The boss hadn't expected this to happen, and his expression changed slightly.

The crowd below grew increasingly agitated; initially, only a few people stood up to speak, but now the majority of the others were joining in.

They looked at the Empress Dowager standing on the stage, and they were jealous, suspicious, and wanted to embarrass her.

The owner originally intended to use this opportunity to promote his store and increase sales, but it backfired and the situation is now getting out of control.

Luo Xinyue stood in the crowd, watching everyone insult Qian Sui on stage. She couldn't stand it anymore and said, "We have nothing to do with the boss. Our Qian Sui has a wide range of knowledge. If you're not convinced, you can compete with me."

Luo Xinyue believed that Qian Sui was truly talented, but Qian Sui had come to participate in this competition for her sake, so Luo Xinyue wanted to help Qian Sui out of this predicament.

But the more she talked, the more people felt they were just making excuses.

One of the women, standing close to Chitose, held a mineral water bottle and exclaimed excitedly, "They're liars! How could they possibly get a perfect score? You're in cahoots with the bookstore!"

As she spoke, she threw the mineral water bottle in her hand at Chitose.

Chitose originally intended to hide, but when she saw that there wasn't much water left in the mineral water bottle, she decided not to hide anymore.

The bottle was thrown and hit Qian Sui squarely on the forehead.

The woman didn't actually intend to hit Chitose; she just wanted to throw the bottle out to vent her anger. However, she didn't expect it to hit Chitose directly, and she was stunned.

The previously noisy crowd fell silent upon seeing this scene.

Those who had just started the trouble have now quieted down, afraid that His Majesty will blame them for this.

Luo Xinyue became an instant sensation.

She rushed to Chisui's side, lifted Chisui's bangs to look at her forehead, which was a little red.

"Are you alright?" Luo Xinyue asked with concern.

Qian Sui shook her head: "I'm fine."

Seeing Qian Sui's slightly red forehead, which would probably swell up later, Luo Xinyue's anger flared up. She shielded Qian Sui behind her and looked at the girl, saying, "What are you doing! You even hit me!"

The girl looked a little guilty: "I... I accidentally did it. Besides, you guys lied to us first!"

Luo Xinyue stamped her feet in frustration: "Where did we lie to you? Don't make up stories!"

Qian Sui rubbed her forehead, which hurt a little. Seeing that Luo Xinyue was anxious, she took Luo Xinyue's hand and stepped out from behind Luo Xinyue. Facing the questions, she said, "I did answer it myself."

There were still some people murmuring below, but the voices were much quieter.

"Impossible, there must have been an answer all along."

"Yes, and she answered the questions so quickly at the beginning, it's very likely that she didn't even finish reading the questions."

Faced with these questions, Qian Sui didn't want to explain anymore. She looked up and saw the books on the bookshelf opposite her. They were all classical Chinese texts, as well as some history and geography books.

Qian Sui then said, "How about this, you can pick a few books from that bookshelf, find the questions in them and ask me. If I can answer them, you have to apologize."

Those people turned around and glanced at the bookshelf, which had at least a hundred books on it, and they were all relatively obscure books.

Can she really answer that?

Some people began to have doubts.

But some people persisted: "What if you can't answer that?"

Qian Sui said, "If I can't answer, I won't take this prize. I'll just stand here, and you can throw things at me if you want."

"Your Majesty!" Luo Xinyue grasped her hand with concern.

Chitose replied, "I'm fine."

As Qian Sui spoke, she stepped forward, handed the book in her hand to Luo Xinyue, and then looked at the people and said, "We can begin."

Those people looked at each other, doubting the emperor's confidence, but still went over and each picked up a book.

The first girl was holding the Lotus Sutra. She casually flipped to a page, saw a sentence, and asked, "Manjushri, the Dharma Prince, asked the Buddha, 'How can a Bodhisattva preach this sutra in an evil world?' The Buddha told Manjushri, 'One should abide in four dharmas; what are these four dharmas of death?'"

The thousand-year-old lowered his eyes slightly, recalling as he answered: "First, abide in the Bodhisattva's conduct and closeness; second, abide in the path of happiness; third, be free from jealousy, flattery, deceit, and contempt; fourth, generate great compassion for all sentient beings."

Many people haven't read this book, so when they heard Chitose's answer, they weren't sure if it was correct, and they all looked at the article that asked the question.

The man looked surprised and said, "Yes, that's right."

The crowd erupted in uproar.

The person next to her, unconvinced, brought over another book, this time "The Art of War." She glanced at the question and then asked, "What is the ninth chapter of 'The Art of War,' 'On Marching the Army,' about?"

"The Art of War, Chapter Nine: When deploying troops and assessing the enemy: cut off mountains and rely on valleys, choose high ground for survival, and fight on high ground."

The enemy girl looked on incredulously: "That's right."

Another girl pulled out a book, this time "The Book of Master Guigu," and asked, "What is Master Guigu called by later generations?"

This question is rather simple. Qian Sui raised an eyebrow slightly and said, “‘Wang Chan Laozu’ is a later name for Guiguzi, one of the five schools of Laozi thought. The five schools of Laozi thought are: Su Qin and Zhang Yi, Guiguzi, Shen Buhai and Han Fei, Yang Zhu, Zhuangzi and Liezi, and Guan Yin and Yin Wen.”

This time, they not only answered the question, but also asked a question that went beyond the scope of the question.

As the questions increased, Chisui's answers became quick and accurate, delivered to their faces without any pretense.

The people below began to stir, all marveling at the vast knowledge of the Emperor.

Even the boss's expression gradually improved, and he chimed in, "That shows that reading more books is useful. Just look at our classmate, Qian Sui, he's clearly well-read and has an elegant demeanor."

In the end, everyone was convinced by Chitose's answer and completely believed that Chitose had answered it herself.

So no one dared to ask any more questions.

Luo Xinyue was initially worried about Qian Sui, but seeing Qian Sui answering gradually, she felt relieved.

She walked over to Chitose, took a bottle of water from the shopkeeper, opened it, and handed it to Chitose.

Qian Sui took the drink, drank a sip, and smiled at Luo Xinyue, saying, "Thank you."

Luo Xinyue glanced at Qian Sui's forehead, which was already swollen.

After those people finished asking their questions, they all believed that Chitose had answered them on his own.

They were wrong, but they didn't dare admit it, so they thought of sneaking away.

Those people looked at each other, and seeing that the emperor on the stage hadn't noticed them, they wanted to turn around and leave.

However, Luo Xinyue noticed this. Holding Qian Sui's hand, Luo Xinyue turned back to look at them, her eyes instantly turning cold.

"stop!"

Luo Xinyue raised her voice, and the people stopped in their tracks upon hearing it.

Luo Xinyue continued, "According to the agreement we just made, we have answered all the questions correctly. Shouldn't you fulfill your promise?"