Song Xingzhi lived during the reign of Emperor Huizong

Chapter 32

Or perhaps, my writing really isn't worth writing a review for...

Tears streamed down my face as I slithered past in a serpentine path...

Chapter 50, Xibei

The "Promoter" function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join now! Happy National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival! May everyone eat well, have fun, and rest well.

During the long holiday, this article will be updated every three days.

Wishing everyone happiness.

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Liu Zhenxi stared blankly for a moment, looking completely captivated, before suddenly snapping back to reality and saying, "I dare not. This young lady is also deeply devoted to protecting her master. I was indeed presumptuous."

The woman chuckled and said, "Young master, there's no need for you to be so modest. I wonder how you would fare in responding to my couplet?"

Everyone in the corridor was watching Liu Zhenxi.

"This..." The current third-ranked scholar hesitated for a moment, as if he had finally made up his mind, and said, "I am not very talented, and I am not able to match the young lady's poem."

The crowd immediately erupted in commotion. Zhao Xian, sensing this was the perfect opportunity to make his entrance, brandished his paper fan and walked over with an air of refined elegance. He first bowed to the woman, and Liu Zhenxi and the others, seeing it was him, hurriedly bowed and greeted him. He stopped them with one hand, saying, "What is the matter? Why are you stopping this young lady here?"

Liu Zhenxi smiled wryly, and the other two remained silent. Zhao Xian knew that this was not a good thing, so he followed up, "Miss, you are here to attend the meeting, right? You have been standing for a long time and must be tired. You should go into the pavilion and sit down."

Although lust is in his nature, he is not a fool. If he wants to stand out now, he must first win the woman's favor. Only if he can win her favor will he have a chance. But if Liu Zhenxi cannot win him over, how can he be sure that he can? So Zhao Xian will take a shortcut and settle for second best. He will act considerately and think that a handsome and charming young man like him, with such a high status, is rare. She should like him.

Little did they know that everyone here shared the same thought. Ever since that woman entered the pavilion, the scholars, seeing her exceptional talent—even the talented scholars of Suzhou and Hangzhou like Liu Zhenxi struggled to learn from her—argued that she must be incredibly studious. So, one after another, they recited poems and articles from thousands of years of history, some well-known and some unknown, as if afraid their voices wouldn't be loud enough to be drowned out by the charming young woman. A commotion suddenly erupted by the lake.

The official in charge nearly broke the ruler in his hand before drawing everyone's attention. He recited a few opening lines and then continued the poem recitation.

This woman was indeed remarkably talented. She remained silent until all the other women in the pavilion were unable to respond, then she spoke up at just the right moment, never trying to steal the spotlight. Every line she uttered astonished everyone present; her ideas, her diction, and her vision were beyond the reach of ordinary people. The scholars secretly blushed with admiration—so there really was a female scholar who had achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations! With such talent, even the top three scholars of the time would be sweating bullets trying to match her poems.

Moreover, even with her face veiled, her ethereal beauty was still faintly visible. Why had such a woman never been heard of before in the capital?!

Given this situation, many people with slightly less powerful backgrounds have given up on their plans, while some, like Zhao Xian, have become even more determined.

If one is to marry a woman one has never met, according to the parents' wishes and the matchmaker's words, it would be better to marry a girl one has met who is both beautiful and virtuous. Besides, she is so outstanding now; if one were to marry her, one wonders how many envious people one would be of them.

The Lotus Poetry Gathering that year became the most lively, talk-worthy, and thought-provoking in its history due to the appearance of this woman.

As the sun began to set, everyone rode home in their carriages or on horseback. Several servants followed behind the woman's sedan chair in twos and threes. They finally stopped in the city, at what turned out to be a restaurant.

My God! Our master said it must be the daughter of some noble family, and told us to write down the address and find out which family she belonged to. But what noblewoman would go to a restaurant for no reason?! The servants waited in bewilderment for the woman to get out of the sedan chair, but the sedan chair bypassed the main gate and went straight into the restaurant's side door. They had no choice but to hurry and follow her in. After the sedan chair bearers got out, the sedan chair bearers didn't pull it aside or hold it down; they didn't do anything. They just prepared to go home!

The servants were terrified and, disregarding everything else, rushed forward to lift the sedan curtain—it was completely empty inside, with only seats and railings. There wasn't a single mouse, let alone that pretty young lady!

Terrified, their legs went weak. They grabbed the sedan chair bearers who were about to leave, demanding an explanation through threats and inducements. The bearers, unable to withstand the intimidation of these noble servants, confessed everything—the sedan chair had been empty since their return; they had only taken the girl there, but she hadn't returned in it! They had no idea what the girl's name was!

This morning, an unnamed servant went to various households to hire them as sedan chair carriers, promising ten times the usual pay and easy work, only asking them to do more and talk less. When they set out today, it was indeed easy; they only needed to escort a young lady to the western suburbs. Later, after the poetry gathering ended, they prepared to escort the lady back to the city, but the servant said it wasn't necessary; they only needed to carry the empty sedan chair back to a certain restaurant—it turned out the sedan chair was also rented from that restaurant!

When the servants asked about the servant's appearance, some said he had a long face and a beard, some said he had a fair face, no beard and short stature, and some said he had both a beard and was tall. Everyone's description was different!

The servants were utterly dumbfounded. They'd never seen anything like it! You, a young lady, come to a poetry gathering, and you act so strangely, as if you're hiding some earth-shattering secret. It's like listening to Di Renjie solving a case in a teahouse! Do you think we're some kind of prefect or high-ranking official?! Are you kidding me?!

Only then did the servants realize what they had been wondering about – if there were really people inside the sedan chair, how could there not be a single maidservant? And how could it be just a small sedan chair, sent back without any guards or servants?!

What a blunder! A complete miscalculation!! But our masters are still waiting for news; how are we supposed to report back?! Isn't this just asking for a beating?!

The servants grabbed one and pulled another, dragging the sedan chair bearers back to their respective residences to report.

For the next few days, Kyoto was in chaos, with everyone talking about it—a peerless woman had appeared at the Lotus Poetry Gathering, stunning everyone with her talent and beauty! The capital's nobility were doing everything they could to find out her background, but her whereabouts remained unknown!

After a few days, everyone realized that it was really impossible, so they gathered together, intending to find out the truth—Kyoto was a large city, how could they not find a single living person!?

So Zhao Xian took the lead, decided on the restaurant where the sedan chair would be placed, invited everyone to come and discuss it, and each of them brought their own sedan chair bearers.

The gathering failed to reach a conclusion, and the more they thought about it, the more amiss it became, almost to the point of taking it to Emperor Huizong.

Seeing that things were not going well, Liu Zhenxi and the others quickly told the whole story.

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Tsk tsk tsk, who is this beautiful lady?

Absolutely stunning! Sigh, this chapter of mine is so cheesy and melodramatic...

Chapter 51, The Truth Comes to an End

The promotional function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join us now!!! Yongjiao, with a "I'll tell you if you beg me" look, said, "But guess who this woman is?" Yuanrou thought for a moment, then said shyly, "Could it be that...that...that courtesan?"

Just then, Lin Suxia suddenly stood up and said, "I'm going to the inner room." She bowed slightly and went into the room. Yongjiao pursed her lips but remained silent. Yuanrou, on the other hand, was stunned for a moment, and the blush that had just faded from her face rose again. She seemed a little uneasy. Yongjiao seemed not to notice, but turned slightly to block Yuanrou's view of the room, and said casually, "I suppose Sister Lin has something to do behind the bed."

Back then, toilets were placed behind the screen behind the bed. Her words subtly shifted the focus to Lin Suxia's purpose in entering the room—to use the toilet, not to deliberately avoid their conversation. Yuan Rou, rather than truly believing, had convinced herself to believe. Just then, Yong Jiao gave Su Chen a look, which Su Chen, about to pretend not to see, caught. He had no choice but to play along, saying, "I bet this woman is a fake." Yuan Rou exclaimed in surprise, "How can you say she's a fake? She's so stunningly beautiful…"

Yongjiao laughed even more smugly, saying, "That's right, that was a fake. Brother Cui lost to those people, so he had to dress up as a woman to participate in the Lotus Poetry Gathering. He just didn't expect this outcome. So—" she curled her lips, "So this peerless beauty is Brother Cui!"

Yuan Rou exclaimed in surprise, "This is improper! What would happen if Grandma Cui found out?!"

“It doesn’t matter if Grandma Cui doesn’t know, that’s fine…” Yuan Rou said with great interest.

It turned out that Zhao Xian was afraid someone was competing with him, so he went home early to inform the old princess. The princess knew that it was rare for her son to have someone he liked, and since the woman was able to attend the Lotus Poetry Gathering, her family background and reputation should not be too bad. So she went to the palace to briefly discuss the matter with the Empress Dowager. Coincidentally, Emperor Huizong was also there at the time, so he took the opportunity to ask for an imperial decree, preparing to give the woman to Zhao Xian if it was found that her family background and reputation were both good.

Now that Cui Wenqi's male identity has been exposed, Zhao Xian is both angry and annoyed. "We've met before, and we've been to those brothels together more than three or four times. You're not playing me like this!" He immediately refused to let it go. His anger clouded his judgment, and he was determined to take this matter to the capital to accuse Cui Wenqi of deceiving the emperor.

Cui Wenqi was not afraid, since it was not his fault after all. He held a banquet, punished himself with a drink, praised Zhao Xian for his talent, and subtly criticized Liu Zhenxi and others for being petty. During the banquet, the so-called four talents of Suzhou and Hangzhou took turns to perform. After a performance, they became sworn brothers and the conflict was over.

Nevertheless, the news of this fake phoenix and false dragon had already spread throughout Kyoto. Even though Zhang Tianshi was far away in Jiangxi, he still sent a letter by fast horse. The beautiful cursive script was like dragons and phoenixes, and he cursed his grandson to no end. Cui Wenqi only wished he could make this letter public so that people would know what the so-called immortal demeanor was really like.