Nothing particularly noteworthy happened in Jinzhou.

A few days ago, Bai Tuantuan and Ning Nanxiao visited Jinzhou, and in the following days, they accompanied the Emperor on his travels.

Every month, Jinzhou hosts a poetry gathering at the city's tallest three-story poetry pavilion.

And today is the poetry gathering.

The Emperor became interested and woke up early in the morning to invite Bai Tuantuan, Ning Nanxiao, and Mu Yangzhi to attend the poetry gathering.

Fortunately, the poetry club does not require a membership card; all that is needed is to compose three poems on the first floor.

"Dad! My dear dad! What would a roughneck like me do there? You can have Tuantuan and Nanxiao keep you company. I want to sleep a little longer..."

Mu Yang looked at the Emperor with a bitter expression, his entire being screaming rejection.

The Emperor tapped Mu Yangzhi on the head with his fan: "It's precisely because you're so ignorant that I'm taking you to see the world!"

"What's so interesting about that? We might as well go practice our shooting with Uncle Chengzu!" Mu Yangzhi muttered in complaint, but he didn't dare to go against the Emperor. He could only wink at Ning Nanxiao.

However, the Emperor saw this and glared at Mu Yangzhi: "What are you looking at Nanxiao for? Hurry up! Go find the carriage!"

As he spoke, he kicked Mu Yangzhi in the butt.

Mu Yangzhi yelled "Awooo!" and ran out!

The emperor couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Soon, the four arrived outside the Poetry Pavilion. Seeing many students coming here, the Emperor's face showed a look of satisfaction.

“There are quite a few women too.” Bai Tuantuan looked at the girls and couldn’t help but laugh. “Let’s make a bet: is the leader a man or a woman?”

Ning Nanxiao chuckled softly: "I'll bet on a woman."

"You!" Bai Tuantuan glared at Ning Nanxiao. "Why aren't you playing by the rules!"

Mu Yangzhi, who was standing to the side, said, "I don't believe it. In this world, it is much more difficult for men to learn to read and write than for women. I think the leader should be a man."

Bai Tuantuan laughed out loud: "That's not necessarily true, let's wait and see."

As they spoke, the group arrived at the main gate, and the three poems were completed with ease.

Although Mu Yangzhi was not interested in poetry and songs, he was a prince after all and had learned a lot when he was young, so he passed the test easily.

Once inside the second floor, they heard cheers and applause, with groups of three or five discussing the topic.

The room is decorated with poems and paintings by famous artists.

The emperor slowly appreciated these things, marveling that the student had surpassed the teacher.

"Was it decided beforehand again this time?"

As soon as the emperor and his entourage found a corner, they heard the women talking in hushed tones.

"Yes, it's Master Peng, the advisor's son."

"Him?" an impatient woman said angrily. "How could he be worthy? Even a dog wouldn't read his poems! Things like 'beautiful women are like red flowers' and 'gazing at the stars every night,' I..."

"Alright, Yu'er, stop talking. If others hear this, you'll be in big trouble."

"Yes, Young Master Peng is, after all, the advisor's son. If he finds out, your family's winery might be targeted."

"That's right. Last time, all Lin'er said was that Young Master Peng was ugly. After he found out, he trampled Lin'er underfoot and forced her to admit that she was wrong."

Everyone seemed to recall that scene and fell silent.

Bai Tuantuan looked at the Emperor in confusion: "The advisor's son is so capable? Doesn't the prefect care?"

"Alas, we can only blame our lack of power. He is the son of the clerk, and the clerk is the prefect's brother-in-law. Even if the prefect wanted to do something, he couldn't. Take the incident with Sister Lin'er, for example. The prefect wanted to punish Young Master Peng, but the prefect's wife stopped him."

"Yes, the prefect listens to his wife. There's nothing we can do about it. After all, he got this official position by borrowing the influence of his wife's family."

The three girls exchanged glances, sighed, and said no more.

“Then I won’t participate in this poetry competition, to avoid adding to your troubles.” Feng Yu’er pursed her lips and said slowly, “I’d rather use that time to urge my younger brother to read more books.”

“I’m not participating either,” Du Xuemin said softly. “I might as well go back and help my father with the accounts.”

"If none of you are participating, then naturally I won't either," Lin Qibao shrugged. "The poetry competitions these days are getting less and less interesting."

The three reached a consensus, exchanged a few more words, and were just about to leave.

The door opened and a white figure was seen.

The three of them turned pale.

Bai Tuantuan's eyes crinkled into crescents as her soft, sweet voice rang out: "Three older sisters, can we have a chat?"

"Who are you?" Feng Yu'er glared at Bai Tuantuan, her eyes flashing coldly. "What did you hear?"

"We heard everything," Bai Tuantuan said helplessly. "You guys were quite loud, and this room isn't soundproof, so..."

Upon hearing this, Du Xuemin quickly said, "We didn't mean anything by it, please don't tell Young Master Peng..."

“No, not at all.” Bai Tuantuan’s eyes crinkled into a smile. “We don’t know Young Master Peng.”

"What would you like to talk about, young lady?" Lin Qibao stepped aside, gesturing for Bai Tuantuan to come in, then looked at the man behind Bai Tuantuan, hesitating for a moment, "They want to..."

"No need, I'll go in with you."

As she spoke, Bai Tuantuan walked into the room. Lin Qibao and the other two exchanged glances, closed the door, and sat down.

"I am the young owner of Erdong Restaurant." Bai Tuantuan took out her jade pendant and placed it on the table. "I have seven uncles, my eldest uncle..."

As Bai Tuantuan introduced herself, Lin Qibao and the other two were shocked.

"The Princess Who Protects the Nation!" Feng Yu'er couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Bai Tuantuan made a "shh" gesture and took out the jade pendant of the Princess Zhenguo. "Here, you can verify its authenticity."

Just as the three were about to kneel down, Bai Tuantuan stopped them: "No need. I came to Jinzhou with my identity hidden. You can't tell anyone, not even your own family."

Lin Qibao and the other two nodded quickly.

"I came to you because I overheard what you were saying. What's the story with this Young Master Peng? And the Prefect and his clerk, oh right, and the Poetry Pavilion, could you tell me all about it?"

Feng Yu'er nodded: "I'll speak."

Outside, the emperor sighed and lamented, "With officials protecting each other like this, when will we ever be able to guarantee fairness?"

Ning Nanxiao said calmly, "I can't guarantee it. Throughout history, who has ever been able to achieve true fairness? It's just that Heaven is watching what people do, and retribution may be delayed."

"Nanxiao, do you think there really is such a thing as retribution?"

"have."

Ning Nanxiao's tone was firm: "Only by believing in existence can we have remorse when people do evil."

Mu Yangzhi couldn't help but say, "Isn't that just deceiving yourself? If there really were retribution, where would there be so many bad people in this world?"

"If His Majesty is free tonight, why don't you come with me somewhere?"

The Emperor looked at Ning Nanxiao with a puzzled expression: "Where?"

"The world a hundred years from now."