Seeing her like this, Tang Ziyan immediately understood what Su Mingyu was going to do.
He squinted his eyes, and a hint of amusement appeared on his handsome face. "Why not?"
Su Mingyu waved to Tang Ziyan, then leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
Upon hearing this, Tang Ziyan's eyes lit up. He looked at Su Mingyu in surprise and sincerely praised, "I've long heard that the princess consort's verses are exquisite. Now I truly understand what it means to be able to compose a poem on the spot. It's truly wonderful."
Su Mingyu waved her hand at him a bit nervously. "Stop praising me. Let's start quickly."
Tang Ziyan grinned at her, then raised his eyebrows and softly said, "Sure enough, Your Highness the King of Yu is truly talented. This poem is really wonderful. However, coincidentally, I also have an idea about spring. I wonder if the princess would like to hear it?"
Wu Yurou frowned slightly, but still said, "Please go ahead, sir."
Tang Ziyan sat on the stool with his legs crossed and showed no intention of getting up. "The taste of the world has grown as thin as gauze in recent years. Who made me ride a horse and be a guest in the capital? In the small building, I listened to the spring rain all night. In the deep alley tomorrow morning, they will sell apricot blossoms. On the short paper, I casually write calligraphy. By the sunny window, I play with making tea. Don't sigh about the dust on my plain clothes. I can still get home before the Tomb - Sweeping Festival."
As soon as Tang Ziyan finished reciting the poem, the entire venue fell silent instantly. You could even hear a pin drop.
Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Wu Yurou knew that no one would be able to compose a better poem than this today.
She tightly clenched her fists, and her eyes were filled with hatred as she looked at Su Mingyu in the crowd. Others might not have noticed, but sitting in a high - position, she clearly saw what Su Mingyu had whispered to Tang Ziyan before he had the confidence to recite the poem.
The face of the King of Yu was obviously not looking good either.
He frowned tightly and had a gloomy face. "I didn't expect that Mr. Tang would have such literary talent."
Tang Ziyan raised his eyebrows. "Your Highness the King of Yu flatters me."
Seeing his arrogant look, the King of Yu's face turned extremely ugly. But since there were so many people here, he couldn't say much. He could only sit back in his seat with a hint of resentment.
Su Mingyu watched all this. With a smile in her eyes, she hooked her lips at Wu Yurou, who was looking at her. Then she was satisfied to see an angry expression appear on her face.
At this point, Wu Yurou naturally couldn't say much. She lowered her eyes. "Since we've talked about spring, let's talk about summer."
Su Mingyu's eyes shifted, and she whispered a few words in Tang Ziyan's ear.
Tang Ziyan's eyes widened in shock. Then he raised the fan in his hand. After attracting the attention of those around him, he directly said, "The spring - eye silently cherishes the tiny stream. The tree - shade reflects on the water, loving the sunny softness. The young lotus has just shown its pointed tip. A dragonfly has already perched on it."
After saying that, Tang Ziyan stood up. He lowered his eyes and looked at Wu Yurou, then continued, "According to what the princess means, next we'll probably talk about autumn and winter, right?"
Wu Yurou felt a tightness in her heart under his gaze. "That's right. What do you mean by saying this?"
Tang Ziyan squinted his beautiful eyes and smiled lightly. "In that case, to avoid trouble, I might as well just recite the poems about autumn and winter together."
"What?" Wu Yurou thought she had misheard. She looked at Su Mingyu in disbelief.
Even though she had long known that Su Mingyu was talented, to be able to come up with four different poems about different seasons on the spot, and each one was so good, it was a bit too much, wasn't it?
Tang Ziyan didn't give Wu Yurou much time to react. He directly said, "Let's talk about autumn first."
"After the fresh rain in the empty mountains, the weather turns cool in the evening autumn. The bright moon shines through the pine trees. The clear spring flows over the stones. The bamboos rustle as the washer - women return. The lotus sways as the fishing boats come down. Let the spring flowers fade at will. The nobleman can stay here at ease."
Before everyone could be amazed, Tang Ziyan hooked his lips and continued, "The north wind rolls the ground, breaking the white grass. In the northern sky, it starts to snow in August. Suddenly, as if the spring breeze has come overnight, thousands of trees and ten thousands of trees are in full bloom like pear blossoms."
When Tang Ziyan finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted in the entire venue. The sound said it all.
He had won. These young gentlemen sincerely admired Tang Ziyan.
Different from the amazement in others' eyes, Wu Yurou and the King of Yu's gazes always fell on Su Mingyu.
Both of them knew very well that it was all thanks to Su Mingyu that Tang Ziyan could amaze everyone.
"Princess consort, what do you mean by this? Are you really here to ask for a side - consort for the King of Ruixian?" The King of Yu looked at Su Mingyu, with an unclear glint in his eyes.
Sensing a hint of anger, Su Mingyu grinned and gave the King of Yu a faint smile. "Your Highness the King of Yu, what are you talking about? What do you mean by really asking for a consort for the King of Ruixian? I'm just itching to show off my skills. Please don't laugh at me, Your Highness."
Seeing Su Mingyu's annoying smile, the King of Yu squinted his eyes. "If it's not for the King of Ruixian, is it for me? Does the princess consort not want me to marry the princess?"
As soon as these words were said, Su Mingyu felt a bit uncomfortable all over.
She awkwardly touched her nose. Reason told her that she couldn't refute too strongly, or she would lose the King of Yu's favor.
But the King of Yu's words made her feel that if she said nothing, it would seem like she was admitting something.
Just when Su Mingyu was struggling and didn't know what to do, Tang Ziyan suddenly interrupted them. "It seems that Your Highness the King of Yu already knows?"
He picked up a cup of tea and placed it in front of the King of Yu, then gave him a faint smile. "I'm really sorry to make Your Highness laugh. I just admire the princess's beauty, but unfortunately, I'm illiterate. So I had to ask the princess consort for help. Please don't blame me, Your Highness. I guarantee that I won't participate in the next rounds."
Seeing the seriousness in Tang Ziyan's eyes, the King of Yu frowned. "Why haven't I seen you before? You look so frail. You don't seem to be a person who knows martial arts. Gu Ruobai would not let such a useless person stay by Su Mingyu's side."
Seemingly not expecting the King of Yu to be so straightforward, Tang Ziyan was momentarily stunned.
It was Su Mingyu who reacted first.
She pursed her lips and looked at the King of Yu. "It's my fault that I didn't introduce him to you."
Saying this, Su Mingyu spread out one hand and pointed at Tang Ziyan beside her. "This is Mr. Tang Ziyan. He is a wandering person. He helped me once before, so he is temporarily staying in the King of Ruixian's mansion."
"Coincidentally, our mansion received an invitation from the princess today. But unfortunately, the King of Ruixian happened to be out on business, so I brought Mr. Tang here to support the princess."
The King of Yu looked at Su Mingyu coldly, his tone a bit displeased. "I think the princess consort is here to sabotage the event, right? The princess consort clearly knows that I'm determined to win this marriage alliance."