The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 166 This talent is one stone, I have eleven buckets

The little girl was about eleven or twelve years old. She was wearing a light green dress. She was very pretty and had bright eyes.

She was reciting a poem with rich expressions on her face and her voice rising and falling, like a little adult.

The tourists watching nearby were all amazed. After she finished reciting the poem, they all gave her a thumbs up. Someone who knew her praised her, saying, "Miss Li's poem "Qingyu'an Lantern Festival" is full of pearls and brilliant literary talent. It is the best Lantern Festival poem in ancient times. It has a charming artistic conception, is lingering and meaningful, and is ethereal and far-reaching."

The little girl smiled and said to the owner of the lantern stand, "Can you give me this Chang'e flying to the moon lantern?"

The owner of the lamp stall was a middle-aged man who looked and dressed like a sober scholar. The Song Dynasty did not suppress business, but promoted it. Especially after the Yuanfeng Reform, merchants could take the imperial examinations, and there were many scholars from merchant families. Those who passed the examinations would have a leap in status and position, while those who failed would continue to do business to make a living.

He showed a look of joy on his face, and his eyes were thoughtful, as if he was still recalling the scene in the other party's poem. He nodded and said, "Of course it's for Miss Li. Miss Li's Qingyu'an Yuanxi is much better than mine. According to the rules we set before, Miss Li has won the Chang'e Flying to the Moon Lantern."

Ci is not named like poems. Often the first line of the whole ci is used as the name after the ci tune. However, ci describing festivals are sometimes named after the festival.

The little girl wrote a poem called Qingyu'an and won a lantern. The lanterns at this stall were not like those at other vendors where you could not buy them with money but obtained by guessing riddles. In this stall, one had to write a better poem than the scholar who owned the stall to win a lantern.

The Chang'e Flying to the Moon Lantern is the most exquisite and beautiful one on the stall. It costs three strings of cash, which is quite expensive. However, it is not easy to compose a lyric better than this scholar. Although the sour scholar is not good at the imperial examination, he has studied this art for many years and has polished a Lantern Festival lyric for a long time. It is not easy for ordinary people to surpass him.

However, the truly famous people would not write lyrics just for the sake of getting a nightcap. Their lyrics are written for fame and even gold and silver, so they would never speak them out easily. Even if they could not exchange them for money or fame, they would always exchange them for romantic affairs in brothels and gain a reputation in brothels.

The sour clerk then picked up the bamboo pole to carry the lantern. The little girl looked at it eagerly with an expression of anticipation. The old servant behind her said with a smile, "Miss, you have received several lanterns tonight. Do you want to send this one back as well? The housekeeper and his men haven't returned from delivering the lanterns yet. If I send it back, there will be no one to protect you. There are many people here tonight, so safety is the most important thing."

The little girl shook her head: "This one is the most beautiful. You don't need to send it back. Just keep it and play with it. Don't guess riddles or write poems anymore. It's boring to have too many lights."

The sour clerk took the lamp and was about to give it to the little girl when suddenly a loud shout came: "Wait, wait, I want your lamp. How much is it?"

The one who spoke was Yelu Yanxi. He saw the Chang'e Flying to the Moon Lantern from afar and liked it. Not only was the shape of the lantern unique and ingenious, the Chang'e painted on it was also very beautiful, with excellent brushwork. With the light from the inside, she looked as pitiful as a living person, and he just wanted to get it.

"What are you talking about, sir?" The scholar said with an unhappy look on his face, "Although I sell lanterns on my stall, I can also write poems for them as gifts. This lantern has already been won by this girl with her poem, so why should I spend money to buy it?"

Yelu Yanxi was stunned when he heard this, and immediately understood that other lantern stalls had to guess riddles to win lanterns, but here he had to write lyrics.

The scholar said, "It's difficult to write lyrics, but I won't charge you for it. If your lyrics are better than my lyrics for Hua Lantern, I'll give them to you directly."

The opening fee means that guessing the riddle is not free. If you want to guess it, you have to pay a small amount of copper coins first. It is not much at a time, which is about 30% of the cost of the lantern. If you can't guess it, the money goes to the stall owner. Otherwise, even if the riddle is changed, it will be repeated every year and the vendors will lose a lot of money.

Yelu Yanxi didn't care about these things. Hearing this, he hurriedly said, "Then don't give it to others first. I can also write lyrics."

The scholar looked him up and down. Yelu Yanxi had changed into Hanfu, also a Confucian robe. Seeing this, he was a little hesitant. At this time, the lantern had not yet been handed over to the little girl. Logically speaking, if someone came to continue writing lyrics to win the lantern, he could not refuse.

He couldn't help but look at the little girl: "Miss Li, this..."

The little girl blinked and said in a clear voice, "Why not show him the words first so he won't back down."

The scholar nodded immediately, thinking that although this young man looked determined, he might give up after reading the lyrics.

He first asked Yelu Yanxi to look at his Lantern Festival poem: "This gentleman must write a better poem than mine."

Yelu Yanxi looked at the scholar's poem and his face gradually became ugly. He looked at the scholar and the poem, thinking that a lantern vendor in Song Dynasty could write such good poems. If he took it to the capital, it would be a masterpiece. How could the Liao Dynasty scholars feel embarrassed?

The scholar saw his expression and knew what was going on. He smiled and said, "Sir, please take a look at Miss Li's lyrics and then decide whether to write one."

Then he showed the poem he had just copied from the little girl to Yelu Yanxi. Yelu Yanxi only read half of it and his eyes almost fell to the ground. He pointed at the little girl and said, "Did you write this?"

The little girl said, "It's me, sir. Does this gentleman want to give me some advice?"

Yelu Yanxi took a breath. He could still compete with the scholar's lyrics just now, but there was no way he could surpass the little girl's lyrics. He was afraid that he would not be able to surpass the other even if he wrote for another ten years.

He asked, "Is your last name Su? Or Zhou?"

The little girl rolled her eyes and said, "I know who you are talking about. My last name is Li, but Mr. Su is my father's teacher."

"Last name Li?" Yelu Yanxi couldn't help but wonder. He thought for a long time but couldn't think of any great poet with the surname Li in the Song Dynasty.

"Don't think about it." At this time, Zhao Ti came over with Yuan Xiaoxian and others.

He had heard the two people talking, and now he said, "Her name is Li Qingzhao, she is a famous young talent in Tokyo. Her father, Li Gefei, was originally a doctor of the Imperial College and transferred to the Ministry of Works. He was a disciple of Su Shi. She has been famous for her poetry since she was a child, and many scholars are not as good as her."

Yelu Yanxi suddenly realized what was going on when he heard it, but he felt extremely disappointed. It seemed that he would not be able to get the lantern. If he forced himself to write a poem, he would not be able to surpass the other party. Moreover, it was too embarrassing to lose to a little girl. If he got the news back to Liao, he would be ridiculed and criticized by other royal family members.

"You, you bad guy?" Li Qingzhao looked at Zhao Ti at this time, her expression suddenly changed, and she looked a little angry.

The old servant behind him was frightened and panicked when he heard this, and hurriedly whispered: "Young lady, why don't you pay your respects to His Highness quickly?"

As he said this, he ran to the front and bowed, saying, "Don't blame me, Your Highness. My girl is too young and she speaks without thinking. All her words are unintentional."

At this moment, Li Qingzhao lowered her eyebrows, bowed deeply, but said nothing.

Zhao Ti smiled slightly. In Li Qingzhao's eyes, he was a big bad guy. Two years ago, during an outing, he saw Li Gefei's family having fun and writing poems on the mountain outside the city. On a whim, he stepped forward and wrote two poems to suppress them all. Especially Li Qingzhao's poem, which directly crushed the other party.

But before leaving, he asked the other party not to spread the news, so he had no reputation as a poet in Tokyo, but Li Qingzhao knew it.

Some people also say that he is a bad guy because he took the lead in the new law. He was the leader of the new law and the abolition of the old law. Now everyone in the court and the underworld thinks that he is the leader of the new law party.

Last year, he was in Suzhou and punished Wang Zhongfang, the youngest son of Wang Gui, who had served as prime minister for three dynasties. Wang Zhongfang was Li Qingzhao's uncle. Li Qingzhao's biological mother was Wang Gui's daughter, but she died early. She was Wang Gui's granddaughter.

After Zhang Dun became prime minister, he set up a bureau to compile the memorials of various ministers in the Yuanyou period and summoned Li Gefei to review them. However, Li Gefei, being a member of the old party, refused to take the position and was eventually exiled to become the Tongpan of Guangxin Army.

Although Wang Gui obeyed the order of Emperor Shenzong and stood on the side of Wang Anshi at that time, many other members of his family were members of the old party and also bet on both sides. As for the Li family, all of them belonged to the old party.

In Li Qingzhao's eyes, Zhao Ti was naturally a big bad guy, but her understanding of the struggle between the new and old parties was still lacking. The main reason was that the other party had surpassed her in poetry in the past two years, and did not allow her to go back and seek revenge. She could not speak out or tell others about it, and she felt extremely uncomfortable with it in her heart.

"Prince of Yan..." Yelu Yanxi's heart moved when he saw this. He did not think of using his power to seize the Chang'e Flying to the Moon Lantern, but Zhao Ti's attainments in poetry were unattainable. If he could compose a poem, wouldn't the lantern be within his grasp?
Zhao Ti glanced at him and asked, "You want this lamp?"

Yelu Yanxi smiled and said, "This lamp is exquisite and beautiful, and it is so ingenious that I have never seen it before..."

Zhao Ti glanced at the Chang'e Flying to the Moon Lantern in the scholar's hand and shook his head: "I just heard it. If you want to write the lyrics, just do it yourself. It's not like you don't know how to do it."

Yelu Yanxi's face twitched when he heard this. If he could win the other party, why would he bother to speak? He couldn't help scratching his ears and cheeks in anxiety.

Yuan Xiaoxian looked at the lamp with a look of admiration in her eyes, and murmured: "Chang'e should regret stealing the elixir, her heart is filled with the blue sea and sky every night..."

Seeing this, Li Qingzhao could not help but step forward and said: "Since no one dares to compete with me for the lamp, I will take it away."

She deliberately emphasized the word "dare" and stole a glance at Zhao Ti. In the past two years, her poetry had become more and more handy and received a lot of praise from the outside world. She always wanted to seek revenge on Zhao Ti, but the other party was of noble status and at that time he said that he could not let anyone spread the news, so she had been brooding over it.

Zhao Ti smiled slightly and touched his chin.

Seeing that Zhao Ti didn't show any reaction, Li Qingzhao reluctantly stepped forward, but did not take the scholar's lantern. Instead, she said, "This lantern is really beautiful. It is the best one for this year's Lantern Festival. I haven't had one before, and I'm afraid it will be hard to find one in the future."

The scholar said, "Miss Li is right. It took me a whole year to make and paint this lantern. It was too time-consuming. I will never make this kind of lantern again. It is even more impossible for other families to waste so much time to make just one lantern."

Li Qingzhao said: "Then it will be hard to see you again?"

The scholar nodded: "That's right. I am still preparing for the imperial examination. Even if I can't make other lamps, I have to focus on studying."

Yuan Xiaoxian looked at Zhao Ti at this time, her eyes full of longing: "Prince Yan, this lamp is indeed very beautiful, and the painting is also very vivid. This lamp..."

The more she spoke, the lower her voice became, and in the end it was almost a whisper as if it could not be heard. Zhao Ti glanced at her and said, "Want it?"

"Hmm..." Yuan Xiaoxian couldn't help but lower her head when she heard that, her cheeks flushed. From childhood to adulthood, she had never asked anyone for anything. As a princess, she had everything she needed. Even if she didn't have something, she could buy it with gold and silver. But this lamp required literary talent to get it. She liked it and wanted it in her heart, but she had never asked anyone for it in her life. Her jade-like cheeks became hot.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhao wrinkled her nose and clenched her fists. She couldn't bear to see this situation. She was angry and reached out to take the lamp, saying, "No one can surpass my poems. I'll take the lamp."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "Where is your poem? Let me see it."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingzhao immediately stopped and said, "What can you do after reading this? Don't think you can surpass me. Two years ago, I just did it casually, so you won. Who knows if you have been accumulating words for a long time to win that time."

Zhao Ti ignored her. The scholar had already heard that Zhao Ti was of noble status, so he quickly unfolded what Li Qingzhao had just written and said, "Sir, please read this."

Zhao Ti glanced at it and smiled faintly: "Small family."

"You, what are you saying, you bad guy..." Li Qingzhao's face turned red, and the old servant behind her was frightened and hurriedly reached out to pull her. Zhao Ti shook his head and said, "Not only are you petty, but you are also pretending to be sad in order to write new poems. I'm talking about you. You are so young, and you write nonsense. You can write this kind of thing when you grow up."

"I, I..." Li Qingzhao bit her lip tightly, filled with anger: "Don't say sarcastic words, write a poem to show everyone who is better, you or me."

At this time, all the onlookers showed indignation. Although Li Qingzhao was young and a girl, the Song Dynasty had always admired child prodigies, and girls were able to read. In this post-child prodigy era, Li Qingzhao was extremely famous in the capital and was known by the common people and scholars in Tokyo.

Although everyone felt that Zhao Ti's identity was not ordinary, they had not heard that he was a famous scholar. They couldn't help but think that he was just talking nonsense and showed a look of dissatisfaction on their faces.

The scholar also felt that Zhao Ti had gone a little too far. He knew more about Li Qingzhao's fame than the onlookers. She was also good at writing ci. Not to mention ordinary scholars, even some famous scholars with outstanding literary talents could not produce as good as her. Although she seemed to be of noble status, he had never heard of her talent. How could he have the nerve to comment on her?

"Can I write a poem?" Zhao Ti looked at Li Qingzhao, who was so small that she was not even as tall as his chest. He said, "I really don't want to bully a child..."

Li Qingzhao said unhappily, "I bullied you two years ago, why didn't you say the same thing then?"

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "At that time, you were the owner of the Li family, and you were just a little helper."

Li Qingzhao gritted her teeth and said, "I don't believe you can do better than me. You, you..."

Zhao Ti smiled slightly: "Lantern Festival lyrics, right? I saw you wrote a Qingyu'an, so I will also write a Qingyu'an."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Mengqian, the Minister of Liao, hurriedly took out a brush and ink box from the book box he carried with him, and spread out rice paper on the box. The King of Yan of Song was going to write lyrics, which was a very big event. Before coming to Song this time, Emperor Da'an told him that if he could get the other party's new lyrics, he must bring them back for appreciation.

"Okay, then let's take a look at the Qingyu table..." Li Qingzhao showed a very dissatisfied expression on her face.

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "Once my Lantern Festival poem is published, I am afraid there will be no one before or after it. Of all the Lantern Festival poems in the world, mine alone accounts for eleven buckets."

"How can it be eleven dou? Isn't one shi equal to ten dou?" Yelu Yanxi said in surprise.

"Of course you owe me a fight." Zhao Ti said with a smile.

Li Qingzhao was so angry that her teeth itched and she gritted her teeth: "You, you still don't do it?"

Everyone around was stunned. The scholar thought, isn't this really too arrogant? Back then, Xie Lingyun said that there were one stone of literary talent in the world, Cao Zijian alone had eight buckets, Xie Lingyun got one bucket, and the rest of the world shared one bucket. Although you are only referring to one type of word, you dare to say that the world owes you one bucket. How arrogant you are!

Zhao Ti glanced at everyone, then looked at Li Qingzhao. Yuan Xiaoxian next to him looked at him with eyes full of anticipation.

He pondered for a few breaths, then spoke leisurely, "Qingyu'an, Lantern Festival."

Everyone looked over at this moment, and heard Zhao Ti chanting:
"Dongfeng puts flowers and trees at night, and blows down, and the stars are like rain. BMW carved cars are fragrant all over the road. The phoenix flute sounds, the jade pot turns light, and the fish and dragon dance overnight."

Then he paused for a moment. Li Qingzhao was shocked, but she was not willing to admit defeat. She said, "Maybe it will start strong but end weakly..."

Zhao Ti smiled and shook his head, then continued chanting:
"The moth is covered with golden threads of snow willow, and leaves with a smile and a faint fragrance. I have searched for him among the crowd for hundreds of times, but when I look back suddenly, he is there, in the dimly lit place."

"Ah?!" After hearing the second stanza, Li Qingzhao's expression changed drastically, and her small body began to tremble: "You, this..."

The scholar over there was dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning. He naturally understood poetry better than anyone else. At this moment, like Li Qingzhao, his body was trembling a little. His mind was filled with the lines of Qingyu'an. He muttered, "The best Lantern Festival poetry, the best Lantern Festival poetry, there is no one before, and there will be no one after..."

The people around were dumbfounded. Although they were not as well-read as the scholar, they could still tell the good from the bad. The last sentence in particular was so touching. Who has no regrets? It was so heartbreaking. Even though they had no literary talent, they were immediately immersed in the artistic conception of the poem and could not extricate themselves.

Yelu Yanxi was speechless. Zhang Mengqian, who was following him, stopped writing halfway through. He was completely immersed in the atmosphere of the poem, and events from decades ago flashed before his eyes.

At that time, his family was poor, and he was preparing for the imperial examination. On the way, he met a young girl from a wealthy family who gave him some money for his journey. He was so moved that after he passed the imperial examination and was given an official position, he hurried back to find her, wanting to marry her in a formal ceremony. However, he found out that she had just married and left home. It was the biggest regret in his life that they were not destined to be together.

Looking back now, it seemed like a dream. He could not help but scream and beat his chest, crying out, "It hurts so much!"

The chief historian of the Liao Kingdom's Astronomical Bureau had a pale face, as if he had experienced something extremely terrible. The feeling of being out of place suddenly became vague, and strong energy emanated from his body, as if he could not control it. He said in his heart that something was wrong, and quickly retreated, running straight to the Duting Posthouse.

Yuan Xiaoxian looked at Zhao Ti and murmured, "I have searched for him among the crowd for hundreds of times. Suddenly I turned around, and there he was, in the dimly lit place..."

She seemed to be slightly drunk, her eyes were full of waves and sparkling light. She looked at Zhao Ti, raised her head, then lowered her head again, and then raised it again. Her face was so beautiful that she was stunningly beautiful, but she was stunned for a moment.

Zhao Ti looked at Li Qingzhao with his hands behind his back: "How is it, should I take first place?"

Li Qingzhao involuntarily staggered back a few steps, then pouted her lips, turned around and ran away, crying as she ran.

Zhao Ti was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Why did you run away and cry? You won't tell everyone tomorrow that I bullied you, will you?"

The old servant of the Li family saluted in panic: "Your Highness, Your Highness, the young lady never dared to mean that. I just feel that the words I wrote are not as good as yours, and I am ashamed..." After he said that, he chased in the direction where Li Qingzhao ran.

Zhao Ti thought for a moment, then walked up to the stall and asked the scholar, "How about this poem?"

The scholar bowed deeply behind the stall: "Sir, you are so talented. I was disrespectful just now. I apologize to you."

Zhao Ti waved his hand: "It's okay, is it enough for the lanterns?"

The scholar said, "Your Excellency has won me an ordinary lantern with this poem. How lucky I am, how lucky I am."

Zhao Ti smiled and asked, "Can the Lantern Festival poems take up eleven buckets?"

The scholar wiped the sweat from his forehead. Although the weather was still a bit cold, he felt extremely hot. He thought to himself that this poem would be passed down to future generations, and its origin would be recorded. Then, when future generations saw the origin of this poem, wouldn't they also see his family? His family would be written into the book and known to future generations!

"Yes, yes!" He took a deep breath, feeling extremely excited. He didn't want to be known by future generations in this way.

Zhao Ti nodded, took the lantern and gave it to Yuan Xiaoxian, and said thoughtfully: "The princess's lantern."

Yuan Xiaoxian took the Chang'e Flying to the Moon Lantern, her expression full of tenderness, and whispered, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Yelu Yanxi blinked his eyes and looked at Yuan Xiaoxian's shy expression. He thought to himself, "Sister, what do you mean? You are not going to fall in love with me just for a lantern, are you? You are the pearl of the prairie, the dream of many Khitan men!"

Zhao Ti suddenly chuckled and said, "Princess Cheng'an will go to the military prison with me tomorrow."

"Hmm?" Yuan Xiaoxian was stunned when he heard this and looked at Zhao Ti: "Your Highness, you..."

Zhao Ti smiled faintly: "That Mingjiao wanderer Yin Mu has been imprisoned for a long time and refuses to confess your origins. Come with me, I need him to be useful."

"Okay, I'll go with Your Highness..."

Yelu Yanxi became angry when he heard this, thinking to himself, why did you go just because your sister told you to? That's a military prison. Although the other party doesn't dare to detain you as a envoy, who knows if there will be any other troubles.

Zhao Ti smiled and continued walking.

At this time, the fireworks by the Bian River are more prosperous, the colorful lights in the sky are dancing, dazzling and brilliant, the scenery is unparalleled.

The east wind blows thousands of flowers into bloom at night, and the stars rain down. The sound of the phoenix flute moves, and the fish and dragons dance all night.

The next day, Zhao Xu met with the Liao envoys. He didn't say much, but only said that the matter of the letter should be handed over to the Prince of Yan, who would be in charge of the negotiations and the court would discuss it.

After the court was dismissed, they went to the Honglu Temple. Zhao Ti asked General Xu to speak. They sounded each other out for most of the day but could not come to a conclusion. Finally, they decided to discuss it tomorrow.

Then, Zhao Ti went out and looked at Yuan Xiaoxian and said, "Princess, please follow me to the military prison."

Yuan Xiaoxian nodded, and like a kitten, followed Zhao Ti quietly, which made Yelu Yanxi stamp his feet secretly.

After getting on the carriage, Yuan Xiaoxian asked, "Your Highness, do you want to subdue Yin Sanren?"

Zhao Ti said: "This man is loyal. It would be a pity to kill him directly."

Yuan Xiaoxian said, "Yin Sanren didn't reveal any information about me. Last time I tried to rob the military prison to save him, but His Highness found out and chased me all the way. I was thinking of asking for mercy this time, but I didn't expect His Highness wanted to subdue him."

"No need to beg for mercy." Zhao Ti said calmly, "Just don't make trouble."

Yuan Xiaoxian whispered: "How could I cause trouble for Your Highness? I just hoped that Your Highness would spare his life and not use him. The Ming Cult has already collapsed, why would Your Highness..."

Zhao Ti glanced at her and said, "Princess, you ask too many questions."

Yuan Xiaoxian's eyebrows were as beautiful as a painting. She thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Your Highness is right."

After a while, they arrived at the military prison, and the two men got out of the car and walked in.

(End of this chapter)