Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Because of Jia Lian's previous work, "Butterfly Loves Flowers," even the Third Prince and Prince Bei Jing came over to watch Jia Lian's new work.

Therefore, at this moment, Jia Lian's location, including the table in front of him where he was wielding his brush and ink, became the absolute center of the entire scene.

Those whose status was not high enough, or who were not close enough to Jia Lian, dared not push forward, because Princess Zhaoyang was right next to Jia Lian.

But they could all hear Jia Lian's steady and unwavering recitation.

In fact, they don't need to ponder it carefully. Just by looking at the expressions of Princess Zhaoyang and others, they can tell the value of Jia Lian's new work!

This……

Opening their mouths wide and staring in disbelief were almost everyone's reactions.

Everyone who had read books and had some appreciation for poetry fell silent at this moment.

If the previous poem, aside from its poignant final line, had some elements that, according to their prejudiced interpretations, were overly sentimental and forced a sense of melancholy, then this second poem is truly...

"Elegant writing" and "noble sentiments" are not enough to describe it!

One mountain, one river... one gust of wind, one flurry of snow...

The noise shattered my dreams of home!

The words are so simple, yet they touch the heart every time you read them!

Such a sound is not heard in my hometown!

It turns out that, when you're alone in a foreign land, even the wind and snow that scholars regard as the ultimate standard become a noisy din.

What kind of state of mind? What kind of feelings?

If it were the previous "Butterfly Loves Flowers," they might doubt that it was written by a young man like Jia Lian. So how do they interpret this brilliantly written "Longing for You"?

After Jia Lian finished writing, he remained silent. Although he did not act arrogantly or retaliate against those who had mocked him, his silence was like a slap in the face to those people.

Those who hadn't previously questioned Jia Lian all turned to look at Zhou Xing and the others...

The faces, each one vibrant and colorful, were truly a sight to behold.

They were very curious and wanted to know whether, faced with this situation, Zhou Xing and the others would still say that Jia Lian was a brute and a fraud.

Well, if it weren't for the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, they might still be stubborn, but with these two around, I'm afraid they wouldn't dare. Jia Lian looked up, seeing the silence around him.

He couldn't discern all the myriad aspects of human life at a glance, but the feeling of mental clarity and refreshment was self-evident.

No wonder so many time-traveling predecessors enjoyed plagiarism; it really is satisfying. The feeling of leaving everyone who likes you, hates you, or is of higher status completely dumbfounded is even better than the pleasures of the bedroom.

In particular, the worship of beautiful women...

Jia Lian glanced at Princess Zhaoyang standing quietly beside him. Although he didn't have any romantic feelings for her, seeing such a proud and beautiful woman showing such infatuation with him was... quite satisfying.

Ignoring the crowd, he turned to the Zhou brothers and asked calmly, "I wonder, esteemed Zhou, whose poem do you think I copied this time?"

Jia Lian's voice calmed many people down.

When Jia Lian was questioned before, everyone thought he was a fraud and shameless charlatan.

Having been subtly humiliated, Jia Lian's expression, though seemingly the same, now carried a calm and aloof air, as if he disdained to argue with mediocre people.

"this……"

Zhou Xing was naturally unconvinced, but after glancing at Princess Zhaoyang, who had walked to Jia Lian's side and couldn't help but touch the manuscript, he dared not utter another word of "bad".

"You're still not convinced?"

Seeing Jia Lian's smugness, Zhou Xing snorted coldly and lowered his head.

He was certain that he had become someone else's stepping stone and that he was bound to be humiliated.

However, he dared not curse or act like a rogue in front of the Crown Prince and Princess, otherwise he would not only be thrown out, but his future might also be ruined.

"If you're still not convinced, then you can..."

Everyone was waiting for Jia Lian to continue suppressing and mocking the Zhou brothers; the victor is king, and the loser is villain, which was understandable.

But then Jia Lian suddenly picked up his brush again, shifted to the right, leaving Princess Zhaoyang aside, lightly rubbed the Xuan paper, and read aloud:

"Bamboo and Rock".

"Clinging firmly to the green hills, its roots firmly planted in the broken rocks. A thousand blows and ten thousand strikes cannot break its strength; it stands firm against the winds from all directions."

Jia Lian read slowly, but his pen never stopped, and before anyone could react, he had already composed a quatrain!

Faced with everyone's astonished gazes, Jia Lian didn't even raise his head. Instead, he waved to the standing servant beside him.

The waiter walked over blankly, bewildered, while Jia Lian simply pulled a brand-new sheet of Xuan paper from the tray in his hand...

Again?!

"Heavy snow weighs down the green pine trees."

The pine tree stands tall and straight.

To know the pine's noble character,

When the snow melts.

It will come back naturally.

For Jia Lian, who had memorized the "Three Hundred Children's Poems" since childhood, producing a bunch of masterpieces that didn't exist in this world was incredibly easy.

Since you've already slapped someone in the face, you might as well go all out and hit them hard!

"This is just a casual doodle, please excuse its poor quality."

Jia Lian glanced around casually, then continued, "I am not well-read, nor am I very good at composing poems or lyrics."

However, today I had the pleasure of meeting two talented men from the Zhou family, which allowed me to compose a couple of lines by chance.

I will write it down for everyone to see.

Without giving anyone else a chance to speak, he continued writing:

"One must rely on one's own judgment, for the art world is filled with a cacophony of conflicting opinions."

The dwarfs watch the play but never see anything; they just parrot what others say.

The dwarf watching the play never saw anything; he only listened to what others said and criticized…

What a sharp mockery, what a merciless sarcasm.

Thinking back to the Zhou brothers and those who questioned Jia Lian, their behavior was just like a dwarf watching a play—only able to see half of it.

People couldn't help but cast pitying glances at the Zhou brothers.

Seeing Zhou Xing's face turn ashen, the others shook their heads.

From now on, the two young masters of the Zhou family may never be able to shake off the title of "dwarf".

I'm afraid they'll become distracted if they see the word "short" in a book. Walking down the street, if they hear someone call them "shorty," they'll involuntarily turn around to look...

If this poem were to become widely known in the future, the Zhou brothers would likely achieve lasting fame in this way.

Indeed, one should not offend literary figures, especially those who are eloquent and talented!

Because a single line of poetry from someone could haunt you for the rest of your life...

The Zhou brothers were pitiful, but the rest of the imperial family, nobles, and princes—people who usually considered themselves extraordinary—felt numb.

What did they just see?

Jia Lian wrote three, four, or five poems in one go? And not one of them sounded like a masterpiece.

This……

It feels so unreal!

Many times they wanted to express their feelings, but when they thought of the elegance contained in the few poems that Jia Lian had casually written, they felt that at this moment, even taking an extra breath would be a mistake.

With such excellent poems, he should have become famous long ago. How come Jia Lian is known as someone who is bad at studying and can only take the path of a warrior?

Is this even human?

That's such a pretentious act!

This is what people who can understand poetry think.

As for those who are truly illiterate...

"Hey, what's with that look on your faces? Do you think he wrote anything decent?"

The fourth prince felt like he was going crazy. He disliked the atmosphere very much. He stepped forward, grabbed Jia Lian's few poems, held them above his head and looked at them repeatedly. He didn't think there was anything special about them.

He knows all the characters!

Suddenly, he felt a sharp slap on the head. He looked up blankly and, sure enough, it was his older sister's greeting.

"You ignorant fool, don't embarrass yourself here."

Princess Zhaoyang snatched the manuscript from his hand and placed it back on the table as if it were a precious treasure. Then, she seemed to take a deep breath to calm herself down, turned around, bowed, and clasped her hands in greeting to Jia Lian.

"The general's demeanor is truly awe-inspiring. Zhaoyang apologizes for his previous rudeness towards the general."

Although Princess Zhaoyang was not exceptionally talented, she was well-versed in literature and writing due to her grandmother's influence from a young age.

She knew all too well that Jia Lian, who could casually compose poems of such caliber, was far beyond the reach of ordinary talented men.

Yawen Bar

This was also the first time she felt that there was someone in the world who could surpass her imperial grandmother in literary talent.

Previously, even the great scholars in the Imperial Study and the Hanlin Academy, she felt, were at most comparable to her grandmother's works, only with different styles.

But today, she knew that any one of Jia Lian's poems could rival those of her imperial grandmother. Even his two songs, "Butterfly's Lament" and "Longing for Love," surpassed those of her imperial grandmother!

Therefore, she was serious when she bowed.

Chapter 230 Let's Fight It Out