Poetry Club
Killing two birds with one stone—that was Su Bicheng's true purpose in inviting Gu Yu here.
Su Bicheng did not dislike Gu Yu's appearance, but if he were to become a high-ranking official one day, would he not have a shortage of beauties of all kinds?
Gu Yu is only suitable to be a gentle and dignified wife, and she won't interfere with his pleasure-seeking outside. Thinking about it this way, she is indeed much better than the tigress Liu Qingqing.
Sunlight streamed through the lattice window, casting diamond-patterned shadows on the blue bricks of the elegant room in Zuixinlou.
Gu Yu sat upright in an armchair made of rosewood, her fingertips casually tracing the patterns on the white glazed teacup.
The faint sound of string and wind instruments drifted in from outside the window, making the room feel even more stagnant.
Gu Yu smiled faintly, "I've also invited other friends. I wonder if Young Master Su minds?"
Su Bicheng had a handsome face and fair skin; he was indeed a dashing scholar, but his eyes betrayed a certain cunning.
"Oh? There's someone else? Ayu, I haven't seen you in so long, I just want to be alone with you..." Su Bicheng thought to himself that Gu Yu was just having a tiff with him.
"Since Young Master Su is already married, he should learn to avoid suspicion with women. I have nothing to say to you."
Gu Yu didn't care about his scrutiny. She had met many men and knew that someone like Su Bicheng was not sincere.
If he truly cared for her, he wouldn't have asked her to elope, nor would he have arranged to meet her in public after marrying his wife.
"Young Master Su invited me here because you want me to witness your talent, right? The winner of this poetry competition will receive a calligraphy piece bestowed by Lord Guan. If Lord Guan is an examiner, he will naturally think highly of you during the imperial examination. Otherwise, I really can't understand why you invited me here."
“Ayu, are you still angry with me? I swear I have no feelings for Liu Qingqing at all. It’s just that my mother is seriously ill and the only place that has the thousand-year-old ginseng is the Liu family’s pharmacy. When I went to the pharmacy to ask the owner to give it to me on credit, I happened to run into Liu Qingqing.”
"Liu Qingqing forced me to marry her out of gratitude, I had no choice. Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have been difficult to reconcile. I swear to God, my heart has always been with you..." Su Bicheng pointed four fingers to the sky, making a solemn vow, his words earnest.
What a sincere and heartfelt expression!
Gu Yu didn't even bother to look up at him. When she heard the noise behind the screen, she quickly interrupted him as he expressed his feelings.
"If you want me to believe you, go and participate in this poetry competition, win first place, and your official career will be secure, and you will naturally get a good ranking in the imperial examination."
“When the time comes, you and Liu Qingqing will divorce, and I will break off my engagement with the Shen family. It won’t be too late for us to rekindle our relationship then,” Gu Yu smiled at him.
If this poetry gathering was being held for someone in such a grand manner, Gu Yu could only think of one person: Shen Changqing.
Shen Changqing is a renowned scholar, and it is estimated that much of his fame was built up in this way. Moreover, it is the eve of the imperial examination, and talented scholars from all over the country have gathered in Shengjing. If he can win the top prize at such a poetry gathering, wouldn't his reputation be even greater?
She saw Su Bicheng's hesitation and understood that Su Bicheng did not want to confront Shen Changqing, so the identity of the third party who intervened was obvious.
It must be Shen Xiuwen. She closed her eyes, hiding all her emotions.
Shen Xiuwen would rather his son be cuckolded than not want a marriage alliance with the Gu family; he probably coveted the Gu family's military power.
"Young Master Su, you only have this one chance. My friend is arriving soon, so you should leave."
Su Bicheng's face turned ashen when he heard Gu Yu's ruthless words, but he was a man who cared about his reputation. Since Gu Yu had told him to leave, he naturally couldn't stay.
"Ayu, wait for me."
Su Bicheng knew his own limitations. If he had real talent, he wouldn't need to rely on Shen Xiuwen. He was only making up a story out of sincerity because Gu Yu could still be of use to him. He didn't expect this silly girl to actually believe it.
Even if he couldn't win the poetry competition, he could still keep Gu Yu hanging on, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Just as Su Bicheng left, a soft tinkling of jade pendants suddenly came from behind the purple elm wood carved orchid screen.
“Now that he has married you, I can’t possibly be a mistress of his own home. It’s just that you’ve been kept in the dark by him all this time, and I feel sorry for you, so I wanted to help you out.”
Gu Yu lowered her eyes and blew away the tea foam, her red gold bracelet inlaid with lapis lazuli dragon patterns on her wrist remaining perfectly still.
Liu Qingqing came out, her head adorned with kingfisher feathers and red hairpins that gleamed coldly in the dim light, and the peony embroidery on the hem of her gold-sleeved jacket exuded wealth and nobility.
How could Liu Qingqing possibly keep Su Bicheng's invitation a secret from her? Rather than waiting for Liu Qingqing to lead a group of people into Zuixinlou to catch them in the act, it would be better to invite her to watch a show before she did.
"His invitation to me wasn't as sincere as he claimed. I suspect he has ulterior motives. As for what he's plotting, you'll have to wait and see what kind of show he's putting on today."
Liu Qingqing carefully examined Gu Yu. Although she had never met Gu Yu before, she could tell from Su Bicheng's words that Gu Yu was naive. However, the current Miss Gu did not seem to be naive at all.
She forced a cold laugh through her teeth, her fingernails, stained with balsam juice, carving into the pearwood table. "...When he knelt to beg for her hand in marriage, he said things like 'I am willing to serve my parents-in-law,' but he dared to..." She glanced at Gu Yu and didn't continue.
Liu Qingqing gritted her teeth, thinking of Su Bicheng's distorted words just now, and clenched her fists. "When he asked for medicine at the pharmacy before, it wasn't me forcing him to marry me out of gratitude. He knelt in front of me and said that he couldn't afford to pay off his debts and wanted to marry into the Liu family."
"I think he's good-looking, comes from a respectable family, and is a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. He's preparing for the imperial examinations, and if he can pass, it will bring glory to the Liu family. I never imagined he had a mistress he didn't know well."
"After I found out about him and you, he knelt in front of me and swore repeatedly that he would never have anything to do with you again. I didn't expect that it would only be a few days..." Liu Qingqing was furious and also disliked Gu Yu.
Gu Yu knew that if it weren't for her status, she probably wouldn't have gotten the better of Liu Qingqing, since she was the one in the wrong.
"Whether you believe it or not, Gu Yu, who used to like Su Bicheng, is dead. Now I have no liking for him whatsoever, only disgust."
"Just like you said, he's good at twisting the truth. He has no sincerity towards you, and naturally, he has none towards me either. He only loves himself. He'll do anything that benefits him. Marrying you was profitable for him, and now coming back to me is also profitable for him. Why would you go against the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion for such a man?"
Gu Yu put down her teacup, estimating that Wei Cong and Dongfang would arrive soon, so she could only ask Liu Qingqing to leave. "Miss Liu, why don't you see what Su Bicheng really wants before you come looking for me?"
"Since he is a son-in-law who lives with his wife's family, you won't suffer any loss if you divorce him."
"Fine, I'll find out what that bastard Su Bicheng is plotting." Liu Qingqing stormed off.
Not long after, Qiuju led Wei Cong and Dongfang Hongyao into the private room. "Miss, both gentlemen have arrived."
After speaking, she looked around but didn't see Su Bicheng, which was a bit strange.
I've ordered some popular dishes from Shengjing for you two gentlemen to try. If you don't like them, we can change them..."
On the pearwood octagonal table, a tiered box was already laid out: straw raincoat-shaped fried cakes, goose fat pastry rolls, and in the center, a large bowl held three delicacies: sea cucumber, shark fin, and tendon, trembling and glistening with oil in a rich broth...
"Young Master Wei, Young Master Dongfang, please have a seat." Her gaze swept over Wei Cong's faded blue cotton-padded straight shirt, and she saw that although his expression was calm, his eyes slightly glanced at the dish of scallion-braised rabbit meat—a dish that required the effort of making just one plate from the tenderloin of twenty mountain rabbits.
Dongfang Hongyao laughed heartily as he took his seat, the jade pendant at his waist clinking softly. "Miss Gu's hospitality is too much for my and Brother Wei's liking..."
Before he finished speaking, the waiter brought out another pot of soup. When he lifted the lid, he found a whole camel hump roasted to a golden brown, and the room was immediately filled with the aroma of walnuts and pine nuts.
"These dishes must be quite expensive, right?" Dongfang Hongyao came from a northern aristocratic family, but he had never seen the exquisite and precious cuisine of Shengjing before.
"It's not worth much, but since I've invited you two to this banquet, I naturally have to put in some effort," Gu Yu said with a slight smile.
"Is there something you need, Miss?" Wei Cong didn't touch his chopsticks, but waited for Gu Yu to continue.
"I have sent someone to inquire about the backgrounds of both of you. Young Master Wei won the top score in the provincial examination, and Young Master Dongfang was also among the top three in the provincial examination. I'm sure you'll be the champion of this poetry gathering."
"Miss Gu wants the two of us to participate in the poetry gathering on the first floor?" Dongfang Hongyao clearly understood her meaning. Whether he participated or not was not a problem for him, but winning the top prize among all the talented people in the world would be a difficult task.
"The title of 'champion of poetry' is just an empty name. Who does Miss Gu want to take that title from?" Wei Cong asked.
"Ha." Gu Yu looked into his eyes, as if she had been seen through.
It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Wei Cong's eyes are just like Yu Zhu's, and even his clever mind is just like Yu Zhu's.
“According to Young Master Wei, how could I know who the champion is before the poetry competition even started? How is that possible? I don’t have such supernatural powers.” Gu Yu shook her head. “I just thought that since you two gentlemen are destined to meet, I wanted to lend you a hand.”
"Since you two have also gone to the official residence to submit your papers, you must know that the results of the imperial examinations also take into account your usual reputation and writing. Isn't this poetry gathering at Zuixin Tower a good opportunity?"
"Besides, the judge for this poetry competition is Lord Guan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He is almost certainly an examiner. Don't you two want to show yourselves in front of him?"
“Miss Gu is right. In that case, I’ll definitely join in the poetry gathering.” He whispered to Wei Cong, “Do you remember when we first arrived, all those people from Wenxuan Residence were chattering away, but they immediately fell silent when they saw us?”
"They must be talking about the poetry competition, afraid that we latecomers will find out and compete with them..."
"This is a great opportunity, I definitely want to participate. Brother Wei, why don't you give it a try too? If you win first place..."
Wei Cong pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded, "Indeed, as Miss said, it is an opportunity."
"Please have your meal first, gentlemen. The poetry gathering will be at 1:45 noon," Gu Yu said cheerfully.
She was curious to see how Shen Changqing would win the championship. After all, the judges were influential figures; they couldn't just award the championship to Shen Changqing directly.
The rules of the poetry gathering are very simple. The person who sets the topic will write it down on the first floor and hang it in a high place where everyone can see it. Then everyone will be given the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. After that time, everyone will put their poems into the wooden box in front of the stage.
Even the imperial examinations in Dasheng were conducted without anonymity, let alone this small poetry gathering. Therefore, each poem was accompanied by a name, and judges scored each poem. The one with the highest score was the champion of this poetry gathering.
Signature? Gu Yu lowered her eyes and pondered. If Shen Changqing really wrote his name on it, then this play would indeed not be very interesting.
But she knew Shen Changqing well; he was proud and arrogant, and he wouldn't care about the top prize offered to him, so he would definitely not sign his name.
Thinking of this, she turned to the two young men and said, “Don’t you two think signing your names is too boring? How about writing ‘Anonymous’? When we win first place, we can say it’s our own poem. Wouldn’t that be more interesting? And it will also leave a good impression on Lord Guan.”
"Miss Gu's method is indeed interesting. With Wei and my talents, we are not afraid of not getting high marks."
“Then let’s proceed according to Miss Gu’s method.” Although Wei Cong had some doubts, he knew that Gu Yu wanted to use their talents and would never harm them.
Will anonymous poems receive any preferential treatment from the judges? This poetry gathering is probably not so simple.
*
At that moment, a bronze chime rang out downstairs, and the resonant voice of the building manager, Zuixin, pierced through the wall: "Today's poem topic—Ode to Willow Catkins."
As soon as the two words were uttered, a rustling sound filled the entire building. The steward's servant hung the title high up, which read "Ode to Willow Catkins".
The countdown, which takes about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, has begun.
"Winter's Whispers: This poetry gathering is indeed interesting." Wei Cong looked at the topic of the gathering, suddenly closed his eyes, and tapped his knuckles on the table with three light and two heavy beats.
Qiuju had prepared the new paper that Wenmoxuan had bought for the two young masters early in the morning, while Gu Yu got up and picked up the pine soot ink to grind it for them.
Dongfang Hongyao had already written furiously, the ink flowing freely on the pristine white paper like a dragon churning through waves:
A pure shadow rides the vast sky,
It soars straight up to the heart of the Dipper and the Ox.
The nine heavens and the crimson sky were all one color.
Supporting the vast expanse of the Milky Way!
Gu Yu turned her head to look, and such flamboyant writing must be the work of a scion of a noble family.
Poetry reflects the man, and so does prose. Even if Dongfang Hongyao were to enter the officialdom of Dasheng, he might still have a bright future, especially since he is extremely good at hiding himself.
The Great Sheng Dynasty has never lacked ambitious people, and only such ambitious people can thrive in the quagmire of the Great Sheng officialdom.
When Gu Yu turned to look at Wei Cong, the tip of his wolf-hair brush had been hovering in mid-air for a long time. After he withdrew his sleeve to reveal his draft, Gu Yu leaned in to examine it closely.
The opening line, “It seems as if cold snow has descended from the heavens,” is unremarkable, using snowflakes as a metaphor for snow. The second line, “Jade dust from Xie’s courtyard falls on the green moss,” alludes to Xie Daoyun’s line about snowflakes, “It is comparable to scattering salt in the air.”
Wei Cong didn't want to write about snow or salt, but about the salt tax.
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