Chapter 28: The First Strike of Poetic Fury

  Ye Ling'er is the only daughter of Ye Zhong, the guardian of Kyoto. Her family's legacy is rooted in martial arts, which unfortunately has not endowed her with a refined and gentle disposition. With one of the four great masters, Ye Liu Yun, as her uncle, the Ye family holds a somewhat special position in Qing Guo. However, this young girl herself is not an overbearing or arrogant person; she's just anxious because she's worried about the Lin sisters being bedridden every day and also being forced to marry a man she has never met before.

  Recently, a rumor has been circulating among the high-ranking officials in the capital that the palace is planning to betroth Miss Lin to the illegitimate son of the Fan family who lives in Danzhou. Upon hearing this news, Miss Lin was filled with shame and anger, and after catching a chill at night, she coughed up blood several times, causing her condition to worsen. Ye Ling'er had been in Dingzhou with her brother when she heard about this and hurried back to the capital, just in time to witness the scene that Fan Xian saw outside the city gate.

  After a few more days, Kyoto rumors spread that the illegitimate son of the Fan family had returned to Beijing. Like the young master of the Fan family, Fan Siyan, he was also a spoiled and arrogant young man. This news made Ye Ling'er even angrier. Yesterday, she went to visit Miss Lin, and found that there was a hint of shyness in her eyebrows and eyes. After repeated questioning, although she didn't get any answers, she guessed that Miss Lin must have someone she liked.

  She couldn't bear to see her sister so heartbroken, so she went to ask her father to intercede with the palace and break off the engagement. Who would have thought that this would infuriate her father? With no other choice, she invited Fan Ruo over to the manor, hoping to find a way to stall the marriage - although she knew it was unlikely, she had to try for the sake of her sisterly bond.

  Ye Ling'er took a glance at Rou Jia, this gentle and soft little girl, then looked towards Fan Ruo's eyes which became calm. Only today did she realize that the usually gentle Miss Ruo of the Fan family was actually a formidable person inside. At this moment, hearing that the other party wanted to introduce a famous doctor, she said lightly: "No need."

  Fan Ruo smiled and said: "If you really care about that young lady, why be afraid of letting the famous doctor take a look?"

  "The imperial physicians don't have a good solution either. That famous physician you mentioned..." Ye Ling'er endured, not revealing her disdain in front of the princess.

  "That doctor is Mr. Fei's student," Fan Ruo explained politely.

  Ye Ling'er let out a soft hum, her eyes lit up, and she walked forward, pulling on Fan Ruo's hand: "Then I'll trouble sister."

  After chatting, the three of them returned to the pavilion. The other girls saw that the two young ladies' faces were calm and thought that everything was over, so they let out a sigh of relief. On the side, there were maidservants serving them, and a woman scholar brought the already copied poetry scrolls to the opposite bank of the lake.

  Before long, the poems written by those geniuses on the other side of the lake were also copied over. The girls flipped through them, occasionally exclaiming in admiration. Fan Ruoruo, however, propped up her chin and gazed at the opposite bank, lost in thought. Ye Ling'er thought of that person and curiously took over the poem scroll, flipping through it from start to finish, but didn't see any signature with the surname "Fan". She asked in surprise: "Where is Mr. Fan's poem?"

  She thought to herself, since the Fan family had let that man come to the Wang family to gain fame, then there must be no hidden reason. The female official respectfully said, "Young Master Fan didn't compose a poem, how could it be..." Princess Ruo looked at Fan Ruoruo by the railing and saw a hint of puzzlement on the young girl's innocent face. She asked about the scene at that time, until now, the girls inside the pavilion realized that the battle of wits on the other side of the lake was not weaker than this side either.

  Rou Jiajun's mistress Sweet smiled and said: "Yao Yao sister, why don't you come to see these talented poets' works?"

  When the ladies were discussing, Fan Ruo had already heard it in her ears. She knew that her brother was humiliated on the lake side. She turned back from the railing, and her calm eyes actually hid a hint of anger. She said coldly: "Can these people also write poems?"

  Although the ladies had always known that Miss Fan was well-versed in poetry, they were still somewhat surprised to hear her speak such words. Fan Ruo turned around, picked up a fine brush from the inkstone, and wrote a few lines on paper with a flourish, handing it over to Nü Shi after it had dried slightly, instructing her: "Send these two poems over and let those people take a look."

  The woman historian took her leave and departed.

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  Two flowers bloomed, each representing one, and then said that the lake surface Guo Baokun secretly pointed out Fan Xian's identity, causing the whole room to fall silent, with a somewhat strange atmosphere in between.

  The crown prince's eyes flashed with a hint of anger, thinking that the people under the crown prince were indeed without any discipline. He lightly clenched his fist, secretly thinking if he should give them a lesson, but after taking another look at Fan Xian's appearance, he felt that this child must have a way to deal with it and shouldn't need him to take action.

  The reason why Sui Nan Bo invited Fan Xian to attend the poetry gathering was simple, it was to make him famous and win the top prize in the imperial examination, so as to move the heart of that Princess "Fang Xin", but Fan Xian seemed not to be in a hurry at all, really making people unable to understand what he was thinking. After everyone's poems were sent to Hu Ting, it wasn't long before a female historian returned with a message, handing over the poem written by Miss Fan to the Crown Prince of the county.

  The crown prince's eyes flashed with excitement as he exclaimed: "Good!"

  The attendants beside him nodded in agreement as they carefully tasted it, also nodding frequently: "Indeed not bad, only..." He felt that this poem was written by a woman, which didn't quite fit the tone, but thinking of the relationship between the Fan family and the Duke's household, he kept his mouth shut.

  The crowd gathered around, curious, and saw that the paper was written in elegant small script: "In August, the lake is flat and peaceful, containing the virtual and blending with the clarity of the sky. The air steams with cloud-like dreams, and the waves shake the city of Danzhou. Wanting to cross but having no boat or oars, I am ashamed to live in a time of sage wisdom. Sitting and watching those fishing, I only have the emotions of envying the fish."

  "Good poem, indeed worthy of Miss Fan's work." He Zongwei also squeezed among these people, the voice of praise was exceptionally loud, as if to be transmitted to the other side of the lake, "Writing lake scenery is elegant and natural, turning to discuss naturally, it is a fine work."

  Guo Baokun frowned and said, "The small lake in front of us is just a tiny part of the atmosphere, using steam to evaporate it doesn't seem quite right. Moreover, Yunmengze is in the south, while Danting City is by the sea. Miss Fan only cares about appearances, but when it comes to these two words 'nature', she lacks some understanding."

  The Crown Prince Jingwang, however, saw a different meaning in this poem. As the saying goes, "desiring to cross without a boat or oars, dwelling in seclusion is shameful to the enlightened", sitting and watching those fishing, only having the desire for fish, although obscure, still reveals that the author is not willing to be hidden, wanting to have some achievements, it's a poem of humble petition - he turned his head towards Fan Xian who had been quietly sitting in a secluded place, thinking this poem... wasn't it written by you?

  But the poem was indeed good, so everyone praised it in unison, and only a few people echoed Guo Baokun's opinion. The young master was thinking deeply when someone had already conveyed his opinion to the other side of the river, and Miss Fan's explanation had also arrived.

  "Lakes are water, seas are also water. From Yunmeng to the East China Sea, my elder brother sits in Danzhou, his heart is in the rivers and seas, using it at will, what's not allowed? This poem was written by my elder brother when he was ten years old, today I copied it out just to ask you all to appreciate it."

  The words in front of the poem don't matter, but it clearly says that this poem was not written by Miss Fan, but by... the silent and speechless Fan Xian on the other side!

  At this time, the scholars in the garden looked at Fan Xian's expression again, and it was no longer disdainful and complex, but full of shock and incomprehension. A ten-year-old can write such a poem, is this Fan Xian a genius?