Chapter 118: Beauties Prefer to Fight for Beauty

"Colorful sleeves diligently hold the jade bell, the opening is beautiful, and it is beautiful and playable."

"Determined to be drunk and red, the word 'determined' has a strange spirit, and the two words show a dashing meaning! If it is not deep in emotion and high in interest, how can it be obtained?"

"I think the most wonderful thing is the third and fourth sentences! Dancing low and singing exhausted, willow and peach blossoms, romantic and implicit, all come from this! This is only possible after careful thinking and refining! The sentence method is very loud! The wording is very skillful! Seven-character sentences, who is the first if not this one?!"

"Everyone likes the first few sentences, but the one I love most is this last sentence. Light the silver candle, illuminate tonight. It's like a dream, fearing that the meeting is in a dream. It can be called lingering and lingering, and the waves are endless, so the words are exhausted but the meaning is not exhausted, the meaning is collected but the thinking is not collected! So I think the charm of this poem is all in the last sentence!"

"Why do you all say these sentences? 'Since parting, remembering meeting, how many times have dreams been with you'—isn't this sentence good? Writing about feelings to this point, covering and lingering, reading it makes people feel naturally. I think even if it is Wei Wen's *Swallow Song* and Pingzi's *Four Sorrows*, it cannot be surpassed!"

"Wang Young Master's talent is gorgeous, this song is enough to be passed down!"

In the midst of praise, Liu Cheng stood in the hall with a dull face, as if he had been forgotten by people.

The surrounding sounds were getting farther and farther away from him, and he felt cold all over, as if he could no longer feel his heartbeat.

Seeing that his younger brother's state was wrong, Liu Cheng's brother hurriedly stepped forward to help, whispering: "Ashen, let's go back to the seat first."

Liu Cheng walked a few steps like a puppet, suddenly threw off his brother's hand, pointed at Wang Yang and shouted: "I have another poem! Sing about Mo Chou learning to dance! Wang Yang, besides that poem, can you write another one?"

The praise of the crowd stopped, and they looked at Liu Cheng in surprise.

"Ashen! Stop talking! Come back with me immediately!"

Liu Cheng's brother grabbed his younger brother's cold hand and pulled him back. He knew that his younger brother had suffered the biggest setback in his life today, was hit hard, and had lost his reason because of the loss.

Liu Cheng pushed his brother away, looking like a madman, his eyes blood-red, and shouting loudly with the drunkenness:

"The jade flute blows through the shadows dancing! Beauties prefer to fight for beauty! Light and graceful is the slender waist! It is the fairy in the painting of Yaochi!"

(At this time, the poetic form had not yet evolved to pay attention to the tonal patterns of regulated verse. Although this poem by Liu Cheng, except for the first sentence, the other three sentences were in line with the tonal patterns of regulated verse, it was just a simple intuition, not a conscious correction. However, at this time, poetry revolution paying attention to tonal patterns was brewing in the capital, which was also the precursor of later regulated verse. See the Jin Ling volume for details)

Everyone thought: It is said that Liu Fourth Young Master has agile and fast talent, and it is really true! He opened his mouth and came up with another one!

The poem was written beautifully, but it was shouted by Liu Cheng, as if he were going to eat people.

"Wang Yang! Do you dare to respond with another one? Do you dare?!!"

Liu Cheng's eyes widened, staring at Wang Yang.

He knew that this was his last chance to turn the tables!

So even if he lost face again, even if he lost his demeanor again, he had to strive for the possibility of turning defeat into victory!

At the very least, he had to ask Wang Yang until his literary talent was exhausted, so that he could recover a little bit!

He was gambling.

Gambling that Wang Yang's poem just now was pure luck! It might even be something he wrote in advance!

He didn't believe that Wang Yang could come up with another masterpiece on the spot that would beat his!

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was a bit out of the rules. The winner had already been decided, and it was agreed that each would write one. Now he wanted others to respond with one. What is this?

What's more, the quality is not as good as others, so no matter how fast it is, it's useless.

The key is that even if Wang Yang can't write it for a while, it's normal.

Most people have their own judgments.

However, when the vast majority of people thought Wang Yang would not respond, Xie Xinghan had ordered the attendants to take another piece of paper and pen for her.

Wang Yang knew that it didn't matter if he didn't respond to this game, but it seemed that if he didn't destroy him completely, Liu Cheng wouldn't stop.

Wang Yang looked at Liu Cheng and repeated: "The jade flute blows through the shadows dancing, beauties prefer to fight for beauty. Light and graceful is the slender waist, it is the fairy in the painting of Yaochi."

Everyone was stunned, not expecting Wang Yang to recite Liu Cheng's poem directly. What does this mean? Is it for appreciation?

"You recite my poem, is it because you admit you can't write it?" Liu Cheng's heart felt a burst of pleasure.

Wang Yang smiled slightly: "Mo Chou's feelings are deep and heavy, never changing her ambition, she is in the singing and dancing field, but her heart hides the snow of the high mountains, she is a strange woman in the world! Brother Liu sings about Mo Chou, and writes about the flute sound, dancing, and fairies. The meaning is very good, and I borrow it."

He opened his folding fan and took a step forward, chanting: "Ask about blowing the flute toward the purple smoke..."

Liu Cheng didn't expect Wang Yang to really be able to write poetry, his face turned pale! Even the drunken red was covered!

However, he still had hope!

This sentence is not how strange...

"Once learned to dance in the fragrant years." Wang Yang walked toward Liu Cheng while chanting.

Liu Cheng looked at this young man in white who was talking and laughing, chanting poetry and walking toward him, and was suddenly shrouded in an inexplicable fear!

He had a feeling that after this person opened his mouth again, he would be thrown into the abyss!

Sure enough, the next sentence came irresistibly!

"If you can become a pair of eyes, why resign from death—" Wang Yang waved his fan.

Liu Cheng's whole body began to tremble!

All the guests changed their faces, their expressions surprised! Le Zhan felt as if his whole body was electrified! In the gap between Xie Xinghan's writing, she raised her eyes to look at Wang Yang.

Liu Cheng's legs were soft, and he felt the world spinning, as if he didn't have the courage to listen anymore!

Liu Cheng's brother stopped Wang Yang's way and said anxiously: "Young Master Wang, please show mercy!"

Wang Yang stopped, looked at Liu Cheng, and Liu Cheng also looked up at him, his expression pretending to be calm, but his eyes were full of hidden anger and dissatisfaction.

Wang Yang bypassed Liu Cheng's brother, walked to Liu Cheng, looked at that pale face, and said word by word: "Wish to be a mandarin duck—no, envy, immortal!"

Clatter!

I don't know whose chopsticks fell on the table.

All the guests in the hall were stunned!

Liu Cheng's brain boomed, his eyes went dark, and he fell backward!

"Younger brother!" Liu Cheng's brother immediately rushed over.

Liu Cheng did not faint.

In fact, he wished he could faint, but unfortunately he didn't.

He pushed his brother away, crawled up, and ran out of the hall staggeringly!

Wang Yang really wanted to remind him, accept the bet, remember to leave the cart, but it was not easy to speak.

Liu Cheng's brother was worried about his younger brother, but at the Wang banquet, it was not convenient to chase out directly, so he bowed to the Prince of Badong in a panic: "Your Highness! My younger brother is rude! I will catch him back and apologize to Your Highness and the lords!"

The Prince of Badong was still in shock, blinked for five or six seconds, waved his hand and said: "What are you apologizing for? Young and energetic, you go and comfort him."

Liu Cheng's brother bowed to Wang Yang, his eyes complex, and then hurried out of the hall to chase his younger brother.

"Come, come, write down that 'Wish to be a mandarin duck' for me." As soon as the Prince of Badong finished speaking, his eyes swept to Xie Xinghan, who was bowing her head with a pen, reading something intently against the paper.

He was eager to see this poem immediately, so he said: "Xie girl, did you copy this poem? Lend it to me to see."

Xie Xinghan's small face immediately showed displeasure, and she pulled the ink paper back: "This is what I copied."

The Prince of Badong was speechless: "You stingy thing! I'll just take a look and return it to you!"

Xie Xinghan pressed the paper and shook her head firmly.

While the two were talking, Kong Zhangyu had already copied the whole poem at high speed, and presented it to the Prince together with the *New Music of Mo Chou* written by Wang Yang before.

The Prince of Badong took it impatiently and read it carefully.

The scholar-officials who liked poetry stared at the two manuscripts, their eyes burning. Le Zhan raised his body slightly, wishing he could run up and read with the Prince of Badong.

"If you can become a pair of eyes, why resign from death, wish to be a mandarin duck and not envy the immortal... Good, good! Wang Yang, you are really hiding your talent!"

The Prince of Badong looked at the *New Music of Mo Chou* written by Wang Yang himself, praised it a few times, and laughed: "The poem is a good poem, but the handwriting is too average!"

Wang Yang was ashamed: *Okay, okay, I know you ancients have high standards. I will practice calligraphy when I go back! *

Xie Xinghan thought: Nowadays, scholars are good at calligraphy. With Wang Yang's talent and beauty, calligraphy is indeed a weakness. Looking at the draft of *One Hundred Questions of the Book of Documents* he wrote, it seems that he learned regular script, but it is not ink regular script, but has the meaning of stele regular script. Maybe there is a bit of running script foundation?

It's just that the clerical script is now the orthodox form, which is necessary for chapters and memorials. Cursive script is also popular. From the Taizu Emperor to the current Son of Heaven, down to the Crown Prince and Jingling Prince, they are all famous cursive and clerical masters. Wang Yang doesn't learn it, which is a bit of a loss. I will find some copybooks for him another day.

"Right, I haven't asked you yet, what is your courtesy name?"

The Prince of Badong had always called Wang Yang by his name, this was the first time he asked about his courtesy name, as if he had a sense of closeness.

Wang Yang replied: "Zhiyan."

"Zhiyan? Which two words?"

"Zhi from 'zhi hu zhe ye', Yan from 'Yan Hui'."

The Prince of Badong's smile suddenly disappeared, and his tone was cold: "Yan from Yan Hui? What a big tone! You refuted the *Ancient Text Book of Documents*, argued until the three capitals were silent and the hall full of Confucian scholars were speechless, so you think you are a Confucian master, and you dare to use the surname of Confucius's first disciple for your courtesy name?!" ===== CHAPTER 119 =====

The Prince of Badong's smile suddenly vanished, and his tone turned cold: "Yan from Yan Hui? What a bold claim! You refuted the 'Ancient Text Book of Documents' and left the three lecturers and the entire hall of Confucian scholars speechless, so you fancy yourself a master of Confucian studies, and you dare to use the surname of the Sage's first disciple for your name?!"