I also had a lot of them printed and sold in bookstores. Now many people in the city have your poems."
He did such a thing, yet he didn't apologize and acted so confidently. Daiyu was furious and pointed at him: "You! How could you do this?"
Wu Tianyue smiled and held her fingers. "Because I don't want your talent to be hidden in this house. I want everyone in the world to know Xiaoxiang's talent."
Daiyu didn't expect this reason. She looked at him blankly, speechless.
Wu Tianyue pinched her nose and said, "Don't be afraid, Yu'er. No one knows these are your poems now. When I am more mature, I will hold a large poetry meeting for you and invite everyone to come and write poems for you."
Daiyu's fear was soothed by his calm attitude. After hearing this, she couldn't help but smile: "What if I can't do it?"
"Then start with a small one and only invite those who admire you."
Daiyu was speechless and said, "You are good at making arrangements."
"You have no idea how popular your poetry collection has been these days. It's almost time for a second edition." Wu Tianyue said with a smile, "Even if we only invite followers, it's considered a large-scale poetry gathering."
Daiyu didn't believe it: "How is it possible?"
"Wouldn't you know if you read this?" Wu Tianyue handed her the poetry review. "I selected these, so the praise isn't so obvious."
Daiyu casually read two poems and felt that they were too flattering, but the panic she had just felt about her poems being leaked was much less.
Wu Tianyue looked at her plain profile and couldn't help but hold her face in his hands: "This is just the beginning. Yu'er will definitely have a bright future in the future."
Seeing him praising her so earnestly, Daiyu felt a little uneasy, but at the same time, she was happy that her talent was recognized. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Zijuan say from outside, "Miss, it's late."
Wu Tianyue heard this and pinched her face: "I'm leaving first. I have to go to the palace tomorrow."
Daiyu nodded, got up and sent him out, then came back, flipped through the poetry collection, recalled the past, and thought about her own poems being circulated like others. She felt her heart surge with emotion, and wrote a few more poems before going to bed.
After that day, Wu Tianyue had no time to come again, and Daiyu was very disappointed, but soon, Princess Shanmei came to talk to her about the next collection of poems.
Daiyu felt that since this volume had just been published, it would be too much to publish another collection of Xiaoxiang poems. She and Princess Shanmei agreed and decided to include the poems of everyone in the poetry club in the next volume.
So they went to negotiate with their sisters separately. With something to do, they couldn't spare the time to think about Wu Tianyue.
Wu Tianyue was still unaware that his status was plummeting. On this day, the emperor ordered him to escort the prince's body to Xiaoci County on his behalf. After arriving there, the body would have to stay for several days before entering the underground palace, so he planned to return to the Grand View Garden to tell Daiyu about it.
Just as he was about to leave, the chief historian came over with a worried look on his face and said, "Sir, the prince wants to see you."
Wu Tianyue and the chief historian arrived at Prince Zhongshun's study and saw him sitting behind the desk with a serious expression.
"What's wrong, father?" Wu Tianyue hurried forward and saluted, asking with a smile.
"Stop smiling so frivolously," Prince Zhongshun scolded. "What have you done these days that I need to remind you?"
Wu Tianyue had already prepared for Prince Zhongshun to know about what had happened before, but he didn't expect that he would find out after so long. He didn't know if it was because he was too busy, or if the emperor had some trick up his sleeve to deal with him and kept it from him.
He pondered in his heart, but avoided the main point on the surface and said: "It was Wu Wuyu's fault for the disaster relief. The Crown Prince is kind-hearted. He felt sorry for the victims who had to leave their homes and come to the capital and still not be resettled. He couldn't bear to see them freeze to death or starve to death..."
Before he could finish, Prince Zhongshun interrupted, "Don't tell the truth! The Emperor will make his own decision on disaster relief. I'm asking what those soldiers you trained are going to do?"
"That's not a soldier..."
"Are you still trying to lie to me?" Prince Zhongshun slammed the table. "The men you lead, whether in morale or combat proficiency, even discipline and equipment, are superior to the officers and soldiers. Aren't they still soldiers?"
Wu Tianyue curled his lips after hearing this. They were far inferior to the description in the book, and their equipment was good because no one on my side was corrupt. However, he did not dare to say these words, and could only say: "They have only been trained for a short time. The best martial artists among them are the guards you gave me."
"That's why you're so wrong!" Prince Zhongshun became even more agitated. "You're a descendant of the royal family. You can be brilliant, resourceful, mediocre, or even completely unlearned, but you can't be a military commander."
"Why? I wouldn't rebel." Wu Tianyue was dissatisfied. "The number of military officers in the court is declining. It's fine for regular training, but if there's a war, only Wang Ziteng can be used. I've already gained the crown prince's trust. With more experience, I can definitely succeed in this path."
"You also call him 'Crown Prince'?" Prince Zhongshun scoffed. "As long as His Majesty is alive, he is the prince. If His Majesty wants, he will be a prisoner tomorrow."
After saying this, seeing Wu Tianyue remained silent, he sighed and said, "Your Majesty is naturally suspicious, and he came to power because of the incident involving the former Prince Yi Zhong. If you become a military commander and hold military power, you will be my helper, just like Wang Ziteng is His Majesty's helper."
Wu Tianyue was dissatisfied with this statement: "The border is unstable now. In recent years, natural disasters have occurred frequently in other places besides the area around the capital. How can we ignore the people because of such suspicion? The Crown Prince can see the suffering of the people and agree that I can become a military commander. Why doesn't the emperor agree?"
Upon hearing him speak such outrageous words, Prince Zhongshun quickly rebuked him, "Who are you to question the emperor?"
Seeing that Wu Tianyue was still stubborn, he said cruelly: "Do you want to save those people you have never met, or do you want to save your biological parents, your younger brothers and sisters, or your future wife and children? You decide for yourself!"
Wu Tianyue pursed his lips and was speechless.
Prince Zhongshun sighed again, "Even if you chose them, can you really save them? If the Crown Prince confronts the Emperor on their behalf, chaos will ensue among the upper class, and no one will restrain the officials and gentry, will the people be better off or worse off? The Emperor is already in power, but why doesn't he just eliminate the remaining followers of the retired Emperor? It's because of the saying 'don't pursue a desperate enemy'. If they strike back, it won't be you, the Crown Prince who has lived a life of luxury for over a decade, who will suffer!"
Wu Tianyue was speechless and lowered his head in dejection.
Prince Zhongshun saw this and was about to continue to persuade him when he heard hurried footsteps outside, followed by the voice of the Chief Historian: "Your Highness, the Emperor summons the Crown Prince to the palace."
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