Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The Third Prince was incredibly astute. Just by looking at the Crown Prince's furtive glances, he immediately understood what the Crown Prince was thinking.

Although he knew that getting angry would play right into the Crown Prince's hands, the Third Prince still felt extremely displeased.

In particular, did the Third Prince remember that he had previously reminded Jia Lian not to do anything deceitful or fraudulent...?

As a result, Jia Lian turned around and wrote a line: "Dwarfs watching a play have never seen anything; they just follow what others say about right and wrong!"

Although Jia Lian was targeting the Zhou brothers, he still subconsciously felt offended whenever he thought about the previous situation.

In addition, two years ago at the Fourth Prince's residence, he felt that Jia Lian was arrogant and meticulous, so he didn't like him much.

Now that the Crown Prince is making no attempt to win over Jia Lian, he feels even less favorably toward Jia Lian.

However, remembering what Zhaoyang had told him after he left—that his grandmother really liked the poem "Butterfly Loves Flowers"—she wanted to take the original manuscript up to show his grandmother.

Take a deep breath. The eldest prince has become the crown prince, and to win the battle, the support of the queen mother is essential.

Therefore, no matter what, you must never do anything that displeases your grandmother.

So the Third Prince smiled and, like the Crown Prince and the others, cupped his hands to Jia Lian and said with a smile, "Today, having witnessed General Jia's demeanor, I realize that there are indeed people more capable than oneself."

Needless to say, the leader of today's literary gathering is none other than the General.

What does Your Highness think?

Seeing the Third Prince's composed and magnanimous demeanor, the First Prince cursed him inwardly for his hypocrisy, and then said, "More than just the champion."

Third Prince, don't you think that every poem by General Jia is a masterpiece, unmatched by anyone present?

In my opinion, General Jia should dominate the top five today!

As I mentioned before, I will reward the top three winners of today's literary gathering.

"Bring up the prize money..."

The Third Prince observed the Crown Prince's proposal without saying anything further.

Putting everything else aside, that last quatrain directed at the Zhou brothers, aside from being quite satirical, what right does it have to be said to be superior to all the other poems on stage today?

Does he really think the entire younger generation of the capital is a bunch of incompetent fools? Of course, he won't correct the Crown Prince. It's fine; let him offend those originally ranked higher...

……

Up in the pavilion, they chased away the other royal princesses and county princesses who had come to see the spectacle and find it strange.

Seeing the Empress Dowager pick up the poems again to examine them, Zhao Yang smiled and asked, "Grandmother, do you also think Jia Lian's poems are well-written?"

The Empress Dowager nodded and said frankly, "If you hadn't told me yourself, even I wouldn't have believed that such poems, whether delicate in emotion, grand in scale, or resilient and vigorous, could be written by the same person."

Zhao Yang chuckled and said, "It's just that my handwriting isn't very good; it's far inferior to that of my grandmother."

The Empress Dowager glanced at him, then looked down at the two handwritten poems, as if trying to find the inner meaning that they could not appreciate.

Then she gradually gave up. She had long since realized that Jia Lian's calligraphy was indeed not very impressive.

"Perhaps, as he said, poetry was nothing more than a means of self-cultivation, a minor pursuit."

Since his ambitions lay elsewhere, he naturally had no intention of spending too much energy on literary pursuits.

A good handwriting is not something that can be achieved overnight; this is common knowledge.

Zhao Yang pouted: "That's the most puzzling thing. If his ambitions lie elsewhere, how could he possibly write poems that even the Empress Dowager finds excellent?"

"There are differences in intelligence among people."

If one is foolish and stubborn, even if one devotes all one's life to it, it will be difficult to achieve anything in the art of poetry.

Those who possess intelligence, or are gifted with extraordinary talent, can be naturally gifted in literature and write with ease.

The reason why Li Qinglian's unrestrained style could produce countless masterpieces, surpassing the achievements of numerous literary giants and scholars throughout history, is precisely this.

Zhao Yang widened his eyes and exaggeratedly said, "Grandmother actually compared him to the Poet Immortal. Isn't that giving him too much credit?"

That's too exaggerated...

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Of course, we are still far from it now, but have you ever thought that he is not a scholar, but a general who has been on the battlefield?"

He is only twenty years old now, but judging from these few poems, he is truly a person with extraordinary intelligence. If he were to set aside his ambitions for worldly success and devote himself to scholarship, what achievements would he make in ten or twenty years?

"That's not necessarily true. Throughout history, there have been those who achieved fame at a young age but later lost their talent."

The Empress Dowager smiled, raised her arm, and gestured to give the scheming woman a beating.

Zhao Yang quickly chuckled awkwardly and went over to massage the Empress Dowager's shoulders to curry favor. Suddenly, she asked curiously, "By the way, how did Grandmother know he's only twenty years old?"

The Empress Dowager did not answer. After a while, she said gently, "Silly girl, have you ever thought about why your grandmother is in such a hurry to marry you off?"

Noticing the pause in the gesture on her shoulder, the Empress Dowager knew that this girl wasn't entirely clueless.

"Since ancient times, royal princesses have been born with endless honors and are showered with love and affection."

However, they must also shoulder their own mission and responsibilities.

Don't you remember your elder sister, the eldest princess of your generation?

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Princess Zhaoyang sighed inwardly.

How could she not know her grandmother's good intentions? Of course, she also knew how heartbroken her eldest sister was when she was to be married off to Mongolia.

"The Empress Dowager was thinking of Qingran's best interests, and Qingran naturally understood this."

However, Qingran really didn't want to just marry someone she didn't like!

Since the Empress Dowager has said that she enjoys the status of a royal princess, she should bear the corresponding responsibilities.

If, if Qingran is destined not to find a satisfactory person...

"Either way, things are unsatisfactory, so I might as well take on the responsibilities of a princess and pacify distant foreign lands; that would be a way of repaying the royal family's kindness."

As Princess Zhaoyang spoke, she glanced at the Empress Dowager's expression and, finding it indeed rather unpleasant, quickly added, "Of course, I was just saying that. With my grandmother protecting me and my father doting on me so much, that day will never come!"

The Empress Dowager turned to look at her and suddenly said, "Have you ever thought about this military officer who was recently promoted by your father?"

At a young age, he had already experienced the battles and made great achievements as a general, and now he had already reached the rank of fourth grade.

Does this count as me defeating you in martial arts?

I noticed that you previously highly praised that poem "Longing for You". Could this be considered as surpassing you in literary skill?

Let's talk about appearance.

I've heard rumors that Prince Bei Jing, Shui Rong, is known as the most handsome prince in the world.

In my opinion, Jia Lian was no less handsome than Shui Rong, and even more dashing.

Therefore, her appearance is also impeccable.

As for what you said about 'possessing brilliant strategies, harboring the secrets of the universe, and having the ambition to encompass heaven and earth,' I don't see that for the time being."

Princess Zhaoyang had been quite shy even while the Empress Dowager was speaking, so as soon as the Empress Dowager stopped to catch her breath, she immediately said coquettishly, "Oh dear, what are you saying, Grandmother? Even if Jia Lian is a good man, he's already married. What's the point of saying this?"

The Empress Dowager looked at her with disdain.

There is no such thing as an absolutely perfect person in the world; it's just that you set such high standards for yourself.

One must be proficient in both literature and martial arts, possess outstanding appearance, be resourceful, and have a broad mind...

Even if such a person truly exists, do you think they would be very young? And even if they are young, do you think others wouldn't recognize their potential? Wouldn't they be engaged to them beforehand?

Since you have such requirements, you should understand that if you actually find someone, they will already be married.

Princess Zhaoyang blushed. Those words she had just said were only meant to appease the Empress Dowager.

Who knew the Empress Dowager would take it seriously? If she did, she wouldn't say anything, but unexpectedly, she even got the girl to choose one for her!

"Grandmother, even if you're eager to marry her off as soon as possible, you shouldn't have chosen a married man for her to be a concubine," Princess Zhaoyang said coquettishly, wrapping her arms around the Empress Dowager's neck from behind.

The Empress Dowager frowned slightly.

Become smaller?

There is no concept of a royal princess being a concubine.

……