I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

Xiao Mingyuan fawned over Xiao Wanjin and massaged his legs.

"Are you done with the bra business?"

Xiao Wanjin waved his hand, his face showing undisguised exhaustion, but also great satisfaction.

"We're always busy, but the momentum is good, so it's been worth it."

He sat down at the table, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and casually asked...

"I heard you took in a brother and sister, from your rival family."

Xiao Mingyuan nodded and recounted his encounter with Zhou Xing and his sister on the street.

After listening, Xiao Wanjin held his teacup in silence for a long while.

"Zhou Kang has been following Chen Shijin for many years, so he shouldn't be short of money. He shouldn't be greedy for the money from selling the land. The fact that he's in such a hurry to sell the Zhou family's land suggests there's something else going on."

After listening, Xu Qing asked, "What does Uncle Xiao mean?"

Xiao Wanjin stroked his beard.

"I just said it casually. You guys go about your business first, I'll have someone go and find out more. Hopefully, these two were really coerced into doing this, and not just forced in..."

He got up and walked outside, instructing, "Have someone prepare a small courtyard tomorrow, so that the brother and sister can no longer stay in the guest room."

Xiao Mingyuan responded, and Xiao Wanjin waved and left.

The study quieted down again. Xiao Mingyuan sat down and looked at the policy essay question he hadn't finished earlier.

But he just couldn't suppress his curiosity.

"Brother Qing, do you think Zhou Kang's sale of the land might be related to something else?"

Xu Qing put away his brush and ink without giving a direct answer.

"Since your father is investigating, let's wait and see. But it makes sense; Zhou Kang shouldn't be short of money from selling the land, so there must be a reason why he's in such a hurry to sell."

After the two finished analyzing the policy question.

Xu Qing pushed the compilation of past exam questions to the side.

"Let's do something else next."

Xiao Mingyuan grinned widely and clapped his hands.

"Great, great, that's wonderful! Looking at those policy essays, I feel like I'm going to grow a brain!"

Xu Qing pulled a thin book of poems from the bookshelf, flipped through a couple of pages, and pushed it in front of Xiao Mingyuan.

"Read these two poems aloud first."

Xiao Mingyuan glanced down at it; it was a five-character quatrain, not many words. He finished reciting it haltingly, then looked up at Xu Qing.

"And then, that's it?"

Xu Qing didn't rush to explain, and instead pulled out another song.

"Take a look at this one."

Xiao Mingyuan read another poem as instructed, and this time it flowed more smoothly.

Xu Qing waited until he finished reading before placing the two poems side by side on the table.

Which of these two poems do you think is better?

Xiao Mingyuan compared them and found that the first poem read smoothly, while the second poem used more refined language.

He thought for a moment, then pointed to the second poem and said.

"This one seems even more powerful."

Xu Qing nodded and continued, "Why?"

Xiao Mingyuan thought for a moment: "Because... his word choice isn't as straightforward as his usual speech; it sounds more like... he's writing poetry."

Xu Qing put away the two poems and replaced them with a piece of paper she had just written, which contained only four characters.

Wind, moon, river, mountain.

Xu Qing pointed to these four characters and said.

"Today we'll learn how to write poetry. The first step in writing poetry isn't memorizing how the ancients wrote it, but learning to see these four things with your own eyes."

Xiao Mingyuan frowned.

"What's so interesting about this? The wind is the wind, and the moon is the moon."

Xu Qing got up, walked to the window, and pushed it open. The night wind blew in from outside, causing the lamp flame to tilt and crackle.

He turned and looked at Xiao Mingyuan.

"When you stand by the window, do you feel the wind is cool or warm? When the wind blows, do you hear the sound first, or feel the coolness first?"

Xiao Mingyuan paused for a moment, walked to the window and stood there for a while, stretched out his hand to test the wind, and then pulled it back.

"It's cold...and there are sounds outside, like the wind blowing through the treetops, or like a thousand troops and horses."

Xu Qing nodded. "Remember this feeling. When writing poetry, it's not enough to just put the word 'wind' on the page. You need to make the reader feel the sensation of standing by the window. Now, write down your most immediate thoughts and feelings, without worrying about verses or rhymes."

Xiao Mingyuan took the pen and hesitated for a moment.

He looked down and wrote a line on the paper.

"The autumn wind comes from afar, blowing past the wall, rustling the leaves incessantly, like a great army passing through, even blowing the wicks of lamps off. I think I see a sky full of stars."

Xu Qing smiled. "Now at least you have the feeling. Turn it into a five-character quatrain."

Xiao Mingyuan nodded, picked up his pen again, and made some corrections on the paper.

"The autumn wind blows for thousands of miles, branches and leaves march like an army, lamp wicks fall on paper, and I see a sky full of stars."

After listening, Xu Qing looked at the paper and gave another hint.

"Your work already has a poetic feel to it. It would be even better if you refined a few of the words."

For example, in the line "The lamp wick fell onto the paper," you just wrote that the wick had been blown off. If you used the word "exploded," it would have a much stronger impact than "fell."

Then there's the relationship between the stars and the lamplight. Normally, saying you see a sky full of stars is fine. But if you're writing poetry, you need to exaggerate. You could write directly that these stars are actually lamplight transformed.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingyuan suddenly understood.

"I understand, I understand."

He picked up his pen and revised it again.

"The autumn wind blows for thousands of miles, branches and leaves march like an army, and the flames of lamps burst among the paper, turning into a sky full of stars."

Xiao Mingyuan read it aloud several more times.

"Not bad, not bad, much better than before."

He copied the poem neatly again.

"This is the first poem I've ever written that sounds like a poem."

Xu Qing chuckled.

"You see, that's how you write poetry. You just need to remember how you felt at the time, and then gradually develop it. After you've written a lot, you might be able to write a timeless masterpiece."

Xiao Mingyuan laughed heartily, touching his double chin.

"Haha, now that you mention it, I can't wait any longer."

Xu Qing smiled with relief...

……

……

The next morning, Xiao Wanjin found the two of them and explained the situation of the Zhou siblings.

"What can be confirmed is that Zhou Xing and his sister were not planted by Zhou Kang; they are true enemies."

That Zhou Kang is a real scoundrel. Before this, he was contacting a broker, wanting to sell Zhou Nan to someone else as a concubine.

The place Zhou Xing was sent to was originally intended by Zhou Kang to be cannon fodder. However, Zhou Xing turned out to be a very capable fighter, even gaining recognition in the military camp and learning excellent martial arts. Otherwise, he would have become cannon fodder in the very first battle.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingyuan slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"Damn it, I knew those guys together were all bad, but I never thought he could be this wicked."

Xiao Wanjin nodded. "I will continue to investigate Zhou Kang's sale of the land. Now it's confirmed that Zhou Kang is a trustworthy person. You're short-handed right now, so if you need anything in the future, just let him handle it."

Xu Qing nodded. "Now that Uncle Xiao says so, we can rest assured."

Xiao Wanjin got up and left. The two of them read for a while longer before going to the academy for class.

……

As soon as get out of class ended, they rushed home to prepare.

As soon as it got dark, they headed straight for the house.

Su Man was already waiting at the door, pacing anxiously.

"Miss Su, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Xu Qing said, clasping his hands in greeting.

"I'm so eager to know what happens next, I'm a little impatient, I hope you'll forgive me," Su Man said apologetically.

Xiao Mingyuan: "Me too, me too."

……

……

Inside the courtyard, next to the well.

Today's meal included osmanthus cake, braised beef, and braised pork hock.

The monkey was so happy after eating it that it danced with joy.

After finishing eating, Xu Qing proudly showed the monkey her sunglasses.

Xiao Mingyuan chuckled as well.

"Brother Monkey, look at this. Once you wear it, you won't be afraid of the light anymore, and you can go out during the day."

The monkey looked at Xu Qing with a puzzled expression.

Xu Qing explained with a smile, "That's right, try it on and I'll make a fire fold."

The monkey took the sunglasses, fiddled with them for a few moments, and then put them on with some skepticism.

Xu Qing took out a tinderbox, blew on it, and the monkey instinctively dodged.

A moment later, it realized that it was no longer dazzling, and it was so happy that it danced around and squeaked with laughter.

The monkey excitedly jumped around the yard two and a half times.

He randomly grabbed Xu Qing's hand and pointed to the well.

"Squeak squeak squeak..."

Clearly, that meant he had to leave...