The Lord of Mingyue Tower smiled and nodded to him after hearing the words of the City Lord of Yingcheng, then said,
"Then I shall offer my humble attempt."
"First are the first two lines, 'Last night the rain was sparse and the wind was strong, deep sleep did not dispel the lingering wine. Although the words only describe excessive drinking last night and the hangover not yet gone upon waking this morning, there is another layer of meaning hidden behind it..."
"That is, the drunkenness last night was due to cherishing flowers."
"The third and fourth lines describe the common human emotion of cherishing flowers. Despite a night of drunkenness, upon waking in the clear morning, the concern is still for the crabapple blossoms in the garden."
"The poet must know that the crabapple could not withstand the harshness of the sudden wind and sparse rain last night. The view outside the window must be strewn with withered reds and fallen flowers filling the eyes."
"But she could not bear to see it herself, so she asked the young attendant who rolled up the curtain."
"'Do you know, do you know, it should be green leaves growing fat and red flowers thinning. This is both a rhetorical question to the attendant and like talking to herself—you little attendant, the crabapple blossoms in the garden should be lush with green leaves and sparse with red flowers.'"
"This last line of dialogue expresses what poetry and painting cannot convey, depicting the complex expression and tone of a woman in her boudoir, who is saddened by the arrival of spring and the passage of time. This can be considered the divine stroke of the entire piece."
"Well said! As expected of the Tower Lord, your mastery of poetry and lyrics is extraordinary. In such a short time, you have analyzed the poem so thoroughly!"
After hearing the words of the Lord of Mingyue Tower, the City Lord of Yingcheng immediately praised.
The others present also applauded.
What they could think of, the Tower Lord had said.
What they could not think of, the Tower Lord had also said.
The City Lord of Yingcheng continued to comment on the words of the Lord of Mingyue Tower:
"Excellent, excellent, the entire poem does not have a single character that writes 'sadness of spring,' yet every part is relevant to 'sadness of spring.' Magistrate Feng, what is the name of this poem?"
[In Great Yue, poetry and lyrics are collectively called poems]
Magistrate Feng immediately replied:
"This poem is titled 'Nian Jiaojiao · Ru Meng Ling.'"
Upon hearing this, everyone sighed inwardly.
What a good name!
Then the City Lord asked:
"'Nian Jiaojiao,' is that the poet's name?"
At this moment, County Magistrate Cheng could no longer sit still and immediately stood up to reply:
"Yes, City Lord."
Her heart was filled with excitement at this moment.
She knew her judgment would not be wrong!
"Oh? County Magistrate Cheng, you know her?"
County Magistrate Cheng suppressed her excitement and replied calmly:
"City Lord, this Nian Jiaojiao is precisely the Child Leader of our Shanshui Town in Great Yue, year 1156!"
Upon hearing that she was a newly minted Child Leader, everyone present was somewhat surprised.
After all, a new Child Leader meant that the person had only been studying poetry and lyrics for a short time.
The City Lord was very curious about this Child Leader. If nothing else, she wanted to quickly select the excellent work of this self-assigned topic so she could meet this Child Leader.
Half an hour later, three excellent works were selected.
Two were poems on the theme of "Ode to Spring" written by scholars from the Jia list, and the last one was Nian Jiaojiao's "Ru Meng Ling."
At this time, in the pavilion where the Child Leader of Mingyue Pavilion was located.
Everyone was toasting and talking loudly about who would win the first prize, and they revisited the excellent works from the last Full Moon Festival.
When the woman in brocade ascended to the楼 again, someone noticed her and informed others. Soon, the scene quieted down.
After looking around, the woman in brocade said indifferently:
"Is Nian Jiaojiao, the Child Leader, here?"
Tong Fu nudged Nian Jiaojiao, who was still drinking, and asked in a low voice:
"Jiaojiao, is she calling for you?"
At this moment, Tan Fang, who was opposite them, looked at Nian Jiaojiao with uncertainty. She couldn't figure out why the woman in brocade was looking for her.
She could only guess that Nian Jiaojiao might be connected to some important figure.
Before she could lament, Nian Jiaojiao slowly stood up and cupped her hands towards the woman in brocade, saying:
"I am Nian Jiaojiao."
The woman in brocade took small steps towards Nian Jiaojiao and made a "please" gesture, saying:
"Child Leader Nian, please come with me."
...
Family Pavilion.
A maid publicly recited the three selected poems, and everyone cheered after listening.
However, when the Child Leader's name "Nian Jiaojiao" was announced, Cheng Xu's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be... such a coincidence...
But could there really be another person named Nian Jiaojiao who was also a Child Leader?
As he was filled with doubt, the woman in the scholar's robe seemed to arrive like the moon.
The audience in the family seats could clearly see the situation on the opposite side.
And Qi Qinghe's expression was complex.
It seemed to carry jealousy, envy, unwillingness, and disappointment...
But she had to admit that she could not write such a poem.
At this time, the other two scholars from the Jia list had already stood aside. Nian Jiaojiao, upon her arrival, respectfully saluted everyone present.
The City Lord of Fengcheng was very satisfied to see the "talented" Nian Jiaojiao.
However, before she could speak, Vice City Lord Wang beside her preemptively said:
"I didn't expect our Child Leader Nian to be so young, looking only about 15 or 16?"
Seeing that the person speaking was seated in the upper position on the left, Nian Jiaojiao had already guessed their identity and replied:
"Replying to City Lord Wang, this student is 16 this year, and 17 by traditional reckoning."
Seeing that Nian Jiaojiao could discern her identity in a short time and answer questions without humility or arrogance, both City Lords were very satisfied.
Especially for Vice City Lord Wang.
She wanted to intervene even more for the person Ying Fengxian fancied!
Vice City Lord Wang continued to ask:
"Your 'Ru Meng Ling' is indeed very good. However, I have a question here, can you answer it?"
Nian Jiaojiao nodded:
"City Lord Wang, please enlighten me."
"I observe that your 'Ru Meng Ling' is written very delicately, with subtle and indirect content. It truly does not sound like the tone of a woman, but rather like a sentimental man?" City Lord Wang voiced everyone's doubts.
Nian Jiaojiao had already prepared a response to this question, so she calmly said:
"Indeed, this poem is written from the perspective of a man. To my shame, today, on the festive Full Moon, I couldn't help but think of my husband in Shanshui Town, and thus wrote this 'Ru Meng Ling.'"
Upon hearing Nian Jiaojiao's answer, Vice City Lord Wang was very satisfied.
Everyone present also nodded, looking at Nian Jiaojiao with admiration.
What a woman of great affection and righteousness!
Shen Jinmei and Dan Ran, the two scholars from the Jia list, did not have any strong opinions when Nian Jiaojiao stole the spotlight.
Shen Jinmei had confidence in herself.
She had also heard Nian Jiaojiao's poem, and it was indeed outstanding, but hers was not bad either.
More importantly, the poem she had prepared for the "Full Moon Festival" had been ready for a long time.
Currently, everyone's attention was focused on this Nian Jiaojiao, merely out of novelty that a "Child Leader" could produce such poetry.
And Dan Ran was also confident.
However, her confidence was different from Shen Jinmei's; she actually didn't take either of them seriously.
After all, she was not only a scholar from the Jia list but also a VIP guest of Mingyue Tower.
She was a scholar with poetic talent!
Family Pavilion.
Feng Kai, sitting next to Cheng Xu, looked at Nian Jiaojiao with starry eyes after hearing the City Lord's conversation with her and said to Cheng Xu:
"Xuxu, didn't you tell me to find the wife I like myself? I've found her now, it's this Nian Jiaojiao!"