Especially after the poetry gathering began, Jia Qingzhou painted and composed poems, and his works drew praise from everyone, with thunderous applause, making him seem like the most awesome person in the entire event.
Even the ladies in the tea room craned their necks to look.
"That must be Young Master Qingzhou. He is indeed extraordinary, surpassing everyone else."
"I had long heard that Jia Qingzhou, the second son of the Jia family, was very talented and often had poems circulating. Seeing him today, I can see that he is indeed extraordinary."
"I heard he's going to take the exam this year too. With his talent, he's sure to pass."
"I wonder if he's engaged or not... If not..."
The ladies were quite satisfied with Jia Qingzhou, and many of them, having expressed interest, went up to chat with her.
Madam Jia was instantly surrounded by a crowd; she was truly very popular.
The other group of ladies, whose families had no unmarried daughters but only sons of marriageable age, gathered around to look at Jia Qingzhou's poems and paintings that had been brought over from the poetry gathering.
"Ha, I admit that Jia Qingzhou is indeed quite capable, but this is a poetry gathering, not his own stage."
"He alone steals the limelight, leaving no chance for anyone else."
"What do you mean by being steady? I think he's very frivolous."
"Yes, yes, yes, it's really frivolous."
"And he's not humble at all."
These sarcastic remarks, when they reached Madam Sun's ears, were immediately interpreted as praise for Jia Qingzhou.
Excellent people are always subject to jealousy.
It seems that Jia's second son is indeed talented, otherwise the faces of these ladies who brought their sons to the poetry gathering would not be so distorted.
With these thoughts in mind, Madam Sun found Jia Qingzhou increasingly pleasing to the eye, and even took his poems and paintings to heart.
Seeing that Madam Sun's favor was increasingly tilting towards Jia Qingzhou, Jiang Shuwan was not too worried. She had already sent someone to invite Pei Yanzhi.
Jiang Shuwan first looked at the aunt who was sitting in the corner drinking tea.
At the Linshui Pavilion poetry gathering, not only men compose poems, but women do too.
The woman's poem also came over; the words were beautiful and the poem looked quite good.
"Where's that slut Jiang Yao?"
"Madam, the young mistress is not at the Linshui Pavilion. Married women generally do not participate in such poetry gatherings..."
“I’m not asking you to use Lingyu’s words to lure her to Linshui Pavilion. She’s not some so-called top female talent. I don’t believe those young masters and ladies wouldn’t ask her to compose a poem if she showed up.”
"Madam, the young mistress didn't fall for it. As soon as she heard about the poetry gathering, she immediately closed the door to all visitors."
The old nanny beside the aunt looked distressed and said that they had indeed sent someone to lure Jiang Yao over. Logically speaking, someone of Jiang Yao's talent would have run away as fast as she could upon hearing about the poetry gathering.
After all, she became famous at poetry gatherings.
Moreover, since the aunt scolded her last time, she should write a few poems to vindicate herself and slap the aunt in the face.
"Madam, this is so strange. The young mistress is always against you, so why hasn't she made a move at all, given such a good opportunity..."
The old woman still remembered how proud Jiang Yao was when she said she was the most talented woman in the capital.
Their young master was especially proud of marrying the most talented woman.
"That brat, she's always going against me."
The aunt was so angry that she could barely hold her teacup.
"Her title of 'First Talented Woman' is indeed questionable, otherwise she wouldn't even dare to participate in poetry gatherings..."
Mrs. Bo has revealed the truth.
Hearing what the lady of the house said, Jiang Shuwan couldn't help but smile.
All the noble ladies in the capital were defeated by the poem "Spring Dawn," giving the title of the most talented woman to Jiang Yao. Ultimately, it was because the Jiang family held low official positions, and even if they hired a ghostwriter, they couldn't buy such a masterpiece of poetry.
Therefore, everyone assumed it was Jiang Yao's own work.
As for Jiang Yao's avoidance of the poetry gathering, it's quite simple. She doesn't have any real talent, and copying a couple of poems is just a product of modern cramming education.
Asking her to write poetry, especially a good one, would be like taking her life.
but……
Madam Bo's words were too definitive; Jiang Yao might even come...
Thinking it over, Jiang Shuwan glanced at the ladies present.
In her previous life, the Earl's family married her half a year late, but she still had face. The Earl's wife took her out to socialize, and the ladies she associated with were all of high status and position.
As luck would have it, she noticed something was wrong as soon as she arrived today.
I didn't recognize many of the ladies in these teahouses.
When she entered, the ladies greeted her, exchanged pleasantries, and learned about each other's family backgrounds and identities.
They were all minor officials of the fifth or sixth rank, and there were also two wives of the third or fourth rank who were acquaintances of the eldest daughter-in-law in her previous life, but they were not from any particularly powerful families.
In the previous life, the aunt was very cold to them and looked down on them quite a bit, but this time the aunt was very friendly to them.
The social circle of the Earl's family has changed.
The social standing of the ladies in this room is completely different from that of the previous life.
Their limited experience is why they admire and resent the Jia family so much.
After all, he came from a prestigious family and was the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.
The children they brought with them were also of average talent; after all, they couldn't even beat Jia Qingzhou, who had always failed the imperial examinations in his previous life.
It's easy to imagine how bad they are.
If Jiang Yao knew, she probably wouldn't have missed this opportunity.
In previous years, she always avoided poetry gatherings with many talented women, and many people privately spread rumors that she had lost her creative talent, which led Jiang Yao to smash up her house several times.
If she could compose a poem in front of these noobs and outshine them, wouldn't that make her stand out?
"Madam, the young mistress has arrived."
"The young mistress has gone to the Linshui Pavilion."
As Jiang Shuwan was thinking, the old nanny beside the Madam Bo had already seen Jiang Yao.
Jiang Yao swaggered into Linshui Pavilion with her maid, and Pei Lingyu immediately stood up excitedly.
"Yao'er, you've finally arrived."
He actually really enjoyed poetry gatherings, but this time it was organized by his aunt using his name, so he wasn't very happy about it.
Especially since Jia Qingzhou was in the limelight, no one paid him any attention, which made him feel extremely bored.
Fortunately, Jiang Yao arrived.
This has finally managed to garner some attention.
"I heard that the manor is holding a poetry gathering. As the hostess and the most talented woman in the capital, I can't possibly miss it."
As soon as Jiang Yao arrived, the crowd erupted in excitement again; her title as the most talented woman in the capital was indeed quite impressive.
The young men and women at the poetry gathering all respected her.
Just as Jiang Shuwan had predicted, Jiang Yao composed a poem that outshone all the other beauties, earning Pei Lingyu plenty of face and envious glances.
"Our remote control is really amazing."
Pei Lingyu also loved to write poetry, especially love poems. Jiang Yao was currently writing the same type of poem, using the mandarin ducks in the garden as a metaphor for her feelings for Pei Lingyu, which greatly satisfied Pei Lingyu.
Moreover, everyone's gaze had shifted from Jia Qingzhou to him.
Jia Qingzhou is nobody.
He could also be used as a foil.
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