Did you hear that? His Majesty is having his meal.
After receiving this news, the worries of the ministers on duty in the palace were swept away. Not only that, they were able to think about more.
Emperor Jiajing, who was extremely sad and unable to eat, was cured by Qingci and began to eat. This showed that Emperor Jiajing was very satisfied with Qingci, and not just an ordinary degree of satisfaction, otherwise this effect would not be achieved.
As far as I can remember, there seems to be only one Qingci written by them that satisfied Emperor Jiajing to such an extent, and that was the Qingci couplet written by Yuan Wei three years ago, "The Yuangui of Luoshui first presented auspiciousness, the yin number is nine, the yang number is nine..."
It was also in the middle of the night that time. Emperor Jiajing sent a note asking the cabinet ministers to write a poem. Yuan Wei finished it in one stroke. The words were fluent and popular, and they were exactly what the emperor wanted. Jiajing was very pleased after reading it.
Overnight, Yuan Wei was promoted twice, from a seventh-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy to a sixth-rank compiler in the Hanlin Academy. Not long after that, he was promoted twice more, becoming a fifth-rank bachelor of the Hanlin Academy.
Because of a poem written by Yuan Wei, his official position was promoted four levels.
The speed of promotion is unprecedented! It can be said that there has never been anyone like this before and there will never be another like this after.
In addition, the benefits are not limited to this. From then on, Yuan Wei enjoyed the emperor's favor for a long time. Even his superiors did not dare to look down on him. Otherwise, how could he be qualified to have a seat in the residence of this cabinet minister today
Many people envy Yuan Wei for this and often think how great it would be if it were them.
However, there is no need to envy today, as the opportunity has come again.
Now, there is another Qingci that makes Emperor Jiajing so satisfied, and it happened when Emperor Jiajing lost his beloved cat. If Yuan Wei's last Qingci was icing on the cake, then this Qingci was like timely help.
As the saying goes, adding icing on the cake is not as good as helping someone in need.
Therefore, the merits of tonight's Qingci are definitely far greater than Yuan Wei's Qingci last time.
As a result, the atmosphere in the duty room suddenly became much more relaxed and cheerful, and it became lively. The ministers began to guess whose poem caught the emperor's eye.
Of course, they themselves are still relatively optimistic. Those who are qualified to write Qingci for Emperor Jiajing in this Zhilu have all been recognized by Emperor Jiajing. They have been writing Qingci for Emperor Jiajing for more than one or two years, and they have their own understanding of Emperor Jiajing's preferences, and they are also relatively confident in their own works today.
"General Huwei was the emperor's favorite cat. He was very spiritual and always accompanied the emperor. Unexpectedly, he died with regret today. What a pity, what a pity!" Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, sighed after the young eunuch left. Later, he bowed and nodded to everyone present, "The emperor has been sad for a long time. He has not had a drop of water since noon. I am old and can't do anything. Fortunately, you have comforted me with your words, and the emperor can have a meal."
As soon as Yan Song finished speaking, several ministers below vied to "refute" Yan Song.
"Your Excellency is too modest. I see that you are old with white hair and a beautiful face, but your sword is still as sharp as ever and your writing skills are even better than before. I and others combined are not as good as you alone." A minister shook his head repeatedly with a sincere look in his eyes.
"God is so unfair. No matter how I look at you, I can't tell that you have grown old. You have only grown wiser, not older..." Another minister used irony in a unique way, but his tone was full of flattery.
"How can we compete with you in praising your poems? I have the honor of reading your poems and am amazed. I feel inferior to you." Another minister was not to be outdone.
"The talent of the elder is beyond our reach. How can a firefly dare to compete with the sun and the moon for glory..."
For a moment, almost all the ministers present "refuted" a few times, with extraordinary unanimity.
"Haha, the Yangtze River's new generation pushes the old generation forward, and you are all the pillars of the country. There is no need to be too modest. Your Majesty has great ambitions, and we are fortunate to be born in such a prosperous era. We must do our best and write with our hearts, in order to comfort Your Majesty and win the expectations of the people." Yan Song laughed, waved his hand, and encouraged everyone.
"We are ashamed..."
"Your words are very true. We are ashamed..."
All the ministers present bowed their hands as if they had learned something from their lesson, and expressed their willingness to follow what Yan Song said.
"Although what everyone said just now may infer that the Qingci is in line with the emperor's wishes, after all, the emperor has not yet responded, so we still need to stick to it. Please work hard for a while." Yan Song said again.
“It’s not hard.”
"The elder has worked hard..."
All the ministers bowed and echoed.
"Since you have nothing to do, why not guess which adult's masterpiece is most pleasing to His Majesty?" After the greetings, an adult suggested.
Soon, this proposal was agreed by everyone.
"In my opinion, it must be the Qingci of the Lord."
"Yes, there is no need to guess, it is the Qingci of the elder."
"I agree. I agree."
For a moment, all eyes were focused on Yan Song, and all kinds of compliments were spoken, praising Yan Song's poems highly, even though they did not think so in their hearts.
Yan Song smiled and shook his head. He was not complacent because of the compliments. He waved his hand and said, "I am old now. I am not as good as I used to be. If I were ten years younger, I would not be polite to you. But now, I have to give in to you."
"The elder is being modest."
"The elder is being modest again."
Everyone shook their heads, indicating that Yan Song was being modest.
Yan Song still smiled and shook his head, "I won't argue with you today. Haha, let's put it this way, except for me, everyone else guess."
This is a kind of self-confident humility, just like the humility of the top students in the class, no, no, I didn’t review well for this exam, I will definitely not be able to pass you, I won’t compete with you this time...
After Yan Song said this, everyone knew better and stopped flattering him. Too much is as bad as too little, and if they flattered him further they would be hitting the horse's leg.
So, everyone started to speculate again.
"I think it's Master Zhang. Master Zhang is the best at verses for sacrifices. Last time, Master Zhang's verses for the Spring Festival were praised by His Majesty..."
"I think it's Mr. Li. Mr. Li has been writing Qingci for more than 20 years and has the most experience..."
"Master Liu, I read your poem before it was submitted. It is full of literary talent and sincere words. It is an excellent work."
"Yuan Wei, right? Yuan Wei wrote a poem right away, and received the most praise from His Majesty. I think it's Yuan Wei in all likelihood."
"Yes, what Master Zhang said is very true. I also think it is Master Yuan. The last time Master Yuan wrote the couplet 'The Black Turtle on the Luo River Presents its Omen', everyone praised it. In the art of Qingci, Master Yuan has already reached the pinnacle."
"That makes sense. I second the motion."
Although there was a disagreement, several people guessed it was Yuan Wei.
This made Yuan Wei, who was sitting below, smile all the time. He said modestly that he dared not, but his head was already looking up at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle.
Although your official positions are higher than mine, when it comes to Qingci, I, Yuan Wei, dare to say anything second, so who among you is qualified to say anything first
He looked like a lonely expert.
Especially when Yuan Wei glanced at Xu Jie who was sitting at the top seat, there was a hint of loneliness in his eyes.
Everyone was guessing just now, but no one guessed it was Xu Jie's.
In their eyes, Xu Jie was a hard-working student in the class, but he had no talent. Although Xu Jie often wrote Qingci for Emperor Jiajing, whether he recommended himself or wrote for the emperor, he wrote a lot of Qingci, and the number was definitely higher than that of the others. However, Emperor Jiajing had never praised Xu Jie's Qingci.
Not even once.
It is not to say that Xu Jie's Qing Ci is not good. Xu Jie's Qing Ci is good, but it is only good, and it is still a little short of "color".
It has not yet reached the point where it will impress everyone and gain the admiration of Emperor Jiajing.
Lack of spirit.
Therefore, when everyone was speculating this time, they did not consider Xu Jie as a potential target.