After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

More than half of the Shen time has passed.

The sun's rays softened, and like a golden crow folding its wings, it sank straight westward. As it passed through the clouds on the horizon, the golden crow resembled a red-hot spherical branding iron, burning the layers of white clouds until they were fiery red and translucent. Due to the varying temperatures, the entire horizon displayed a richly layered and vibrant fiery red spectacle.

Huanyue Pavilion is located in the center of the west courtyard of the Marquis's mansion. It spans nearly a hundred feet in length and width. The layout of the courtyard was carefully designed by the supervisor of Shanglin Garden. It is grand and solemn, and is extremely suitable for living and entertaining guests. Most of the flowers and plants planted were also collected by Shanglin Garden and are well-matched, including many rare and famous plants.

Bathed in the light of the horizon, the flowers and plants were draped in a slightly warm orange hue. As the temperature difference increased in the evening, the wind blew in from the north, causing the flowers and plants to rustle and the light and shadows to sway gently, like a young girl sitting in a rocking chair with her eyes half-closed, making the whole courtyard seem languid.

The flower hall, surrounded by these flowers and plants, was originally noisy.

But at the very front, when Lady Jia, as the hostess, ordered someone to hang up the new work of that talented scholar from both the north and south, she herself softly recited the first line of the poem.

The noise gradually subsided.

"The east wind at night releases a thousand trees of flowers—and blows down—stars like rain."

After the first line, a talented scholar standing a little behind whispered the title of the poem: "Qing Yu An".

Those who admire Ning Caizi's poetry, the young ladies in the flower hall, and some noble ladies are concerned with the poetry itself and eagerly await its release.

However, the esteemed scholars in the front row were more concerned with the words on the scroll. This matter concerned whether it would cause His Highness to lose face in front of the envoys from the outer court.

After all, those few people in melon-shaped hats were right behind them, deliberately making provocative remarks.

Your Highness is the future emperor. A subject must die for his honor. If Nilon were to bully Your Highness today, they would be ashamed to death.

Just as the painting "Green Jade Table" was unfurled, their eyes fell directly on Ning Xiaoyou's calligraphy. But with just one glance, Liu Zhenxi and Zhang Jian, several renowned scholars skilled in calligraphy, instantly narrowed their eyes.

Wei stele!

It really is a Wei stele!

Before even seeing His Highness's arrangements, Ning Xiaoyou's congratulatory gift was already a Wei stele!

Moreover… Liu Zhenxi and the other old men narrowed their eyes, and after a few breaths, they couldn’t help but click their tongues in disapproval. This young friend Ning’s calligraphy was no ordinary Wei stele style.

Regardless of the poem, this calligraphy alone is probably worth a fortune.

This piece, "Green Jade Table," is powerful and vigorous, with bold and thick strokes. Its brushwork is also insightful and profound, and its overall structure is perfectly natural. It is very similar to the "Stele of Duke Zheng" by Ning Jiexiao of the Northern Dynasties. However, Ning's calligraphy lacks some of the youthful exuberance, but has more of the open-mindedness and unruliness of a man who has achieved his long-cherished wish in his prime.

But how could someone of this age have developed such a calligraphic style?

Such doubts arose in their minds, and the group pondered them endlessly, but could not find a solution. However, after exchanging a glance, they were completely reassured!

"Well done, Ning Nan..." Liu Zhenxi and the others' eyes flashed with a sharp light!

With this calligraphy here, Your Highness will surely not lose your imperial majesty today!

Nilong and Fan Shilie, who were not far away, changed their expressions in the blink of an eye when they saw the words.

A staff member wearing a melon-shaped hat waved a fan and muttered, "Wei stele?"

The group had a good eye; after taking a few more glances, they could naturally tell that Ning Jiexiao's calligraphy was actually a notch worse than Ning Nan's!

Even though they were evenly matched, the other party's gift was just an unknown casual congratulatory gift, while Ning Jiexiao's calligraphy had been rampant in the Northern Dynasty for more than a year, and their side had spent a lot of money to buy it as a valuable gift!

Ning Nan is not from the previous dynasty; he is just a young talent who has recently gained fame.

Now, Fan Shilie's previous statement, "If this calligraphy is taken away, the literary spirit of your dynasty will probably decline even further," has become completely empty talk!

The aide, fanning himself, whispered to Nero, "Master, should we just leave?"

Nilon glared at him and said, "Why are you leaving?!"

At this moment, Madam Jia, speaking in the soft Wu dialect, softly recited the second line of the poem.

"The road is filled with the fragrance of fine carriages, the sound of phoenix flutes is heard, the jade pot shines, and fish and dragons dance all night long."

Liu Zhenxi and the others felt relieved and immediately smiled, truly appreciating the poem... But upon closer inspection, their hearts skipped a beat... This poem, this poem... How come this poem seems no less poignant than "Searching and Searching, Cold and Desolate"?

The old men's expressions changed, and they couldn't help but bend over, take a step forward, and squint their eyes into slits...

Some young ladies in the back, who were knowledgeable in poetry, clutched their books tightly. Upon hearing the poem, their eyes lit up with admiration. As expected of that talented scholar from both the north and south, just hearing the first verse conjured up a lively and magnificent scene before their eyes, like the capital city during the Mid-Autumn Festival and Lantern Festival. The word choice was profound, the imagery grand, and it was fitting for the grand gathering at the Marquis's residence today. It was truly ingenious. The young ladies' faces were flushed, and they all stood on tiptoe to look at Madam Jia.

"Moths and willows, golden threads, laughter and fragrance linger as they depart."

After softly reciting this sentence, Madam Jia paused for a moment.

My gaze lingered on the last line of the second stanza of the poem.

...I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, then suddenly turning around, I found him where the lights were dim...

Her eyes suddenly lit up. More than twenty years ago, she married into the Marquis's mansion. At that time, she was not considered a favorite and made do with her life with her son.

Ten years ago, the Marquis's first wife passed away, and his other sisters fought fiercely over her, both openly and secretly, while the younger generation also competed with her in secret.

She remained steadfast in her refusal to compete or fight. As the Marquis grew older, he longed for peace and quiet and would often visit her. She would play chess with him and practice martial arts with him, saying little, observing and offering compliments. She secretly hoped that the Marquis would leave soon so she could read leisurely by herself, but unexpectedly, the Marquis came here more and more often.

As he came more often, she gradually became reluctant to let him leave.

Madam Jia's heartstrings twitched, and she smiled slightly. Her nephew Ningnan had really put his heart into it. He must be thinking that when the Marquis looks back at the age of fifty, the person he sees is his old wife... Hmm... How wonderful.

Unfortunately, my husband is uneducated and incompetent, and I'm afraid he won't understand my nephew's good intentions.

Seeing that Madam Jia had stopped, the people behind her began to ask questions in hushed tones. Zhang Jian, a great scholar from Bailu Academy, glanced at Madam Jia and knew that she was probably affected by this sentence. He then gave her a look, and Madam Jia nodded slightly, wiped her eyes, and asked the great scholar to read the last sentence for her.

"I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd—but suddenly I turned around—and there he was, in the dim light."

Zhang Jian read the last sentence aloud in a clear, resonant voice with intonation.

The moment the last sentence was uttered, the entire room fell silent for a moment, then suddenly became lively again after a young lady whispered, "That's wonderful!"

"As expected of the champion chosen by the renowned scholars from both the North and South, led by Master Liu!"

"Xu Yang's defeat was not unjust, nor was Nalan Que's defeat!"

"This poem is truly insightful, capturing both the splendor of life and the depths of human nature... especially the last line..."

……

It's like a pot of water being boiled by a raging fire. At first, only wisps of steam rose from the surface, but at a certain moment, after the water was boiled, the hot water suddenly began to boil vigorously.

Exclamations, discussions, and gasps of admiration filled the flower hall.

Liu Zhenxi, along with He Weng, Chen Lao, and the others, straightened up, took a moment to recover, exchanged glances, and shook their heads with wry smiles. This young friend Ning, when he makes a move, it's always like this, frightening everyone into not daring to pick up their pens.

The young ladies looked excited and whispered in surprise, passing around some notes. Some noble ladies chattered and pulled Madam Jia aside to ask if the talented Ning was already married... Most of them were daughters asking their mothers for information.

Zhu Cuiwei stood quite close to the door with her back straight and her demeanor graceful. Her eyes were very calm. She did not follow Jia Shi when she went to the front to display the calligraphy and paintings.

She couldn't remember which day it was, but after the young doctor finished writing it that day, he proudly asked her to take a look... Hmm, it was written quite well... The handwriting was good, and the poem was good too... But it was a little worse than the "Butterfly Loves Flowers" poem he gave her... But it was still pretty good.

Moths, willows, and golden threads, laughter and fragrance linger... Zhu Cuiwei, her oval face veiled by a beaded curtain, smiled faintly with rounded lips.

She glanced at the Northern Dynasty's deputy envoy, Nilong, and upon seeing his expression, Zhu Cuiwei knew there was no need for her to stay any longer.

Nilong is malicious, and Fan Shilie is a clown, not worth a second glance.

She didn't want to belittle Ning Jiexiao either.

This man is a calligraphy prodigy who has emerged in the Northern Dynasty in the past year. If I were here today and said that his calligraphy was inferior to that of the young doctor, it would probably stir up a heated debate between the literary circles of the North and South.

The old story of Yai Shan will never be repeated... This is the consensus of insightful people in the North and South in recent years, and the Grand Tutor often said this to her.

The commander who led the Yuan dynasty to destroy the Southern Zhao was not a Mongol, but a Han Chinese from the north, Zhang Hongfan. In the Battle of Yamen, Zhang Hongfan forced Lu Xiufu to carry the eight-year-old Emperor Bing and jump into the sea to his death, a tragedy for the Han people.

"The Han dynasty... cannot afford any more internal strife," the Grand Tutor would always say to her with a sigh.

Zhu Cuiwei silently pursed her pink lips, her gaze lowering slightly.

He was just about to leave Huanyue Pavilion and hand it over to Jia and Grand Scholar Liu. Jia was shrewd and intelligent, and Grand Scholar Liu was a man of great literary talent and maturity. He was confident that they could handle things well, both to retaliate against the Northern Dynasty and to maintain good relations with the literary circles of the North.

He silently made up his mind.

He immediately turned around.

Looking back, she saw the flowers and plants in the courtyard bathed in the warm orange light, like the last dim yellow lamp of the distant sun, a pleasing sight... Zhu Cuiwei, wearing a bright red shirt, smiled.

At that moment, bathed in this orange-yellow light.

Suddenly, a white figure stepped into the courtyard.

His figure was tall and agile, his steps were unhurried, and he had a leisurely and comfortable feeling. As soon as he entered the courtyard, his eyes seemed to be attracted by a red hibiscus flower. He squatted down leisurely, peeked out and looked at the flower.