Xie Xiangxiang looked Xie Zhaozhao up and down, unable to suppress her schadenfreude, and said, "How could you allow him to go to Jiangnan? Aren't you worried?"
"What do you want to say? How can we young ladies discuss matters of the court?" Xie Zhaozhao looked at Xie Xiangxiang indifferently.
"Tch, the rules again!" Xie Xiangxiang's lips twitched slightly, and she said, "Elder sister is right, younger sister will remember."
In my heart, I thought disdainfully, "If you're still laughing in two weeks, I'll walk backwards, head down."
Thinking about how she had the upper hand in many things, she became increasingly smug. Watching others being kept in the dark and jumping into a fire pit was truly exhilarating!
Xie Zhaozhao, no matter how well you've learned the rules, so what? Grand Secretary Gu is doomed!
In such a good mood, Xie Xiangxiang didn't care about being out of line anymore and couldn't help but boast, "I heard that His Majesty, the Empress, and the Crown Prince will all be attending the Peony Festival. They've invited all the talented scholars in the capital to hold a peony poetry gathering. Prince Gu will be the opening and closing act of the Peony Festival!"
Many noble ladies in Kyoto treasure his poems.
Xie Tingting stared with her innocent big eyes and asked, "Elder sister, Grand Secretary Gu, he must have written a lot of good poems, right?"
"Why are you praising Prince Gu while putting down our son-in-law?" Manman, with her fiery temper, immediately retorted, "Grand Secretary Gu passed the imperial examinations at the age of seventeen and entered the Grand Secretariat at twenty-five. Since Prince Gu claims to be the greatest talent in the world, why doesn't he participate in the imperial examinations?"
Xie Xiangxiang was speechless for a moment, and became somewhat embarrassed and angry.
"So what if he takes the imperial examination? Aren't all those top scholars just minor editors in the Hanlin Academy? When the Crown Prince's essays come out, they become famous throughout the land, praised across the four kingdoms, and even His Majesty admires them. Besides, he's the Crown Prince, why should he take the imperial examinations!"
Seeing Xie Xiangxiang finally lose her composure, Xie Zhaozhao remained noncommittal, saying with a double meaning, "If there's fun to be had, then have fun."
As they walked away, Xie Tingting whispered, "Sister, don't let her calm demeanor fool you, she's secretly incredibly jealous! Even a genius like Prince Gu can only look on with envy."
Xie Xiangxiang smiled coldly and said earnestly, "The truth will be revealed at the Peony Festival."
In his previous life, Prince Gu's poems and lyrics about peonies caused a sensation in the capital once again. Collections of poems and lyrics from the Peony Festival were extremely rare.
Thinking of Prince Gu's extraordinary talent, his immense wealth, and his position second only to the emperor...
So many people envy, are jealous of, and hate the eldest sister; now it's her turn.
Oh, the Dragon Boat Festival is almost here. My eldest sister is such a pitiful person!
Back in the courtyard, Xie Zhaozhao quietly took out the Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and the Sanghatasutra, and began to recite them softly over and over again.
A short while later, Yuanyuan knocked on the door and came in: "Miss, there is a man outside who says he was introduced by the Imperial Concubine."
Upon hearing that the person was sent by her aunt, Xie Zhaozhao immediately put down the Buddhist scriptures.
The man stood outside the door, his posture upright, wearing a dark blue robe with a floral pattern, and he waited respectfully with his head bowed.
"Were you introduced by the Imperial Concubine?"
The man glanced at Xie Zhaozhao briefly before lowering his eyes and bowing respectfully to her: "I am Dongqin, sent by the Imperial Concubine."
To show his sincerity, he handed the identity document to Xie Zhaozhao.
Yuanyuan accepted it for her.
"You can do some things for me, and if you don't want to anymore, you can leave at any time, and I will return the contract to you."
"Yes, Miss."
Xie Zhaozhao handed the manuscript she had written over the past few days to Dong Qin: "Find a craftsman to carve these out, and be careful to keep it a secret. Don't mention the Xie family, and especially don't mention me. From now on, you will contact Yuanyuan. If anyone discovers..."
Before she could speak, Yuanyuan immediately said, "Just say he's my cousin."
Dong Qin nodded: "Yes."
Dongqin asked a few more questions, and after figuring out what it was, he was greatly shocked, but he didn't show it on the surface. He took the drawings and left.
After Dongqin left, she continued writing scriptures.
Yuanyuan sorted through her manuscripts and, seeing the stunning poems and even policy essays, exclaimed in surprise, "Miss, how did you manage to write so many wonderful poems all at once?"
Xie Zhaozhao paused slightly with her pen and said, "I didn't write this; I was just making a note of it."
These are all Gu Chengyan's famous works from his previous life!
Granny Xu chimed in, "You're not going to take the imperial examination, so why are you writing so many poems? You have to copy scriptures and write poems, so don't scratch your nails that you've worked so hard to maintain."
With Xu Mama's prompting, she put down her pen and smiled.
I originally thought that the engraving would take at least ten days to half a month, but I didn't expect Dongqin to be so efficient. He only took three or four days to engrave more than 500 commonly used characters.
"You're really quick," she praised with a slight smile.
Dong Qin blurted out the truth without thinking: "It wasn't done by me alone; a friend of mine is skilled at it. But don't worry, Miss, it won't be leaked."
Xie Zhaozhao naturally believed this, and that was why she asked her aunt to help her find someone—people in the palace knew the rules.
I'm very satisfied with the printed template; the font is square and neat, and it's a one-time solution that's much more convenient than copying.
He handed the completed manuscript to Dong Qin and instructed him, "Make sure it's displayed in the bookstore the day before the Peony Festival. My manuscript must be collected in its entirety."
"Yes, I will copy the manuscript down, and after I have checked it to make sure it is correct, I will return the original to you, Miss."
After leaving the Xie residence, he flipped through Xie Zhaozhao's manuscripts and was immediately dumbfounded.
"Miss Xie is truly a female Zhuge Liang, a genius of all time," Dong Qin thought sincerely. "If women were allowed to participate in the imperial examinations, Miss Xie would surely achieve the same honors as Grand Secretary Gu, passing all three levels of the examinations with top honors."
Seven or eight days before the peony festival, Yuanyuan received a message from Dongqin and secretly went out to meet him. When she returned, she was carrying a cloth bag in her arms.
Upon entering the courtyard, he handed the cloth bag to Xie Zhaozhao. Inside was a beautifully bound booklet with a simple title: "The Lark Collection".
"This is a booklet that Dong Qin has printed. Miss, please take a look and see what you think. If it's acceptable, Dong Qin said he would print a few hundred copies and send them to bookstores."
Xie Zhaozhao took it in her hand, looked at it, and was very satisfied.
He smiled and said, "Dongqin handled it very well. The handwriting is clear, the paper is very resilient, the binding is sturdy, and the cover is elegant. Let's take it."
In his previous life, at the Peony Festival, Gu Chengyan and his sister Gu Jiaojiao became famous throughout the land for their five poems about peonies. The Empress issued an imperial decree, bestowing upon Gu Jiaojiao the title of Crown Prince's concubine.
The Empress may not think highly of Gu Jiaojiao, nor may she think highly of the Pingyang Marquis's family, but what if she adds Grand Secretary Gu to the mix?
And what about the fact that the Crown Prince's wife's family is the Xie family?
Therefore, the Empress bestowed a concubine title upon Gu Jiaojiao, thus completely binding the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion, Grand Secretary Gu, and the Xie Mansion to the Crown Prince.
In any case, the reason Gu Jiaojiao was betrothed was her exquisite peony poem.
Then, we'll print those five poems, along with all the poems and essays by the two siblings that later tried to curry favor, into a poetry collection ahead of time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com