As Jing Zhe's woman, Wang Yingqiu already had the poem "Shuidiao Getou" for the Mid-Autumn Festival Poetry Gathering, and no longer expected Jing Zhe to write anything for her.
So every Mid-Autumn Festival, when people think of poetry, the first thing that comes to mind is the poem "Prelude to Water Melody" written for her by Jing Zhe. What more could she ask for?
At this point, all they could do was cooperate with Jing Zhe to finish the scene, and Zhang Xiaoyu probably thought the same thing.
Liu Piaopiao had already agreed, but the Crown Prince of Yu had not yet responded.
He was thinking, thinking about how to use a single poem to keep this event going...
At this moment, Jing Zhe laughed and said, "Your Highness is hesitating to respond. Could it be that you only prepared one poem and therefore dare not answer?"
"You...you're talking nonsense!"
The crown prince of Yu was greatly surprised, "Who said that I only prepared one poem?"
"Oh? The young master has prepared several poems?"
"That is—"
The Crown Prince of Yu realized something was wrong after saying just two words. At that moment, Jing Zhe was looking at him with a smile, clearly having dug a pit and waiting for him to jump in!
"Don't talk nonsense! What do you mean by preparing poems? This young master is going to compose poems for Pavilion Master Mu on the spot, why would I prepare them in advance?"
For annual poetry gatherings like the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Lantern Festival, most people bring their best works that they've prepared in advance to participate. However, no one would admit it willingly, as that would be too embarrassing!
"Oh, since the young master can compose poems and lyrics on the spot, why doesn't he dare to agree?"
"Who says I wouldn't dare? I just feel that... a bet should ideally be made with just one poem. If there are two, some good and some bad, how can we compare them?"
Jing Zhe smiled and said, "That's simple. The young master can write one poem, and I will write one for Miss Zhou and one for Pavilion Master Mu. We can then compare the best poems with the young master's. If Miss Zhou and Pavilion Master Mu both like our poems, then we can let everyone choose! I'm just afraid that either of my poems will be better than the young master's, then I'll be sorry!"
"dream!"
The Crown Prince of Yu scoffed, "Even if I only write one poem, it will be better than both of yours!"
Although he was scolding Jing Zhe, the Crown Prince of Yu was secretly pleased, because this way he only needed to write one poem!
So he gave Manager Hu a wink, and Manager Hu understood, and then announced that the poetry gathering was officially starting and everyone could write poems!
...
At this moment, Zhou Ziqiong seemed somewhat dazed.
Because she always felt that Mu Qingren's tone was a little different when she spoke to Jing Zhe.
She hadn't seen Mu Qingren many times before and didn't know much about her. But over this period of time, she noticed that when Mu Qingren spoke to Jing Zhe, although he seemed cold on the surface, there was a different kind of feeling about him when she thought about it carefully.
It was as if they had known each other for a long time…
At first, she didn't realize it and thought that Mu Qingren didn't think highly of Jing Zhe, which was why she raised her objection.
But as they continued talking, especially when Mu Qingren unusually pressed them about their relationship, his expression didn't seem to disapprove of him, but rather like he was jealous!
Perhaps others didn't notice, but as a woman, her intuition always told her that things weren't so simple...
Moreover, she wasn't sure if she was seeing things or if she really saw Mu Qingren wink at her. In just a moment, when Zhou Ziqiong tried to look again, Mu Qingren had already returned to normal.
Zhou Ziqiong felt increasingly uneasy. She had originally intended to ask Jing Zhe's name, but Wang Yingqiu interrupted her seemingly unintentionally. However, Mu Qingren and Wang Yingqiu had never asked his name from beginning to end, as if they were deliberately avoiding it!
Numerous suspicious points left Zhou Ziqiong completely bewildered…
Looking at Jing Zhe, who was poised to strike, Zhou Ziqiong fell into deep thought.
...
The Lantern Festival Poetry Gathering officially began, but the atmosphere was not very lively.
Because of its thriving commerce, the talent level of the scholars in Ruzhou City varies greatly, surpassing even that of Jingzhou and Yongzhou.
So the poems he started writing, while better than Jing Zhe's previous doggerel, were only better than doggerel...
At this moment, the crown prince of King Yu stepped forward once again.
Manager Hu gave the bald waiter a wink, and the waiter and his men brought over a table. Soon, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were all laid out, and Manager Hu personally ground the ink.
"Then I, the young master, will write a poem for Pavilion Master Mu!"
After saying this, the Crown Prince of Yu picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write swiftly.
"What great words!"
As soon as the Crown Prince of Yu wrote a sentence, Manager Hu cheered from behind. After he finished writing, Manager Hu couldn't wait to have the Xuan paper brought up and displayed to everyone.
The Crown Prince of Yu sat back down with a beaming smile, but his eyes were fixed on Mu Qingren's face, hoping to see her shocked expression.
"Watching the Lantern Festival, the past is gone, singing and dancing are carefree."
Listening to the Lantern Festival, this year is bright and clear, whether sorrowful or resentful, one can find peace.
Where is the hustle and bustle of the world? Only crows returning to their nests.
Poetry today, wine today.
The spring breeze is cold, and the plum blossoms are withered.
"What great words! What great words!"
As soon as Manager Hu finished reading, everyone in the hall cheered.
Jing Zhe pursed his lips, but he had to admit that the poem was not bad. It was the most outstanding poem in Juxianlou so far tonight.
Upon hearing the poem, Chen Jiannan frowned. Seeing this, Jing Zhe smiled and asked, "How is this poem? How does it compare to yours?"
Chen Jiannan curled his lip and said, "It's not bad, but if I were to write it, I wouldn't necessarily be worse than him!"
As the former top scholar of Yongzhou, Chen Jiannan still possessed the arrogance of a scholar, a point that Jing Zhe acknowledged.
"Does this word look familiar?"
"Does the president think so too? When I heard this phrase just now, I felt that its style seemed somewhat familiar, but I just couldn't remember where I had seen it before!"
Jing Zhe smiled and began to read it aloud.
"In the Wuxian Garden, autumn hangs high in the sky; both humans and immortals grieve in unison."
Drunk, I boarded a boat to admire the moonlit flowers; the clouds dampened the red blossoms, the rain dampened the red blossoms.
You wish to ride the wind and inquire about the heavenly jade, but the road is difficult to pass, and the message is difficult to send.
The hall was filled with the sounds of gentle music; let the singing and drinking be leisurely.
"It's the poem 'Flower and Moon Order' by the Third Prince of Southern Qi!"
Chen Jiannan had attended the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering in Jingzhou, and he still vividly remembered the poem "Flower and Moon Order" by the Third Prince of Southern Qi.
Jing Zhe nodded: "That's right. The style of this poem is indeed the same as that of the 'Flower and Moon Order.' But that's understandable, since Zhou Zhiwei also participated in the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering. He's very familiar with this poem, so it's no surprise that he borrowed from it and wrote a similar one!"
"Is Zhou Zhiwei aware of this?"
Upon hearing this name, Chen Jiannan instantly lost his composure, and then saw Jing Zhe nod.
"..."
————
(There will be three more updates, hehe)
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