Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 876: Eating Noodle Soup at the Poetry Meeting
At this time, Yanchun Tower

The lobby on the first floor was still a bit noisy, but on the second floor.

The once noisy hall is now completely silent.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the two of them put down their pens at the same time.

"Liu Yue, you go and read it yourself,"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Liu Yue, the female historian of the Princess's Mansion, walked slowly to Marquis Luo Yun, picked up the rice paper, and with a look of surprise on her face, she carefully read it out.

"Written by Marquis Luo Yun, the second line: The four little ghosts, ghosts and monsters, each have their own stomachs!"

As soon as the words came out, everyone was surprised. It was indeed a good couplet. Even several mountain heads nodded slightly. Not only was the couplet neat, but it was also very rhyming.

Princess Yongcheng raised her lips. She didn't expect that Marquis Luo Yun was so amazing. He could even match the couplets of a group of old men.

Liu Yue picked up the rice paper and placed it on the table in front of His Highness, then walked to the eldest son's table, picked it up and continued reading;
"Written by the eldest son, the second couplet reads: Jingwei, Xiaoxiang, four rivers, all flowing like waves."

As soon as the words fell, everyone in the hall whispered to each other and praised him continuously.

"Okay, okay."

"It is simply a perfect combination for all ages. One couplet with two different meanings in the second couplet. It is rare in the world. You are worthy of being the eldest son and Marquis Luo Yun."

"Yes, I am ashamed of myself, ashamed of myself,"

A burst of discussion broke out, and everyone had suspicious looks on their faces. Even the princes of the vassal states found it incredible. The incense stick hadn't burned out yet, and they were already facing each other. There were two of them. Amazing.
"Both are good. These two couplets are also good stories. In this case, the eldest son and Marquis Luo Yun are both victorious."

The princess couldn't tell who was winning. The bet had been made clear that whoever matched the two pieces would win, so the two were tied.
"Thank you, Your Highness,"

Seeing that the dust had settled, Gong Huaiyu smiled and said, "If you lose, you lose." He happily took out the two hundred thousand taels of silver, put them on the table, and praised,

"Your Highness, with such talent, I am willing to accept defeat. Hand it over."

He waved his hand and asked the servant behind him to divide the banknotes into two parts and give them to Luo Yunhou and the eldest son. Xu Rentao followed.
Seeing that he had taken the silver, Zhang Jinyu was unmoved. It was nothing more than a windfall. He touched a handful of silver on the table and stuffed it into his arms. The feeling of holding the silver bills was beautiful.
Seeing this matter come to an end,

Princess Yongcheng's eyes suddenly turned. Writing poetry must have a good start.
"Today's poetry gathering has attracted so many talented young people from the capital. It is a rare event. This palace has broadened her horizons. The couplets from the Qinglian Academy are great, and the responses from the Marquis and the eldest son are even more exciting. Since there have been bets before, the prizes for the poetry gathering are not enough. I wonder if the heads of the academies, or the princes, would like to raise the stakes."

He glanced around and finally looked at Luo Yunhou. It was obvious that Zhang Jinyu had just packed up the banknotes when he was called out by Princess Yongcheng. Who would feel comfortable about this? After all, the banknotes were not even warm yet.
"Your Highness, you don't need to look at me. As long as others are willing, I will definitely follow. I wonder what kind of prize your Highness is going to play now that he has taken the high position?"

Everyone can say nice things. At worst, she can just give up the silver she just won. Although Princess Yongcheng is not short of money, she should stop picking up the pieces.
"Looking at what the Marquis said, I naturally have something. Zou Xiao, bring it up."

"Yes, Your Highness,"

Everyone was curious and didn't know what Her Royal Highness was going to prepare. They saw someone coming up from the stage holding a long curtain. Then Zou Xiao walked to the front and took down the curtain, revealing a scroll.
The two of them carefully opened the two pairs, and saw a landscape painting with clouds in their eyes. The painting was full of clouds and mist, as if filled with fairy spirit. The tip of the pen outlined the outline of the landscape, like an immortal slashing with a sword, handsome and agile, with the appropriate shades of ink, as if it were morning mist in the mountains, which would dissipate at any time.
In the middle, there is a man with fluttering clothes, as if he is walking on clouds. He seems to be sitting on the top of the mountain with his back to the crowd. There is a guqin on his knees in front of him, and he seems to be playing it. The whole painting is integrated into one, which is extremely rare. This painting style, brushstrokes, and the size of the scroll are rarely seen in the world.

Zhang Jinyu didn't see what was so special about it. He didn't understand these ink paintings. Sometimes they were clearly depicting the bow of a boat, expressing the feelings of parting. The artistic conception was too difficult to grasp. However, seeing the surprised expressions on everyone's faces, he knew it was a good thing.

After a while,

Sure enough, someone stood up. The prince of Zheng, Zhou Zhengbai, who also liked calligraphy and painting, stood up, bowed, and tried to ask;

"Aunt, this painting is not signed, but the style is extremely rare. The person in the painting is holding a guqin and playing it to the heaven and earth. Only the guqin player of that year, Tianyazi, could have such a powerful aura. Everyone knows that Tianyazi's guqin skills are extraordinary, but few people know that his painting skills are also unique. So this is a painting by Tianyazi."

Everyone present was surprised. It was rare for someone to recognize the source of such a statement. Princess Yongcheng Zhou Ying clapped her hands and praised.

"Amazing! You can even guess this. Brother Zheng has never slacked off in teaching you. Sit down!"

"Thank you, aunt."

Zhou Zhengbai was very fond of this, but unfortunately, he dared not think about winning the first place in the poetry meeting.

While everyone was still discussing Tianyazi's paintings, Zhou Ying turned her head and looked at Luo Yunhou.
"My Lord, how about this painting?"

"Well, it's worth a thousand gold."

Zhang Jinyu had to admit that although he didn't understand it, he said it was good, which was almost the same.
"Now that we have the first prize, what are your prizes?"

Zhou Ying smiled slowly. If you want to join in the fun, you have to have something to show for it. Those who come are all important figures. If you can't show anything, then what's the point of writing poetry?

The leaders looked a little hesitant, especially Zhao Xuelun, the head of Yunshan Academy. He was originally a poor boy, so how could he come up with a treasure?
Just at this time,

Several princes of the vassal states seemed to have discussed it beforehand. Prince Zhou Xingshan of the Han Dynasty immediately stood up.

"Aunt, we dare not go beyond the rules. Since the eldest aunt has already given a reward of 30,000 taels of silver, I, the nephew, and several brothers will discuss it and offer 20,000 taels of silver as the prize."

Seeing that several princes had jointly contributed 20,000 taels of silver, Lang Lin reacted quickly and followed suit;

"Your Highness, what the princes said is correct. The eldest princess is hosting a poetry gathering, and the guests are welcome to follow the host's wishes. The three academies in the capital are also giving 20,000 taels of silver."

Meanwhile, on the opposite side,
Lan Xinwen was also like this. Princess Yongcheng Zhou Ying, who was supposed to cause trouble, was so angry that her face turned red. She never thought it would turn out like this. Just now, it was a bet of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, but now it has become a coward.
Zhang Jinyu fell down below, watching the few people start, and couldn't help but feel relieved and amused. It seemed that they were the ones who understood the situation the best. How should I put it? They acted like a tiger, and when they saw the result, they had paid 20,000. They couldn't help themselves.
"puff"

One sound,
She laughed out loud, not too loud, but everyone around her heard it, even Zhou Xiangxue couldn't help herself.
"Lou Yunhou, what are you laughing at?"

Princess Yongcheng had never been treated like this before, so she asked in a cold voice.

"Your Highness, I am not laughing, I am crying. I feel that 20,000 taels of silver is too much. You know, the people in the capital spend only a dozen taels of silver a year. 20,000 taels is enough for a lifetime, so I can't bear it."

This speech is full of nonsense. It was obviously a smile, but it turned into crying.

Zhou Ying was so angry that she laughed. It seemed that her sister had played a good hand.
"My Lord, you are really lying. This skill is rare in the capital. You just won a lot of silver bills."

"Yes, Your Highness, I did win a lot, but I am short of money. There are so many refugees on the canal. I can buy a lot of food with the money I have, so that they can live and work. I dare not slack off, for fear of tarnishing the reputation of the court and failing the emperor's trust. How dare I forget these things?"

Zhang Jinyu's legs and feet were numb, so he took this opportunity to stand up, shook his legs, and knelt down in the direction of the palace. This scene stunned everyone in the hall. Gong Huaiyu immediately stood up and also knelt in the direction of the palace.
"Saints."

Seeing that the Western Prince had already knelt down, the princes of the vassal princes in the front row followed suit and knelt together. Soon, all the people in Yanchun Tower knelt on the ground and bowed again and again towards the direction of the imperial palace.

This scene,
Seeing the Emperor Wu in the box upstairs, the corner of his mouth curled up.
"This kid is always doing these nonsense things."

But the joy on her face could not be concealed after all. Empress Jiang's eyes flashed, she touched Qin Keqing's hand and patted it.
"Your Majesty, what you said is true. Marquis Luo Yun is very filial. I like him. If I promise Keqing to him, it will be a good deal for him."

"My Lady." Qin Keqing blushed and lowered her head.
"Yuqing is right, but my sister is still the same as before, with this temper, ah!"

"Your Majesty, the normal appearance is better than changes."

Queen Jiang smiled and replied meaningfully,
"Right!"

downstairs,

After everyone finished their greetings, they stood up and returned to their seats. At this point, the matter of adding more bets was dropped, and Princess Yongcheng could only keep silent.

But in order to avoid a dull moment at the poetry gathering, the eldest son Li Chaosheng suddenly spoke up.

"Your Highness, since this is a poetry gathering, for the sake of fairness, everyone should write their inscriptions on paper without saying them out loud, and walk ten steps to this point."

Then he stood up and walked towards the center of the hall, exactly ten steps, turned around and saluted the eldest princess, and continued;
"Ten steps to this point, recite it loudly, and let everyone judge and decide the winner, okay?"

"Excellent. I agree."

Princess Zhou Xiangxue did not expect that today's poetry meeting would be so interesting before it even started. So, she should follow the lead.
"Thank you, Your Highness. Then, in the time it takes to stick an incense stick, I will write a poem in this hall."

Gong Huaiyu returned to his seat with a smile on his face.

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Later,

The maids served with writing brushes, inkstones, and paper, and Liu Yue continued to light a stick of incense in the jar.

Everyone present was writing furiously, preparing to write something. Many students from the academy, either well prepared or quick-witted, only thought for a moment before starting to write after getting their pens.
This scene was clearly seen by Zhang Jinyu and many people who were not from the academy. Even Yang Mingan and others were the same. They smiled slightly and started writing.
Only Zhang Jinyu showed no interest, and felt a little empty in her stomach.

He waved to Liu Yue, and Minister Liu saw it, walked over slowly, and asked;
"My Lord, do you have any instructions?"

"I'm hungry. Have a bowl of noodles to fill my stomach."

Zhang Jinyu thought that it would be bad to eat and drink too much at the poetry party, and a bowl of noodles would not be a big deal. But after waiting for a long time, Liu Yue did not move. When he looked up, he was stunned.
"Why, there isn't any?"

"It's not that there is none, sir. Just wait a moment, sir."

Although Liu Yue was a little surprised that the Marquis was really unique, she saw that the others were writing furiously and she didn't care about the empty reputation. She stood up, called a maid, gave a few instructions, and went back to the eldest princess.
Many people saw this action. But when writing, the most fearful thing is to stop halfway. The best thing is to finish it in one go. The two princesses sat on the high platform with smiles on their faces. When they saw Liu Yue coming back, Princess Yongcheng Zhou Ying turned her eyes and asked;

"Liu Yue, what did Marquis Luo Yun ask?"

But Liu Yue kept silent, waiting for Zhou Ying's expression to change instantly. Princess Zhou Xiangxue smiled.
"Sister, why are you in such a hurry? You'll know what's going on in a while. Today, sister is a little angry. It's just a small poetry gathering, there's no need to get angry."

It seems to be a comfort, but in fact it is also a warning.

Zhou Ying turned her gaze back and sighed tenderly.

"Yes, sister. It was just a small poetry gathering, but you gave me a cold look. A servant dared not to listen to you."

"No way, there is such a person around my sister. He really doesn't know respect and inferiority. I don't know how my sister can discipline him."

Zhou Xiangxue was slightly surprised, but she asked knowingly and made jokes, as if she hadn't spoken for a long time. Just when Princess Yongcheng was about to get angry, a few servants came from behind the attic, approached, and were led by the maid to the seat of Marquis Luo Yun.

I saw a few servants carrying food boxes over, opening the lids, and the maids brought out three dishes, a bowl of noodle soup, and a small pot of meat, and placed them on the table. They put the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the ground.

I handed over the chopsticks.

Zhang Jinyu was not polite either. The fragrance from the pen tip whetted people's appetites. Looking at the center of the hall, where half of the incense stick was still burning, he took out some loose change, one for each person, and sent them away.
Looking at the small pot of meat, three stir-fried vegetables, and a bowl of noodle soup on the table, it was much better than I had expected, except that there was no wine.
I picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat and put it into my mouth. Although it was not as good as the taste of Honglu Temple, it had its own flavor, and was dry-roasted. It was chewy and refreshing.

Once they started eating, how could they stop? They took a bite of dish and a mouthful of noodles, eating happily. However, the sound of sipping noodles seemed extremely strange in the "quiet" hall. Not to mention the princes and sons of the vassal states, who couldn't understand it, even the students from the academy stopped writing unconsciously, and when there were stains on their writing, they immediately tore up the paper and rewrote it, but their eyes were always fixed on Marquis Luo Yun.

The eldest son who was sitting on the ground opposite him did not participate in the writing. Seeing that Marquis Luo Yun did not care about his face at all, he shook his head. He was really free and easy.
The two princesses in the main seats had already been attracted by the noise here. The way Luo Yunhou ate was really not elegant. How could he eat noodle soup at a poetry gathering?
Princess Yongcheng was particularly surprised. This poetry gathering brought both fame and fortune to the entire capital. But she thought that although Marquis Luo Yun was not interested in these things, he could not be so indulgent.
He turned around and glanced at the eldest princess, his expression solemn and unmoved. He was still pretending as before, but who was he showing off to?

I don't know how long it took.

The incense burnt out. The prince of the Western Palace, Gong Huaiyu, had already written down the time and waited for it. When he saw the flame in the incense burner go out, he knocked on the table.
"Your Highness, the time has come,"

"Okay, in that case, put down your pens. Who should start first?"

The princess nodded and looked at the many candidates in the hall. She had already put down her pen. It seemed that she had prepared well in advance. That was good. I wonder what masterpiece she could come up with.
This question,
Obviously, it was a bit dull. After all, the first person to recite was at a disadvantage. Whether it was good or bad, he had no confidence. Just when it was a bit dull,
suddenly,

From Luo Yunhou's seat, a "slurp" sound was heard. Luo Yunhou was eating with a happy face, holding the bowl and drinking soup. This scene was so awkward.

Just at this time,

Zhao Xuelun from Yunshan Academy stood up and walked to the center of the hall. He bowed to the two princesses, and then bowed to the seat of the headmaster of Yunshan Academy and the direction of Marquis Luo Yun. It was confusing.

"I am Zhao Xuelun from Yunshan Academy, a humble person. I would like to offer a poem to inspire others to do good deeds."

"Good! Please, Mr. Zhao."

The princess was also a little puzzled. This man was a student of Yunshan Academy and ranked first. It was only right for him to pay respects to the principal of Yunshan Academy. Why did he pay respects to Luo Yunhou? Could he also be his teacher? When she was guessing, she suddenly remembered that the chief examiner of this special examination was the master. It was indeed the case.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for the book Jiangnanchun that I wrote,"

Zhao Xuelun took out the rice paper he had just written on and read aloud;
"When spring comes, all the trees are eager to know what it means, and Nanjing is likened to fine wine.

I know that the Jingnan division will win, and the Central Plains will be moved by the spring. "

then,

Since Liu Yue, bring the rice paper back and put it on your highness's desk,
"Good, a good piece of writing about the springtime in the Central Plains, a rare masterpiece, very good,"

Zhou Xiangxue praised him, and not to mention others, even Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but look at this person with admiration. Although the poems were not particularly outstanding, to be able to write these was considered a top-notch standard. The people around were also talking about it, with mixed reactions. Many students in the academy secretly tore off the rice paper on which the poems were written, and knelt there as if nothing had happened. The others, after reading the poems, applauded!

Zhao Xuelun bowed again and slowly withdrew.
then,

Prince Zhou Yewen of Song rolled his eyes and looked at Prince Zhou Zhengbai of Zheng sitting opposite him. He also stood up, took ten steps, and came to the center of the hall. He looked at the dishes and bowls in front of Marquis Luo Yun's table. Most of them had been eaten, even the bowl of noodle soup had been finished. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he bowed to His Highness.

"Aunt, when I came here today, I saw the elegance of the students from the academy. They are indeed well-read. The prince of the Western Palace and the prince of the Southern Palace have both been ranked as the top leaders. People say that the two princes are domineering, but I don't know if it's because of their literary style or their personalities."

As soon as this statement came out, the whole hall was shocked!

(End of this chapter)