The Empress smiled lightly and said, "It's good that Consort Li is wholeheartedly for the country, but as for these civil and military officials, it's not something we women in the inner palace should worry about. It's better to say less about this in the future."

  The Empress's face suddenly turned pale, and she almost knelt down in fear. The Emperor raised his hand and said, "Enough, enough, the festival is a joyful occasion, I won't pursue anything about your poem." Although his words were gentle, his expression had already shown some displeasure. The Empress felt even more depressed and silently shrunk into the corner of the wall.

  The Empress obviously wouldn't forget the incident with the ice block in the traveling palace. She gave Consort Li a glance, her expression filled with disgust.

  Not even considering her own status, she was able to speak out and suppress it, which is already giving face! Such a person who can't even get on stage dares to help Shen's family oppose her!

  At this time, Jin Pei, who was usually taciturn, smiled and said: "How come it's not yet Rong Hua's turn? Her poem is already impatiently waiting."

  Although these words contained a few hints of jealousy, they resolved the awkwardness at the banquet caused by Concubine Lao.

  Chu Hua's skirt no longer delayed, and she picked up a piece of paper from the tray in the inner monitor. The imperial palace lady on the other side read aloud: "A lamp, four characters, wine wine wine wine. Two watches drum, two gongs, clang clang clang."

  The concubines were in an uproar.

  Because of the festival, there were naturally joyful songs and dances at the banquet, and the sound of cymbals and drums was always ringing. The concubines couldn't help but laugh out loud as they listened to the sound. Liu Yuxiu covered her stomach with one hand and pointed at Chu Huashang with the other: "Oh my, this is too much! You've made fools of us all! And you call that poetry? Ha ha, I'm dying from laughter..."

  "Don't laugh at her, we can't even write like that! The more common the better, Chu's poem is amazingly great! Zhao Shuyuan was also a straightforward person, pointing to the large red lantern with the word "wine" hanging in the Longxing Palace: "On the Double Ninth Festival, we drink chrysanthemum wine and enjoy the joy of the Western zither. The antithesis is neat and easy, but we've never seen anything as fitting and vibrant as this! I think Chu's poem is a masterpiece for all eternity!"

  Xu Jieyu also laughed and said: "The emperor is really something, he was secretly laughing for half a day, I thought it was a wonderful poem! It's a pity that we ordinary people are still writing serious poems!" Coincidentally, at this time, the second watch of the night had arrived, and the little eunuch outside the palace gate diligently beat the drum and shouted "Be careful with fire". The sound of the gong accompanied the drumbeat, and now everyone laughed even harder.

  The laughter at the banquet didn't stop for a long time. Chu Huashang's poem was too interesting, and everyone forgot about their jealous and resentful thoughts, instead they were all excitedly toasting and chatting happily.

  Tuoba Hong was overjoyed by this poem, which was both too common and too elegant.

  Chu Huashang is really capable, not only did she please the emperor, but also made these concubines who were always at odds with each other buy into it. Everyone got along harmoniously, and the emperor liked it even more after seeing this.

  The poem is still going on, it's just that the later poems are written with a free heart and no longer have a competitive mind.

  Everyone had a truly enjoyable Double Ninth Festival this year.

  It wasn't long before it was Wen Pin's turn. Because she had lost favor, others considered her the lowest of the pin ranks.

  At this time, the concubines were all smiling and chatting to themselves, and not many people listened seriously to her poetry. After Chu Huashang gained power, everyone even forgot that Wen Pin was also a talented person.

  The palace maid recited the poem for Wen Pei, but not very enthusiastically. Her voice was small and those in the back row couldn't hear: "On Double Ninth Festival, I dare not ascend a high building, chrysanthemums year after year shine on an autumn evening. How can I know that at the northern border someone is blowing a reed pipe, one night travelers all look towards their hometown..."

  The great hall suddenly fell silent.

  Su Gui Ren of Yongshou Palace, having only clearly heard the first two sentences, did not know why everyone had become cold and thought it was just Wen Pin's poor words. She said with a tone of disdain: "On a day when the whole family is reunited in the palace, such sad and mournful words are also too inappropriate..."

  "That's enough, Su Gui Ren!" The Empress rebuked her with a rare display of authority: "Although Consort Wen's poem is not that auspicious, it's not something you can belittle!"

  The palace was even more silent than a crow, Su Guiren was so frightened that she knelt down but didn't know what had happened.

  The emperor waved his hand and said, "I and you are all members of the imperial family. At this time, we can enjoy the joy of reunion and have a feast together, but the soldiers on the northern border have to endure the pain of separation." He paused for a moment and said, "Everyone congratulates the reunion, but no one thinks of those who are loyal to the country. Xu's poem is very good!"

  At this time, those concubines who had not heard clearly before also knew what poem Wen Concubine had written. Everyone understood that Wen Concubine's poem was the one with emotion and righteousness, loyalty and virtue, and when compared to their own poems, they were truly too greedy for comfort. For a moment, everyone was solemn-faced, and Chu Huashang and others all followed the emperor's intention and heavily praised Wen Concubine.

  Su Gui Ren repeatedly kowtowed and begged for forgiveness.

  The concubine bowed her head modestly and said, "I just spoke out of feeling. If it weren't for those soldiers who guarded the country and protected our homes, where would we get peace and prosperity? How could we sit here and enjoy a feast on Chongyang Festival?"

  Wen Pin's poetry is vastly different from that of Mao Pin. She neither discusses state affairs nor the country, but only laments the hardships of separation faced by border soldiers.

  Very reasonable and knows how to handle things properly.

  Tuoba Hong looked at this concubine who had been neglected by him for several months and was almost unrecognizable, with increasing appreciation in his eyes.

  This poem is not only full of grandeur, but more importantly, the phrase "Northern Expedition" is exactly to Emperor Xiaozhao's taste.

  Speaking of Beisi, Tuoba Hong's memories are not ordinary.

  At that time, when he was the crown prince, although he was the eldest son of the empress, his father emperor favored concubine Li and wanted to depose him several times. Taizong's childhood was precarious, later in order to keep his position as crown prince, he fought bravely on the battlefield of Northern Sai to gain military achievements.

  At that time, the northern Xiongnu were in a state of turmoil, and the Mongolian tribes were also fighting internally. The Xiongnu army was strong and powerful, and they fought their way to Tongguan, almost swallowing up a thousand miles of the Great Qin's northern territory. Emperor Kangjing first sent General Li, who was then the pillar of the country, to go to war. As a result, General Li died of illness at the border due to his advanced age. For a time, there were no capable ministers or brave generals in the court, and several people who were sent to replace the commander-in-chief did not have General Li's ability. They fought a ten-year war of attrition with the Xiongnu, with neither side able to gain the upper hand.

  Tuoba Hong went in such a situation, gritting his teeth. To say that he was not afraid of death would be false; the Xiongnu were not wealthy but excelled at warfare. Putting aside concerns for one's life, what drove people mad the most was that there wasn't a capable general among the Northern Expeditionary Army, and this crown prince didn't dare compare himself to Li Shen, so he went off to fight for three to five years, and still hadn't won... Where would military merit come from?

  If he didn't go, the deposed crown prince would be doomed. That despicable third prince was sent by Emperor Kang to quell the rebellion in Miao territory, but what kind of hard bone is Xiongnu? Miao territory is just a group of people, it's just a tribal uprising, and he returned triumphantly after only a few months, with "outstanding military achievements", making Empress Sun and the crown prince so angry that they vomited blood.

  Then Tuoba Hong went to the Northern Wilderness with a sense of grievance and determination. Having such an unfeeling and unjust father, the fat meat had already been eaten by Emperor Wu of Northern Wei alone, where would he have a turn? Only in the Northern Wilderness, a place that no prince was willing to go, could he try his luck. Emperor Xiaojing saw that the crown prince had ambition, smiled and patted the table, saying well, anyway, the Xiongnu couldn't be defeated for twenty or thirty years, so let's just say the crown prince went to help out and boost the morale of the soldiers.

  No one expected that the crown prince, who was on his first expedition, would have such good fortune. Not long after Emperor Xiaowen arrived at the border, news came from the Xiongnu side that Heqin Princess, the daughter of Emperor Daizong of Northern Wei and the younger sister of Emperor Xiaowen, had been executed. This move by the Xiongnu indicated that they did not see any necessity for reconciliation between the two countries, and their wish was to swallow up the whole of China.

  Tuoba Hong couldn't take it anymore, he thought of the years he and his mother and siblings had suffered. The legitimate imperial princess was still to be sent for a marriage alliance. If he couldn't return with merit, he and Empress Dowager would end up like Duanyang.

  He led the army to pursue the enemy that night - the general who handed over Duoyang to the Qin army was precisely the Tiger King of Xiongnu, also their commander-in-chief. With his blood boiling and anger surging, Tuoba Hong's bravery and fearlessness, combined with his decent skills in military tactics and archery he had learned over the years, actually led to the ambush and killing of the Tiger King at Snowy Valley Canyon. The victory was too brilliant, and the morale of the Qin army soared.

  Later, Tuoba Hong again played the role of a conspirator and won over the Mongolian tribes. This move was much more brilliant than a head-on confrontation. Half a year later, the Xiongnu offered thousands of beautiful women and tens of thousands of taels of gold to seek peace.

  Tuoba Hong killed all the people and left the gold, returning to the court to report to his father. The old emperor smiled with joy, feeling truly satisfied with Tuoba Hong for the first time.

  In the following two years, many things happened, and several princes were not easy to deal with. However, it was still Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei who ascended to the throne.

  Tuoba Hong has been emperor for almost nine years now. He recalls the great desert campaigns of his youth, when he was always extravagantly proud of his own divine bravery.

  It's also often thought that it would be great if Duanyang were still alive.

  The Crown Prince's achievements not only satisfied the Emperor, but also earned the admiration of the generals and soldiers of the Great Qin. The garrison troops in Beise were the most loyal supporters of Tuoba Hong's ascension to the throne.

  Wen Pin's poem reminded Tuoba Hong of his subordinates. As an excellent monarch, he immediately issued a decree on the spot, and all soldiers guarding the northern border who were above the rank of qianfu were promoted by one grade.

  Thus, the originally low-ranking chiliarch was at least a gentleman of the fifth rank.

  All the concubines praised the emperor's wisdom and praised Wen Pin's virtue.

  Chu Huashang concealed the melancholy in her eyebrows. Originally, she was supposed to be the most stunning one tonight, but halfway through, Wen Pin appeared... Wen Pin lost favor because of herself, and this time, she not only stole the spotlight but also regained favor, which is a form of revenge.

  Wen Pin's move was so fierce this time. She didn't compete with Chu Huashang in literature, but used clever tactics to win. Speaking of which, Wen Pin is the most suitable person to write a poem for this occasion. She has always been proud and independent, doing things her own way. If she were an ordinary concubine, vying for favor with a gentle smile and obedient nature every day, it would be too intentional if she suddenly wrote such a poem that shouldn't have been written by a woman.

  The people in the palace no longer dared to have a slight look at Wen Pin's eyes.