Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was a day of light chill, the orchid boat gently drifting on White Lake.

The renowned scholars on board were brewing tea and drinking wine with Yan Xuan, chatting and laughing idly.

To the left was Shuyu Ke, whose poetry Shuyi loved most, sighing that his thoughts were delicate and every word full of emotion.

To the right was Qiyun Shanren; Shuyi had read his elegy for his deceased wife and once wept, covering her face.

Now they were also talking about her death.

“That day the Governor beheaded three women in a row, blood splattering before him, yet Yan Xuan didn’t even raise his eyes.”

“Speaking of which, it’s shameful. When we see beauty’s neck blood like falling flowers, we can’t help but feel a vulgar pity for the fair.”

“But even though his Dao heart is steadfast, he’s now willing to bow for Chunwu. So you see, true love is concentrated in us!”

Laughter of teasing erupted from the banquet.

I ignored it, coldly searching the boat.

I didn’t see the illustrious Li Tai’a.

Instead, there was a woman draped in an ink-colored cloak, surrounded by the crowd.

She was plain-looking, with no striking features.

Among these frail literati, her every gesture exuded a heroic boldness of a warrior wielding a great blade.

“Everyone says that among those who understand poetry today, none surpass the maid Chunwu of the Governor’s Mansion.”

She turned her head to look at me, her brows and eyes gleaming with a sharp, sword-like spirit. “Today we’re boating on White Lake, why not compose a poem for us?”

With that single glance, I knew.

This person was watching the fire from the other shore, and I had been completely seen through by her.

Before coming to the gathering, I had already thought of an escape plan, so on the surface I still maintained an air of unapproachable arrogance.

“Heaven and earth possess great beauty without speaking; if we deliberately seek lines and verses, we fall into vulgarity.”

She gazed at me unblinkingly, a faint smile in her eyes.

“In the heart it is intent; expressed in words, it is poetry. If one’s thoughts are without evil, what vulgarity is there?”

An oppressive sense of pressure.

I couldn’t refute a single word; cold sweat soaked my back.

The sky and water on the lake merged into one sheet of white.

Everyone had set down their cups, holding their breath in anticipation, waiting to see what astonishing lines this maid of peerless poetic talent would utter.

Yan Xuan’s expression remained unchanged, but the pad of his thumb that held the teacup repeatedly rubbed the rim.

If my deception were exposed today, if it became known that the bright pearl was actually a fish eye, he, as the beholder, would lose face completely and become a laughingstock.

At this moment, we had become grasshoppers tied to the same rope.

I sighed and stood up.

Braving the whipping cold wind, I unhesitatingly stepped onto the gunwale.

The small boat lost balance and immediately rocked violently; wine splashed from everyone’s cups, and exclamations rose one after another.

From my elevated position, I cleared my throat and loudly declaimed:

“White Lake is truly big, truly a big White Lake. If you ask how big, one gulp can’t drink it all!”

After speaking, I leaped.

I fell straight into the bone-chillingly cold lake water.