Chapter 353: Making Things Difficult

Just then, from the head of the room, Shen Qingluan suddenly spoke up. "Miss Qin has a point. Since I gave you a special invitation, I trust Miss Gu won’t make things difficult for her host. Every young lady here who received a special invitation is expected to compose a poem."

Gu Fei sneered inwardly. ’Compose a poem?’

’This is just a ploy to humiliate me.’

’Maybe I should gift you all Second Young Master Zhu’s poem: "The maiden’s just turned fifteen, her two little buns have yet to rise"?’

At that moment, a maid approached at Shen Qingluan’s signal. She curtsied to Gu Fei and said, "Miss Gu, please take a seat over here."

Gu Fei glanced toward Shen Qingluan at the head of the room. Her eyes were filled with mockery.

Then she looked at Qin Ying, whose expression was a mix of haughtiness and provocation.

The many socialites and noble ladies surrounding her were all sizing up her simple cloth skirt, their eyes full of disdain.

’Damn it all!’

’So they’re all just waiting to see me make a fool of myself, huh?’

Gu Fei smiled faintly and followed the maid to a nearby seat.

Qin Ying, with a beaming smile, curtsied toward the head of the room. "Why don’t we ask the Princess Consort to set a topic? We can all compose a poem, and then we can judge a winner for today. How does that sound?"

The Guardian Lady chuckled. "An excellent idea. I’ve already prepared the prize and was just worrying I wouldn’t have a chance to give it away."

Shen Qingluan lifted her chin. "Perfect. I just acquired a phoenix hairpin. Why don’t I add it to the prizes as well?"

As she spoke, she gestured to the maid beside her.

The maid opened a box and displayed it for everyone. Inside lay a seven-tailed phoenix hairpin, shimmering with a dazzling, eye-catching light.

One of the young ladies exclaimed with a smile, "Ah, that’s Miss Shen for you! To think she’d offer such a magnificent hairpin as a prize."

Shen Qingluan smiled sweetly. "It’s nothing much. As long as everyone is happy."

"We implore the Princess Consort to grant us a topic."

The Princess Consort was from the Duke Qin Mansion. Her father and several older brothers were all military commanders. Growing up without that kind of literary environment, she had never been fond of things like composing poetry.

However, setting a topic wasn’t about to stump her.

The Princess Consort’s gaze shifted, landing on several pots of white crabapple blossoms blooming to their fullest. She smiled. "Let’s take the white crabapple blossom as our theme. There are no restrictions on rhyme, and both five-character and seven-character lines are acceptable. Fewer rules should make it easier to produce a masterpiece."

These socialites and young ladies had known there would be a poetry gathering today, so they had all secretly prepared a few poems at home suitable for the occasion.

There were poems about gardens, willows, and lotus flowers.

Of course, no one had specifically prepared a poem about white crabapple blossoms, so they all began to wrack their brains.

Gu Fei, naturally, couldn’t compose poetry. ’Even though I was a liberal arts major in my past life, I never unlocked the poetry-writing skill.’

Her only worry right now was, ’What if the poem I plagiarize is *too* good?’

’I don’t want to be in the spotlight. The title of a "talented woman" offers me no advantages, so why would I do something for nothing?’

’But if I don’t write anything, or just scribble nonsense, being looked down upon by these people would also be incredibly annoying. I’d be the one losing face.’

Maids moved through the flower hall, presenting each of the young ladies with paper and brushes.

Everyone here had brought a maid to help them grind their ink and lay out their paper. Only Gu Fei had not.

She slowly ground the ink herself, her mind having already recited a poem she had once been very fond of: Lin Daiyu’s "Ode to the White Crabapple Blossom" from *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

’But this poem was simply too masterfully written. I can’t use it.’

After a short while, the ink was ground. Gu Fei saw that several of the young ladies next to her had already begun to write.

She glanced at Qin Ying, who was writing furiously. As if sensing Gu Fei’s gaze, she looked over, her chin lifting slightly as a proud smile graced her lips.

Gu Fei sighed. ’Forget it. I can’t write one myself, so I have no choice but to cheat. Mr. Cao, I’ll have to borrow one of your poems, esteemed elder.’