With the young Emperor presiding, the Fourth Prince felt uneasy in his heart but could only force a smile on his face, continuously eyeing the five academicians below the stage, hoping they would join in to make up the numbers, allowing him to leave.

The young Emperor looked at the hanging poems and couldn't help but light up.

"Who would've thought that Our Great You Country is truly a place where talents emerge in great numbers."

"Just because of one backward glance from you, I think of you from morning till night. While I see all beings as mere grass and trees, only seeing you is like gazing upon green mountains."

"These lines are truly exquisite. It has been a long time since I've read such deeply affectionate and touching verses. Clearly, these were written by two different people. Have them come forth immediately. I will reward them handsomely."

"The one who wrote about green mountains has the slightly better verse; reward them with 1000 taels of silver. The other one, reward 500 taels!"

This time, the young Emperor was exceptionally generous with his spending. One reason was to leave a good impression in front of the commoners, and the second was that these two lines of poetry were indeed well written, worth the expenditure.

However, after waiting a full half minute with no one coming forward to claim authorship of these lines, this irked the young Emperor.

"Lin Yi, what is going on here? No one claims to have written these verses?"

Lin Yi, having been called upon, could only shake his head helplessly and complained inwardly.

'My dear imposing wife, how could you fail to recognize even your husband's handwriting? Isn't this just a slap in my face?'

Sensing something amiss, the young Emperor awkwardly summoned the five academicians.

"What's the matter, where did today's judges all go?"

Upon hearing this, the five academicians timidly came onto the stage. Given the current situation, they really dared not tell the truth.

"What? You feel wronged by being asked to be judges today?"

The young Emperor was puzzled; the atmosphere on the stage was so different from the enthusiastic vibe from the commoners below.

"Lin Yi, come on, tell me what's going on?" The young Emperor seemed to be carrying on a monologue, as no one else seemed very cooperative.

At this moment, Bai Lu stepped forward, "Your Majesty, to avoid any suspicion of bias, allow me to explain."

"It was Lin Yi who wrote the verse about green mountains, while the other line was penned by the Fourth Imperial Uncle."

Upon hearing this, the young Emperor was shocked; the silver he had rewarded had actually gone to his own husband and the Fourth Imperial Uncle, which was just too, too improper.

However, seeing the Fourth Prince's awkward forced smile, the young Emperor hastily comforted him.

"The Fourth Imperial Uncle really is the best among the princes in writing poetry, as I witnessed today. Bring someone to frame these two lines of poetry and place them in the Hanlin Academy for all to study."

Relief finally eased onto the Fourth Prince's tense countenance; he faintly smiled and said: "Thank you for Your Majesty's praise."

The young Emperor nodded, casting a meaningful look at his own husband.

'I thought all you had was frivolity, but it turns out there's some literary ink in your belly too. You've truly amazed me.'

'No, I overslept earlier, missing your contest. We shall have it once again.'

"Since the five academicians are reluctant to sit as judges, then they need not sit there ever again. By my decree, demote these five officials by one rank and forfeit half a year's salary."

"The love poetry contest will continue today, with me and the commoners serving as the judges!"

As soon as the young Emperor's voice faded, cheers erupted among the populace, with many praising His Majesty's affability, recognizing him as a rare and good Emperor.

The Fourth Prince, standing to the side, could only accompany the cheer with an awkward smile. As the crowd quieted down, he sought an excuse to leave.

But the young Emperor spoke up: "Fourth Imperial Uncle, since you're already here, why not partake in another round? I too, wish to witness your grace."

With things having come this far, the Fourth Prince could not refuse any longer, so he reluctantly agreed to the young Emperor's request.

Sticking to the theme of love at first sight, the Fourth Prince's entry went: "The gaze lingers with endless affection, as though we've met before in a past life."

"Excellent verse!" The young Emperor led the applause, affirming the Fourth Prince's lines of poetry.

Lin Yi gave a faint smile, and with a flourish of his brush, he wrote: "A single astonishing glimpse hard to forget, henceforth my prime years are thrown into disarray."

When Bai Lu recited Lin Yi's lines, the atmosphere of the entire assembly became peaceful in an instant, as everyone was deeply captivated by the verse.

A white-clothed Scholar even shouted excitedly.

"Sir Lin Yi, do you take disciples? I wish to be your student!"

In the crowd, praise for Lin Yi's poetry was unceasing; many even thought Lin Yi was the embodiment of Wenquxing descended from the heavens.

Facing everyone's compliments, Lin Yi smugly turned towards the young Emperor, as if to flaunt his capability.

'How about that? Your husband is quite impressive, right? Go on and praise me, my dearest wife.'

The young Emperor arched an eyebrow, giving Lin Yi a knowing look and loudly said.

"Sir Lin Yi is indeed the Great General of our You Country; such amazing literary prowess."

The Fourth Prince's face was awkwardly dry, and he could only offer a forced smile: "I willingly concede, Sir Lin Yi truly has opened our eyes."

Little did he know, these words spoken by the Fourth Prince left him feeling worse than if he had eaten dung, having to admit that he was inferior to a eunuch—this was a severe blow to his pride.

At this moment, a group of Scholars rushed forward, each begging Lin Yi to take them as disciples.

"Sir Lin Yi, please accept me as your disciple. I can withstand any hardship, truly."

"Sir Lin Yi, look at me, look at me. I've been versed in poetry and literature from a young age; I wish to learn even more from you."

Lin Yi, frightened out of his wits, nearly had his soul fly away; with the young Emperor still seated there, they should be kneeling to His Majesty rather than to himself—this was preposterous.

This was simply shortening his own life.

"Oh my, what are you doing? Get up, all of you, get up." Like ants on a hot pan, Lin Yi immediately helped the group of Scholars to their feet.

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