Relieving the Siege

Li Nuo's gaze narrowed.

The gift his wife had prepared was supposed to be a pair of Jade Ruyi, but now they had become two stones.

Someone had switched their birthday gift!

He immediately glanced at the maid who had already withdrawn. Her expression seemed perfectly normal, so it probably wasn't her. As a servant of the Song Family, she wouldn't have dared do such a thing.

The important thing now wasn't who had switched the gift.

At that moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on them, waiting for the two of them to step forward and offer their birthday wishes. If they really presented these two stones, they would lose face, and worse, ruin Old Madam Song's birthday banquet. The consequences would be far more serious.

Song Jiaren had clearly thought of this too. Her usually calm and composed face showed a hint of helplessness.

Li Nuo's mind raced as he tried to think of a way out of their predicament. Everyone was watching them; there was no time to prepare anything else. Should he go up and perform some talent?

But he didn't have many talents, and they were all borrowed from other people. He couldn't exactly go up there and demonstrate how to comb hair or kick a shuttlecock for Old Madam Song...

If all else failed, he could always show off some fancy shuttlecock tricks. In that instant, he had even choreographed a whole routine in his head. He turned, intending to borrow Song Mu'er's shuttlecock, when his gaze swept over Song Qian's refined and scholarly husband. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him...

Just as Song Jiaren was at a loss, someone suddenly took her hand.

Li Nuo led Song Jiaren over to Old Madam Song and said with a smile, "Jiaren and I also have a poem to offer Old Madam Song. May the daylilies bloom year after year, and may the pines and cranes enjoy long life..."

"A poem?"

The guests in the hall were taken aback.

After all, the beautiful woman already had a birthday gift in her hands, while her foolish husband had inexplicably decided to offer a poem. No one knew what was going on.

But even more surprising was that Chang'an's most famous fool didn't seem all that foolish. He wasn't drooling or chuckling like an idiot. His speech was fluent, his diction clear, and he seemed no different from an ordinary person.

He was handsome to begin with. Setting aside what was inside, just looking at his face, he really did make a good match for the Song Family's cherished daughter.

"A poem?"

The Song Family members were startled.

They knew exactly what their own young lady was like. Jiaren had exceptional talent in the Martial Dao, but she had never liked studying since childhood. She could barely recognize many characters, so there was no way she could compose a poem. And Li Nuo's foolishness was famous throughout Chang'an. What kind of poem could the two of them come up with together?

In that regard, they were quite a match.

"May the daylilies bloom year after year, and may the pines and cranes enjoy long life..." The couple could think for eight hundred years and still never come up with those lines.

Could Li Xuanjing have taught them to say that?

If Li Xuanjing had composed the poem for them, then everything made sense.

At that moment, the Song Family members were extremely anxious. It wasn't that they didn't trust Li Xuanjing; they didn't trust Li Nuo. Even if Li Xuanjing had composed the poem, his foolish son might not be able to recite it correctly.

The Song Family had spent a long time preparing for Old Madam Song's sixtieth birthday. Nothing could go wrong.

Song Jiaren was just as bewildered, but all she could do was stand quietly beside Li Nuo.

Li Nuo smiled at Old Madam Song and recited in a rich, resonant voice, "May five blessings fill your home, and may each rare delicacy grace this splendid feast. From now on, hold fast to the spring breeze and smile; be an immortal of longevity in this world."

As a liberal arts student, Li Nuo had taken an interest in classical poetry and had studied quite a bit of it.

He could recite many of the timeless masterpieces that had been passed down through the ages.

But birthday poems were an exceedingly obscure category, and Li Nuo could remember only one.

More precisely, half of one.

There were supposed to be a few lines between the first two and the last two, but he couldn't recall them. All he could do was cobble together a quatrain. He had even forgotten the poet's name, though he vaguely remembered the man's surname was Li.

He muttered inwardly, We're all from the Li family. Come on, give me a hand in my hour of need...

After Li Nuo finished reciting the poem, the Song Family members finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness. At least he hadn't made a mistake.

They didn't really know whether the poem was good, but it sounded quite nice. Especially the last line: "From now on, hold fast to the spring breeze and smile; be an immortal of longevity in this world." Spring breeze, longevity, smiling, immortality—how auspicious...

As expected of Li Xuanjing. Even those who knew nothing about poetry could tell this had to be a good poem.

At the same time, the Song Family's guests thought the same.

Those who knew poetry, in particular, immediately sensed the difference between this poem and the one Song Qian's husband had recited.

The first two lines described the birthday banquet, while the last two built toward a blessing. The theme was clear, and the progression was smooth. The final two lines, in particular, were catchy and heartfelt. They could very well become famous lines, passed down from generation to generation...

Truly worthy of Li Xuanjing!

Someone couldn't help speaking up.

"Good poem, good poem!"

"'From now on, hold fast to the spring breeze and smile; be an immortal of longevity in this world.' As expected, these birthday verses will be passed down for all eternity..."

The Song Family members could tell that the poem was quite good, but they hadn't expected the few Confucian school guests to praise it so highly, even saying it would be passed down for all eternity.

A human life lasted only a few short decades, and in the end, it all came down to fame and fortune. Who wouldn't want to be remembered for all eternity?

So the most precious gift at Old Madam Song's birthday banquet was actually this poem?

For a moment, everyone's gaze toward Li Nuo and Song Jiaren changed.

Li Nuo wasn't worried about the poem's content.

If something written by an ancient had survived for hundreds or even thousands of years and reached the hands of a modern person like him, its quality had already stood the test of time.

Among the Song Family's guests, there were clearly people who knew their stuff.

With the crisis averted, Li Nuo thanked this elder of the Li family for his help. He was just about to lead Song Jiaren away when someone beside them suddenly spoke up. "The two of you are giving Grandmother only a poem?"

Li Nuo turned to look. The speaker was a woman named Song Qian.

She was the daughter of Song Jiaren's second uncle, Song Lian, and Song Jiaren's older female cousin.

The Song Family members' expressions changed as soon as they heard her.

Song Lian even wished he could sew his daughter's mouth shut.

For a fool to recite a poem from beginning to end without ruining Old Madam Song's birthday banquet was already a blessing from heaven. Yet she had gone and made things difficult for him. Did she think the banquet was going too smoothly?

Old Madam Song chuckled and came to Li Nuo and Song Jiaren's rescue. "They're husband and wife, so one gift between them is enough. I like this poem very much. I'll give you two these pearls. May your lives be round and whole, and may you cherish each other."

She smiled as she took the pearls Song Jin and his wife had presented from the box, placing one in Li Nuo's hand and the other in Song Jiaren's.

Song Lian breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed Old Madam Song truly liked their gift. Tonight, they were the first juniors to receive a return gift from her.

Seeing how protective Grandmother was of Song Jiaren, Song Qian pouted and muttered, "They're husband and wife, but so are other people. Why are they the only ones treated specially..."

Song Qian was deeply indignant.

Before Jiaren was born, she had been the apple of the Song Family's eye.

Everyone had doted on her and indulged her.

But after Jiaren was born, especially once she revealed her astonishing talent in the Martial Dao, she became the center of attention wherever she went.

Whenever people mentioned the Song Manor's young lady, they thought only of Song Jiaren. No one knew Song Qian.

That was why she had never liked her younger female cousin.

The only thing that made her feel better was that she had married a good husband, while Song Jiaren had married a fool. Whenever she thought of that, she felt better.

Until tonight. Seeing Song Jiaren and her husband steal the show at their grandmother's birthday banquet had stirred up Song Qian's bitterness again, and she couldn't help muttering.

Song Qian's voice was quiet, but the people nearby still heard her.

The atmosphere in the birthday hall turned awkward.

Song Lian's face darkened, but in front of everyone, he couldn't scold his daughter. That would only spoil the mood even more.

As the awkwardness began to spread, Li Nuo cleared his throat and said, "Actually, that poem just now was written by Jiaren. I have another poem to offer Old Madam Song..."

The Song Family members glanced at Song Jiaren. They didn't believe the first half of what Li Nuo had said.

Jiaren composing a poem was about as likely as the sun rising in the west.

Could it be that Li Xuanjing had anticipated this situation and prepared two poems for them?

Strictly speaking, Li Nuo could recite two birthday poems.

The second one was even more famous than the first, but it was rather unusual. There was a risk it could infuriate Old Madam Song into a stroke, so Li Nuo had ruled it out immediately before. Now that he'd been pushed into a corner, he had no choice but to recite it.

Old Madam Song gazed kindly at Li Nuo and said, "Then I'd be glad to hear it..."

Li Nuo said with a grin, "Old Madam Song is not a human..."

Old Madam Song's smile froze on her face. The guests in the birthday hall were stunned, and the Song Family members' expressions changed drastically.

Damn it! In the end, the fool had ruined Old Madam Song's birthday banquet after all!

Song Lian was especially furious. It was all his daughter's fault. Why had she gone and said something?

Before the Song Family could react, Li Nuo pointed at the Yaochi Holy Mother Birthday Painting hanging on the wall and continued, "Yaochi Holy Mother has descended to the mortal realm."

Old Madam Song froze for a moment, then her smile blossomed.

Yaochi Holy Mother was the foremost of the female immortals. She was an immortal, not a human, so this line was certainly no insult. It was flattery, and it had landed right in her heart.

The Song Family members breathed a sigh of relief too. They had to admit, the fool knew how to praise someone. Old Madam Song revered Yaochi Holy Mother most of all; this flattery had hit its mark perfectly.

But before they could catch their breath, Li Nuo pointed again, this time at Song Yu in the crowd, and said, "Her descendants are all thieves."

Song Yu was stunned. Then anger appeared on his face. This damn fool had called him a dog just now, and now he was calling him a thief. Enough was enough. He immediately rushed forward, ready to drag Li Nuo away. The fool dared to make a scene at Old Madam Song's birthday banquet? Let's see who would dare protect him now!

Li Nuo pointed again, this time at the Longevity Peach Song Yu had just presented, and said, "They steal the peaches of immortality to offer their dearest kin."

Watching Song Yu stride over to him, fuming with rage, Li Nuo looked puzzled.

The others also turned to look at Song Yu.

In an instant, the anger on Song Yu's face melted like snow, replaced by a look of concern. He reached out to straighten Li Nuo's collar, then turned to Song Jiaren and said, "Jiaren, honestly, your husband's collar is crooked. You couldn't even be bothered to straighten it for him..."