Chapter 40 It turns out that all the imperial poems were pre-composed…
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yu Mingshu got up early to bathe and burn incense. After having lunch, she sat in front of the dressing mirror and fiddled with a box full of bottles and jars, looking quite like she was preparing for a comic convention when she was young.
Her eyebrows, barely three inches long combined, were repeatedly drawn on and erased, a process that took her nearly half an hour. Frustrated by the ordeal, she even conceived the idea of improving cosmetics.
So far, Cui Hongli seems to be a straightforward manager who is sincere and trustworthy to her partners. If I work for her from now on, I might just become the second richest woman in Chang'an...
Yu Dan, munching on a steamed bun, peeked out her window and said, "The lantern festival is held at night. Who can see clearly if your eyebrows are an inch wide and an inch deep? Besides, with your status, you wouldn't be able to get close to the emperor. Why would you need to be so meticulous?"
Yu Mingshu rolled her eyes at him, her hands continuing their work. "You make it sound so easy. If you were in my situation today, wouldn't you be nervous?"
"I wouldn't even dare to think about it." Yu Dan had a clear understanding of his own mental fortitude. He shrugged and then curiously looked at the bottles and jars on Yu Mingshu's table.
Earlier, he and He Zheng skipped class to go shopping. When they were most bored, what kind of cosmetic shops hadn't they visited? He had never seen this grayish-brown fine powder on his sister's table before.
"What kind of cosmetic is this?"
"Facial contouring".
Yu Dan rested his arm on the windowsill, propped his chin on his hand, and said, "I have never seen or heard of anything like this before."
"You're right if you haven't seen it before. This is something I made myself by grinding stone powder into powder and mixing it with rice flour and pearl powder."
Yu Dan frowned, reached out and poked the contour box, utterly puzzled: "This contour looks so dusty, where are you going to apply it?"
Yu Mingshu was already anxious, and this kid kept asking questions beside him, which made him irritable. His tone gradually became impatient: "Apply it to the sides of your nose, apply it to your chin, apply it to the sides of your cheekbones, do you expect me to apply it to your forehead?"
Yu Dan shrank his neck, withdrew his hand, stared at her movements for a while, and couldn't help but say, "Actually, your makeup is usually very good, you can't tell the flaw."
Yu Mingshu got annoyed and threw the stone ink at him. "Stop staring at me. The more you stare, the more nervous you get. Go somewhere cool and stay there. I'll call you to 'inspect' it after I'm done drawing."
Yu Dan hurriedly caught Shi Dai, gently placed her back on her dressing table, then made a gesture of obedience and slunk away.
In fact, Yu Mingshu didn't have time to ask him to take a look. After finishing her makeup, she examined it herself several times, changed into a simple dark blue robe with elegant patterns, and went out.
…
Qingjiang Pool is located in the southeast corner of Chang'an City. It is a large garden built and developed by the imperial families of successive dynasties.
The garden is beautiful, with many pavilions and terraces. During festivals, the emperor would hold banquets here, inviting trusted ministers and famous scholars from the capital to stroll in the garden, drink wine and compose poems.
Many scholars regarded this place as their grand stage for dreams, their lifelong wish being to write a masterpiece that would move heaven and earth, achieve instant fame at the banquet at Qingjiang Pool, and ideally obtain a special recruitment quota that would lead directly to an official career, thus beginning the legendary tale of a wise king recognizing talent and a virtuous minister...
When Yu Mingshu arrived at Qingjiang Pond, there were already quite a few scholars scattered around the pavilions in the garden. All of them were scratching their heads and racking their brains, occasionally pressing their papers against the railings and writing furiously.
What are they writing?
Upon hearing this, the maid who was leading the way gladly explained, "Miss, do you think that all the scholars in Chang'an are like Cao Zhi, with the talent to compose poems on the spot? They are simply preparing for the poetry gathering."
It turns out that all the poems composed by the emperor were pre-written!
Yu Mingshu was still puzzled: "I heard that in previous years the theme of the poetry gathering was chosen by His Majesty. I'm afraid His Majesty's carriage hasn't even left the palace yet. How do they know what to write?"
“His Majesty’s questions are not just random guesses; they must be in accordance with the times.” The maid seemed to have never seen such a dullard before. She glanced back at him and, considering Yu Erlang’s handsome appearance, decided to give him a few more pointers.
"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. The themes of poems are nothing more than lanterns, moon appreciation, autumn chrysanthemums, and fine wine. All you talented scholars should prepare your poems based on these themes, and you are sure to be able to guess one of them correctly."
Got it, it's exam prep material.
Yu Mingshu was amazed inwardly, but remained calm and composed on the surface. Seeing that she had no reaction and did not suggest sending someone to fetch paper and pen, the maid couldn't help but worry for her.
"If you are determined to win the poetry competition, you should start preparing now. There are writing brushes and ink available at Furong Terrace. You may use them as you see fit."
"Thank you for your guidance." Yu Mingshu thanked him politely, but showed no intention of following his advice.
Not to mention that today is not a good time to show off, even if we take a step back, writing poetry is not her forte. Even if she started drafting her ideas a month in advance, she might not be able to keep up with the inspiration of a genius poet.
She looked around at the unfamiliar figures and asked in a low voice, "Has He Zheng, the Second Prince, arrived?"
The maid paused, utterly perplexed. This man was clearly a poor boy who had lost his father at a young age. She wondered how much good his ancestors must have done to have the opportunity to attend the meeting with the emperor, yet he didn't know how to seize the opportunity at all, and was instead preoccupied with finding a notorious playboy.
She had never seen such an unambitious person.
"Since He Erlang has not yet arrived, please wait here, my lord."
Yu Mingshu clearly noticed the maid's tone had become stiff, but she didn't take it to heart. After the maid left, she found a quiet place to sit down. She only hoped that He Zheng—her only connection in the upper echelons of Daliang—would arrive soon.
He Zheng didn't arrive; instead, another familiar face appeared.
Two months ago, during the plagiarism scandal, Xie Shichang kicked Xie Huaijin out of the Xie family on the grounds that Xie Huaijin had flaws in his personal morality.
Xie Huaijin was truly talented; the academy took away his qualification for the provincial examination, but it could not take away his pen and ink.
As the saying goes, injustice will be spoken out. Xie Huaijin harbored resentment towards the Xie family and Chang'an Academy, which inspired him to write even more poems. In two months, he composed four quatrains, which were written with great passion and full of emotion.
It is unknown how the sage learned of this matter, read his poems, and added him to the list of participants for this poetry gathering.
At this moment, Xie Huaijin silently followed behind Xie Shichang, his eyes lowered, appearing humble and submissive, yet he gave off a very high-profile feeling.
Yu Mingshu suddenly realized that Xie Huaijin was actually very suitable to be written as the male protagonist in a male-oriented revenge novel.
The thought had barely crossed her mind when she suddenly realized that the Xie brothers were walking towards her, their target very clear.
She was somewhat confused.
The Xie family has always been the head of the civil officials, so she should have taken the initiative to greet them. But is it possible that they were just passing by and didn't intend to say hello?
It wasn't until Xie Shichang stopped in front of her with a fake smile that suggested he was a successful man that she was certain he was there for her.
Yu Mingshu hurriedly bowed, but before she could even open her mouth, Xie Shichang had already pressed down on her wrist with a smile.
"Nephew, there's no need for such formalities."
Xie Shichang looked directly into her clear eyes, as if recalling events from years past, and sighed with regret: "Brother Yu has been gone for many years. As his fellow disciple, it is only right and proper for me to take good care of his family. But I am in an important position and entangled in trivial matters. In the blink of an eye, my dear nephew has grown up so much!"
Being treated with such courtesy by the renowned Xie family head made Yu Mingshu feel uneasy, but he forced himself to nod and reply, "Minister Xie is so busy with state affairs, how could he possibly have time to attend to my orphan and widow family? It was my oversight, and I should pay my respects to the Minister as soon as possible."
"Thinking back to the early years of the founding of the nation, the Yu family was a prominent and respected clan. Who would have thought that in just a hundred years, they would have declined to this state! Brother Yu became famous throughout the land with his essay 'On the Enlightenment of Law,' and both Vice Minister Zhang and I believed that the Yu family would regain its former glory. Alas..."
Xie Shichang pressed down on Yu Mingshu's shoulder with a sorrowful expression. After a moment, he said with relief, "Fortunately, Yu Erlang is already showing the signs of a hero at such a young age. Brother Yu, if you are in heaven and know that you have such a son, you should be comforted."
Yu Mingshu could only force a smile and reply, "You flatter me, Minister."
Xie Shichang exchanged a lot of cloyingly polite words with her until He Zheng's voice rang out from behind her, finally freeing her from the awkward silence.
"Ming Shu!"
Upon hearing He Zheng's voice, Xie Shichang's expression changed slightly.
He Zheng is straightforward and acts without any rhyme or reason. Even saying a single word to such a person could bring disaster upon you.
He immediately released Yu Mingshu's shoulder and put away his smile. "I will take my leave first. My dear nephew, you are welcome to visit the Xie residence when you have time."
When He Zheng arrived at Yu Mingshu's side, he only saw the Xie brothers' backs as if they were fleeing in panic, and he couldn't help but frown.
"What did Xie Shichang say to you? Why did he hide from me when he saw me?"
Another strange phrase popped into Yu Mingshu's mind: "Kings never meet."
"Who knows what he was thinking? He calls me 'nephew' whenever he sees me. I never knew our family was so close to the Xie family."
Watching the departing figure, He Zheng sneered, "When Xie Cheng was in the capital, all the scholars in the world wished they could be related to the Xie family. After Xie Cheng retired, the Xie family wished they could marry all the scholars in the world."
Is this how "喜结连理" (xi jie lian li) is used?
Seeing Yu Mingshu cover her mouth and chuckle, He Zheng couldn't help but ask, "What are you laughing at?"
"It's nothing, I just feel much more at ease seeing you here," Yu Mingshu said.
As dusk fell, the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince, along with several concubines, arrived at Qingjiang Pool by carriage. The garden was already ablaze with lights, a scene of extravagance.
In fact, it wasn't just Qingjiang Pool that was brightly lit; there was no curfew in the whole city today, and the people were celebrating the festival. The entire city of Chang'an was immersed in joy.
Emperor Fengle ascended the high platform and took his seat. Only then did the scholars in the garden dare to take their seats. Palace attendants and maids served one exquisite dish after another, followed by wine and beverages.
Yu Mingshu poured herself a cup and realized it contained something she knew best—milk tea. Looking at the dishes on the plate, she recognized them as the signature dishes of Fengyanglou.
She was shocked; she had no idea that a banquet of this caliber could be outsourced!
After taking her seat, she was separated from He Zheng. With nowhere to confide her feelings, she could only silently observe the unfamiliar scholar beside her.
The two men on either side both appeared to be young men in their early twenties. One was dressed as if he were about to become a monk, so let's call him the Buddhist disciple for now. The other was excessively extravagant, dressed even more luxuriously than the prince, so let's call him the noble prince.
Yu Mingshu suddenly felt a sense of absurdity. In fact, these scholars were no different from the concubines in palace dramas. They all had to do their best to attract the emperor's attention at the banquet.
Unfortunately, they were of ordinary background and lacked powerful connections. Their seats were so remote that they couldn't even hear what the emperor was saying. If they were slightly nearsighted, they couldn't even see the emperor's shadow.
After five courses of food, Emperor Fengle put down his chopsticks.
Seeing this, everyone stopped, and as is customary, the poetry gathering followed.
To everyone's surprise, His Majesty changed his taste today. He didn't want to read poetry anymore, but instead ordered everyone to compose poems on the spot, using Qingjiang Pond as the theme.
The scholars present had a variety of expressions. Those who had guessed the wrong question were inwardly groaning, but dared not show it on their faces. They could only numbly watch as the maids tore down the plates and arranged the writing implements.
Yu Mingshu looked around and saw that both the Buddha and the noble son were holding their brushes stiffly, but were hesitant to write.
The enemy doesn't move, she does.
Yu Mingshu realized just a second before she put pen to paper that standing out among thousands of scholars was already an extremely difficult thing, let alone for a woman to do so.
It's okay to hide your talents once, but the real problem is that you might never have another chance to shine.
Just as she finished writing, someone handed in their paper in the distance, drawing everyone's attention. Yu Mingshu was quite curious; who dared to be the first to do so? Looking from a distance of more than ten meters, she saw that it was Xie Huaijin.
He Zheng followed closely behind and handed in his paper. The others had no expectations of him and only glanced at it before speeding up their writing.
Yu Mingshu hesitated for a moment and decided to hold back for the time being, waiting until most people had finished their papers before submitting his.
Emperor Fengle had already flipped through the documents he had submitted earlier, reading them while conversing with his close ministers, including Yang Congen and Li Qinian.
While waiting for the judgment, Guizi on the right took the initiative to approach Yu Mingshu and said with a smile as warm as a spring breeze: "Yu Erlang's writing just now was so fluent and smooth, he must have a lot of ideas in his mind. Yu Erlang should have a place in the top three of this gathering."
“Brother, you flatter me. I was just writing whatever came to mind in despair, which is why it flows so smoothly,” Yu Mingshu said modestly. “You just wrote after careful consideration, so your work will surely be elegant and eloquent.”
The other person was indeed pleased and happily offered her a cup of milk tea.
After a long wait, the winners were finally decided among the top few. Everyone at the table eagerly awaited their names appearing on the list, and a moment of silence fell. For the first time, Yu Mingshu clearly heard the emperor's voice.
"Xie Sanlang's article is elegant in its language and harmonious in its imagery; it should be considered the best of today."
Upon hearing this, some were disappointed while others understood, but none of them questioned it, as if they had already anticipated the outcome.
Scholars close to Xie Shichang stepped forward to offer their congratulations, while the officials at the banquet silently observed Xie Shichang's expression, not in a hurry to strike up a conversation with Xie Huaijin.
"He Erlang actually didn't hand in a blank paper today."
Emperor Fengle then held up a manuscript and praised it, saying, "This article is magnificent and grand in its wording, quite different from the writing style of scholars in the capital. It is truly worthy of a descendant of a military family."
This means that He Zheng's article was ranked second.
Everyone was shocked and looked at He Zheng, who was standing next to the Crown Prince, in disbelief.
How could that be? Isn't He Erlang notoriously incompetent and ignorant?
Yu Mingshu suddenly heard the Buddha Brother on the left snort coldly, "After all, he is the Empress's nephew. His Majesty should give the He family some face."
She couldn't help but retort: "You haven't even read He Erlang's article, yet you dare to criticize His Majesty for favoritism?"
Buddhist Brother glanced at her sideways and let out an almost inaudible "tsk," disdainful of arguing with her.
Just then, Emperor Fengle turned his gaze to the table and asked, "Which one of you is Yu Mingshu, son of the former Imperial Censor Yu Zhui?"
Everyone was discussing He Zheng's second place, and the banquet was extremely noisy. Yu Mingshu didn't hear what the emperor said at all. A young eunuch ran over to deliver the message, and she knew that she had been called out.
She hurriedly straightened her clothes and stepped forward to bow under the envious gazes of the crowd.
"This humble subject, Yu, pays his respects to Your Majesty."
"No need for formalities."
Emperor Fengle smiled faintly, looking down at her, and said, "Your article is beautifully written. It seems to describe the magnificent scenery in the garden, but it also mentions the complicated process of craftsmen firing gold bricks and carving jade walls. The deeper meaning is intriguing."
Upon hearing this, Yu Mingshu remained calm and composed, but the others were shocked, wondering if this Second Master Yu would be so bold as to use his poem to satirize and criticize some extravagant trend during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"Today, I entered Qingjiang Pool for the first time. I was amazed by the carved beams and painted rafters. It seems that only a peaceful and prosperous era can cultivate such skilled craftsmen."
Yu Mingshu bowed with his hands clasped and spoke earnestly, “Since childhood, I have heard of His Majesty’s great achievements in pacifying the north, and I have long admired them. I only wish to dedicate all my knowledge to the prosperity of the Great Liang.”
"What ambition!"
Emperor Fengle's face gradually showed a troubled expression. "In my personal opinion, Yu Erlang's article should be ranked first along with Xie Sanlang's article. However, my teacher and Prime Minister Li have both ranked you third, so I cannot insist on going my own way."
Yu Mingshu quickly feigned surprise and gratitude, bowing to thank the Emperor for his appreciation.
Before he could finish speaking, the emperor added, "I have heard about your deeds at the Chang'an Academy."
"You have some past grievances with Xie Sanlang, yet today I have placed your two articles side by side. Yu Erlang, are you convinced of this?"
Yu Mingshu was taken aback and instinctively denied it.
After denying it, he couldn't understand why the emperor asked that question.
She glanced discreetly in Xie Huaijin's direction; he had his lips pursed, seemingly even more nervous than she was.
"The academy has already punished me for what happened that day, and I respect all the academy's decisions. I have no more personal grudges with Xie Sanlang. In terms of talent, Xie Sanlang is proficient in classics and history, and is also good at poetry and prose. I am ashamed of my inferiority. Today, Your Majesty has placed Ming Shu on the same level as Xie Sanlang. Ming Shu feels ashamed and flattered."
Yu Mingshu's voice was clear, and his tone was frank and sincere.
A single sentence, "I am ashamed of myself" or "I feel ashamed of my own inferiority," left Xie Huaijin so ashamed that he couldn't lift his head.
"It's rare to see someone so young yet possessing such a magnanimous spirit." Emperor Fengle laughed heartily, picking up a heavy purse from the tray handed to him by a maid and tossing it to her.
"Yu Mingshu, I await your good news in next year's provincial examination."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
