"Innate Qi guidance, opening the meridians to enter martial arts."
Ye Qingyun put the bamboo slip into his palm.
The scene on the poetry platform flips back.
Xie Wanqing stood on the high ground and asked him if he was unwilling to accept that a woman had won against him.
Gu Moran waved his tattered fan, his smile utterly irritating.
And then there were the eyes of all the scholars in the room that darted away.
Ye Qingyun looked up and gazed at the long street outside the window.
Gu Moran.
"Next time, not at the poetry platform."
The carriage rolled over the bluestone road, and soft creaking sounds came from inside the carriage.
Xie Wanqing sat on the left, Shen Ling'er insisted on riding with her.
She leaned against the opposite side, took out a pine nut candy from her sleeve pocket, and slapped it into Xie Wanqing's palm.
"You deserve a treat if you win."
Xie Wanqing looked down at the candy.
" Ling'er."
My hands were shaking the whole time I was on stage.
Shen Ling'er turned the empty sleeve pocket inside out and shook it.
Debris landed on the skirt.
"Let it shake, so what? Who saw it?"
Ye Qingyun saw it.
"He was too busy getting hurt by you to have time to watch your hands."
Xie Wanqing held the candy but didn't eat it.
Shen Ling'er leaned closer.
" Sister Wanqing, don't tell me you still want to apologize to him."
Xie Wanqing looked up.
"I don't."
Shen Ling'er crumpled the oiled paper into a ball and stuffed it back into her sleeve pocket.
"Then let's eat."
Xie Wanqing put the pine nut candy into her mouth.
The sweetness melted away, quelling the dryness in my throat.
Shen Ling'er nodded in satisfaction.
That's more like it.
"You won today, don't make yourself look like you made a mistake."
Xie Wanqing, with a candy in her mouth, spoke after a moment.
"But the credit isn't entirely mine."
Shen Ling'er raised an eyebrow.
"Is this couplet yours?"
Xie Wanqing nodded.
"Yes."
"Aren't you the one standing on the stage?"
"Yes."
"You're the one who made it so Ye Qingyun couldn't back down, aren't you?"
Xie Wanqing pressed her fingertips against the fabric of the skirt, then slowly released them.
Shen Ling'er smiled.
"That solves it."
"His Highness will hand you a knife; take it and go kill someone yourself."
"If you win the fight, don't come back and say the knife wasn't yours."
Xie Wanqing looked at her.
Shen Ling'er shrugged.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I can't write poetry, all I know is how to drug people."
Xie Wanqing finally smiled.
In another carriage, Su Yao sat by the window.
Biyu poured her a calming soup.
Outside the curtain, a few scholars were still arguing about today's poetry gathering.
" Xie Clan's statement, 'I wish to bring peace through my writing,' is truly a masterpiece."
" Ye Qingyun is talented, but unfortunately, his use of the Old Testament as a pretext is a poor choice."
"Talented man may be talented, but his vision is too narrow."
Biyu glanced out the curtain.
"Miss, Young Master Ye said on stage today about the Old Testament..."
" Biyu."
Su Yao put the bowl down.
"It's over."
Biyu said softly, "This servant only feels sorry for Miss."
Su Yao traced a circle with her fingertip along the rim of the bowl.
"If he wants to save face, he should go to the Su Clan to ask for it."
"But he insists on attending poetry gatherings."
"So what he has lost today is not just his poetic reputation."
Biyu lowered her head and steadied the porcelain bowl containing the calming soup.
The carriages stopped one by one at the side gate of Prince Yi's Residence.
As Xie Wanqing got out of the car, Shen Ling'er pulled her from behind.
" Sister Wanqing, I'll have Cui'er make some white fungus soup for you tonight, and I'll bring you a bowl too."
Xie Wanqing turned around.
You don't have to...
Don't be so polite with me.
Shen Ling'er lifted her skirt and walked towards Green Vine Courtyard.
"You've brought honor to our household today. A bowl of soup is nothing. Tomorrow night, I'll invite the other four sisters to celebrate together."
Back at Tranquil Ink Courtyard, Xie Wanqing closed the door.
The tea set from last night was still on the table.
The remaining tea in the cup was dark in color and had a bitter, stale smell.
She took out the manuscript of poems that Gu Moran had given her and unfolded it page by page.
Every single one of them is written in Gu Moran's handwriting.
She stared at the words for a long time, then pulled the candlestick closer and placed the poems into the flame one by one.
The corner of the paper curled up, and the flame swallowed the ink.
The smoke carried a faint smell of pine smoke.
Xie Wanqing watched as the last bit of ashes collapsed.
Prepare new paper for me tomorrow.
The maidservant outside the door responded.
"Does Madam wish to write more poetry?"
Xie Wanqing pulled out her manuscript from the drawer, which contained the poem she had composed that day.
The handwriting was thinner than Gu Moran's, and there was some hesitation at the end of the stroke.
But she wrote every single sentence herself.
She folded the manuscript neatly and placed it under the inkstone.
"Um."
There were no lights on in Clear Frost Courtyard.
Moonlight streamed through the window paper and fell onto the desk, illuminating a sheet of unfolded Xuan paper.
Biyu brought in a calming soup and saw Su Yao sitting at the table with a pen in hand, so she put the soup in the corner.
As Biyu finished tidying up the tea set and prepared to leave, she caught a glimpse of seven characters on the Xuan paper out of the corner of her eye.
May my writings bring peace and prosperity.
Biyu stepped outside the door and left it slightly ajar.
Su Yao put down her pen and looked at the seven characters.
Xie Wanqing stole the show on stage today.
But the person who put her on the stage was someone else entirely.
That person is probably munching on a snack in the study right now.
With legs crossed and mouth full of crumbs, he still complained it wasn't sweet enough.
Azure Wolf Courtyard, Murong Xue wiped her scimitar for the third time.
Batuer was squatting in the corner of the yard eating beef jerky when she called him.
"Tell me, does that woman on stage today actually know martial arts?"
Batuer chewed on some dried meat.
" Madam Xie doesn't know martial arts, and Taihang Mountains a horse."
Murong Xue sheathed her sword and sat down on a stone stool in the courtyard.
She watched the whole thing from the second floor of the teahouse today.
The woman from the Central Plains stood on the stage, facing Ye Qingyun, forcing him to back down with each word.
There was no knife.
There are no horses.
There is no fist.
Murong Xue had seen many women in the Northern Territory.
He can ride a spirited horse, drink strong liquor, and has seen blood on a knife's edge.
But today, this frail woman from the Central Plains silenced all the men in the room with just a few lines of words.
Murong Xue picked up the wine bowl and took a sip.
"The way women in the Central Plains fight is also interesting."
Batuer didn't understand.
But he realized the princess wasn't mocking him; instead, she looked longingly at him, so he obediently stuffed the jerky back into his mouth.
In the Iron Plum Courtyard, Lin Qingdai placed her sword across her lap.
Zitang sat beside her, embroidering a handkerchief, listening to her recount the poetry gathering from beginning to end.
When Ye Qingyun produced the letter of annulment, Lin Qingdai snorted coldly.
"A poor scholar using women to enhance his reputation."
Zitang paused her needlework.
"Miss, if word gets out, I'm afraid people will say we look down on people from humble backgrounds."
Lin Qingdai placed the sword hilt on the table.
"I respect those from humble backgrounds who have integrity."
"Using a woman's past as a stepping stone, what kind of backbone is that?"
Zitang quickly lowered her head.
"Miss is right."
When talking about Xie Wanqing taking the stage, Lin Qingdai spoke a little faster.
"She's reached an even higher level; even Qian Muzhi has risen to prominence."
Zitang asked softly, " Madam Xie usually seems so gentle, does she really dare to publicly rebuke Ye Qingyun today?"
She asked Ye Qingyun if he was resentful that a woman had won against him.
Zitang nearly pricked her hand when the needle pierced the fabric.
"You really asked?"
Everyone in the room heard it.
As Lin Qingdai finished speaking, she tapped the scabbard twice with her finger.
She paused when she mentioned that Gu Moran come out to protect the situation.
Zitang looked up.
"Miss?"
Lin Qingdai changed her sitting posture.
"Someone in our household said that from now on, any scholar who wants to use the reputation of a woman in the inner quarters to enhance his own name should first ask him about that fan."
Zitang blinked.
"Your Highness said that?"
"A broken bamboo fan, just replace it when it breaks."
Zitang hesitated for a long time, but still asked.
"How does Your Highness feel about today, Miss?"
Lin Qingdai looked at the sword on her lap.
"I used to think of him as a spoiled brat who deserved a beating."