After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

After discussing it, Gan Cai'er and Zhu Xiaoxiao decided to split up into two groups.

The main purpose of the poetry gathering organized by the Wang family this time was to assess Huang Tinghai's talent and character, and to see if he was as outstanding as the legends suggested.

Therefore, most of the people invited to the poetry gathering were students from the academy, with only a few female relatives invited as a token gesture to accompany Wang Yanran.

Gan Cai'er's destination on this trip was Huang Tinghai, and she felt she had to stick close to him. She had a gut feeling that Huang Tinghai had met the people at Qizhi Academy on this very day in his past life, and that his conspiracies and schemes were also decided at this poetry gathering.

Therefore, she planned to disguise herself as a man and sneak into Huang Tinghai's side.

Zhu Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, went to the poetry gathering under her original identity. The Zhu family and the Wang family had some dealings, and Zhu Xiaoxiao had met Wang Yanran a few times, so they could be considered acquaintances. Therefore, she was chosen to inquire about the situation indirectly.

On the day of the poetry gathering, Gan Cai'er and Zhu Xiaoxiao set off early in the morning in the Zhu family's carriage. Gan Cai'er's identity today was Zhu Youchen, Zhu Xiaoxiao's distant cousin.

The plum grove in Zhushan County is a small hillside where plum trees grow naturally, resulting in a wide variety of species. The plum trees in the grove are dense, and the plum blossoms are colorful, displaying all sorts of hues. However, this lacks the usual elegance of plum blossoms, and instead creates a lively scene on the branches.

"Master Zhou."

As soon as Zhu Xiaoxiao entered the plum grove, she called out to a man in a blue shirt in front of her.

The man stopped and turned around. Seeing that it was Zhu Xiaoxiao, he smiled and greeted her warmly, "So it's Sister Zhu. Brother Letian, have you come today?"

This person is Zhou Caitong, a classmate and close friend of Zhu Letian, and also acquainted with Zhu Xiaoxiao.

"If it were a cocktail party today, he would definitely be here. But he has no interest in this poetry gathering."

Then, Zhu Xiaoxiao pushed Gan Cai'er forward, in front of Zhou Caitong.

"This is my cousin, Zhu Youchen. He heard there was a poetry gathering today and really wanted to come and see it."

"Greetings, Young Master Zhou." Gan Cai'er stepped forward to greet him, but her voice was hoarse and low when she spoke.

"Is Young Master Zhu feeling unwell?" Zhou Caitong asked with concern.

"I caught a cold a few days ago and coughed so hard my throat was hoarse. After taking some medicine, I'm fine now."

Gan Cai'er wore a black, straight-cut, front-buttoned dress today, concealing her good figure. Then, her advanced disguise technique, a low-level version, came in handy again, transforming her into a refined scholar.

It's easy to have a beautiful face, but hard to change your voice. She did take medicine, but not medicine to cure her illness; it was medicine to make her voice hoarse.

"Brother Youchen has just recovered from a serious illness, and since my brother is not here today, I would like to trouble Young Master Zhou to look after my cousin." Zhu Xiaoxiao curtsied.

"Don't worry, Miss Zhu. Brother Letian's younger brother is my younger brother. Young Master Zhu, come, let me introduce you to some of your classmates."

Zhou Caitong readily agreed to Zhu Xiaoxiao's request. In his view, with Zhu Letian absent, he naturally had to take on the responsibility of caring for his friend and brother.

Zhou Caitong is a kind-hearted and public-spirited person, which is why Zhu Xiaoxiao approached him.

Thus, Gan Cai'er successfully slipped into the poetry gathering. Zhu Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, went to the women's group not far away.

Gan Cai'er looked around at the arrangement of the poetry gathering. It was arranged in the style of a winding stream party, but there was neither a winding stream nor a floating wine cup.

There were only a few stools arranged in two rows on the left and right under the plum tree, for everyone to sit in order. Sitting upright at the head of the table was Wang Qingming, the county magistrate, flanked by two men who looked like teachers, presumably from the county academy.

And sitting to his left was none other than Huang Tinghai.

Huang Tinghai was wearing the long robe made of gold-embroidered brocade.

The fine gold threads hidden within the brocade were faintly visible in the sunlight, and with every move he made, layers of golden halos shimmered around him, exuding understated luxury and highlighting his noble air.

Indeed, even Buddha needs gold plating, and people rely on clothes.

Today's poetry gathering is themed around plum blossoms. Since there's no flowing wine cup, we'll use a game of passing a flower while beating a drum instead. During the gathering, a maid will beat the drum with her back to everyone. When the drumming stops, whoever gets the plum blossom must compose a poem on the spot.

Gan Cai'er sat down at the table with Zhou Caitong. Zhou Caitong was very popular, and people would come over to greet him from time to time. Whenever this happened, he would introduce Gan Cai'er to them, and Gan Cai'er, feigning a sore throat, would simply smile and offer a polite greeting.

By doing as few things as possible, and after a series of maneuvers, others only noticed that the young master of the Zhu family was somewhat frail, and no one realized that she was a woman.

"Dong dong dong~~~"

As a drumbeat sounded, the poetry gathering officially began, and a white plum blossom in full bloom swirled around the room.

Gan Cai'er then realized a serious problem: she couldn't write poetry at all! Let alone write poetry, she had barely read any poems.

Her literary skills all came from the "Three Character Classic" she read as a child, as well as the "Women's Virtues" and "Women's Script" that she was punished to copy countless times in her previous life.

Gan Cai'er's heart clenched. She stared at the white plum blossom as if it were some ferocious beast. She rolled up her sleeves and made a silent vow: she absolutely could not let it fall into her hands.

The white plum blossom spun twice amidst the dense drumbeats, then came to rest smoothly in Huang Tinghai's hand.

Huang Tinghai smiled slightly, stood up with the flowers in his hand, pondered for a moment, and then recited a seven-character quatrain entitled "Ode to the Plum Blossom." As soon as he finished reciting, enthusiastic applause and praise rang out from the audience.

"Young Master Huang's poem is profound and elegant, with a lofty artistic conception. It is truly a refreshing sight. He is indeed a young talent." An elderly man in the head seat stroked his beard and praised with a smile.

"Today, everyone present is a leader from their respective academies. Young Master Huang has set a good example. Come, everyone, continue. I hope that many excellent works will be produced today, so as not to waste the beautiful scenery of this plum grove."

Huang Tinghai had stolen the show, and Wang Qingming was delighted. He smiled and gestured for the drumming to continue.

The drums sounded again, and the white plum blossoms swirled among the guests once more.

The drumbeats came and went, and the white plum blossoms passed through the hands of one person after another. Many people at the banquet were chosen, and some composed poems and others wrote essays.

Gan Cai'er couldn't tell good from bad, but judging from the intensity of the applause, everyone seemed to have done a good job, indicating that everyone present was talented.

Every time the drumbeat started, Gan Cai'er's heart clenched, fearing that the flower would fall into her hands. As she watched the people at the table stand up one by one, her heart was practically in her throat.

It was clear that they were doomed.

Or should we find an excuse to escape first? Anyway, Huang Tinghai can't run away anytime soon.

Just as Gan Cai'er was lost in thought, the drumbeats suddenly stopped, and a plum blossom lay quietly in her palm.

Gan Cai'er was truly on the verge of tears.

This is exactly what I feared!

Holding the plum blossom, she stood up shakily, bowed deeply to Wang Qingming, who sat at the head of the table, and said in a hoarse voice...

"I haven't entered the academy yet, and I've only studied the Four Books and Five Classics at home. I really don't know how to compose poetry, so I won't embarrass myself by doing so."

A look of surprise flashed across Wang Qingming's eyes, then his expression darkened.

The others at the table looked at Gan Cai'er and couldn't help but wonder, where did this kid come from, so rude and daring to disrespect Lord Wang?

Seeing the awkward situation, Zhou Caitong immediately stood up and bowed to Wang Qingming to apologize.

"This is a brother from my clan. This is his first time visiting Zhushan. If his behavior or words are impolite, I hope you will forgive him."

After saying that, he turned to Gan Cai'er and said...

"Today's poetry gathering is mainly for everyone to enjoy the exchange, regardless of quality. Since the poem has fallen into your hands, feel free to compose a few lines."

"Yes, today we're here to enjoy ourselves to the fullest, young brother, there's no need to be so formal."

"Yes, yes."

......

Gan Cai'er broke out in a cold sweat. She and Zhu Xiaoxiao had planned everything, but they never expected that she would be asked to write a poem! Now that things had come to this, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it.

She glanced around at the plum grove in full bloom, then began to recite, haltingly and in a hoarse voice.

"Plum blossoms, plum blossoms bloom on the branches."

"One by one, they smile with joy."

"White flowers, white flowers... pink flowers come in many colors."

"It's a beautiful sight indeed!"

After Gan Cai'er finished reading, the entire room fell silent.

Everyone turned to look.

Zhou Caitong was so embarrassed that he didn't know what expression to make.

Even Wang Qingming's complexion improved considerably.

So, this person really can't write poetry.

"Haha, interesting."

Not far from the poetry gathering, a few people stood at a distance. One person leaned against a plum tree, a few soft laughs escaping his chest.

“What’s so interesting about this nonsensical doggerel?” Chu Mingyuan said.

"No, it's the people who are interesting."

Having spent years mingling with women, how could Meng Yu not see that Gan Cai'er was a woman disguised as a man? Moreover, she was the woman he couldn't forget at first glance.

It's like searching high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly.