Downstairs lobby.
Some people have already composed poems, while others are still considering them carefully.
The maid moved among the crowd and began to collect the scrolls.
Tang Yan'er personally walked to the table of Baiyu Tower and said with a smile on her face, "Mr. Bai, I think it's ready. Can I have a sneak peek?"
Bai Yulou smiled and picked up the rice paper on the table and handed it over. He glanced at the pearl curtain leading to the backstage and asked with a smile, "Why didn't Miss Huayue come out?"
Tang Yaner smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Bai. I spent a lot of effort to invite Miss Huayue to the boat this time. She can't come out easily. If Mr. Bai has a good work tonight that can impress Miss Huayue, she will come out naturally."
Then he lowered his voice and laughed, "If your poems can touch Miss Huayue's heart, perhaps you can have a long chat with her tonight."
Bai Yulou laughed and said, "Miss Tang, please don't lie to me. Everyone in Kyoto knows that Miss Huayue only drinks with people behind a curtain at most, and most of the time she just plays a song. Zheng Yinong is one of the top three talents in Jiangnan. It is said that he went to Kyoto last year and displayed all his talents. He only met Miss Huayue once and chatted with her for three or five sentences, and that was outside the house. I am satisfied if I can hear Miss Huayue play a song tonight, and I dare not have any other extravagant requests."
Tang Yaner smiled and said nothing more. She lowered her head to look at the new work in her hand. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she couldn't help but recite: "I drink wine facing the setting sun and ask the west wind in silence. What is the use of rouge? It is all used to dye lotus..."
Then he praised with joy: "Mr. Bai is indeed a talented man from the south of the Yangtze River. This casual work is a masterpiece."
Bai Yulou bowed and smiled, "You are too kind."
Tang Yan'er put away the rice paper and said with a smile, "Mr. Bai, please wait a moment. I will go collect a few more poems and then show them to Miss Huayue."
As she spoke, she walked to the back with her maid and collected poems from several successful candidates and other talented scholars.
Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she suddenly looked at Kong Zhe's table again.
Coincidentally, Kong Zhe and the other two also looked at her.
Tang Yan'er didn't want to go over, but after making eye contact with the other person, she felt a little embarrassed and had to walk over with a smile on her face.
"Master Kong, Master Li, Master He, have you finished?"
When they got closer, Tang Yaner said politely.
Kong Zhe picked up the rice paper on the table and said a little embarrassedly: "Brother Li has come up with one poem, while Brother He and I have no idea yet."
Tang Yan'er took it in her hand with a smile, glanced at it casually, and said, "By the way, where is Mr. Luo?"
Kong Zhe smiled awkwardly and said, "I guess I'm a little tired, so I'll go back and rest."
Tang Yan'er smiled and said nothing more.
Kong Zhe was afraid that she would be unhappy, so he quickly added: "Brother Luo is probably not very good at poetry, so he didn't stay to join in the fun. Miss Tang, please don't blame me."
Tang Yan'er smiled and was about to say goodbye when a pretty girl in a pink dress suddenly walked over quickly, holding a piece of rice paper in her hand and said, "Miss Tang, my master is feeling a little unwell, so he went upstairs first. But when he heard that the poetry gathering had begun, he had promised you to attend, so he got up from the bed and wrote a short poem for me to bring over. I hope Miss Tang doesn't mind."
Tang Yaner glanced at her pretty face, stretched out her hand to take it, and said with a smile: "Since Mr. Luo is not feeling well, then go to bed early. I don't care about such a small matter."
Bailing thanked him, showing two cute dimples on her face, and turned to leave.
Tang Yan'er looked at her graceful and slender figure and couldn't help but secretly praised: "What a pretty little girl."
She casually glanced at the rice paper in her hand, without looking at it any further, turned and left.
He pushed aside the beaded curtain and entered the room behind the stage.
In the room, the lights were bright. A girl in a light purple dress was sitting at the table, carefully reading the poems that the maid had just brought her.
After Tang Yan'er entered the room, she smiled and placed the poems she had collected in front of her. Just as she was about to speak, she took out the top two pieces and placed them among the ones the maid had just brought over. She smiled and said, "Huayue, take a look at these first. These poems were all written by famous talents, and there is a good poem by Jiangnan Baiyulou among them."
"oh?"
Huayue smiled faintly, put down the rice paper in her hand, twisted it lightly with her delicate hands, picked up the first piece, and began to look at it carefully.
When I saw Bai Yulou's works, I couldn't help but murmur: "The sky is at the corner of the railing, people lean against it, drunk or awake..."
Then he nodded and said, "It is indeed a good poem. I heard that Mr. Bai is the best at writing lyrics, and his reputation is well-deserved."
Tang Yan'er smiled and said, "Huayue, do you want to meet him? I went down to the boat to invite him, but he didn't want to come. But when he heard that you were on the boat, he immediately came up eagerly. He came here just for you."
Huayue smiled slightly, did not answer, and continued to read the next song.
Seeing this, Tang Yan'er didn't say anything more.
This woman was a famous figure in Kyoto. It was said that she was the daughter of an official. Because her family fell into poverty, she had to work in a brothel to perform and support her family.
She was proficient in poetry, songs, calligraphy, painting, chess, and the like, and was also quite beautiful, so she soon became famous in Kyoto.
Because of his noble and stubborn character, he would refuse to see the children of powerful people even if they came to visit him, so his popularity was increasing.
She had also been invited to come along for the tour through her friends, and it took a lot of effort, so naturally she didn't dare to force her.
"Huayue, don't you have anything else you like?"
Tang Yan'er felt a little embarrassed when she saw that she had just finished reading the poem she had just received and remained silent.
Huayue sighed and said, "They are all poems with gorgeous words but empty content. They are far inferior to Mr. Bai's poem, not to mention the ones that have been circulated in Mocheng. Oh, I don't know when I can meet Miss Qin..."
After saying that, he sighed again, took the stack of works that the maid brought, placed them in front of him, and began to look at them.
Tang Yan'er didn't dare to disturb her any further. When she was about to leave, Huayue suddenly said "Huh", looked at the rice paper in her hand and said, "This piece of work is quite interesting."
Tang Yan'er was startled when she heard this, and she leaned over to look down.
"I advise you to get drunk tonight, and don't talk about tomorrow's affairs in front of the wine. Cherish the host's heart, the wine is deep and the feelings are deep. You should worry about the shortness of the spring clock, and don't complain about the fullness of the golden cup. When you meet wine, just laugh, how long can life last."
After Tang Yan'er finished reading, she looked at the name below: Luo Qingzhou.
"Luo Qingzhou? The son-in-law?"
She was stunned for a moment, and the first person she thought of was not Luo Jieyuan, but the son-in-law, and she couldn't help feeling ashamed.
Huayue smiled and said, "This poem is quite good. I think this Mr. Luo is also a talented man with a good reputation."
Tang Yan'er said quickly, "Huayue, I forgot to tell you. This Mr. Luo is the son-in-law of the Qin family in Mo City. Guess which Qin family this is? It's the residence of Miss Qin, the most talented woman in Mo City. Isn't it a coincidence?"
As soon as these words came out, Huayue's eyes suddenly lit up, and a hint of joy appeared on her face: "Really? Didn't Miss Qin come with you?"
Tang Yan'er was stunned for a moment when she heard this, and suddenly the images of the girls that Young Master Luo brought on board appeared in her mind.
Thinking carefully, one of the girls was wearing a snow-white dress and a veil on her face. She looked extraordinary and fairy-like. Could it be...
Thinking of this, she suddenly became excited.
"Huayue, I don't know if Miss Qin came with us, but I'm telling you, when Mr. Luo boarded the ship today, he brought a few women with him, one of whom..."
She recounted in detail what she had seen today.
After Huayue heard this, she frowned slightly, pondered for a while, and suddenly stood up and said, "I'll go take a look."
After taking two steps, he suddenly shook his head and said, "No, we can't be so rash. If Miss Qin deliberately wants to hide it, she won't admit it even if we go, and it will be very rude."
Tang Yan'er suddenly suggested, "Huayue, how about we give a few more questions and try them out first?"
Huayue's eyes lit up when she heard this: "Yan'er, that's a good idea."
Then he frowned and thought about the title of the poem.
At this time, the singing girl outside was singing: "When will the bright moon appear? I raise my cup to ask the sky..."
Huayue immediately said, "Yan'er, let's use the bright moon as the theme. If the song "Water Melody" was really written by her, even if she writes another one that is not as good as "Water Melody", her true literary talent can be seen. However... if she doesn't make a move, it will be hard to guess."
Tang Yan'er thought for a moment and said, "I'll go there in person later. I'll act according to circumstances and try to find a way to get her out."
Huayue nodded and said, "Yan'er, please."
Tang Yan'er smiled and walked out.
She walked onto the stage first, and after everyone had quieted down, she announced the next topic.
"On the subject of the bright moon?"
When the scholars heard this, they all felt embarrassed.
If it were in the past, this poem with the title "Bright Moon" would be easy to write, but now...
That song "Song of Water Melody" suddenly came out of nowhere. With such a good piece of music before it, who would dare to humiliate themselves again
But since it's a poetry reading, everyone can just join in the fun and write a random poem.
Hearing this topic, Bai Yulou frowned slightly. When Tang Yan'er came down from the stage, he hurriedly asked, "Miss Tang, has Miss Huayue read that little poem?"
Tang Yan'er smiled and said, "Of course I read it. Miss Huayue even praised Mr. Bai, saying that the poem was very well written."
Bai Yulou secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. He wanted to ask her a few more questions, but seeing that she seemed to be busy, he could only smile and say, "That's good."
Tang Yan'er smiled and said, "Mr. Bai, keep working hard. If this song is finished, Miss Huayue might come out."
Bai Yulou was immediately cheered up when he heard this.
Tang Yan'er said goodbye and went straight to the second floor.
at this time.
In the room, Song Ruyue was chatting with Xiaodie about making clothes.
Luo Qingzhou was afraid that Xiaodie would tell others about how he taught her how to make different kinds of stockings, so he was quite nervous and kept warning her with his eyes.
Xiaodie held back her laughter and answered respectfully.
Luo Qingzhou was too embarrassed to go to bed to rest, so he sat at the table pretending to read a book.
Not long after, footsteps were suddenly heard outside.
Then there was a knock on the door.