Chapter 11: Lonely Burial Mound Faces Dusk

  Na Zhong Wenbo pretended to be deep in thought, but couldn't help sneaking a glance at Xiao Jia Ding from time to time.

  Xiao Jia Ding suddenly understood that this kid must have written poems on this topic before and thought they were quite good. It was laughable, no matter how good your poem is, can it surpass those of Li Bai and Du Fu?

  He walked seven steps slowly and stopped, turning his head to look at Zhong Wenbo: "How is it? Have you thought about it?"

  Zhong Wenbo immediately said: "This time, I can also make a poem in seven steps! Because I have already thought of it!"

  The crowd of scholars surrounded them, guessing that the two had already thought it through. They just didn't know whose poem was more powerful. One by one, they excitedly looked at them.

  Xiao Jiading said: "Alright, you go first."

  Zhong Wenbo nodded and cleared his throat, then recited loudly:

  One glance at the moon, one sigh of sorrow

  The moon moves, but man does not move with it.

  When shall I see the Han envoys?

  To send a letter and cut off the painter.

  Having finished reciting, he looked at Xiao Jia Ding with great satisfaction: "How is this poem? Can it still enter your noble eyes?"

  Before Xiao Jiading could speak, a soft voice came from the emerald jade building: "Gongzi Zhong, isn't this poem the one you won with at our Emerald Jade Building poetry gathering last time? Why are you deceiving an outsider with it?"

  Xiao Jiading looked up and saw that the second floor railing of Cuixiulou was already crowded with singing girls, among whom one was talking, her figure slender and elegant, charming and alluring, smiling at him.

  As soon as they saw her, almost everyone in the room gasped in surprise: "It's Ya Niang! The top courtesan of Cuixu Lou!"

  Xiao Jia Ding couldn't help but raise his head to take a closer look at the woman, and indeed she was born with a slender figure, beautiful appearance, full of enchanting charm, compared to those women, she was truly a crane standing among chickens, her beauty was unmatched.

  Zhong Wenbo couldn't help but smile awkwardly when he saw her, and cupped his hands in greeting: "Ah, it's Ya Niang, haha! Although this poem wasn't written now, it was indeed written by me. And didn't we agree that we wouldn't necessarily have to write a new poem on the spot? It's also okay to bring out an old one."

  The onlookers suddenly murmured in unison.

  Xiao Jia Ding smiled slightly and bowed to the woman on the building, saying: "Thank you for reminding me, but I've thought of a poem. Please listen, miss, and everyone present, and compare it with his winning piece."

  The woman upstairs smiled and said: "Young master's thoughts are quick-witted, seven steps to make a poem, Ya Niang admires it, listen carefully here."

  Xiao Jia Ding's drawn-out tone recited the most famous poem among all those with Wang Zhaojun as its theme, Du Fu's seven-character regulated verse "Yong Huai Gu Ji Wu Shou Zhi Yi":

  Mountains and rivers rush to Jingmen

  The village of Shengming Empress still exists.

  One goes to the purple platform, connected to the vast and desolate expanse.

  Alone I stand on the green mound, facing the yellow dusk.

  A portrait of a spring breeze on her face

  The moon's soul returns on a deserted night with a ring of jade pendant.

  A thousand strings of the pipa play barbarous tunes

  Obviously resentful of the tune's theory.

  This poem is the most beautiful one among those that lament Wang Zhaojun's fate, especially the line "alone leaving the green mound towards dusk", that desolate scene, after reading it, makes people feel sad and shed tears. Whether in terms of wording or ideological realm, it is much more brilliant than Zhong Wenbo's poem.

  After listening to Xiao Jiading's poem, the scholars in the field all exclaimed and applauded. The Ya Niang on the second floor was also amazed, and which woman would not love such a talented scholar? Especially for their song girls, they liked talented scholars even more. She couldn't help but show affection with her eyebrows and eyes, frequently sending autumn waves to Xiao Jiading.

  Zhong Wenbo felt a chill in his heart after listening, this poem of his was written not long ago at the Cuiyu Building poetry gathering, and it was by relying on this poem that he won first prize, thinking that he had already secured victory, but unexpectedly this scholar actually produced such a beautiful regulated verse, with an artistic conception far beyond what his own poem could compare to.

  The scholars in the arena all cheered in unison, just like a pot of oil had been poured into a cauldron, and suddenly it burst open, and they exclaimed loudly: "Xiao Gongzi's seven-character poem is far better than Zhong Gongzi's absolute sentence! This round, Xiao Gongzi wins again!"

  Zhong Wenbo looked around and found that no one was supporting him, his face turned iron-green, he looked up at Ya Niang on the second floor and cupped his hands: "Miss Ya Niang, what do you think?"

  This lady is the flower of Cuixiulou, and most of the girls in Cuixiulou are songstresses who sell their art but not their bodies. Among them, this lady's talent and beauty are unmatched; she excels at both singing and dancing, and can also compose lyrics and music, as well as recite poetry and couplets. Zhong Wenbo won the title of First Scholar of Yizhou through the Yizhou Poetry Society, so he is naturally a honored guest for this lady. Back then, when he won first prize with this poem at the Cuixiulou poetry gathering, it was she who strongly advocated for him, showing how much she admired this poem; perhaps now she can help speak up for herself.

  Ya Niang didn't look at him, still gazing tenderly at Xiao Jia Ding, and said in a sweet tone: "Xiao Gongzi, what do you think of this poem by Zhong Gongzi?"

  Xiao Jiading shrugged and recited Wang Rui's poem "Jie Zhaojun Yuan" from the Tang Dynasty:

  Don't blame the worker for his ugly appearance

  The Englishman dislikes being ordered around by his relatives.

  At that time, if she didn't marry the barbarian king,

  Just a dancer in the palace.

  Zhong Wenbo's poem, in the voice of Wang Zhaojun, concentrates all her anger on the court painter Mao Yanshou who humiliated her, making her look like a vicious and resentful woman. However, Xiao Jiading quotes a poem by Tang Dynasty poet Wang Rui, which says the opposite - that Wang Zhaojun should thank the wise king for sending her to marry, otherwise she would have ended up as just another palace maid. Xiao Jiading uses this poem to criticize Zhong Wenbo's depiction of Wang Zhaojun as a shrewish woman, and his criticism is quite biting.

  The elegant lady upstairs applauded and laughed loudly, saying: "Well said, extremely well said! Your thoughts are quick-witted, no wonder you're a talented poet who can compose a poem in seven steps! ——Zhong Gongzi, I highly agree with Xiao Gongzi's comment. Your Wang Zhaojun is just an old shrew who gets angry easily, while Xiao Gongzi's Wang Zhaojun is a woman whose tragic story brings tears to one's eyes. At first, I thought the resentment and hatred in your poem were reasonable and worthy of sympathy, but after hearing Xiao Gongzi's new work, the sorrowful and desolate feelings that evoke sympathy are even more compelling, yet without the cruelty in your poem. In terms of artistic conception, this is even better than your poem. Moreover, the few lines at the end where he critiques your poem are also an excellent Wang Zhaojun poem, which may not be inferior to yours. So, I think Xiao Gongzi's poem is slightly better than yours. This is a fair comment. Hehe!"

  When Ya Niang said this, the scholars who were watching couldn't help but burst out laughing and exclaimed that Ya Niang's comment was excellent.

  Zhong Wenbo's face turned iron-green, and he said to the book boy, "Put down the money, let's go!"

  Xiao Jiading called out to him: "Young Master Zhong, it seems you've forgotten to leave something behind!"

  Zhong Wenbo was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly understood and walked back, resentfully shoving the jade pendant into Xiao Jia Ding's hand.

  Next to him, Shu Sheng hid behind the crowd and shouted in a strange tone: "Want to run away? You said you'd lose and crawl into a ditch, but there's one more thing!"

  Zhong Wenbo's face suddenly changed, and he stared at Xiao Jiading with a dead gaze.

  Xiao Jiading had already clearly seen that the bookish person who spoke strangely was precisely the fat one who had first greeted him. It could be seen that this fat bookworm seemed to have a preconceived notion about Zhong Wenbo, so these few sentences were full of schadenfreude.

  People need face, trees need bark. Let's spare each other when we can. Xiao Jia Ding didn't want to overdo things either, so he smiled and said, "This is just Young Master Zhong joking around, don't take it seriously."

  Zhong Wenbo finally let out a sigh of relief, feeling a little grateful in his heart. He wiped his sleeve with one hand and bowed to Xiao Jia Ding with the other, then turned around and quickly walked away with Shu Tong and his attendants.

  Xiao Jiading hung the jade pendant on the flag, a string of copper coins on his arm, looked up at Ya Niang and smiled: "Thank you, miss!"

  Yan Niang smiled sweetly and gave him a flirtatious glance, saying: "Xiao Gongzi, you're so skilled, you've already made a lot of money. Your true abilities are impressive, but even the famous Zhong Wenbo, known as the number one scholar in Yi State, was defeated by you. Your betting capital is also substantial, and I'm afraid there won't be anyone else who dares to come out and compete with you again. If you stay there, you might end up standing alone. Why not come in and have a cup of wine? Let Yan Niang perform a song and dance for you, and we can exchange poetry as well. The only thing is, I don't have much money, so if I lose, all I can offer you is... Hehe."

  She didn't say anything after that, but the sweet and charming expression on her face was enough to make people understand what she was going to say next. Not saying it actually made people's imagination run wild more than if she had said it out loud.

  Xiao Jia Ding gazed at her slender and delicate body, and couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, but in his heart he thought: "The money I have is for building connections and doing favors, if I were to enter your golden house, I'm afraid there would be nothing left. Let's just forget it for now." He smiled and said: "Thank you, Ya Niang, for your kind intentions, but today I still have matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave. Another day, when I'm free, I'll come visit you again."

  Just now, Ya Niang said it was right, she defeated the number one talented person in Yi State, and now the bet is so big. Those scholars who were watching were just standing there discussing, looking at her with eyes of admiration, envy, and jealousy, but no one came out to challenge her again, not even anyone who seemed eager to try. So, it's also a waste of time here, anyway, the money earned this time is almost enough. It's better to leave now, otherwise, she would be treated like a monkey in a zoo.

  Yan Niang was eating and laughing upstairs, and again threw a flirtatious glance, saying: "Alright, then it's settled! Yan Niang will tidy up the room and wait for Master Xiao to arrive. Can't let Yan Niang be disappointed!"

  Xiao Jiading smiled slightly, nodded: "It's settled!" Then he hung the nearly eight taels of copper coins on his own shoulders, covered with a flag, bowed to the surrounding scholars, and smiled at Ya Niang upstairs before leaving.

  He took out one guan from the eight guans of copper coins, added this jade pendant worth nine guans, making a total value of ten guans. With that, he could pull some strings and it would be equivalent to 50,000 yuan in Renminbi. He should be able to secure a position as a clerk in a government office. Of course, he had to thank Du Er's grandfather with one guan, leaving him with about six guans, which should cover his expenses for the time being. Once he got into the government office, he would have an income and wouldn't have to worry about food anymore.

  Xiao Jia Ding hummed a little tune, feeling content and walking back, had already left Cuixiulou far behind, when he suddenly heard someone calling out from behind: "Brother Xiao! Please stop!"