Chapter 26: Moonlit Night
At the same time, the students in the Xuan class were also making intensive preparations.
"Shuyuan, how are you preparing?" Yang Jiamin looked at Jiang Shuyuan and asked with concern.
Jiang Shuyuan smiled slightly, full of confidence: "It doesn't matter, I will definitely win this competition."
After hearing this, Yang Jiamin felt worried.
Although Jiang Shuyuan is extremely talented, Jiang Zhiyu from Class Huang’s strength should not be underestimated in this poetry competition.
Moreover, she also had her own plans in mind.
"Shuyuan, do you know? Zhiyu..." Yang Jiamin hesitated for a moment, but decided to express her guess.
Jiang Shuyuan looked at her with a puzzled look on her face: "What happened to Jiang Zhiyu?"
Yang Jiamin sighed and said, "She seems to have known the final prize of this competition. The reason she participated in the competition was to get the personal annotations of Er Ya by the Master Ji Jiu to prepare for the class exam next month."
Jiang Shuyuan's face changed slightly after hearing this. She knew very well that Er Ya was also very important to her. She must not let Jiang Zhiyu get it.
"Jiamin, thank you for telling me about this. I will pay attention to it." Jiang Shuyuan looked at Yang Jiamin, narrowed her eyes and said.
Yang Jiamin smiled slightly and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Shuyuan is a smart woman and she should know how to deal with it.
That evening, Deng Ziqiu rushed to the cafeteria and found Jiang Zhiyu who was having dinner with his classmates.
"Junior Sister Jiang, listen to the good news!" Deng Ziqiu clapped his hands on the table excitedly, his face full of joy.
Jiang Zhiyu raised his head and looked at Deng Ziqiu, with a hint of doubt in his eyes: "Brother Deng, what's the good news?"
"The Imperial College's poetry and prose competition will be conducted anonymously. The poems and prose will be recorded and transcribed by a unified person before being announced." Deng Ziqiu lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously.
"Anonymous evaluation?" Jiang Zhiyu's eyes lit up, and then his face turned happy. He thought to himself, "This way, I don't have to worry about my poems being targeted by my opponents."
When the students in Class Huang heard the news, they put down their bowls and chopsticks and gathered around.
"Brother Deng, are you serious?" asked a classmate from Class Huang.
"Absolutely true!" Deng Ziqiu nodded, and then said: "For this competition, our poems and essays will be collected together, and then transcribed by a special person, and finally announced. In this way, everyone will compete fairly."
"That's great!" The students in Class Huang said happily.
Jiang Zhiyu also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that her poems would be targeted by her opponents, but now that an anonymous evaluation mode was adopted, she could confidently display her talent.
"Junior Sister Jiang, you must try your best this time!" Deng Ziqiu looked at Jiang Zhiyu and encouraged her.
"Brother Deng, rest assured, I will do my best to win the championship!" Jiang Zhiyu said confidently.
As night fell, Jiang Zhiyu returned to her room. She sat at the table, took out a pen and paper, and began to prepare her poems for the competition.
"I must win, I must win!" She made up her mind silently, and the pen in her hand became more powerful.
The days passed quietly in the busyness and preparation, and the day of the poetry competition finally arrived.
The venue for the competition was set up in the auditorium, which was decorated solemnly and elegantly, with mahogany chairs arranged neatly and the air filled with the faint scent of ink. In the center of the auditorium was a tall podium with pens, inkstones, paper and inkstones placed on it for students to write poems.
The competition was divided into three stages: preliminary, semi-final and final. In the preliminary stage, students from Huang Class and Xuan Class took turns to go on stage to show their talents. They either wrote with brush or spoke eloquently, and their talented works won rounds of applause.
Jiang Zhiyu stood on the stage, calm and composed. Feeling the expectant gazes of the Huang class below the stage, he couldn't help but feel a surge of pride in his heart.
She took a deep breath and began to recite.
"When will the bright moon appear? I raise my cup to ask the blue sky..." Jiang Zhiyu's voice is like the rippling of running water, its passionate parts are like the tumbling of waterfalls, and its affectionate parts are like the spring breeze.
Her recitation touched everyone present, and everyone was immersed in this wonderful poem.
The competition entered the semi-final stage, and students needed to complete a poem within the specified time.
They either bowed their heads in deep thought or wrote on paper, in a tense and orderly manner.
Jiang Zhiyu successfully advanced to the finals with his extraordinary talent.
On the final stage, Jiang Zhiyu and Jiang Shuyuan will compete fiercely. The topic is "Expressing Feelings on a Moonlit Night", requiring the contestants to express their feelings on a moonlit night.
As night falls, moonlight shines into every corner of the auditorium, as if covering the stadium with a mysterious veil.
The contestants took turns to go on stage, either reciting poems or expressing their feelings under the moon. Jiang Zhiyu stood on the stage, looking at the bright moon, feeling a lot of emotions in his heart.
The night breeze blew gently, bringing a hint of coolness. Jiang Zhiyu stood quietly on the stage, the folding fan in her hand swaying gently, as if accompanying her thoughts.
Her eyes merged with the moonlight, as if she was looking for the source of inspiration in the moonlight.
"Jiang Zhiyu, are you waiting for the moonlight to guide you? It's better to give up early!" Jiang Shuyuan's voice sounded in Jiang Zhiyu's ears, crisp and somewhat provocative.
Jiang Zhiyu turned around and smiled, "Jiang Shuyuan, expressing one's feelings on a moonlit night is to express one's feelings through the moonlight. I am just looking for the emotion that belongs to me."
Jiang Shuyuan chuckled, a sly look flashing in her eyes: "Well, I won't bother you at this time. But I want to see what kind of talent you have to impress everyone under the moonlight."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Zhiyu spoke slowly, his voice low and magnetic: "The moon shines on the nine provinces, some are happy and some are sad. Tonight, I use the title "Moonlit Night Expressing My Feelings" to express my feelings."
Jiang Zhiyu's words flowed like a spring, and the verses echoed in the air, as if every sentence touched the heartstrings of the judges present.
"The moon is setting, the sky is full of frost, and Jiang Feng's fishing fire faces Mianmian. The Hanshan Temple outside Gusu City, the bell rings to the passenger ship in the middle of the night."
Jiang Zhiyu's voice gradually became higher and higher, and the poems were filled with affection and sadness.
Her eyes swept across the audience, and everyone's face showed varying degrees of shock.
"Student Jiang's poem is really wonderful." An old man stood up and said excitedly: "Under the moonlit night, you not only expressed your feelings about life, but also showed the tranquility and melancholy of the moonlit night vividly."
Jiang Shuyuan stood aside, a hint of surprise flashed across her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.
She whispered Jiang Zhiyu's poem: "The moon waxes and wanes, and people have joys and sorrows. It is difficult to have everything in life, but I wish you a long life, and we can enjoy the beauty of the moon together even though we are thousands of miles apart."
"Jiang Shuyuan, what do you think of this poem?" Jiang Zhiyu narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile.
Jiang Shuyuan was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "I am ashamed of myself for this poem."
The audience nodded one after another, and applause surged like a tide.