Relieving the Siege

Li Nuo's gaze sharpened slightly.

His wife's prepared gift was originally a pair of jade ruyi, but now they had turned into two stones.

Someone had replaced their birthday gift!

His first instinct was to glance at the maid who had already retreated. The little maid's expression was normal; it shouldn't be her. As a servant of the Song family, she wouldn't have the guts to do such a thing.

The priority now wasn't who replaced the birthday gift.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were on them, waiting for the couple to step forward and offer their birthday wishes. If they actually presented these two stones, not only would they lose face, but they would also disrupt the Old Madam's birthday banquet, leading to even more severe consequences.

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

Li Nuo's mind raced, thinking of how to overcome the current predicament. Everyone was watching them, and there was no time to prepare something new. Should he go up and perform a talent?

But he didn't have many talents, and they all belonged to others. He couldn't possibly go up and perform hairstyling or shuttlecock kicking for the Old Madam...

If all else failed, fancy shuttlecock kicking wasn't out of the question. In fact, in that instant, he had already choreographed a set of moves in his mind. As he turned to borrow Song Mu'er's shuttlecock, his gaze swept over Song Qian's scholarly husband, and a flash of inspiration struck him...

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

Li Nuo took Song Jiaren's hand and walked up to the Old Madam, smiling as he said, "Jiaren and I also have a poem to present to the Old Madam, wishing her longevity like the daylily and everlasting life like the pine and crane..."

"Present a poem?"

The guests in the hall were slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

After all, the beautiful woman already held a birthday gift, and her foolish husband was inexplicably presenting a poem. They didn't understand what was happening.

However, more than that, what puzzled them even more was that the most famous fool in Chang'an seemed not so foolish. He wasn't drooling or chuckling foolishly. His speech was fluent, and his pronunciation was clear, appearing no different from a normal person.

His appearance was already outstanding. Setting aside his inner self and looking only at his face, he was truly a good match for the proud daughter of the Song family.

"Present a poem?"

The Song family members were startled by this.

They knew their daughter's capabilities well. Although Jiaren had excellent martial arts talent, she had always disliked reading since childhood and didn't even recognize many characters. Composing a poem was impossible. Li Nuo's foolishness was even more renowned throughout Chang'an. What kind of poem could the two of them come up with?

In this regard, they were quite a match.

"Longevity like the daylily and everlasting life like the pine and crane..." It would take them eight hundred years to think of these two lines for this couple.

Could it be that Li Xuanjing taught them?

If Li Xuanjing had helped them compose the poem, then everything would make sense.

At this moment, the Song family members were extremely anxious. It wasn't that they didn't believe Li Xuanjing, but they didn't believe Li Nuo. Even if the poem was written by Li Xuanjing, their foolish son might not be able to recite it correctly.

The Old Madam's sixtieth birthday had been prepared for a long time by the Song family; there could be no mistakes.

Song Jiaren was also completely bewildered at this moment, but all she could do was stand quietly beside Li Nuo.

Li Nuo smiled at the Old Madam and recited slowly in his magnetic voice, "Planted the gate with five blessings complete, Cherish the initial joy of this grand feast. From now on, embrace the spring breeze's smile, And be an immortal of longevity among mortals."

As a liberal arts student, Li Nuo had some exposure to ancient poetry and lyrics out of interest.

He could recite many famous classic pieces.

However, as a very niche category, he only remembered one birthday poem.

To be precise, it was half a poem.

The poem he recited, between the first two lines and the last two, should have had a few more lines, but he couldn't recall them. He could only make it into a quatrain. Li Nuo had even forgotten the name of the poet, vaguely remembering that he might have been surnamed Li.

He muttered inwardly, All from the Li family, help me out, save me from this pinch...

Hearing Li Nuo finish reciting the poem, the Song family members finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank heavens, he hadn't made any mistakes.

Whether the poem was good or not, they didn't quite understand, but it sounded decent. Especially the last line, "From now on, embrace the spring breeze's smile, And be an immortal of longevity among mortals." "Spring breeze," "longevity," "smile," and "immortal" – how auspicious...

As expected of Li Xuanjing! Even those who didn't understand poetry could tell this was a good poem.

Meanwhile, the Song family's guests thought the same.

Especially those who understood poetry immediately felt the difference between this poem and the one presented by Song Qian's husband.

The first two lines described the banquet scene, and the last two lines extended to blessings, with a clear theme and coherent structure. Especially the blessings in the last two lines, they were catchy and heartfelt, likely to become famous lines passed down through generations...

Truly worthy of Li Xuanjing!

Someone couldn't help but exclaim.

"A good poem, a good poem!"

"From now on, embrace the spring breeze's smile, And be an immortal of longevity among mortals." If expectations hold true, these two lines of the birthday poem will be sung for eternity...

Although the Song family members could tell the poem was decent, they hadn't expected that several guests who practiced Confucianism would praise it so highly, even to the point of it being passed down for eternity.

Life is short, only a few decades, merely fame and fortune. Who wouldn't want to be remembered for eternity?

In that case, the most valuable gift at the Old Madam's birthday banquet was actually this poem?

For a moment, everyone's gaze towards Li Nuo and Song Jiaren shifted slightly.

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

The works of ancient people that had survived for thousands of years and were now seen by him, a modern person, were naturally of proven quality.

Among the Song family's guests, there were clearly those who understood their craft.

The crisis averted, Li Nuo thanked the elder from the Li family before intending to pull Song Jiaren away. Suddenly, someone beside them spoke, "You two are only presenting the Grandmother with one poem?"

Li Nuo turned his head. The speaker was the woman named Song Qian.

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

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the Song family members changed.

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

It was already a stroke of luck that the fool could recite a poem completely and hadn't ruined the Old Madam's birthday banquet. Now she was jumping out to make things difficult for him. Did she think the banquet was going too smoothly?

Old Madam Song chuckled and smoothed things over for Li Nuo and Song Jiaren, "They are family, so one gift is enough. I really like this poem. These pearls are for you both. I hope you will have a complete and fulfilling life together and cherish each other."

Smiling, she took out the pearls gifted by the Song Jin couple from a box. She placed one in Li Nuo's hand and the other in Song Jiaren's.

Song Lian breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

It seemed the Old Madam genuinely liked the gift. Tonight, they were the first juniors to receive a return gift from the Old Madam.

Seeing her grandmother so protective of Song Jiaren, Song Qian pouted and said softly, "They are family, but aren't others family too? Why are they special..."

Song Qian felt extremely indignant.

Before Jiaren was born, she was the apple of the Song Manor's eye.

Everyone doted on her and indulged her.

But after Jiaren was born, especially after she displayed her astonishing martial arts talent, she became the absolute center of attention wherever she went.

When people mentioned the Song Manor's young lady, they only thought of Song Jiaren, and no one knew of her, Song Qian.

Therefore, she had disliked her cousin since childhood.

The only thing that made her feel a little better was that she had married a good husband, while Song Jiaren had married a fool. Only by thinking of this did she feel somewhat better.

Tonight, seeing Song Jiaren and her husband steal the spotlight at the Grandmother's birthday banquet, the sourness in Song Qian's heart resurfaced, and she couldn't help but mutter a complaint.

Although Song Qian's voice was soft, the surrounding guests still heard it.

The atmosphere in the hall became somewhat awkward.

Song Lian's face turned ashen, but in front of everyone, he couldn't reprimand his daughter, as it would only further disrupt the banquet's atmosphere.

Just as this awkward atmosphere began to spread, Li Nuo coughed lightly and said, "Actually, the poem just now was written by Jiaren. I have another poem to present to the Old Madam..."

The Song family members glanced at Song Jiaren, disbelieving Li Nuo's first statement.

For Jiaren to write a poem was as likely as the sun rising from the west.

Could it be that Li Xuanjing had foreseen the current situation and deliberately prepared two poems?

Strictly speaking, Li Nuo knew how to recite two birthday poems.

The second one, though more famous than the first, was a bit tricky. It carried the risk of causing the Old Madam to have a cerebral hemorrhage, which was why Li Nuo had immediately discarded it earlier. Now, forced by circumstances, he had to bring it out even if he didn't want to.

Old Madam Song looked at Li Nuo kindly and said, "Then this old woman would like to hear it..."

Li Nuo said with a smile, "Old Madam Song is not a person..."

The smile on Old Madam Song's face froze. The guests in the hall were stunned. The Song family members' faces changed drastically.

Damn it, this fool had still managed to disrupt the Old Madam's birthday banquet!

Song Lian was furious, blaming his daughter for speaking out of turn!

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

Old Madam Song paused for a moment, then her smile became radiant.

The Yaochi Holy Mother was the foremost of the female immortals. She was an immortal, not a person. This line was certainly not an insult but a compliment, and it hit the mark perfectly.

The Song family members also breathed a sigh of relief. Not bad, this fool was quite good at flattery. The Old Madam believed most in the Yaochi Holy Mother, so this flattery was spot on.

However, before they could catch their breath, Li Nuo extended his hand again and pointed to Song Yu in the crowd, saying, "All descendants are thieves."

Song Yu was stunned for a moment, then his face showed anger. This damned fool had called him a dog earlier, and now he was calling him a thief. He couldn't stand it anymore and rushed out, ready to drag him away. Who would dare protect this fool for causing a scene at the Old Madam's birthday banquet!

Li Nuo then pointed to the birthday peach that Song Yu had just presented and said, "Stealing peaches to offer to loved ones."

Looking at Song Yu, who was angrily striding towards him, Li Nuo showed a confused expression.

The gazes of others also turned to Song Yu.

The anger on Song Yu's face vanished like ice and snow in an instant. He put on a concerned expression, reached out to straighten Li Nuo's collar, and turned to Song Jiaren, saying, "Jiaren, you're really something. Your brother-in-law's collar is crooked, and you didn't even help him fix it..."