Chapter 161: Chapter 159: It's good to be persistent, but bad to never admit defeat.

Xiao'er finished writing the poem in no time at all.

Her mistress, who had been worried earlier, breathed a sigh of relief when she finished so quickly.

What a joke? Is it that easy to compose a poem? Even the great contemporary poet Li Anmu wouldn't be able to pen one so quickly!

It took Cao Zhi seven steps to compose a poem! She created a poem as soon as she picked up her brush! Nonsense! It must be a rushed effort — something she just wrote to get it over with.

Then, they resumed their calm and continued thinking about their own compositions.

Once the ink of Xiao'er's poem had dried, she pressed it down with paper, and returned to her seat.

Seeing this, the Prime Minister's wife assumed that Xiao'er had finished so quickly because she was unable to compose a poem, and said, "The Countess of Rui'an truly is both intelligent and wise, composing a poem so swiftly. Why don't we look at her poem while we wait? We've nothing better to do."