Time Travel: Did My Sister-in-Law Get Slapped in the Face Today?

"The spring river tide rises to meet the sea, and the bright moon rises with the tide!"

Li Lan recited softly, and with just these two lines, the entire brothel fell silent!

"Ok?"

Zhang Zijian's gaze was somewhat surprised. Everyone in the capital knew that Li Lan was a useless son-in-law, but these two sentences alone seemed to contain extraordinary insight.

"The shimmering waves stretch for thousands of miles; where on the spring river is there no moon shining bright?"

"The river meanders around the fragrant fields, and the moon shines on the flower forest like scattered snowflakes."

Li Lan didn't stop there; while drinking, he recited four lines of poetry.

Upon hearing these four sentences, Zhang Zijian's eyes flashed with surprise, while Xu Ruyu's sneer completely disappeared, and her brows furrowed slightly.

These six lines of poetry alone are already enough to rival the poem that Xu Ruyu just wrote!

On the stage, Snow Moon Fairy's eyes lit up, revealing a hint of surprise and anticipation. She had thought that Little Poetry God was the only choice, but now it seemed that there was someone who could compete with Little Poetry God.

"Okay, not bad. Any follow-up?"

Inside the private room, even the most refined and scholarly individuals expressed their admiration.

Everyone in the room was captivated by Li Lan, their eyes fixed on him. Liu Ziwen, Lu Jun, and others at the same table were even more shocked.

From beginning to end, they all looked down on Li Lan. Even though they wanted to win over the General's Mansion, they focused on Lin Ruoshi. Now it seems that Li Lan... actually has great talent?

Li Lan, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, poured himself another cup of Qingyun wine. As he drank, he recited: "Frost flows unnoticed in the air, white sand on the river is invisible. River and sky are one color, without a speck of dust, the bright moon hangs alone in the sky..."

"Who first saw the moon by the riverbank? In what year did the river moon first shine on man? Life goes on endlessly, generation after generation, yet the river moon looks the same year after year. I wonder for whom the river moon waits, but all I see is the Yangtze River carrying its flowing water. A white cloud drifts leisurely away, and a gentle breeze on the shore brings unbearable sorrow..."

The entire hall was deathly silent. All the guests had unknowingly been drawn into a certain imagery by Li Lan's poems and were now completely absorbed in it.

As Li Lan recited the poem, the Snow Moon Fairy on the stage was moved and inexplicably began to dance again.

It was the same dance as before, but now it had completely changed.

Previously, when the Snow Moon Fairy danced, there were also musical accompaniments and drumbeats, but the accompaniment was only to complement and highlight the dance. But now, everyone had a strange feeling that the Snow Moon Fairy's dance was just an interpretation of this poem, merely a display of the imagery in the poem.

Her dance was already exquisite, but now it exuded a certain charm, as if she had completely merged with the poem, ultimately reaching a state of perfection!

"...The slanting moon sinks deep into the sea mist, the road from Jieshi to Xiaoxiang stretches endlessly. I wonder how many will return by moonlight, the setting moon stirs emotions among the trees along the river."

Finally, Li Lan finished his wine and recited his poem.

Everyone present was still immersed in the beauty and artistic conception of the poem, and some even sat down to meditate and practice martial arts, as if they had gained some enlightenment!

Finally, on the stage, after Snow Moon Fairy finished her dance to Li Lan's poem, she gracefully bowed to him, her spring-like eyes filled with excitement, and said:

"Tonight, I am honored to receive this poem from Young Master Li Lan; I have no regrets in this life!"

No regrets in this life!

Upon hearing this, those in the room, who were immersed in the poem, suddenly realized that, without anyone taking the lead, thunderous applause had already erupted and lasted for a long time!

"What a fine poem! What a fine poem! The imagery it evokes is truly unprecedented in our dynasty!"

"No wonder the current imperial court attaches great importance to literature and martial arts. It turns out that the imagery and spirit in poetry and literature can actually be very beneficial to martial arts. Just now, I almost took a small step out!"

"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!"

Poetry and literature can complement martial arts; this is a well-known truth among the people of Dali. It is precisely for this reason that although literature and martial arts are not the mainstream, they still have room to survive.

But many people have only heard of this claim and have almost never experienced it.

Until tonight.

Li Lan's poem, combined with the Snow Moon Fairy's dance, irresistibly transported everyone into a new world, leaving many with profound insights.

Therefore, even though they don't understand poetry, they know how good this poem is; even though they are illiterate, they understand that this work must be a masterpiece.

Because it's hard to find any work by Kyoto that has such power!

"Isn't this man a son-in-law who lives with his wife's family? He's only managed to pass the lowest level of the imperial examinations in three years, how could he possess such talent?"

"Truly astonishing, absolutely astonishing!"

"What a pity, I heard this person is a martial arts waste... However, we shouldn't underestimate him. We can make more friends with him in the future, which will also benefit our martial arts cultivation!"

Many people's gaze towards Li Lan has completely changed; the mockery and ridicule have vanished, replaced by a new sense of respect!

At Li Lan's table, listening to the exclamations of amazement coming from all directions, Lin Ruoshi sat next to Li Lan, straightened his back, and had a smug look on his face, as if he was proud of it!

Liu Ziwen, Lu Jun, and the others were all filled with admiration, and their understanding of Li Lan was completely refreshed.

In fact, judging from the situation, they had already guessed that Lin Ruoshi's previous poem was probably also from Li Lan.

Li Lan, the man known as the useless son-in-law, is actually a person with great talent!

Liu Ziwen suddenly stood up and personally poured wine for Li Lan, saying, "Thank you, Brother Li Lan. I have learned a lot today. From now on, we owe you a favor!"

He presented it with both hands, his expression solemn!

If Li Lan hadn't intervened, they would have lost face completely, and it might have even harmed the Crown Prince.

Li Lan smiled, took the wine and drank it all in one gulp, saying, "Brother Liu, you're too kind."

At another table, Zhang Zijian and his group had deathly pale faces, as if their Dao hearts had collapsed, and they remained silent for a long time.

They were all exceptionally talented scholars in the capital, so their understanding of poetry was naturally deeper than that of ordinary people. It was precisely because of this that they understood just how terrifying Li Lan's poem truly was...

The imagery is vast and beautiful, the choice of words and phrases is precise and flawless, and the expression of emotions is exquisite and masterful... The words are like a pen, and the writing is like a painting. Even if they spent their entire lives, they probably could not write such a masterpiece.

Li Lan's talent was something they could hardly match.

Even a genius like Xu Ruyu was in a daze at this moment. His face was pale, beads of sweat were dripping down his face, and his brows were furrowed, as if he was in great pain.

He pondered repeatedly, racking his brains, trying to find a poem he had written or come up with some verses to counter Li Lan's poem, but no matter how he thought about it, he felt utterly powerless.

He was hailed as a little poetry prodigy, sweeping across the capital and renowned throughout the city. He was always the one others looked up to. But now, this poem has become an insurmountable mountain in his heart!

It was so heavy that he could barely breathe!

"No, no!"

At this moment, Zhang Zijian suddenly realized something. He gritted his teeth, stared at Li Lan, and said, "This poem wasn't written by you. How could a lousy scholar like you have such talent? You copied it! You copied it!"

He grasped at it like it was a lifeline.

Immediately, many people around him echoed his sentiments.

"Yes, even we would find it difficult to come up with such a poem, so why can he?"

"Li Lan plagiarized! She must have paid someone to write it!"

"This kid deserves to be killed!"

The crowd is excited!

But at that moment, a cold snort came from inside the private room. Hanlin Academician Gu Qinghong said in a cold voice: "It is natural for poetic talent to vary, but if people's character is also divided into noble and lowly, then it is truly a disgrace to the literary world!"

"This poem blends perfectly with the Snow Moon Fairy's dance. Did Li Lan see the Snow Moon Fairy's dance beforehand? Ha, plagiarism? If such a poem truly existed, the author would have already become famous throughout the world. Why would he need to wait for Li Lan to write it tonight?"

"As for selling it? That's utter nonsense! This poem is so valuable that no scholar in the world could write it, and even if it were worth millions of gold, it would never be sold to anyone else!"

"To belittle others is already unwise; to then resort to slander is to ruin oneself!"

Gu Qinghong's words were already quite impolite and carried a warning!

For a moment, Zhang Zijian and the others dared not speak. Gu Qinghong was a Hanlin Academician, and could easily affect the future of them, these students!

Even Fairy Xueyue smiled and shook her head, saying, "This dance is my own creation. Young Master Li Lan wouldn't have seen it beforehand. But this poem perfectly describes my dance, so it was obviously written on the spot."

"Yuzhen, present Young Master Li with the Dragon Tiger Wine to express your gratitude for his generous gift!"

Miss Yuzhen, carrying a wine pot, walked up to Li Lan with utmost respect and poured him a full cup of wine.

Li Lan picked up the wine glass, took a light sniff, and felt quite satisfied!

The spiritual essence contained in this Dragon Tiger Wine is indeed superior to that of Qingyun Brew!

His decision to intervene stemmed not only from Lin Ruoshi's desperate situation, which he couldn't bear to see die, but also from another crucial reason...

Dragon and Tiger Fine Wine!

This wine is very important to him too!

He took a small sip.

"May I ask what the title of this poem is?"

At this moment, Xu Ruyu asked in a trembling voice.

"Spring River, Flowers and Moonlight Night."

Li Lan felt the Dragon Tiger Wine flow down his throat, transforming into spiritual energy throughout his body, bringing him immense comfort. He answered casually.

"A Spring Night on the River, Flowers and Moonlight, what a beautiful Spring Night on the River, Flowers and Moonlight! ...Pfft!"

Xu Ruyu suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turned pale, and he fell backward, unconscious!

"Brother Xu!"

"Little Poetry Prodigy!"

"What happened... His internal energy is all disordered! Quick, get him to the hospital!"

In an instant, Zhang Zijian and the others panicked and hurriedly carried Xu Ruyu downstairs!

On the second floor, everyone who witnessed this scene couldn't help but have complex expressions and feel deeply moved!

"How spirited and high-spirited the little poet was, but tonight... he has been utterly defeated!"

"A single poem, 'A Moonlit Night on the Spring River,' can make all the poems and essays written by this little poetry genius pale in comparison. If it were us, we would probably feel the same way!"

"Li Lan's name... will surely resound throughout the capital!"

……