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2. Summer flowers

Gu Xu visited Lu Zhai for the second time. After receiving the invitation, he was invited to participate in the poetry meeting.

It was June at this time, and the lotus flowers were in full bloom in the Lufu pond.

Among the green leaves, flowers of various colors stand gracefully, the white ones are as pure as jade, and the red ones are as bright as clouds. The tender pistils are full of pearls, and the fragrance is bursting, refreshing.

Under the convocation of Mrs. Lu, the young children of the Lu family gathered at the waterside pavilion in the pool - a place with windows on all sides, winding corridors on the left and right, and a bamboo bridge connecting it to the shore.

Through the window, you can see the panoramic view of the pond, as if you are in a painting.

Since the ancestors of the Lu family in Qingzhou once entered Taoism through poetry and painting, and became immortals, the Lu family has always focused on cultivating the poetry attainments of the younger generation. Everyone hopes to stand out in poetry gatherings and gain praise from everyone and appreciation from their elders.

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Because he was delayed for some time by the Exorcist Department's mission, when Gu Xu arrived at Shuixie, most of the poetry meeting had already passed.

The young people of the Lu family and the invited guests were all sitting around a round table. On the table were pens, inks, paper and inkstones, as well as fruits and pastries.

There are two bamboo tables nearby, one with cups and chopsticks and wine sets, the other with tea spoons and tea sets. Each has a maid fanning a stove to make tea or scalding wine.

The theme this time is "Lotus".

Can compose poetry and lyrics.

According to the rules of the poetry meeting, participants need to write their works on Xuelang paper, and then tie them to the wall with a needle to receive comments from everyone.

In addition, each participant can also receive several lotus-shaped stickers - when they see the work they admire most, they can put the lotus sticker on it.

The author with the most lotus stickers in the end will become the leader of this poetry meeting.

"Master Gu, all that's left now is your masterpiece." Mrs. Lu stood up and said to Gu Xu with a smile.

The maid next to him came forward and respectfully handed the brush and Xuelang paper into his hands.

Gu Xu politely thanked him.

At the same time, his eyes passed over the men and women in rich clothes beside the round table, and landed on a slender girl in the corner of the waterside pavilion.

She sat in the shadow of the room, lowered her head, and looked at her toes.

Everyone was wearing brightly colored silks and satins, and sparkling gold and silver jewelry. Only she was dressed in plain white, like Chang'e in the moon palace, a fairy from another world, and was incompatible with the surrounding environment.

Gu Xu did not start composing poetry immediately.

He first glanced at the works of the Lu family's children on the wall.

He must admit that the Lu family is truly a scholarly family. The works of these young people are basically neat in rhythm and gorgeous in rhetoric, and they praise the beauty of lotus flowers to the fullest.

Although it is not particularly stunning, it is quite satisfactory and can be described as "literary".

However, if he compared these poems with the masterpieces he had read in his previous life, he would find that they were stiff, old-fashioned, and lacked a lot of emotion.

It's not like I was inspired.

It's more like "telling sorrow for the purpose of writing new words".

Many young people even use a lot of uncommon words and little-known allusions in their poems to show off their skills, which makes people confused.

Gu Xu did not open his mouth to comment.

He glanced at the surrounding buildings with red and red inscriptions, and thought of the complicated and strict rules of the Lu family. He felt that in such an environment, it was normal for young people to write poems that were gorgeous but lacked soul.

Next to these works, there are more or less several lotus stickers.

As for the work that has received the most lotus stickers, it is Mrs. Lu's work "Ode to the Red Lotus" - in Gu Xu's opinion, this is also a song that cannot be faulted, but it is also mediocre and cannot be said to be an excellent work.

The reason why it received the most votes is obviously because of its distinguished authorship.

It's like "My Father, the District Chief" won the first prize in an essay competition.

Gu Xu suddenly felt a little bored.

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A few minutes later, his eyes fell on the song "Remembering Kings and Grandsons".

The content is as follows:

"There is a small pond where cattails are hunting in the wind. After the rain, the lotus flowers fill the courtyard with fragrance. Plums and melons sink in the ice and snow is cool. On the bamboo square bed, I am busy with needlework and have long dreams in the afternoon." (2)

After seeing this poem, Gu Xu had this picture in his mind——

After the rain, the water plants in the wind made a strong sound, and the fragrance of lotus filled the small courtyard. The young girl lay lazily on the bamboo square bed, enjoying the plums and melons that were put in the well and chilled with cold water. She just felt cool and comfortable.

Under such circumstances, she no longer had the heart to work as a needlework girl, and just wanted to take a nice nap.

It must be said that the language of this word is fresh and refined, simple and natural, and it outlines a vivid picture with just a few strokes. It is full of life interest and stands out among many works that are filled with gorgeous rhetoric.

And its signature is "Lu Shiyao".

"I didn't expect that in a place with strict rules like Lu Mansion, a girl with such a true temperament would be born," Gu Xu sighed silently in his heart, "It's really interesting."

While he was thinking, he glanced at the girl in the white dress in the corner again.

The girl noticed his eyes and turned her head nervously, pretending to stare at the dragonflies on the pond, not daring to look at him.

Gu Xu smiled.

He couldn't help but imagine how cute this girl, who was shy and reserved in front of him, would look like when she was lying on the bamboo bed and eating iced plums in private.

But at this time, Gu Xu noticed that such a fresh and natural work failed to get even a lotus sticker.

It is unexpected and reasonable.

Who said Lu Shiyao was just a concubine with a low status?

In Lu Mansion, a place where status and bloodline are extremely important, it would be difficult for her poetry to be truly appreciated by others, and it would only attract others' neglect and jealousy.

Gu Xu sighed softly, then sat down at the table and wrote quickly.

In an instant, a seven-character quatrain appeared on Xuelang's paper:

"There are many plain flowers that are deceived by others, but this flower really fits in the Yaochi."

"Who knows that there is hatred when there is no ruthlessness? When the moon is clear and the wind is clear, it is about to fall." (3)

After writing, he handed the Xuelang note to the maid next to him, who then tied it on the wall.

The content of this poem naturally fell in Lu Shiyao's eyes.

She glanced at Gu Xu quietly, then quickly turned away.

At this moment, she only felt that her nose was sore, and two lines of clear tears poured out of her eyes disobediently, soaking her snow-white collar.

A ray of breeze ruffled her black hair, but she didn't notice it.

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Late that night, Lu Shiyao sat quietly at his desk as usual, writing his own thoughts on colorful flower paper.

She wrote every word slowly and carefully.

During this process, the corners of her mouth inadvertently raised slightly - Lu Shiyao rarely smiled and usually had little expression on her face. People said she was withdrawn and cold.

But when she really smiled, she looked sweet and pure, like an orchid blooming, refreshing the heart.

I saw her writing——

"The world should not make me so happy.

"But he showed up."

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Note:

(1) From Zhang Heng's "Xijing Fu" and Wang Yanshou's "Lu Lingguang Palace Fu" in the Han Dynasty;

(2) Song Dynasty·Li Chongyuan's "Recalling Wangsun·Xia Ci";
Chapter completed!