During a banquet, there must always be entertainment. After three rounds of wine and five tastes of dishes, with only women present at the table, boisterous games were inappropriate, so the entertainment became the wine game.

The so-called wine game is a form of amusement at the banquet where one person acts as the master, also known as the "Token Officer," setting the topic and rules. The others follow the prompts and take turns reciting poetry or couplets, and those who fail to comply or lose are punished by drinking.

Aside from setting the topic and rules, the Token Officer also needs to enliven the atmosphere. Naturally, this role cannot fall to the Empress Dowager, so Dong Guifei gracefully rose and took up the token.

This round of the wine game was a poetry challenge. The Token Officer would start by offering the first line of poetry, and the participants would take turns completing it with the second line. Failing to complete it or coming up with a subpar response would result in a drinking penalty.

The topic was "Life and Death."

"Partings in death feel like dreams; separations in life seem sorrowful."

Dong Gong Ruoshu was the first to begin, graced with an elegant smile.

Next, it was Chen Yi's turn. The order had clearly been arranged by the Empress with intentions to foster affection between them.

But the problem was...

Chen Yi didn't know how to write poetry.

He sat there for quite a while, looking as lost as someone faced with overly enthusiastic relatives during festive visits, whose names and titles he couldn't recall.

Dong Guifei's almond-shaped eyes glimmered with amusement as she said teasingly:

"Qianhu, it's likely you can't... come up with a response, can you?"

Chen Yi lifted his wine cup and had no choice but to admit:

"I can't match Ruoshu's poetry."

"Oh my, such intimacy—Ruoshu~"

Dong Guifei, in her role as Token Officer, intentionally elongated her voice, instantly adding a layer of ambiguous cheer to the atmosphere. Dong Gong Ruoshu's cheeks flushed as she glanced at Chen Yi, before quickly averting her gaze.

Yin Weiyin's expression grew a shade colder.

She silently drank her wine.

Having failed at the poetry challenge, Chen Yi had no choice but to drink. His cup was emptied quickly, and a palace maid behind him promptly refilled it.

This maid stood particularly close to Chen Yi, seemingly arranged to serve him attentively and refill his cup as needed.

After Chen Yi, it was Yin Tingxue's turn. After thinking for a long while, she lightly responded to the prompt:

"Carrying the remnants of kin, weathering frost across ten thousand miles."

"Remnants of kin, frost, ten thousand miles..." As the words fell upon Chen Yi's ears, he suddenly felt a pang of melancholy.

She was speaking of him and Qin Qingluo...

That day when they parted, she rode away on horseback, her armor gleaming, vanishing between heaven and earth, setting out for the distant Southern Border, separated by thousands of miles.

Turning his gaze to the little fox, Chen Yi's expression showed a hint of surprise. It turned out that his distress hadn't escaped her notice.

The poetry challenge then reached Lin Wanxiao.

The Lin Family Young Lady wore plain clothing. Her deep-set gaze flickered briefly toward Chen Yi, her heart brimming with unspoken emotions.

Earlier, when she had tried to drown herself in the lake, he had stopped her. This had caused her newfound feelings for him to become crystal clear, leaving her in turmoil...

If she claimed not to resent him, it would be a lie. Lin Wanxiao wrestled with her emotions, caught between the despair of someone seeking death and the survival instinct that kept pulling her to the surface.

Tangled emotions, an origin unknown—she often thought of "Peony Pavilion," and at times, she felt a faint glimmer of courage arising.

But,

She ultimately remained a widow bound by decorum.

Lin Wanxiao softly recited:

"We cannot grow old together, but may we keep each other even in death..."

Entrusting her feelings to the poetry was the bravest gesture she could muster.

Would he... truly understand her sentiments?

As her verse fell, Chen Yi's pupils constricted, his lips trembling faintly. Countless emotions surged like streams through his heart, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Just then, Dong Guifei leaned closer to Lin Wanxiao, her face adorned with a mischievous smile.

With coquettish laughter, she remarked:

"I hear Madam has been widowed for quite some time. I wonder whom Madam wishes to keep company with?"

Lin Wanxiao instinctively reached to touch the sachet in her chest, only to realize... the sachet she had handcrafted was no longer there.

"Merely idle sentiments expressed through poetry, a trifling lament of the boudoir that means little,"

The Lin Family Young Lady forced a smile, her response composed and graceful.

Having quarreled with Lin Wanxiao not long ago, Yin Weiyin's expression had now grown even darker.

Everyone present understood that Lin Wanxiao's words were merely an excuse. How could the feelings within her poetry not be discerned?

Even Chen Yi could tell; how could Yin Weiyin not?

From earlier toasting to the present poetry challenge, Yin Weiyin felt increasingly displeased. Yet she refrained from expressing it publicly, instead taking her turn and responding to the challenge:

"Grief compels me to indulge in drink, no tears left to offer you my longing."

The verses flowed seamlessly, showcasing the extraordinary talents of the ladies at the table. Cups and tokens exchanged hands as laughter echoed from the woman in the phoenix robes.

The Empress gestured, and the chamberlain Su Xin stepped forward carrying an ornate box. When the lid was lifted, it revealed a phoenix sunrise gold hairpin adorned with a ruby that sparkled like teardrops under the candlelight.

"Since the poetry challenge has a loser," the Empress glanced at Chen Yi, then cast her gaze across the seated ladies, leisurely remarking, "there should also be a winner. The best verse among you all deserves its recognition. So, why not have the loser present this hairpin to the victor?"

Her words fell, and Chen Yi's eyes widened.

The chamberlain Su Xin brought the golden hairpin to him.

At the same moment, all the ladies seated turned their faces simultaneously toward him, their gazes falling upon him with uncanny unity.

A hairpin has always been a token of love,

And once the Empress Dowager has spoken, this hairpin becomes a definitive marker to be gifted to the one who triumphs over all others.

"So tonight...

Who will Chen Qianhu choose to bestow it upon?"

......…

On the mural above, the Asura King and Indra clashed in battle, blood-red setting sun oversaw the chaos, winds howled carrying forlorn cries,

The light of day and night extinguished, casting the heavens and earth into deep darkness.

It was—

The Field of Asura.

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