My transformation into a beautiful girl started with a hemorrhage.

Hui only realized after she started writing that she was so excited that she had used Dong'er's handwriting, which was obviously feminine.

Hui adjusted her grip on the pen, changed her handwriting, and was about to write again.

But then a bustling noise came from ahead.

"What a beautiful poem! What a beautiful poem!"

"He Wenyuan, the great talent known as the Little Poet Saint, truly lives up to his reputation!"

"This talented scholar is truly exceptional, his thoughts flow like a spring!"

The man known as the great talent was named He Wenyuan. He had delicate features, a fair complexion, and wore a light blue silk robe with a blue rhinoceros horn belt with a whorl pattern around his waist. At first glance, he appeared to be exceptionally talented and outstanding.

He Wenyuan was a native of the capital. His father was a vice minister of the Secretariat and the Chancellery, and he was also a student of the Imperial Academy, equivalent to a student of Tsinghua or Peking University today. He was good at poetry and prose from a young age and was well-known in the capital.

He came to Yu Youwei's poetry gathering only to take her as a concubine and win the heart of this beauty.

Faced with the praise from those around him, He Wenyuan said calmly, "You flatter me. I was simply inspired by Master Yu's outstanding demeanor, and that's why I was able to create this masterpiece by chance."

Seeing that He Wenyuan had finished, Yu Youwei smiled knowingly and said, "The capital is truly a vast and resourceful place, full of outstanding people. Now that the talented He has created such a masterpiece, may we all enjoy it?"

"no problem."

He Wenyuan looked intently at Yu Youwei and said with a smile.

in fact,

What no one knew was that He Wenyuan had been conceiving this poem for ten days.

Ten days ago, Yu Youwei had subtly revealed the theme of tonight's poetry gathering in the invitation she gave him.

It wasn't that Yu Youwei was in love with him.

In fact, Yu Youwei had secretly revealed the theme to all the truly talented men who came to the poetry gathering in advance.

The reason for doing this is quite simple: the "poetry gathering" itself has unspoken rules that are not known to outsiders.

Poetry gatherings, poetry gatherings—these are not places for composing poetry, but rather places for releasing "poems."

Just like a modern press conference, the goal is to make something known to the whole world.

Even the best wine needs advertising; for a poem to become famous, it must be of high quality, but in addition, it needs promotion or to be noticed.

Therefore, activities like "poetry gatherings" came into being!

Of course, the poetry gathering did not intend to deceive the world; it was merely to embellish the process of how an excellent poem came to be.

Take He Wenyuan's poem, for example. It was the result of ten days and nights of painstaking effort, with countless additions, deletions, and revisions.

However, through this experience at the poetry gathering, it became: He Wenyuan met Yu Youwei for the first time at the poetry gathering, and was immediately amazed by her beauty. Thus, his inspiration flowed freely, and he wrote this masterpiece.

Full of legendary charm!

Most of the other people attending the poetry gathering had no idea about it.

They were merely the loudspeakers of this poetry gathering, responsible for publicizing the outstanding works produced.

Soon, a maid handed He Wenyuan's masterpiece to Yu Youwei.

Yu Youwei took the paper and began to read aloud: "On a Beauty: The Qin woman, unaware of shame, peeks at men, climbing flowers and chasing butterflies over the wall. Her breast is adorned with a herb that symbolizes a son, for she has married a man who loves to travel far."

The "Qin woman" in this poem specifically refers to Nongyu, the daughter of Duke Mu of Qin during the Spring and Autumn Period. The entire poem describes the story of Nongyu playing the flute and attracting the phoenix.

Legend has it that the daughter of Duke Mu of Qin was named Nongyu. She was not only exceptionally beautiful and intelligent, but also knowledgeable in music and skilled at playing the sheng (a type of reed pipe instrument), creating her own unique melody, which sounded like the cry of a phoenix.

One night, Nongyu played the sheng (a type of reed pipe instrument) in the "Phoenix Tower," and a distant harmony seemed to drift over, its lingering sound beautiful and continuous. Afterwards, Nongyu lost her appetite and could not eat or drink. When Duke Mu of Qin learned of this, he sent for the young man, Xiao Shi, and Nongyu's illness was cured without any further treatment.

From then on, Nongyu and Xiao Shi played the sheng and xiao together with the young man in the Phoenix Pavilion every day, their love as husband and wife resonating in harmony.

Yu Youwei finished reading.

"What a beautiful poem!"

"What a beautiful artistic conception!"

"This allusion is used brilliantly!"

Everyone clapped and cheered.

This poem vividly portrays the thoughts of a naive, carefree, clever, and love-struck young girl. The final line, "I married Xiao Lang, who loves to travel far away," is particularly striking, highlighting the happiness of a young girl from the moment she falls in love to marrying her beloved, creating a very warm and harmonious scene of love.

Simultaneously,

His wolfish ambitions are now crystal clear!

The "Xiao Lang" in the last line of the poem refers to Xiao Shi, Nongyu's husband, but also generally refers to a lover or sweetheart.

"I married a man who loves to travel far and wide!"

It's practically a blatant declaration: Miss Yu Youwei, I love you, marry me! After you marry me, we'll be like Nongyu and Xiao Shi, a perfect match in the eyes of others!

Everyone felt bad, but there was nothing they could do. After all, he was so skilled at picking up girls!

As the most beautiful courtesan in the Drunken Red Mansion, Yu Youwei was naturally skilled in poetry and song. She understood the meaning behind He Wenyuan's poem, but she disliked the hidden possessiveness in He Wenyuan's eyes.

She was all too familiar with that kind of gaze. Any man who looked at her like that was only after her body, not truly in love. Such a man was not worth entrusting her life to.

'Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he'll be the winner tonight.'

'Fine, I've achieved my goal. I'll stay with him tonight; consider it payment for this poem.'

Yu Youwei made up her mind and was just about to praise the poem when...

A discordant voice suddenly broke out: "What Qin woman, male grass, Xiao Lang... what a load of nonsense! It's not even one ten-thousandth as good as my brother's poem!"

The scene suddenly fell silent.

Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound, and even Yu Youwei was curious to see who was spouting such nonsense.

Then everyone saw a fat man waving a fan.

This person was Sun Fang, who had just spoken so arrogantly about He Wenyuan's poem "On a Beauty".

Sun Fang seemed oblivious to the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, tilting his head back smugly. But Hui, standing beside him, didn't feel so comfortable.

Hui finally understood why no one else wanted to associate with Sun Fang!

because,

What a shame!

This is blatant ignorance and incompetence!

Even if the other spoiled brats couldn't understand what He Wenyuan was writing, they would still follow the majority and shout it out to cover up their own lack of talent!

And the fat guy next to Hui is so stupid that he doesn't even know how to cover it up!

When everyone saw that it was Sun Fang, the grandson of Sun Bowen of the Sun Family Trading Company, a well-known example of incompetence in the capital, they immediately looked at him with disdain.

"Oh, who do we have here? Isn't this the talented Mr. Sun who treats nursery rhymes as ancient poems?"

"Exactly! Not even knowing the story of the 'Qin woman'—that's beyond just being untalented!"

"He's not even one ten-thousandth as good as your brother. Is your brother this pretty boy next to you? With looks like that, if he wore women's clothes, who would be able to tell he's a man?"

······

Chapter 192 A Timeless Masterpiece

Despite the ridicule and contempt from the crowd, Sun Fang was not angry at all. He took the paper that Hui had finished writing from in front of him and said to the crowd, "Let me show you my brother's timeless masterpiece!"

"Haha, it's not going to be a nursery rhyme again, is it!"

"Quiet down! Everyone, please don't speak. Listen to this timeless masterpiece that even the great scholar Sun Fang acknowledges!"

Sun Fang's voice was honest and simple, but very loud. As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone in the hall could hear his voice.

He recited: "In the South there is a beautiful woman, peerless and independent. One glance could topple a city, a second glance could topple a nation. Such beauty is hard to find again."

As soon as he finished reading,

Two or three people in the crowd immediately burst into laughter: "Haha! I'm dying of laughter! This is poetry? Even a three-year-old could write better!"

"A masterpiece for all time, this is it. It's probably just a loud bang, but it'll happen right under your butt."

However, they gradually realized that something was wrong.

Because the vast majority of people did not agree with them, but instead looked thoughtful.

These silent people are different from those ignorant playboys from before. Even if they can't write poetry, they still have a basic level of appreciation.

To be honest, their first impression after hearing this poem was: it was simple, easy to understand, and utterly lacking in sophistication; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was an insult to literature.

But upon closer examination...

wrong!!!

This is about using simplicity to overcome complexity, and using the abstract to create the concrete!

This is one of the most difficult techniques in poetry writing, because if used well, it will surely become a timeless masterpiece, but if used poorly, it will only become a children's song.

And clearly, this poem is used well, isn't it?

No, it's used in an absolutely brilliant way!!

A masterpiece for all time!!!

a long time,

Liu Jieyuan, standing in the crowd, tore up the poem he had painstakingly crafted and sighed, "From now on, no beauty can surpass his!"

Some scholars also exclaimed: "His words came out naturally, without any affectation, but his true feelings were evident between the lines."

Everyone nodded in agreement. They simply sensed that the poem, though seemingly simple, was anything but. They couldn't quite articulate exactly why, but they felt a single word: "Excellent!"

Those who were shouting the loudest just now are now hiding in the crowd, afraid to make a sound, lest people recognize them.

"How about it! Isn't my brother's poem amazing? It's countless times better than those poems by Qin Nu and Xiao Lang!" Sun Fang pressed on relentlessly, seizing the opportunity.

Only then did everyone notice the "brother!" Sun Fang had mentioned, and they all looked at Hui.

Someone asked, "May I ask your honorable surname, sir?"

Hui was about to answer, but Sun Fang spoke first: "My brother's name is Lin Hui."

"..." Hui looked at Sun Fang, who was answering for her in front of her. There were too many things to complain about, and she didn't know where to start.