"Silence, all you favored children of heaven!"
A clear, lilting voice carried through the crowd, as pleasing to the ear as jade striking jade.
The hostess stood on the platform, a silver osmanthus hairpin tucked at an angle beside her temple. Her eyes smiled, and her face glowed.
She raised a hand for silence, then lifted her voice, charged with excitement and anticipation:
"From this moment on, the sixty-minute countdown officially begins!
During this time, you may give your talents free rein-compose poetry and verse, or wield your brushes and paint. Express yourselves to your hearts' content!"
Behind her, a group of staff in fitted blue-green outfits had long been ready. At her words, they immediately sprang into action.
Several carried rosewood tables and chairs steadily onto the platform, their movements gentle but brisk, and arranged them neatly to one side. Others brought inkstones, brushes, rice paper, and pigments of every color, setting each in place. The scent of ink and the fresh fragrance of paper pulp soon filled the air.
Clearly, whenever anyone displayed their talent before the crowd, the staff would immediately step forward to carefully record those pearl-like phrases and masterful paintings, copying and preserving them.
"And I have another piece of good news!"
The hostess's smile deepened, her voice full of enticement.
"The outstanding works selected at this poetry gathering, whether poems or paintings, will be displayed above the city gates for an entire month!
Everyone in the city will be able to stop and admire them, spreading word of your talent through every street and alley of Ascension City!"
The moment she finished, the crowd erupted. Young talents in brocade robes, all bearing themselves with distinction, leaned toward one another, their whispers as thick as spring rain pattering on leaves.
Some looked excited and