Good heavens, wasn’t this a closed loop?
In order to gain the Emperor’s favor, one needed a small kitchen to prepare delicious food.
But to get a small kitchen, one first needed to gain the Emperor’s favor.
This was fucking ridiculous…
Wei Meiren never expected that, despite her 1,131 hours of reading on Tomato, having watched hundreds of episodes of palace dramas, being intimately familiar with all sorts of scheming tactics, and being terrifyingly powerful, she would fail before even getting started, losing because…
There was no kitchen.
“I feel like my chest still hurts a little…” Wei Meiren clutched her chest and lay down again.
Fortunately, there’s always a way out…
Just when Wei Yingya felt that she had no way to use her skills, an opportunity came!
The Midsummer Poetry Gathering!
Before even attending the palace banquet, Wei Yingya was already pondering which poem to use.
Even after everyone else had submitted their poems, she still hadn’t made up her mind.
The reason was simple…
Although there were many ancient poems, few were suitable for today.
First of all, love poems are unacceptable. Love poems are for private exchanges between two affectionate people; to write them openly is, according to the etiquette of the Great Yan Dynasty, as she remembered it, a breach of propriety.
Secondly, it’s inconvenient to use specific place names or historical sites. There’s no Yellow Crane Tower or Jingting Mountain here.
Frontier poems are also unacceptable, as they don’t fit her noblewoman persona. Using historical allusions to satirize the present or expressing concern for the country and its people is even worse; the harem is forbidden from interfering in politics.
Writing about scenery is safer…
Sleeping in on a spring morning, sensing not the dawn; everywhere is heard the tweeting of the bird. Come night and the wind-rain sound; unknown how many petals fell to the ground1It’s a Chinese poem by the Tang dynasty poet 孟浩然 (Meng Haoran) called “春曉”, chūnxiǎo, (Spring Dawn).—none of these are quite fitting.
Although many concubines composed their poems in advance, they appeared to be written on the spot. But the poems about spring, autumn, and winter written in summer were clearly old works.
She needed a seemingly freshly written poem about scenery, one that also expressed excellent character and noble sentiments.
In this ancient world, no matter how eloquent and flowery your words may be, virtue comes first!
After eliminating each option one by one, Wei Yingya pondered for a whole day but still couldn’t come up with a solution.
Just as she was about to finish reading, she remembered this poem: Bamboo and Rock.
Sigh, who understands this? Copying poetry is truly a skill.
…
“How could you possibly write such a fine poem?” Song Qingzhi looked at Wei Yingya in disbelief.
She couldn’t accept that she, a talented woman from a scholarly family, had lost to the daughter of a noble family.
Wei Yingya thought to herself, ‘I plagiarized’, but her expression remained calm.
“If Song Jieyu is not convinced, I will show you my collection of poems another day. I have written more than one poem. You can appreciate them at your leisure.”
One poem could be ghostwritten, but surely the entire collection couldn’t be ghostwritten, right?
A truly learned person would never resort to ghostwriting.
Song Qingzhi was completely speechless, and everyone present was also shocked.
She had written more than one such excellent poem; she had filled an entire book with them?
Helian Qi did indeed admire Wei Yingya’s talent. Looking at Wei Meiren, he said, “Your poem is excellent. You are exceptionally intelligent and talented. I bestow upon you the title ‘Ying’.”
“Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!” Wei Yingya bowed in delight.
The ancient Chinese poetry of my great China is truly invincible!
Ning Wanyin seemed lost in thought.
Newcomers to the palace all had one chance for promotion, but the Emperor had only promoted her by half a rank…
It seemed that although the Emperor admired her talent, he was unwilling to promote her because of her noble birth.
“Is there anything else you would like as a reward?” Helian Qi continued to ask.
He had just bestowed a title upon Wei Yingya, so this question was about any rewards other than the promotion.
“This concubine wishes to have a small kitchen. This concubine is skilled in cooking and hopes to prepare desserts for His Majesty.” Wei Yingya quickly requested.
Helian Qi nodded slightly: “Granted.”
“Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!” Wei Yingya bowed happily.
The small kitchen is in hand!
The Empress Dowager’s position is just around the corner!
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Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 12