Nian Jiaojiao. Ru Meng Ling.
Last night, the rain was sparse and the wind was strong, and my deep sleep did not dispel the lingering wine.
I asked the one rolling up the curtain, and she said the begonias were still the same.
Do you know, do you know? It should be the green growing fat and the red wilting thin.
Tong Fu read the entire poem and felt it was unfathomable. She had just begun to learn poetry and could not judge its quality.
After Nian Jiaojiao finished writing, the incense burned out, and the green-clothed male attendant immediately stepped forward to carefully collect everyone's Xuan paper and then stood behind the brocade-clad woman.
"Please take a short rest, everyone."
The Tong students began to eat and drink, while the scholars in the pavilion were still diligently writing.
Given the large number of participants, they were afraid they wouldn't be able to appreciate all the poems. The Tong students had only recently begun learning poetry, so for the writing of the Full Moon poem this time, only scholars and those with poetic talent were invited to participate.
Nian Jiaojiao was a little puzzled, where were the promised "love poems"?
However, she quickly put it out of her mind and chatted with Tong Fu.
...
In the main pavilion, they had already begun to review the poems that were being sent in one after another.
"County Magistrate Cheng, do you have any poems you fancy on your side?"
County Magistrate Cheng glanced at the other person and said,
"Not yet."
They were currently looking at the poems sent by the Tong students, and the probability of encountering good poems was relatively low.
As the two were chatting, they were suddenly interrupted by a burst of laughter.
"Hahahaha, hahaha!"
"County Magistrate Tan, what is making you so joyful?"
The person next to him, seeing this county magistrate laughing heartily and slapping the table, couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Hahaha, I'm sorry, I, haha, lost my composure," County Magistrate Tan said, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes while laughing.
"Ah, look, that's the county magistrate of Liuliu Town, Tan Tang."
The person next to County Magistrate Cheng whispered in her ear.
County Magistrate Cheng confirmed,
"It is that County Magistrate Tan."
"Yes, that's right, it's that County Magistrate Tan!"
Speaking of this County Magistrate Tan, she was quite an oddity. Normally, officials paid great attention to their performance evaluations, but this County Magistrate Tan was always slacking off.
Once, when a serial murder case occurred in Liuliu Town, killing over ten people, this County Magistrate Tan merely instructed her subordinates to investigate the case normally and did not request reinforcements from Fengcheng. This ultimately led to nearly 50 casualties, attracting the attention of the Fengcheng City Lord, who then sent people to assist in the investigation and resolve the matter.
It was said that the Fengcheng City Lord severely reprimanded her at the time, but she was as unyielding as a dead pig that fears boiling water, stating directly: "I didn't kill them, so what does it have to do with me."
When this statement spread, everyone was stunned.
They had never seen such an irresponsible and shameless person.
From then on, County Magistrate Tan became completely famous within the Fengcheng sphere of influence.
"It's just that she has some relationship with the Fengcheng City Lord, otherwise, how could she be so unscrupulous? Look at her, with so many colleagues around, her behavior is completely unacceptable."
County Magistrate Cheng shook her head after hearing this, "We just need to manage ourselves. This is someone who is completely reckless, and there's no need to make an enemy of her."
The bystander nodded in agreement.
At this moment, the Deputy City Lord, who was sitting in the main seat, addressed County Magistrate Tan,
"Oh? Is there something amusing, Niece Tan? Perhaps you could share it with everyone."
The Fengcheng City Lord frowned and said to Tan Tang,
"Tan Tang, mind your decorum."
The Deputy City Lord, however, disagreed and said to the City Lord with a smile,
"Eh, City Lord Ying, your words are a bit harsh. On this Full Moon festival, we're just looking for a joyous occasion. If there's something happy, let everyone hear it!"
Upon hearing this, City Lord Ying no longer objected.
Tan Tang cleared her throat, stood up, bowed to both City Lords, and said,
"Good evening to both City Lords and all my colleagues. The reason for my laughter just now is because of this poem that was submitted. Well, let's call it a poem of melancholy. I will recite it for everyone here. Please, um, appreciate it together."
Tan Tang suppressed her laughter and recited with emotion:
"Not going, not going, yet I went."
City Lord Ying's eyes twitched as soon as she heard this, having a bad premonition.
As expected, Tan Tang continued with great emotion:
"Not drinking, not drinking, yet I drank."
"Drinking, drinking, and drank more."
"Staggering, staggering, I went home."
"Entering the door, I was scolded."
"Falling asleep to the scolding."
"Falling asleep, I woke up thirsty."
"After drinking water, I slept again."
"Waking up in the morning, I regretted it."
"Having wine at night, I slept again."
Everyone fell silent after listening, and then a wave of roaring laughter erupted.
County Magistrate Tan waited with a smile until everyone had finished laughing, then calmly and slowly said,
"Oh, I haven't mentioned the inscription yet. Um, Wang Zhilan, Year 1157 of the Great Moon, with feelings on the melancholy of the Full Moon festival."
As soon as she said this, the smiles of everyone in the pavilion froze. Wang Zhilan seemed to be... the daughter of Deputy City Lord Wang.
Everyone's gaze kept darting towards Deputy City Lord Wang in the upper seat.
At this moment, Deputy City Lord Wang's smile was gone, and her face had turned somewhat ashen. The atmosphere in the main pavilion suddenly turned cold.
City Lord Ying, with a smile, said in a blaming tone,
"Tan Tang, shouldn't you return to your seat?"
After saying that, she turned to Deputy City Lord Wang and said,
"Deputy City Lord Wang, County Magistrate Tan has been impolite about this matter. However, on this joyous Full Moon festival, everyone is just looking for happiness, wouldn't you agree?"
This was returning Deputy City Lord Wang's own words to her.
Deputy City Lord Wang forced a smile and said,
"The City Lord is right."
As County Magistrate Tan returned to her seat, she "muttering to herself" in a voice that most people could hear:
"How strange. I didn't intend to say it, but now that I have, people are unhappy. Should I say it or not..."
City Lord Ying: ...
Everyone: ...
The atmosphere in the venue was somewhat tense. Everyone lowered their heads to review the poems again, and for a while, only the sound of rustling paper could be heard.
After a while, a startled exclamation broke the silence again.
"Huh?!"
"County Magistrate Feng, your..."
The person next to her dared not ask directly, fearing that another poem like Deputy City Lord Wang's daughter's would appear.
County Magistrate Feng seemed a bit excited. She directly stood up and reported to the two City Lords.
"City Lords, I have a masterpiece here. Please, everyone, appreciate it."
Deputy City Lord Wang had no interest in speaking further at this moment, so City Lord Ying said,
"Recite it, and let everyone appreciate it."
"Yes!"
County Magistrate Feng recited the poem with great care:
"Last night, the rain was sparse and the wind was strong, and my deep sleep did not dispel the lingering wine.
I asked the one rolling up the curtain, and she said the begonias were still the same.
Do you know, do you know? It should be the green growing fat and the red wilting thin."
After the poem was recited, the scene fell silent again.
This time, they were not stunned but immersed in the artistic conception of the poem. After a long pause, City Lord Ying began to clap, bringing everyone back to their senses.
"Clap clap clap!"
"Excellent! What do you all think of this poem?楼主 Ji, as the楼主 of Mingyue Tower, why don't you offer your appraisal for everyone?"
The楼主 Ji, who was called upon by City Lord Ying, sat in the first seat to the right of the main seat, clearly holding a significant position in this Fengcheng.
Mingyue Tower was not only present in Fengcheng.
It also existed in many cities of the Great Moon Dynasty.
It was more like an organization.
As for its backing, some rumored it was supported by the royal family, but the truth of this remained unknown.
In short, it was a widely recognized fact that Mingyue Tower had powerful backing.