My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare! Chapter 254 - 136 'Calling a Deer a Horse

Li Nuo admitted that he had underestimated his wife.

He had thought her to be a culturally uninford, simple-minded, naive sweet girl.

But in certain matters, she was not foolish at all.

After experiencing a change in attack and defense strategies, he had no choice but to sit down honestly and draw.

The theft of her paintings was not necessarily a bad thing.

While drawing for the second ti, Li Nuo not only corrected so of the flaws from the previous works but also added extra details.

His earlier paintings had not been accompanied by poetry.

This batch of paintings, however, had a verse added to each one.

Outshining beauties of all ages, the lotus blushes beside fair jade.

A beauty for a thousand years to et.

As pure as the lotus rising from clear waters, naturally devoid of carved adornnts.

Amidst the crowd, Yanran steals a glance, reducing worldly beauty to re dust.

Graceful as a startled swan, gentle as a andering dragon…

…

Li Nuo didn't write the full poems, as his wife wouldn't understand them.

Better to write sothing she could comprehend.

In the following days, she did not bring up "Phoenix Seeking His Mate" again.

And whenever she went out, she arranged for the maids to watch over the small courtyard, preventing a recurrence of the previous incidents.

After two consecutive thefts at the residence, the Song Residence strengthened its guard forces.

In reality, such a prominent family, located near the Imperial City, didn't need to hire very powerful guards.

The original guards of the Song Residence were fully capable of handling Martial Artists from the Fourth Realm in a direct confrontation but could not prevent the latter from sneaking in to steal.

Among the Thief Sect, there were many who could accomplish this.

For so ti thereafter, the Song Residence experienced no further theft.

Aside from occasionally visiting the Ministry of Justice and taking walks with his wife, Li Nuo spent most of his ti at ho, and the month passed by in the blink of an eye.

Li Nuo lived an uneventful half a month.

However, within this short span of ti, Chang'an's brothels, Music Workshops, and Dance Pavilions underwent a significant reshuffling.

Each year, during the Oiran competition, the top pleasure venues of Chang'an would experience this reshuffling.

Despite not participating in the competition with their most famous Phoenix girl, Jade Sound Pavilion still managed to have two girls ranked among the top twenty Oirans, thanks to the continuing popularity over the past half-month.

In all of Chang'an, there was an incalculable number of pleasure venues, yet only twenty Oirans were selected annually.

These Oirans must be gifted in both beauty and talent, under the age of twenty-five, and necessarily be beauties of reputable status.

At the beginning of the selection process, literati would first need to tailor poems to promote their candidacy.

After passing the preliminary selection, a talent competition would follow.

An Oiran must not only be beautiful with a good figure but also have a knowledge of Qin, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting, excelling in at least one of these areas.

These requirents seed stringent, but among those who served as pillars for their brothels or Music Workshops, many had been cultivating feminine arts since childhood and could easily et the criteria.

Under such circumstances, being selected as one of the top twenty Oirans relied more on publicity and luck.

Li Xuanjing's son had personally tailored ten verses for the girls of Jade Sound Pavilion, each being a masterpiece of romantic poetry, surpassing all the so-called talents of Chang'an.

One particular poem, "Phoenix Seeking His Mate," made the Jade Sound Pavilion Master renowned throughout Chang'an.

While the composition was well-written, the girl known as Phoenix was indeed worthy of such a masterpiece.

The poetry written for other won was mostly crude and vulgar, hardly presentable.

But "Phoenix Seeking His Mate" held a high regard among the literary circles.

As a simple love poem, it was elegant and subtly profound, providing a high level of aesthetic enjoynt.

For those who delved deeper, the poem could be seen as a reflection of longing not just for a beauty but for an enlightened ruler, resonating with many knowledgeable people.

Different individuals perceived different things within this composition.

This was exactly the brilliance of "Phoenix Seeking His Mate."

Although the author did not acknowledge it, everyone knew that the poem was written for the Jade Sound Pavilion Master Phoenix by Li Xuanjing's son, Li Nuo.

It was said that a tiger does not father a dog; Li Xuanjing once monopolized the title of top scholar in the Six Arts, and now his son also displayed such brilliance, surpassing the blue from whence he ca.

Of course, to have the audacity to insinuate criticisms against the emperor truly shocked everyone.

Engaging in literary terror was also considered one of Li Xuanjing's major offenses.

Over the years, the Spiegel Bureau had not spared any effort in inviting various court officials in for "tea" for this very reason.

Once invited, they never returned.

Nowadays, court officials were extrely cautious and would not dare to publicly express any form of poetry or prose.

But with this case involving his own son, who knew how Lord Li would handle it?

Today marked the end of October and also the last day of King Rui acting as Regent.

During the court assembly, two factions were in a heated argunt.

Holding a letter in hand, Marquis Lantian spoke with a mocking tone, "The Phoenix flies high in search, seeking his mate across the four seas. Regretfully, the beauty is not found at the eastern wall… Although it superficially speaks of a beauty, it actually insinuates the emperor. What audacity this person has! We must investigate this thoroughly!"

An Imperial Censor stepped forward with righteousness, "Insinuate? Does the emperor even need insinuation? As the ruler of a nation, absent from court for a decade, pursuing the ludicrous quest for immortality—what the emperor does, can others not speak of?"

"You dare blasphe the emperor!"

"Blasphemy? What of it? If by killing this official, the emperor would awaken, I would have no regrets, even at the cost of a thousand deaths!"

…

Although these two individuals held opposing views, their perceptions of "Phoenix Seeking His Mate" were the sa.

This was certainly no ordinary love poem.

The characteristic of an "ode" is to embellish and expound in detail, reflecting one's aspirations through descriptions of nature.

In this literary style, describing scenery is for the sake of expressing feelings, and describing objects is for the sake of conveying aspirations.

With such talent, instead of composing popular poetry, he specifically wrote an ancient prose piece, which definitely isn't a simple act of expressing love to a woman.

There is no doubt about that.

Scholars in Chang'an generally believe that this prose piece is a veiled criticism of Your Majesty.

"There is a beauty, unforgettable upon seeing her.

A day without sight of her, and thoughts of her drive one to madness."

These two lines are mocking Your Majesty for not holding court for ten years, not only missing court but also making it so that the officials cannot even glimpse him.

The phoenix flies and soars, seeking his mate across the four seas,

But alas, the beauty is not to be found by the eastern wall.

These two lines imply that he wishes for an enlightened ruler but can find none anywhere.

This is no longer a re mockery of Your Majesty, this is treason, this is rebellion!

Marquis Lantian couldn't be bothered to argue with these Imperial Censors and stepped forward to say, "King Rui, this person uses poetry to irresponsibly discuss state affairs and mock Your Majesty. I suspect he harbors rebellious intentions. I recomnd capturing the woman in question to find out who composed the prose and then punish him severely..."

The Imperial Censor tried to speak, but Marquis Lantian let out a cold snort and said, "Over the years, there have been no small number of individuals with malicious intentions criticizing Your Majesty, dealt with by the Spiegel Bureau for this very reason. Does Imperial Censor Wang intend to treat him differently this ti?"

The Imperial Censor was at a loss for words.

Though the Imperial Censorate has the freedom to discuss state affairs and can even reprimand Your Majesty, they hold no real power.

Li Xuanjing had previously used this reason to dispose of his political rivals; when they advised against it, it was of no use.

He often removed officials from their posts and confiscated their properties based on a single poem.

Even if the poems had no issues, the Spiegel Bureau would forcibly pin charges on them.

Bla only Li Xuanjing for bringing disaster upon himself.

The sa thing, now falling upon his son, what would he do?

But even if it ca to arresting his son, they would bring him to the Spiegel Bureau, and as long as he didn't confess, he certainly wouldn't torture his own son as he had done with others.

Evidently, Marquis Lantian had also considered this and said, "Rumors claim that the author of this prose is Lord Li's son. The Ministry of Justice and the Spiegel Bureau should recuse themselves due to potential bias. I request King Rui to issue an order for Zongzheng Si to handle this case!"

King Rui looked at Li Xuanjing and asked, "Lord Li, what do you think?"

A gentleman stepped out from the courtiers and spoke indifferently, "To slander Your Majesty is indeed a grave cri. Should such an incident truly exist, it must be thoroughly investigated."

With those words, the great hall suddenly beca silent.

It's unexpected that the Minister of Justice would say such a thing... could it be that, to avoid leaving any leverage, he was prepared to sacrifice his kin for justice?

Even King Rui thought so.

This matter involved insulting the Father Emperor, and he certainly didn't dare to interfere.

In the silent hall, only the sound of footsteps was distinctly audible.

Li Xuanjing stepped forward to Marquis Lantian, took the folded paper from his hands, and read in a low voice, "There is a beauty, unforgettable upon seeing her. A day without sight of her, and thoughts of her drive one to madness... isn't this just a common piece expressing love, revealing a man's strong yearning for a woman? How can I not see any implications of mocking Your Majesty in this piece?"

"..."

The hall continued in utter silence.

But inside, the officials cursed under their breath.

You, Li Xuanjing, were the top scholar of the Six Arts; how can you not know if this prose holds deeper connotations?

There is no prose that speaks only of love!

A few months ago, a Scheeren from the Secretariat wrote a poem appreciating flowers and was accused by him of slandering Your Majesty.

Now it's his son, and facing such an obvious allegory, he claims it's just a love poem.

Truly worthy of being Li Xuanjing.

Marquis Lantian was also stunned; he did not expect Li Xuanjing to be so shaless. The hidden aning of the prose was commonly acknowledged by scholars, even the Imperial Censors agreed, and yet Li Xuanjing still wanted to gloss over it?

With a darkened face, he said, "Lord Li, everyone knows that this prose is alluding to Your Majesty. You cannot protect your son by distorting the truth..."

"Everyone?" Li Xuanjing swept his gaze across the courtiers and spoke, "I believe this is just a common piece expressing love. If any noble has a different opinion, please step forward and discuss it with ."

"..."

The courtiers stood in silence.

If any noble has a different opinion, please step forward and discuss it with ...

That statent was just superficial.

If any noble has a different opinion, please step forward, and I will escort you to your doom.

That's what he truly ant.

The courtiers were afraid of him, but the nobles were not. Marquis Lantian and a few nobles heard him and imdiately stood up, puffing out their chests and said, "This Marquis believes that this prose is criticizing Your Majesty under the guise of professing love."

Li Xuanjing looked at them and shook his head, "The gentlen standing here are Advanced Scholars selected through the Imperial Examination, schooled in poetry since youth. Does Marquis Lantian think he understands poetry better than they do?"

Marquis Lantian faltered in his response, "I..."

Li Xuanjing lightly patted his shoulder and said, "Marquis Lantian needs to further his understanding of poetry, and not make wild guesses at everything he sees, lest he make a fool of himself and sha the nobles. In the next few days, I will select several poetry collections to send to your residence for you to study more carefully..."

Marquis Lantian and the other nobles flushed with anger, but they only had the power to counsel, and to get anything done, they needed the support of the courtiers.

Now, however, the courtiers were intimidated by Li Xuanjing, neither daring to step forward nor willing to do so.

Li Xuanjing scanned the great hall again and proclaid, "It is getting late. Since no one has any more to report, court is adjourned..."

He walked straight out of the hall, and the atmosphere inside relaxed at once.

King Rui sat at the high seat, his expression somber.

After a brief silence, the heads of the Three Provinces and Six Ministries bowed to King Rui at the front, and the courtiers exited the hall in an orderly manner.

In the crowd, whispers continued nonstop.

"He's beco more and more brazen since the last incident..."

"If you could get a Death Exemption Token from His Majesty, you'd be just as arrogant."

"However, 'Phoenix Seeking His Mate' really is superbly written. It's recognized as a masterpiece on every level; so have already deconstructed five layers of aning."

"Really? I haven't seen it yet. I'll have to take a good look after I return to the governnt office..."