How can this be!
Fortunately, Su Ruojin was self-aware enough to know that she was not good enough for the Crown Prince and took the initiative to refuse.
"Your Majesty, the time has come," Granny Kong reminded Empress Sun as she approached her.
Empress Sun nodded, and with the help of Granny Kong, she got up, walked to a gong, took the gong mallet tied with red cloth, and struck the gong.
The sound of the gong signifies the official start of the poetry competition.
"Last year, the eldest prince and the daughter of Prime Minister Hu won the poetry competition, which also led to a beautiful marriage. I hope to see even better works from everyone this year, Granny Kong."
With a wave of her hand, Granny Sun sent two palace maids up carrying two trays covered with red cloth.
Granny Kong lifted the red cloth, revealing two delicate and warm jade ruyi scepters inside.
The ruyi is a bright, translucent green, clearly not an ordinary item.
"These are my favorite pair of Ruyi scepters. I'm bringing them out today as the grand prize. Let's see who can win them."
Many people in the crowd exclaimed in surprise. This pair of Ruyi scepters was a gift that the Emperor had specially ordered to be sent to the Empress three years ago for her birthday. They never expected that the Empress would use them as a lucky charm.
Seeing this colorful figure, many people are already eager to try it out.
The poetry competition was divided into three rounds. In the first round, each person presented their best poem, which they had prepared in advance, for everyone to appreciate.
The second round involved the Empress setting a topic, from which participants would compose poems on the spot.
The third round involved a random draw, where participants had to compose a poem on the spot based on the topic they drew.
The player with the best overall performance across all three rounds wins.
Su Ruojin was only there to make a formality and did not intend to participate.
When the poetry contest began, everyone took out their pre-prepared poems and handed them to the palace maids. As for whether the poems were actually their own, no one cared.
Those who can participate in the poetry gathering are all children of prominent families. The first session is actually to save face for everyone. Otherwise, if someone gets nervous in front of everyone and can't do anything, it would be quite embarrassing.
To ensure fairness, the Empress also invited the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy and two Vice-Chancellors to make the judgment.
Seeing that everyone had submitted their poems except for Su Ruojin, the Empress smiled and said, "Princess Chang Le, won't you join in and have some fun?"
"Your Majesty, I am naturally dull-witted and not proficient in poetry, so I will not embarrass myself by offering my work," Su Ruojin politely declined. No one stipulated that one had to write a poem to participate in the poetry competition.
Princess Anxing chuckled: "I've always heard that the Great Chu is full of scholars, so how come Princess Chang Le is not well-versed in poetry and literature?"
"As the ancients said, everyone has their own expertise. I only know a little about traditional Chinese medicine, and I am indeed not proficient in poetry." Su Ruojin's nonchalant expression made Princess Anxing feel as if she had punched a cotton ball.
She never imagined that a woman would dare to admit in public that she was not proficient in poetry.
You should know that whether in Yunqi or Dachu, which noblewoman didn't have a tutor teach her poetry and songs from a young age? Anyone who didn't understand these things would be looked down upon.
But Su Ruojin doesn't play by the rules; she seems completely unconcerned about what others think.
"Princess Chang Le, since you're already here, why not give it a try? If you don't wish to participate, you can simply choose not to." The Empress said to Su Ruojin with a smile.
The Empress has already spoken up and indicated that she can choose not to participate in the selection, which is a concession on her part. If I were to refuse again, it would be inappropriate.
Su Ruojin sighed inwardly. Oh well, since she was always being chased by her fourth master to learn how to write poems and lyrics when she was a child, she could just pick a few poems she had written back then to get by.
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