Chapter 25 Liu Jinshu Suffers
After Liu Jinshu finished writing, he put down the pen with satisfaction and looked at the ladies from prominent families who were competing with him, with a look of determination to win.
Today she wore the blue skirt given by Su Yanqiu, and used the same makeup and hairstyle as Su Yuheng, which made her look more beautiful than usual.
Naturally, she thought she was unparalleled in beauty and did not take the other ladies who were competing with her seriously at all.
After several ladies from prominent families put their poems into writing, maids in pink collected their poems and handed them over to the examiners for verification, who would then decide who would win first place.
After Liu Jinshu and several other ladies from prominent families who had competed returned to their seats, she became extremely nervous, fearing that the first prize would go to another lady.
However, she was glad that Su Yuheng was not here now.
After a while, a female official in gorgeous clothes walked up to the verification table and opened the poems written by the ladies of noble families page by page.
The first poem that the female official who was checking took out was a seven-character quatrain written by Wen Yue, the daughter of the Shangshu Mansion.
'The mountains and rivers have not changed their appearance in ten years, so why ask about our past when we meet again?
I wish to turn into a swallow flying through the hall, carrying all the spring breeze and not letting it get cold.
After reading Wen Yue's poem, the female examiner smiled and said, "This poem is well written, but it's just a love poem."
Suddenly, there was a commotion from the audience.
When Mrs. Ye, the wife of Minister Wen, heard the whispers around her, she immediately looked towards Wen Yue.
She had never imagined that her daughter would write a love poem in public for that man and express her love at the Spring Banquet.
There were many people talking at the moment, so she did not scold or criticize her in public. She would just wait until she returned to the Shangshu Mansion to punish her according to the family rules.
Liu Jinshu sat in his seat, his eyes fixed on the inspection table.
After a moment, the female officer at the inspection desk spoke.
"The following poem was written by Liu Jinshu, niece of the wife of the Marquis of Dingbei, from the Yongzhou Liu family."
The female official took the rice paper and began to read:
"For ten years, my loyalty and passion have remained unwavering.
But worry..."
She was halfway through reading when her brows suddenly tightened and her expression suddenly turned cold.
At the same time, whispers were heard from the men and women sitting in the seats.
The female official's eyes changed instantly, and then she looked at Liu Jinshu who was standing next to Liu.
"Miss Liu, did you write this poem?"
Liu Jinshu was a little surprised. She looked at Liu beside her and whispered, "Aunt, the poem is not finished yet. Could it be..."
Liu said, "Just answer whatever the examiner asks you."
Liu Jinshu nodded and stood up from the chair with a gentle and lovely look.
The corners of her lips curled up slightly, and she saluted the examiner in the same manner as Su Yuheng.
"My Lord, this seven-character quatrain was written by me. It is my own original work."
As the few original words came out of his mouth, some young men studying in the academy in the seats for men and women suddenly became noisy.
Liu Jinshu didn't know what was going on. She thought everyone's reaction was because this seven-character quatrain was unprecedented and unparalleled. For a moment, a sense of joy rose in her heart.
After today, all the young men in the imperial city of Yanjing will remember her name.
The female examiner's mouth twitched, and her hands holding the poem she wrote were shaking slightly.
"Tell me again, this poem is your original work?"
Liu Jinshu said firmly, "Your Excellency, this is indeed my original work. I will never lie."
Everyone could clearly sense that the female examiner was a little angry.
She then asked, "Why did you write this poem? Do you know the deep meaning of this poem?"
For a moment, Liu Jinshu was stunned and couldn't answer.
"Return to your lord, my maid..."
"Tell the truth! Is this poem your original work?" The female examiner's scolding made Liu Jinshu confused for a moment. She was so scared that she knelt down quickly, and her whole body trembled.
But she was afraid of losing face in front of everyone, so she insisted, "Your Excellency, what this subject said is absolutely true. This seven-character quatrain is indeed my original work. I wrote it myself. Please understand!"
"How dare you! Who gave you the courage to say that this seven-character quatrain is your original work? You are so bold!" At this moment, a sharp female voice came from not far away.
The men and women sitting at the table heard the sound and looked over, and saw several maids escorting a noble lady in gorgeous clothes coming from the west.
That person was none other than Princess Yan Ning.
Princess Yan Ning, accompanied by several maids, angrily walked up to Liu Jinshu and demanded, "I'm asking you again, is this seven-character quatrain your original creation? Did you write it yourself?"
"You'd better tell me the truth, or I'll beat you to death!"
Liu Jinshu froze in place, her body trembling slightly. When she raised her eyes, she met the eldest princess's cold gaze.
Seeing this, Liu felt that something was wrong and immediately knelt down.
"Princess, Jinshu has just arrived in Yanjing and doesn't understand Yanjing's affairs. Please forgive her."
The eldest princess swept her cold gaze over Liu, then looked at Liu Jinshu who was beside her.
"Let her answer me herself. Is this seven-character quatrain your original work? Tell me!"
Liu Jinshu held her breath, lowered her head, clutched the hem of her skirt tightly with both hands, and dared not look up again.
This poem was clearly taken from Su Yuheng's room. What does it have to do with the eldest princess?
Aren’t these poems written by Su Yuheng?
"Jinshu, where did this poem come from?"
Liu was a woman who rose to power as a concubine. She had never been to school since childhood and had only learned how to do accounting.
She knew nothing about poetry and had no idea where this seven-character quatrain came from. She thought it was written by Liu Jinshu.
"Aunt, Jinshu wouldn't dare lie. This poem was written by Jinshu himself."
Seeing that Liu Jinshu still didn't tell the truth, the examiner shook his head helplessly.
I won't give up until I reach the Yellow River.
Princess Yan Ning: "It seems that you will not admit it today."
She looked at Liu again and said in a cold voice, "Madam Dingbei, I didn't expect your niece to be so misbehaving! This poem was written by my father, the current Emperor Retired, when he was young. How did it become your poem?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Jinshu and Liu's faces changed drastically.
Liu Jinshu looked at Princess Yan Ning in disbelief.
Wasn't this poem written by Su Yuheng? How could it be written by the Emperor?
She knelt there, somewhat at a loss, unable to stop her trembling body.
"Please, Princess, spare Jinshu's life. Jinshu just arrived in Yanjing. I guess he heard someone recite the poem of the retired emperor, so he remembered it in his heart." Liu begged for mercy quickly.
"Jinshu, tell the princess where you heard this poem from, quickly!"
At this moment, Liu Jinshu was so frightened that her face turned pale. She knelt on the ground and her body trembled uncontrollably.
She really wanted to find a crack to crawl into.
I didn't dare to look up at the people around me.
"Go on, tell me! Otherwise your aunt can't protect you." Seeing that Liu Jinshu was silent, Liu's heart was in her throat.
She now regretted bringing Liu Jinshu back to Yanjing.
Liu Jinshu had only been back for a short time, yet he was bold enough to use the retired emperor's poems to participate in the Spring Banquet verification.
What a disaster this will bring to the Marquis's Mansion.
Not to mention how her Liu family will be criticized, the Dingbei Marquis Mansion will definitely be punished.
Even Liu Jinshu might be exiled or executed.
"Yes... yes." Liu Jinshu was so frightened that he stammered.
"I saw it... in Sister Yuheng's room. It was Sister Yuheng. She was the one who wrote the poem for the Emperor. It must be her!"
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