Chapter 17 Poetry Competition
Upon seeing this, Zhang Zhilin asked, "Last year's entries were all about music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and romance; why are we having agricultural entries this year?"
Zhang Zhiheng thought for a moment and then said, "Have you forgotten the policy essay from last year's spring imperial examination?"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Last year's spring imperial examination had two essay questions: one on agriculture and the other on military affairs.
Zhang Zhilin: "Then could it be that there will be more questions about soldiers later on?"
Zhang Zhiheng nodded: "It seems so."
Zhang Zhilin looked utterly dejected: "That's it, what am I going to do since I know absolutely nothing about military affairs?"
Seeing Zhang Zhilin frowning, his face almost scrunched up like a bun, Xie Yunyu laughed:
"Since you don't understand the hardships of military affairs, then write about the clash of swords and the heroic ambitions, or the determination to serve the country."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhilin turned to Xie Yunyu and asked, "Sister Xie, do you know how to farm?"
Xie Yunyu nodded: "I know a little."
Zhang Zhilin perked up immediately: "Then please thank Sister for her guidance."
"I wouldn't call it giving pointers. You guys start writing, and I'll write my own poems after you send them over."
Zhang Zhilin laughed and said, "That's great, I can appreciate Sister Xie's literary talent."
The group lowered their heads and pondered, quickly composing a poem and sending it to the front.
Then the group stared intently at Xie Yunyu.
Upon hearing the topic of "farmers," Xie Yunyu immediately thought of the famous poem "Sympathy for the Farmers."
So he picked up his pen and wrote: "Hoeing the fields at noon, sweat drips onto the soil. Who knows that every grain in the bowl is the result of hard work?"
These four simple sentences perfectly convey the hard work and toil of farmers.
Zhang Zhiheng and Zhang Qinxue were both shocked when they read the poem.
The former was amazed by her refined writing style, while the latter was amazed by her beautiful calligraphy in the "Slender Gold" style.
Xie Yunyu handed the note to the servant in front of her and said, "Take this to my grandfather and tell him that I made it."
After taking it, the servant turned and walked towards Old Master Xie's side.
As Old Master Xie was looking at the poems with someone, a servant from the Zhang family suddenly came to his side and handed him a slip of paper.
"Grand Tutor, this is a poem written by Miss Xie. Please take a look."
After opening and reading it, Grandpa Xie sighed, turned around and sat back down in his seat, no longer looking at the rest.
Old Zhang looked for a long time but didn't find a single good poem. He was about to turn around and complain to Old Master Xie.
But they found that Grandpa Xie had already returned to his seat at some point.
So he had his servant push his wheelchair back to Old Master Xie's side.
"Hey you old codger, what are you doing hiding here?"
Grandpa Xie didn't say anything, but handed the paper in his hand to Grandpa Zhang.
After looking at it, Master Zhang's eyes lit up and he said, "This slender gold script must have been done by your granddaughter, right?"
Grandpa Xie nodded.
After looking at it for a long time, Old Master Zhang shook his head and said, "It's such a pity that such talent cannot enter the imperial court."
Xie Yunyu's poem silenced the Zhang family.
Although the three young masters of the Zhang family had all advanced in their cultivation levels, they showed no signs of pride.
Because they knew that their poems were far inferior to Xie Yunyu's.
The next topic is 'Snow'.
Before Xie Yunyu could express her opinion, Old Master Xie sent someone to urge her to write it down and send it over.
If one were to write about snow, then "Song of White Snow Sending Off Judge Wu Returning to the Capital" would be the most magnificent and evocative.
However, Xie Yunyu didn't want to be so outstanding, so after thinking for a while, she wrote a commonly used poem.
Ode to Snow: Plum blossoms and snow vie for spring's favor, neither willing to yield; poets struggle to find words to describe them. Plum blossoms must concede three parts whiteness to snow, but snow loses a touch of fragrance to plum blossoms.
After Xie Yunyu finished writing, everyone in the room was stunned.
“Sister Xie is very talented, I admire her greatly,” said Zhang Zhixiang, the fourth brother of Zhang Zhiheng.
When Grandpa Xie and Grandpa Zhang read Xie Yunyu's poem, they were once again stunned.
"He can write about both plum blossoms and snow; he's a true talent, a real genius!" Old Master Zhang exclaimed.
For the rest of the time, the two stopped looking at the poems and focused solely on waiting for Xie Yunyu.
The question for the fourth question was indeed about 'soldier'.
Xie Yunyu was at a loss as to which poem to write.
She herself loved "Man Jiang Hong" and "Po Zhen Zi: A Heroic Poem for Chen Tongfu" the most, but she couldn't write them.
After thinking for a long time, I found two frontier poems from Tang poetry.
The moon of Qin shines on the passes of Han, yet the soldiers on their long march have not returned. If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would never dare cross the Yin Mountains.
Long clouds over Qinghai darken the snow-capped mountains; a lone city gazes afar at the Jade Gate Pass. Through a hundred battles, their golden armor gleams; they will not return until Lou Lan is conquered.
These two poems are Xie Yunyu's two favorites. Although he has no body to fight on the battlefield, he has the ambition to sacrifice himself for his country.
These two poems deeply moved Zhang Zhilin, who felt an overwhelming urge to join the army and serve his country to the death.
Zhang Zhiheng noticed a change in Xie Yunyu's expression; her initial confidence had turned into hesitation.
Xie Yunyu's poems reveal her aspirations.
At that moment, he suddenly felt that he was not good enough for her.
He seemed to understand why his grandfather said he was no better than Xie Yunman, and at this moment he also realized that he was no better than Xie Yunyu.
When Grand Tutor Xie and Old Master Zhang read Xie Yunyu's poem, they were immediately struck by its evocative imagery of war and conquest.
Grandpa Zhang suddenly shook his head and said, "No, Heng'er is not good enough for your granddaughter."
Old Master Xie said after reading it, "Don't say that. Every inch has its advantages and every foot has its disadvantages."
In the realm of poetry, Yun Mandu is no match for Yu'er.
It's just that she's a girl, yet she has such ambitions; I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Old Master Zhang said, "Then you'd better hide her well and not let anyone find out. Otherwise, if His Majesty takes her into the Eastern Palace, you'll be crying then."
Grandpa Xie glared at Old Man Zhang: "You jinx, can't you wish her well?"
"The Crown Prince's principal wife has already been chosen. Who would want to enter the Eastern Palace as a concubine?"
The two sat and sighed for a long time, and then Old Master Xie sent someone to deliver a letter to Xie Yunyu, telling her to stop writing.
Xie Yunyu listened without saying anything, knowing that her grandfather was telling her to hide her talents.
So for the next few questions, she declined to write them and just watched from the sidelines.
The results of the poetry competition were as follows: the third young master of Yuezhou Biejia won first place, Zhang Zhiheng won second place, and a student from Qingya Academy won third place.
People around came to congratulate Zhang Zhiheng, but Zhang Zhiheng's gaze unconsciously fell on Xie Yunyu.
After this day, the only thing that was certain was that he himself admired Xie Yunyu even more.
If before it was because of her looks and family background, today it is because of her talent that I am captivated by her.
After a lively and fun-filled day, Xie Yunyu had learned a lot and had a great time.
But when he returned home that night and saw Xie Yunman's letter sent from the capital, he felt as if the sky had fallen!
The questions and anger in the letter almost burst forth from the pages, overwhelming Xie Yunyu.
Xie Yunyu was annoyed. Why did Xiao Ling have to provoke her second brother, this scheming guy?
Now that my second brother has found out, my good days are coming to an end.
Xie Yunyu let out a wail and collapsed onto the bed in despair.
Hearing Xie Yunyu's wailing, Gu Yu quickly came over and asked:
"Miss, what's wrong with you?"
Xie Yunyu covered her head with the blanket, her voice muffled as it came from underneath:
"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired today."
Gu Yu replied, "Then Miss, you should go to sleep now. I'll turn off the light."
After the lights were turned off, Xie Yunyu stared wide-eyed at the dark bed curtains, her eyes wide like saucers.
What does Xiao Ling mean by this? Why did he come to my second brother's house and say he wanted to marry me, and why did he tell my second brother about that matter?
Doesn't this guy dislike women?
Aren't you someone who wants to become a monk?
What's wrong with him?
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