Chapter 792: Chapter 478: Literary Girl and the Empty Cold Palace
“Dou Kou Sister, how long must I be punished?”
Inside the Imperial Study, the small Emperor’s pitiful voice echoed.
Just a second ago, he was sitting in his chair, asking Teacher Zhao for advice; the next second, he was kneeling before a suddenly appearing court lady, facing Guanghan Palace, honestly behaving himself.
Dou Kou, who had come to deliver the decree, glanced at the little Emperor, who knelt down with practiced ease.
She pursed her lips, her face carried a reproachful look as she silently scolded him with her eyes.
The little Emperor continued to face Guanghan Palace, not daring to look around, but his eyes skewered hopefully towards the court lady:
“Dou Kou Sister, I’m sorry, I… I know it was wrong, I definitely won’t dare to do it next time, I’ll listen to the Empress Dowager and you.”
Dou Kou stared at him for a while, then sighed softly, her expression serene: “Two hours.”
As the kneeling and standing pair conversed, the extended foot of a young Confucian scholar nearby was retracted.
Upon seeing the little Emperor’s sudden kneel, Zhao Rong almost blurted out ‘Empress Dowager,’ but fortunately, he was cautious and after knocking his gaze several times, swallowed his words back.
“It seems she’s an attendant from the Empress Dowager’s side, judging by her attire, she resembles a member of the crescent moon’s entourage and her status is not low.”
He mumbled to himself internally, nodded his head, and after a moment, cast another glance at the court lady, murmuring, “Indeed, her figure is not so exquisite…”
In Zhao Rong’s mind, flashed the image of the poised widow in white mourning attire, her back elegantly arched, who had kneeled at the late Emperor of Great Li’s memorial service not long ago…
“Ah, two hours… alright then.”
Upon hearing this, the little Emperor Li Wangque drooped his head, letting his hands hang naturally down.
He knelt on the hard, cold floor, heaving a dejected sigh.
“Dou Kou Sister, please have a seat, don’t stand with me, there’s a chair over there… Teacher Zhao, sorry for making a fool of myself, the Empress Dowager probably doesn’t know you’re here… I apologize, Teacher, if you have other matters, you may leave first, oh, and you’re welcome to take any book from the shelf you’d like.”
The young Emperor felt somewhat embarrassed to look at Teacher Zhao.
The court lady named Dou Kou, upon hearing this, shook her head and didn’t go to sit, remaining erect, perfectly still, standing beside the little Emperor.
At this moment, she slightly lifted her rounded chin, straightened the standard court lady’s composure, then gently turned her head to look at the young Confucian scholar beside her, examining him quietly for a moment without a word.
Zhao Rong did not go to the shelf to take a book; he was turning his head, looking in the direction of Guanghan Palace that Li Wangque was facing, and did not look back at Dou Kou’s gaze.
The young Confucian scholar thought for a moment, clutching his sleeve, silently stepped forward towards the entrance of the Imperial Study.
“Are you Teacher Zhao Ziyu?”
Zhao Rong paused for a moment without turning around, then nodded towards Dou Kou with his back facing her, “Yes, indeed I am.”
Dou Kou was silent for a while, then suddenly said: “The one you’ve searched for a thousand times, why is it ‘he’ instead of ‘she’?”
The court lady’s unexpected remark left one astonished.
But Zhao Rong just smiled.
The question posed by this crescent moon’s lady during their first encounter was naturally not about the battle of the sexes such as “air trembling cold,” about to give him a beating.
In any case, in this era, there was no such fist to throw.
This girl is quite interesting… Zhao Rong thought to himself.
This Nanshan Grade poem, under the title of “Green Jade Case,” had been born not so long before in a lakeside tavern in Xingzi Town, and soon spread throughout Great Li, creating a buzz in Hanjing.
Unsurprisingly, Zhao Rong also became a celebrity of Great Li, a great talent from Linlu Academy.
In Li Territory, with a Confucianism-promoting Court and the Music Workshop sponsored by the Dugu clan to nurture outstanding ladies, there were numerous women versed in letters and etiquette. At that time, countless women in Li Territory envied Su Qingdai, dressed in black, who received the favor of a talented man bestowing upon her a poem of Nanshan Grade.
This was a rare occurrence in Great Li for a long time.
Thus, the story of Zhao Rong touching rouge, composing a poem on a lady’s belt, conquering a fairy’s heart, became a delightful tale of a talented man and a beautiful woman, discussed with relish in the teahouses and taverns of present-day Great Li…
Meanwhile in the Imperial Study, standing undisturbed next to the kneeling Great Li Emperor was a court lady brimming with scholarly air, who didn’t believe that a poem simply expressing love between a man and a woman, a confession of affection, would be acknowledged by Heavenly Dao as a Nanshan Grade poem.
Dou Kou lightly pursed her rouged lips.
Nanshan Grade, could it be that simple?
After seeking him thousands of times in the crowd, suddenly turning around, there he stands, in a dimly lit place.
Upon first reading, most subconsciously thought it was Teacher Zhao speaking in a woman’s voice, telling Su Fairy, the beloved she had been searching for was right there, where the lanterns flickered.
However, such an interpretation was rather far-fetched and somewhat egotistical.
If it was really Teacher Zhao’s poem of love, then wouldn’t it be better to replace ‘he’ with ‘she’?
After seeking her thousands of times… speaking in his own voice to tell of his search for her, would be more touching to the lady, more likely to capture the fairy’s heart.
The court lady nodded gently.
For a while, the Imperial Study went quiet.
Seeing the young Confucian scholar neither turning back nor speaking, Dou Kou frowned slightly, pondering:
“So, is Teacher Zhao’s Nanshan ultimate poem not solely for Su Fairy? The ‘he’ here… Are you subtly hinting at yourself… hinting at gentlemen and virtuous like yourself? Is it like the previous poets’ self-description with fragrant grass and beautiful women?”
Her gaze seriously fixed on the man’s back not far away.
Zhao Rong turned around, looking at her, as if organizing his words.
He did not speak for a while.
Next to them, the kneeling little Emperor heard this and couldn’t help but raise his head to quietly look at Teacher Zhao and Dou Kou Sister.