Fearing that the Third Princess might cause another disturbance, the Imperial Concubine quickly replied, "Your Highness is truly courageous! You must be confident in your plan, otherwise why would you make such a suggestion!"

"How about this? It would be too time-consuming for all these dozens of girls to compete with the princess. How about we select ten to compete with her?"

Jiayin readily agreed and then casually suggested, "Competing in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting is too troublesome, and it's difficult to judge who wins and loses. How about we compete in poetry instead? The topics... you can come up with whatever you want!"

Some people gasped in shock, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

To fight ten against one is already an act of arrogance.

Now they've even added a clause that allows the opponent to set any questions—that's utterly arrogant!

But is it really arrogance?

Is the apple of the Li family's eye, the adopted daughter whom the Marquis of Xinting dotes on like his own daughter, really that brainless and stupid?

Some clever women had already pulled their daughters away and quietly left the "battlefield".

But many more people were so angry they were furious, and they also planned to make a name for themselves in front of the Imperial Concubine!

"Your Highness, I am willing to compete with the Princess."

"So it is with me, Your Majesty."

"I have studied for more than ten years and would like to give it a try."

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty girls signed up.

Before the Imperial Concubine could speak, Jiayin continued, "I'm delighted that so many people want to compete with me. But a simple competition is rather boring. How about we add some prizes?"

"I have no shortage of gold and silver jewelry, clothing and fabrics, and I'm sure you ladies have no shortage of those either."

"Then let's get practical. I'll face all ten of you, that's ten rounds. After each round, the loser will get slapped in the face."

"If I lose, you can let your maids or any of you hit me as you please! But if you lose, you'll have to obediently take a slap from my maid."

After saying that, she pointed to Shui Ling and smiled, "Look, this is the little girl. She's thin and small, and not very strong, so please don't be afraid!"

The phrase "young and vigorous" is not just used to describe young men.

The girls present were so angry at Jiayin's constant contempt and disdain that they turned into bloated toads!

No one knows who started it, but they all immediately began shouting together.

"Okay, let's settle on a slap in the face as the prize."

"Princess, don't cry now that your face is swollen from being slapped!"

Jiayin waved her hand dismissively, as if she didn't care about anyone, then turned to Shuiling and said, "Be careful not to hurt your hand, and remember not to use too much force later."

Everyone was even more furious upon hearing this!

The Imperial Concubine had witnessed the entire situation from beginning to end, and it could even be said that she was the one who orchestrated this turn of events, but now she suddenly felt a little regretful.

The Li family has always possessed a certain magical power; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to rise from humble beginnings to become powerful figures in Tianwu in just ten years, a feat that would be equivalent to a century of accumulation for others.

But now, even if she wanted to back out, she was in a difficult position.

Just then, the emperor arrived with seven or eight important officials.

It turned out that the Third Princess had just sent Caiyun to fetch reinforcements because she was afraid that Jiayin would suffer a loss.

The Emperor is discussing matters with several important ministers; it is not appropriate to disturb him.

If it were anyone else, Steward Yi would definitely not pay any attention to them.

But when he heard that Jiayin was going to suffer a loss, he went in and reported it directly.

Fortunately, the emperor was also feeling tired and was about to have tea and snacks with several important officials to rest for a while.

Steward Yi then recounted the events that had occurred in the Imperial Garden.

The emperor immediately got up. Wherever there was tea and snacks, it would be good to go and see what the commotion was like.

The wives and daughters of several high-ranking officials were also among the guests, so they shamelessly followed behind...

When the Imperial Concubine saw the Emperor and his entourage arrive, she was startled and quickly rose to greet them.

The crowd also knelt down and kowtowed, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

After all the commotion, the Emperor took the main seat, with the Third Princess and the Imperial Concubine flanking him on either side, and several high-ranking officials each received a brocade stool.

Jiayin smiled and stepped forward to greet him, asking, "Uncle Emperor, did you come here specifically to support me because you know I'm going to dominate the battlefield?"

The Emperor was both amused and exasperated, replying, "You may look obedient, but you're actually bolder than anyone else, and quite stubborn. Even if I were to say the competition is over now, would you still stop?"

"Of course not!" Jiayin wrinkled her nose and insisted, "Although I am a woman and not a gentleman, there is no reason for me to take back what I have said."

"Moreover, we just set a wager: ten rounds of competition, and the loser of each round will get slapped."

"I was worried that the judgment would be unfair, but luckily, Uncle Emperor has arrived. You are the ruler of the world, and no one is more impartial than you!"

The Emperor was pleased by the flattery, glanced at the Consort and the others, and said, "Very well, I will be the judge."

The imperial concubine was one thing, but the noble ladies from various families below were extremely excited.

As a woman, unable to study for the imperial examinations, she had very few opportunities to meet the emperor.

If we can defeat Princess Kang Le now, we can surely get registered in front of the Emperor. This is definitely an opportunity with many benefits.

Compared to before, even more people want to join the ten-person team.

After some intense "discussions," the number of spots was finally decided.

Power is always extremely useful.

Of the ten spots, eight were reserved for daughters of noble families, including the daughters of several high-ranking officials. The last two remaining girls were truly well-educated, but whose fathers and brothers were merely ordinary officials...

Jiayin didn't care about their backgrounds; she was determined to make a few of them cry and establish her authority!

When her adoptive father and father were in Xindu, it was fine for her to keep a low profile, and no one dared to bully her.

But now these people are taking advantage of her being alone and provoking her. If she doesn't stand up for herself, then any Tom, Dick, or Harry will dare to bark at her!

The third princess was frantic. She lifted her skirt and ran to Jiayin and Baozhu's side, pulling Jiayin aside and whispering, "Are you sure you can do it? Should we quickly find a few people to help you compose a poem on the spot?"

Jiayin felt both touched and amused. With her arms around the Third Princess on her left and Baozhu on her right, she comforted them, "Don't worry! When have I ever suffered a loss? Just wait and see, I guarantee today's slap will fly away!"

The Third Princess and Baozhu were skeptical, but there was nothing they could do to stop them, so they could only wait anxiously.

Chief Steward Yi was also worried. Taking advantage of the break between the palace maids and eunuchs when they were changing the tea and snacks, he came over and asked, "Is the princess confident? Among those young ladies, there are indeed a few who are quite talented..."

Jiayin smiled and waved her hand, "Don't worry, Chief Steward, just wait and see the show."

Chief Steward Yi smiled wryly and quickly slipped back to serve the Emperor, thinking to himself that if Jiayin lost later, he would definitely try to smooth things over.

I can't let my little girl get slapped!

The competition began quickly.

The first to appear was Miss Lu. Firstly, this matter arose because of her, and secondly, since her family background was the lowest, the noble ladies wanted her to be the first to test Jia Yin's true strength.

Miss Lu tried her best to suppress her excitement, looking at Jiayin as if winning the game was a sure thing.

Because she was to attend a summer banquet today and would be accompanying the Imperial Concubine to admire the flowers, she had prepared several poems at home in advance, just in case.

Who would have thought that this would come in handy!

"Princess, for this first round, my topic is peach blossoms!"

Two updates today!