Falling in Love Online with an Ancient General

"These two young people, with their talent and beauty, are indeed a perfect match," Li Yi said again.

Feng Qingyi had initially planned to go up and see what the two were chatting about, but then she thought since Zhao Yiqing came to see Xu Linghe, she'd better not intrude.

Feng Qingyi turned and went to the back kitchen, tasting the innovative pastries made by Tao Heng.

"Miss Feng, how do you find the taste?" Tao Heng asked, looking at Feng Qingyi.

Feng Qingyi nodded, "It's excellent. You could start selling these right away."

"You're too kind, Miss Feng. It's just a casual attempt. If you like them, I can make some for you to take home," Tao Heng said.

Feng Qingyi: "That would be lovely. And Aunt Tao, you don't need to keep calling me Miss Feng. Just call me Qingyi."

"Alright, Qingyi."

She had made pastries elsewhere before, but this was the first time she had encountered such an employer.

They never treated the staff as servants, always spoke kindly and respectfully, and even paid higher wages than other places.

After tasting some pastries, Feng Qingyi looked around and then found a seat in the main hall, listening to the people around her chatting idly.

The teahouse was a place dense with information. Although they were mostly gossiping about trivial matters, it was still quite interesting to listen to.

On the third floor, in a private room.

Xu Linghe and Zhao Yiqing sat opposite each other, with tea and pastries laid out on the table between them.

Xu Linghe: "Mr. Zhao, you seem distracted. Is something troubling you?"

"...No, no, thank you for your concern, Miss Xu. I'm fine," Zhao Yiqing said, sneaking a glance at Xu Linghe.

Seeing his response, Xu Linghe said, "That's good. Try some of these pastries, they're quite delicious."

"Thank you. Miss Xu, may I ask if you're free the day after tomorrow?" Zhao Yiqing asked somewhat nervously.

Xu Linghe ate a piece of pastry, "The day after tomorrow? I shouldn't have anything planned. Why do you ask?"

Zhao Yiqing: "I was wondering if I might have the honor of inviting Miss Xu to attend the Late Spring Poetry Meeting at the Literary Garden with me."

Hearing about the poetry meeting, Xu Linghe felt a bit of a headache coming on. She had never liked studying since childhood and was completely ignorant about such things. If she went, wouldn't she just embarrass herself?

Moreover, it was the Literary Garden's poetry meeting. Although it wasn't necessary to compose poetry, skills in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting were also acceptable, but she wasn't proficient in any of these.

The Late Spring Poetry Meeting was the grandest celebration of the year at the Literary Garden. Everyone who attended would showcase their best talents.

If one could win first place, they could become famous throughout Shengjing.

While others would be playing music and composing poetry, she couldn't exactly go up there and start brandishing weapons.

"Mr. Zhao, I'm not skilled in poetry or literature. Perhaps you should find someone else to accompany you."

Zhao Yiqing: "Miss Xu, you're being too modest. Everyone has their own strengths, and I greatly admire your exceptional martial arts skills."

"For this poetry meeting, people usually go in groups. I don't have many friends, so I could only come to invite you."

Xu Linghe hesitated for a moment, "Why don't you invite Qingyi? She's talented and beautiful, and would be a perfect companion for you."

"...Miss Xu, I've only met Miss Feng a few times and don't know her well. If I were to invite her suddenly, I'm afraid she might find it too presumptuous," Zhao Yiqing said.

Hearing Zhao Yiqing's words, Xu Linghe thought he had a point.

Moreover, she was already betrothed. If she were to attend a poetry meeting with another man, it might not look good if word got out.

"Then I agree to go with you."

Zhao Yiqing smiled and said, "Thank you, Miss Xu. The poetry meeting starts at 7AM the day after tomorrow. I'll come here to pick you up then."

Xu Linghe nodded, "Alright."

Zhao Yiqing stood up, "Then I'll take my leave for today."

"Okay, see you the day after tomorrow!"

Xu Linghe saw Zhao Yiqing off downstairs and then sat down next to Feng Qingyi.

"Qingyi, do you know how to write poetry?"

Feng Qingyi shook her head, "No, I don't."

Xu Linghe sighed, "Zhao Yiqing has invited me to attend the Late Spring Poetry Meeting at the Literary Garden with him the day after tomorrow. I don't know anything about it, I'm sure to embarrass myself."

Feng Qingyi was curious about this poetry meeting, "Is this poetry meeting just a group of people competing to see who's better at composing poems?"

Xu Linghe explained: "It was like that ten years ago, but gradually the poetry meeting has become a talent show, mainly focusing on music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and poetry."

"It's held twice a year, in June and December, at the Literary Garden. People compete with their talents to select the final champion."

"The champion receives a hundred taels of gold, which isn't a lot, but it's more about the honor. Besides that, they become famous throughout Shengjing, which brings countless benefits."

Feng Qingyi asked, "Can anyone participate in this poetry meeting?"

Xu Linghe nodded, "Indeed. Remember Qian Jue, whom you mentioned before? He became famous overnight in Shengjing with a single painting at the poetry meeting, and his value skyrocketed since then."

"He has been the painting champion at the Literary Garden for several consecutive years. If no one can defeat him this year, it will be his fifth consecutive win."

Feng Qingyi hadn't realized Qian Jue was so impressive!

"For the painting competition, do they paint on the spot or bring a prepared work?"

Xu Linghe: "In the past, for things like painting, people would just bring their previous works for evaluation."

"But now the rules have changed. I heard that someone once tried to pass off someone else's painting as their own, and it was discovered later."

"To prevent this from happening again, the Literary Garden now requires topics to be given on the spot, and poems and paintings to be created there and then. Even the music performances must fit the given theme."

"So now the poetry meeting starts at 7AM and is divided into five categories: music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and poetry, as I mentioned earlier."

"These all happen simultaneously. After the poetry, painting, and calligraphy are completed, they're displayed by the Literary Garden without showing the creators' names. The attendees of the poetry meeting vote for their favorites, and the most popular ones are selected."

Feng Qingyi thought this was quite similar to some modern entertainment competitions, all based on voting. However, sometimes when people who don't really understand the art form are mixed in with the voters, the results might not be entirely fair.

"Is it only the attendees of the poetry meeting who vote? No one else?"

Xu Linghe: "The final selection is made by several renowned experts from the Literary Garden, who discuss and decide on the final results together."

Feng Qingyi asked: "Isn't there a risk of favoritism?"

Xu Linghe: "Of course, that can happen, but most of the attendees are scholars who are generally quite proud and would disdain such behavior."

"Although we can't rule out a few who might want to use this to gain fame and are willing to spend money and effort, they're a small minority."

"After all, most of them will be taking the imperial examinations in the future, and reputation is crucial for that. If they ruin their reputation over something like this and it's discovered later, even if they pass the exam, they won't be able to enter official positions and might even end up in prison."

After hearing Xu Linghe explain all these things about the poetry meeting, Feng Qingyi suddenly became interested, "Could I also participate?"

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