God favored it, and it was a sunny day when Tao Ziqian held the peony flower feast.
The peonies planted in the courtyard are in full bloom. Looking from the platform, I can see pink, red, and a colorful scene.
Wei Yan and Yuan Ziwen arrived very early. Since they had plenty of time, they also admired the peonies underneath on the platform.
Yuan Ziwen looked at this peony-filled villa and sighed: "I heard that the Tao family is one of the best families in the city. I didn't believe it until I saw this villa. I didn't believe it until I saw this villa.
The main house where the Tao family lives is so exquisitely decorated. I think that main house must be even more spacious."
When he said this, he looked at Wei Yan who was indifferent and asked: "Brother Wei, what do you think when you see this courtyard?"
Wei Yan just smiled faintly: "I don't have any thoughts, I just think these peonies in front of me can be used in paintings."
He was telling the truth. When he saw the beautiful scenery in front of him, the first thing he thought of was that it would be great if Shen Xiu was here.
She could draw the beautiful scenery in front of her and then make it into an embroidery pattern.
Yuan Ziwen didn't believe it, but he didn't ask any more questions.
When the two of them got off the platform, they saw Tao Ziqian welcoming guests.
Tao Ziqian saw the two of them and greeted them with a smile, "The weather is nice today. I arranged the banquet place at Chunyuxuan. You can enjoy the flowers and drink wine in the spring breeze."
Hearing what he said, Yuan Ziwen suddenly felt a little more yearning, "Then let's not go back until we get drunk today."
Tao Ziqian joked with them for a few more words, and then ordered the maid to take them to Chunyuxuan.
When the two arrived at Chunyuxuan, there were already several people sitting in the hall. One of them was Tao Ziqian's cousin Tao Ziqing. He looked arrogant and was talking about the imperial examination with several others.
"The gentleman who taught me said that if nothing else happens, I will be the one to take charge of this government examination." Tao Ziqian said rather arrogantly.
Several other people agreed because of his family background.
Yuan Ziwen couldn't see it and whispered to Wei Yan: "It sounds like his husband is very powerful. He can even know who is the head of the government examination."
Wei Yan shook his head slightly and said softly: "It's better not to say this again. Today we are guests in other people's homes, so it's better to talk less about right and wrong."
Yuan Ziwen just thought that Tao Ziqing was too crazy, so he said this. When Wei Yan said this, he whispered: "I was just talking to you."
While the two were talking, two more guests came in.
Tao Ziqian invited mostly scholars from Fucheng. Almost all of them knew each other, and they all gathered together quickly, leaving Yuan Ziwen and Wei Yan alone.
Wei Yan didn't like crowds of people at first, but this turned out to be exactly what he wanted. He was sipping the hot tea brought by the maids and admiring the peonies outside, as if he was not disturbed by the outside world.
Yuan Ziwen is not a person who can't sit still. He imitates Wei Yan and enjoys the beautiful scenery while drinking tea.
Tao Ziqing didn't notice them at first until Tao Ziqian came over. He first said hello to Wei Yan and Yuan Ziwen, and then introduced them to others.
"These two came from Huai'an County to take the imperial examination." Tao Ziqian also said to Tao Ziqing, "Ziqing, Brother Wei and Brother Yuan are all talented people. You can communicate more."
Tao Ziqing always had his eyes set high above his head and didn't take Wei Yan and Yuan Ziwen seriously at all. He just gave a slight hum.
Tao Ziqian didn't know what his cousin was thinking, but he didn't say anything in front of others so that his cousin couldn't get off the stage.
Later, when Tao Ziqian found an opportunity, he said to Tao Ziqing: "I know that you have always been self-sufficient and talented, but you should also know how to measure. I have always been very accurate in seeing people. Brother Wei and Brother Yuan are not ordinary people. Especially Wei.
Brother, your future is limitless."
Tao Ziqing was not convinced by this, but the Tao family's rules were very strict. If the older brother wanted to teach his younger brother a lesson, then the younger brother could only accept the teaching with an open mind.
However, Tao Ziqing was still a little unconvinced, and when the banquet was halfway through, he proposed to compose a poem with the title of peony.
Tao Ziqian had this intention, and immediately agreed: "Ziqing has a good idea, and using peony as the title is just right for the occasion."
"Cousin, please listen to what I have to say." Tao Ziqing said: "All of you here are very talented. How can you show off your talent by writing just one poem? I have an idea. Let's play drumming and pass the flowers. The flowers arrive.
Whoever holds the hand will compose a poem about peony. If he cannot compose it, he will have to drink three glasses of wine as a penalty."
It was a good idea, and everyone agreed.
Only Wei Yan glanced at Tao Ziqing calmly. He always felt that when the other person was talking about beating drums and passing flowers, his eyes stayed on him for a while.
Wei Yan didn't think this was an illusion. He had a suspicion in his mind that maybe Tao Ziqing was the one who was in trouble when he proposed playing drums to spread flowers.
His hunch was absolutely correct.
Tao Ziqian quickly selected a maid to play the drum, and personally selected a peony branch that was in bloom from the flower garden.
The peony was passed around among the people. When the maid stopped beating the drum, the peony branch was just passed to Wei Yan's hand.
Wei Yan said nothing, just looked at the peony outside, and then wrote a peony poem based on the four treasures of the study.
The poems he wrote are not outstanding, they can only be called mediocre.
Tao Ziqian didn't say anything, but Tao Ziqing snorted in his heart, feeling that Wei Yan's talent was not enough to learn from.
The drums soon started playing again, and this time when the drums stopped, the peony flowers were passed into Wei Yan's hands again.
Everyone thought it was a coincidence, but Yuan Ziwen and Tao Ziqian felt something was wrong.
Wei Yan's face was calm. After the maids had finished grinding the ink, he still wrote an ordinary peony poem with one swipe.
After Tao Ziqian saw it, he glanced at Tao Ziqing without any trace, and the meaning in his eyes was very simple, telling him to stop.
But Tao Ziqing is not someone who gives up easily.
So when the third round of drumming stopped, Wei Yan took the peony in his hand again without any surprise.
This time even others felt something was wrong.
After all, how could it be such a coincidence that I was bumped into by him alone once, twice and three times.
Tao Ziqian couldn't help but glared at his cousin and said, "This round doesn't count, let's try again!"
His original intention was to expose the matter, but Wei Yan smiled lightly and said: "Since the flower has stopped in my hand, according to the rules, I should compose a poem. Brother Ziqian does not need to do it just because I am a guest."
Treat me particularly favorably."
Tao Ziqian wanted to say something, but Wei Yan couldn't help but interrupted, "No matter why, this flower stopped on my hand, so it's up to me to write a peony poem."
Wei Yan's expression didn't change much, and his tone was very calm, but Yuan Ziwen, who knew him well, knew that Wei Yan, who was so stubborn, was terrifying.
He has known Wei Yan for such a long time, and he has never lost his temper, but sometimes Yuan Ziwen would rather see him lose his temper than see him being stubborn.
Because once Wei Yan makes a mistake, even eight horses can't pull him back.
He couldn't help but shook his head at Tao Ziqian, indicating to him to just let Wei Yan go.
Tao Ziqian didn't expect that Wei Yan, who seemed to have a good temper, was so insistent on this matter.
He could only nod helplessly and watched Wei Yan write another peony poem with one wave of his hand.
This peony poem is the same as the previous two, equally unremarkable and mediocre.
Now even the very arrogant Tao Ziqing could see that Wei Yan had clearly done this on purpose. He could obviously write more brilliant peony poems, but he chose to deal with the problem with ordinary peony poems.
He is a young man at heart. Seeing Wei Yan being so unwilling to admit defeat, he simply stopped hiding it and said directly: "Brother Wei wrote three peony poems in a row. He is really smart and quick. I am not talented, so I want to compete with Brother Wei."
Compare.”
"What do you want to compare?" Wei Yan's voice was neither high nor low, but he still looked at Tao Ziqing calmly.
Even if Tao Ziqing was not convinced by Wei Yan, he still had to admire his self-restraint. If he was being made things so difficult for others, he would definitely not be so out of control.
However, despite being impressed, Tao Ziqing still wanted to compete with Wei Yan.
"Let's not play drumming and passing flowers. In this way, within the time limit of one stick of incense, whoever writes more poems between the two of us will win."
Wei Yan looked calm: "Since Mr. Tao is interested, Wei will naturally accompany him. However, the time for burning incense is too short, so it is better to change it to one hour."
For an hour, Tao Ziqing was seriously surprised. Did he hear it right?
There was a smile on Wei Yan's face, "Master Tao, you won't retreat in spite of the difficulties, right?"
Of course Tao Ziqing would not. He is such a face-loving person, how could he back down?
Although an hour is a long time, with his talent and learning, it shouldn't be a problem to write more than a hundred poems.
"Okay, one hour at a time."
Wei Yan smiled softly, and this smile fell into Tao Ziqing's eyes, which was particularly meaningful.
Tao Ziqing had some bad premonitions, but he quickly put them behind him. It was not certain who would win and who would lose!
Only Yuan Ziwen looked at Tao Ziqing's conceited look and couldn't help but shake his head. He dared to compare poetry with Wei Yan. Tao Ziqing would definitely lose ugly later.