Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

At the foot of Peach Blossom Slope, on the banks of Fragrant Water, Li Wan had already ordered people to surround a pavilion as a venue for the poetry club's activities.

The pavilion, already adorned with flowers, incense burners, and other elegant decorations, became even more fragrant after the members of the Begonia Society gathered there.

Shi Xiangyun and Tan Chun were always the most lively. They laughed and said, "Our poetry club is really thriving this time. We originally thought that the two older sisters from the Li family wouldn't be able to catch up, but we didn't expect them to come back too."

So, adding to the thirteen people we originally planned, we now have fifteen!

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gaze to the slender and graceful Coco Lee and Coco Lee, who looked like a pair of twin flowers, causing the two to smile shyly.

They had been visiting relatives with their mother for a few days, and thankfully they returned, otherwise they would have missed this "grand event".

Yes, it's true. So many young ladies gathered together to drink and compose poetry. I've never heard of anything like it before. They couldn't help but look forward to it.

As for their mother, she had come with them to take a look before. Perhaps not wanting to stay here and delay the younger generation from playing, she simply went with Aunt Xue to Hengwu Garden to talk when Aunt Xue came.

Unlike the Li sisters' expectations, the You sisters seemed a bit embarrassed.

It wasn't that people didn't want to include them. Li Wan had asked them before, but they knew that with their limited literacy, trying to engage in literary pursuits with these people would only make them look foolish.

Seeing that these people were playing with such literary things for who knows how long, Sister You, unwilling to just stand there and watch, suddenly noticed a maid carrying a lot of kites. She tugged at her sister's sleeve, signaled, and quietly followed.

"Due to some special reasons, it has been almost two months since our last meeting. This is the longest interval since the establishment of the Begonia Society."

Li Wan, the president of the Begonia Society, stepped forward, suppressed the excited and chattering sisters, and delivered a speech.

"In this season of blooming peach blossoms, as agreed, the theme of our poetry club this time is..."

"Wait a minute."

Unexpectedly interrupted, President Li looked at Lin, who was speaking, and subconsciously glanced at Jia Lian, who was sitting next to him talking to his younger sister. He was overly friendly and had no airs of a patriarch whatsoever.

Under the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, Daiyu walked to the center, gave Li Wan a playful smile, and then took out a folded note from her sleeve and handed it to Li Wan.

Faced with Li Wan's surprised gaze, she smiled and said, "We've been talking about writing about peach blossoms for over ten days now. In such a long time, everyone must have come up with countless peach blossom ideas in their minds. Even if we were asked to write them now, it wouldn't be a difficult task."

I have a better topic here…

Daiyu stopped there, but those who knew her well understood what she meant.

Oh no, she's changing the question at the last minute!

For a moment, countless talented men and women who lacked confidence felt a chill run down their spines.

Li Wan naturally understood that among all the sisters-in-law, Daiyu was definitely one of the most talented, and had earned a significant voice in the poetry society through her own abilities.

Therefore, even as the president of the club, Daiyu's suggestion could not be easily ignored.

However, she was upright by nature. Although she didn't want to offend Daiyu, she also didn't want to let Daiyu become arrogant and deliberately make things difficult for everyone. Therefore, while subconsciously unfolding the note to examine it, she was also thinking about how to reject Daiyu's unreasonable request.

However, after carefully reading the note Daiyu handed her, her idea began to waver.

What Daiyu handed to Li Wan was naturally the little tune "Like a Dream" that Xiangyun had written earlier out of her feelings.

The original manuscript was kept by Baochai, but she specifically asked for it.

Everyone else roughly guessed that Daiyu had given Li Wan a poem. Judging from Li Wan's expression, they wondered if Lin Xiaoxiang had written another good one. So they all gathered around to watch.

A moment later, Li Wan handed the manuscript to the other sisters who were vying for it, and looked at Daiyu: "Did you write this?"

"I wouldn't dare steal this name. This was just written by a master poet with exquisite talent and eloquence. I haven't even had a chance to appreciate it yet, so I'm sharing it with everyone right away."

Daiyu glanced at Xiangyun with a smile.

Only then did everyone realize that it was actually Xiangyun's work.

Shi Xiangyun naturally realized early on that Daiyu was using her things to "swindle and deceive." However, she was indeed very satisfied with the little poem she had written in a flash of inspiration.

Secondly, she could guess that Daiyu was doing this simply to add some color to the poetry club today. She also wanted everyone to write about "willow catkins" and see if anyone could write better than her.

Therefore, when faced with admiring glances and words of praise, she simply smiled shyly.

Daiyu smiled at the opportune moment and said, "How about it? Her exquisite writing has already brought the willow catkins to life. Although we haven't eaten as much meat as she has, if we don't even dare to compare, wouldn't we be letting her steal the show today?"

Actually, there was no need for Daiyu to goad them. After reading Xiangyun's "Like a Dream" poem, many friends had already begun to gaze at the willow catkins fluttering in the sky, lost in thought.

Baochai chimed in, "Although the original theme was peach blossoms, we're here to have some fun and jokes. It's rare that Zhenxia's poem about willow catkins is both interesting and fitting for the occasion. Why don't we add a poetry club on the spot, and write about peach blossoms later?"

With the former foremost authority of the Begonia Society, Hengwu-jun, having spoken, Li Wan had no further doubts and immediately nodded: "In that case, let's add another society. Let's limit it to the length of an incense stick, with willow catkins as the theme, and limit it to various folk tunes."

However, I want to make it clear beforehand that since this was added on short notice, and it's just for fun regardless of its quality, there will be no reward or punishment.

As the president of the Begonia Society, Li Wan was responsible for commenting on and ranking the works submitted by each year's Begonia Society.

The other women also acknowledged her judgment and appreciation skills.

However, she knew that she was only good at appreciating art; in reality, her literary talent was far inferior to that of Baochai, Daiyu, and others.

Therefore, the Begonia Society had an agreement at its inception. The weaker members, such as Li Wan, Yingchun, and Xichun, were given "official positions" within the society. Li Wan was the president, while Yingchun and Xichun served as secretaries.

When they encounter simple problems, the three of them will do them if they can, and if they can't, they won't be forced or punished.

In other words, the actual members competing within the club were Baochai, Daiyu, Xiangyun, Zhen Yuhuan, Tanchun, Jia Baoyu, and Jia Lian, among whom Jia Lian was often absent.

With so many new sisters joining now, their true abilities are still uncertain. To avoid hurting anyone's feelings and to maintain everyone's dignity, Li Wan made this final emphasis.

Daiyu simply smiled at this. She only wanted to have some fun and take the opportunity to show off her talents; she wasn't really trying to compete with anyone, so naturally she didn't care.

Once the agreement was reached, a maid brought over an incense burner, and Baochai personally lit a stick of "Dream Sweet Fragrance" to mark the time. Then, each of them began to compose their own poems.

Daiyu felt that since she had suggested the topic herself, others would inevitably suspect that she had already taken advantage of someone else. Not wanting anyone to think that she had taken advantage of someone else, she immediately stepped forward and wrote down the poem, but then kept it to herself and wouldn't let anyone see it.

Soon, Baochai, Baoqin, Zhen Yuhuan, and others also had them.

Seeing everyone else going up to write, Jia Baoyu, who had been looking around anxiously, began to panic.

He hurriedly pondered for half a day but only managed to write half of it. Feeling it didn't make sense, he was so frustrated that he crumpled it up in one go. When he tried to start over, he found that the incense had burned out.

He sighed dejectedly, unwilling to shirk responsibility. He simply lamented inwardly that he lacked the quick wit to succeed, suffering a setback in this kind of impromptu test, and then shrugged, willingly admitting defeat.

Seeing that everyone who could write had finished, Li Wan smiled and said, "Alright, who wants to bring it up first?"

"Xiao Xiangzi finished writing first, let's read hers first."

Faced with the crowd's recommendation, Daiyu was not afraid and generously handed over the poem.

After receiving it, Li Wan smiled and said to everyone, "It's a poem called 'Tang Duo Ling'."

Then Fang Nian said:

"Powdered petals fall on the Hundred Flowers Isle, fragrance fades in the Swallow Tower. Clumps of them chase each other in pairs. Their drifting is like a life of misfortune, their lingering affections are in vain, a tale of romance."

Even plants and trees know sorrow, youth fades to white hair! Alas, in this life, who will take me in, who will cherish me? Married to the east wind, spring cares not, let it go, how can I bear to linger?

Upon hearing this, everyone sighed, "It's certainly good, but it's just too tragic."

However, Jia Lian, who had been sitting on the sidelines, smiling and watching the elegant and refined ladies, suddenly changed his expression.

There was no other reason than that the scene before him gave him a strange feeling, as if he had seen it in a dream.

While he was lost in thought, Tan Chun and the others, who had finished appreciating his work, surrounded him and asked for his manuscript.

Jia Lian smiled and handed them a poem he had written, "Nan Ke Zi".

"Hanging slender threads in vain, dangling in tangled strands. Hard to bind, hard to restrain, left to be separated in all directions."

Do not grieve for what has fallen, for I know its return. The orioles are weary, the butterflies tired, for the flowers fade in late spring; though we may meet again next spring, it will be another year.

As soon as Li Wan finished reading, Tan Chun clapped her hands and said, "As expected of Second Brother Lian, this is both well written and elegant."

"Sister Tan Chun is right."

Faced with her sisters' praise, Jia Lian shook her head, "Don't flatter me. My poem is no match for Xiao Xiangzi's. I'm just shameless enough to bring it up after hers."

When Jia Lian said this, everyone found it amusing, but they didn't dare to laugh.

I wanted to say something nicer, but I couldn't bring myself to say that Nan Ke Zi was better than Tang Duo Ling, so I had to keep quiet.

I thought to myself, "As expected, Brother Lian is magnanimous. If it were someone else, with such status and talent, they wouldn't be so open about admitting their inferiority."

Daiyu glanced at Jia Lian with a smile, wanting to say that his poem was already very good, a significant improvement over his previous works in the poetry club. However, she ultimately felt that such a statement would be too blatantly arrogant, and thus refrained from speaking.

After seeing Jia Lian's paper, everyone originally wanted to push Jia Baoyu. However, Jia Baoyu said that he had handed in a blank paper, so everyone let him go and went to see Baoqin.

At this moment, Li Wan felt a little thirsty, so she handed the reins to Baochai: "You, as the older sister, should read it to her."

Baochai did not refuse, and after taking it, she read aloud:

"The sporadic beauty of the Han Garden is limited, while the splendor of the Sui Embankment is boundless. The spring's endeavors are entrusted to the east wind, and the bright moon and pear blossoms are but a dream."

Several fallen petals grace the courtyard; whose fragrant snow-covered curtains hang? The landscape south and north of the river are alike, yet the sorrow of parting is particularly profound for those separated!

Li Wan commented, "As expected, it's her usual style, more tragic than others."

Xiangyun also laughed and said, "Perhaps it's because she has been abroad and has seen more of the world than us, so what she writes is more grand than ours."

"Yes, the lines 'several places' and 'whose house' are the most exquisite. In my opinion, this poem should be among the top three."

Baochai shook her head: "It's too decadent."

Although everyone knew that Baochai was being sarcastic and didn't praise her own sister, they still couldn't help but feel indignant on Baoqin's behalf for not praising her sister.

So Xiangyun and several other younger girls spoke up almost simultaneously, asking to see Baochai's.

Baochai, knowing she had put herself in a difficult position, smiled nonchalantly and said, "I think willow catkins are inherently a light and rootless thing. In my opinion, it's only meaningful if we describe them well and correctly. So I composed a poem, which may not suit your tastes."

Having grown accustomed to Baochai's "playing dumb to fool others" tactics, the other sisters naturally wouldn't fall for it. They insisted that her writing was undoubtedly excellent, and as soon as Baochai produced the manuscript, they scrambled to snatch it away.

It is a poem called "Linjiangxian".

"Spring unfolds its dance before the jade hall, the east wind swirls it evenly..."

When Tan Chun recited the first line, Xiang Yun, a fan of the hairpin, suddenly clapped her hands and exclaimed, "What a wonderful 'evenly rolled'! Just this one line is enough to surpass all of ours!"

Spring dances before the Jade Hall, the east wind swirling it evenly. Bees and butterflies swarm in a chaotic flurry. How could they ever drift away with the flowing water? Why must they be consigned to the dust?

Countless threads remain unchanged, letting them gather and disperse as they please. Youthful beauty, do not laugh at my lack of roots. With the help of a favorable wind, I soar to the heavens.

The line "A favorable wind lends its strength, sending me soaring to the clouds" drew enthusiastic applause from the crowd.

The reason is simple: in the previous poems, including those by Xiangyun and Jia Lian, the writing about willow catkins was all about loneliness and sorrow. Only Baochai took a different approach and wrote about the "unyielding" and "ambition" of the willow catkins.

This literary style and structure is truly unparalleled.

After Baochai, the rest of the group readily admitted defeat and were too embarrassed to submit their own poems.

Seeing that they were passing the book around and commenting on it, and that no one else was being recommended, Li Wan knew that there was no one else who could stand out.

So he smiled and concluded, "In this Liuxu Society, we should all respect Hengwu-jun. Does anyone have any objections?"

Everyone laughed and agreed, and even Daiyu didn't say a word.

Li Wan then said, "In terms of tender sorrow, Xiao Xiangzi comes first; in terms of charming sentiment, Zhenxia comes second; in terms of upright elegance, Qingsong comes third; and in terms of tragic grandeur, Xiao Xue comes third."

Speaking of which, I have to mention Yihong, who once again submitted a blank paper.

In front of his older sisters and younger sisters, Jia Baoyu was called out by his sister-in-law. Feeling ashamed, he awkwardly explained, "I told you I'm not good at this. Next time, I'll definitely make something better."

The fact that Li Wan specifically mentioned Jia Baoyu actually demonstrates his abilities; he's definitely among the top five in the Begonia Poetry Club. As the saying goes, with such high expectations, consistently underperforming makes people doubt his abilities and become complacent.

"This time, because we agreed beforehand, you won't be punished. But if the Peach Blossom Society continues to perform poorly, you'll be punished as well."

Faced with the stern Li Wan, Jia Baoyu could only humbly reply, "Yes, sir."

After the first gathering ended, Shi Xiangyun and the others were excited to start the second one.

Li Wan said, "It's still early. We can start after the scribes have finished transcribing all the manuscripts."

The crowd obeyed.

Seeing that her mistresses were taking a break, Ping'er stepped forward and said with a smile, "I bought a lot of kites as ordered by the Second Master, and they are all over there. The wind is just right now, so why don't you young ladies and mistresses fly some kites for fun?"

"A kite?"

Following Ping'er's directions, Zhen Yuhuan and the others saw that many colorful kites had been set up under the Daguan Tower to the west, swaying in the spring breeze and bathed in sunlight.

Some sharp-eyed observers had already spotted several kites fluttering in the air.

Ping'er explained with a smile, "Those are the two aunts from the East Mansion and Qingwen playing on the hillside."

Upon hearing this, everyone became interested. After obtaining Li Wan's consent, they immediately rushed off like a swarm of bees.

This immediately made the pavilion feel much emptier.

Li Wan was about to go and see Yingchun and the others copying the poems when Jia Lian stopped her.

"I want to ask the president for an official position."

"What?"

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Although I was one of the first to join the society, I am ashamed to say that I have participated in the poetry society very few times. It is no exaggeration to say that I am a 'guest friend'."

I was thinking, rather than letting me break the rules like this, it would be better if the club president bestowed upon me an official position, like Feng Yatou, so I could have a nominal title within the club from now on. But don't worry, Feng Yatou and I are definitely different; if we meet, I'll still act up. Just don't participate in the rankings anymore.”

"How can this be? You..."

Upon hearing that Jia Lian wanted to "withdraw from the club," Li Wan immediately objected. After all, they had gone to great lengths to get Jia Lian to join.

She felt that although Jia Lian was often absent, the Begonia Society was more meaningful when he was there.

But before she could voice her objection, Jia Lian looked at her with a smile and asked, "Why not? May I ask the club president a question: does today's judgment conform to the club's consistent principles? Is it fair enough?"

Li Wan fell silent. Knowing Jia Lian's wisdom, she immediately understood his meaning and couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Jia Lian smiled slightly. He wasn't being pretentious, nor did he want to leave the Begonia Society.

Instead, he realized that, given his status, it was indeed a bit incongruous for him to be an ordinary member of the Begonia Society.

For example, every time he writes something, whether it's good or bad, everyone always praises it unanimously.

Even Li Wan, known for her uprightness and integrity, could not escape the common vices in front of him.

Jia Lian was well aware that in the past, after each poetry gathering, only the top three winners were usually selected. The remaining rankings would be determined by Li Wan and the two scribes, Yingchun and Xichun, after the copying was completed, and then recorded in the register.

Today, Li Wan, for the first time ever, selected five people to be on the list, and ranked him fourth.

Moreover, Jia Lian did realize that even with his diligent study, his literary talent only ranked in the middle among these talented women. He was even slightly inferior to Jia Baoyu when he performed at his normal level.

So, occasionally playing along with the ladies was fine, but racking his brains to come up with lines every time would be quite tiring. His real interest lay elsewhere; he wanted to slack off.

Li Wan was unaware of Jia Lian's thoughts. Faced with his scrutiny, she felt both guilty and somewhat aggrieved.

Indeed, in today's collection of poems about willow catkins, Baochai, Daiyu, and Xiangyun are undoubtedly the top three. Li Wan would feel guilty if any of them were ranked lower.

If Jia Lian were to fail, she feared he would lose face. That's why she chose to do it this way, directly selecting the top five, so that Baoqin, who was from away, could also be on the list, preventing the away team from being completely wiped out.

She had tried to be considerate of everyone, but to her surprise, Jia Lian was still dissatisfied.

"Sister-in-law, just go along with him."

A sweet, delicate voice rang out.

It turned out that Baochai and Daiyu did not leave with the crowd, but instead secretly observed the situation from the side.

Daiyu knew Jia Lian best and, fearing that Li Wan might misunderstand, couldn't help but speak up when they were at an impasse.

Jia Lian also thought that Li Wan might have misunderstood, and added with a smile: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, how could I not know your considerations? I also said that I am not completely innocent like Feng Yatou."

I simply felt that, given my status as the top talent in the capital, it would be too unfair to compete with Lin and the others in poetry writing, so I didn't want to participate in the rankings. That was all.

Even though she knew Jia Lian was teasing her, Daiyu was still indignant at his words and couldn't help but retort sarcastically, "In front of Sister Bao, who is the top student, you, who almost failed the exam, dare to speak so arrogantly."

Jia Lian smiled but remained silent.

Seeing this, Li Wan also noticed it. Indeed, among so many sisters in the garden, besides Daiyu, who else would dare to speak to Jia Lian so frankly and as an equal?

Including Jia Lian in the rankings might indeed be inappropriate.

After thinking for a moment, Li Wan said, "In that case, I'll appoint you as the vice president, in charge of maintaining order at the club's opening ceremony. But I can't let you be lazy; if you hand in a blank paper for even the simplest questions like Baoyu, I'll punish you just the same!"

Li Wan figured it out: since Jia Lian wanted fairness, she might as well adopt the airs of an elder sister-in-law. After all, given their current relationship, she really didn't need to flatter him…

Jia Lian laughed: "I will obey the president's orders."

The matter was settled, and Daiyu smiled. Just as she was about to say something to Jia Lian, she saw Ping'er hurrying back.

"What's wrong?"

Ping'er glanced at everyone in the hall, walked to Jia Lian's side, and whispered a few words in his ear.

Jia Lian frowned deeply, his expression becoming serious.

"What happened?"

"It's nothing. There's just an unexpected situation; I need to leave the city."

With that, Jia Lian gave Daiyu and the others a reassuring look, then led Ping'er away from the area.