Chapter 23 The Literary World of the Ming Dynasty is in an Uproar

the crowd, with just one enchanting glance, all the colors in the world seem like dust." A young gentleman murmured to himself, "Marvelous, truly marvelous..."

His eyes were bright. "This ci poem... has the same wonderful effect as Bai Juyi's 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow'. Its artistic conception is in no way inferior to that of 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow'."

"Turning her head, she smiled so sweetly that she outshone every beauty in the palace; Among the crowd, with just one enchanting glance, all the colors in the world seem like dust."

Someone recited these two poems and compared them. Whether in terms of the diction or the artistic conception, it was hard to tell which was better. Everyone was even more amazed.

There had been Tang poems, Song ci poems, and Yuan qu poems. But since the founding of the Ming Dynasty fifteen years ago, there had never been any poems or ci poems of such high standard and representativeness.

The well - read people present all had shining eyes, as if they saw the upcoming revival of the literary world of the Ming Dynasty.

"A tree stands gracefully with flowers just blooming. Apart from her natural beauty, I'm at a loss for words to offer a compliment. In front of me, Lady Wu boasts of her excellent dancing skills, but it's a pity that her slender waist always misleads people."

Everyone recited these lines over and over again. The more they savored it, the more interesting it became. At the same time, they yearned even more for that Miss Wanling.

What kind of woman could make that "Mr. Li" be at a loss for words when he wanted to offer a compliment?

"Gentlemen!"

A man in his early twenties, with an extraordinary bearing, stood up. "I think that on the surface, Mr. Li's ci poem is praising Miss Wanling, but in fact, it is about our Ming Dynasty!"

Everyone was taken aback, and then they thought about it thoughtfully and began to interpret it anew.

The graceful Yan girl is fifteen years old. This year happens to be the fifteenth year of Hongwu. Does it imply that the Ming Dynasty has been established for fifteen years?

A tree stands gracefully with flowers just blooming. Does it secretly imply that the tyrannical Yuan Dynasty once invaded the Central Plains, and after suffering for a hundred years, it is now finally rejuvenating like a withered tree coming back to life?

Among the crowd, with just one enchanting glance, all the colors in the world seem like dust. Does it mean that compared with the Ming Dynasty, all previous dynasties will pale in comparison?

In front of me, Lady Wu boasts of her excellent dancing skills, but it's a pity that her slender waist always misleads people. On the surface, it seems to be praising a woman's dancing skills, but it's a pity that she is too slender, which is a flaw in her beauty.

But if we think deeper, it seems to imply that although the Ming Dynasty has been established for fifteen years, there are still many deficiencies and a long way to go...

It was too shallow before. The perspective was too narrow...

A group of people started to imagine wildly and over - interpret.

It's not their fault. The ancients, especially the literati, liked to use metaphors and allusions the most. Even when they scolded people, it sounded like they were complimenting them.

The wonderful thing was that after this interpretation, there was no sense of disharmony at all, and everything seemed to match.

The group of people were even more convinced that they had interpreted it correctly.

Mr. Li is truly a genius!

The singing girl on the stage had become a mere accessory. No one paid any attention to the beautiful sound of the zither. Everyone was absorbed in savoring this ci poem.

As a result, when Xiu Xiang finished playing a piece, no one made an offer.

The singing girl failed to be sold, which was something that had never happened in the Drunken Immortal Tower.

The madam was also a bit puzzled. It seemed that things weren't going as planned!

After a little thought, she understood and said to her assistant, "Go and ask Wanling to come down and perform a dance."

"Madam, it's not Miss Wanling's turn to receive guests today. What if she doesn't want to..."

"I'll go and talk to her myself."

The madam knew that whether the Drunken Immortal Tower could take a step further depended on today.

A quarter of an hour later, under the madam's coaxing and pestering, Wanling came to the center of the stage in the main hall.

She took light steps as if treading on water, her slender waist seemed as if it could be broken. She was charming but not coquettish. The gauze veil added a hazy beauty, and the atmosphere in the main hall exploded.

With the addition of the poem, she seemed even more peerless.

After the dance, there was an endless stream of people making offers. In an instant, the price reached 300 taels, far exceeding the usual amount.

In the past, at this time, almost no one would make an offer anymore. But now, there were still many people bidding, all eager to see the beauty's face.

Among them were those who had already seen Wanling, but they all wanted to outdo the others and be the best.

Romantic affairs and amorous stories were always great topics of conversation. When socializing, face - saving was very important!

Wanling's price soared, and finally stopped at 550 taels.

This was 50 taels higher than the price when the Eighth Prince had driven up the price the day before, and almost three times the usual price for those who could spend the night with her.

The celebrity effect was beginning to take effect.

The madam was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth, as if she could already see piles of silver rolling in.

As long as the fame was built up, why worry about no guests coming?

Of course, she never intended to rely solely on Wanling to make money. She just wanted to use Wanling's fame to attract more guests.

Just like a supermarket promotion, the customers attracted might not necessarily need the promoted products. But since they were there, they would buy some other things more or less.

Wanling's role was to enhance the brand value, taking the high - end route. And the real volume - generating business still depended on the top - ranking courtesans, the girls in the front hall, and those in the backyard.

"Rich, I'm going to get rich now."

The madam's eyes were shining. Years of experience told her that after tonight, the fame of the Drunken Immortal Tower would completely overshadow its competitors.

It could even compete with the Jiaofangsi.

"Xiu'er, pass on the word. Start building up momentum for Wanling early tomorrow morning." The madam said, "Also, change the plaque in the back hall to 'Wanling Pavilion'. Hire the best craftsman in the capital to make it. It must be hung up tomorrow night."

...

In just one day, with the publicity of the Drunken Immortal Tower and the help of the guests that night, "A Gift to Wanling" spread throughout the capital.

Literati, scholars, talented scholars and beauties were all amazed, and it even caught the attention of the Hanlin Academy.

The literary world of the Ming Dynasty was completely in an uproar!

A group of old pedants who were well - versed in the classics carried out another in - depth interpretation and exclaimed in admiration.

The poem was passed on several times. Finally, together with the translation, it was presented to Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial desk by several grand academicians of the Hanlin Academy jointly.

"A graceful Yan girl is fifteen years old. She is used to trailing long skirts and doesn't take dainty steps. Among the crowd, with just one enchanting glance, all the colors in the world seem like dust. A tree stands gracefully with flowers just blooming. Apart from her natural beauty, I'm at a loss for words to offer a compliment. In front of me, Lady Wu boasts of her excellent dancing skills, but it's a pity that her slender waist always misleads people."

Zhu Yuanzhang read while looking at the annotations of the Hanlin scholars. The poem had only a few dozen words, but the translation was as long as three thousand words. It even included the author's mood when writing the poem.

Zhu Yuanzhang muttered, "It's just a poem given to a geisha. Is there really so much to it?"

He had some knowledge, but not a great deal. He could also recite a couple of poems, but he wasn't really good at them. He couldn't tell if the meaning interpreted was really what the poem expressed, and he didn't want to refute it directly.

After all, from the literati and scholars to the academicians of the Hanlin Academy, they all said that the poem was praising the Ming Dynasty. If he refuted, it would seem like he was uneducated.

"Biao'er, take a look at this ci poem."

Zhu Biao took it and read it once, and was greatly amazed. "This person's talent is truly rare in the world..."

"There's no need to talk about talent. Look at the annotations of the Hanlin Academy." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I think they've over - interpreted it."

Zhu Biao lowered his head and read the translation again. After a long time, he said, "Maybe it's a bit of an over - interpretation, but the general direction is definitely right."

"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang said in surprise, "You think so too?"

"Father, poetry emphasizes implicitness. This ci poem matches up in every aspect. It must be the intention of the person who wrote it."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slowly and said with a cold face, "That is to say, this person really used the name of praising the geisha to secretly allude to the Ming Dynasty. How audacious! Guards, come here..."

"Father, please calm your anger." Zhu Biao quickly said, "This person wrote this ci poem without any intention of slandering the Ming Dynasty. Instead, there is a sense of deep regret. It can be seen that this person still wants the Ming Dynasty to become better."

"Where is there any deep regret?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked confused. "Where did you see that?"

Zhu Biao handed the ci poem to Zhu Yuanzhang. "Father, look at the last line, 'It's a pity that her slender waist always misleads people!'

In my opinion, the so - called'slender waist' refers to corrupt officials or unreasonable policies of the court.

Since this person said so, he must have some reasonable strategies, at least what he thinks is reasonable. Father, why don't you summon this person to the palace and test him?"

Zhu Biao said with a smile, "If he really has the strategies to govern the country and stabilize the country, it will be a great blessing for the Ming Dynasty. On the contrary, he can be slightly punished to make him put away his arrogance, study hard, and serve the country in the future."

"Hehe..." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled with satisfaction. "Biao'er still thinks things through. Let's do as you say."

"Xiaoguizi, go to the Embroidered - uniform Guard Command and convey my oral decree. Tell Mao Xiang that he must bring the person here early tomorrow morning."

"Yes, this servant will follow the decree."

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The Embroidered - uniform Guard Command.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Mao Xiang immediately took action. To show his emphasis, he directly dispatched all the Jinyiwei under his command.

For a moment, the secret agents of the Jinyiwei all went out, searching the entire city for Mr. Li.