Chapter 249 Counterattack
Yao Qingling's slender, white fingers had become stiff from gripping the pen.
He glanced at Zhou Zhining with a slight smile and said meaningfully, "Miss Zhou, this isn't about giving up your spot. Even if I did, you wouldn't have filled it."
Her words had a double meaning; she was referring to the seating arrangement on the surface, but implicitly referring to the position of the young mistress.
Zhou Zhining schemed and plotted, but in the end she ended up with a lowly status, not even qualifying as a concubine, let alone a young mistress.
Zhou Zhining's face paled, her lips trembled, and a flash of resentment crossed her eyes.
Yao Qingling smiled coldly, lowered her eyelashes, and calmly wrote stroke by stroke on the white paper.
Her handwriting is not as delicate as most women's; it is steady yet sharp, light yet a little clumsy.
Several men glanced at each other, their lips twitching slightly, as if they wanted to laugh.
This is clearly the result of someone who practiced calligraphy blindly without guidance from a master, trying to imitate a few copybooks. They've dabbled in various calligraphy styles, resulting in a hodgepodge.
Yao Qingling didn't care what others thought; she simply held her breath and focused, completing the task in one go.
She put away her brush, her expression indifferent, cold as frost: "It's finished."
The first half of Zhan Xingzhuo's poem: Jade dust flutters and covers the shallow moss, the cold window reflects the blooming white flowers.
Yao Qingling continued with the second half of the poem: "The child's frozen fingers tug at his clothes and weep; who asks about the poor family's grain of rice?"
One is poetic and carefree, the other is miserable and miserable.
One depicts nobles in their warm homes, gazing at the snowy scenery outside their windows, a sight that evokes joy; the other depicts commoners in the open, asking the heavens about the millet to be cooked, a scene that evokes sadness.
At this moment, everyone's faces showed an uncomfortable expression.
These people were all princes and nobles, young masters and ladies, the kind of people who would cry out if they accidentally broke a fingernail. They had never experienced cold or hunger.
Does it concern them if others suffer from hunger and cold?
If anyone's to blame, it's just that these people were unlucky and weren't born into a good family.
Everyone felt that Yao Qingling was a spoilsport and that it would have been better if she hadn't written anything at all.
They all rolled their eyes and offered no comment.
When Prince Chen noticed that the people looked strange, he came over to take a look.
He glanced at Yao Qingling, his lips moved, but he didn't know what to say. He stroked his beard, chuckled dryly, and said, "Madam Yao often interacts with the common people and takes in refugees. I heard that even Prefect Gao praised her highly. Madam Yao is a very down-to-earth person, and her poetry is good at depicting reality."
He then praised Zhan Xingzhuo: "The first half of this poem by Vice Minister Zhan must have been written when the first snow fell. Vice Minister Zhan must have been thinking about those years of studying hard and taking the imperial examinations. He turned his hard work into enjoyment, no wonder he was able to pass the exams with flying colors."
With a few words of sympathy from Prince Chen, Yao Qingling managed to get away with it.
After this, no one said that Yao Qingling was untalented and immoral, and unworthy of Zhan Xingzhuo. They only said that the two were incompatible and could not be together.
Princess Yilan snorted and commented that Yao Qingling's poem was neither fish nor fowl, pretentious, and an attempt to show off. She had nothing else to say besides these few sentences.
But no one echoed her sentiments or said anything bad about Yao Qingling's poem.
Standing on the side of the people and speaking for them, these high-ranking officials and powerful ministers, as well as their sons and daughters, cannot understand the hardships of the common people. However, if they say something that gives others a handle to use against them, the censor will scold them harshly in the court.
Everyone wants to have a good New Year.
They just thought Yao Qingling was a downer.
"...Then, Miss Zhou, if it were you, how would you respond?" The young nobleman in green robes still wanted Zhou Zhining to make a name for herself.
Zhou Zhining smiled slightly, but the smile was forced. She said, "Madam Yao's poem has a lofty theme, but this servant dares not presume to say so."
Her father's corruption caused the Yellow River to breach its banks, resulting in the deaths of countless people and the displacement of countless others within five years. Perhaps the children with frostbitten fingers and the people without rice in Yao Qingling's poems were refugees from both sides of the Yellow River.
No matter how Zhou Zhining writes, she can't outdo Yao Qingling.
If she were to write about the suffering of the common people, it would be seen as hypocrisy. The Zhou family is a sinner against the people, and she has no right or standing to sympathize with them, no matter what she writes.
If she were to write poems or paintings that were sentimental and artistic, that would be even worse. The people had been destroyed and died because of the Zhou family; if she wrote poems or paintings that were sentimental and artistic, showing no regard for their suffering, it would give Yao Qingling another handle to attack her.
Therefore, it's better not to write it.
Zhou Zhining stepped aside, her heart filled with hatred for Yao Qingling, wishing she could strangle her.
Her rare opportunity was ruined by Yao Qingling once again.
Was she specifically sent to jinx her?
Lin Shiyuan glanced at Yao Qingling secretly, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He had planned to use the time while she was grinding ink to get closer to her and pass her half a poem to help her out of her predicament, but she always managed to surprise him.
It should be said that it was a surprise for him, but it left others embarrassed.
Ever since Zhan Xingzhuo returned to the capital, those who fawn over the powerful and belittle the weak have been praising him. His divorce from Yao Qingling has somehow become a case of Yao Qingling being materialistic and looking down on Zhan Xingzhuo for his lack of ambition, completely forgetting that Zhan Xingzhuo was demoted to Luozhou because he was a criminal and his family was disgraced.
Zhou Zhining wanted to use Yao Qingling to enhance her own reputation, but Yao Qingling turned the tables on her, reminding everyone once again that this woman was not a talented woman.
She is a sinner against the people.
Now that another major corruption case has broken out in the palace, they are at the forefront of public opinion and should not waver in their stance because of beauty.
Zhan, Zhou, and others, including Prince Xin, had been planning for a long time, but because of Yao Qingling's half-poem, they were back to square one.
Lin Shiyuan really wanted to hug Yao Qingling, laugh out loud, and give her a big kiss.
But he had to restrain himself and maintain a cool demeanor.
However, the atmosphere became somewhat subdued because of Yao Qingling's poem. The heir of the Marquis of Xincheng stepped forward with one hand behind his back and smiled slightly, "I've long heard that Your Highness's poetry club is interesting. My mother said I should also join in the fun. Seeing it today, it is indeed interesting."
"Then I'll write one too."
He picked up the brush with one hand and began to write freely on the rice paper.
Zhan Xingxiang's gaze was almost glued to him, but there was a hint of discomfort in her eyes.
She had fallen in love with the young master at first sight during the spring flower viewing banquet. She had met him privately twice afterward, and he was very polite to her. Her mother said that the marriage between the young master and the young master was basically settled.
But there was no further news.
Is the crown prince dissatisfied with her?
No one can understand the feelings of a young girl.
Zhan Xingxiang sat to one side, looking sullen.
The crowd gathered around the poem written by the Crown Prince, reading it aloud. A few of the bolder women even spoke directly to the Crown Prince.
Zhan Xingxiang saw this and sat down angrily, refusing to look in that direction.
Yao Qingling glanced at her, and was about to go up and ask her a few questions when the Lady of Xincheng Marquis walked towards her.
They need to pretend they don't know each other well in front of outsiders.
Qingling bowed and greeted her. Lady Xincheng Marquis pretended to pay her respects for a while, then casually chatted with a wintersweet tree. Lady Marquis said, "I've heard of a type of plum blossom called Jade Butterfly Plum, which is very precious. Does Madam Yao have any way to obtain it?"
Yao Qingling thought for a moment: "These plum blossoms seem to originate from the south, so we should be able to find them..."
Lady Hou glanced back out of the corner of her eye and lowered her voice: "The last time I saw Zhou Zhining's son, he called Zhan Xingzhuo 'Father.' The Marquis's family no longer wants this marriage with the Duke's mansion."
She was reminding Yao Qingling that she didn't need to get close to the Zhan family anymore, lest she make things difficult for them later.
Qing Ling was slightly taken aback, but upon closer reflection, it actually made perfect sense.
The Marquis of Xincheng's mansion is backed by the Empress. When the Marquis's heir marries his principal wife, the wife's family should not be subject to criticism, even if it is the Duke's mansion.
Princess Deyang had expressed concerns earlier, otherwise she wouldn't have been so averse to Zhou Zhining.
Zhou Zhining is truly a plague to the entire Zhan family, single-handedly hindering their progress.
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