Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

Although all the officials knew that the emperor favored the Cen family because of Concubine Cen, this was the first time that he had openly treated them as blind as he did today.

Two of these three poems have novel ideas and good language. The authors are the eldest son of the Cui family, who is well-known in the city for his literary talent, and the prince of Anguo, who has recently shown his talent. However, the meaning of the last poem is unclear and the language is dry, which is really not worthy of being accepted by the public.

"Your Majesty, the last poem has poor writing and rhyme, I'm afraid it won't be among the top three." The Shangshu You Pushe, who had always been upright, saw the complicated expressions of the crowd, took a step forward and spoke frankly.

"Oh? I think this poem is simple and natural, and has the style of a great poet." Emperor Hui had a smile on his face, but his deep eyes were dim under the flickering light.

"Although Minister Cen is quite favored by the emperor, his family background is shallow after all. I am afraid he cannot deserve such a high reputation." The Right Prime Minister seemed not to notice the captivating look of Emperor Hui and glanced at Cen Ji who was standing behind Emperor Hui on his left side.

Cen Ji was over thirty years old, tall and slender, with a good-looking face, especially his eyes, which were 90% similar to those of Concubine Cen, except that there was darkness under his eyes and his temperament was vulgar, so his original 80% appearance was reduced to 30%.

Now, after hearing the ridicule from the Right Pushe, he was not angry, but just put on a fake smile, as if he was particularly frightened and said: "Cen, of course, dare not compare with the Right Pushe. The Ban family is a century-old family with many scholars. I think that with the deep family learning, the Right Pushe must also have brilliant writing skills, and his talent is better than Xie Gong."

Everyone's heart tightened when they heard this. Everyone knew that when the current emperor first ascended the throne, he fought fiercely with the aristocratic families. Now, more than 20 years have passed, and the aristocratic families have been suppressed with great difficulty. However, Cen Ji deliberately mentioned the background of You Pushe. His intention to harm others was obvious.

As expected, after hearing what Cen Ji said, Emperor Hui smiled even more and said in a vague tone, "The Ban family has passed down poetry and books from generation to generation, so they are naturally well-versed in classics. Why don't I give you all these manuscripts and you can pick some for me."

He said this lightly, as if all the officials were facing him in the court every day, and they could tell the thundering rage hidden in his calm tone. They were all frightened and broke into cold sweats, and fell to the ground, not daring to say a word.

The Right Prime Minister was the first to be criticized. He knelt down and shouted that he dared not. Emperor Hui glanced at him lightly and said, "But Lord Ban does have a point. We cannot just listen to my opinion. What do you think of Minister Cen's poem?"

There were at least a hundred people standing on the Moon Viewing Tower, but no one dared to speak at this moment. A clear male voice suddenly rang out in the unbearable silence, "I think that Minister Cen's poem is simple and natural. Although it lacks the beauty of literary words, it is natural and natural from the heart. It should be a good work."

When everyone looked in the direction of the voice, they saw a thin young man with an outstanding temperament raising his head and looking at Emperor Hui calmly. Judging from his clothes, he should be a child of a noble family who did not hold an official position.

"Who are you? The eldest son of the Cui family?" Because they were quite far away, the man's features looked a little blurry in the light, so Emperor Hui spoke uncertainly.

"I am Cui Xu, nice to meet your Majesty." The man was none other than Cui Xu, the eldest son of the Cui family, who was one of the top three poets today.

"Oh, I've heard of you in the palace. People said that the eldest son of the Cui family was of extraordinary appearance and talent in Jiankang. Today I see that it is true." Emperor Hui was very satisfied with the eldest son of the Cui family who knew the times, so he praised him with golden words.

"I am ashamed to accept this. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. I only wish to congratulate you with a poem. I wish your majesty everlasting prosperity and evergreen mountains. I also wish our Great Jin Dynasty peace and prosperity."

"Okay, okay, I've read your poems, they are really good, and you are also outstanding. I'm still short of a eunuch, so you can come to the palace after the festival."

The storm disappeared without a trace in Emperor Hui's hearty laughter. When the emperor returned to the palace, all the princes, officials, and children of noble families who had accompanied him dispersed.

The young man who wanted to meet her tonight walked briskly and soon joined the crowd. The powerful princes and ministers were left at the end. He Lanting sent his father and second uncle to the carriage, and walked towards the long street.

Lin Xi and the other two were all delicate and weak girls. Although they were followed by maids, it was still safer to have their brother by their side. With his height and long legs, he quickly found the three people who were guessing riddles on the street.

"The leaves fall in the third month, and the flowers bloom in the second month. The waves are a thousand feet high in the river, and thousands of bamboos lean against the wind. This is simple! It's the wind, right?" Lan Xue's excited voice could be heard from a long distance away.

"Young ladies are very clever. There are nine more questions. If you can answer all of them correctly, this twin lotus lantern will be yours." The vendor was a clever young man. Seeing the three young ladies in front of him with fair skin and beautiful looks, and noble demeanor, he knew that important customers had come. He raised the lantern in his hand and showed it to the three of them with an earnest smile.

The lantern was made in the shape of a lotus with two stems. Although it was only the size of a palm, it was extremely delicate. Each petal was as thin as a cicada's wing, and the patterns on it were exactly the same as those of the real flowers. The most amazing thing was that the edges of the petals were painted with something, but they actually emitted a faint fluorescent light, and the fluorescence seemed to flow, making the whole lantern colorful and extremely exquisite.

"What a beautiful lantern, sister, cousin, I want this, can you win it for me?" Lan Xue's eyes lit up, and she excitedly grabbed the hands of the two and pleaded earnestly.

Lan Zhi naturally liked the lantern, but she still kept her expression to herself and teased her, "I usually ask you to study hard but you still get mad. Now you know how to ask for help?"

"Good sister, I know I was wrong. Please help me this time. I promise I will read the book to pieces when I go back." Lan Xue pulled Lan Zhi's sleeve and spoke.

"Since your elder sister won't help, you might as well ask me." Seeing her cute act of coquettishness, Lin Xi also teased her. Seeing Lan Xue's bright eyes, she smiled and asked the vendor, "Do you only have one lantern? There are not enough for the three of us to share. If the three of us come to guess, we have to guess 30 to count."

Seeing that Lin Xi was a man who could make decisions, the vendor smiled and said, "Of course there are more, but not many. There are exactly three left now."

Lin Xi asked again: "That's perfect, but if all three of us guess, we have to guess 30 correctly in total for it to count?"

"If it were anyone else, they would naturally exchange ten riddles for one lantern, but since the three young ladies are so pretty, they make my small stall look a little brighter, so I'll allow you to guess only twenty riddles in total to win the last three lanterns. What do you think?"

"Thank you very much, brother."

After paying the money, the three of them turned over the small wooden plaques hanging on the tassels of the lanterns one by one and solved the riddles one by one. He Lanting walked silently to the three of them, but his eyes always followed Lin Xi, looking at the peaceful and indifferent face under the bright light, as if his heart had calmed down as well.