Miss Lu quickly posed the question, and everyone subconsciously looked at the peach tree not far away, and they all nodded in agreement.
Using the scenery before one's eyes as a theme, it's conventional, neither outstanding nor wrong.
The eunuchs quickly set up tables and chairs, complete with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
Miss Lu grabbed her sleeve with one hand and picked up her pen with the other to start writing.
They were still young, and in their excitement and pride, they forgot to pretend to ask for something for a while.
Jiayin couldn't help but laugh when she saw such a stupid opponent.
Her nonchalance drove Baozhu and the Third Princess to their wits' end.
Baozhu urged repeatedly, "Sister Jiayin, hurry up and write! She's almost finished!"
The Third Princess hurriedly rolled up her sleeves and then personally ground ink for Jiayin.
Jiayin smiled and comforted them, "What's the rush? The winner is judged by the quality of the poem, not by who writes it the fastest."
Upon hearing this, Miss Lu across from them glared at them disdainfully.
Jiayin shrugged and finally picked up her pen to start writing.
After arriving in Tianwu, Jiayin learned about the local cultural heritage in detail because her older brothers needed to begin their education.
It must be said that throughout history, this time and space has indeed produced many remarkable talents, and some of its classic texts even overlap with those of the previous era.
However, poetry was perhaps of little use to the ruling dynasty, and thus it was never valued.
There aren't many collections of poems that have been passed down from ancient times, and classics that are universally praised are even rarer.
Therefore, with five thousand years of culture from its past life and a collection of poems as brilliant as the stars in the sky as its backing, Jiayin is destined to have no difficulties today.
She had so many poems about peach blossoms in her mind, so she thought for a moment and randomly chose a simple one, changing a couple of words to fit the occasion.
It was written in just four sentences in a short time.
Coincidentally, Miss Lu across from me had also finished writing.
The two exchanged a glance, and Miss Lu, displaying her refined and elegant demeanor, smiled and said, "Princess, please go first!"
Jiayin didn't stand on ceremony and recited loudly, "In April, all the flowers in the human world have faded, but the peach blossoms in the Imperial Garden are just beginning to bloom. I long for spring's return, but find it nowhere; little did I know it had turned and entered here."
April's fragrant blossoms?
Is spring's departure a source of endless regret?
The emperor and his ministers hadn't taken the girls' competition seriously, since writing poetry and lyrics requires deep knowledge and experience, and not everyone can do it.
It would be quite good if the girls could write a few sentences that flowed reasonably well and had proper tonal patterns and parallelism.
Little did they expect that this start would bring them such a pleasant surprise.
"Excellent, excellent!" The Emperor was the first to exclaim, praising, "When did Jiayin learn to compose poetry? I had no idea. What a wonderful line, 'Longing for spring in her boudoir, yet nowhere to be found!'"
Even a high-ranking official who loved poetry couldn't help but nod in agreement, saying, "And 'The flowers in every household have faded in April,' it's so fitting for the season. The whole poem flows smoothly, its meaning is profound, and its metaphors are excellent!"
Although the imperial concubine was unwilling, with the emperor by her side, she could only smile and praise, "It is indeed a fine poem!"
The people below, of course, dared not belittle him against their conscience, and instead forced a dry laugh and nodded repeatedly.
Jiayin smiled and looked at Miss Lu opposite her, "It's your turn to recite your own peach blossom poem!"
Miss Lu, who had been full of pride and confidence just moments before, was now deathly pale.
How could a peasant girl from a poor background possibly write poetry?
And it's so outstanding!
Looking down again at the four lines she had written, I almost fainted.
But with everyone watching, there was no escaping it, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and read it aloud.
"A riot of colors graces the Imperial Garden, the peach blossoms bloom in vibrant hues, fulfilling all desires..."
"Cough cough!" Someone coughed halfway through the conversation.
Actually, if it were any other day, as a young girl strolling in the garden, the poems Miss Lu casually wrote would not be bad, but this was a competition before the emperor.
And just a moment ago he was so arrogant, acting like he was the most powerful person in the world, but the first thing he said was this...
The worst part is that Jia Yin's rendition of "April in the Human World is Over" is so brilliant that it only makes Miss Lu look like a clown...
The emperor lowered his head and drank his tea, offering no comment.
The Imperial Concubine was so angry that she secretly tore at her handkerchief. If she could, she would have preferred to take Miss Lu's place.
That idiot ruined the whole thing!
Madam Lu and the other ladies and young women were also stamping their feet in impatience. Madam Lu urged them in a low voice, "Read on, keep reading!"
Miss Lu had no way to express her embarrassment; those two sentences were already embarrassing enough, but the remaining two were even worse…
But Jiayin showed her no sympathy or pity whatsoever, and laughed, "Miss Lu, why aren't you reading anymore? Are you admitting defeat?"
Feeling mocked and enraged, Miss Lu threw down the manuscript and said angrily, "Even if the princess wins, there's no need to be so aggressive, is there?"
"Has Miss Lu admitted defeat?" Jiayin asked, ignoring what she was saying.
Miss Lu bit her lip and reluctantly gave a reply.
"Yes, I lost this round! But..."
She wanted to say a few more words in her defense, but Jiayin was impatient and turned to glance at Shuiling.
The next instant, Shui Ling darted out and rushed straight to Miss Lu, raising her hand to deliver a vicious slap!
"Smack!" The intimate contact between the palm and the cheek produced a crisp sound, leaving everyone stunned.
No one expected that Jiayin would start a fight so suddenly!
Miss Lu was stunned for a long time before finally bursting into tears, covering her face.
"Waaaah, how dare you hit me! You hit me?!"
Jiayin shrugged, her pretty face full of confusion and bewilderment. "Why can't I hit you? This is a competition. If you lose, I get the prize. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"You, you!" Miss Lu was furious, as if she wanted to hit back, but dared not.
At this point, it would be a disservice to the Third Princess's fiery temper if she didn't volunteer to fight.
The third princess rolled up her sleeves, put her hands on her hips, and scolded, "What do you mean, 'you'! Don't you understand the principle of 'a bet is a bet'? If you have the guts to compete, you have the guts to bear the consequences. Just because you're a woman doesn't mean you can go back on your word!"
"If you win, you can hit others, but if you lose, they can't hit you! Why should they?"
"You think the world belongs to you? Dream on! The world doesn't belong to you!"
The Emperor simply couldn't bear to watch; the princess was behaving no differently than a shrew arguing in the street.
When did you pick up these bad habits?
He quickly coughed twice to stop them, saying, "Alright, alright! It's just a competition, what's the big deal about winning or losing? Come on, let's start the second round."
The Imperial Concubine also stepped in to play the good guy, instructing the palace maid, "Go find the Imperial Physician and get a few bottles of ointment to reduce swelling and relieve pain."
The palace maid quickly withdrew.
Madam Lu supported her daughter, and no matter how much resentment and heartache she felt, she dared not mention it.
The other ladies and girls trembled at the sight of Miss Lu's swollen cheeks.
Although they had agreed to slap each other as a prize, they didn't really care.
Even if you lose, you can always get away with it by admitting defeat and apologizing.
After all, they all lived in the new capital, and the Li family's foundation wasn't particularly deep, so Princess Kangle wouldn't dare to actually hit anyone.
As a result, Princess Kang Le really slapped him, and it was incredibly loud!
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