My transformation into a beautiful girl started with a hemorrhage.

"What are you all talking about here?" Xia Yuxuan asked again.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ying immediately had an idea.

She stepped forward first and said, "Your Highness, I am currently discussing poetry and literature with the new young lady!"

"???"

Upon hearing this, not only Hui, but also the four women beside her looked puzzled, not knowing what Liuying meant.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yuxuan smiled. Intrigued, he continued to ask Liu Ying, "Oh, so what exactly did you talk about?"

"Your Highness, please forgive our rudeness. We concubines were moved by the beautiful blooming roses on the trellis on the other side of the river and decided to compose a poem to commemorate this beautiful scene!"

Liu Ying revealed her venomous fangs. She and Liu Yan were both illegitimate daughters from a scholarly family. They had read extensively since childhood, especially interested in poetry and songs. They would write some short poems and lyrics for fun, but they were far from being presentable.

But now, she is confident.

A good article is born of nature, and a skillful hand may occasionally bring it to fruition.

Today, she stumbled upon it, and while the four women were talking just now, she silently worked on it in her heart. Now, she is very satisfied with the result.

Now she felt that this was an opportunity given to her by heaven, so that she could not only show her talent in front of the prince, but also make that hateful woman look bad in front of the prince.

She wasn't afraid of Hui's denial, because there were many of them on her side. She could easily say that Hui, seeing them reciting poetry, became arrogant, but when the prince arrived, she couldn't keep up the act anymore and therefore flatly denied it…

The four people around Liu Ying weren't fools, and they realized what was happening. They exchanged glances and prepared to frame Hui later.

Xia Yuxuan, being shrewd, had long seen through Liu Ying's little tricks, but he didn't expose her; instead, he cooperated with her.

He enjoyed watching these stunningly beautiful women fight each other for him, because no matter who won in the end, it was he who would be pleased.

Xia Yuxuan said, "Oh, so who's next?"

Liu Ying replied, "Your Highness, it's my turn. Now that Your Highness is present, why don't we ask Your Highness to make the decision?"

"Very well, I will make the judgment."

Seeing that she had achieved her goal, Liuying added, "This poem was something I came up with by chance. It was written in haste, so it is bound to be imperfect. Therefore, I hope Your Highness and my sisters will not laugh at any shortcomings!"

"It's alright, go ahead and say it!" Xia Yuxuan said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The firefly began to softly recite: "Its roots resemble a rose, its beauty blooming beyond the thorns. Its fragrance rises high, its clusters supported by trellises, its fallen petals carpeting the moss. Leisurely people come and go to admire it, and on clear days, butterflies arrive from afar. The peony blooms a few days earlier, then fades into the dust."

The firefly finished reciting its song.

Xia Yuxuan and the women began to savor the moment.

As women in the royal household, they had some basic education. Even if they weren't good at writing poetry, they still had a certain level of appreciation.

a long time,

"Excellent! My beloved concubine is truly quick-witted!" Xia Yuxuan praised, this poem was indeed of above-average quality and deserved praise.

After Xia Yuxuan finished speaking, it was as if a fire had been lit, and the scene immediately became lively. All the women began to echo her, saying things like, "Sister Liuying is really amazing, Sister Liuying is truly a talented woman of our time."

While accepting the women's praises, Liu Ying didn't forget to blatantly despise Hui out of the corner of her eye.

It was as if to say, "Do you think a country bumpkin like you can understand this?"

After a while, under everyone's watchful eyes, Liuying came to Hui and said, "Next, it's my sister's turn!"

Xia Yuxuan also looked at Hui, his eyes filled with anticipation.

He was genuinely looking forward to seeing what kind of masterpiece Hui'er, who wrote "If life were only as beautiful as our first meeting," would create.

However, Hui bowed and said, "My thoughts are exhausted, and I have come up with nothing. I have disappointed Your Highness."

Hui now knows Liu Ying's plan: to embarrass me in public, especially in front of Xia Yuxuan.

However, for Hui, it would be better to embarrass herself in front of Xia Yuxuan, so that he would despise her, look down on her, and hate her, and stay as far away from her as possible.

Therefore, Hui directly fulfilled Liuying's wish, acknowledging her own incompetence.

A slight smile appeared on Liu Ying's lips:

'The wise girl, who publicly admitted her incompetence, stands in contrast to the talented girl, Liu Ying, who created masterpieces.'

'Now the prince should know who he favors!'

Liu Ying looked at Xia Yuxuan with great interest, but was startled.

Because Xia Yuxuan's face was dark at this moment, Liu Ying, who knew Xia Yuxuan well, knew that this was the expression Xia Yuxuan only had when he was angry.

She cautiously followed Xia Yuxuan's gaze and, sure enough, it was that hateful woman.

'Could it be that this Hui-meimei has spoiled the prince's mood, which is why he's so angry!'

'However, the angrier the better; it would be best to drag this despicable woman out and execute her.'

Liu Ying thought maliciously, but her eyes held a hint of pity as she looked at Hui.

She knew very well that the last woman who made the prince show such an expression was now nowhere to be found; and the woman before that, her name was now unknown.

'I wonder, what kind of death will the Prince allow for this newcomer?'

Firefly continued to harbor her wicked thoughts.

After a long silence, Xia Yuxuan finally erupted, shouting, "Nothing to show for it?! Hui'er has indeed disappointed me, but not because of your 'lack of inspiration,' but because of your attitude of not taking me seriously at all!"

Xia Yuxuan was indeed very angry. He could tolerate Hui's little quirks, but he absolutely could not tolerate Hui's attitude of not caring about his opinions at all and not caring about him at all.

This is absolutely intolerable!

"Your Highness is overthinking it. I never thought of that." Hui glanced at Xia Yuxuan's fiery eyes, then lowered her head and replied with a forced smile.

Hui couldn't understand why I was still angry about something so obvious. Had I ever cared about you?

"Never thought of that? Fine, then... I command you to compose a poem?" Xia Yuxuan squinted at Hui.

"This, I'm afraid I can't comply. Poetry and songs are all about serendipitous inspiration, and even if Your Highness gave the order, I would be powerless to do so," Hui insisted.

"Heh...haha..." Xia Yuxuan raised his head and laughed a few times, then immediately lowered his head, staring at Hui with a chilling aura, his tone icy, "Hui'er, have I been too lenient with you, to the point that you've always thought I wouldn't dare kill you?"

Chapter 214 Deadly Poison

Hui suddenly felt very wronged. At this moment, the image of the boy in her memory became clear.

Although I still don't know who he is, in my memory he was always very gentle with me, always revolved around me, always listened to me in everything, never forced me, and never made me unhappy.

Although his behavior would be described as sycophancy in modern terms, Hui liked being "licked" by him, and she also liked him "licking" her in this way.

At that moment, Hui looked up at Xia Yuxuan, but her mind was filled with thoughts of that person from her memories:

Perhaps that person isn't as handsome as Xia Yuxuan, as rich as Xia Yuxuan, or as resourceful as Xia Yuxuan; perhaps he's just an ordinary person, but... at least he still has himself.

Hui looked around and saw the flustered maid, the smug firefly, the gloating others, and then the blooming roses on the other side of the water... and a few red spider lilies blooming on the edge of a puddle not far below.

Compared to the roses that covered the entire wall, these flowers were not as bright red as the roses, nor were they as layered and majestic. They were quite inconspicuous and would not be noticed at all if one did not look closely.

but,

Seeing them, a deep longing, like a primordial beast, engulfed Hui.

Seeing objects evokes memories of loved ones, and longing for someone is nothing more than this. Hui felt she had to speak out. Since they had already torn off all pretenses, let the storm rage on!

After looking around, Hui saw Xia Yuxuan again, straightened up and said, "I have a new work, a poem called 'The Other Shore Flower.' I wonder if Your Highness would like to hear it?"

This time, Hui directly referred to herself as "I," instead of using servile terms like "this concubine" or "your subject," indicating that she was prepared to die at this moment.

She even thought to herself, 'Perhaps, after I die, I'll be able to see him again.'

Hearing Hui's self-identification, Xia Yuxuan was one step closer to exploding in anger, but when he heard Hui say she was willing to compose a poem, he calmed down.

He wasn't so angry anymore, because in his view, Hui had compromised with him. As for the form of address, scholars are often proud, so he simply took it as a bit of Hui's pride.

Liu Ying and the other women looked at Hui in surprise. Xia Yuxuan, being a man, couldn't sense anything, but the women felt that something seemed different the moment Hui stood up.

Hui turned to look at the few scattered red spider lilies in the puddle, and softly recited in a voice tinged with sorrow: "Flowers bloom on the other shore, but there is no shore."

Xia Yuxuan and the women were startled: 'What a beautiful artistic conception!'

Even Liu Ying, who was gritting her teeth at this moment, had to admit in her heart that Hui's opening sentence had left her far behind.

At this moment, Liu Ying was filled with mixed emotions: 'I lost. I was fooled by that woman's feigned ignorance. This woman's level is nothing like that of an uneducated country bumpkin; she's clearly a talented woman with real skills.'

Since things have come to this, Liuying has no choice but to accept her fate.

'However, I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the mood of this poem feels so much like a woman longing for her beloved... No way!'

Liu Ying stopped her thoughts and continued listening to Huiyin's words:

"The soul has fallen into the River of Oblivion, yet it remains in the river."

In my drunken stupor, I knew not the vast expanse of misty waves; in my dreams, I vaguely saw the cold lamplight.

Flowers and leaves never meet for a thousand years, yet their fates intertwine and dance in perfect harmony.

Flowers, though silent, nod; Buddha, though trying to guide my heart, sighs in vain.

After Hui finished reciting, although she knew that a storm was about to hit her, she felt unusually comfortable, as if all the bitterness that had been accumulating in her heart over the past few days had been released.

Hui didn't know that it was because of her poem that the almost unknown Manjusaka flower would henceforth have another widely known name—the Red Spider Lily.

The women were already filled with sorrow. Women are inherently emotional, and Hui's poem, with its poignant lament about a tragic love, struck them deeply with every word. For these women who were not yet twenty, the poem was incredibly powerful.

The contest between Hui and Liuying is already a foregone conclusion; the two are not on the same level.

However, a quick-witted woman soon realized what was going on.

The meaning of this poem is wrong!

Although this poem is a masterpiece worthy of being passed down through the ages.

However, this poem expresses the desolate state of mind of a woman who longs for her beloved but cannot see him.

And you, a prince's woman, in front of the prince, express your pain of missing your beloved but being unable to have him.

This is slapping the prince in the face right in front of him!

Immediately, none of the women dared to speak.

She was afraid that the prince's rage would affect her.

As expected, Xia Yuxuan burst into laughter in exasperation: "Hahaha! Not bad, not bad at all! Hui'er truly deserves to be called the literary prodigy of her generation, 'Young Master Lin,' who composed 'If life were only as beautiful as our first meeting,' and was sought after by countless people in the capital. This poem, 'The Other Shore Flower,' is another masterpiece that will be remembered for thousands of years. Hui'er is truly a heroine of our time, possessing both talent and beauty, surpassing all others throughout history!"