A young court official stepped forward and read a birthday poem addressed to Your Majesty.
Helian Qi was very pleased and rewarded him generously.
It attracted a lot of attention.
"Master, this is Concubine Song's elder brother, this year's new top scholar, who has done a lot of work for His Majesty and is very valued by His Majesty!" Xiao Guizi has always been quick-witted and had already found out a lot about the enemy. She whispered:
"Song Jieyu was promoted to Jieyu only because she has a good brother and a good father. The last time His Majesty promoted her to Jieyu, it happened that Song Tanhua had just solved a serious case! His Majesty was very happy and rewarded him lavishly! He also promoted Song Jieyu's position!"
Lian Rui asked in a low voice, "Who is the new champion? Why did His Majesty only praise the third place winner? The champion's poem should be better than the third place winner, right?"
"The poem of the new top scholar has just been read out. His Majesty did not give so much as a reward!" said Xiao Guizi.
Ning Wanyin knew it.
Of course, what the emperor wanted to promote was not the most talented among this group of Jinshi, but the one who could be used by him.
As long as the father and brother of the Song family do not fall, Concubine Song will be promoted step by step without doing much.
The former dynasty and the harem have always been one and the same.
Ning Wanyin glanced casually and suddenly found that this Mr. Song was actually looking at her.
The two looked at each other.
The other party immediately lowered his head, his eyes avoided, and his cheeks turned red.
Ning Wanyin frowned.
Staring at the woman, such reckless and frivolous behavior, the Song family's education is really quite mediocre.
The concubines in the harem presented gifts and congratulations one after another.
Concubine Shu gave her a hand-copied Buddhist scripture, and Concubine Zhuang gave her a precious sword...
The items presented by the Xue and Cen families were all valuable.
There were also many concubines who performed to celebrate the birthday, each showing off their talents in a splendid and dazzling display.
On the surface, His Majesty's harem is also harmonious.
"I have composed a piece of music to congratulate Your Majesty." Song Qingzhi walked forward with the zither in her arms, her face slightly red.
She originally wanted to write poetry.
But he was afraid of being outdone by Miss Ying, so he switched to playing the piano.
As expected of a famous talented woman in the capital, this piano piece stood out among all the concubines who performed.
Helian Qi also rewarded her generously, just like he did to her brother.
When it was Concubine Wei's turn to give gifts, many concubines were looking forward to it, but...
"I made a birthday painting myself, wishing Your Majesty a long life." Wei Yingya was very perfunctory and didn't even bother to think of a few words of congratulations.
The emperor glanced at her painting with an indifferent expression, not seeming to care much.
The concubines had different expressions.
Isn't Wei Yingya very good at vying for favor? Has she run out of ideas?
Song Qingzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. She heard that Ning Wanyin had already sent a gift, so the only person who could steal her limelight at the banquet was Wei Yingya.
I didn't expect her to give me such an ordinary painting.
It made it easy for her to win.
She was in a better mood.
Wei Yingya didn't care about everyone's gaze. She just calmly sat back in her seat and continued to eat.
"Your Majesty, I would like to congratulate you on your longevity. On your Majesty's birthday, the lotus flowers in the pond are in full bloom, and the lotus flowers are also congratulating you. I specially present to your Majesty the "Summer Lotus Painting" that I treasure at home to congratulate you." Concubine Wei presented a scroll painting.
This "Summer Lotus" was created by a famous artist of the Yan Dynasty.
When Your Majesty was still a prince, this painting was as famous as Your Majesty's "Winter Plum Blossoms", and they were both regarded as the best works of winter and summer.
Your Majesty also praised the "Summer Lotus Painting".
"Summer Lotus" is worth a fortune and is rarely seen. The Wei family actually spent a huge amount of money to buy this rare piece of art and catered to their taste.
A hint of smile appeared on Helian Qi's face, "Miss Wei is thoughtful."
"Your Majesty, I have one more thing to report. When I purchased this painting, the painter told me that there was one regret about this painting, and that was that it lacked a poem. He felt that his literary talent was not good enough, so he did not write a poem. When he gave it to me, he asked me to find someone to write a poem for the painting." Concubine Wei looked at Helian Qi and continued.
Everyone understood that this was an attempt to flatter the emperor, praising his talent and asking him to write a poem.
But the next moment:
"I have heard that Concubine Ning is extremely talented and is the most talented woman in the harem. So I think I would like to ask Concubine Ning to do me a favor in writing a poem!"
The whole house was silent.
The concubines in the harem had different expressions, and many of them looked at Ning Wanyin with gloating.
Everyone knows that at the last poetry reading, Ning Wanyin punished herself with a drink because she couldn't write anything.
Asking her to write a poem, isn't that just making fun of her?
Without waiting for Ning Wanyin to refuse, Lady Wei said:
"I am here to celebrate your majesty's birthday, so I naturally cannot allow this painting to have such imperfections. Concubine Ning has deep feelings for your majesty, so I'm sure she will not be stingy with her words to congratulate your majesty."
Helian Qi's eyes darkened slightly, "The court is full of talented people, there is no need to use a woman like her..."
"Your Majesty has always loved talented people, and Concubine Ning is your favorite. I believe she is very talented, and the poems she writes will not be worse than those of the Jinshi of the previous dynasty." Concubine Wei refused to give up.
Concubine Shu's eyes flashed with a trace of speechlessness. Idiot. It's fine if you trick Ning Wanyin...
Are you still trying to stop the emperor with such words?
Doesn't this mean that the emperor is vulgar and superficial, which is why he likes a woman like Ning Wanyin who is beautiful but has no talent?
Helian Qi looked at Lady Wei with a cold look in his eyes.
Concubine Shu smiled and said, "Concubine Wei presented a painting, and Concubine Ning wrote a poem. They both congratulated Your Majesty. It's a wonderful story for two sisters to celebrate Your Majesty's birthday together."
Ning Wanyin wrote a poem to show the harmony in the harem and the unity among the sisters.
On the contrary, this was, after all, a birthday gift prepared by Concubine Wei. If we asked a court official to compose a poem, and a foreign man and the empress congratulated His Majesty on his birthday together, what would that look like?
Although both of them forced Ning Wanyin to write a poem, Concubine Shu's words were much more clever.
Wei Yingya saw this and immediately stepped forward to help:
"Your Highness is right. Sisters working together is a beautiful story. As Concubine Wei's cousin, I dare to ask you to write a poem for me!"
Wei Yingshu glared at her cousin who was ruining her plans, but Concubine Shu had already hit back without making a sound:
"We have all seen Lady Ying's poem. It is a good one. You should stop competing with Concubine Ning for the opportunity to present a poem to His Majesty."
"Last time, Concubine Ning said that she was not in the mood to compose poetry. This time, Concubine Ning is not in the mood to celebrate His Majesty's birthday, right?" Xue Jinyan added indifferently.
Song Qingzhi was in high spirits when she saw this scene, and she added fuel to the fire: "I believe that Concubine Ning must have intended to celebrate Your Majesty's birthday."
The Cen family, the Xue family, Song Qingzhi...
Various forces in the palace targeted Ning Wanyin at the same time.
Having said that, Ning Wanyin had no choice but to write.
"I feel honored to be able to celebrate your majesty's birthday. Since Lady Wei has given me this opportunity, I will not let her down." Ning Wanyin stood up after watching the show and said:
"Your Majesty, please give me some ink."
Helian Qi's eyes fell on her face, but he couldn't tell her expression. "Wang Degui, give me some writing materials."
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