A Beauty In Troubled Times

Chapter 70: Poetry and prose meeting with old friends (2)

Views:

The cabin swayed slightly and slowly left the shore. Zhao Pei looked around with a smile and introduced: "Brother He, this is your first time here, so you may not understand some of the things here. I will..." She stopped talking halfway.

She was staring blankly at a certain place, and when she came to her senses, she suddenly pulled Ruhua beside her and turned her head to look out the window. She gritted her teeth and shouted, "My enemy! Why is he here?"

He Hui looked over in confusion, and saw the man in black standing at the door with his hands behind his back, as if looking for an empty seat. He still remembered the man's eyebrows and eyes. He had a handsome figure, deep eyes and a firm outline.

In just a moment, he understood.

Coincidentally, Xiao Yi had already seen him and recognized him, and was walking towards here. He Hui glanced at the two people who were "leisurely and leisurely" watching the early spring scenery with concern, and knew that he could not escape, so he stood up to greet them.

Xiao Yi stopped his gesture of greeting and said calmly, "We are outside now, so there is no need for this." He looked him up and down again, and said with a smile, "You came to Jiankang?"

He Hui was surprised by Xiao Yi's attitude, and replied frankly: "Yes, I have been here for some time."

Xiao Yi nodded: "Very good. I didn't expect you to be here." Normally, commoners had no right to attend such gatherings. He was an exception.

There was something derogatory in these words, but He Hui pretended not to hear it: "Are you coming alone?"

"Yes." Xiao Yi said meaningfully, "A cat was lost in the mansion, and I thought it might come here. So I came to look for it."

Xiao Yi turned his gaze towards the two people, with a smile on his face: "You have friends? Why not introduce them to me?"

He Hui was hesitating, thinking that Zhao Pei didn't want to meet him in this situation. Unexpectedly, Zhao Pei turned around and smiled at him: "Well, how are you, Master Qi?"

She thought Xiao Yi would get angry and take her away, but he didn't seem surprised at all. He raised his eyebrows, lifted his robe, sat down opposite her, and said with a smile, "Very good." He then said meaningfully, "I didn't expect Brother Xu to be here with Master He."

Zhao Pei could only smile awkwardly: "We just happened to meet, we just happened to meet." She complained in her heart, he actually compared me to a cat

"Brother Xu is quite leisurely. Instead of going through the main door, you prefer to climb the wall?" Xiao Yi looked at her with a hint of sarcasm, as if he was going to call her to account.

Zhao Pei, however, was determined to grit her teeth and pretend to be innocent. She bowed and said, "I am so ashamed."

Suddenly, a bell rang, and a bearded old man stood in the middle of the cabin and explained the rules for this year. For poetry competition, a small golden bell was placed in front of each table and each person could ring it if they had any clever ideas.

Everyone was eager to try, and by the time the old man finished speaking, there was already a clatter of noise. Zhao Pei was not willing to be left behind, but she felt helpless when she thought of He Hui's words, and she shook her head and lay on the table.

Most of these people were high-ranking officials with little knowledge. Such poetry and prose conferences were just a place to show off their reputation. If they were really asked to compose a poem in seven steps, it would be difficult for them. But of course they had to show off their reputation to the end. Most of them would have a few followers around them, who would write poems for them at any time and they would just read them.

She saw a nobleman sitting at a table not far away. He was tall and strong and looked a little dull, not like a man with a lot of knowledge. He kept looking back at the attendant behind him, urging him. The attendant was also racking his brains to write a poem.

Zhao Pei rolled her eyes and came up with a plan. She turned around and picked up the pen on the table and asked Ruhua to grind the ink. Seeing her like this, He Hui thought she had something good to say and went forward to see. Zhao Pei licked the ink and wrote a few sentences on the paper. She raised her eyes and smiled at him, blinking mischievously, but saw a hint of amusement in Xiao Yi's eyes.

She seemed to be unaware and whispered something to Ruhua. Ruhua frowned and was unwilling. Zhaopei was going to be naughty again, but the Seventh Prince was also sitting here. It was not a good situation to begin with, and they were going to add fuel to the fire? Zhaopei didn't take the Seventh Prince and these people seriously, so she didn't dare to risk her life with Zhaopei.

Ruhua shook her head resolutely, and Zhaopei stared at her so hard that she felt creepy all over, and then she gave in.

After a while, Ruhua's voice was heard, neither too loud nor too soft but just loud enough for the other table to hear: "Ah, sir. What a good poem! This poem will definitely win first place!"

This sentence immediately caught the man's attention. He looked over and saw the red-shirted boy with his back to him happily looking at the paper in his hand and nodding repeatedly. He let it go casually, and the wind blew it down on his heels.

He saw that the young man didn't seem to notice and seemed to be about to write another poem. He picked it up with a smile on his face as he looked at the beautiful handwriting on the paper. Without thinking, he rang the bell. The old man with a beard came over and said, "Does Mr. Huang have any poems?"

Young Master Huang smiled and stood up, chanting: "This is called "Dark Thoughts on Bamboo"." Everyone was surprised, and before they could come to their senses, they heard him reciting: "Dark thoughts on bamboo, dark thoughts through bamboo, dark thoughts through non-bamboo. The end is warm flowers, branches are painted in the pond, dark in the bamboo, good ponds lure waves... " Suddenly, the more he read, the more something was wrong, and beads of sweat dripped down. He realized that he had been fooled.

There was silence, but suddenly Zhao Pei burst into laughter, and the laughter and booing continued for a long time. Mr. Huang said with an embarrassed look on his face, "Excuse me, excuse me." He sat down and glared at Zhao Pei, looking very annoyed. Zhao Pei seemed not to notice and was shaking with laughter.

The bearded old man's face twitched slightly, and he said, "Mr. Huang is very humorous. Who else..." Before he finished speaking, a crisp bell rang from Zhao Pei's table. Ruhua stared blankly at Zhao Pei, who struck Xiao Yi's bell and then withdrew her hand before everyone's eyes swept over, leaving only the bell in front of Xiao Yi still shaking. Ruhua suspected that she was possessed by some kind of demon today, and even Xiao Yi dared to play tricks on her.

Xiao Yi looked at her expressionlessly as she was enjoying the show. He was neither angry nor annoyed nor worried nor anxious. Instead, he snorted with amusement and stood up in a cool manner.

When the old man saw him, he immediately asked respectfully, "Seventh Prince, do you have any wonderful words?" Hearing this title, everyone started talking about it, and Zhao Pei and He Hui, who were sitting at the same table with Xiao Yi, also attracted people's attention.

Xiao Yi smiled faintly, revealing his innate royal dignity. He glanced at Zhao Pei again, was silent for a moment, and then began to chant: "The willow is not a flower tree, but it feels spring by the building. The branches are pink, and the leaves are red. The sun shines through the curtains, and the wind blows away the dust on the mat. The brushing of the eaves should have a purpose, and it is suitable for peach and plum people."

A poem "Ode to the Willows on the Eaves of Yangyun Tower" won the whole room's applause. Zhao Pei looked at him with a smile, but her face was a little stiff. His half-smile was meaningful. (To be continued)