Chapter 4: Warm Sand, Sleeping Mandarin Ducks

  Xiao Jiading whispered the flaws in their poems to them, and Du Erniu carefully remembered them. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, Xiao Jiading called out to her again, saying: "If you need to make up more poems later, do you want me to help?"

  "Of course! Of course! Thank you!"

  Xiao Jiading nodded towards the riverbank and said, "This place is too conspicuous. Later, I'll hide over there, you pretend to be thinking, and come alone to the riverbank. I'll teach you!"

  "Go! Thank you! By the way, what's your name, big brother?"

  "You're asking for my name now?" Xiao Jiading said with a smirk, "My surname is Xiao, and I'm Xiao Jianding."

  "Remember, thank you, Xiao Da Ge!" After that, Pang Ni turned around and was about to leave.

  "Wait!" Xiao Jiading called out to her again, "I'm hungry, but I don't have the heart to think about poetry..."

  "I'll bring you some delicious food when I come back later!"

  "This is almost it. Go!"

  After the two beauties left, Xiao Jia Ding glanced at the talented men and women who were still discussing poetry sentences, without noticing this side, quietly got up and left. After walking out of their sight, he turned around and returned to the original place along the riverbank. In a low-lying area by the river, he lay down on his back, so that the people on the peach tree side couldn't see him. But he could hear their voices.

  Xiao Jiading had already thought it through, before crossing over he was a lawyer, in ancient times the status of a litigator was very low, to help people with lawsuits they would have to endure being beaten with a board first, so this line of work was not something to be continued. He studied legal history and had done extensive research on Tang Dynasty laws, his foundation in classical Chinese was also good. Getting mixed up in the government office to eat public food was the best choice. Now that this chubby girl has connections with the county government office, he wants to think of a way to get into the county government office, this opportunity cannot be let go. To get others to help him, he must first help them, this is called killing two birds with one stone, finding his place and getting familiar with the situation.

  "Ji's wife, under the peach tree in the distance, said: 'The fragrant horse is about to burn out, only Er Niang has not written it out yet. If you still can't think of it, you'll have to be fined three cups of wine!'"

  Everyone burst out laughing.

  Du Er Nian's face turned red, and she thought about the poem that Xiao Jia Ding had just taught her again in her heart. She said: "I've also come up with one, write it down, don't laugh at me!"

  That handsome Tang Rongxuan fanned himself with a folding fan and said, "Er Niu is a slow worker who produces fine works! It's only come up with it now, it must be an extraordinary good poem! We're ready to appreciate Er Niu's eternal masterpiece!"

  In the past, Du Erniang could only come up with some shameless and cheesy poems, so when Tang Rongxuan said this, everyone heard it as a joke and burst out laughing.

  Du Er Niu glared at him fiercely, walked up, and started writing with her brush.

  Tang Rongxuan shook his head and recited loudly on the side:

  The beauty of the rivers and mountains will be delayed

  Spring breeze, flowers and grass fragrance...

  He had just finished reciting these two sentences, and his face, which was originally filled with ridicule and sarcasm, suddenly changed to shock. He stopped shaking his head and stared at the others. They also stared at him, and for a moment, they were all stunned.

  Mrs. Ji, on the other hand, was beaming with joy and commented: "The day is late, it's already spring. The Book of Songs, Feng chapter, 'Seventh Month' says: 'Spring days are slow', this first sentence has captured the subtlety of early spring, making one's eyes light up, and before one's eyes appears a scene full of spring atmosphere. The second sentence, although plain, yet when read together with the first sentence, becomes another subtle nuance, after reading these two sentences, the gentle breeze, blooming flowers, and fragrance carried by the wind, all appear vividly before one's eyes."

  Madam Ji's comment made those few talented men and women look even more embarrassed, with awkward smiles spreading across their faces.

  Tang Rongxuan looked at the last two sentences, but felt even more embarrassed and didn't dare to read them out loud. It was Huang Shiyun who stepped forward with a smile and slowly recited the last two sentences written by Du Erniu:

  Muddy swallows flying.

  Soft sandy beach, sleeping mandarin ducks.

  Huang Shiyun applauded as soon as she finished reading, her words full of surprise: "The two characters 'mud' and 'fusion' are used most cleverly. The spring swallow builds its nest with mud, isn't the mud soft? And the character 'fusion' just happens to describe the scene of early spring when the earth is warm and the ice and snow melt away. The flying posture of the swallow is also extremely wonderful, depicting the light and agile posture of the purple swallow building its nest under the eaves with a most ordinary word 'fly', it can be seen that the skill of writing poetry lies not in the words, but in the subtlety!"

  Mrs. Ji nodded with joy: "Yes, the last sentence, 'sand warm sleeping mandarin ducks', this warmth comes from the previous spring day, the spring day thaws and merges, the sandbank is naturally warm, the mandarin ducks lie there, enjoying the warm sunshine of early spring, this scene, it's really wonderful!"

  Huang Shiyun followed with praise: "This last sentence and the third sentence, one mandarin duck sleeps, one spring swallow flies, one still and one moving, complement each other. And paired with the first and second sentences' bold outline of a vast and beautiful landscape, it's truly a wonderful early spring scene. The whole poem is bright and distant, with well-crafted couplets, clear and elegant, without any flaws. It's really a great poem worthy of being called a masterpiece! —— Second Sister, relying on this one poem alone, the title of Yizhou's number one talented woman should belong to you, I'm ashamed to be inferior to you, sister!"

  Several others also nodded in agreement and admiration.

  Tang Rongxuan's face turned red with confusion as he looked at Du Erniu and asked, "Is this poem really written by you?"

  "Is that so? What's wrong? Can't I write a good poem?" Du Er Niu looked up at him with her plump and pretty face, not feeling the slightest bit guilty.

  "No, no, hehe, I didn't mean it that way, it's just that you used to..."

  Huang Shi-yun said: "The past is the past, now is now. Now this poem by Er Niu is the best! I think it should be marked as the top! - Right? Ji Fu-ren."

  Madam Ji smiled and nodded: "Your two poems with Tang Gongzi are also very good, and the others are not bad either. However, to be fair, Er Niu's is a notch better than yours. Indeed, it can be considered the best this time. What do you all think?"

  The others all nodded in sincere admiration.

  Na Tang Rongxuan looked embarrassed and said, "Recite another one, how is it?"

  Madam Ji said: "Don't be in a hurry, let's first reward the champion and penalize the last one, then we'll continue. Bring the prize!"

  A little maid beside her quickly took out a gold-painted brocade box, opened it, and inside were stacks of copper coins strung together with fine strings. This was the share of money contributed by members of their poetry club, awarded to whoever won first prize in each poetry competition, one thousand wen per time, equivalent to five thousand yuan.

  (This book sets the price of Tang Dynasty currency equivalent to modern times as one wén copper coin equal to five yuan RMB.)

  Mrs. Shi took out a string of cash and handed it to Du Er Niu: "Here's your lucky money! Keep up the good work!"

  "Thank you!" Du Er Niu's face bloomed with joy, this was the first time she had received praise for her poetry since joining the poetry club, and also the first time she had won first prize. The excitement in her heart was indescribable.

  Mrs. Ji said: "Before the incense is finished, everyone has made their move, but we must evaluate and penalize the last two with a drink. In my opinion..." Her gaze fell on the other two men and women.

  Du Erniao hastily said: "I think the last two should be Sister Huang and Tang Gongzi! Sister Huang is second to last, Tang Gongzi is last!"

  As soon as this was said, everyone in the audience was stunned. Especially Huang Shiyun, her pretty face turned red, before that, when it came to poetry, she was not the first or the second, and had never been at the bottom. But now these two girls say she is one of the last two, and she can't help but feel embarrassed on her face. However, Du Erniu's excellent poem just now has already made her look at her in a new light, and she also wants to hear what she has to say.

  Na Tong Rongxuan couldn't take it anymore, but for a moment didn't know what to say. Under the oppression, he shook his folding fan and fanned himself vigorously twice. Unexpectedly, this early spring was originally cold, and he had been shaking his folding fan from time to time to appear elegant, unknowingly catching a chill. Now, as he shook it again, the cool air entered his nostrils, making him itch uncontrollably, and he let out an "ah-choo" with a loud sneeze. This sudden movement caused even the folding fan in his hand to fall.

  Du Er Niu burst out laughing and said: "Just now, Xiao... uh, that farmer brother reminded you that the weather is still cool, don't shake the fan, be careful not to catch a cold. You didn't listen, how's it? Did you get a chill? Hehe"

  Tang Rongxuan's book boy hastily handed him a handkerchief to wipe his nose.

  Tang Rongxuan cupped his hands and said, "Second sister, you say my poem is ranked last. I'd like to ask for your guidance. What's wrong with this poem of mine that it has to be placed at the bottom?"

  "I have my reasons for saying so. --- For this time's poetry assignment, Madam Ji said to take the current spring scenery as the topic, right?"

  "Yes..." As he said this, Tang Rongxuan felt a faint sense of unease.

  Du Erniu triumphantly picked up Tang Rongxuan's poem and read it aloud: "'The wind is light, the curtains are flying' - since we are limited to the spring colors in front of us, may I ask where the curtains are in front of us?"

  "This... this is just an imagination..."

  "That's off-topic! If there were no restrictions on the topic, you could think whatever you want, but since there are restrictions, of course we should follow the topic, right?"

  In the poetry club, among those with relatively poor levels, there is Jiang Feng's son, Jiang Chengqian. Just now, when commenting on his poem, it was found to be mediocre and unremarkable. Originally, they had hoped that Du Erniu would come in last, but now that she has taken first place, it seems that he will have to take the bottom spot instead. Feeling disheartened, upon hearing Du Erniu's words, his eyes suddenly lit up. This Tang Rongxuan is arrogant about his literary talent and usually looks down on them; if they can make him lose face once, that would be great. He quickly chimed in: "Right! Since the topic has been restricted, it's only natural to follow it strictly. In Du Erniu's poem, everything - spring day, mountains, water, flowers, swallows, sandy islets, and mandarin ducks - is all present before our eyes. But in your poem, the curtain is something that can only be found at home, and there isn't any in this peach grove. That means it doesn't match the topic!"

  Tang Rongxuan's face turned red as he said, "Then where is the fusion of mud in her poem? Who has seen flying swallows with fusion of mud in their mouths?"

  Madam Ji frowned slightly as she listened to his excuses, saying: "Tang Gongzi, you're not right about this. When a swallow flies to the riverbank, it's to pick up mud to build its nest - everyone knows that. Do we need to catch one to see if it does? Even if it doesn't, it's still a reasonable imagination. Your explanation is off the point. Originally, I also thought it was off-topic, but since your poem's scenery and atmosphere were not bad, I didn't say anything."