"No way, Gu Qing wants to set up the Gefu Club here, right in their back garden? This is really shabby. My house in the countryside is better than this!"

"Pfft—what does this tea taste like? Can you even use it to entertain people? Why don't you let me know in advance? I'll bring the tea we usually give to our servants. It's better than the Chen family's tea."

"Could it be that the Chen family's servants made a mistake?"

"Why is the Chen family so shabby..."

…

Gu Qing arrived late. Before she even entered the backyard, she heard Cui Ru trotting over to report, "Young Madam, this is terrible! The young ladies and nobles who came here are all complaining about our Chen family's poor hospitality and lack of etiquette. They also said that the fruits and vegetables they were given were rotten..."

Gu Qing smiled brightly and waved to Cuiru, signaling her to leave first: "Don't forget what I told you. You must keep a close eye on Xie Pei'er today."

Chen Zhizhou followed Gu Qing and walked into the backyard.

"Madam, today I am going to have a face-to-face verbal battle with you and be scolded by everyone. I don't know if you are moved?" Chen Zhizhou raised the corner of his lips and pulled up a playful smile.

Gu Qing couldn't help but roll her eyes at him, "What do you mean by being cursed by everyone? You really are—"

The couple slowly took their seats, staring blankly at the group of dignitaries in front of them who were staring at each other.

Du Qing's maid, holding the pipa in her arms, glanced around helplessly, "Miss, your pipa, how about I take it back and put it in the carriage first? There's not even a suitable place to put it here..."

"The Fifth Prince has arrived!"

The servant outside the door gave a message, and the group of people in the backyard stood up reluctantly and saluted the people outside the door one by one.

Gu Qingzao had expected that the Fifth Prince would also come. After all, the Third Prince had already said that he would attend today's singing competition. How could Li Xiangsheng be absent at this time?

"Greetings, His Highness the Fifth Prince." Gu Qing, along with Chen Zhizhou, bowed to Li Xiangsheng.

On the high seat, Li Xiangsheng consciously lifted his shirt and took a seat. He glanced around, then twitched his lips and smiled playfully, "Has the Chen family fallen so far? Using this rotten fruit to entertain guests?"

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Your Highness." Gu Qing didn't explain too much, just smiled calmly and looked back at Li Xiangsheng.

The Fifth Prince waved his hand and, in a very generous and carefree manner, ordered the servant beside him, "Tell someone to bring over the fruits and vegetables from the Western Regions that my father gifted to my Highness."

"Fifth brother is really generous." A male voice sounded.

Then, a loud voice came from outside, "The Third Prince has arrived."

Everyone had just sat down when they had to stand up and greet Li Xiangji. They looked at each other and looked in the direction of Gu Qing with an attitude of watching a show.

Gu Miao also smiled with satisfaction. It would have been fine if Gu Qing wanted to use these cheap tea, fruits and melons to embarrass these sons of the powerful, but now the third prince and the fifth prince were also here. Let's see how she would end up!

"I'm sorry to have laughed at you, brother. However, I've heard about this poetry competition before. I heard that the Queen Mother also attaches great importance to it. If we hold it in such a hasty manner and the news gets out, how will the world view it?" Li Xiangsheng raised the corners of his lips in a sinister smile.

As if afraid of being outdone by Li Xiangji, Li Xiangsheng instructed his servants, "We still have some pre-rain Longjing tea in our residence. Bring it over for everyone to try."

"Thank you for the reward, Your Highness."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your generous reward..."

Everyone looked at Li Xiangsheng with eyes filled with gratitude.

Du Qing sat aside and spoke in a sarcastic tone, "The Third Young Master's wife is really clever in her plan. It's a poetry gathering organized by the Chen family, and the Fifth Prince is asked to contribute money and effort. It's really..."

After saying that, Du Qing sneered.

The people around also glanced at Gu Qing with rather dissatisfied eyes.

Gu Qing stood up as if she wasn't concerned. She told the servants to go down and prepare. "Miss Du is right. Small dishes and porridge will be here soon. You all took the trouble to come to the Chen family. You must be tired and thirsty after such a long journey. Please don't be offended if there is anything that is not good enough for you."

"What were you doing earlier? If you had told me earlier that you couldn't take on the responsibility... I'm not being nosy, but if you had handed over the poetry competition to the mistress of the Chen family, it wouldn't have ended up like this. People who don't know might think that our Gu family didn't discipline you enough." Gu Miao took this opportunity to sit aside and said secretly.

Gu Miao's words completely erased the relationship between the Gu family and Gu Qing, and also made his attitude clear.

"If the master knew what you did today, he would definitely praise you!" The little maid leaned over and whispered in Gu Miao's ear.

Gu Miao stroked her hair with a hint of pride and added, "Of course. The Gu family is a prominent family, so they wouldn't do something so rude. This is also my sister's first time hosting a banquet, so if there's anything we haven't done well, I hope you'll forgive us. Next time you come to our house, consider it our apology on my behalf."

Everyone was discussing and joking privately...

"If you ask me, there's a reason for the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. The eldest daughter of the Gu family has been spoiled in the Gu family, so naturally she doesn't understand these social etiquettes. Perhaps the Chen family just lives a simple life like this."

"On a daily basis, it seems that the second young lady of the Gu family is inferior to the eldest young lady in every way, but if you ask me..."

Faced with such criticism from everyone, Gu Qing didn't care at all.

Maids and servants came in one by one, holding trays in their hands. Unfortunately, the things on the trays were too far away to see clearly.

At this moment, people's discussions stopped abruptly.

The Third Prince couldn't help but look at the maid's hand with great curiosity. He wanted to see what Gu Qing should do to turn the situation around now that she had become the target of public criticism.

only--

What no one expected was that what Gu Qing had just said about the simple meals was actually true!

"You're using this to entertain guests? What is this? Rice tea, or rice porridge? It's actually brown rice..."

"The Chen family has fallen so far, yet they're holding a banquet to serve everyone these pickled vegetables. What the hell is this? Even my servants wouldn't eat this. Aren't you afraid that others will laugh at you if this gets out?"

"I don't want to eat anymore!"

Before Gu Qing's Qu Shui Liu Shang poetry gathering began, everyone dropped their bowls and chopsticks, looking like they were about to leave in anger.