Hongli smiled and patted Hongzhou on the shoulder, appearing as a brother. After the two finished composing their poems, Hongli turned his gaze to Xueying and Mingyu.
"Ladies, would you like to have more time to think about it?" Hongli asked considerately.
They had already had some time to think before composing their poems, and then they each wrote their own poems, which took quite a while.
Mingyu raised her chin confidently, without even asking Xueying, "No time is needed."
Hongzhou's gaze swept between the two of them. "Which of you will come first?"
Mingyu had already thought of the poem she wanted to write. She looked at Xueying and saw that Xueying looked thoughtful, so she smiled at her.
Xueying felt Mingyu's gaze on her and knew what she meant.
Isn't it just that she wants to compete with the Fourth Prince? She needs to hear Xueying's answer first before reciting her own, so she can feel more confident.
Xueying didn't care about all that, so she said frankly, "Then I'll go first!"
Hongli and Hongzhou both looked at her, pretending to be attentive to her.
Xueying's clear voice came through, "Ten acres of raging wind shake the dust, the dew on the water along the embankment is fresh and red. All the fragrance of flowers in the world is saddening, but the fragrance of lotus is even more vexing."
Her voice was very soft, and after she finished reciting the poem, everyone present was speechless.
After being speechless for a moment, a look of amazement slowly appeared in the eyes of Hongli and Hongzhou.
From the moment she opened her mouth, they felt that her realm was lofty and profound, as if the world was so vast that apart from the lotus flower in front of her, no other flower could catch Xueying's eye.
Hongzhou was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but clap his hands and exclaimed, "It's amazing that such a young girl could do this! You truly are a talented woman!"
Xueying was very confident in her poem, and hearing Hongzhou's praise made her feel very comfortable. She looked at Hongli and saw a faint smile on his face. His gaze was noticeably more familiar than before, and less distant.
Seeing this, Fucha Mingyu's smile began to falter.
She knew, of course, that Hongzhou wasn't joking, because Xueying's poem was indeed very well written. However, Hongli's smiling expression made Fucha Mingyu very jealous.
In fact, if Mingyu hadn't been there, Hongli would have praised Xueying like Hongzhou did.
Xueying turned to look at Mingyu, who had been neglected, and said with a smile, "Princess Mingyu has not yet composed a poem, please do so!"
At this point, she certainly couldn't write another poem; her own poems definitely couldn't compare to Xueying's.
"A brocade ribbon adorned with floral ornaments, a silk robe trailing green on the riverbank. I ask you, where are you going today? To gather lotus in Jiangnan." Mingyu recited this poem in a calm tone.
The moment she opened her mouth, everyone could tell who was better and who was worse.
Hongli's expression remained rather indifferent, but Hongzhou, seeing this, felt awkward and quickly said, "It's quite impressive that you were able to compose a poem in such a short time."
His words only made things more awkward.
Hongli coughed softly and said, "It's almost time. Let's go back to Yingzhou Hall to paint!"
Mingyu was nervous, but the thought of painting finally relaxed her a little. She was determined to beat Xueying in the painting competition and win back some ground.
Xueying and Hongzhou nodded and went back to Yingzhou Hall together to prepare for the painting competition later.
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