Chang’an Street.
Li Nuo walked down the street in front of the Song Residence, holding his wife with one hand and Mumu with the other.
Previously, when the three of them went out, Mumu would walk in the middle, each parent holding one of her hands.
Now, he was in the middle.
Many changes had taken place, subtly and unnoticed.
This month, Li Nuo had not visited the Jade Sound Pavilion again.
Because of the poem "Phoenix Seeking His Mate," the rumors about him and the phoenix surged through the city once more.
The rumors of his separation from his wife were also rampant.
Not visiting the Jade Sound Pavilion was a way to avoid suspicion.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
Looking back at the whole affair, at first, he thought it was simply the phoenix’s self-love.
But despite Li Nuo’s request for confidentiality, the poem had nearly spread throughout Chang’an the next day.
After that, those rumors that had almost died down were stirred up again.
The Jade Sound Pavilion once again found itself in the eye of the storm, and as the person involved, the phoenix naturally became the center of public opinion, swarmed by countless people longing for a glimpse of beauty.
Merely seeing her cost fifty taels of silver, and hearing a casual performance from her was worth a hundred.
Even if Li Nuo were slow to catch on, he could tell that someone was fanning the flames.
The phoenix and the nightingale had both helped him a great deal, and he wouldn’t mind returning the favor should they need it—no silver necessary.
But he loathed these underhanded schemes.
He considered them friends.
Yet she saw him as a sucker.
Li Nuo didn’t plan on quibbling with her, but that was the end of their past amicability.
Speaking of which, the most far-fetched part of the whole affair was some people’s interpretation of that poem.
Allegedly a courtship, but in reality, a veiled criticism of His Majesty—simply preposterous.
Li Nuo himself hadn’t said anything, yet they concluded this interpretation on their own.
Such an accusation, if confirmed, was a grave offense.
At the very least, it warranted exile.
If it had been anyone else, they would probably have been taken to the Spiegel Bureau for questioning by now.
Fortunately, the Spiegel Bureau was managed by his family.
The three strolled leisurely along the street, and at each place, they passed, a rustle of whispers would emanate from the crowd.
"Aren’t they supposed to be separating?"
"What separation? Have you ever seen a couple about to split, walking hand in hand every day?"
"That means the rumors are false, then."
"Not just false—their marital relationship is very strong. Haven’t you seen the ’Beautiful Lady Collection’?"
"What ’Beautiful Lady Collection’?"
"It’s a new poetry collection that came out half a month ago in Chang’an. Buy a copy and you’ll see."
"And you are?"
"I work at the Beautiful Lady Bookstore. My name is Zhao Er. Mention my name when you buy a book there, and I can give you an employee discount..."
...
The "Beautiful Lady Collection" was a poetry anthology newly released in Chang’an half a month ago. It sold out on the first day of its release and swept through Chang’an in a mere fortnight.
The literati of Daxia were fond of publishing collections of poems and essays.
Having one’s works lauded by the masses was probably the shared dream of every scholar.
Those famous talents all had their collections, and their numerous admirers would gobble up new editions.
Court officials also used to enjoy compiling their works.
It wasn’t just for fame; it involved certain profits.
Autographed collections by certain officials, thin as they might be, could sell for hundreds, even thousands of taels of silver, once a crucial means through which they accepted bribes.
Such practices were both reasonable and lawful, with no reason for the court to interdict.
That was until these recent years, when the Minister of Justice Li Xuanjing initiated a campaign against literary terrorism. The simplest phrases could be twisted and deconstructed, leaving officials too fearful to put anything to paper.
This "Beautiful Lady Collection" was composed by the son of the Minister of Justice.
The first poem in the collection was a short poem.
With one glance, she toppled a city, with another, she brought down a nation. With just two lines, the poem captured the pinnacle of beauty, leaving future poets who write of beauty with nothing to do but sigh.
Titled "Jiaren," the poem echoed the anthology’s name while reflecting his wife’s charming name.
Upon its release, the external rumors of their rocky marriage shattered without a fight.
How exquisite must a beauty be, for a man to disregard even his country for her?
In terms of literary depiction of beauty, even "Phoenix Seeking His Mate" could not surpass it.
However, for a beauty, forsaking even a kingdom goes against the values espoused by Confucian ideals.
But the Confucian scholars gave a deeper interpretation.
Could the one who wrote "Phoenix Seeking His Mate" simply be praising his wife in this poem?
No matter how beautiful a woman is, could she really forsake her city and country for just one person?
The beauty here is not a woman, but Your Majesty’s dream of eternal life.
He definitely did not mean that one could abandon the world for the sake of a beauty.
On the contrary, he used such an exaggerated method to admonish Your Majesty to place the nation first, to not abandon the world and forget your subjects for the illusory dream of immortality...
The literary and political value of this poem was even greater than that "Phoenix Seeking His Mate".
Aside from the poem "Jiaren", the other pieces in this collection were also extremely rare gems.
"Beauty that surpasses the past and present, lotus flowers are shy before her jade-like face", once again praises his wife’s beauty, akin to the line "One glance could overthrow a city, another glance a country".
"Jiaren for a thousand years", embedding her name in the poem once more, expressing the wish for eternal love with his beloved, that they would grow old together—nothing could be a deeper declaration of love in this world.
"When mountains are ridgeless and rivers run dry, when winter thunder cracks, and summer snow flies, when heaven and earth unite, only then will I dare to part with thee", people then understood, even more enduring than eternal, was the crumbling of the heavens and the earth.
"If two hearts are steadfast over time, what does it matter if they’re together day and night?"—unknown how many women’s hearts this resonated with.
...
The "Beautiful Lady Collection" included twenty poems and songs, each one a masterpiece that those so-called talents couldn’t produce in a lifetime.
Compared to his wife, Song Jiaren, the Phoenix girl of Jade Sound Pavilion was simply a joke.
And it dispelled those rumors overnight.
These poems and songs all contained his intense feelings for his wife.
The collection was named "Beautiful Lady Collection".
The poem was called "Jiaren".
Even the bookstore was called Beautiful Lady Bookstore.
Was there any need to guess his intentions?
With the most direct, simplest, and most forceful method, he shut up all the rumor-mongers.
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Once "Beautiful Lady Collection" was released, for a whole half month, not a single poem or song came from the talents of Chang’an.
The women of Chang’an, especially those who adored talents, were driven mad with envy for Song Jiaren.
If they had such a husband who announced his love to the whole world in this way, they would do anything for him, even die without regrets.
Damn those who spread rumors.
To hell with divorce!
If this couple got divorced, then there would be no love left in the world!
For half a month, many people even lingered in front of the Song Residence, just to catch a glimpse of the peerless Jiaren in the poems.
What kind of beauty was she, to deserve such poetry?
And many women, braving criticism, stepped out of their homes to see what kind of person could write such poetry.
Everywhere along the way, Li Nuo and Song Jiaren passed, there was endless chatter.
"Truly a rare beauty..."
"It is a bit exaggerated to say she can overthrow cities and countries, but it was worth the trip."
"They really are a perfect match, that little girl, is she their daughter?"
"How could that be, they’ve only just married recently, where would they get a daughter from..."
...
Somewhere at the end of a lane.
A woman with a Curtain, holding a copy of "Beautiful Lady Collection" in her hands, watched as the two figures walked further away, and couldn’t help clenching her fist so tightly that the nails left deep marks on the cover of the collection.
After a long while, she exhaled deeply and tucked the collection away, walking into a small courtyard deep in the alley.
Closing the courtyard door, she removed the Curtain from her head to reveal a face that could overturn states and cities.
She walked straight into a room.
On one wall of the room, there were many paintings.
The women in the paintings were extremely beautiful, some holding swords and glancing back, others leaning on railings and looking into the distance, all with a transcendent temperament.
The painter’s skill was also very exquisite, at a glance it seemed as if the women in the paintings would step out of their frames.
The woman imagined herself as those in the paintings and a slight smile formed at the edges of her mouth.
The next moment, her expression changed and she said coldly, "Who’s there!"
Before her words fell, she suddenly turned and looked towards the inner room, her hand already gripping the sword tightly.
A figure emerged from the inner bedroom.
It was an old woman with white hair and wrinkled face, wearing a white robe with three small mountain shapes on its left shoulder.
She looked at the woman with a smile and asked, "You can hide for a moment, but can you hide for a lifetime?"
Seeing the old woman, the woman did not draw her sword.
In anger, she threw the sword to the ground and said furiously, "I won’t hide! Am I supposed to go back and marry, to that vulgar Martial Artist who knows neither playing the zither, nor painting, nor poetry, and can’t even beat me in a fight, utterly worthless… Why should I marry him..."
The more she spoke, the angrier she became, so much that she started crying aggrievedly, wiping her tears and sobbing, "Why, she doesn’t deserve this, all these were supposed to be mine, not only did she steal my home, but now even my husband..."