Tang Zhanglian asked her to compose a poem, and Song Chuzhao was not at all hesitant. After all, Gu Fengjian had already given her instructions. Moreover, Tang Zhanglian had no intention of making things difficult for her, simply asking her to write freely.
Song Chuzhao brushed away the nonexistent dust and stood up.
The old Confucian scholar in their military camp, who knew a little bit about everything, would always make this gesture before boasting. It looked like restrained arrogance, and was extremely domineering.
Song Chuzhao lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then chose the latest poem left in the poetry collection. In such a short time, Gu Fengjian couldn’t have possibly told anyone about it.
This poem described a scene. It described the scenery of Mount Gu, towering and reaching into the clouds, during the transition from summer to autumn. With just a few strokes, it captured the danger of the towering mountain, the vibrant changes in the mountain’s colors, the coldness of the sparse clouds and the rustling autumn wind, and the regret of gazing into the distance at something unattainable, all written with great charm and vividness.
Using the vastness of mountains and rivers to highlight one’s own insignificance, the wording in the last line seemed to reveal a hint of depression in the poet.
Song Chuzhao’s voice was calm and low, and the words of the poem flowed from her mouth with the pleasant sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath.
But the more calm she appeared, the more everyone, after careful consideration, felt that there were some hidden, intense emotions within.
They were all young men full of ambition, and they couldn’t help but put themselves in the poet’s shoes, and thus they felt their own emotions.
They all guessed that this must be Fifth Son Gu expressing his frustration at being overlooked? It showed that Fifth Son Gu resented Duke Gu for keeping him at home, preventing him from learning martial arts and hindering his entry into officialdom.
He was of noble birth, yet he suffered a calamity in his youth. He was full of talent, yet he had no way to display it. He was intelligent and sensible, yet he was not favored.
Therefore, the emotions in this poem were so intense! So subtle! And so impactful!
Suppression and pain were the most moving things. Sorrow was the soul of every poet!
After reciting the poem, Song Chuzhao immediately observed the reactions of those around her, and found that everyone’s expressions were quite interesting, and in a way she couldn’t understand. Their expressions were also very complex, very difficult to describe with simple words.
When she first read this poem, she felt the vastness and grandeur of heaven and earth, so she liked it very much. Why did these people… look like they had lost a fortune?
Tang Zhanglian sat quietly for a moment, carefully read the poem once, then nodded and said, “Worthy of Fifth Son Gu’s reputation. This poem is written in one breath, every word is exquisite, and reciting it is like being there, making one unable to extricate oneself.”
Song Chuzhao humbly said, “Your Majesty is too kind.”
A group of young men in the audience, especially Ji Yutang and other brothers with high awareness, immediately chimed in, “Fifth Son Gu’s scholarship, Wang-mou truly admires! After careful consideration, it is indeed true that every word cannot be changed.”
TN: mou is “a certain so-and-so”
“This poem has a grand momentum, enough to show the boundless ambition in Fifth Son Gu’s heart.”
“…“ by carpreads.pages.dev
Young men like Ji Yutang, who had received education in the art of flattering elders, were truly masters of flattery when they wanted to praise someone, their words were divine and heartwarming.
Seeing the Emperor’s current attitude, everyone wanted to curry favor with Fifth Son Gu, so they naturally praised him without reservation. Ji Yutang was also grateful for Song Chuzhao’s help earlier, and he saw Fifth Son Gu’s image with an unreal brilliance, so he praised him even more enthusiastically.
He took the lead, and his younger brothers naturally wouldn’t be outdone. For a while, Song Chuzhao was overwhelmed by their flowery praise, and she felt a surge of uncontrollable pride.
Gu Fengjian had initially liked this poem, both the rhyme and the wording had a comfortable, just-right feel. But after a while, when his mood calmed down, he looked back and found it unbearably affected. Then, when Song Chuzhao recited it in public, analyzed it over and over again in front of the Emperor, his only feeling was awkwardness.
It was very embarrassing.
And inexplicably strange.
What were these people thinking? Did they have no shame?
As Song Chuzhao was feeling lightheaded, she casually turned her head and saw Gu Fengjian looking at her expressionlessly from a distance, and her heart immediately started pounding again.
What’s wrong? Fifth Son Gu is not satisfied? It must be because she wasn’t humble enough!
So Song Chuzhao quickly and seriously disclaimed, saying that it was nothing, just a casual piece of poetry, not worthy of everyone’s scrutiny.
Everyone immediately became dissatisfied, saying that this was far from nothing! Then they solemnly told Song Chuzhao that they had already understood the meaning and emotion she had embedded in it, and it was very excellent!
Song Chuzhao could only follow along and say, “Oh.”
Gu Fengjian: “…”
While Song Chuzhao was secretly guessing Gu Fengjian’s thoughts, Tang Zhanglian’s gaze swept around the room. Then, he stood up happily, pointing to a spot and saying, “That lamp! Bring it over here!”
A member of the Imperial Insignia Guards received the order and went forward, taking the lamp down from above and bringing it to Tang Zhanglian’s desk.
Tang Zhanglian turned it in his hand, examining the painting on the paper, and smiled. “I think the painting on this lamp matches the mood of Fifth Son Gu’s poem just now. Although it’s not as grand as what Fifth Son Gu wrote in his poetry, it still has a certain charm. Fifth Son Gu, what do you think? Let’s inscribe your poem on this lamp and hang it near the entrance. What do you all think?”
Song Chuzhao was taken aback.
How could there be such a process?
She didn’t know that this was a long-standing tradition at these literary banquets. Having one’s poem selected and hung in the most prominent place was an honor at this feast. A group of literati would fight tooth and nail for this face-saving opportunity.
It was just that Gu Fengjian had never been very fond of joining in this kind of excitement. Occasionally, he would come once, but he wouldn’t be interested in participating, so he had never been selected.
The young men at the table began a new round of flattery, their words filled with praise.
In the blink of an eye, while Song Chuzhao was still in a daze, the paper lamp was brought to her table by the Imperial Insignia Guards. Then, the pen and ink were also delivered, placed on her right side.
The eyes of everyone present, filled with anticipation and envy, were fixed on her.
Song Chuzhao: “…”
The emperor wants his minister to die… but she didn’t want to die! What could she do?
Her lips were dry, and her Adam’s apple bobbed.
In this atmosphere, no matter how reluctant Song Chuzhao was, she couldn’t find a reason to refuse. She could only comfort herself by saying that her handwriting wasn’t that bad, and that these literati would surely find a way to praise her, while she forced herself to pick up the pen, her heart filled with anxiety, and moved it towards the paper.
At this moment, a clear voice suddenly rang out, “If Your Majesty doesn’t mind, please allow Song-mou to write.”
Everyone, including Tang Zhanglian, followed the sound of the voice and looked over. Gu Fengjian, with great grace, stood up and bowed solemnly to Tang Zhanglian, repeating his request.
Seeing this, Tang Zhanglian understood and smiled, nodding. “Of course.” Then, with a wave of his sleeve, he had people move the things over.
The others also showed ambiguous expressions, and that fool Fan Chongqing even laughed out loud. If Tang Zhanglian hadn’t been there, Song Chuzhao felt that he would have already started to make a scene.
However, Song Chuzhao felt a sense of relief at this moment, immediately giving up her seat and gesturing for him to take it.
The clothes Gu Fengjian was wearing, although simple in style, were still too inconvenient as women’s clothing. He wrapped the sleeves around his wrists, then calmly picked up the pen and began to write on the lamp surface, which was not easy to write on.
Tang Zhirou sat beside him, propping her chin in her hand, her expression listless as she glanced sideways at him.
She had come today for Fifth Son Gu, but after the previous incident, she had been severely reprimanded by Fifth Son Gu and had completely lost interest in the literary banquet. Her heart was filled with bitterness, and she didn’t want to see these two people showing affection in front of her.
She glanced a few times and noticed that the person beside her was writing with a flamboyant and unrestrained style, the strokes intertwined. The pen was strong, and the ink soaked into the paper, giving the impression of great power. But it was quite messy, and she couldn’t recognize a single character.
Tang Zhirou still instinctively disliked Third Girl Song and blurted out, “This handwriting is so ugly! What is it?”
Several other girls around her also shook their heads. “Can you understand it?”
“The characters are too small, I can’t see them.”
Hearing this, everyone became curious and stretched their necks to look, and Tang Zhanglian also became nervous.
He had readily agreed because he thought that the other party had volunteered to write and must have some skill. If Third Girl Song only had superficial half-baked skill but was eager to show off, then she would make a fool of herself at this literary banquet.
Wouldn’t Master He scold him to death?!
Gu Fengjian didn’t respond to Tang Zhirou’s words, as if he hadn’t heard them. His pen continued to move, and only when he finished the last sentence did he put down the pen with a flourish and placed it on the desk.
He rose calmly, his voice flat as he said, “I am not talented. I have made a fool of myself.”
The Imperial Insignia Guard holding the lamp on the side glanced at it, realizing he couldn’t understand it either. He looked up, confused, and carried the lamp over.
His reaction made Tang Zhanglian even more nervous.
Tang Zhanglian took it and looked at it, his eyebrows raised. He looked deeply at Gu Fengjian, then looked at Tang Zhirou with interest. Then, amidst everyone’s urgency, he calmly waved his hand, signaling the Imperial Insignia Guard to pass the lantern to the young men on the left for their inspection.
The paper lantern passed in front of everyone, allowing the young men to get a closer look, but they all rushed forward in a swarm.
Ji Yutang took a closer look and was the first to clap his hands in praise, “This wild cursive script is truly elegant!”
“It’s not just elegant! It complements Fifth Son Gu’s bold and unrestrained writing style perfectly! It’s truly brilliant!”
“This is an imitation of the writing of Master Pei, isn’t it? I see that the spirit has been captured nine out of ten parts.”
“I didn’t expect Third Girl Song’s calligraphy to be so profound. There are very few women in the world who can write wild cursive script so well!”
Fan Chongqing actually couldn’t recognize the characters on it either. He even thought they were uglier than his own writing. About the same as drawing ghosts and drawing talismans, at least his characters could still be recognized.
But hearing the literati like Ji Yutang praise it so highly, even though he didn’t understand, he echoed with a sense of pride, “Hahaha, there aren’t many women in the world as carefree as Third Miss Song! She grew up on the frontier, so naturally she has seen more and wider things.”
“It’s said that writing reflects the person. Third Miss is indeed a person who doesn’t care about trivial matters.”
Song Chuzhao was initially happy to hear this, but when Fan Chongqing opened his mouth, she felt a little panicked. She was afraid that this simpleton would say too much, and Tang Zhanglian would be happy and ask Fifth Son Gu to perform a feat of single-handedly lifting a tripod.
Fortunately, Tang Zhanglian had no interest in having everyone perform their talents anymore. After everyone returned to their seats, he called for the guards beside him to hang the lantern in the most prominent place for everyone to admire later.
Everyone acknowledged Gu Fengjian’s writing, and Tang Zhirou fell into immense embarrassment.
Although no one was criticizing her at the moment, and no one was looking at her, she still felt her cheeks burning with shame.
The other young ladies nearby also secretly felt relieved. They were glad they hadn’t been quick to agree with Tang Zhirou’s words, otherwise they would be the ones losing face now.
Tang Zhirou’s delicate eyebrows furrowed, and she glanced at Song Shiwen again.
It was all because of Second Miss Song. She had hinted to her for a long time that Song Chuzhao was unlearned and uncultured, so she subconsciously believed it. How could she have known that Second Miss Song could write wild cursive script? After all, it’s not easy to get the praise of those young men across the way who are so proud of their knowledge.
She was utterly humiliated!
This Song Shiwen really doesn’t have a single truthful word in her mouth! Perhaps all the other bad things she said about Song Chuzhao were also false.
Look at Third Miss Song’s temperament, her bearing, does she look like someone who dislikes reading?
Song Shiwen always loves to boast about her own talent outside, could it be that she was afraid that Song Chuzhao would overshadow her, so she fabricated these shameful lies?
Thinking this, Tang Zhirou looked at Song Shiwen with disdain.
She had never seen such a shameless person!
However, she didn’t know that Song Shiwen was even more shocked than everyone present.
Her grandmother didn’t tell her this!
She was most proud of her own knowledge, which was more extensive than Third Miss’s, and her social skills were also different from Third Miss’s crudeness. These were things that money and power couldn’t change, they were the result of her own years of hard work.
Before coming to the banquet, she had imagined Song Chuzhao making a fool of herself in front of everyone, perhaps even causing trouble in a fit of anger, but she never imagined that the other party would have such a chance to make a stunning debut.
Song Shiwen sat there in a daze, her thoughts churning like a stormy sea.
This… this isn’t right, is it?