Chapter 890 - 892: The Special Puzzle of the Huainan King _1
When the judges read Bai Ruozhu’s poem, she noticed many people perking up their ears to listen, evidently, her "Lime Poem" from yesterday had made quite an impression.
Initially, she had intended to rank within the top ten and leave it at that, as she didn’t harbor any desire for fame or success, but now, she realized she couldn’t just slack off, or else yesterday’s poem would seem insincere.
After hearing her poem, the crowd couldn’t help but applaud, and Lin Xufei looked at her with a gleam in his eyes, even sighing and saying, "To follow after Miss Bai, really is my bad luck."
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh, replying, "To be before Young Master Lin, having his talent as a comparison, that is what I call bad luck."
The person behind Lin Xufei then wailed, "Stop being so modest, you two, I’m the truly unlucky one, okay?"
It seemed this person didn’t have much of a reputation, and wasn’t seen in the top five in previous competitions; with a face full of bitterness, his eyes squinted as if revealing his true thoughts.
Bai Ruozhu chuckled aloud, unable to contain her amusement at his expression.
The judges read her poem and then continued with Lin Xufei’s, with everyone praising the good poetry, indicating Lin Xufei’s literary talent was quite commendable, though not heaven-defying like Tang Feng’s.
The results of the first round were quickly announced, and the person who had called himself the unluckiest was indeed eliminated, not advancing to the second round. Before leaving the testing ground, his bitter expression was gone, and he mirthfully said, "To have witnessed the elegance of Jiangnan’s four outstanding scholars including Lin Xufei and Beiyu’s top talented lady Bai Ruozhu is enough for me."
After saying his piece, he walked off with a grin, leaving Bai Ruozhu stunned behind him. Beiyu’s top talented lady... such a grand title, but what talent did she have? A talent for wealth, more like, a girl greedy for money...
"For the second round, the theme is the expression of one’s aspirations through an object, with ’bamboo’ as the topic. The poem must not include the word ’bamboo,’ and the top ten will advance to the third round," the judges announced loudly.
Suddenly, everyone turned to look at Bai Ruozhu. Was this a coincidence? Her name did contain the character for ’bamboo.’
Bai Ruozhu inwardly smiled wryly, sure that it was a coincidence. If it were about rocks, she could have written the same one she did in yesterday’s calligraphy competition.
The competition had already begun, and no one dared delay, each promptly burying themselves in writing. Bai Ruozhu pondered for a moment and wrote two lines of poetry:
Clamped firmly to the green mountain I shall not relent, as my roots are planted in the fractured stone.
Though pounded thousands of times I remain steadfast, against your winds from all directions I stand.
This time, her writing carried a rebellious air, suggesting that no matter the winds from the southeast or northwest, they would not bring down Bai Ruozhu.
She hung up her poem, and nearby Lin Xufei quickly finished and displayed his own. Glancing over at Bai Ruozhu’s poem, his face showed admiration, but due to the competition rules against speaking, he simply nodded at her.
Bai Ruozhu caught sight of his poem and also revealed a look of appreciation, nodding slightly in return.
Soon, the second round came to an end, and the judges began reading the poems when suddenly there came a commotion, followed by a loud announcement: "The Huainan King has arrived!"
As the Huainan King’s fief was within this part of Jiangnan, he was effectively the highest authority here, so his arrival understandably drew much attention.
Bai Ruozhu had never seen the Huainan King before, and from a distance, she saw a imposing middle-aged man, clearly of a military background.
The Huainan King, Lin Zhanpeng, was a noble of non-imperial blood, ennobled for military merits, even given a fief, a rather rare honor in Danliang Country.
Lin Xufei straightened up a bit more, because with the arrival of his father, he became even more serious. Bai Ruozhu could feel Lin Xufei’s change, the admiration in his gaze, and she could guess that Lin Xufei wanted to perform even better in front of his father.
"I came here on a whim and didn’t announce my visit, so please, everyone continue without formalities and proceed with the competition," said the Huainan King to the organizing committee. No sooner had he spoken than a seat at the head of the judges’ table was offered to him, which he strode over to and took his place.
His crisp and decisive actions left Bai Ruozhu with a sense of admiration; he was, after all, a war god forged on the battlefield.
The referee, having received the order, resumed reading the poems. Soon, the poems of twenty contestants were read, and the judges began their evaluation. However, this time they consulted the Huainan King, who waved his hand and said, "Judge as you see fit; do you think I haven’t got trust in the expertise of you scholars?"
The judges were extremely pleased to hear this, stroking their beards in thanks, and then continued with the selection process.
In the end, as expected, Bai Ruozhu, her second brother, and Lin Xufei all made it into the top ten. Of course, Tang Feng, Wang Xuan, and Ding Guangji also entered the top ten, with the remaining spots taken by individuals Bai Ruozhu was unfamiliar with.
"The third round..." the referee started, only to be interrupted by Lin Zhanpeng, who raised his hand and said, "I’ve just visited a friend and received a rather interesting riddle. I thought it could make for an intriguing final round for the Poetry Conference. What do you think, judges?"
"This..." Someone hesitated, considering that Huainan King’s son was in the competition, which might lead to complaints about fairness and integrity.
The Huainan King burst into laughter, handing a slip of paper to a judge and then said, "I, Lin Zhanpeng, have no interest in cheating for my son. You can all rest assured; the boy hasn’t seen this riddle, and he had no idea I was coming today."
Upon hearing him say this, everyone heaved a sigh of relief, yet felt a bit embarrassed, as if their previous concerns had belied a lack of trust.
With the Huainan King’s statement, none of the judges felt comfortable objecting. They had the riddle on the slip of paper read out loud and even had it written down on new paper to ensure clarity for the contestants, and displayed it for all to see.
"This poem is a riddle in itself, using this riddle as the inspiration for a poem is also a test of everyone’s intellect," Lin Zhanpeng said with a smile.
Lin Zhanpeng’s riddle was read aloud:
Rain beats the lamp yet it won’t go out; wind blows, its light only more stout.
Should it fly to the heavens high, surely it would become a star by the moon’s side.
However, Bai Ruozhu subconsciously shivered. She was worried that the riddle was too difficult and that she wouldn’t be able to solve it, let alone compose a poem. Yet, to her surprise, the poem was familiar to her; it was one of Li Bai’s that she had read in her previous life!
Her heart was nervous and excited at once. She knew that in this era, no one knew of Li Bai, and since many of the ancient poems she knew were unrecorded here, she dared to use them. But if someone recognized Li Bai’s poetry, could they expose her?
Moreover, she wondered if this other person who knew the works of Li Bai might be from her own time, a fellow time traveler?
The unexpected arrival of the Huainan King, bringing with her such shocking news, left her mind in turmoil, and she forgot to consider how to compose her follow-up poem.
Not far away, Bai Zepei saw her distress and grew anxious, thinking whether to hint at the answer to her. Wasn’t that against the rules, though, and what if she was spotted by the referee or the judges? He glanced over and saw the eagle-eyed Huainan King on the stage.
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I made a mistake in the previous Chapter; the first round was about writing scenery, which Mouka has already corrected. I pondered over the material for a long time for this, but alas, Mouka is no poet, or else I could have tried showing off my poetic skills, hehe~