Novel Bin Chapter 25: Almost There
Chapter 25: Almost There
The poetry competition officially began.
The maid of honour held an embroidered handkerchief in her hand, and came to the first one. Yang Zhe.
According to the rules, this kind of embroidered handkerchief was personally embroidered by the flower leader of the show. So this piece, naturally, came from the hand of Du Yinyun.
Now, this treasure was placed in front of Yang Zhe, who wanted it but did not dare to take it.
The reason is that once he acquired this item, he would lose the right to be the first guest of the flower girl.
In other words, the handkerchief was a consolation prize, a souvenir for the various gentry who had spent a lot of money to enter.
The maid came to Yang Zhe with the handkerchief in her hand, a gesture that meant that it was Yang Zhes turn to answer the question called Flower.
Theoretically, there are many different forms of answers, from poems, songs, idioms, and even quotes from famous people. As long as the word flower is included or implied, the answer is considered successful.
But who is Yang Zhe?
He was a double scholar in literature and martial arts!
With so many people watching, there was no way he could be fooled. Even Yang Zhe himself intended on showing off his literary skills in front of Du Yinyun.
Standing up unhurriedly, Yang Zhe took a few moments to brew up a poem he had written: Riding a horse north of Mount Nitro, I heard a song and returned at sunset. The wind blows the lavender grass, and the golden sword shines on the northern border.The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on n0velbjn((.))com
Although this poem is not comparable to the ancient stanzas written by previous generations, if it is an improvisation, it can still be rated as high.
Even Liu Feiyun, who was sitting next to Yang Zhe, and ranked second, applauded from the bottom of his heart.
Excellent poem, Brother Yang! it paints a vivid picture of a frontier landscape. A general rides his horse in a field of flowers, looking north, while a song representing peace and tranquillity rings in his ears. In stark contrast is the long, polished sword in the generals hand in the setting sun.
Yang Zhe usually disdains to call people his brother, and with his family and talent, there are few people who can call him brother, to be fair.
Not to mention the fact that he prides himself on being of the same generation as the Princess.
Therefore, even Li Jin, who was always good at bullying others on his fathers behalf, was never given the proper attention from Yang Zhes peers because he was a generation shorter than the Princess.
Although Yang Zhe was not much older than Li Jin, he felt he was a generation above him because of his admiration for the Princess, and often spoke to him in the tone of an elder.
This made Li Jin very unconvinced.
Even if my cousin taught me a lesson, is there anything that you, Yang Zhe, are better than me, Li Jin, apart from being handsome, strong in martial arts, and good in literature?
However, today, Liu Feiyuns bragging was spot on and made Yang Zhe look very good in front of Du Yingyun, so Yang Zhe made an exception and arched his hand at him, saying, Brother, you praised me too much
Everyone was good at making eyes at people.
If Tie Weiqis Iron Eagle Gang wanted to make it to Yinjing, they naturally could not do so without the help of this Imperial Commander and close minister of the royal family. Whether it was Chu Fan or Yang Zhe, these promising future pillars of the country, if they could befriend them, they should most certainly befriend them for sure.
In the world of politics, more friends mean more opportunities.
Tie Weiqi also stood up and complimented him, What a great poem, The Golden Sword Shines on the Northern Border! What a great poem!
Shen Kuan was not willing to be left behind, as the son of Yinjings governor. He had heard some of his fathers stories about what happened in court. This Yang Zhe, the commander, was very popular with both Prime Minister Han and the Princess. Although he was now a fourth-ranking official, it was only a matter of time before he rose to the top.
Shen Kuan: Not bad, Commander Yangs fervent desire to serve his country is evident in this poem.
After Shen Kuan, it was Li Jins turn.
Regarding Li Jin, things were often much simpler.
Lets put it this way: when Li Jin was attending classes at the Lugiao Academy, his father, the Minister of Rites, made a special trip to ask his son about his grades. The gentleman who taught him thought for a long time, and said to Li Gongqin with a sigh.
Lord, you should read, its like reading a book.
Seeing that everyone else stood up to applaud Yang Zhe, Li Jin, although he had always been unconvinced of Yang Zhe, had to stand up and follow suit to show off his profound knowledge.
This poem is well written! Quite good. Very good, very good.
A little later it was Chu Xiaoxiaos turn, and Chu Xiaoxiao certainly wasnt going to butter up any Yang Zhe. She just blinked her big pretty eyes from her position and did nothing.
Finally, it was tenth place, He Yunxiao, who of course wouldnt be sucking up to Yang Zhe either, but he didnt do nothing like Chu Xiaoxiao did.
Sister Jiang and Du were sitting opposite him, and at that moment he was looking at the two girls with his hand on his cheek and his eyes twinkling.
Yang Zhe intended to make a fool out of He Yunxiao, who, after all, was even worse at literature than Li Jin, given his reputation.
Li Jin, no matter what, was still a man who had read books. He Yunxiao, on the other hand, did not study at all.
In the words, study? What the hell is that! Is studying something that a dude should do?
Yang Zhe said to He Yunxiao, Young Master He, how about this poem of mine?
He Yunxiao didnt bother to stand up, sat in his seat and cleaned his ears.
Not bad, just that I had to dig my earswax out after listening to it.
Yang Zhe snorted coldly, not going to argue with He Yunxiao in vain, and turned to ask Du Yinyun and the other five girls.
Girls, this little poem of my own creation, can it be accepted?
After discussing it for a while, the five of them gave the poem a rating of good.
If the rating was higher than good, the poem would be accepted. But a good rating was already a good sign.
Yang Zhe was satisfied, and sat down, so the maid with the embroidered handkerchief came to the second place winner, Liu Feiyun.
Liu Feiyun pondered for a moment, then said in a heartfelt manner, The peach is young, and it burns brightly.
This was a famous line from the poetry scriptures, and no one questioned it, not to mention that the flower leader did not need to rate it, so it was simply passed.
Fourth place went to Tie Weiqi. Tie Weiqi was a simple martial man who had read books, but not many, and could not compare with the literary gentry like Yang Zhe and Liu Feiyun.
He had no baggage, yet he was also direct, saying directly, Prosperous flowers are like brocade.
Behind him, Shen Kuan was slightly literate, but he didnt pretend to be either, saying, A blossom is fleeting.
Idioms like this go by quickly, as they dont have to be scored unlike self-penned poems, nor do they need to be read aloud with deep emotion like famous lines from the poetry scriptures.
It was Li Jins turn now.
Li Jin stood up and, without any ambiguity, crackled out a whole lot of words like dumping soy beans.
Hundred Flowers, Falling Flowers, Like a Flower
The Liu Kexiong at the back of the row was in a cold sweat, and he couldnt help but advise this Minister to stop.
The idioms are finally finished, what can I say!
Li Jin did not break the rules, although it was unethical. The first person in the ranking said it first, and the next person in the ranking was not allowed to repeat it, which was the advantage of the person with the most gold flowers in the previous session.
Otherwise, why else would others pay to grab the ranking?
Li Jin searched his gut and finished all the idioms he could utter.
He then gave Yang Zhe a rather smug and contemptuous glance before asking Du Yinyun, Du Huaqui, how did I do?
Not only Du Yinyun, but also Jiang Wuyou, who was more qualified, and the other three red-branded girls, were all seeing this kind of scene for the first time.
Other people write poems and you recite idioms, how dare you come and ask how well you recite idioms?
But Li Jin had some status, after all, and it was not good to be rude, so Du Yinyun could only say, When Sir Li recited the idioms, he did so with great emotion.
Li Jins eyes lit up and he felt deeply that Du Yinyun was really a soulmate!
Miss Du, how are you feeling?
Du Yinyun said, I feel a feeling of exaltation.
Li Jin clapped his hands, Well said! What else?
Seeing that Li Jin was relentless, Yang Zhe, who had long regarded Du Yinyun as his own object, finally spoke, Li Jin, thats enough, the next one.
Li Jin was followed by Liu Kaixiong.
Since Li Jin had said all the idioms he could, Liu Kaixiong held his words.
Finally, in the first round, he got the embroidered handkerchief and was knocked off stage.
A proposition has to go through at least one round before the next one starts.
So when Liu Kaixiongs successor, Passerby B, was faced with a proposition called Flower, he was at his wits end.
He left the stage unhappy with his embroidered handkerchief.
After B, there was Chu Xiaoxiao, the ninth person.
If she could not answer, she would also be eliminated with a handkerchief.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths
Chu Fan sat on stage, and watched his sister. His heart was also a little nervous.
If Xiaoxia couldnt answer, how could he ask Du Yinyun for clues about the Chu family tragedy ten years ago?
Just when everyone thought that Chu Xiaoxiao was going to give up, Chu Fans gaze was like a torch, and he suddenly observed that there was a slight distortion of light between He Yunxiao and Chu Xiaoxiao.
This was an internal power transmission!
Then, amidst all the attention, Chu Xiaoxiao slowly spoke.
Ill update another chapter later.
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