My transformation into a beautiful girl started with a hemorrhage.

After learning of Hui's name, everyone exclaimed, "After tonight, Lin Hui's name will surely resound throughout the capital!"

"This poetry gathering can end tonight. With such a timeless masterpiece, what else is there to compare it to?"

"Indeed! With this poem, tonight's poetry gathering will surely be remembered for eternity!"

"Let's ask everyone to make the final decision!"

At this time,

Only then did everyone notice Yu Youwei's unusual behavior.

Unlike her dignified and elegant demeanor just now, Yu Youwei's fair face now seemed to be painted with a layer of crimson rouge, and her gaze towards Lin Hui was shy and reproachful.

Seeing Yu Youwei's shy appearance,

Everyone then realized what was going on!

Shameless!

Shameless!

How shameless!

Everyone was so focused on appreciating the charm of this timeless masterpiece that they forgot the poem's fundamental purpose.

Aside from the poem's artistic techniques and its status as a timeless masterpiece,

This is a poem written by a simp!

He endlessly fawns over Yu Youwei!

Licking without any humanity!

They licked it like crazy!!

Look at how this poem is licked:

The opening line is: "In the South there is a beautiful woman, peerless and independent."

He immediately praised Yu Youwei for her unparalleled beauty and extraordinary elegance.

The reason why everyone skipped over Nangong Bingqing is because Nangong Bingqing is a beauty from the North, not the South.

Then, he continued: "One glance can topple a city, a second glance can topple a nation."

Kua Yuyouwei was so beautiful that a single glance at the city's soldiers could cause the city walls to fall; and if she were to cast a flirtatious glance at the king, the entire country would be overthrown for her.

Especially the last two lines: "A beauty that could topple a city or a nation, is hard to find again."

They went even further, shamelessly flattering her: even if the city is lost and the country is destroyed because of the beauty, we cannot lose the opportunity to obtain her, after all, it is a rare and irreplaceable opportunity!

To be honest, everyone had to admit that if they were women and were praised so inhumanely, they would probably be no different from Yu Youwei now.

In truth, Yu Youwei's heart was pounding with excitement; a feeling she had never experienced before was taking root and sprouting in her heart.

Her gaze towards Lin Hui was particularly reproachful, "This person is so rude! How could she, how could she..."

Everyone was waiting for Yu Youwei to announce the successful conclusion of the poetry recital.

A voice broke in: "I'm not convinced."

Chapter 193 The Beauty's Lament

These words were spoken.

The scene fell silent.

Everyone turned to look at the person who had spoken.

This person was none other than He Wenyuan, who had just composed the poem "On a Beautiful Woman".

He Wenyuan felt terrible at this moment. His painstaking work, which he had racked his brains for ten days, had been defeated by an unknown nobody.

Especially seeing the excited expression of 'winning the beauty' on Lin Hui's face, who hadn't even grown any hair yet, he felt like he slapped him a few times and kicked him a few times.

In fact, He Wenyuan misunderstood Hui. Although Hui was smiling, it wasn't because of Yu Youwei, but because of the thousand taels of gold.

From Hui's perspective as a woman: Yu Youwei is very beautiful, but what use is a beautiful woman if she can't be eaten? She's not even as good as a steamed bun from the street.

He Wenyuan regretted what he said as soon as he finished.

Because if you can't win in poetry, it might be bad luck or a lack of talent. Everyone understands and accepts this. After all, no man is a saint, and a temporary win or loss doesn't mean anything.

However, if one refuses to admit defeat after losing, this rises to the level of a person's self-cultivation and character. This is the foundation of a person's standing in society. If a person's reputation is ruined, they can never recover.

Some people are waiting to see He Wenyuan make a fool of himself.

Of course, some people offered He Wenyuan a way out: "Brother He, you lost fair and square after such a masterpiece. Apologize to Brother Lin and let it go!"

"Yes! Judging from Brother Lin's appearance, he's not the type to hold a grudge. Let's just have a few drinks and let it go. Why make things so confrontational!"

In fact, as long as He Wenyuan went down this path, nothing would have happened. He would still be the talented and brilliant scholar He.

However, bowing his head like this also means that he has lost the best opportunity to win Yu Youwei's heart, which is equivalent to giving Yu Youwei to that pretty boy who hasn't even grown up yet.

He can't do it!

Just as Lin Huishi wrote: "A beauty who could topple a city or a country is hard to find again."

Everything else is negotiable, but not a beauty like Yu Youwei!

Therefore, He Wenyuan made up his mind: today, it's either certain death or a fight to the death!

"It's not that I disagree with Brother Lin's excellent poem, but I feel that since it's a poetry gathering, deciding the winner in one round is too hasty. There should at least be a best-of-three series!"

These words sparked controversy among the people present.

Some people think that with such a masterpiece, the best-of-three format is completely unnecessary.

Some people also believe that a single game determines the winner, which does involve a lot of luck, and that playing two more games might result in another masterpiece!

For a moment, the scene was chaotic, with everyone having their own reasons and no one able to convince anyone else.

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, He Wenyuan pressed his advantage and said to Hui, who had a worried look on his face, "Brother Lin, let's have another game. If you win this one, I will be completely convinced."

The room fell silent as everyone looked at Lin Hui, awaiting her reply.

In truth, He Wenyuan's words were malicious. If Hui refused, she would inevitably be branded as cowardly and weak, and even her timeless masterpiece would be questioned by the world. This is because people often unconsciously link poetry with character. The poems of a person of questionable character are viewed with prejudice, and people tend to believe that reading the poetry of such a person will influence them to become like the poet.

If Lin Hui agreed, he would be more than happy to accept. In his opinion, Lin Hui's performance of that timeless masterpiece was purely due to her good luck. He didn't believe she could produce another timeless masterpiece, and then he could defeat her fair and square with his own strength.

At this moment, Hui was truly furious.

He cursed inwardly:

The ancients were so stupid! Didn't they know that cooperation leads to a win-win situation? Everyone was there for the money, so they could have easily discussed it privately and split the thousand gold coins in half after the poetry gathering.

Even if you're lustful and want to sleep with Yu Youwei, five hundred taels of silver! How many nights could that buy you from a courtesan? Even the most expensive courtesan is worth a thousand taels of silver a night—that's practically the limit! At least five nights of that!

Why must we engage in a zero-sum game, fighting to the death?

How stupid is that!

Hui had no intention of falling into a zero-sum game trap, and without thinking, she was about to refuse: "I won't—"

Yu Youwei spoke first, saying, "Young Master He, since ancient times, there has been no first place in literature, but there is no second place in martial arts. You and Young Master Lin are both learned and talented men. Let's make money together in harmony. Why must we have to determine a winner? I think the poetry gathering should end here!"

Yu Youwei's voice was very pleasant, with a clear and melodious quality, like pearls falling onto a jade plate, yet it also carried a sorrowful emotion. Hui wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Yu Youwei's voice sounded a bit cold and angry at this moment.

Yu Youwei was somewhat angry, especially when she saw He Wenyuan use despicable means to deal with Lin Hui. She immediately felt disgusted with He Wenyuan and at the same time felt sorry for Lin Hui, thinking that this handsome young man had been drawn into the ugliness of human nature because of her.

Although Yu Youwei's words were tactful, He Wenyuan knew perfectly well that the beauty was on that pretty boy's side. He felt bitter, but now he was in a bind and had to grit his teeth and go for it.

But fate seemed to be on his side.

A deep, resonant, and magnetic male voice came from the railing on the third floor of the attic:

"Today's poetry gathering was truly wonderful. Not only did it produce masterpieces like 'On a Beauty,' but it also produced a timeless classic."

Everyone looked up and saw that it was Xia Yuxuan. Someone recognized Xia Yuxuan as the Eighth Prince and quickly bowed and said, "This humble subject pays respects to Your Highness the Eighth Prince."

The others immediately realized what was happening and bowed in unison, saying, "This humble subject pays respects to Your Highness the Eighth Prince. May Your Highness live a thousand years!"

"Get up, everyone. Tonight's poetry gathering is all about talent, not social status. Just relax and don't worry about me," Xia Yuxuan said, waving his hand.

"Yes, sir!" X n

Although everyone said "Yes, sir," how could they dare not truly disregard the Eighth Prince's status? For a moment, everyone was extremely restrained and dared not speak again.

Xia Yuxuan ignored the 'strange' looks from everyone, and instead looked at Lin Hui with a somewhat inexplicable expression in his eyes. Then he smiled and said, "Is this the great talent who made the famous line 'One glance can topple a city, a second glance can topple a nation'? He is indeed a man of great talent."

From the moment Xia Yuxuan appeared, Hui was extremely nervous, fearing that Xia Yuxuan would recognize her, because in Dong'er's memory, this Xia Yuxuan had seen Dong'er before.

"I learned my disguise skills from the successor of Qingfeng Manor, so there shouldn't be any problem. I need to believe in myself," Hui reassured herself.

"This humble subject, Lin Hui, greets Your Highness." Hui's voice was a clean, clear, and youthful tone, a result of his internal energy being channeled to the Lianquan acupoint in his throat.

"Get up! Didn't I say tonight we don't need to worry about status, we'll just talk about literature?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I just heard that He Wenyuan wants to have another match with you. I also feel that deciding the winner in one game would be unfair. How about we change it to best of three games, with you winning the first game? What do you say?"

'Damn it, you've put it this far, how can I refuse? Sigh, I guess I'll lose a thousand gold coins.'

Hui felt that she probably wouldn't be so lucky again, as she happened to come across a topic that matched a poem she remembered.

On the surface, Hui respectfully replied, "This humble subject obeys the decree."

"He Wenyuan, what do you think?" Xia Yuxuan turned to He Wenyuan and asked.

At this moment, He Wenyuan was overjoyed. How could he not see that Xia Yuxuan was on his side? If he could gain the favor of the Eighth Prince and cling to his coattails, his future official career would be smooth sailing.

He Wenyuan knew that this Eighth Prince seemed to be a carefree prince, but after the current emperor ascended the throne, the other seven princes were exiled or killed one after another, leaving only this Eighth Prince and a crying baby. This shows how ruthless this prince was.

Of course, more importantly, if he could gain the favor of the Eighth Prince and use his power to ask Yu Youwei for his hand in marriage, then Yu Youwei would have no choice but to obediently become his concubine, whether she wanted to or not.

"I will follow Your Highness's instructions."

"Your Highness, but—" Yu Youwei tried to dissuade him.

"Hmm? It seems like Yu Youwei has something to say." Xia Yuxuan said with a half-smile, especially as his eyes glanced between Yu Youwei's legs.

Yu Youwei blushed and lowered her head, saying, "No, it's nothing..."

Seeing that Yu Youwei was sensible and let her go, Xia Yuxuan then said to everyone, "Since that's the case, then I'll set the questions again!"