224: Chapter 224 was written by Chen San, what does it have to do with Chen Shanzhi?

"Love?"

Upon hearing this topic, Chen Shanzhi couldn't help but be stunned.

Through his mask, he turned his head to look at Ouyang Wanqing standing in the center of the stone pavilion.

He saw that the Daughter of the Prime Minister turned slightly, her bright, autumn-water-like beautiful eyes meeting his gaze with a look that was half-smile, half-tease.

The corners of her lips curled up slightly, and that faint arc looked, no matter how one saw it, full of craftiness and triumph.

The implication was clear.

"When you were holding me in the carriage just now, didn't you repeatedly claim that the 'ode to the wild goose' was written for me?"

"Now, with everyone watching, I have personally set the stage for you."

"If you have the ability, then write that poem right here in front of all the scholars of the capital."

Chen Shanzhi couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. Damn, when did Ouyang Wanqing become so black-bellied?

His teeth ached a bit, and he subconsciously raised his right hand to touch the cold white jade mask on his face.

"Phew... Good thing I wore a mask today."

Behind the mask, Chen Shanzhi let out a breath of relief.

If he hadn't worn a mask today and was standing here as his true self, the Marquis of Zhenguo's heir, Chen Shanzhi...

...and then wrote this incredibly beautiful love poem for Ouyang Wanqing in public...

...it probably wouldn't take half an hour before the news grew wings and reached the ears of Murong Zhaoling and Tang Xiaowu.

At that point, what would greet him would definitely be the most terrifying and explosive super Shura field in all of Great Jiang!

His magnificent "Sea King" harem plan would likely overturn right here in the Prime Ministers Mansion's back garden before it even began, leading to social death.

"Good thing, good thing..."

Chen Shanzhi let out a long sigh of relief in his heart and patted his chest with some luck.

In the illusion world, it was Chen San who wrote this poem.

He, Chen Shanzhi, was a very principled scumbag.

What did the 'ode to the wild goose' written by Chen San have to do with him, the Marquis of Zhenguo's heir, Chen Shanzhi?

With a disguise in hand, I can conquer the world.

As long as the mask doesn't come off, he will always remain invincible.

Having figured this out, Chen Shanzhi returned to his slacker posture and raised his eyebrows at Ouyang Wanqing.

His gaze swept unscrupulously back and forth over her moving curves, outlined by her water-blue skirt.

This hooligan behavior made Ouyang Wanqing's pretty face under her veil flush slightly, and she shifted her gaze away in shy annoyance.

"Love?"

Compared to Chen Shanzhi's secret relief, the other scholars inside and outside the stone pavilion...

...were all stunned the moment they heard this somewhat rare topic.

In the past, when the Prime Ministers Mansion held a Poetry Gathering and Ouyang Wanqing set the topic, nine times out of ten it was about scenery.

Things like "Ode to Plum Blossoms," "Watching the Rain," or at the very least "Watching the Moon."

These were of high style, cold and aloof, perfectly fitting her status as the Daughter of the Prime Minister.

There were even a few guys who thought themselves clever, their eyes quietly darting over Ouyang Wanqing as they whispered their guesses:

"Do you think... Young Miss Ouyang suddenly set this topic because of the Emperor's imperial decree betrothing her to the First Prince a while ago?"

"The Young Miss doesn't say it, but in her heart, she is actually starting to yearn for love between a man and a woman?"

"Highly likely! After all, since ancient times, beauties love heroes; the First Prince is heroic and spirited, so it's only reasonable that Young Miss Ouyang's heart is stirred."

Hearing this discussion, the First Prince, standing not far away wearing an agarwood mask, couldn't help but have the corners of his eyes twitch slightly under the mask.

He stood stiffly in place, his hands trembling slightly inside his sleeves.

"She hasn't even met this Prince properly yet, and she's already yearning for me?"

"If this were true, I could laugh until my thighs break."

However, setting this topic was indeed beyond everyone's expectations.

The three "Green Literary Qi" works in the First Prince's mind were all about high mountains, flowing water, or battlefield slaughter!

Let alone "love," there wasn't even a mention of a female mosquito in them!

A layer of cold sweat faintly oozed from the First Prince's forehead, and he quickly searched his memory.

Finally, a "White Literary Qi" work written by one of the retainers in his manor surfaced in his mind.

It was a poem describing a resentful woman in her boudoir missing her husband who had traveled far away.

Although it wasn't as good as those three Green Literary Qi poems, it at least could touch upon this topic.

The First Prince turned his head to look at Zhang Yun beside him.

He saw that the First Scholar of the Capital was currently closing his eyes slightly.

He held a folding fan in his right hand, tapping it gently against his left palm, with a confident, winning smile on his face.

Zhang Yun had long admired Ouyang Wanqing, and in his spare time, he often wrote sappy poems in the dead of night to express his feelings.

Hearing this topic today was like returning to his home turf; inspiration surged in his mind like a spring.

He even considerately took into account that Ouyang Wanqing currently carried a royal betrothal to the First Prince.

The meaning of the poem couldn't be too explicit; it had to be subtle and elegant, using some obscure and refined words to express his admiration.

After only a dozen breaths of time, Zhang Yun opened his eyes, a smug arc curling at the corners of his mouth, and he picked up his brush to write rapidly on the rice paper.

"Damn it..."

Seeing this, the First Prince's heart skipped a beat.

This Zhang fellow seemed to have really squeezed out some incredible masterpiece.

Since things had come to this, the First Prince could only bite the bullet and hope that the poem written by his retainer would be slightly better in conception than the other's.

The time of one incense stick passed extremely quickly.

As the incense on the stone table burned out, the last wisp of smoke dissipated in the breeze.

Ouyang Wanqing slowly stepped forward, her beautiful eyes sweeping over the seven people in the pavilion, and her cold, clear voice rang out:

"Time is up, Young Masters, please present your calligraphy."

The scholars around the water pavilion gathered around, one by one stretching their necks, waiting for the birth of today's poetry champion.

The first to stand out were the four scholars who had been temporarily pulled in to make up the numbers.

Their poems were standard and mediocre, mostly full of flowery language but empty of substance.

They were nothing more than clichés like "red beans and lovesickness."

The scholars below, after listening, mostly just shook their heads politely.

Next, it was the turn of the First Prince, who was wearing the agarwood mask.

The First Prince stepped forward, coughed lightly, and in a somewhat hoarse voice, slowly recited the poem describing the boudoir resentment and longing.

When he recited the last two lines, many people around them brightened up and nodded slightly:

"These last two lines are written brilliantly; clearly filled with extreme longing, yet written in reverse, it has some flavor."

"Although I have never seen this brother wearing the agarwood mask before, I did not expect him to have such talent. Impressive, impressive!"

Listening to the unanimous praise around him, the First Prince quietly breathed a sigh of relief behind his mask and gave Zhang Yun a provocative look.

Zhang Yun just laughed contemptuously, waved his folding fan, and strode to the center of the stone pavilion.

He straightened his Confucian robe and bowed gently to Ouyang Wanqing.