Chapter 42: Striving to Be More Like the Ancients Than the Ancients

Helian Qi was also stunned, he looked at the beauty reciting the poem in surprise and slowly nodded, “Very good.”

The smile on Song Qingzhi’s face froze.

She was talented and her poem was also about bamboo, but because of this, she immediately realized that her poem was far inferior to this one.

“Lady Wei’s talent is truly unexpected. It seems this concubine spoke too soon, Lady Wei’s poem is the best of the night.” After her surprise, Noble Consort Shu quickly took over the conversation, introducing Lady Wei to Helian Qi very intimately, “Your Majesty, this is Lady Wei. She entered the palace this year during the draft, she is the daughter of the Duke of Wei.”

Then, she looked at Lady Wei with concern, “I heard that you fell into the Yao Yue Pond and have been recuperating. How is your health now?”

Wei Yingya bowed, “Thank you for your concern, Noble Consort Shu, this concubine’s health has fully recovered.”

Actually, she wasn’t Lady Wei.

The original owner had died when she fell into the water.

And she, was a plain and ordinary college student who had traveled through time from Earth.

Thanks to her habit of reading novels and watching dramas in her previous life, she was no stranger to “traveling through time.”

According to the experience of time-travel novels, the first thing a time-traveler who becomes the protagonist does is to integrate into ancient life.

So for the past two months, she had been lying down and not going out, using the excuse of recuperating, she had been recalling and familiarizing herself with various palace rules and etiquette, as well as the original owner’s memories, she never did anything unusual, never said anything unrealistic or shocking.

She strived to be more like the ancients than the ancients!

Besides integrating into ancient life, she also kept in mind the taboo for time-travelers – being obsessed with love.

Once a time-traveler falls in love, they will definitely have a bad ending.

Speaking of which, how could someone be so foolish as to fall in love with an ancient man?

In modern society, finding a man who is completely loyal to you is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Let alone people living in a polygamous society in ancient times? The probability of meeting true love is lower than winning the lottery.

Sister, we need to focus on our careers!

This believer doesn’t seek true love, but seeks wealth and glory!

After lying in the room for two months, Wei Yingya gradually accepted the fact that she had traveled through time, and she also understood her situation.

As a concubine, besides vying for favor and becoming the Empress Dowager, there was no other way out.

Wei Yingya calmly analyzed, although she didn’t know medicine and wasn’t a spy, she wasn’t worried, she had a high chance of winning!

This dynasty called Dayan was similar to ancient China in many ways.

It seemed like a fictional world.

Maybe she had traveled into a book?

It didn’t matter, the important thing was: she had 1131 hours of reading on Tomato Reading, and she had watched two hundred episodes of palace intrigue dramas!

What’s the most important thing these days?

Experience!

She had rich experience in palace intrigue dramas, vying for favor would be a piece of cake.

According to the experience of time-travel novel protagonists, the first recommendation is Chinese cuisine!

Many time-travelers won the Emperor’s heart with food!

She liked to make some small snacks in her spare time in her previous life, which was just right for her expertise!

So two days ago, Wei Yingya finally got out of bed for the first time, she instructed the maid, “I want to prepare a small snack for the Emperor, take me to the kitchen.”

The maid was stunned, “Mistress, you can’t go to the Imperial Kitchen!”

Wei Yingya was stunned, the original owner only cared about eating, she didn’t care where these things came from.

This reminder made her remember…

Concubines’ food…

Food was taken from the Imperial Kitchen, just like getting food from the school cafeteria.

And of course, concubines couldn’t go to the Imperial Kitchen!

The kitchen was a restricted area, outsiders couldn’t approach it.

If concubines could go in at will, wouldn’t it be very convenient to poison someone?

And those concubines who could cook meals in their own palaces were those who were favored by the Emperor and received extra rewards.

Good heavens, this is a closed loop!

To gain the Emperor’s favor, you need a small kitchen to make delicious food.

But to get a small kitchen, you need to gain the Emperor’s favor first.

This is…

Lady Wei never imagined that after 1131 hours of reading on Tomato Reading, she had watched hundreds of palace intrigue dramas, she knew all the tricks of vying for favor, she was incredibly strong, but she died before she could even start, she lost because of…

No kitchen.

“I think my chest still hurts a little…” Lady Wei clutched her chest and lay back down.

Fortunately, there’s always a way out…

Just when Wei Yingya felt like she had no skills to use, an opportunity came!

The Midsummer Poetry Gathering!

Before attending the palace banquet, Wei Yingya had been thinking about which poem to use.

She hadn’t decided until everyone had handed in their poems.

The reason was simple…

There were many ancient poems, but not many suitable for today…

First, love poems couldn’t be used. Love poems were for private exchanges between lovers, openly writing about love was considered disrespectful according to the etiquette of Dayan, as far as she remembered.

Second, it was also inconvenient to use poems involving specific place names or historical sites. There was no Yellow Crane Tower here, nor was there Mount Jingting.

Border poems couldn’t be used, it didn’t fit her noble lady persona. Satire and expressing concern for the country and the people were even worse, the palace couldn’t interfere in politics.

It was safer to write about scenery…

“Spring sleep knows no dawn, snow falls in the evening, a crane in the clear sky breaks through the clouds,” none of them were suitable.

Although many concubines had prepared their poems in advance, they still pretended to write them on the spot. If you write poems about spring, autumn, winter in the summer, it’s obvious that it’s an old work.

You need a poem about scenery that looks like it was written on the spot, and it would be even better if it could show good character and noble sentiments.

In this ancient world, no matter how beautiful your words are, your character comes first!

After eliminating one by one, Wei Yingya pondered for a day, but she still couldn’t decide.

Seeing that the time was almost up, she finally thought of this poem “Bamboo and Stone.”

Oh, who understands, copying poems is truly a technical skill.

…

“How could you write such a good poem?” Song Qingzhi looked at Wei Yingya in disbelief.

She couldn’t accept that she, a talented woman from a scholarly family, had lost to a daughter of a noble family.

Wei Yingya thought to herself, I copied it, but she looked very calm, “Jieyu Song, if you’re not convinced, I’ll show you my collection of poems someday. I didn’t just write one, you can take your time to appreciate them.”

If one poem was written by someone else, then it’s impossible for a whole book to be written by someone else, right?

A scholar with such skills wouldn’t be a ghostwriter.

Song Qingzhi was completely speechless, everyone was shocked, she had written more than one such good poem, she had written a whole book?

Helian Qi did appreciate Wei Yingya’s talent, he looked at Lady Wei and said, “Your poem is very good. You are intelligent and talented. I bestow upon you a title, Ying.”

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace!” Wei Yingya bowed in surprise.

The ancient poems of my great China are truly invincible!

Ning Wanyin thought thoughtfully. Newcomers to the palace all had a chance to be promoted, but the Emperor only promoted her half a level…

It seemed that although the Emperor admired her talent, he was unwilling to promote her because of her noble background.

“What other rewards do you want?” Helian Qi continued to ask.

He had already bestowed a title on Wei Yingya, so this question was about other rewards besides promotion…

“This concubine wants a small kitchen. This concubine is good at cooking, I hope to make some snacks for Your Majesty.” Wei Yingya quickly asked.

Helian Qi nodded slightly, “Granted.”

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace!” Wei Yingya bowed happily.

The small kitchen is mine! The position of Empress Dowager is within reach!