"Your Ladyship, please give this servant another topic," Lù Jǐng pressed his advantage.
Hú Mèir also looked at Xià Qínglán.
Xià Qínglán thought for a moment and said, "Write a poem expressing sorrow."
Having been demoted to the Cold Palace, with her father and brothers exiled and their whereabouts unknown, she was filled with sorrow day and night. She wanted to see if Lù Jǐng could write a poem that could express the grief in her heart.
"Sorrow..." Lù Jǐng pondered. "Your Ladyship, I wrote a lyric expressing sorrow before. Would it be acceptable to use that instead of a poem?"
"That is acceptable."
"Your Ladyship, may I write it down?"
"You may."
Hú Mèir looked at the attendant beside her. "Hóng'ér, prepare paper and brush!"
"Yes."
After a while, the paper and brush were brought.
Lù Jǐng took the brush and wrote the name of the lyric form—
"The Tune of the Beautiful Lady: When Will the Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon End."
Hú Mèir and Xià Qínglán exchanged a glance, both showing confusion in their eyes.
They had never heard of this lyric form before.
Both were Noble Consorts, and naturally, skilled in zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and song were fundamental skills.
Yet, neither had seen this lyric form.
Lù Jǐng continued to write.
"When will the spring flowers and autumn moon end... My homeland cannot bear to be recalled under the bright moon."
"...To ask you, sire, how much sorrow can there be? It is like a river of spring water flowing east!"
When the lyric was finished, Hú Mèir and Xià Qínglán stared at the words on the Xuan paper, utterly speechless in their shock.
An exceptionally superb lyric!
This was their first thought.
"To ask you, sire, how much sorrow can there be? It is like a river of spring water flowing east..."
Hú Mèir and Xià Qínglán savored this line, for a long time unable to speak.
The lyric was written so well that they didn't know how to evaluate it.
"Your Ladyship, how was it?" Lù Jǐng broke their silence.
Xià Qínglán let out a long breath. "This lyric you wrote is excellent. It can be considered a timeless masterpiece!"
"Thank you for your praise, Your Ladyship." Lù Jǐng cupped his hands in greeting, his face beaming.
Xià Qínglán looked at Hú Mèir and said sincerely, "Sister, this young eunuch under your command is truly remarkable."
Hú Mèir, as if sharing in the honor, lifted her chin proudly. Then, she retrieved the new lyric of Wuling Chun that Lù Jǐng had written that day.
"Lánlán, look, this lyric was also written by Little Jingzi."
Xià Qínglán glanced at the lyric and, after savoring it, looked at Lù Jǐng with even greater astonishment.
The talent of this young eunuch was simply incredible.
Both lyrics closely matched her current mood, making her like them immensely.
She looked at Lù Jǐng again.
Beneath his robes was a strong and robust physique.
This young eunuch was well-built, and his talent was outstanding.
She wondered why he had become a eunuch.
"Lánlán, why don't you present this new lyric by Little Jingzi to His Majesty? Perhaps it can make His Majesty remember you again."
Hú Mèir hesitated for a moment before offering Xià Qínglán a suggestion.
Last time, it was because of Lù Jǐng's new lyric that she had regained His Majesty's favor.
Although she hadn't been restored to the main palace, it was a good start.
Xià Qínglán was her good sister, and she wanted Xià Qínglán to regain her position as Noble Consort. This way, she would have an ally in the imperial harem against the Empress.
Xià Qínglán forced a smile and shook her head. "Sister, not to mention whether His Majesty would reconsider favoring us based on a poem. Even if he did, this younger sister has no desire to return to that treacherous imperial harem. My entire family has been exiled, and I fear they are all dead by now. I no longer wish to face His Majesty; I only wish to spend the rest of my life peacefully in this Secluded Palace."
Her family ruined, her heart was already dead.
In a sense, the Emperor was the enemy who had destroyed her clan.
"Then... alright." Hú Mèir sighed.
She had been considering whether to tell Xià Qínglán the news that His Majesty had favored her just two days ago.
Now that Xià Qínglán no longer wished to return to the imperial harem, there was no need to tell her.
Afterward, Xià Qínglán gave Lù Jǐng several more topics.
Lù Jǐng, in turn, wrote several poems and lyrics he remembered from his mind to satisfy them, but he refrained from presenting any more timeless masterpieces, as that would have been excessive.
The atmosphere of their conversation became lively, and the two ladies no longer treated Lù Jǐng as a servant but as a scholar on the same intellectual level as themselves.
They chatted until close to evening, when Lù Jǐng finally left Hú Mèir's chambers.
"Sister, your young eunuch is indeed remarkable in poetry," Xià Qínglán couldn't help but exclaim as she watched Lù Jǐng's retreating figure.
Hú Mèir took a sip of tea and smiled. "Isn't he? His literary talent is outstanding, and he's handsome too, very manly. If I didn't know he was a eunuch, I would have thought he was a real man."
Xià Qínglán nodded in agreement. "He really doesn't seem like a eunuch. His physique isn't like one, and neither is his voice."
"Perhaps because he just entered the palace, his voice hasn't changed yet."
"I see."
...
"You performed very well today."
Walking along the palace path, Lù Jǐng thought about his performance today and grinned, quite satisfied.
When he left, Xià Qínglán's gaze toward him seemed almost reverent. It seemed he had left a very good impression on her.
"This woman has no expectations of the dog emperor anymore. Perhaps I can really win her over."
Lù Jǐng was somewhat relieved that he hadn't immediately used the soul-bewildering incense to impersonate the dog emperor and take advantage of Xià Qínglán.
After all, Xià Qínglán didn't have the same expectations of the dog emperor as Hú Mèir did. Without the notification from the other chief eunuchs in the palace, if he had gone to sleep with her rashly, she might have become suspicious.
Moreover, since Xià Qínglán was unwilling to return to the main palace as a Noble Consort, he might truly be able to conquer her directly and make her willing to be his woman.
In this way, he might gain more rewards and save precious soul-bewildering incense.
The exquisite face and transcendent temperament of Xià Qínglán surfaced in Lù Jǐng's mind. The thought that he might bring her down below him filled Lù Jǐng with anticipation for the future!
As he was walking, a few people suddenly appeared on the palace path ahead of him.
The leader was a beautiful woman in lavish clothes, flanked by a fair-faced, handsome young eunuch, with a maidservant following behind.
It was Little Guizi and Noble Lady Su.