Yu Zhizhou did not feel disappointed that his other brothers also composed poems on the spot, as he knew that his talent was indeed not as good as those three.
Yu Jinshu looked at Yu Qizhe with a hint of jealousy because of Yang Yuanchen's praise.
Yu Jiao was not interested in reciting poetry. She just glanced at the pavilion in the center of the lake. Seeing Liu Ziqi and Gu Yun sitting next to Yang Yuanchen, her eyes paused. It was not easy for these two people to show up in public because of their identities. Why did they come to join in the fun?
Yu Jiao was about to look away when Gu Yun happened to look over here. Their eyes met and Gu Yun grinned at her. Yu Jiao looked away expressionlessly.
After curing Xiao Ning's hand, she didn't want to have anything to do with this young Marquis Gu again.
There were more and more pleasure boats around the pavilion in the center of the lake, and quite a few of them were young girls, looking into the pavilion with shy pink cheeks. They must have come for the young scholars who filled the pavilion.
Two more rounds of flying flower orders were played in the pavilion. Yu Fuling turned around and smiled at Yu Jiao, "I have caught all of them, and I haven't been fined yet."
Yu Jiao smiled when she heard that and looked towards where Yu Qizhe was sitting. He had a handsome face and beautiful eyes and eyebrows, and he was very eye-catching among the scholars.
Yang Jiyan continued, "Wulang is really amazing."
Yu Jiao heard her calling her so intimately, almost a little rude, and turned her head to look at Yang Jiyan.
Yang Jiyan was staring at Yu Qizhe in the pavilion with a burning gaze, her expression shy, and her eyes full of admiration.
Yu Jiao picked up a piece of dessert from the low table and put it into her mouth, wondering if Yang Jiyan had fallen in love with Yu Qizhe.
Come to think of it, Yu Qizhe's peach blossoms are still blooming quite well. There is a village beauty named Arou in Qingyu Village who loves him. In Qingzhou Prefecture, there is also the daughter of the prefect who favors him.
I don’t know if Yu Qizhe would agree if the Yang family really extended an olive branch.
Just as she was distracted, the flying flower order in the pavilion had stopped. A servant brought a carved mahogany box to Yang Yuanchen's desk. Yang Yuanchen opened the box and pressed it lightly with his finger. He stood up and said with a smile, "After the order, it's time to write a poem. I've prepared some prizes. Let's see who can win first place."
Everyone looked at the wooden box and saw that it was a two-color Songhua stone Suduan inkstone. The center of the inkstone had turned dark green where Yang Yuanchen had pressed it. All the scholars were eager to try it out.
The stone of Duan Inkstone is solid, smooth, delicate and tender. It can grind ink without stagnation and produce ink blocks. The ink ground is fine and smooth.
If the Duan inkstone is of good quality, if you press the center of the inkstone with your hand, the center of the inkstone will turn deep blue or dark green, and the moisture will not dry up for a long time, so there is a saying of "grinding with breath".
The Duan inkstone that Magistrate Yang took out is a rare treasure.
A servant came up with a colorful ball and a drum and placed the drum behind Yang Yuanchen.
Yang Yuanchen took the ball and handed it to the scholar sitting on his right, saying, "The game of making a drink starts with the left hand to ensure fairness, so the poem will start from the right."
He made all the arrangements well, so no one had anything to say.
Yang Yuanchen turned his back, picked up the drumstick, and struck the drum hard.
With this sound as a command, the drums began to beat like heavy rain.
"This is about passing the flower while beating the drum and composing a poem. It's quite interesting."
Yu Jiao heard a woman's sweet and delicate voice, as sweet as a yellow oriole singing in a valley, coming from the pleasure boat next to them.
She looked towards the pleasure boat opposite and saw a graceful woman sitting sideways with a pipa in her arms. Although her face could not be seen, her graceful figure was particularly elegant and quiet.
There was a maid sitting next to her, who said, "Miss, why don't you play a song to entertain the scholars?"
The woman said nothing. Her slender and nimble fingers stroked the strings. She lowered her eyebrows and plucked the strings. The clear sound of the pipa rang out over the water. The woman's hands plucked the strings like wind and rain, strumming and sweeping them in harmony with the drum beats, which was extremely pleasant to the ears.
Many people came here because of the reputation, even Yu Fuling and Yang Jiyan, who had been focusing on the pavilion in the middle of the lake, looked towards the boat on the other side.
Seeing that the woman was wearing a light veil, Yang Jiyan looked at her with contempt and said, "I think she is a singer from a Qinlou or Chuguan."
Her voice was not low and could be heard next door. The maid in the boat glanced at Yang Jiyan, and when she saw that she was not dressed like an ordinary person, she withdrew her gaze, as if she did not want to offend anyone.
The woman playing the pipa was not affected at all. She lowered her head and played the music attentively.
Yang Jiyan felt a little jealous, as this woman had simply stolen her limelight. At the same time, she was secretly annoyed, wondering if she could remember to play the music, would she be able to attract Yu Qizhe's attention.
The song ended with the sound of drums. Yang Yuanchen turned around and said with a smile, "Since there is music to match, let's make this poem about ritual music."
The scholar who got the colored ball has picked up his pen and is concentrating on writing a poem.
The woman put away the strings of the pipa, hugged the pipa and turned to look at Yu Jiao and the other party's pleasure boat.
Just as Yu Jiao had imagined, the woman had an elegant and beautiful appearance, with deep eyebrows and dark eyebrows, like a lotus flower in the morning dew.
Appreciating beauty is a very pleasant thing. Not only men love beauty, but women actually like to look at beauty more.
Yu Jiao smiled at the girl, "You play the pipa really well."
The woman smiled modestly, with the grace of a Jiangnan woman, and said, "It was Su He who disturbed the peace of the girls."
"The purpose of coming here to cruise is to have fun, and being able to hear the girls playing music is also a treat for our ears." Yu Jiao narrowed her almond eyes and said with a smile.
The woman bowed her head and saluted Yu Jiao, revealing her slender, snow-white neck. "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, young lady."
Yang Jiyan couldn't help feeling a little annoyed. She was a prefect's daughter and tried to please Yu Jiao, but she was indifferent and ignored her smile. Now, she was so enthusiastic towards a singing girl who was playing music.
She deliberately held Yu Jiao's hand and said, "If you want to listen to music, I will invite the best musicians from the Linggefang to come to my house someday."
Yu Jiao pulled her hand away, "No need, we are going home."
Yang Jiyan felt a little embarrassed as she was repeatedly alienated by her, and looked towards the pavilion in the middle of the lake with a cold face.
Yu Jiao noticed that the pleasure boat next to her was moving slowly, as if it was about to leave. Yu Jiao turned her head to look, and Su He smiled at her, and Yu Jiao smiled back.
"What are you looking at?" a male voice sounded on the quay.
Yu Jiao turned around and saw Gu Yun standing outside their pleasure boat, looking down at her.
The drum sounded again in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, and a new round of passing the flower game had begun. Gu Yun was no longer sitting in the pavilion watching the fun, and no one knew when he ran outside their pleasure boat.
Yang Jiyan actually recognized Gu Yun. She knew that the young Marquis Gu and the young man sitting next to her father were both guests living in Xiyuan with Xiao Ning.
But these two people have never appeared in the Yang Mansion. She could only pretend that she had never seen Gu Yun and asked in confusion, "Who is this young master?"
Yu Fuling didn't dare to reveal Gu Yun's identity, so she remained silent.
"Master Gu... is there something wrong?" Yu Jiao paused and did not respond to Yang Jiyan, but asked Gu Yun.
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