All Heavens: From Joy of Life to The Great Feng Night Watchman

This poem, written by a child prodigy in a past life, is absolutely a masterpiece in this era of scarce poetry!

Li Zhi repeated it several times, then excitedly picked up Li Chang'an.

"Third brother, you're amazing!"

"This poem uses simple language, without any sense of forced or contrived writing!"

"But the imagery is so vivid and expressive; it's truly a display of exceptional talent!"

Fan Jian jumped up excitedly, "That's great!"

"Of the three poems, I've finally finished one!"

Those scholars recited the poem repeatedly, and the more they recited it, the more alarmed they became!

"It sounds simple, but it depicts the goose so vividly!"

"Your Highness has never studied complicated vocabulary, yet your poetry is so simple and natural!"

"A child prodigy! This is a child prodigy!"

"If I were to learn elegant and beautiful language in the future, I wonder what kind of exquisite poems I would be able to compose!"

Everyone was extremely excited, and Fan Ruoruo looked around at the people with curiosity.

Although she was still young and didn't understand things, her affection for Li Chang'an increased by twenty percent.

Li Chang'an said, "Physician Fan, can Ruoruo not go to Danzhou?"

Fan Jian was in a great mood and immediately referred to himself as his brother-in-law.

Li Chang'an was holding Fan Ruoruo's hand, but he couldn't see her anymore.

"My brother-in-law promised you he won't go!"

"Ruoruo is already so young, it's not suitable for her to travel long distances!"

After speaking, Li Zhi and Fan Jian, along with several scholars, hurriedly headed towards the study.

There are two more poems waiting for them to come up with!

Li Zhi said with some anticipation, "At the state banquet tomorrow night, Third Brother, you must bring out this poem!"

"Let that Cui Shen, the so-called Five-Character Great Wall, take a good look!"

"Isn't he a disciple of Master Zhuang Mohan? Let him see what he's made of!"

Fan Jian also said, "That's right! Who says people from Nanqing can't write poetry!"

"A few years ago, a poem from our Nanqing received a 'decent' evaluation from Cui Shen."

"That scholar who wrote the poem was directly selected by Guo Youzhi, the Minister of Rites, to join the Ministry of Rites!"

……

The next morning.

The Fan family's informant from the Censorate delivered "Ode to the Goose" to Emperor Qing's desk.

"Hey! Third brother, that's great! The imagery is simple and catchy!"

"It's obviously a poem written by a child, but it's even better than what adults write!"

"As expected of my brother, he is exceptionally talented!"

"I must find a good tutor for my third son so he can study poetry properly again!"

"Perhaps a great poet will emerge from our Great Qing royal family!"

As the sun set, snowflakes began to fall in Kyoto.

People in Daqing flocked out to enjoy the snow, experiencing a novel experience that only happens once every ten years or so.

Inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a state banquet was in full swing.

Emperor Qing sat at the head of the table, while officials from both the Southern Qing and Northern Qi sat on either side below.

Li Zhi's first two poems were both completely defeated by the Northern Qi.

Cui Shen, the deputy envoy of the Northern Qi dynasty, described it as "overly ornate and vulgar."

When Li Zhi presented "Ode to the Goose," it immediately drew gasps of amazement.

Cui Hao was a scholar, not a bureaucrat.

His assessment was also very objective.

"The wording seems simple and casual, but it is very apt."

"The whole poem is a perfect whole, vivid and colorful, as if the goose is right in front of you!"

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!"

"A masterpiece!"

"Excellent work" is a much higher rating than the previous "acceptable"!

At this point, the chief envoy of the Northern Qi delegation became unhappy.

The envoy, whose title was Marquis of Changning, was named Wei Bi and was the younger brother of the Empress of Northern Qi.

"For so many years, has your country produced any decent poetry?"

"I wonder which scholar wrote this poem?"

"Why don't you come up to the palace and let us see for ourselves!"

The implication is clear: they don't believe that a person from Nanqing could have written this poem.

It was common for people from Nanqing to buy poems and lyrics from the Northern Qi Dynasty.

Emperor Qing also looked at Li Zhi, his face showing deep doubt.

"Prince Jing!"

"Whose son from a prominent family wrote this poem?"

Chapter 8 The Dilemma of Zhuang Mohan's Disciple! Singing of Snow, Yet No Snow Appears!

Emperor Qing knew the truth was in the question, and Prince Jing answered truthfully.

"Your Majesty, this poem was written by my third brother!"

Upon hearing this, Cui Shen nodded slightly.

"I imagine the author of this poem is quite young and has a bright future ahead of him!"

"Judging from Prince Jing's age, this Third Prince should be under twenty, right?"

Upon hearing Cui Shen's words, Li Zhi couldn't help but feel smug.

Wei Bi, the chief envoy of Northern Qi, observing the situation, immediately added a sentence.

"Back in the day, when Mr. Cui was ten years old, he composed a poem that made him famous throughout the land!"

"That poem was so beloved by Master Zhuang that he accepted you as his student!"

"After that, Mr. Cui's poetry and prose improved day by day, and he was revered as the Great Wall of Five-Character Poetry!"

Five-character Great Wall!

Cui Shen was famous throughout the land for his five-character poems!

Therefore, everyone was convinced by his comments on poetry.

Marquis Changning, Wei Bi, always upheld the dignity of the Northern Qi dynasty.

Was the author of "Ode to the Goose" young?

Our Northern Qi prodigy Cui Shen could compose poetry at the age of ten!

In Wei Bi's opinion, the author's age could be no more than ten years younger.

The people of Nanqing, of course, knew that Li Chang'an was only five years old.

At first, these people were shocked and confused, but then they all showed signs of excitement!

That's so prestigious!

Just as Li Zhi was about to reveal Li Chang'an's age, Emperor Qing interrupted him.

"Mr. Cui, may I ask how your poem written when you were ten years old compares to this 'Ode to the Goose'?"

Cui Shen replied, "Not even close!"

Wei Bi immediately said, "Your Majesty, the scholar who wrote 'Ode to the Goose' must be at least sixteen or seventeen years old!"

"Comparing 'Ode to the Goose' with the poem Mr. Cui wrote when he was ten years old is unfair!"

The officials in the Northern Qi delegation unanimously expressed their agreement.

"As people get older and have more experience, their poetry will naturally be better!"

"When Mr. Cui was ten years old, he wrote a poem that was already considered a genius!"

"The Marquis of Changning is right, this comparison is indeed unfair!"