I'm in the Red Mansion

Chapter 64 Lantern Festival Poetry Gathering (Part )

At the Lantern Festival Poetry Contest, only Jia Baoyu can win the first prize.

It will be able to prove once again in front of everyone that the heir of the second house is much better than that of the first house.

Although the wife of the second wife did something wrong, the heir of the second wife is better than the heir of the first wife!
Therefore, as long as Jia Baoyu can win the first prize, he will be able to reverse the image of the second wife.

But can Jia Baoyu win the championship?
This is almost inevitable. Although Jia Baoyu does not like reading, he still has some talents.

Whenever poetry is compared, always Jia Baoyu takes first place.

At this time, Jia's mother also smiled and said, "Well, on the Lantern Festival, reciting poems and composing couplets is an elegant thing. How can an old woman not agree to it?"

"Then I will add another lucky charm. This maid is called Qingwen. She is the best at sewing and is also very clever."

"Whoever wins the first prize will take this little girl home. How about my reward?"

After hearing this, Jia Cong couldn't help showing surprise on his face.

Jia Cong seldom went to the front yard, and he had never been to Jia Baoyu's room.

He even thought that Grandmother Jia had already given Qingwen to Jia Baoyu!
Even if she was not given to Jia Baoyu before, why didn't she give Qingwen to Baoyu after Jia Baoyu drove Xiren away and his room lost a big maid?
Soon, a thoughtful look appeared on Jia Cong's face.

Perhaps at that time, Grandmother Jia was thinking of giving Qingwen away as a lucky charm today.

What a good plan!
After hearing what Grandmother Jia said, Jia Baoyu couldn't help but said happily: "Grandfather, let's start writing poems!"

He said to Qingwen with an itchy heart, "Qingwen, wait a minute. I will take you home in a while."

It seems that Big Face Treasure has already regarded the leader as his own.

Jia Cong couldn't help but look at Qingwen, only to see that Qingwen's face was expressionless, without the slightest hint of joy.

Wang Xifeng couldn't help laughing and said, "Baoyu, the competition hasn't even finished yet, and you already know that you will definitely win?"

"Don't let others take away your first place. Your Qingwen will follow others!"

Jia Baoyu laughed and said, "Second sister-in-law, I am not good at it. Who can be better than me in writing poetry?"

After Jia Baoyu finished speaking, Jia's mother, Wang Xifeng and others couldn't help but laugh.

The air is filled with joy.

Jia Baoyu urged them to start quickly, and immediately a maid brought them writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone.

Jia Zheng smiled and said, "Since today is the Lantern Festival, let's use the Lantern Festival as the theme."

"It is a festive occasion, and writing poetry is just to liven up the mood, so I won't make it difficult for you."

"It doesn't matter what rhyme or poem you write, as long as it revolves around the Lantern Festival."

"I said that at the beginning, I would light a stick of incense, and if I couldn't write before the incense burned out, I couldn't write anymore."

"Okay, let's start lighting the incense now."

At that moment, Jia Zheng's servant lit incense.

The four younger generations, Jia Cong, Jia Baoyu, Jia Huan and Jia Lan, immediately frowned and began to think hard.

After a while, Jia Baoyu seemed to have finished his idea. He picked up his pen and started writing. He quickly wrote a poem and handed it to Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng opened it and read it, then nodded slightly.

At this moment, Jia Lan had also thought it through and started writing.

Jia Lan is a few years younger than Jia Huan, and he has just started to study. How could he have come up with a poem so quickly?
It goes without saying that the direct descendants of the second house are cheating collectively!
However, Jia Huan was still scratching his head, which showed that he, a bastard, was not welcome either, as he had not received the questions in advance.

At this moment, Jia She's face turned ugly.

The second wife is really going too far!
How dare they bully their eldest wife like this!
What Jia She hated even more was that Jia Cong, this little beast, was not ambitious enough.

Otherwise, he could still compete with the second wife.

For example, Jia She had long realized that the second house must have leaked the test questions in advance.

Since the second son Jia Zheng proposed the poetry competition, he could have taken over the right to set questions on the spot and set another topic. But the problem was that Jia Cong, this little beast, was not competitive. Even if he set the questions and competed fairly, this little beast could not beat Baoyu.

In this case, if he were to rush to change the topic, wouldn't he become a laughing stock?

Thinking of this, Jia She couldn't help but vent all his anger on Jia Cong.

He shouted, "You evil creature, why don't you write it quickly? If you can't write well, watch out, or I'll break your legs!"

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but frown and said, "Boss, today is the Lantern Festival, and writing poetry is just a pastime. What are you doing?"

Jia She hurriedly stood up and said, "Yes, mother, it is the child who is obsessed."

After Jia She sat down, Lin Daiyu and the three sisters looked at Jia Cong with sympathy in their eyes.

If Jia Cong really did something wrong today, he might get beaten when he returned home.

Lin Daiyu was thinking about how to help Brother Cong get through this difficult time.

However, she had no way of avoiding everyone's eyes and ears in public, and she couldn't help but feel anxious in her heart.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Master, I will do my best."

After saying this, Jia Cong picked up his pen and started writing.

When Jia Zheng first asked them to write poems, Jia Cong was unwilling to argue.

It was just a poetry gathering held by a few younger generations in the family.

What good would it do him to gain this false reputation?
Otherwise, Lady Jia, Mrs. Wang and others would become even more annoyed with him.

It is better to keep quiet and focus on your development.

However, ever since Grandmother Jia used Qingwen as a prize and Jia She arranged for her death, Jia Cong's thoughts changed.

Speaking of which, Qingwen is also a poor person.

A clear moon is hard to come by, colorful clouds are easy to disperse, the heart is higher than the sky, the body is lowly, and the romantic and clever attracts resentment. Life and death are often caused by slander, and the sentimental young man is in vain.

In the book Red Mansions, Qingwen's tragedy was due to Xiren's reporting her.

But at the root, she was still a victim of the open and secret struggles between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Lady Wang and Lady Jia.

Jia Baoyu, this scumbag, only shed tears and felt heartbroken when Qingwen was seriously ill and was driven out, and he only wrote an obituary after Qingwen's death.

He was completely unable to protect Qingwen.

Since you can't do it, let me do it!

The world of the Dream of the Red Chamber shifted in the late Ming Dynasty.

We cannot borrow poetry from the Ming Dynasty and earlier dynasties, but we can borrow poetry from the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, Jia Cong borrowed a poem by Tang Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, "The Shadow of the Forever Ice Lantern on the Lantern Festival":
Just as I was pitying the fiery tree for its thousand-year beauty, I suddenly saw the clear light reflecting the moon.

The shark beads still carry water when they go out to sea, and the sleeves in the hall are full of coldness.

The candles don't block the shadows in the sky, but the dizzy air seems to be seen from the moon.

In order to borrow the east wind for a while, I can still enjoy the rest of the night.

After Jia Cong finished writing, he handed in his poem.

On the other side, Jia Huan saw that even Jia Cong had finished writing, so he hurriedly wrote a poem and handed it in hastily.

At this moment, Jia's mother couldn't help but laugh and said, "Zheng'er, now that they are all written, you can comment on who should be the first!"

Jia Zheng smiled and said, "Yes, mother."

"The poems written by Baoyu are all right; but Lang'er is a little young after all, so his poems lack some meaning."

(End of this chapter)