The two took two steps forward, getting closer to the chrysanthemums and seeing them more clearly. Qu Qingxi couldn't help but sigh, "There are indeed many talented and extraordinary people here."
The Ten-Foot Curtain peony is extremely difficult to cultivate, but I never expected this one to bloom so beautifully, delicate and gorgeous, magnificent and no less than a peony.
Seeing Qu Qingxi standing still in front of the ten-foot-long curtain, Ren Nuanyun walked over to her and asked, "Does Your Highness like this ten-foot-long curtain?"
"These flowers are indeed in full bloom, very beautiful." Qu Qingxi nodded, staring at the chrysanthemums in front of her, her eyes full of admiration.
"I heard that the princess is the daughter of the Prime Minister's family, so she must be very talented. Why don't you compose a couple of lines of poetry to praise these chrysanthemums?" Ren Nuanyun said, seemingly out of kindness.
"Princess Mingxiu is too kind. This princess is not very learned and has never liked poetry since childhood, so I really can't come up with any suitable verses." Qu Qingxi smiled modestly and deflected the question with a few words.
“Princess Mingxiu is very talented. Why don’t you compose a poem so that everyone can see your talent?” Qu Qingxi knew that Ren Nuanyun wanted to show off her talent, so she went along with it.
Qu Qingxi's words were exactly what Ren Nuanyun wanted to hear. She had originally planned to showcase her amazing talent for poetry here again today. If Qu Qingxi was unwilling, it wouldn't matter. As long as her poems were good enough, everyone would only see her.
"Since the Princess Consort says so, then I won't stand on ceremony." Ren Nuanyun smiled smugly, then glanced at everyone.
Everyone heard the conversation between the two people and turned to look.
“When autumn comes on the ninth day of the ninth month, my flowers will bloom and all other flowers will wither.” Ren Nuanyun said confidently, and after speaking, she glanced at Qu Qingxi and saw shock in Qu Qingxi’s eyes.
The air in the garden was quiet for a moment, then a chorus of exclamations began to rise and fall.
The ladies present were all pampered young ladies raised from childhood, well-versed in poetry and literature, and naturally understood how exquisite the poem was.
Princess Yongchang and Xu Yingying, the daughter of the Grand Tutor, gave Ren Nuanyun a strange look.
"Princess Mingxiu is indeed exceptionally talented. This poem is wonderful. I just wonder if the princess really wrote it herself?" Qu Qingxi asked with curiosity and admiration.
"Of course it was my own doing. The princess said she was not very knowledgeable, so she can't possibly think that I am not very knowledgeable either, can she?" Ren Nuanyun asked with a light laugh, her tone carrying a hint of disdain.
In this era of male chauvinism, how many of the women here are truly well-read? They are mostly just useless women confined to the inner quarters.
Every day, I learn how to manage a household, how to steal a man, how to compete with other women, how to scheme and frame others, and how to compare myself to a modern woman.
She is destined to be the protagonist of this world, the Crown Princess, the future Empress, and the Emperor's right-hand woman. She will also transform this feudal era into a society where men and women are equal.
At that time, she will be the first person to usher in an era of equality, and her name will be recorded in history and remembered for generations to come.
Upon hearing this, Princess Yongchang and Xu Yingying looked at Ren Nuanyun with even more strange expressions.
Yongchang had read a book before, and the poem in it contained the line that Ren Nuanyun had just mentioned. However, the author of that poem was not Ren Nuanyun, but someone else. Yongchang was able to remember this line because she herself also loved chrysanthemums very much.
Xu Yingying, on the other hand, was born into a scholarly family. Her father was very strict with her, and she had to read everything from poetry and songs to military books. Her father had once acquired a book, and she happened to read this poem. At that time, her father praised the author of the poem in front of her.
The author of that poem was clearly not Ren Nuanyun, yet Ren Nuanyun is now claiming that she wrote it herself. This is clearly theft.
"Your Highness is truly talented; I admire you." Qu Qingxi seemed oblivious to the disdain in Ren Nuanyun's tone.
Seeing that Qu Qingxi still gave her a soft compliment without any rebuttal, Ren Nuanyun felt even more disdainful. She guessed that Qu Qingxi didn't even understand what was so good about the poem and was just saying it casually.
After today, this poem will surely spread, and more people will be amazed by her amazing talent. Just thinking about how people will point at her and say how good her talent is when she goes out makes Ren Nuanyun even more proud.
After everyone praised Ren Nuanyun's talent, they began to admire the chrysanthemums again.
Qu Qingxi remained calm throughout, leading Qingdai to admire the precious chrysanthemums here.
At this moment, two maids walked over, carrying trays with various sachets on them, all embroidered with different kinds of chrysanthemums.
The chrysanthemum embroidery was so lifelike that everyone loved it.
"These sachets were embroidered by me personally. They are decorated with various kinds of chrysanthemums and filled with dried chrysanthemum petals. They were specially prepared for everyone, so please don't find them too tacky," Ren Nuanyun said with a smile.
After Ren Nuanyun finished speaking, she took out a sachet embroidered with a ten-foot-long curtain from the tray and handed it to Qu Qingxi by hand. "Your Highness, this was specially embroidered for you. Please do not find the embroidery work unsatisfactory."
Qu Qingxi narrowed her eyes slightly. Ren Nuanyun was really good at scheming. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she really couldn't refuse. She glanced at Ren Nuanyun and saw her hand it to her personally. Then she took it and said, "Thank you, Princess Mingxiu. I've only heard that Princess Mingxiu is incredibly talented. I didn't expect her needlework skills to be so good as well."
Seeing Qu Qingxi accept the sachet, Ren Nuanyun's eyes flashed with a triumphant smile. "Your Highness is too kind."
Ren Nuanyun then signaled her maid to give sachets to Princess Yongchang and the others. Qu Qingxi took advantage of everyone's inattention and quickly threw the sachet into her spatial storage. Although she didn't smell anything strange in the sachet, it was better to be cautious.
Looking at the sachets in their hands, everyone secretly admired Ren Nuanyun's needlework skills. Even the most famous embroiderers in the capital could not produce anything better.
After strolling around the garden for a while and admiring the chrysanthemums, Qu Qingxi was about to return to the banquet hall when she suddenly sensed something was wrong and a surge of heat welled up in her heart.
Qu Qingxi immediately became alert and quickly checked her pulse by touching her bracelet. Sure enough, she found something was wrong; she had been poisoned by Chunmei!
As its name suggests, Chunmei is an aphrodisiac. It is colorless and odorless, and most importantly, there is no other antidote for it. It can only be relieved through sexual intercourse between a man and a woman.
Qu Qingxi had seen this medicine in a medical book in the Prince's mansion before. She had taken a second look out of curiosity, since it was difficult to make medicine colorless and odorless in this era.
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