129: Chapter 0129 Half

"Me?"

Hu Xinyi humbly said, "There are too many classic poems about plum blossoms from our predecessors. I'd better not write one, lest I be laughed at by you sisters."

"Oh, we are all not as good as you. If you don't write, are you expecting me and Ning Junzhu to do it?" Yu Yingying urged.

Su Wansha naturally cooperated, "Miss Hu, since you are already here, why not leave behind some calligraphy?"

Seeing that the atmosphere had been built up to this point, Hu Xinyi naturally went with the flow and nodded.

"Since you sisters think so highly of me, I shall make a fool of myself."

A desk had already been arranged in the private room. Su Wansha personally stood up to grind ink for Hu Xinyi.

Yu Yingying, being very lively, smoothed out the rice paper for her and called out, "Please, great talented woman."

Xie Juner sipped her wine, looking as if she were watching a show.

Poetry is divided into Lower Grade, Middle Grade, Upper Grade, and Immortal Grade, with each level further subdivided into Upper, Middle, and Lower.

In truth, in her eyes, Hu Xinyi's poetry was only middle-to-upper, not even reaching Upper Grade.

Those three people defeated by the Imperial Academy were all playboys, so it was no surprise.

When various regions selected women to attend the poetry gathering at the Imperial Academy, she was the first one they approached.

However, at the time, she was busy making money and didn't want to deal with those lecherous, stinking men, so she had the Marquis of Linyuan decline it.

Furthermore, as a properly titled noblewoman, why should she compete for this bit of fame with these commoner women?

After a while, Hu Xinyi finished writing a five-character poem.

Yu Yingying hurriedly picked it up, blew on it, and recited it:

"Snow kisses the frozen rouge, the wind sings as the jade soul melts. Cold fragrance condenses into rhyme, proud bones naturally form a work!"

"Good poem! The rhyming—I could never write something like this!"

Su Wansha also nodded and said with a smile, "As expected of a great talented woman. At this standard, you don't need to pay; this meal is on me!"

Hu Xinyi's pretty face flushed slightly, but her eyes glanced toward Xie Juner.

In her heart, Xie Juner was the true number one talented woman of the Northern Region, but this noblewoman loved money more than literature, which was why she had been given this opportunity.

Therefore, deep down, Hu Xinyi still hoped to receive Xie Juner's approval.

"Using the imagery of rouge and jade soul to reconstruct the soul of the plum blossom is indeed very creative. This poem should be considered 'Upper Grade', right?"

Xie Juner felt that although it was a stretch, it could still be given an Upper Grade.

Upon hearing this, Hu Xinyi immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said happily, "Many thanks for the praise, Ning Junzhu. Now I can finally eat this meal with peace of mind."

Just then, a waiter brought in a piece of paper.

"Boss, that person said... they only wrote half, and they will write the rest when they remember it."

"Half?"

Su Wansha took it, stunned for a moment, unable to laugh or cry.

This Lin Xiao, writing only half a poem—was he doing it on purpose to mess around?

Little did they know, Lin Xiao had truly forgotten it. As a science student, he only remembered the famous lines of many poems.

Besides, he was hungry. If it weren't for the sake of Su Wansha, he wouldn't have even bothered to write half a poem!

"Oh? That guest is arrogant enough, only writing half a poem. I have never heard of such a thing!"

"Even the disciples of Great Scholar Meng, or the former top student of the Imperial Academy, Lv Sheng, wouldn't be this arrogant, right?"

Yu Yingying was a bit displeased. This was clearly looking down on people!

"Only writing half, and he gets to come up to the third floor? I'd like to see what he wrote!"

Xie Juner reached out, "Sister Su, let me take a look?"

Su Wansha felt helpless; she hadn't even had a chance to look at it before sending it over.

After Xie Juner opened it and saw the handwriting, she showed a hint of disdain. It was too mediocre.

But after a few seconds, she suddenly stopped speaking.

Her red lips parted, her beautiful eyes staring intently, looking completely dazed...

"What's wrong? Is this poem that bizarre?"

Yu Yingying and Hu Xinyi hurriedly walked over.

Yu Yingying even read it out:

"When all flowers wither, only it blooms beautifully, occupying all the charm in the small garden. Sparse shadows fall slantingly across the clear, shallow water, hidden fragrance drifts under the moon, dusk..."

Reading to the end, Yu Yingying was dumbfounded.

Beside her, Hu Xinyi was excitedly covering her mouth with one hand, her eyes wide, unable to say a single word.

Su Wansha, having only heard it once, couldn't help but tremble all over!

Too... Compared to the last one, "Drunkenly lying on the battlefield, the lord does not laugh," this was a completely different literary style!

One was heroic and romantic, the other was graceful and moving—and they actually... both came from the same person!?

No wonder she had fallen hopelessly in love with this man!

One must ask, what woman could refuse this damn charm!?

"Hoo..."

Xie Juner took a deep breath and muttered, "It is only half a stanza, yet it is undoubtedly 'Immortal Grade'..."

Hu Xinyi smiled bitterly, "I truly made a fool of myself tonight. But to be able to see such an Immortal Grade poem about plum blossoms, this trip was worth it."

"Xinyi, don't be sad. With such a rare treasure, even if Lv Sheng came, he would likely be outdone."

Yu Yingying felt like she had seen a ghost. This tiny Baishui Prefecture was bizarre!

No matter how little Xie Juner cared about poetry, she couldn't help but be moved!

She looked up and asked, "Sister Su, do you know who that person is?"

"Ah? This..."

Su Wansha didn't know what to do.

Xie Juner suddenly remembered something and said in disbelief, "Could it be... that person again?"

Seeing Su Wansha so troubled, and with the deep impression of that "Drunkenly lying on the battlefield" poem, Xie Juner thought of the person's identity.

Su Wansha smiled awkwardly and nodded, "That's right, it is our Lin Xiao."

Rather than offending someone, it was better to tell the truth.

Xie Juner's mood was incredibly complex. As expected... it really was him!?

Is he really a general!? Isn't he supposed to be leading troops to war!?

Making soap, honeycomb coal, and various industries was one thing, but how did he become a poetry immortal!?

What kind of man is this fiancé of mine?

At first, she didn't want to see him, but now, she was a little afraid to see him! He was too unfathomable!

"General Lin? Lin Xiao?"

"He can write poetry too!?"

Hu Xinyi and Yu Yingying were even more shocked, overturning their understanding of what a military general was like.

Su Wansha simply stopped hiding it and proudly brought out the poems Lin Xiao had written before.

After the two women saw them, their eyes already revealed deep admiration.

"Sister Su, can we..."

Hu Xinyi was just about to speak when she was quietly tapped by Yu Yingying, who gave her a look.

Hu Xinyi then remembered that Lin Xiao was Xie Juner's fiancé!

She blushed and hurriedly lowered her head, not daring to say anything more.

Xie Juner naturally understood the two women's feelings. If she hadn't been acting here for so long under the guise of Ning Junzhu, she would have already run over to see the man herself!

Even if it offended Su Wansha, so what? She was the imperial-bestowed one!!

But now, Xie Juner could only suffer in silence!

Seeing the three women looking dejected, Su Wansha understood perfectly, but she didn't want Lin Xiao to meet the three women at all, so she played dumb and brushed it off.

During the rest of the meal, the three women intentionally avoided mentioning Lin Xiao, and Xie Juner suppressed the sourness in her heart to focus on discussing business.

After they finished talking, Hu Xinyi and Yu Yingying got into the carriage first.

Xie Juner smiled and said goodbye to Su Wansha.

"We had a great chat today. Thank you for your hospitality, Sister Su. Please talk to Lin Xiao about the business in Yu Prefecture and E Prefecture."

"Rest assured, I will discuss it with Lin Xiao tonight." Su Wansha nodded.

Hearing the word "tonight," Xie Juner began to feel uncomfortable again.

She was showing off, going to whisper "pillow talk" to him, right? After all, they were husband and wife...

"Sister Su, have you ever thought... if you hadn't met Lin Xiao so early, what would your fate have been?"

Xie Juner asked involuntarily.