Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn

Chapter 45

Shen Zexuan said without even looking at him, "Gentle and refined, a true gentleman, with profound knowledge and wisdom, he is indeed talented."

Haha, Shen Zexuan's evaluation of Song Zhixuan is quite fair.

Shen Zexuan then changed the subject, asking, "Yu, what do you mean?"

Shen Haoyu smiled but didn't answer. What's with this kid's mystery?

Shen Haoyu instructed the people waiting outside the pavilion to fetch the zither, and then asked me if I had the xiao. I shook my head and said it was in my room, so he ordered someone to bring the xiao over as well.

What exactly is he planning to do? I'm starving, and he hasn't said when we can eat.

Shen Haoyu stood up, leaned against a pavilion pillar, and pretended to admire the plum blossoms. He's just putting on an act again…

Then he turned to Shen Zexuan and said, "Third Brother, this scene is beautiful, how about composing a poem?"

Shen Zexuan had no idea what he was up to, but if he wanted to know what he was going to do next, he could only agree.

"Whoever finishes first can speak first," Shen Haoyu said.

Song Zhixuan glanced around, seemingly confident, but remained silent. He figured his master wasn't ready yet, and he wouldn't steal the spotlight. Shen Zexuan smiled slightly, as if he also had a plan. Shen Haoyu… the one who suggested it, he must have already thought it through!

"Please, Third Brother," Shen Haoyu said with a smile.

Shen Zexuan stretched out his clean, slender fingers, dipped them in the teacup, and wrote on the table: "Enduring the snow and frost of the world, you are the first to bloom among all flowers. The breeze has the bones of an immortal, and your cold beauty is especially suitable for the Jade Hall."

Shen Haoyu also followed suit and wrote on the table: "The roadside pavilions are beautiful, their fragrance wafting out of season. The moon goddess is only with the moon, and the frost goddess is not lenient with the frost. Gifts to those far away are plentiful, but the pain of parting is heartbreaking. For whom do they bloom so early? They do not wait to become the flowers of the year."

Shen Haoyu and Shen Zexuan were both writing poems over tea at the table. Song Zhixuan was no exception and wrote: "All the flowers have withered, but I alone am in full bloom, captivating the small garden with my charm. Sparse shadows slant across the clear, shallow water, and a faint fragrance drifts in the twilight. Frosty birds, about to descend, first steal a glance, and butterflies, if they knew, would surely be heartbroken. Fortunately, there is a gentle verse to share, no need for sandalwood clappers or golden goblets."

"This poem is even included in the Hidden Fragrance Pavilion, it seems some thought was put into it," Shen Haoyu said, without commenting on whether the poem was good or bad. Shen Zexuan, on the other hand, gave Song Zhixuan a few more glances.

Just when I thought it was over, Shen Haoyu looked at me and asked, "What about you?"

"Me?" I was surprised. Do I have to do it too?

“Of course, we have to do it,” Shen Haoyu nodded.

I frowned in frustration, frantically searching my memory, trying to recall which poems about plum blossoms I had learned. The one that stuck with me most was: "Several plum blossoms by the corner of the wall, blooming alone in the cold. From afar, I know it's not snow, for a faint fragrance wafts." I learned it in elementary school, so it was easy to remember. But Song Zhixuan's poem just now included the phrase "faint fragrance," so using this poem again would seem repetitive. Then I thought, there was a poem about plum blossoms that my teacher had specifically taught me, but unfortunately, this era only values perfectly structured poetry, so it was useless now. Sigh…

There seems to be another poem that goes like this: "The fierce snow and howling wind only make it more resolute; among flowers, its integrity is the highest and most steadfast. When its time comes, it will naturally wither and fall; it would rather not beg for mercy from the Lord of Spring." After checking it over, it seems there are no problems. So I wrote it down on the table with some tea.

Shen Haoyu and Shen Zexuan glanced at each other but didn't say anything, while Song Zhixuan nodded approvingly.

The group drank tea and discussed contemporary intellectuals and such. I sat quietly to the side, listening attentively, but in my mind, I was thinking about going to eat. I glared at Shen Haoyu a few times with a hint of resentment. Aren't they hungry?

At this moment, Shen Haoyu's zither and my xiao were delivered, along with a continuous tinkling sound. Looking in the direction of the sound, I was surprised to see that my seashell wind chime had also been taken by that person!

Shen Haoyu looked at the wind chime and asked, "What is this?"

The man said, "I don't know, it was Miss Yinyan who asked me to bring it over. She said this thing is novel and must have been made by Lin En, so that the young prince could see it."

I sighed inwardly. Silver Swallow, did you really have to send everything to Shen Haoyu? Now that the things have caught his eye, won't he just keep them for himself? It's also my fault for being careless, hanging them so openly on the corridor, where anyone could take them down.

Shen Haoyu looked at me and asked, so I got up and took it, found a hook in the pavilion and hung it up, explaining, "This thing is called a 'wind chime,' because it moves when the wind blows and makes a sound." The wind was strong here, and the wind chime tinkled, which was quite pleasant to hear.

Shen Haoyu nodded and asked, "Was it made using the East China Sea seashells I gave you?"

I said, "Yes."

Shen Haoyu's eyes lit up as he said, "This item shall belong to me, the young king."

I retorted, "Young Prince, with your power and influence, you possess countless rare and precious items. Such common things would never dare to offend your eyes." Are you really going to steal all my valuable possessions? No way! It seems I haven't accumulated much of my own possessions over the years; you've swindled, cheated, and robbed them all! And now you're eyeing my things again? There are outsiders present today; how can you even have the nerve to do this?

"It's alright, as long as I like it." Shen Haoyu used "I am the king" so smoothly today, and he never tires of it whenever he wants to use his status to intimidate me.

However, I've made up my mind not to budge today. "I like it very much too, but the young prince is a gentleman and wouldn't take what belongs to someone else."

Shen Haoyu then asked, "Lin En, are those seashells mine?"

"You already gave it to me." Are you trying to set me up?

"Tell me, if someone buys something, does that thing belong to them?"

What? Are you planning to buy it? I'm not selling. "Yes, but I won't sell it to you; this item is priceless."

Shen Haoyu laughed and said, "Lin En, you haven't forgotten that you sold yourself to me eight years ago, have you? You are mine, so what about your things?"

So that's how it is! Despicable! Shameless! And what do you mean by saying I belong to him? Don't be so ambiguous, okay?

Seeing that I was speechless, Shen Haoyu seemed quite pleased. It wasn't that I couldn't speak, it was that I simply dared not speak. Those were words that could only be spoken in my heart; if he heard them, what would become of me?

“Then it belongs to me,” Shen Haoyu said smugly.

Does he really enjoy being cheated out of my things? He's a disgrace to the Prince Qing's mansion.

And just like everything else before, the wind chime that Zinuo and I had worked so hard to make changed ownership easily.

Seeing that Yu Ying had already set up the zither, Shen Haoyu smiled and said to Shen Zexuan, "You've been in high spirits these past few days. How about I make a fool of myself and play a tune for you, Third Brother?"

Shen Zexuan smiled and agreed, "It's been a long time since I've heard Yu play the zither."

In the Youjing Dynasty, all literate men were expected to play the zither, but not all zither-playing men were literate. This demonstrates the widespread popularity and importance of the zither in the Youjing Dynasty. The zither was like a person, its music like their speech; here, judging a person's character by their music was paramount, and men devoted more effort to mastering the instrument. However, there were fewer requirements for women. Although I was disguised as a man, I didn't learn to play the zither, citing the reason I mentioned before—hand pain.

Shen Haoyu sat down with pleasure, buried his head in plucking the strings, and played a piece called "The Overlord's Tale". The music was magnificent and powerful, with the intention of conquering mountains and rivers and sweeping across the sky.

What was the meaning behind Shen Haoyu playing such a piece in front of Shen Zexuan today? It wouldn't be good if someone with ulterior motives heard it. The Prince Qing's mansion is a thorn in the emperor's side. What if he gets hold of something?

But Shen Zexuan listened with a smile on his face, a smile that was somewhat different from his previous slight smile.