Zhao Yuanrou's gaze was firm and unyielding.

She and Zhou Jingxun had experienced too many breakups and reconciliations, and it was not until that day when she was listening to Zuo Lou that she truly understood her own feelings.

Zhou Jingxun is the person she wants to spend her life with.

She didn't want to miss it again.

Zhao Yuanrou pinched the six sticks in her hand, with a hint of pride in the corners of her mouth that curled up slightly.

She has five thousand years of knowledge and insights. She is far better than them!

There are only four top spots, and she will definitely get it.

The maid took the stick and left.

There is no need to register in advance. As long as you pick up the stick when choosing the stick, it means you will participate in the competition.

There were also some girls who came just to join in the fun at first, but later couldn't help but want to try it out, so they went over to get the sticks.

After a while, the girls in the pavilion had chosen their lots, and the maid had registered them in the flower list. Just as they were about to go down, the door of the pavilion opened.

There were several braziers burning in the pavilion, and it was warm as spring. They had already taken off their outdoor awnings. The cold wind rushed in through the open door, making them shiver.

Someone looked over with dissatisfaction, and a girl wearing a red fur cloak came in with a chill. The maid beside her took off the cloak for her and held it in her hands, revealing an extremely bright face.

"Sister Zheng." Qingyue walked over with a smile, "I thought you weren't coming."

"Princess." Zheng Xintong bowed and greeted. "I saw the plum blossoms were in full bloom, so I went to take a look. I'm late."

"She is the second young lady from the residence of Lord Zheng, the governor of the Beijing camp." Seeing that Sheng Xiyan didn't recognize her, Cheng Chuyu introduced her in a low voice.

Zheng Chongming, the governor of the Beijing camp.

The emperor's most trusted confidant even entrusted the three major camps of the imperial guards into his hands.

Even though Zheng Zhongming returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors and was gone for more than half a year, the emperor did not let anyone replace him.

The Sheng family was not of high status, and they seldom interacted with the truly noble ladies in the capital, so Sheng Xiyan had only heard of them but had never seen them in person.

Seeing the maid about to leave, Zheng Xintong asked casually, "Have you chosen everything?"

"Do you want to try it?" Qingyue said familiarly, "I'll go call her over."

"No need." Zheng Xintong was not interested. "I just came over to take a look."

Qingyue smiled and said, "Then sit with me."

Qingyue took her arm and sat down with her. Soon, girls came over one after another to greet them. It was visibly that the number of people surrounding Sheng Xiyan had decreased by nearly half.

The maid took the lot and went out to two other flower pavilions to let people choose. After registering them in the flower list, they were sent to the three masters.

The Queen Mother and the three ladies were all in the flower pavilion on the east side. In addition to them, there were also several noble wives and princesses from royal families who came with the Queen Mother.

As usual, Wei Dajia looked through the roster and saw at a glance that someone had picked six sticks. He couldn't help but exclaimed, "Someone actually picked six items this year?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked.

Someone was confident enough to pick six sticks; this was the first time since the girls’ school opened!

"You came here for the promise of the Queen Mother, right?" Lady Zheng Gongguo said flatteringly, "Your promise, Queen Mother, has inspired many talented women in our Great Rong Dynasty."

The Queen Mother smiled complacently and added: "A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. The term 'talented woman' is just an empty title. It is more important for a woman to be virtuous and support her husband and raise her children."

There were frequent echoes of sound all around.

Wei Dajia frowned almost imperceptibly, pretended not to hear, and lowered his head to continue looking at the flower list.

Women are not inferior to men, they just get far fewer opportunities than men. They can be better!

"Wei Yan," the Queen Mother asked from above, "whose family is the girl who took the six sticks?"

Wei Yan is Wei Dajia's real name.

She started to wear her hair in her hair at the age of sixteen and devoted her life to the art of playing the zither and women's education. Now she is just over forty, with a beautiful face and a gentle temperament.

She raised her head and smiled, "It's the daughter of the Zhao family, her maiden name is Yuanrou."

Zhao Yuanrou? !

The smile on the Queen Mother's face froze immediately, and a fire was beating in her heart, almost bursting out.

Why is it her again!

When the emperor arranged the marriage between Qin Wei and Zhao Yuanrou, he did not inform the empress dowager in advance and issued the decree himself. When the empress dowager found out, she was furious, but the decree had already been issued and there was nothing she could do. She had a cold war with the emperor for several days and finally gave up.

But every time she thought about the fact that her little son, whom she held as a treasure in her hands, insisted on marrying Zhao Yuanrou, she felt uncomfortable.

Zhao Yuanrou is simply too shameless.

She was flirting with many women, was indecisive, and favored Zhang Yang. She caused such a mess in the capital that her son also lost face.

Moreover, the Zhao family was something that no one had ever heard of. They didn't know what kind of people they were. How could the Zhao family be qualified to be a princess? The Queen Mother had originally thought that the princess she would choose for her son would have to be from at least one of the most prestigious families. The Zhao family was not even qualified to be a concubine, at most she could only be a concubine!

If she wasn't afraid that her son would become estranged from her, the Queen Mother really wanted to give Zhao a white silk scarf and end her life early.

The Queen Mother rubbed her brows; her good mood was ruined in an instant.

Everyone knew the reason but dared not say anything, for fear of accidentally offending the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother said uninterestedly, "Let's begin."

Wei Yan smiled slightly, exchanged glances with the other two masters, and then instructed the maid: "Let's get started."

The maid responded by striking a bronze bell.

The crisp sound of the gongs reached every pavilion.

These four flower pavilions are arranged in a circle around a small lake in the middle. There is a warm pavilion in the center of the lake, and plum trees surround the flower pavilions. It is the season when plum blossoms are just beginning to bloom, and the clear plum fragrance lingers in the air, making the place extremely quiet and peaceful.

In each round of competition, the girls would come from their respective flower pavilions to the small pavilion in the middle of the lake, and what was happening in the pavilion could be seen from the four flower pavilions.

The first round was poetry.

Wei Yan asked the Queen Mother to decide the topic.

The Queen Mother said casually with little interest, "Just Mei."

Wei Yan smiled and replied, "Yes."

Wei Yan wrote the word "plum" and asked her maid to pass the message on, telling her to create something on the theme of plum, either a poem or an ode, and the time limit would be one stick of incense.

Seven girls came out from the flower pavilion one after another and walked along the small bridge into the pavilion.

Several desks had been set up in the pavilion, and the maids had prepared the grinding stones in advance. Some of them were pondering over the word "plum" written by Wei Yan, while others were muttering to themselves. Only Zhao Yuanrou seemed to have already made up her mind. She was the first to pick up the pen, and her writing was done with great speed. When she finished, the others were still in deep thought.

In less than an incense stick of time, everyone had finished writing.

Then, the maid presented it to the Queen Mother, who read it with her and several other distinguished guests.

It is not easy to come up with a complete poem with artistic conception and rhyme within the time of a stick of incense when given a topic on the spot.

Wei Yan appreciates every song carefully.

She had just finished reading the three poems when the Empress Dowager suddenly spoke, muttering to herself: "A few plum blossoms stand in the corner of the wall, blooming alone in the cold winter..."[1]

"Good poem!" she said. "This one is excellent. It deserves first prize."

The Queen Mother's words "excellent" are the best compliment.

Wei Yan first quickly read through several poems. This one was indeed the best and eye-opening. It only had four sentences in total, but each sentence was meaningful, simple and natural, yet every word was a gem.

Excellent indeed!

So Wei Yan said nothing and let the Queen Mother choose her as the leader.

The Queen Mother's mood was obviously better. She asked, "Who wrote this poem?"

She thought that she would meet him later and give him a reward.

The maid glanced at the list and bowed, "Your Majesty, it was Zhao Yuanrou who did it."

Queen Mother: “…”

Her hands pinched the rice paper unconsciously, crumpling one corner of it into a ball.

Wei Yan didn't understand.

The three of them were only concerned with girls' studies and spent most of their free time immersed in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They paid no attention to the outside world and naturally did not know about the rift between Zhao Yuanrou and the Queen Mother.

However, they have been in the capital for more than ten years. Even if they are not interested in worldly affairs, they are not stupid, and they will not be so tactless as to ask questions.

Wei Yan smiled nonchalantly and said, "Queen Mother, then Miss Zhao will be the winner. What do you think?"

The Queen Mother looked as if she had just been slapped in the face. Her face was expressionless. After a while, she said, "Okay."

She regretted it so much. She should have asked the name before looking at it.

She had already said that the poem was excellent. If she regretted it now, wouldn't it be very embarrassing? People would think that she, the queen mother, was a person who went back on her word.

The Queen Mother's chest heaved, and she secretly blamed Wei Yan for being so short-sighted.

If you were smart enough to realize that you are unhappy, you would have said something and let others take the blame.

You've read too much and damaged your brain. No wonder you can't get married.

This girls' school really shouldn't be run. As a result, all of these girls are like Wei Yan, with high expectations but poor skills.

The Queen Mother's eyes were gloomy, with undisguised displeasure in them, and her anger had already been directed at several of the nobles.

The ladies were either drinking tea, brushing their sleeves, or combing their hair, each one immersed in her own world, without looking away.

Only the wife of Marquis Yongning pinched her handkerchief nervously.

When Zhao Yuanrou had someone tell her that she would win the four top prizes to plead for Zhou Jingxun, Lady Yongning didn't believe it. Unexpectedly, she really did it. Lady Yongning felt a little touched, but also felt complicated.

Wei Yan said: "Then let Zhao Yuanrou be the leader."

As soon as these words were spoken, a maid went to the three flower pavilions and informed everyone.

Zhao Yuanrou was well-known in the capital for her inventive poetry, and it was not surprising that she was chosen as the winner.

The winner of the first round was Zhao Yuanrou, who had a plum blossom pinned on her temple.

The second round was chess. Time was limited, so they were not playing two-on-two. They only had to solve five chess games in one incense stick. Whoever solved the most games, or the fastest, would be the winner.

"Sun Dajia."

Zhao Yuanrou bowed toward the flower pavilion on the east side and said, "I don't understand the chess game."

She smiled confidently and said, "But I can come up with a dead end. This dead end is something I created myself, and you, Mr. Sun, will definitely not be able to solve it within an incense stick. What do you think?"

What Zhao Yuanrou meant was that her competition was different from others. She didn't want to solve the situation like others, but to be the planner.

Setting up a chess game obviously requires higher chess skills than solving it, and Zhao Yuanrou set conditions for herself, which put her at a disadvantage among everyone.

After hearing the maid's message, Mrs. Sun became quite interested in the proposal. She was good at chess and familiar with all the chess records in the world. She believed that she could tell at a glance whether Zhao Yuanrou's endgame was original. If she really could not solve the endgame within one stick of incense, then Zhao Yuanrou's strength was indeed enough to win the championship.

Sun Dajia agreed immediately.

Only after she accepted the offer did she remember that she had forgotten to inform the Queen Mother in advance. She looked at Wei Yan at a loss.

Wei Yan smiled and said to the Queen Mother, "Your Majesty, how do you feel?"

The queen mother's face turned even darker. She felt that they didn't take her seriously at all, but she couldn't make a big move and lose face. She could only look dark and said unhappily, "Just make the decision."

Since the Queen Mother "agreed", Wei Yan announced the new competition conditions. To be fair, she also stated that others could choose between setting up the chess game or solving the game.

"Sister Yan, what is she up to now?"

Cheng Chuyu whispered to Sheng Xiyan.

Sheng Xiyan saw through the intention at a glance and explained with a smile, "Because Zhao Yuanrou's chess skills are not good, he wants to take a shortcut."

"Shortcut?" Cheng Chuyu muttered, "But setting up a chess game is also difficult. Anyway, I definitely can't set up a chess game that Sun Dajia can't solve within a stick of incense. Even if I prepare in advance, I probably won't be able to set it up even if I spend a year or two."

Sun Ruo's chess skills were well-known in the Darong Dynasty, and he was respected as a master because of his chess skills.

To set up a residual game that she couldn't solve within a stick of incense would definitely be more difficult than solving these five games.

Cheng Chuyu got up boredly and went to the pavilion, not forgetting to say "Sister Yan, wait for me to come back."

Sheng Xiyan nodded with a smile, and her eyes fell on Zhao Yuanrou. Indeed, it was difficult to set up a chess game, but who could blame Zhao Yuanrou for always being able to come up with something that others had never seen before?

The undisputed winner of the second round was Zhao Yuanrou.

She set up a residual game, and Sun Ruo spent a whole incense stick of time without any idea. Sun Ruo was overjoyed and moved the chessboard directly into the flower pavilion. She sat down in front of the empress dowager, staring at the chessboard in a trance, immersed in her own world.

Queen Mother: “…”

She felt that these people were somewhat abnormal.

She rubbed her brows again, and her headache became even worse.

Wei Yan smiled and glanced at Sun Ruo who had completely ignored the outside world, exchanged a accustomed look with Wang Dajia, and then looked at Zhao Yuanrou who was walking back to the flower pavilion from the pavilion.

Cheng Chuyu returned to the flower pavilion earlier than Zhao Yuanrou, pouting unhappily. Sheng Xiyan had to coax her for a long time before she calmed down.

Zhao Yuanrou only drank a cup of tea and returned to the flower pavilion.

This time it's books.

During the same one-stick-of-incense time, each student writes a piece of writing, with no limit on the content.

Everyone was fully focused and completed the task in one go.

These words were delivered to the Queen Mother one by one. From a distance, Sheng Xiyan saw the Queen Mother flipping through them casually, and then her eyes suddenly froze.

The Queen Mother picked up a piece of calligraphy and remained silent for a long time.

Inside the flower pavilion, the Queen Mother and Wei Yan seemed to be arguing with each other. Soon, a maid came over and reported, "The winner of the exam is Miss Zhao."

In the flower pavilion, many people gasped.

Zhao Yuanrou has won three first prizes, and she only needs one more to ask the Queen Mother for a favor. Moreover, she won the first prize too easily, overwhelming the others without any suspense. Maybe she can really achieve six first prizes, which is a great feat that has never been achieved in a female school.

Everyone looked at her with surprise and envy.

It is conceivable that after today, Zhao Yuanrou will be able to become completely famous in the capital.

Zheng Xintong raised his eyebrows with interest and said, "This girl is quite interesting."

She had been away from the capital for more than half a year. Half a year ago, Zhao Yuanrou was still unknown in the capital, and Zheng Xintong would not associate with a family as prominent as the Zhao family.

Qingyue nodded and said meaningfully, "Indeed...it's quite interesting."

Facing Zheng Xintong's gaze, she smiled nonchalantly and said, "You may not know yet, but a few days ago, a divine phoenix girl appeared in the capital..."

Zheng Xintong didn't know, so he asked a few more questions out of curiosity. Qingyue didn't seem to be avoiding others, and everyone else showed a thoughtful expression when they heard what he said.

The fourth scene is the piano.

Zhao Yuanrou drew the last lot, and she already had three plum blossoms pinned in her hair.

As the piano music sounded one after another, Zhao Yuanrou did not look nervous. Instead, she looked excited and eager to try.

Only one left.

She will achieve it.

Finally, it was Zhao Yuanrou's turn. She stood up, brushed her skirt lightly, and walked into the pavilion, her steps as graceful as a fairy.

There is a guqin on the table, and everyone uses the same guqin, which avoids the impact of the quality of the guqin on the performance.

Zhao Yuanrou sat down in front of the piano, tested the sound of the strings with her ten fingers, and said to Wei Yan in the pavilion: "I composed this piece of music, and it's called 'Four Seasons'."

After she finished speaking, she gently plucked the strings with her slender fingers.

The melodious and graceful piano music flows out from the fingertips and fills the ears.

It is as if a flower bud is quietly blooming on the branch, and birds are chirping, full of vitality. In this piano music, everything gradually comes back to life...

Good song!

There were many people who were good at playing the piano at the scene. They praised the performance in their hearts and became more attentive.

After spring comes summer, and the sound of the piano becomes increasingly warm...

It was quite quiet all around, as everyone was concentrating on enjoying the music.

Only Sheng Xiyan's pupils shrank slightly, and there was some disbelief between her brows.

No!

Sheng Xiyan clasped her hands on her knees, her nails lightly scratching across the fingertips, leaving a faint red mark.

Seeing that she looked a little strange, Cheng Chuyu asked in a low voice, "Sister Yan, what's wrong with you?"

"This is not called "Four Seasons." Sheng Xiyan murmured.

It wasn’t Zhao Yuanrou who did it at all!

Cheng Chuyu was a little puzzled: "If it's not called "Four Seasons"? Then what is it called?"

Sheng Xiyan moved her lips inaudibly: "It's called "Mother"..."

The tune changed again. Amid the chilly wind, there was an unconcealable sadness that seemed to tug at everyone's heart, making them unable to help but sigh.

Finally, the piano sound returned to peace in a sigh.

Wei Yan was the first to lightly clap her hands, breaking the silence, and praised: "Miss Zhao's piano skills are indeed outstanding."

In terms of fingering and composing, Zhao Yuanrou cannot be considered the best, and there were many people present who were better than her. However, this piano piece was extremely infectious and made people intoxicated, and they felt happy or sad following the music, which was the most precious thing.

It can be said that this song has benefited her a lot.

Wei Yan is good at playing the zither and has read all the zither scores from ancient times to the present, but she has never heard this piece of music before.

She thought of what Zhao Yuanrou said, and believed it a little. She confirmed again and again, "Miss Zhao, did you really compose this piece of music yourself?"

Sheng Xi's face was expressionless, she stared at Zhao Yuanrou closely.

In order to listen to the music, the windows of several pavilions were opened at this moment, and Wei Yan's voice was clearly heard by everyone.

Zhao Yuanrou nodded and said proudly, "Yes, I composed this piece myself. I composed this piece to show the changes of all things in the four seasons, one withering and the other flourishing, just like life, with ups and downs. We must not be discouraged by temporary gains and losses."

"Very good." Wei Yan praised.

Spring, summer, autumn and winter, all things go from revival to decline, over and over again.

This song contains the joy of spring and summer, as well as the sadness of autumn and winter.

Especially Zhao Yuanrou's part, which reflects life, makes the artistic conception of the song more elevated.

"Very good!" Wei Yan praised again, and then said solemnly, "I can give this song the first prize."

When Wei Yan said this, everyone in the room was shocked.

Four leaders!

Zhao Yuanrou actually achieved it!

Looking at Zhao Yuanrou again, she was still standing behind the piano table, her chin slightly raised, her white dress fluttering in the wind, her eyes full of fighting spirit.

"etc."

Sheng Xiyan interrupted Wei Yan, bowed, and said in a clear voice: "Dear Mr. Wei, the mood of this song is wrong. I don't think it should be played like this."

As soon as Sheng Xiyan opened her mouth, the exclamations and discussions around her were immediately sucked away as if by a bottomless vortex, and a distinct silence emerged.

They looked at each other, not understanding what Sheng Xiyan meant.

The music was composed by Zhao Yuanrou. No one in this world knows better than the composer what kind of mood the music is trying to express.

Other people's interpretations are always a little off.

But Miss Shengda now openly expressed that the artistic conception was wrong.

This……

If they were not afraid, some people would really want to say "嘩衆取诵".

Zhao Yuanrou's eyes darkened and she felt very unhappy.

It's always like this! Sheng Xiyan just wants to make things difficult for her and can't bear to see her doing well.

What kind of cousin is this? She's more like an enemy!

Looking at the attitudes of the people around her, it was clear that none of them intended to say a fair word for her. Yes, Sheng Xiyan had now risen rapidly, with Xiao Shuo's support, and had become the new darling of the capital.

In fact, when Zhao Yuanrou heard that Sheng Xiyan recognized Xiao Shuo as his sworn brother, she found it unbelievable.

Sheng Xiyan will marry Chu Yuanchen.

Putting aside other things, Chu Yuanchen and the emperor are now at war to the death, but for the time being they are still wary of each other and no one dares to act rashly. She can see this situation, and she doesn't believe that Xiao Shuo can't see it.

Isn't Xiao Shuo afraid that someone will tell the emperor about it?

If the emperor knew that Xiao Shuo had recognized Chu Yuanchen's future princess as his sister, what would he think? Emperors have always been suspicious, so he might think that Xiao Shuo and Chu Yuanchen have colluded in private. If so, why would Xiao Shuo do such an unwise thing?

Zhao Yuanrou really couldn't understand.

She only knew one thing, that Sheng Xiyan wanted to rely on Xiao Shuo to completely trample her down, which was why she said such unfounded words at such an important moment.

Why can someone as petty and intolerant as Sheng Xiyan always be successful, while she has to suffer setbacks everywhere and nothing goes her way?

She doesn't accept it!

Zhao Yuanrou looked downcast, staring closely at Sheng Xiyan, and asked calmly, "Cousin Yan, what do you mean by that?"

Sheng Xiyan sneered and asked instead, "The song was composed by my cousin. Don't you think my cousin Rou understands the true meaning of the song?"

Zhao Yuanrou said without hesitation: "The artistic conception of the song is the four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the process of all things from awakening to withering and flourishing. This is the artistic conception I want to express in this song."

Sheng Xiyan shook her head and slowly uttered two words: "Wrong."

Zhao Yuanrou clenched her fists, convinced that Sheng Xiyan was deliberately targeting her.

She held back her anger and asked, "What does Cousin Yan think?"

Sheng Xiyan: “…”

Sheng Xiyan didn't say anything.

This made Zhao Yuanrou feel more and more that she was just showing off.

Zhao Yuanrou then said, "Since cousin Yan thinks this piece of music shouldn't be played like this, then please ask cousin to come up and play it so that I can see its 'true artistic conception'."

Zhao Yuanrou deliberately put emphasis on the words "real artistic conception" with a naked provocation.