The eight Imperial College supervisors on the second floor were now gathered in a circle.
"Once this word comes out, it will definitely be the first."
"May we live long and share the beauty of the moon together, even though we are thousands of miles apart... This son of Fu Xiaoguan is truly a man of great talent!"
"Only with deep thoughts can one write such beautiful poems. I must read the Dream of the Red Chamber carefully when I return home."
"Everyone, send it up."
"Let me make a copy."
"Copy the same."
…
According to the convention of the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival in Lanting Pavilion in previous years, at the end of the poetry festival, three poems from the top of A, ten poems from the middle of A, thirty poems from the bottom of A, and one hundred poems from the bottom of B will be selected and posted on the wall of Lanting Pavilion at midnight.
It is only the hour of Hai now, and there is still about an hour left.
Yan Xiwen and the others were still sitting in the wooden pavilion waiting for the news of the notice being posted. Among the six of them, three had already received the news and their poems had been submitted to the third floor.
This is entering the final round.
These three people were Yan Xiwen, Fang Wenxing and An Liuyue.
"I wonder if Fu Xiaoguan's lyrics are qualified to be submitted to the third floor." An Liuyue was looking forward to it. He had also read A Dream of Red Mansions and knew the name Fu Xiaoguan. This person was an avid admirer of his sister.
"Don't underestimate her. I understand Shulan's temper. She wouldn't do this if she wasn't sure." Yan Xiwen said calmly.
"I really don't believe that Linjiang really produced such a great writer as him. The poems of the three of us have reached the third floor. Brother Yan's poem can definitely be rated as A-level. Even if he has that ability, the best he can do is A-level, which means it's a tie. If two of us are rated as A-level, then we should win."
Yan Xiwen nodded, and a thought flashed through his mind - what if Fu Xiaoguan's poem was engraved on a thousand stone tablets... Of course, this was impossible, so he quickly dismissed the idea.
Yu Wenjun and Dong Shulan took their maids on a pleasure boat. They sat at the bow and drank some wine with some side dishes.
The pleasure boat drifted on Weiyang Lake, a full moon reflected in the water, appearing bright. A gentle night breeze blew, rippling the couple's hair and the lake's autumn water. The moon rippled in the water, becoming blurred.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward. The former best friends were now in love with one person. If it were a girl from an ordinary family, there would be a way to solve it, but since one of them was Her Royal Highness the Ninth Princess, this matter became a difficult knot to untie.
Dong Shulan spoke first: "Your Highness, what exactly is the second couplet?"
"It's strange for you to call me that."
Dong Shulan looked at the moonlight swaying in the water, smiled calmly, and said, "I thought the most difficult thing to deal with was my mother."
Yu Wenjun was silent for a long time, "Did he tell you?"
“It was sent along with the poem.”
Yu Wenjun fell silent again. She dropped a candied fruit into her mouth and chewed it carefully. After a long while, she said, "It seems like he likes you."
"Then could Your Highness please show some mercy?"
Dong Shulan looked at Yu Wenjun with a hint of aggression in her eyes.
"Shulan, are we best friends?"
"We grew up together, received enlightenment together, and studied together at the Imperial Academy." Dong Shulan looked out at the lake again, as if she had returned to the past. "I often visited the palace to play with you, and you occasionally left the palace to visit my home. Back then, we had no quarrels, and our friendship was pure. We would confide in each other whatever was in our hearts. I miss those times very much."
"Me too. I've thought about this for a long, long time. Last time I came back from Linjiang, I just thought Fu Xiaoguan was a really good person. Shulan, you have good taste. I didn't want to compete with you. Even if I said I stole him away before, that was just a joke. But this time when I went to Linjiang again, when he really made that couplet, Shulan, I won't lie to you, I really fell in love with him. I can't explain why, maybe it's his talent, maybe it's his attitude towards life."
The atmosphere became solemn again. After a while, Yu Wenjun spoke, "The couplet goes like this: Colorful clouds in the sky, colorful clouds between, colorful clouds in the sky, colorful clouds in the sky, the sky lasts for ten thousand years, the clouds last for ten thousand years."
Dong Shulan hugged his knees with his hands, looked up at the moon, and thought that he was the only one in the world who could write such a beautiful couplet.
"Shulan, I don't want to end up like my second and fourth sisters. Although Fu Xiaoguan is well-read, he doesn't have any big ambitions. He says he just wants to be a small landlord. And the prince consort is an idler, so he can't serve as an official in the court. I like him, and he also likes to be an idler. Can you... let me go?"
Dong Shulan withdrew her gaze and looked at Yu Wenjun with calm eyes.
"Have you ever asked him if he likes you?"
Yu Wenjun was stunned and stayed there for a long time. Yes, it seemed that neither his mother nor himself had thought about this problem.
So, does Fu Xiaoguan like me?
If he liked me, why would he tell Dong Shulan about what happened in Shanglinzhou?
If he doesn't like me and I use an imperial decree to force him to come, then what's the difference between him and my second and fourth sisters?
Yu Wenjun was dejected. After a long moment, he asked with a guilty conscience, "So... does he like you?"
Dong Shulan smiled faintly and nodded.
"Xiaoqi, bring me some paper and pen."
Dong Shulan wrote the poem "Shui Tiao Ge Tou" on a piece of paper and handed it to Yu Wenyun, saying, "This is the poem he wrote for me. He intended to leave his name on a thousand tablets. Take a look."
"When will the bright moon appear? I raise my cup to ask the blue sky..."
“…”
"...May we live long and share the beauty of the moon together, even though we are thousands of miles apart"
Yu Wenjun took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
So, how can I make him like me?
Yu Wenjun didn't retreat, she actually faced the challenge head-on! This was something Dong Shulan had never expected.
…
On the third floor of Lanting Pavilion.
The moon is bright outside the window, but it is silent at this moment.
Qin Bingzhong stood by the window, stroking his long beard, thinking that perhaps that young man was the only one in the world who had the talent to write such a song of water tune.
The five people had no objection that this poem was the best Mid-Autumn Festival in history. Shangguan Wenxiu even said that once this poem was published, there would be no more Mid-Autumn Festival in the world.
It’s not that the Mid-Autumn Festival is gone, but that the poems and lyrics with the Mid-Autumn Festival as the theme will probably never be surpassed.
"I propose that this word be placed on the sixth line of the thousand characters on the stone tablet."
"I propose that this poem be on the third line of the thousand characters on the stone tablet."
"Could it be that Lord Jiang thinks this poem can surpass the great scholar Xiang Wenfeng of the previous dynasty?"
"Mr. Li, the rule of the Thousand Stone Tablets is to only look at the writing, not the identity."
"What does the Lord of Qin think?" Shangguan Wenxiu asked.
"I and this humble official are close friends regardless of age, so we must avoid suspicion."
"In that case, I propose that this word be ranked first among the thousands of stone tablets!"
There was a sudden shock here.
"Gentlemen, please carefully consider this poem. After one stick of incense, you can vote."
…
At midnight on August 15th, a notice was posted in Lanting Pavilion.
The top three people on the list are Yan Xiwen first, Fang Wenxing second, and Shi Yiming third!
There is no name of Fu Xiaoguan.
Yan Xiwen was overjoyed and smiled brightly at Dong Shulan, who had already returned: "He lost."
"From now on, Mr. Fu is not allowed to set foot in Shangjing. Please inform Miss Dong."
"How can a place like Linjiang be compared with Shangjing?"
"I said he was a man of undeserved fame!"
“…”
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