Chapter 23 Good Poems (Revised) A poem in full view of all, except...
The days are long in winter, but near the hour of You, the sky becomes gray and the light dim.
Therefore, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince performed "Firefly Dance" as the opening dance of the banquet.
The room was covered with window lattices all around, and in the artificially created night, several graceful dancers held up hand lanterns on the stage and danced with the light.
The light gauze on the robes passed across the hand lights as they moved. The flickering light and shadows vaguely revealed the girls' dreamy dance postures, like a fairyland in the sky.
It should be like this...
Wen Ying stole a glance at the elegant man sitting beside her.
Amid the sound of elegant and melodious music, soft light danced on his handsome face, and his dark eyes were like a frozen lake under the light, freezing cold.
He didn't even want to look at her any longer, he just lowered his eyes and drank his tea quietly.
Yan Jing is good at starting a conversation and rarely lets the atmosphere fall into silence.
It is for this reason that the stagnation of the air right now is particularly suffocating.
Seeing that Yan Jing had no intention of talking to her, Wen Ying decided to start the conversation first.
Warm tea poured out from the teapot, filling Yan Jing's empty cup, causing the man to slightly focus his gaze.
"Master Yan, Master An and I just met by chance. He happened to pass by and helped me out once, that's all."
Wen Ying put away the teapot in her hand, placed it on the table, and looked at the man whose expression remained unchanged.
"Miss Liu, you don't have to explain to me. This is your freedom." Yan Jing glanced sideways, the corners of his lips raised, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
It's over, it didn't work at all.
Why is he so angry? Could it be that...
Wen Ying raised her hand and placed it on the back of Yan Jing's hand. As the warmth touched, the man raised his eyes slightly and happened to see the light flash across the girl's eyes.
Her amber eyes lit up for a moment, and Wen Ying spoke directly from her heart: "Sir, are you jealous?"
The girl's soft body moved closer to the man's arms due to her movements, touching the man's heart through the heavy winter clothes.
Yan Jing pursed his lips, retracted his gaze, and said in a light tone: "Miss Liu seems to have misunderstood something. I just don't want to disturb Miss's reputation and hinder Miss's right fate."
As he spoke, he tried to pull his hands out of the girl's embrace, but the force was obviously not strong enough to make it difficult for him to break free.
This statement sounds more and more like a sour taste.
Wen Ying couldn't help laughing and wanted to explain further, but was suddenly stopped.
"Miss, have you ever thought about 'looking for plum blossoms and brewing tea'..." Yan Jing's expression was hidden in the changing lights, and he spoke softly, "The tea has been drunk, so what about the 'plum blossoms'?"
There was no sightseeing or sightseeing activity at this banquet.
So where does “searching for plum blossoms” come from?
Wen Ying was stunned by this sudden question and did not respond.
The man turned his head, his eyes were deep and his smile was light: "Didn't Master An say at the beginning that he had found the red plum he loved. What do you think about it now?"
"Miss Mei."
What about "plum"? They are plum blossoms.
Wen Ying's heart skipped a beat and she closed her eyes.
She originally thought that this banquet was a welcome party for the prince returning to the capital from Jinping, and the "looking for plum blossoms" talk was just Anle's way of chatting up people.
I didn’t expect that this was actually a party for men and women to meet each other?
No wonder Yan Jing reacted like this, it turns out he was really afraid of being stopped...
wrong.
Wen Ying suddenly raised her eyes and looked at the man with an indifferent expression, as if what he said was the truth.
"You are joking, sir." The girl curled her lips and curved her eyes. She moved her hands slightly and easily held the man's hand. "If that is true, does it mean that I, sitting at the same table with you, have already been taken?"
If it really was a party for men and women to meet, she would not have been brought by Yan Jing as a "female companion" from the beginning.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be a disgrace to the prince?
Yan Jing was lying to her.
When Yan Jing saw the girl's smug smile, he knew that she had guessed the truth. His eyes were half closed, fixed on the two people's clasped hands.
He is not right today.
In other words, something was wrong with him a long time ago, before he even realized it.
Liming and Liu Qing use different weapons, which means that Liu Qing's identity is not clear. We will have to wait until we see Liming again to understand the whole thing.
She could be a beauty trap sent by the enemy, or she could be an assassin with ill intentions.
But he had already judged in his heart that the two were the same person.
He rarely made conclusions based on his intuition, but this was an exception when he met Liu Qing.
Perhaps it was because he was not a lustful person, but whether it was Liu Qing's charming smile or Liming's bright and bold appearance, they all made him palpitate.
He subconsciously took the frequency of his heartbeat into consideration when making his judgment.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, the girl gently pinched the soft flesh next to his palm.
His heart also beat with the girl's movements.
A gentleman should not do anything that is not appropriate, and should not look at anything that is not appropriate.
The distance between him and the woman is now too close, which is not in accordance with gentlemanly etiquette.
It's against the rules, what's the disgrace...
But he still wanted to get closer.
Calm down. Maybe it's just because Dawn is an extremely useful sharp blade, and no one would want to let her go easily.
——Therefore, he did not want to let the girl leave, out of rational considerations.
"That depends on Miss Mei..." Yan Jing closed his fingers, wrapped the girl's soft hands, and took back the initiative, "Whatever your heart desires."
What's more, no matter what she was thinking, he was sure to have a bottom line.
It’s okay to indulge yourself a little...
Wen Ying was slightly startled. This was the second time Yan Jing took the initiative to touch her.
The temperature of her eye when he pressed it in the woods last time was the same as the temperature of his palm at this moment, but it seemed different.
The girl's smile deepened, and she put her arm around the man, increasing the contact area: "Compared to the casual sniffing of the snow fox, I think plum blossoms should prefer the moisture of the frost and snow melting."
"What do you think, sir?"
Sweet words and flattering appearance.
My heart gradually warmed up, and the frost in my eyes gradually turned into the spring water of the past.
Yan Jing chuckled but didn't respond. He gently stroked the girl's nails with his thumb, his eyes dim.
After she achieves her goal, will she tell others such sweet words?
The music gradually faded, and the dark curtains on the surrounding windows rose, allowing natural light to shine into the room.
Wen Ying let go of Yan Jing and sat up straight again.
Yan Jing's hands were empty and his brows wrinkled slightly.
Gao Lerong, who had been paying attention to Yan Jing, looked over at the first moment and saw the two of them being very close to each other. She couldn't help but exert force with her hand, and cracks instantly appeared on the porcelain teacup.
The tea soaked her fingers. She reacted in an instant, let go of the teacup, and ordered casually and coldly: "Change me a teacup."
Su Miaoyan was sitting far away from Wen Jie and could only watch from afar. Seeing that Wen Jie and Yan Jing seemed to be fine, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Idiot Anle, I must teach him a lesson when I get back.
"Everyone seems to be in a good mood. How about we write a poem?" Hua Junguang sat high in the main seat, propped up his chin, and said with a smile, "Let's use the theme of the banquet as 'plum blossoms'."
"It just so happens that Yun Lang is here today, so how about asking him to start?"
No one had any objection to the fact that a poem by the Prime Minister was worth a thousand gold coins. Everyone looked eagerly at this elegant gentleman.
Yan Jing looked at Hua Junguang who was sitting on the main seat, and seeing the amusement in his eyes, he knew that his Lord wanted to make fun of him again.
But as a subject, Yan Jing could do nothing about it. He sighed calmly, stood up and bowed: "Then I will throw out some ideas to stimulate discussion."
He pondered for a moment, then opened his thin lips and said, "In my dream of Luofu, I seek the traces of the immortals. The music of the icy strings continues the ancient dust."
It is said that the plum blossoms under Luofu Mountain were transformed from fairies who came down to earth. The fairy played the piano and music for the plum fairy, and the scene of Changle Weiyang came to life.
The word "plum" is not mentioned, but the poem is closely related to the theme of plum, and allusions and artistic conception coexist, which shows the literary talent of the Prime Minister.
Everyone held their breath waiting for Yan Jing's last two sentences.
While thinking for a moment, Yan Jing's gaze gently drifted towards Wen Ying.
——How can I keep her by my side? Any external force could potentially help her escape...
As Wen Ying blinked in confusion, the man lowered his eyelashes, looked at the girl tenderly, and whispered softly:
"Who will share this song of spring with me? The subtle fragrance fills my sleeves and the meaning is hard to describe."
Wen Ying's pupils suddenly shrank.
As soon as these two lines came out, the mood took a sharp turn for the worse. The protagonist woke up from a dream and found that the plum fairy did not exist, but was just an imagination. His music was accompanied only by the faint fragrance of plum blossoms, and no one responded.
On the surface, it was a feeling of melancholy about the difficulty in finding a soulmate, but if combined with the joke he just made about comparing Wen Ying to "Miss Mei".
"Who will share this song of spring with me?" can be interpreted as a question, and the meaning of the last two sentences becomes:
"I played a piece of "Spring Music" for "Miss Mei", but even if she was so close that her "sleeves were filled with fragrance", I'm afraid she would not be able to understand my feelings."
How can this be a poem about plum blossoms? It is clearly a love poem.
A love poem that only Wen Ying could understand in front of everyone.
Wen Ying's heart was beating violently and blood was rushing to her cheeks, causing her to involuntarily lower her head and cover her face, trying to cool it down with her slightly cooler fingers.
Calm down. He used to do things that could be misunderstood, but as long as she took another step forward, he would step back a hundred steps.
Was he testing her again? Was she misinterpreting? Was it just wishful thinking on her part?
"Good poem!" Hua Junguang led the applause and said with a smile, "This poem really has Yunlang's style. But the tone is too high, it starts off so high that it reaches the sky. How do you expect the people behind you to follow it?"
"Since Your Highness asked me to start, how dare I be perfunctory?" Yan Jing bowed again, his voice calm, as if nothing had happened.
Hua Junguang waved his hand nonchalantly, asked Yan Jing to sit down, and glanced at the audience: "So, who is willing to continue writing poetry after Yun Lang?"
"Your Highness, it takes extraordinary courage to continue reciting poetry in front of the wisest man of Dahua." An official smiled and bowed.
Hua Junguang was about to continue speaking when he saw a young girl raising her hand.
As she raised her hand, her sleeves slipped down, revealing her arms as white as lotus roots.
Wen Ying's cheeks were slightly red, and she smiled brightly, saying, "Your Highness, I am willing to accept it."
"I don't understand poetry, so I'm not afraid of making a fool of myself."
If you are unable to interpret the meaning of the poem, I will give you a poem in return to guide you.
"Okay!" Hua Junguang showed some appreciation and mentioned Wen Ying's name, "Then please ask Miss Liu to write a poem."
Wen Ying stood up and saluted, her voice clear and bright:
"The wintersweet branches break through the frosty night, and the faint fragrance wafts over the cold moon."
As soon as he finished speaking, he attracted Yan Jing's attention.
Plum and moon...?
Wen Ying lowered her eyes and met the man's gaze, then smiled and continued:
"The petals fall silently in the clear light, and the silver plate is left for someone."
After the poem was finished, almost everyone's eyes turned to Yan Jing.
This poem completely deviates from the theme of "plum blossoms". Except for the mention of plum blossoms at the beginning, the rest of the poem is about asking about the meaning of the bright moon shining.
"The peerless gentleman is as bright as the moon" is a metaphor known to everyone in the capital.
Because it was so widely circulated, when Yan Jing was an examiner for the imperial examinations, many candidates wanted to curry favor with him, and even created the grand occasion of "One Hundred Poems Chanting under the Moon".
It is obvious that Wen Ying's poem was written for Yan Jing.
Hua Junguang looked at the silent man with interest, raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Since this is a poem written after Yunlang, why not ask Yunlang to judge it?"
The fingers stroking the cup wall paused, Yan Jing met the girl's expectant gaze, his lips moved slightly, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:
“Good poem.”
——Luring her into falling into the trap voluntarily is the long-term solution.
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