Seeing how shocked Yan Lingsu was, Gongyu Mingxi’s tone changed, and she sounded a little guilty. “Do you not remember what happened in your previous life?”
Yan Lingsu answered subconsciously, “I do remember… Do you all remember it as well?”
“Yes, I do. This is all very magical. Why do you think this happened?” Gongyu Mingxi sighed.
“I don’t know why either.” Yan Lingsu replied.
Gongyu Mingxi saw that the children were silent, and she shook her head. “Let’s just forget about it. I don’t understand why this is all happening. After all, we cannot change the past. It is up to you children to talk about your past or not. But I shall begin telling you all about my past life.
“I came from a prestigious family. My father was a scholar at the Imperial Academy, and the Prime Minister was his mentor. My Master was a Grand Scholar and a famous poet. Master’s poems were loved by everyone— from the emperor to the people, and he was known as the best poet in history.
“My Great-Grandfather was the top scholar at the Imperial Academy. I was also a woman back then, and I was highly gifted in poetry. I became famous at a young age, and I lived a carefree life. I despised women for being talentless. But I had to admit that I was one of the few people in the world that could rival a fantastic poet like my Master.”
At this point, Gongyu Mingxi’s smile was faint. “Since I became famous at a young age, I had accumulated some good wine, gold, and gems. I spent the first half of my life wandering around freely— it was a pity.
“Later on, invaders destroyed our county, and I roamed around alone for the rest of my life. Others would probably look at my life and say that it was waste.”
As Yan Qixun listened to her mother’s explanation, she began to wonder why it sounded so similar to the life of the prestigious female poet— Li Yian.
“Were you Li Yian?” Yan Qixun looked at her mother and hesitantly asked.
Gongyu Mingxi was surprised. “Qixun, have you heard of her?”
“Yes, Mother, I have heard of her. You mentioned that my grandfather, whom I have never met, was an understudy of the number one poet in the world, who was also the Grand Secretary of the Pavilion, right? Eventually, my grandfather also became a Grand Secretary of the Pavilion.
“When you mentioned your life, I felt that the story was similar to Li Yian. That is why I took a rough guess, and apparently, I was right.
“Mother, you said that your master was Grand Scholar Su— the world’s number one poet. Probably you are not aware that you’re the best female poet in history!” Yan Qixun said excitedly.
The facts that Yan Qixun said were true, and there were so many things to be excited about today. Yan Qixun was now more able to believe the things she was experiencing. Besides, her second brother was even more impressive— he was the Monkey King! As such, it wasn’t too far-fetched to believe that her mother was the number one female poet in history.
Yan Qixun wasn’t surprised. She said that her second brother was extremely powerful in his past life, and it all felt like a dream to her.
Yan Lingyu’s eyes sparkled. “Qixun is right. Li Yian is worthy of being called the number one female poet in history.”
Yan Lingsu also nodded in agreement.
Gongyu Hao did not come from the same place because he was from a mythical world. Besides, when he was released from Five Finger Mountain, it was still the Tang dynasty, and his Gongyu Mingxi had not been born yet.
Looking at the adoring eyes of the three little girls, Gongyu Mingxi felt pleased. She had the title of the number one female poet in history. She couldn’t help but feel a little proud.
Was this considered a historical evaluation of her? As a scholar, she didn’t care much about her reputation.
“The number one female poet in history, huh? I don’t deserve that title.” Gongyu Mingxi felt happy deep in her heart, yet she tried to be humble.
Yan Qixun nodded fiercely. “I can accept that title! Mother, you have no idea how many people adore you even until now. I also know that you like to drink and gamble.
“Out of the dozens of poems that you have written, mostly about alcohol. You even wrote a piece called ‘Beating the Horse’. Even modern people idolize you.
“Speaking of gambling, there are more games to play these days. I will make some cards when I’m free so that we can play together. You like drinking, and just like Second Brother, I have a lot of hidden belongings, but I don’t have access to them right now. I will give them all to you when I am able.
“I don’t mean to brag, but I have all of the famous wines from later generations in my collection. Furthermore, the wines in the Song dynasty were not considered wine. They were just regular drinks, right? The white wine I have in my collection has all kinds of aromas, and there are also famous wines from overseas.
“That’s enough about wine. Anyway, Mother, you’ll be surprised to know how many people idolize you these days.”
In fact, during Yan Lingyu’s time, Li Yian’s reputation wasn’t as good as what Yan Qixun said because Li Yian was a woman. However, her achievements in poetry were also based on history. Yan Lingyu also greatly admired Li Yian. So she also nodded in agreement.
Gongyu Mingxi was somewhat embarrassed by the compliments of her two daughters. When it came to drinking and gambling, she was rather shocked. She was never ashamed of her gambling and drinking habits. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have written a song about her alcoholism. She even wrote an article dedicated to gambling called “Beating the Horse”.
She remained undefeated when it came to gambling, which she was very proud of in her past life. Astonishingly, her hobby was being passed down after generations, and her daughter even brought it up, so it was a little funny.
She was always free-spirited and carefree. So she waved her hand and said, “Then I shall wait for the playing cards and wine that you promised. Now, you have all heard about my past life. Since Gongyu Hao is the eldest, let’s hear more about his past life next.”
Gongyu Hao scratched his head. “Well, I was born from a magic stone that sits atop the Hua Guo Mountain.”
“What?” Gongyu Mingxi was surprised.
“Is it true? I believed you when you said you were a monkey in your past life. But now you’re also saying that you were born from a magic stone? Please forgive me. I am having trouble believing you right now.
“So when you said Heaven and Earth raised you, and you were born from chaos, you actually meant that you popped out of a stone?”
Gongyu Hao did not think much of it. “That stone was said to be Consort Nuwa’s magical stone— the Chaos Stone. So, if I were to say that I was born from chaos, I would be considered a being of the chaos species. I was stronger than mythical beings such as the Dragon, Phoenix, or Kraken. However, these mythical beings existed at the beginning of Heaven and Earth. I’m not sure why, but I was born later.”
At this point, Gongyu Hao puckered his lips. “Other than Father Pangu, who opened the Heavens, there are is other being in the world that is more honorable than me.
“Unfortunately, I suffered because I was born too late. Without the spiritual Qi, the luck of Heaven and Earth, as well as the knowledge of tens of millions of years, I could only be under other people’s control.
“However, when I was born, the Dragon, Phoenix, and Kraken had long disappeared without a trace. They vanished into Heaven and Earth. The Dragon had reclined to the few places in the four seas where it was forced to compromise, and the Heavens ignored it. If these mythical beings were still around, how could they leave me alone in peace?
“Naturally, they wanted to plot against me. I couldn’t stand the Phoenix, so I went to the Heavenly Court to plead my case. However, I was restrained by the Heavens due to my tantrum.
“Qixun, since you know about my past life, you should know that they manipulated me to go to the Western Heaven to obtain the scriptures. To face the tribulation of becoming a God, the Heavenly Reverence of the Primordial Beginning and the Grand Supreme Laojun plotted against the Master of the Tongtian Faction.”
They rallied up with those bald donkeys in the west and wanted to eliminate the Tongtian Faction. There was one condition, however. They had to agree to allow the Buddhists to spread their teachings. This resulted in the Buddhist Voyage. In the end, I had become a pawn for the Buddhist Voyage..