The flower boat is swaying, the voices are full of people, the bustling tide comes and goes, there is excitement and loss, a prosperous scene.
This is the most lively night in the imperial city. The repeated wars in Daxia have brought too much pressure to the people. On this night, they all chose to temporarily forget their troubles and enjoy themselves.
Ning Chen led Xiao Mingyue into the nearest flower boat, and the first thing that caught his eye were two beautifully dressed girls and four men of five fives and threes thick.
The screens on the boat are decorated with lights, and under the red lights, a couplet is eye-catching, which makes the people who come in scratch their heads.
"Bearing tears to find residual red, tenderness is like water!"
In just nine words, there are no traps between the lines, just a pair with profound meanings. It seems simple, but it is actually quite difficult.
Mingyue was dizzy when she saw it. Although she also learned some of the culture of the Central Plains, most of them were the Four Books and Five Classics, the way to govern the country, and the expertise of these talents and beauties was basically not learned.
"Can you?" Mingyue asked in a low voice.
"Yes." Ning Chen thought for a while, then opened the mouth and said. After speaking, he picked up a note on the table and wrote down the answer.
"Dance to figure out the shadows, thin bones to the wind"
Mingyue said softly, she didn't quite understand it, but she seemed to be very powerful.
The note was handed over, and soon after the screen came a voice, "Go!"
The crowd suddenly burst into a burst of surprise, and the eyes of the young man in front of him became a little different.
The two brothel women gave Yingying a salute and respectfully said, "Young Master, please come this way"
"Thank you." Ning Chen nodded in return, and immediately pulled Xiao Mingyue to another flower boat.
The flower boats in Yinhe River are all connected by boats. After passing the test of the first level, you can pass the bridge between the boats and board the flower boat of the second level.
The flower boat in the second level also gathered a lot of people, all of whom came from different flower boats. The pair of the first level stopped a large number of people, but many people passed.
However, when Ning Chen came with Xiao Mingyue, he saw that everyone was frowning, and it seemed that they encountered a big problem.
There are still two wonderful women and four men on the flower boat, guarding a screen, which is the problem of the second level.
On the screen, five words were clearly written:
Wing Chun does not see spring!
This is a question of writing a poem, which is obviously much more difficult than the previous one, causing many talented people to think hard.
In Daxia, Confucianism and Taoism flourished, and talents flooded, but everything was too much. After the prosperity of Confucianism and Taoism, it has shown signs of decline. Now the talents are not as worthy of their names as they used to be, and most of them are nostalgic names left by the land of fireworks.
There is no ancient style, and there are fewer and fewer real talents.
The two came to the screen and stopped for a moment.
"Will it be?" Mingyue looked up and asked again.
"Yes," Ning Chen replied.
When the people who were still thinking saw someone pick up a pen to answer, they immediately gathered around.
"Pei Hui is light and snowy, like when the sun is shining;
Unaware that the wind and flowers are cold, Mei Liuchi is turned over. "
The five-character quatrains on Yue Ran's paper do not contain a single word of spring, but they describe the scenery of winter and spring.
The people present in "Good Poetry" still have some ink in their stomachs. At a glance, they can see the outstandingness of the poem. The young man in front of him is a great talent.
After the answer was sent to the screen, there was a result soon, no nonsense, only one word, "pass!"
Ning Chen and Xiao Mingyue successfully passed the test again, and walked to the next flower boat in the eyes of everyone's envy.
"Who is this person, and why have I never seen this person before?" Someone asked curiously.
"Yeah, it stands to reason that such a talented person should not be unknown," replied a blue-clothed man in his thirties.
"Unfortunately, I forgot to ask his name," said the previous person regretfully.
"Forget it, it's useless to think about this, let's think about how to pass this level first," the man in blue replied.
At this time, many people who passed the first level have begun to gather on the flower boats in the second level one after another. After seeing the question, they all shook their heads.
This year's questions are more difficult than last year's.
"But!" Behind the screen, another voice of refusal sounded, and after a short while, this was the seventh.
Poetry is good or bad, not just by writing it.
"It's so difficult, who's going to go?" a newly arrived young man complained.
"Shh, be quiet, someone has already passed by just now," the man in blue said beside the young man.
"So fast," the young man said in surprise.
The man in blue whispered a few words in the ear of the young man, and the startled young man suddenly opened his mouth.
"How come I've never heard of such a person?" The young man asked very puzzled.
"I don't know, now everyone is guessing who this person is." The man in blue shook his head.
Ning Chen, who had already left, naturally didn't know what happened behind him. At this time, he and Xiao Mingyue had already boarded the third flower boat, staring at the title in a daze.
"Will it be?" Mingyue asked subconsciously when she saw that the bad guy didn't speak.
"No." Ning Chen shook his head vigorously.
The title of the third level was actually asking him to write an academic article. Wouldn't this cost him his life
"Send points," Mingyue said in surprise.
"Really not." Ning Chen shamelessly said, asking him to be a pair, it's okay to write two poems, but it's really not good to write a fuss.
"Then I'll come?" Mingyue asked softly.
"Okay," Ning Chen nodded.
Mingyue stepped forward, without thinking too much, she just started writing, and after a while, she wrote a neat and tidy academic approach, and Ning Chen, who was next to her, was stunned.
This child is not for nothing!
The article was sent to the screen, and after a while, an old voice came out, "The literary talent is not bad, too!"
"That's right, it doesn't matter whose child it is," Ning Chen said proudly, he was happier than passing the test himself.
After the three passes, the two of them were the first to get the qualification to board the last big flower boat. Mingyue is a child and does not occupy a place. Just follow the adults.
The two cooperated perfectly. Passing the three levels was as simple as drinking water. After boarding the big flower boat in a low-key manner, he quietly found a corner and sat down.
In the flower boat, the figures of the powerful children can be seen everywhere, all of them came with invitations, Ning Chen glanced at them, and basically didn't recognize them.
On the second floor of the flower boat, there are boxes one by one, and the bead curtains block the figure behind. Sitting in it, you can just look down to the high platform downstairs for choosing the oiran.
These are real people with identities, and it is impossible to show their faces casually. Ling Yange also fully considered this, and specially arranged these boxes.
"Has the Marquis Zhiming not arrived yet?" Su Feiyan asked in a box on the second floor.
"No!" A maid replied, the Marquis Zhiming's box was still empty, and the person in charge of checking the invitations did not see Marquis Zhiming coming.
Su Feiyan's brows were slightly wrinkled, it didn't make sense, how could the Marquis of Life not come.
"Send someone to continue to wait, and come and report as soon as there is news."
"Yes, Miss." The maid bowed and walked back quickly.
In the corner of the banquet, the woman in charge of the wine looked strangely at the two people at the table. There were still people who went to the brothel to bring children. They all said that rich people have many quirks, which seems to be true.
"When will it start?" Mingyue glanced at the high platform in the center of the banquet and said bored.
"Don't worry, it should be soon" Ning Chen replied softly.
Before the words fell, the sound of "ding" sounded, and suddenly, the whole flower boat was quiet, the sound of the piano was faint, and it quietly penetrated into the hearts of everyone present.
Ning Chen drank the wine quietly, his thoughts flashed through his mind, this non-smoker's identity is really unpredictable, just relying on the sound of the piano can affect the minds of others, such a practice is rare.
It seems that it is necessary to ask the seniors after going back to see if they can get some useful information.
The sound of the piano is very nice, like a clear spring and flowing water. Ning Chen has two volumes of heavenly books to protect his body. He is not affected by the sound of the piano, but simply appreciates the beauty of the sound.
As for Xiao Mingyue, there is no need to worry if he has his true qi in the body.
"Nice," Mingyue raised her head and said in a low voice.
"Eat first, I'll take you to see her later," Ning Chen patted the little girl's cloth cap and said.
"Okay" Mingyue replied obediently, and immediately continued to eat. They came out in a hurry, they didn't take the invitation, and they didn't eat dinner. In addition, they were writing poems and articles just now, and they were really hungry now.
At this moment, on the high platform, ten women floated down along the red silk, dressed in green embroidered clothes, with different faces, but they were all surprisingly beautiful, dancing to the sound of the piano.
Everyone's eyes were suddenly attracted, and they watched intently.
Ning Chen and Mingyue looked up and lost interest, and continued to eat their own.
The two of them really watched a lot about dancing. In the palace, the most important thing was singing and dancing.
"This mangosteen is so hard." Mingyue held a mangosteen and pinched it for a long time without opening it, dissatisfied.
"Here" Ning Chen brought it, crushed it, and immediately fed it to the little girl's mouth.
Mingyue was not embarrassed, she took it directly and ate it happily.
"It's very sweet," Ning Chen commented, putting a flap in his mouth.
Mangosteen is not easy to preserve, it is easy to spoil, that is, it can only be eaten by the rich and powerful.
On the side, the maid glanced at the two of them, and their expressions were even more strange. These two people have been eating from now on, and they didn't pay attention to other things, which was too weird.
Ning Chen's thick skin is hard to measure, and he doesn't care about the maid's opinion at all. As for Mingyue, as an emperor of a dynasty, except for the people she cares about, she will never be able to see everyone in her eyes.
It is unrealistic to ask an emperor to consider the idea of a servant.
"Has the Prince of Fate come?"
Seeing that the oiran election could no longer be delayed, Su Feiyan stopped playing the piano and asked again.
"Miss Chi, not yet," a maid said respectfully.
"No wait, let them start." Su Feiyan frowned and ordered.
"Yes" The maid took the order to leave.
In the corner of the banquet, after hearing the sound of the piano disappear, Ning Chen raised his head, narrowed his eyes slightly, and reminded softly, "Mingyue, it's time to start"
As soon as the voice fell, on the high platform, the splendor bloomed, and five beautiful figures slowly descended. The five people came together, and the superior temperament and appearance immediately eclipsed the ten green embroidered figures around them.