Empress Running Away with the Ball

“Yue’er does not dare receive the Empress Dowager’s praise.” Wu Yue Er’s face turned red and she lowered her head.

She was very smart. She knew that to take the lead, she had to attract the emperor’s attention first.

As expected, once she spoke and Empress Dowager Zhou replied, not only did she attract the envious gazes of the other girls, the emperor had also given her a look.

Wu Yue Er’s heart kept beating and her face turned red, just like the shy and charming blooming chinese rose.

The young girls couldn’t help thinking, ya, she really is pretty. Even the Empress Dowager had praised her beauty, the emperor must certainly like her.

How could these young girls know Empress Dowager Zhou’s thoughts?

When the young girls thought that Empress Dowager Zhou was set on making Wu Yue Er the empress, Empress Dowager Zhou smiled as she changed the topic.

“This widow feels this Happy Heart Pavilion is pretty good, but it’s lacking a poem. So, this widow hired the most knowledgeable scholar from the Han Lin Academy to give it a poem, but he could only write the first part. No matter how he couldn’t write the second part. Without this second part, isn’t it a pity? So this widow has a bold request for these girls, can anyone solve this problem for this widow and write the second part? Every one of you is a talented woman of the capital, I think you won’t let this widow down, right?”

Her words were very lighthearted, causing the girls to smile. Their affection for Empress Dowager Zhou increased in their hearts.

They understood in their hearts the Empress Dowager Zhou was about to test their talents, so they focused their minds 120%.

“Empress Dowager, please say the first part. This little girl is willing to try and solve this problem for the Empress Dowager.” There was someone with courage among the girls, boldly speaking up.

Empress Dowager Zhou looked at her with a faint smile and said, “Alright. Su Jin, bring the first part over and let these girls have a look.”

“Yes, Empress Dowager.”

Su Jin opened the box already prepared beside her and took a scroll, slowly unraveling it.

The young girls focused their minds and moved towards the scroll.

They saw that the words on the scroll seemed to be floating, written from iron, containing prestige and might. Their eyes lit up as they thought: good words, good words!

When the scroll was completely opened, the first part appeared in front of their eyes.

“The water has worms making it turbid, the water has fish to catch. Water, water, water, streams, rivers, lakes, flood.”

[TL note: As always, it’s hard to understand poems if they are translated to english because most of it depends on how the chinese characters are written.]

The young girls saw the first part and their hearts were filled with joy. They thought: What is hard about this first part, it’s easy to match.

When they opened their mouths to speak.

They thought about it and felt strange.

This first part looked simple, but pondering it, they found it was incredibly hard. The entire first part was focused on the word water, especially the last five words. The stream, river, and lake all had water beside it and the three waters became a flood.

Ya! This is very hard to match!

No wonder even the scholar from the Han Lin Academy couldn’t think of a second part!

The girls all began to ponder it. There were some that looked up at the clouds, some looked down at the stream outside, some tightly knit their brows, some crossed their hands.....

Empress Dowager Zhou’s smiling eyes passed over the faces of all the young girls.

She knew that although this poem was hard to match, it was not impossible. As long as one’s mind was agile and quick-witted, it could be done.

The one she had the most hope for was Master Xia’s daughter, Xia Yu Yan. If anyone could think of a match, the first would would be none other than Xia Yu Yan.