Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 164 Who Will Win?

After receiving the poem from the sage, Prince Ning quickly glanced through it and immediately showed a look of surprise.

He was of noble birth and extraordinary status, and his disciples included many talented scholars of poetry. Therefore, his own literary appreciation ability was also quite remarkable. Seeing that Zhang Dai had created a dignified and elegant poem for the occasion in such a short time, he couldn't help but have a deeper and more direct feeling about the young man's talent.

At the same time, he quickly noticed the character "尧" that Zhang Dai had scribbled over, and subconsciously pondered whether "尧天" or "皇天" was a better choice for this context.

Because of the historical allusions, using "Yao Tian" here is undoubtedly more dignified and subtle, while "Huang Tian" is too straightforward and simplistic. In terms of the overall style of the poem, it is clearly not as suitable as "Yao Tian".

When Prince Ning saw Zhang Dai making revisions on the spot, he thought that the man had come up with some brilliant idea. However, after the revisions, not only was the dance time delayed, but the poem was also not as good as before and contained repeated characters. It was a case of trying to be clever but making a fool of himself. No wonder the sage called it a "clumsy work".

To be fair, even with a single word changed, the poem cannot be considered bad. However, the clumsy act of adding unnecessary details by a young man inevitably makes one sigh.

Therefore, after savoring the moment, Prince Ning couldn't help but smile slightly, secretly regretting that if it weren't for this incident, even if he still harbored prejudice against Zhang Dai, he would have to admit that the young man was quick-witted and that his own son couldn't possibly outwit him by simply performing a dance.

This kid has already conceived such a dignified and elegant poem, yet he deliberately changed the words and made a mistake. Doesn't he realize that the original Yao Tian was more suitable?
Thinking of this, Prince Ning glanced up at Zhang Dai and saw that the young man's expression was calm and composed, not flustered by his competitive spirit.

His thoughts suddenly shifted, as if he realized something, and his expression changed abruptly. He subconsciously turned to look at the Sage, who was also looking at him and asked with a smile, "Brother, do you have any pointers on this?"

Prince Ning quickly shook his head. Although his thoughts were still unresolved, his years of experience in caution told him that it was best not to discuss or comment on things he was unsure about. So, whether the poem was good or bad, he remained silent and simply handed it back to the Emperor.

“Brother, take a look too. You all pass it around for a look.”

The sage smiled and took back the poem. He then turned to the eunuch and handed it to Prince Xue, who was sitting below him. He also gestured to all the royal relatives and nobles at the table to pass it around for a look.

He could have had the attendants recite the poem several times in the hall so that everyone could hear it together, but he didn't. Instead, he chose a more troublesome method: having the paper on which the poem was written passed around for everyone to see.

The sage may not have realized at first that doing so was a bit troublesome, but perhaps he also wanted these people to see the smudges on the paper.

He neither said it outright nor hinted at it, but simply watched as the people in the hall passed it around for everyone to see. Occasionally, he would exchange a few words with Consort Hui or Prince Ning, but he seemed completely indifferent to it.

Looking at the emperor's demeanor, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Before this guy completely indulged himself in his later years, he must have had a lot of repression and bitterness in his heart.
In ordinary social interactions, receiving gifts from friends can certainly deepen the relationship. However, if the gift is mentioned frequently and one has to express gratitude every time, even the best relationship will inevitably deteriorate. This can make the recipient feel indebted and even gradually distance themselves from the person who gave them such a generous gift.

Is there any gift in this world more precious than the world or the throne? To be fair, Emperor Xuanzong's throne was not something anyone gave him; he earned it through his own hard work and struggle.

Even if Li Xian refused, what could he do? He didn't even have as much capital as Li Jiancheng!

Therefore, his refusal of the throne was merely a way to save his own life. Had he refused, he would have been the root of chaos for the state, and the soldiers at the North Gate would have been more than willing to kill Lady Wei before killing him.
For Emperor Xuanzong himself, what rightfully belonged to him was something he had to accept as a huge debtor out of the sake of law, etiquette, and morality. He had to treat this living ancestor with the utmost respect. How could he have remained calm about this matter?
While Zhang Dai's thoughts may have been somewhat petty, at least Li Xian lived a life of wealth and comfort, and Emperor Xuanzong treated him well from beginning to end, even posthumously bestowing upon him the title of Emperor Rang.

Even if he is a petty person, is it wrong for him to deny the contributions of Prince Ning's abdication to the country and believe that the current sage should rightfully inherit the throne?

He did not experience the many upheavals of the Wu Zhou period and the reign of Emperor Zhongzong. He was born in the Kaiyuan era and only worships the current emperor, not the past. If anyone thinks his view is wrong, come to the sage and tell me about history.

However, this meaning is rather subtle, and apart from a few overly cunning and sinister individuals, not everyone can perceive it keenly.

Putting aside these petty thoughts, this poem written to celebrate the New Year is itself outstanding, especially since Zhang Dai wrote it in a very short time right under their noses. Many imperial relatives admired Zhang Dai's talent after reading it, as they themselves could not have done it.

There were quite a few imperial relatives and nobles attending the banquet in the hall. Most of them wanted to see how good the poems were, and after a while, more than half an hour had passed.

The song, dance, and acrobatic performances in the hall continued, and the topics of conversation changed several times. The emperor seemed to have long forgotten about the matter and no longer cared. However, when the poem was presented from below the hall, the emperor raised his hand to stop the ongoing performance and said with a smile, "The previous contest has not yet been decided. The dancers' skills have been witnessed by the audience, and Zhang Dai's poem has also been shown. You two, come into the hall and stand on one side."

Upon hearing the emperor bring up the old matter again, Zhang Dai could only stand up and walk to one side of the hall, while the Prince of Ruyang also stood up and stood opposite him.

Next, the emperor had palace servants bring in many artificial flowers made of silk and used to decorate the hall. He placed a box in front of each of the two men, and then said to the people in the hall with a smile, "Each of you take a flower and throw it into the box you think is better. The one who throws the most flowers into the box wins!"

Seeing that the sage was so enthusiastic, everyone was naturally happy to join in, especially since the matter itself was quite interesting.

Those who were the first to get up and take the flowers to vote were the royal family members. They had their own simple sense of right and wrong, and after receiving the fake flowers, they put them directly into the box in front of Prince Ruyang.

A few mischievous children took more than one flower and stuffed them all into the Prince of Ruyang's box, quickly filling it to the brim. Some of the unfillable artificial flowers fell to the ground.

In contrast, Zhang Dai's collection contained not a single artificial flower, a stark contrast indeed. Even though Zhang Dai had already conceded defeat and didn't care about winning or losing, he still felt somewhat embarrassed upon seeing this.

Although he still had to maintain a fake smile, he was silently praying in his heart that you little brats had better pray to the gods and Buddhas so that you don't fall into my control in the future, otherwise I won't give you enough feed!
Not only did Zhang Dai feel embarrassed, but Consort Wu Hui was also somewhat indignant to see these members of the royal family ridiculing her nephew like this. However, she couldn't openly oppose Prince Ning, after all, Prince Ning and his wife had been kind to her, and she was quite grateful.

To avoid making Zhang Dai too embarrassed, Consort Wu Hui frequently glanced at her son, Prince Shou. Although Prince Shou was young, he could understand his mother's meaning and also felt somewhat awkward, but still entered the hall with a fake flower in his hand.

He first went to Prince Ruyang and bowed to him, saying, "I already know that my brother's skills are outstanding, but the ending tune is a bit messy, which is inferior to what I have seen before."

I cannot yet appreciate the merits of my cousin Zhang's poetry, but his ability to compose a couplet so quickly is truly admirable. I will now offer this flower to my cousin as a way of apologizing to him.

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Ruyang was somewhat amused and exasperated. However, with his wealth already overflowing, he naturally didn't care about the Prince of Shou's vote. So he waved his hand and laughed, "Eighteenth Prince, do as you please. My brother and I are very close, how could we be bothered by such a trivial matter!"

Prince Shou's disciplined and methodical behavior made the Emperor and other elders laugh. The Emperor then personally raised his cup to toast Prince Ning, thanking him for disciplining his son so well.

So Zhang Dai finally had a flower in his box, given by Prince Shou. Shortly after Prince Shou, two more flowers appeared in the box, both given by Li Xia.

This young man is quite loyal. He stepped forward and whispered to Zhang Dai, "This is not a place where personal feelings prevail and loyalty is lacking. The acrobatic skills of the Prince of Ruyang and the literary talent presented by Zhang Liu are naturally superior! There is also one flower that my brother asked me to submit. As for the result, Zhang Liu, you don't need to worry about it. You are still honorable even though you lost!"

Hearing these words of comfort, Zhang Dai felt a little better. Although he still had three lonely little flowers here, at least he wasn't a pitiful creature that no one cared about anymore.

Just then, a fragrant breeze wafted over Zhang Dai. He looked up and saw that it was Wang Maozhong's daughter who had gotten up from her seat and was hurrying towards him.

Perhaps due to some nervousness, the girl only realized she had forgotten to take the flower when she got closer. Her pretty face immediately turned red with embarrassment. Looking down, she saw a fake flower lying at her feet, which she guessed had overflowed from the box of the Prince of Ruyang.

She quickly bent down, picked up the flower, and put it into Zhang Dai's box. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she didn't say anything and hurriedly walked back with her head down.

The Prince of Ruyang, who had been all smiles and preparing for the final victory, suddenly turned somewhat gloomy upon seeing this scene.

Even more displeased than him was Wang Maozhong. He was already greatly displeased by the woman's previous performance mistake, but he did not expect her to act so rashly now. He was even more dissatisfied and glared at his daughter, who had lowered her head and sat back down in her seat. Then he looked up and glared angrily at Zhang Dai.

Zhang Dai withdrew his gaze from the girl's hurried departure, feeling a little smug about being favored by a beauty. But then he saw Wang Maozhong's somewhat unfriendly gaze and was speechless for a moment.

(End of this chapter)