Jing Zhepiao's first poem was Li Bai's "Drinking Alone Under the Moon," which consists of four parts. The one I just read was only one of them; there are three more to come.
The first poem in this collection describes the moon the most, while the remaining poems are mostly about wine.
Jing Zhe smiled and pulled an extremely small and exquisite bottle from his clothes. He opened the cap, tilted his head back and took a sip, then looked extremely intoxicated and satisfied.
Because of the gentle breeze in the courtyard, the aroma of the strong liquor wafted out the moment he opened the bottle, and the person standing next to him could smell it.
"Such a strong smell of alcohol!"
After saying that, I remembered the rumors that Young Master Kun needed to drink strong liquor to write lyrics!
"It's strong liquor!"
Jing Zhe smiled and said, "Exactly!"
"Didn't you say you didn't bring any hard liquor?"
Emperor An squinted at him and said quietly.
Jing Zhe scratched his head. "Your Majesty, please forgive me! This is my first time attending such a grand poetry gathering, and I was so nervous that I forgot!"
"..."
Even someone as thick-skinned as a city wall gets nervous?
Haha, nobody would believe that!
A soft chuckle came from behind the screen. Su Mochen, who was inside, quickly covered his mouth, his eyes narrowing into crescent moons: This guy actually managed to drive Father Emperor crazy!
After chuckling, Jing Zhe began to speak eloquently: "This strong liquor from the Zhang family is truly amazing! Normally, I would rack my brains to write two poems in a day! But now, after just a small sip, my inspiration flows freely!"
Those scholars who had witnessed such "miracles" in Wuxian Garden nodded frequently, while those who had not yet seen them nodded slightly, wanting to witness it with their own eyes.
And so, Jing Zhe, as if drunk, swayed and recited in a disjointed manner:
"If Heaven did not love wine, the Wine Star would not be in the sky."
If the land did not love wine, there would be no wine spring there.
Upon hearing these two lines, everyone was stunned by the poem's praise of fine wine, especially Emperor An.
Since ancient times, fine wine and poetry have been a perfect match. Emperor An's fondness for poetry shows his love for fine wine. That's why he proposed the idea of making it a royal business when he heard that Jing Zhe could brew strong liquor.
Helping Jing Zhe was one aspect, but satisfying his own need for strong liquor was the main reason.
In the imperial court, many ministers advised him that wine was a poison that would burn through the intestines and should not be drunk for a long time, but he scoffed at this.
Jing Zhe's two lines of poetry perfectly expressed his feelings, and he immediately clapped and cheered!
Jing Zhe, however, seemed unaffected and continued reading:
"Heaven and earth both love wine, and loving wine is not a disgrace to Heaven."
I have heard that purity is likened to sainthood, and turbidity to the virtue of a wise man.
Since sages and saints have already drunk, why seek immortals?
"What a beautiful poem!"
"What fine wine!"
It seems that because of the poem, the talented men all raised their wine cups, and the originally ordinary turbid wine became delicious as it fell into their throats.
At this moment, the poetry gathering was propelled to a minor climax by Jing Zhe, who also used his most powerful and majestic two lines to bring this climax to a perfect close.
"Three cups lead to the Great Way, a jug brings one into harmony with nature."
Enjoy the pleasures of wine, but don't tell those who are sober.
When Jing Zhe finished reading, the poetry gathering fell silent, then erupted into a deafening roar of applause.
If the first poem was somewhat related to the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival poetry gathering, this one has absolutely nothing to do with "Mid-Autumn Festival" or "full moon," and seems more like it was written to recommend wine!
But this poem won everyone's approval, simply because its quality was so outstanding!
...
Seeing everyone's delighted expressions, Emperor An and Jing Zhe were both very satisfied. Emperor An smiled and asked, "Grand Tutor Bai, Grand Scholar Song, what do you think of this poem?"
Bai Qingyuan let out a long sigh and said with emotion, "Minister Jing was quite talented in literature back then, but I never imagined that his descendants would surpass him. It's truly enviable!"
Perhaps thinking of his own predicament of having no children, Bai Qingyuan's face showed a hint of melancholy.
Song Baiyun then raised a question: "Your Majesty, this is a Mid-Autumn Festival poetry gathering, but Young Master Jing's poem just now seems to have little to do with the Mid-Autumn Festival. It seems to have been written for the sake of wine. Isn't it off-topic?"
Some people who dislike Jing Zhe—such as Chen Jiannan and Su Xinping—couldn't help but nod in agreement upon hearing this.
The usually calm and collected Zhu Xinning was now full of fighting spirit, and stepped forward to say: "Since ancient times, appreciating the moon and drinking wine during the Mid-Autumn Festival has become an unwritten tradition. How can Master Zhe... writing about wine be considered off-topic?"
You can say anything about anyone, but you absolutely can't say anything about my brother!
"Forehead…"
Song Baiyun was somewhat embarrassed, but could only shake his head helplessly, "Alright, what Lord Zhu said is indeed reasonable. I am ashamed to admit that I am inferior to Young Master Jing's poetry!"
"Aww~"
Even the Hanlin Academy scholar himself admitted that he was inferior to Jing Zhe, and all the talented scholars were instantly overwhelmed with excitement, as if they had taken a stimulant.
Emperor An smiled and looked at Qi Junguang, "Third Prince, what do you think of this poem?"
The most painful thing in the world is to be slapped in the face and then immediately dragged out for public humiliation!
Qi Junguang said "okay" weakly, but his doubts about the strong liquor deepened.
If he could compose one or two poems, there might be an element of chance involved, but if he composed so many in a row, one couldn't help but become curious.
"May I ask, Young Master Jing, was it truly after drinking strong liquor that you wrote such a poem?"
Jing Zhe glanced at him, thinking to himself that he was just wondering how to advertise, and here came someone to help!
He laughed and said, "Of course!"
Upon hearing this, Qi Junguang was filled with longing for strong liquor.
Emperor An laughed and said, "I never imagined that the strong liquor you brewed would be so miraculous. After the poetry gathering, send it to the palace as soon as possible. I want to have a good taste of it!"
Behind the screen, Su Mochen frowned slightly. Her father often got drunk even from drinking turbid wine; if he drank strong liquor…
"As the saying goes, a little wine is good for the soul, but too much wine is bad for your health. Although strong liquor is good, Your Majesty must not overindulge!"
After Jing Zhe finished speaking, Su Mochen was overjoyed and immediately replied, "Father, even if Young Master Jing says so, you must not overindulge in strong liquor in the future!"
"Now that Mo Chen has spoken, how dare I indulge in wine?"
"Ha ha…"
Seeing that everyone present was amused, Emperor An said with some worry, "But there's so much strong liquor, it's hard to just look at it without drinking it!"
Jing Zhe immediately chimed in, "Your Majesty, strong liquor is extremely precious, and Your Majesty cannot drink too much. Why not have the Zhang family's winery sell the extra liquor to you talented scholars? With this strong liquor, you might be able to write many poems that are even better than mine!"
Upon hearing this, everyone agreed and quickly pleaded, "We beg Your Majesty's permission!"
Listening to the foolish pleas of the crowd, and with a faint smile on Jing Zhe's lips, Emperor An shook his head, thinking to himself that these fools were being used as pawns by Jing Zhe without even realizing it.
Perhaps he had already planned this all along, from the moment he wrote his first poem?
So it seems that writing poetry is just a pretense; selling strong liquor is the real purpose!
Moreover, he was not satisfied with the royal business and planned to revitalize Zhang Family Winery to make money from ordinary people!
This guy's got some nerve!
————
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