At that time, the Wu'an Marquis Mansion kept the fact of Shen Nian's poisoning a secret, and everyone in the capital thought that Shen Nian had some strange disease.
Liu did a good job of pretending to be good, and everyone thought she was virtuous and kind.
Wen Jin's face turned pale, and she clutched the handkerchief tightly with both hands, her nails almost digging into her flesh.
This makes sense. When Chen Nian fell ill, the imperial physician said he could not be cured, but Marquis Wu'an submitted a memorial to the emperor saying that he wanted to make Chen Ke the crown prince.
When her father, Wen Yi Bo, came back from court and talked about this matter, he said that Wu'an Hou was confused.
Lin Sayu should have thought of this as well. After exchanging a look with Wen Jin, she knew that the other party had thought of this as well, so neither of them spoke.
Although Hu Mengyao didn't understand what these words meant for the time being, seeing that Wen Jin and Lin Sayu didn't say anything else, she wisely shut up.
After a while, Lin Sayu whispered thank you to Xia Tian.
Xia Tian breathed a sigh of relief, just listen and understand.
That’s right, we all grew up in the backyards of wealthy families, so who hasn’t seen a pig run?
The few of them did not continue the topic. Seeing that more people were slowly coming over, they started chatting about family matters.
After a while, someone came to inform them that the poetry reading had begun, and the four of them went there together.
Today was a poetry reading hosted by Princess Ruihua. When we arrived at the place, everyone sat down separately. Princess Ruihua said a few words and then the event began.
There is a small lake in this villa, which serves as a dividing line between men and women. There is a pergola by the lake, with a table, writing brushes, inkstones and paper placed inside.
The lake is not big, so although men and women on both sides cannot walk around, they can still see each other. If they find good works, they can send them to each other for appreciation.
I have to say that Princess Ruihua’s arrangement is very thoughtful.
It not only avoids suspicion but also achieves the purpose of communication.
Anyone who is willing to participate can come up and write his or her own poem and put it up for everyone to appreciate.
Those who do not wish to participate in the poetry competition can also enjoy the flowers, drink tea and eat snacks.
Princess Ruihua also invited the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy and some adults and gentlemen who are well-versed in poetry to give on-site evaluations.
Not to mention the students who will take part in the autumn examination this year, even the young men and women from big families are eager to take part. After all, this is a rare opportunity to make a name for themselves.
If the students can get praise from Princess Ruihua and those adults on such occasions, maybe one of them will catch the attention of the nobles, and then they can benefit a lot just by mentioning their names.
As for the young men and women, having a good reputation for their talent will be of great benefit to their own marriage.
Just like Wen Jin, a talented woman famous in the capital, there are so many men who want to marry her that they can barely keep her away from the crowd.
Although ladies like Mrs. Liu did not participate in any poetry competitions, they were also happy to attend such gatherings. After all, every family has a few grown-up children!
This is a good opportunity to choose a son-in-law and daughter-in-law.
So these ladies also sat aside and watched with great interest.
Xia Tian had never participated in such a poetry gathering, so he watched these young ladies write poems.
The first round question given by Princess Ruihua was to write a poem based on the "scenery of late spring and early summer", and the time was a stick of incense.
After the questions were given, some people were seen in deep thought, some were whispering to each other, and they all looked eager to try.
Wen Jin naturally did not fall behind. After thinking for a moment, she was the first to go up and quickly started writing on the paper.
Seeing that Wen Jin had already started writing, the other young ladies also went up one after another, stood in front of the table, and began to write with their brushes.
Xia Tian nudged Hu Mengyao, who was standing next to him, and asked, "Aren't you going?"
"Of course I'm going. I was just thinking about it!" Hu Mengyao glanced at her and said, "It's all your fault. I just wanted to say something and you interrupted me."
Xia Tian rolled his eyes and said, "Do you know how to do it? If you don't, don't blame me."
"Forget it, I'll go in the next round." Hu Mengyao pretended to be upset and couldn't remember.
"You're such a good person!" Xia Tian rolled his eyes at her.
I blame her for not being able to finish this poem.
But Lin Sayu, a daughter of a general, actually went up and wrote a poem.
Xia Tian was shocked and stunned for a long time before he jokingly laughed at Hu Mengyao, "Why is there such a big gap between the three of you?"
"What's the big deal?" Hu Mengyao glared at her dissatisfiedly. Don't think she can't hear that she is laughing at her.
"Stop making excuses and write your poem quickly. Not to mention Wen Jin, Lin Sayu has already gone up, and you are still wasting time here. Be careful that you will be outdone by these ladies and they will laugh at you." Xia Tian deliberately frightened Hu Mengyao.
Hu Mengyao hummed and continued to write her poem.
But Hu Mengyao was fine, she didn't let him down too much and went up when the incense stick was almost burned out.
After the incense stick was over, Princess Ruihua began to taste the food, and then let everyone taste and appreciate each other's food before announcing the winner of the first round.
In the first round, Wen Jin naturally won the first place among the women.
A talented woman is a talented woman. Xia Tian gave Chao Wenjin a thumbs up with shining eyes.
She had just read their poems. Although she couldn't write poems, she could still appreciate them at a basic level. Wen Jin was indeed better.
Although Lin Sayu and Hu Mengyao's works did not make it into the top three, they still felt good, at least they did not become doggerel.
Xia Tian also praised them generously.
Hu Mengyao raised her chin proudly and looked at her with disdain.
Xia Tian rolled his eyes at her.
After one round was over, cheers and congratulations could be heard from the other side of the lake from time to time, and naturally some people's poems were praised by everyone.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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