Enter Chang Xiangsi and help Jingzhai fight

When I walked to the side door of the elegant room on the third floor, I happened to meet a group of maids in white carrying wine and trying to go in. I hurriedly showed my token to exchange for the last one, and followed them in carrying the wine.

Everyone was talking politely at the table. Jing was sitting in the second seat, wearing a smoky blue brocade, a hollow white jade crown on his head, and a jade fox pendant on his waist. He was holding a wine glass and looking at the leader. Feng Long, who was next to him, was wearing a dark purple robe with gold edges, and he was also looking at the leader.

I followed his gaze and saw the first one was a man in black clothes and a golden crown, about twenty years old, with slightly white eyes, slanted eyes, a lion nose, a smiling mouth but not smiling eyes, and he was just holding a wine glass.

I heard a fat man in navy blue clothes laughing and saying, "It is a blessing from my ancestors that I can meet His Highness Yue Liang today. I never thought that I could read His Highness's poems. It is really a great honor!"

Yueliang... Your Highness? I seem to have heard this name somewhere. Yes, there are not many people who can be called Your Highness, except for the princess of Gao Xin and the sons of the fifth and seventh kings of Xuanyuan. I can never tell which of the two princes is which. In my impression, they were always dressed in black, so I can't see clearly and remember them.

The thin man in red clothes opposite him echoed, "Who wouldn't say that? I've heard for a long time that Young Master Qingqiu is very talented. Most of the people at this table have already composed poems. Why don't you improvise one? The combination of two heroes will add more brilliance and make this night a good story. What do you think?"

This thin man in red is so mean, he instigated Jing to write poetry behind this Prince Yueliang. If he does not do well, it will damage his reputation, and if he does well, it will overshadow others. He can't do well either way.

I understand the truth, Jing naturally understands it too, holding up the wine glass and thinking silently. Jingye standing behind him became anxious, and her face exposed above the white veil turned red.

"Jing is too stupid to make a fool of himself behind His Highness Yue Liang." Jing said slowly.

"Hey, Young Master Qingqiu, you are too modest. It's a rare occasion for us to get together tonight, so don't be too formal. Look, if Brother Fan hadn't invited me here, I wouldn't have known that there is such a big excitement in this small Qingqiu. Aren't you being too formal?" Yue Liang didn't respond to his words and insisted on asking him to write a poem.

"Your Highness Yue Liang, Jing may need some time. I just thought of a song. Why don't I go first?" Feng Long volunteered.

Jing glanced at him and shook his head slightly.

"I said that Young Master Qingqiu should come, why are you joining in the fun? Is it that my words are not enough?" Yue Liang put the wine glass heavily on the table, and the wine spilled. His eyes glanced at Feng Long.

"Feng Long doesn't dare." Feng Long clasped his fists helplessly.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then gracefully walked forward with the bottle to fill Yue Liang's glass. "Your Highness, please calm down. The young master has not slept well for several nights since he was in charge of the celebration. I think he is mentally exhausted and I am afraid that he will waste your time if he does not write well. I dare to write a poem for the young master. I wonder if your Highness will grant me this opportunity?"

When Jing saw me approaching, he frowned in the same way as Jingye behind him. Fenglong beside him widened his eyes, which were usually so big that they seemed to be about to fall out.

"It's quite interesting. Your master couldn't sleep well. Could it be that you, a little devil, did that at night? Come if you want. I want to see how capable the maidservants around Master Qingqiu are. I'll give you a break and write poems and songs. But if you don't do well in your words, you'll have to come with me tonight!" Yue Liang smiled with his eyes narrowed, his fingers sliding across the wine glass, stroking it repeatedly.

I really wanted to spit at him and yell, "You bold lunatic!", but I could only think about it.

Trying to bend my eyes into a smile, I pretended to be shy and said, "Your Highness, you are joking. I am a humble servant with little knowledge, but I happened to be in this beautiful time and scenery, and I was honored to see your heroic figure, so I was inspired to write a poem. Please forgive me if it is not good."

After that, I quickly ran away from him, walked to the middle of the banquet hall, and took seven steps like Cao Zhi, seemingly admiring the moon outside, but actually thinking in my heart: "Which good poem should I choose to scare these fools to death?"

Considering that Yue Liang threatened to take me away if I didn’t do a good job, I decided to go big and choose the most classic and irrefutable masterpiece of all time: “When will the bright moon appear? I raise my cup to ask the sky… I wish we can live long and share the beauty of the moon even though we are thousands of miles apart.”

As I paced, I silently observed everyone's reactions. Most of the people at the table were dressed like scholars, so naturally most of them knew what was good. The fat man in blue wiped his sweat repeatedly, closed his eyes and muttered "Ask the Heaven with a glass of wine". Feng Long showed his ten big white teeth, and while everyone was looking at me and no one was paying attention to him, he winked at me. The thin man in red across from me waved his fan and stared at me intently.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of applause from behind me. I was startled and turned around. Yue Liang said with a half-smile, "Great, great! What a great saying 'It's lonely at the top'! You are worthy of being the Young Master of Qingqiu. Your maidservant is so talented!"

I quickly bowed and said, "I cannot bear your praise."

“How dare you say that I am praising you too much?!” Yue Liang frowned, then glared at me, revealing even more of his lower three whites.

I didn't expect him to change his attitude so quickly, so I had to kneel on the ground and said, "I dare not."

"I don't think you dare. I'll punish you by making another one. If it's not good, hmph!"

I understand, he is so angry that he wants to embarrass me. But this kind of embarrassment is the kind I am least afraid of.

I got up and said calmly, "Then I will try my best." I paced a few steps in a pretentious manner and began to recite: "The bright moon rises over the sea, and the world is sharing this moment. Lovers complain about the long night, and miss each other all night long... I can't bear to give you anything, so I go back to sleep and dream about the good times."

As soon as I finished reciting and stepped aside, the fat man in blue couldn't help but cheer, but Yue Liang glared at him and he stopped talking and wiped his sweat. The thin man in red fanned faster and faster, as if he was very angry.

Yue Liang lowered his eyes and smiled softly, "It's good, but it's out of style compared to what happened just now. It's just childish. I wonder who you're giving it to?"

I lowered my eyes, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

Jing bowed and said, "I am the servant of the mansion. I have watched too many plays recently, and I think I am imitating the mentality of the infatuated men and women in the plays. Your Highness, why don't you move to the elegant seats downstairs? I will perform a new play "East Chamber" later, and the lyrics are even more affectionate and sad."

Yue Liang looked at him, smiled without saying anything, raised his head and drank the wine in the glass, then said: "Okay, I'll give you this face!" Then he stood up.

The others saw him stand up, and they all stood up as well. He walked past me in two or three steps, and suddenly tried to grab my veil. I couldn't dodge in time, and I could only see his big hands open. At this moment, Tu Shanjing stretched out a hand diagonally, gently blocked it, and whispered: "Your Highness, according to the rules on the ship today, those who are not covered with veils are singers and dancers, please show some mercy to her."

Yue Liang flicked his sleeves, nodded at me and said, "I'll let you go for now, go back and dream about our wedding day!" Then he went downstairs without looking back. Everyone followed him and left. The fat man in blue was the last one to leave. When he passed me, he stopped and asked, "Young lady, you are so talented. Meng Long admires you. May I know your name?"

I didn't know where he came from, so I kept a wary eye on him: "Thank you for your appreciation, sir. I am the wine waitress on this ship today, and my name is Hu Jingxiang."

After hearing this, Meng Long murmured again: "Shizuka, Shizuka... Remember, if there is a chance in the future, I hope to have the chance to learn from you again."

I bowed and said, "I don't deserve it. I hope we'll meet again if we're lucky."

He nodded and trotted off to catch up with the others.

Note: The poems are quoted from Su Shi's "Water Melody: When Will the Bright Moon Appear" and Zhang Jiuling's "Looking at the Moon and Thinking of the Distant Home".