Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Inside the Moon Gazing Pavilion, everyone was immersed in the awe-inspiring power of Xiao Qingshuang's poem, including the three judges.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Yannian finally realized something.

He cleared his throat, looked around, and announced, "Today's competition is best two out of three. Xiao Qingshuang has won the first two rounds, so the outcome is decided. There is no need for a third round. I declare Xiao Qingshuang the winner of this match!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Moon Gazing Tower erupted in cheers once again.

"it's over!"

"Miss Xiao has won!"

"The most talented woman in the capital, truly deserving of the title!"

……

The applause and cheers were constant, and the commotion could be heard several streets away.

In the private room of the Yaoguang Poetry Society on the third floor, the group of talented women looked at each other, and no one spoke.

They went to the Xiao family in a big fuss, spreading the news throughout the capital, hoping that Lin Wenjing would step on Xiao Qingshuang to secure her position as the most talented woman in the capital. In the end, however, they set up the stage themselves, using Lin Wenjing as a stepping stone, and paving the way for Xiao Qingshuang's success...

From this day forward, Xiao Qingshuang's title as the most talented woman in the capital will likely never be shaken.

Among the crowd on the first floor, the three referees simultaneously bowed to Qing Shuang.

Although seniority is important in the literary world, ultimately, it is the works that speak for themselves.

Although they were decades older than the young girl, they were far inferior to him in poetry.

In just half a month, she has already produced three poems that are worthy of being passed down through the ages.

The three of them wrote poetry their whole lives, but even if they put all their poems together, they couldn't produce a single one that could compare to these three.

Li Yannian walked up to Qing Shuang, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and solemnly said, "Miss Xiao, the two poems you composed today are masterpieces. It is an immense honor for me to witness such poems in my lifetime. The future of the literary world of Da Ning rests on your shoulders..."

Hearing Grand Secretary Li's praise, Qing Shuang felt extremely guilty and quickly waved her hands, saying, "Grand Secretary Li, you're too kind, you're too kind..."

Shen Bo'an chuckled and said, "Miss Xiao, there's no need for you to be modest. In recent years, our Great Ning has valued martial arts over literature. I thought the literary world was beyond saving, but I never expected Miss Xiao to appear out of nowhere. I can die without regrets, haha..."

Gu Huaiyuan stroked his three-foot-long beard and said with satisfaction, "Da Ning is surrounded by foreign enemies. It's not the court's fault that it values ​​military prowess over literature. It's just that Da Ning has always been prosperous in literature, crushing the barbarians. I never imagined that one day we would be mocked by barbarians. Fortunately, a talented woman has emerged from a military family. Once these poems circulate, who among those barbarians will dare to say that Da Ning has no one?"

"Well said!"

"Our Great Ning is a land of orthodox etiquette and flourishing culture; how can a bunch of barbarian small countries compare to it?"

"If our great Ning military family can produce such a talented woman, can they?"

……

The crowd showered her with praise, making Qing Shuang feel even more guilty.

This was the first time in her life she had experienced the spotlight. Although she felt wonderful inside, she also knew that none of this belonged to her. She even regretted that she should have studied hard instead of burning her teacher's beard...

She subtly tilted her head behind her and glanced at Chen Chang'an out of the corner of her eye.

Chen Chang'an stood quietly behind her, his expression indifferent.

Ever since she met him, he seemed indifferent to everything.

Qing Shuang took a deep breath, no longer caring about etiquette, grabbed Chen Chang'an's wrist from behind, and whispered, "Let's go!"

And so, the two of them—a daughter of a military family who had just astonished everyone with her poetry, pulling along a pretty maid who was much taller than her—pushed through the crowd and walked out of Wangyue Tower without looking back.

The crowd parted automatically to make way, their eyes fixed on their retreating figures.

Stepping out of Wangyue Tower, Qing Shuang quickened her pace, grabbed Chen Chang'an, and practically fled into the carriage.

The moment the carriage curtain fell, Qing Shuang felt as if her bones had been removed, collapsing onto the soft cushions of the carriage.

"My God...it's finally out!"

She let out a long breath, clutching her chest, her heart still pounding.

Just now, she was being watched by hundreds of eyes in Wangyue Tower. She didn't dare to breathe loudly, for fear of giving herself away.

She finally breathed a long sigh of relief after getting into the carriage.

Chen Chang'an followed her in and sat down opposite her.

After resting for a while, Qing Shuang recovered and her gaze fell on Chen Chang'an, who was dressed as a maid. Suddenly, she burst out laughing.

Chen Chang'an looked up and saw her laughing so hard she was doubled over. He asked in surprise, "What are you laughing at?"

Qing Shuang covered her mouth, looked him up and down, and said with a grin, "I must say, you look quite pretty as a maid. If you were a woman, I don't know how many men would fall for you..."

Chen Chang'an rolled his eyes at her and said irritably, "Isn't it all because of you!"

Qing Shuang laughed for a while, then suddenly sat up straight, put away her playful smile, looked at Chen Chang'an seriously, and bowed to him.

"Young Master Shen, thank you."

She spoke in a serious tone, with an expression Chen Chang'an had never seen before: "If it weren't for you, I would have lost face big time today. Not only would I have lost face, but I would have also implicated my grandfather, the Zhenyuan General's Mansion, and even the entire military family..."

Chen Chang'an felt a little uncomfortable seeing her so serious.

He waved his hand dismissively and said, "No need to thank me. We're friends. Saying these things between friends would be too formal. Just don't promise to forget about me!"

Qing Shuang took a deep breath and readily agreed, "I can't forget it. As for the Stone-Splitting Palm, I'll teach you first thing tomorrow morning. Not just the Stone-Splitting Palm, but all the martial arts my father forbids me from passing on, I'll teach you..."

Chen Chang'an immediately raised his hand: "It's a deal!"

Snapped!

Qing Shuang raised her hand and gave Chen Chang'an a heavy slap, the crisp sound echoing in the carriage.

She lowered the carriage curtain, leaned against the carriage wall, and let out a long breath.

Today's events are finally over...

Looking at Chen Chang'an across from her, she felt a sense of peace and security.

Although she could easily take on ten of him by herself, he gave her a sense of security and dependability. It seemed that as long as he was there, even the biggest problems could be solved smoothly...

at this time……

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

The Emperor of Da Ning sat on the dragon throne, with two pieces of paper on the table.

The poem and lyric on the paper were the two poems that Chen Chang'an wrote for Qing Shuang at Wangyue Tower.

The Emperor of Great Ning examined the two pieces of paper several times before finally setting them down, leaning back in his chair, a look of satisfaction on his face: "Our Great Ning has produced a literary star!"

Then he shook his head and sighed, "This kid, so young, yet his poems always sound so old-fashioned. 'An old steed in its stall still aspires to gallop a thousand miles,' it's like that; 'Yet they say, "What a fine autumn day!"' it's like that too; and now here comes 'Don't laugh at me, drunk and lying on the battlefield; how many have returned from ancient battles?" How can a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy act like an eighty-year-old man...?

Yun Zhan, the leader of the secret guards, stepped out of the shadows and bowed, saying, "His mother died early, his stepmother mistreated him, and his father ignored him. He lived in the Chen mansion for more than ten years, where he was treated worse than even the servants. With such a background, it's understandable that he matures much earlier than his peers and is a bit old-fashioned..."

After listening, the Emperor of Da Ning remained silent for a while.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he said coldly, "What a Chen Wenyuan! Such a promising young man, mistreated like this by him. What a despicable father he is."

Yun Zhan didn't reply, he just stood there with his hands at his sides.

Emperor Da Ning picked up his vermilion pen, opened a memorial, and after reading half of it, he still felt indignant.

He looked at Yun Zhan and said in a deep voice, "No, I can't tolerate this any longer. Issue my imperial edict: Chen Wenyuan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, behaved improperly and inappropriately at yesterday's court assembly. He is hereby fined one month's salary as a warning to others!"