NOVEL WEB Chapter 41: Mid-Autumn Festival and Fox Demon (Part 3)
Chapter 41: Mid-Autumn Festival and Fox Demon (Part 3)
The room fell into a tranquil silence.
Although it wasn’t the Mid-Autumn poem that everyone had expected, this topic wasn’t too difficult to write about.
Of course, whether it was well-written or not was up to the readers, and as for those young masters, they just had to wait for their guests to present their poems.
If the poem was well-written, they would be heavily rewarded; if not, they would be punished, either with a beating or even having their heads chopped off.
It was that simple.
A group of literati guests looked somewhat tired, but Yang Liushi’s lazy and charming demeanor sparked their creativity, and various phrases of praise flooded their minds, waiting to be arranged.
Before long, someone had finished writing a poem.
He was seen whispering a few sentences into his master’s ear, presumably reciting the poem he had just written, hoping to impress his master.
However, the young master, He Gongzi, who owned a money exchange shop, furrowed his brows, looking hesitant, as if he couldn’t memorize it.
After repeating this process several times, he finally gave up, and with a glance, the guest immediately understood and loudly declared:
“Miss Liu, my master has composed a poem and has instructed me to recite it to you.”
“Thank you, Master He. I’m listening.”
Yang Liushi, of course, wouldn’t expose the truth. She smiled at He Gongzi as if the poem was indeed his work.
The guest’s voice echoed clearly in the room:
“A thousand autumns without a single fade,”
“A beauty that pleases the eye.”
“A nation-toppling beauty,”
“A marvel that astonishes the world.”
The four-line poem was quickly recited.
Some people’s eyes lit up, but most of them simply raised an eyebrow.
“A thousand autumns without a single fade, a beauty that pleases the eye, a nation-toppling beauty, a marvel that astonishes the world.”
This poem was created by adding a character to each of the four idioms, which could be seen as clever or taking advantage of a loophole.
More importantly, the second and fourth lines ended with the same character, which, strictly speaking, didn’t conform to the poetic rules.
So, overall, it could only be considered mediocre.
Yang Liushi praised a few sentences and then stopped talking, clearly not too satisfied with the poem.
He Gongzi’s face instantly turned unpleasant, while others’ confidence surged, and soon, a second person stood up to present their poem.
“Miss Liu, please listen to my master’s poem.”
“I’m listening.”
“…”
One poem after another, and soon there were over ten poems.
Although the subsequent poems were better than the first one, they could only be considered mediocre.
Although they were new poems, they lacked new ideas, and were simply rehashing a few words.
Wei Changtian was about to fall asleep, but Liu Zongliang suddenly stood up.
As a member of the Liu family, when he stood up, everyone else fell silent.
Unlike others, Liu Zongliang didn’t bother with small talk and directly began to recite his poem in a loud voice:
“The lotus flower cannot compare to the beauty’s makeup,”
“The wind in the water palace brings the fragrance of pearls and jade.”
“Who can divide the autumn fan, hiding the moon,”
“Empty and suspended, waiting for the king’s decree.”
“……”
The room was silent for a few seconds, and then someone slapped the table, their face red with excitement, and exclaimed, “What a great poem!!”
After this outburst, others followed, and soon the room was filled with applause.
The young masters were trying to curry favor with Liu Zongliang, while the literati genuinely thought the poem was good.
The first two lines used lotus flowers, pearls, and jade to describe the beauty’s appearance, although the idea was not novel, the execution was natural and effortless.
The last two lines, however, took the poem to a whole new level.
“Who can divide the autumn fan, hiding the moon, empty and suspended, waiting for the king’s decree.”
Comparing someone to the moon waiting for the king’s decree implied that even the emperor would be impressed by Yang Liushi’s beauty… This was an enormous honor for a courtesan.
If this poem wasn’t prepared in advance, it could only mean one thing—
The poet’s talent was extraordinary.
Listening to the crowd’s praise, Liu Zongliang was overjoyed, and couldn’t help but glance at Yang Liushi with a hint of pride.
“Miss Yang…”
Yang Liushi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled coyly: “It seems I’m yours for the night.”
This statement caused a stir, but no one objected.
Although there was no first place in literature, that was only true when the differences between articles and poems were negligible.
Now, Liu Zongliang’s poem was clearly superior to the others, so no one would dare to challenge him.
Liu Zongliang was overjoyed, but then he heard Yang Liushi continue:
“But I wonder who among your guests wrote this poem. Please, Young Master, tell me…”
The tone was still soft and gentle, but the words instantly made Liu Zongliang’s face change from white to red to green, leaving him in a difficult predicament.
If Liu Zongliang said he wrote the poem himself, no one would believe him, and it would make him look like a hypocrite.
But if he admitted it wasn’t his, he would lose face…
After thinking for a while, Liu Zongliang finally pointed to a young man standing in the crowd, forcing a smile.
“Miss Liu, this poem was written by him.”
“Oh?”
Yang Liushi turned to look at the young man, her eyes filled with gentle and affectionate emotions: “I didn’t know this young master had such poetic talent?”
“You’re too kind, Miss.”
The young man took a step forward, calmly saying: “I’m just a guest at the Liu residence.”
“Are you not willing to tell me your name, young master?” Yang Liushi’s voice was sorrowful.
“Uh…”
The young man glanced at Liu Zongliang’s pale face, but ultimately couldn’t resist the beauty’s charm, proudly answering: “My name is Qin Yu, and I’m a student of Su Wu!”
“Wow!”
The crowd erupted into a commotion.
Who was Su Wu? The Poetry Saint!
So, this ordinary-looking young man was a student of the Poetry Saint?
No wonder he had such poetic talent!
In the midst of the chaos, Yang Liushi revealed a hint of surprise, her gaze at Qin Yu softening.
Liu Zongliang, on the other hand, was worried that Yang Liushi might change her mind and sleep with Qin Yu, so he hastily asked: “Are there any more poems to present?”
“…”
The commotion stopped, and no one spoke.
Although half of the people still hadn’t recited their poems, everyone knew that since there was already a pearl among them, presenting more poems would be pointless.
“Good, since there aren’t any more…”
Liu Zongliang was eager to wrap things up and was about to declare the poetry gathering over.
But just then, Wei Changtian, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up.
“What’s the hurry? Are you trying to get reincarnated?”
“You!”
Liu Zongliang glared at him, furious, but didn’t dare to attack Wei Changtian.
He stared at him, not saying a word…
It was clear that no one dared to get involved in the feud between the Liu and Wei families, and only Yang Liushi could mediate the situation.
“Young Master Wei, do you have a poem?”
“Yes.”
“But I didn’t see you bring a guest…”
Yang Liushi looked at Wang Er, who was clearly a martial artist, and smiled: “So, this poem must be written by you yourself, right?”
“Yes.”
Wei Changtian was stingy with his words, and Liu Zongliang finally found an opportunity to mock him, saying: “Hahaha, today I finally know what it means to be ignorant of the height of the sky and the thickness of the earth…”
“If you say one more word, I’ll make sure you leave here on a stretcher!” Wei Changtian interrupted, his voice cold as ice.
“…”
Liu Zongliang’s face turned red, but he didn’t dare to say another word.
Wei Changtian ignored him and scanned the room before slowly standing up.
He picked up a wine jug and took a big gulp, his eyes fixed on Yang Liushi.
“Listen up, this is what a real poem sounds like.”
The beauty, the enemy, the onlookers…
I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long!
Li Bai! Many people have used your poems, and today I’ll borrow one too!
“Gulp, gulp!”
One mouthful of wine, one poem.
Four mouthfuls of wine, and the poem was complete.
The silver jug fell to the ground with a “clink” sound.
Aside from that, the room was silent, with all eyes fixed on Wei Changtian.
Everyone’s minds were blank, with only the 28 characters of the poem that would make Yang Liushi famous throughout the land.
“Her garb the clouds admire, her looks the flowers revere,
Spring breeze stirs the lattice, heavy dew falls clear.
Had I not met this jewel upon the mountain high,
Beneath the moon at jade terrace perhaps she’d meet my eye…”
“Whoa!”
A figure stumbled and sat down on the ground, none other than Qin Yu, the student of the Poetry Saint.
He couldn’t believe it, repeating the four lines of the poem to himself several times, before finally concluding:
“I am no match for this…”