"With colorful sleeves, she tenderly raised a jade cup-the opening was exquisite, rich in beauty and a delight to savor."
"'Back then, I gave my all till wine flushed my face'-'gave my all' has such extraordinary spirit. Just those three words convey a magnificent abandon! Without feelings deep as an abyss and inspiration soaring high, how could one achieve this?"
"I think the third and fourth lines are the finest! Dancing till they sank, singing till they faded, willows and peach blossoms-all the elegance and restrained passion emerge here! Only keen thought and a sharp pen, refined and polished, could produce them! Such resonant phrasing! Such masterful wording! Among seven-character lines, what could surpass these?!"
"You gentlemen favor the earlier lines, but my own favorite is precisely the last. Silver candles are lit to illuminate tonight. Hazy and dreamlike, one fears it is all a dream. Such lingering tenderness, such surging, endless emotion-the words end, but the meaning does not; the meaning draws to a close, but the thoughts linger! Thus, I believe the charm of the entire poem rests in its final line!"
"Why does everyone speak only of those lines? Is 'Since we parted, I recall our meetings; how often have my soul and dreams been with you' not good? Emotion written to such a point, veiled and lingering, naturally stirs a answering feeling in the reader. I believe even Emperor Wen of Wei's 'Song of the Swallows' and Pingzi's 'Four Sorrows' cannot surpass it!"
"Young Master Wang's literary brilliance is exquisite and unrestrained. This song deserves to live on through the ages!"
Amid the chorus of praise, Liu Cheng stood blank-faced in the hall, as though everyone had forgotten him.
The voices around him grew ever more distant. His whole body felt icy, and he seemed unable