Yu Huanshen was instantly enraged upon hearing this. "How dare you say that my poetry is just groaning without any illness?"
What he hated most was others evaluating his poems in this way!
His father had once berated him in this way.
Jiang Songyi sarcastically said: "A grown man, indulging in melancholy and singing about the wind and the moon all day long, makes a girl like me feel ashamed."
Yu Huanshen glared at Jiang Songyi with eyes that were about to spit fire. "Then why don't you recite a few lines and see what pearls of words can come out of your mouth!"
Jiang Songyi straightened his chest and raised his head, saying in a sonorous and powerful voice: "Why don't men take Wu Gou and conquer the fifty states of Bailu?"
Yu Huanshen was astonished. He had never expected this country girl to be so eloquent. Moreover, he had never heard of such a famous line that had been passed down through the ages!
At this time, the students in the study applauded and praised. One scholar exclaimed: "What a great poem! What a great poem! The White Egret has collected fifty states. It is indeed well-deserved. The daughter of the Marquis of Yongding is worthy of her reputation!"
Those students were all wearing green robes with the word "Egret" (a type of dragon and phoenix) embroidered in gold thread on their chests. It was obvious that they belonged to the famous Egret Academy in the Western Jin Dynasty.
Yu Huanshen naturally knew them very well.
The scholar walking in front has a figure as tall and straight as a green pine or cypress, with handsome features, sword-like eyebrows, sparkling eyes, and his wide sleeves fluttering, making him the embodiment of righteousness.
He said bluntly, "Brother Huan Shen, Miss Jiang's poems are clearly superior to your gentle poems about the wind and the moon. As a man, you indulge in spring melancholy and autumn thoughts all day long, but you are not as heroic as a young woman."
"Li Tingxun, shut up."
Although Yu Huanshen also thought Jiang Songyi's poem was quite good and made his blood boil, he still stubbornly retorted to maintain his dignity: "Now the Western Jin Dynasty is prosperous, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and there is peace and prosperity. This is exactly what a prosperous era should be like. Why do you need to show off your bravery here?"
The scholar known as Li Tingxun waved his sleeves and puffed out his chest, speaking forcefully, "The world's peace today is entirely due to the Marquis of Yongding leading his cavalry to guard the borders. The people's tranquility and happiness are also earned by your Majesty's wise governance and the sacrifices of countless soldiers guarding the border. And yet you mock the Marquis of Yongding's daughter for being uneducated. I am ashamed of you, a scholar."
Although the students behind him did not dare to openly confront Yu Huanshen, they all nodded in agreement.
A blush appeared on Yu Huanshen's face, and he felt ashamed.
He clenched his fists, his gaze fixed on Jiang Songyi, and said with shame, "Miss Jiang, I apologize. I was short-sighted. I should have admired the bravery of the Yongding Marquis, but I shouldn't have looked down on you. Your poetic talent and ambition far surpass mine. I am ashamed of myself."
Li Tingxun bowed slightly to Jiang Songyi, a warm smile etched across his upright features. "Excuse me, Miss Jiang, how did you come up with this poem? Could it be that you are so quick-witted that you wrote it in one stroke, truly a poetic fairy?"
Jiang Songyi couldn't help but feel secretly surprised when he heard Yu Huanshen call him "Li Tingxun".
It turned out that this was the unfortunate scholar who was spotted by the third princess Xinyi Mingyao before the imperial examination in her previous life, imprisoned in a dark villa, and suffered inhuman torture!
The young man's figure was particularly eye-catching. The blue-collared student uniform he wore had, after repeated washing, taken on a light milky white hue.
He wore a simple turban on his head, without any jade crown or gorgeous hairpins. Compared with the wealthy and powerful officials' sons who were dressed in fancy clothes around him, he looked particularly poor.
However, the young man's facial features were firm and handsome, with a sword-like aura between his brows, as if the sparse pine wind and the bright moon were all condensed in his eyes.
He stood tall and straight, like a bamboo standing tall on a mountaintop. He was neither self-deprecating nor arrogant, revealing the lofty ambitions that only youth possesses. The students from less privileged backgrounds who accompanied him seemed to implicitly regard him as their leader.
A person like him should have been admitted to a prestigious university and been able to realize his great ambitions in the world.
However, in his previous life, he studied hard for ten years, but in the end he only became a pile of peony fertilizer in the third princess's villa.
Jiang Songyi couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret. In response to his humble question, she simply shook her head and said gently, "Mr. Li, you're overly kind. I'm not some immortal poet, and this poem wasn't written by me. It was written by the ghost poet Li He."
She once followed her master to practice, and her master not only taught her the way of practice, but also imparted to her the knowledge of poetry, calligraphy, rituals and music.
This poem was also discovered by chance in her master's study. At that time, she saw not only the excerpt of the poem, but also many detailed annotations of the allusions.
"Poet Ghost Li He? This name sounds quite unfamiliar. I have never heard of him before."
Li Tingxun showed a look of surprise, and looked at the students behind him. They all shook their heads to indicate that they had never heard of this name, as if to say, how could such an outstanding talent remain unknown.
Even Yu Huanshen said, "My family has countless books, and I've been fortunate enough to read them all, but I've never heard of this poet named Li He that Miss Jiang mentioned. I wonder where Miss Jiang came across Li He's poems?"
Hearing this, Jiang Songyi's expression froze slightly. Of course, she had seen it from her master, but at this point, she had not had the opportunity to meet her master.
Seeing that she couldn't give an explanation for a while, Jiang Baichuan couldn't help but jokingly said, "Sister, you didn't just write this poem on a whim, but you're too embarrassed to admit it, right?"
Yu Huanshen thought Jiang Songyi was being modest and didn't want to pursue false fame. Remembering his earlier suspicion that she was seeking fame through imitation, his face flushed even more deeply. He said, "I didn't expect that the Marquis of Yongding is not only the bravest of the three armies, but also has two daughters who are both extremely talented. Miss Jiang's talent and demeanor are beyond the reach of the rest of us."
Jiang Songyi was accustomed to Yu Huanshen's confrontations with her, but now, suddenly, he praised her so exaggeratedly, she couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. However, she didn't seek empty fame, and answered frankly, "In my master's study, there is a collection of poems by the poet Li He. There are countless similar famous works and verses."
Yu Huanshen had a keen interest in poetry and immediately asked, "Excuse me, Miss Jiang, who is your master?"
"Master..." Jiang Songyi's words stopped abruptly.
The master was like an ethereal immortal, detached from the world and seemingly at peace with it. From the moment he accepted her as his disciple, she had respectfully addressed him as "Master," but she knew nothing of his true name or pseudonym.
"After being reborn, the world is full of unpredictable changes. I don't know if I'll ever meet Master again. If I have to wait until death and become a wandering ghost to see Master again, then I would rather sacrifice my life than do anything else."
Jiang Baichuan and the old lady were shocked when they heard Jiang Songyi's thoughts.
She is truly a decisive woman.
Li Tingxun laughed and jokingly said, "Could it be that this master was fabricated out of thin air by Miss Jiang?"
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