The lower couplet facing the girl in green is connected with the upper couplet. They fit together perfectly, and the contrast is so neat that it would be inappropriate to change even a single word.
"Emperor, would you like to take a look at this second couplet?"
Queen Mother Zhou handed the second couplet to Mo Chuan.
Mo Chuan took it, looked at it very carefully, and nodded slightly.
"Very good." He raised his eyes and looked at the girl in green, his deep gaze lingering on the purple birthmark on her face for a while.
The girl in green seemed to be aware of his gaze. Her long eyelashes drooped down, covering her pure watery eyes. Her eyes looked at her nose, and her nose looked at her heart. Even when the wind ruffled the hair on her face, she didn't reach out to hold it back. Last pull.
She neither showed an expression of inferiority because of her ugly face, nor was she flattered by the emperor's attention on her.
Her face does not blush, her heart does not beat, she is neither humble nor arrogant, nor is she surprised by flattery or humiliation.
The elegant demeanor and appearance made Empress Dowager Zhou feel even more admirable.
She is so dignified and polite, even better than when she was younger. She is really a rare good girl with both talents and virtues!
"Hey, if she wasn't so ugly and lame, even if she was from a humble background, the Ai family would have chosen her as their queen, but she just..." Queen Mother Zhou thought to herself.
She couldn't help but look at the girl in green again, but when she saw the birthmark on her face, she felt her heart skip a beat.
"That's all, what's the use of being talented and virtuous? The emperor will never look down on her. What's more, the queen of the Western Chu Kingdom must not be ugly, let alone a lame! Otherwise, wouldn't it be spread out? Become a laughing stock in other countries?”
After much thought, Queen Mother Zhou decided to exclude the girl in green from the options.
She looked at Xia Yuyan with a smile.
"Miss Xia, Aijia, it seems that you have also answered the second couplet, so why haven't you written it yet?"
Xia Yuyan was thinking about the second line of the girl in green's answer, and found that the other party's answer was really clever. When she compared the second link that she came up with with the other person's, she was immediately defeated.
She also saw the limp of the girl in green and the shocking birthmark on her face, and couldn't help but be surprised.
She had already given up at first, but when she saw the girl in green describing her like this and heard the Queen Mother Zhou inquired about her, she suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.
"Yes, Queen Mother, Yu Yan will write the second couplet now."
Xia Yuyan stepped forward, took up her pen and wrote the second couplet she had thought of long ago, handed it to the eunuch beside her, and then stood respectfully at the bottom.
She knew that Empress Dowager Zhou wanted to see her second line in the roll call, just to promote her and give herself a chance to show her face. She didn't want to miss this golden opportunity.
So what if the girl in green is better than herself in the lower line
Because of her dignity and her disability, the Queen Mother would never look down on her. Not only did the Queen Mother look down on her, but the Emperor would not give her a second glance.
She felt a little proud in her heart, and glanced at the girl in green from the corner of her eyes.
"That's right, that's right!" Queen Mother Zhou was filled with admiration after reading Xia Yuyan's second line.
Although this second couplet is not as neat and ingenious as the girl in green, it can still be considered a masterpiece.
"Yu Yan, you are indeed the most talented girl in Kyoto. This couplet is perfect! People say that a woman is virtuous if she has no talent. For a good girl like Yu Yan who is talented, virtuous and beautiful, the Ai family will survive. I haven’t seen many at this age.”