Chapter 299 Jiang Rumin Wins the Championship
Below the stage, Jiang Rumin stood with the other candidates, waiting for the final evaluation.
She was looking forward to Si Lianhuan's answer, but she couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
In fact, after Liu Qianyin finished her performance, she knew that she had met a strong opponent. Whether in terms of fingering proficiency or rhythm control, Liu Qianyin was no less than her.
However, there cannot be two champions in the same competition, and there must be a winner between them.
The song she chose today was the result of a discussion with Shangguan Qi. She made some slight changes to the original tune. She wondered if it could impress the princess of Xiling.
Si Lianhuan finally raised her head, "My vote..."
As she spoke, her eyes fell on Jiang Rumin.
"To Miss Jiang."
Jiang Rumin's eyes sparkled with light, and for a moment she forgot to thank the examiner.
Three of the five examiners chose her, so she was definitely the winner.
Although I came here with full confidence, but when the championship fell on me... the joy in my heart is hard to describe in words.
It wasn't until Master Chen spoke that she came to her senses.
"Miss Jiang's piano playing is very good. I once heard Scholar Ye play Marshal Shen's battle entry song on the pipa. Today, Miss Jiang's piano playing was also smooth and passionate, and the changes she made were just right. But I think Miss Liu's piano playing is free and cheerful, which is more likely to make the listeners feel happy and intoxicated. So - I choose Miss Liu."
Chen Xueshi was already in a dilemma. In his opinion, both of them were excellent.
But while he was thinking, the other three examiners had already made their choices, so his choice became much easier.
Jiang Rumin's piano playing evokes a myriad of emotions, making one feel heavy-hearted, whereas Liu Qianyin's piano playing makes one feel relaxed, so it is reasonable for him to choose the latter.
Even if Miss Liu could no longer win the championship, it would not hinder his choice.
He and Prime Minister Liu are old friends, so this vote will not affect the outcome. If he gives it to Miss Liu, she will lose more gracefully.
"My vote... is for Miss Jiang. I admire your compassion."
After all, Liu Xiang did not choose the granddaughter of the royal family.
Since he was sitting in the examiner's seat, no one could accuse him of favoring his own family, unless his own family members performed well enough to win everyone's approval.
In this round, Yin'er's situation is indeed not as good as that of Miss Jiang, so she just loses.
There will be other competitions later, I hope she can stand out.
"Is this the eldest daughter of the Duke of Jin?"
Scholar Chen looked in Jiang Rumin's direction, and said with some emotion, "Duke Jin is really lucky. Both of his daughters made it to the final selection, and the eldest daughter is so outstanding..."
They are much more promising than his own children.
"Mr. Chen made a mistake." Song Yunchu quickly took over the conversation, "This Miss Jiang is not the eldest daughter of the Duke of Jin, but the adopted daughter of General Zhao."
"This..." Master Chen opened his mouth, but didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Could it be that the gossip he had heard before was actually true?
He was just thinking about his disappointing children and sighed casually. Now, after hearing Song Yunchu's reminder, he remembered that he seemed to have heard someone say not long ago that the Duke of Jin had broken up with his daughter.
"Is it possible that Scholar Chen is so out of touch with the news?" Song Yunchu waved his folding fan and said slowly, "Duke Jin is not happy that Miss Jiang opened her own clinic and has long since disowned her. If it weren't for the plaque bestowed by His Majesty, Miss Jiang's territory would have been taken over by him long ago."
Scholar Chen coughed lightly, signaling Song Yunchu not to discuss the Duke of Jin in public.
After all, he was the duke conferred by the late emperor. There is no need to humiliate him.
But Song Yunchu didn't seem to understand his hint. "The Duke of Jin is so foolish that I still find it incredible when I think about it. Fortunately, there are many smart people in this world. General Zhao was deeply moved by Miss Jiang's treatment of his leg disease, so he adopted Miss Jiang as his adopted daughter. Now that Miss Jiang has been honored, it is also the honor of the Zhao family and has nothing to do with the Duke's Mansion. I hope that Mr. Chen will be careful with his words in the future and don't say the wrong thing again."
Scholar Chen: “…”
This Prince Ning really doesn't want to give anyone the slightest bit of face.
Jiang Yuxi heard Song Yunchu's words clearly in the crowd and was very angry.
The Jiang family hasn't provoked this Song family recently, so why would this person say these things! So many people heard it, and I don't know how they will talk about my father behind his back.
She originally thought that the winner of the piano test might be Liu Qianyin.
But it was Jiang Rumin... the Jiang Rumin she hated the most.
"Well, I have strayed off topic. Since everyone has made their choices, I hereby declare that the winner of this piano test is Miss Jiang from Ruihe Hall."
Song Yunchu looked at Jiang Rumin and said, "Congratulations, Miss Jiang."
Jiang Rumin had come back to her senses from her joy and bowed to all the examiners to express her gratitude. "Thank you all, sirs and the princess, for your recognition. I am so grateful."
Shangguan Qi was standing next to the fence on a high platform a few feet away. From his position, he could just see Jiang Rumin's happy profile.
She got what she wanted.
Her hard work these days has finally paid off.
He was honored to have participated in her hard training. From now on, her name would be known by more people, just as she had hoped, to gain recognition and respect from others with her own strength.
For a moment, he thought, if he was not from a foreign country, but from Tianqi, would there be more possibilities between him and her?
Unfortunately... there is no if.
Perhaps this is what people often say, "We are not destined to be together"?
But no matter what, they are all confidants.
He was confident that no one understood her better than him.
By the way...she didn't make it to the final round of the chess and calligraphy tests, but there is still a painting test to come.
She is best at painting and will certainly strive to be the best. If she can get a good ranking, she will probably receive more rewards from the court.
He had to hurry up and find some good paintings for her.
In the afternoon, everyone welcomed the second round of the selection conference, the chess test.
The chess test is different from other competitions. The final number of candidates is sixteen, and they draw lots to play against each other in pairs.
Song Yunchu looked at the contestants on the field. There were only five women who entered the top 16, and after the first round of games, only two entered the top 8.
She noticed a candidate at the back, a boy who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old. He looked handsome yet childish, but when he stared at the chessboard, his eyes were calm and composed, and he didn't look like a teenager at all.
He has mastered the phrase "mature at a young age".
Song Yunchu asked Ye Fengmian beside him, "Master Ye, whose son is that young man in blue at the end?"
The moment she got the final list, she had high hopes for the women, but she wasn't too concerned about the men.
What impressed her most was the young man named Qin Shen, who won first place in the two martial arts tests in the re-selection round.
"That person is the younger brother of Lord Tang, the Minister of the Dali Temple. His name is Tang Bin. He is just fifteen this year, which is just the age threshold for the Selection of Talents. He was originally planning to take part in the literary examination in early spring of next year, but this Selection of Talents Conference has allowed him to show his face ahead of time."
Mentioning Tang Bin, Ye Fengmian's eyes showed a hint of admiration, "Although this young master Tang is young, he seems quite calm and composed. Look at his opponent, his expression seems to be a little tense."
"indeed."
It is rare to find a famous Go player at the age of fifteen.
As time passed, the chess test decided the top four, and only one woman was left on the field.
Tang Bin is also among the top four.
Ye Fengmian looked around the situation on the field, returned to his seat and sighed.
"Young Master Tang's attack is really well calculated. He has oppressed his opponent so that he has nowhere to escape. This is really rare."
Song Yunchu smiled and said, "Your Majesty likes to play chess and paint in his spare time. If this young Master Tang can win the championship, he will definitely be treated differently by your Majesty."
She speculated that there would be no chance for a woman to win the first prize in this chess competition.
Sure enough, an hour later, Tang Bin successfully defeated his opponent and won first place in the chess test.
The examiners were no longer surprised by this result.
But Song Yunchu could vaguely guess how all the major teahouses and taverns would comment on this fifteen-year-old chess champion after today.
…
At sunset, General Zhao held a banquet at his mansion.
The huge courtyard was filled with the aroma of wine, and everyone raised their glasses to congratulate Jiang Rumin for winning the first place in the piano test.
Jiang Rumin was not good at drinking, so he used tea instead of wine to thank everyone.
"Young lady is really amazing, many times better than the second young lady of the Jiang family! I heard that the second young lady used to flatter herself, not only boasting about her own talents, but also trying to steal the title of Phoenix Girl from Young Lady. It's really ridiculous!"
General Zhao's deputy general got drunk and started to mock the Duke of Jin and his daughter. "I heard that Scholar Chen mentioned the Duke of Jin today, and His Royal Highness Prince Ning was very sarcastic, saying that our young lady is from the Zhao family and has nothing to do with the Jiang family. This is so true! We..."
"Shut up!" General Zhao frowned and scolded, "Don't forget your limits when you are happy. No matter how unrighteous the Jiang family is, they raised Rumin. If people from our Zhao Mansion ridicule them, it will be bad if it gets out. Maybe others will mistakenly think it was Rumin's intention. Don't mention the Jiang family in front of Rumin in the future."
"Yes, I know I was wrong... I won't say nonsense again in the future."
The deputy general quickly admitted his mistake and turned to look at Jiang Rumin, "Miss, I..."
"It's okay, just don't mention them from now on." Jiang Rumin smiled at him, "Godfather is right, let's take care of ourselves and stop talking about others."
She didn't want to waste her emotions on someone who wasn't worth it, and she didn't need to ridicule the Jiang family. The ridicule they faced from the outside world was enough to make them uncomfortable.
She only looks forward, and the flowers along the way are enough to make her forget her past troubles.
After the banquet, everyone dispersed one after another. Jiang Rumin was about to go back to the house, but saw the guard coming over with a long box.
"Miss, Princess Gong sent someone to deliver something to you."
Jiang Rumin opened the long box and saw three scrolls.
She understood instantly.
This is...he sent it here.
He did not send it in his own name because she had clearly rejected it before. For the sake of her reputation, he did not want others to speculate about their relationship, so he sent it in Shangguan Yun's name.
She picked up a scroll and opened it, and it was indeed a painting by a famous artist.
She didn't know what questions would be asked in the painting test, but of course the more works of famous artists she saw, the better.
She admired the scroll in her hands, with a slight curve at the corner of her lips.
It is rare to have a true friend in life, and it is a blessing to meet such a person.
…
"Miss, you must be tired after writing so many calligraphy works. You didn't eat much for dinner. The kitchen prepared ginger and jujube tea and glutinous rice cake for you. Please have some."
"Leave it there, I'll eat it later."
Liu Qianyin sat at the desk without raising her eyes until she finished the last piece of calligraphy.
She took the ginger and jujube tea on the tray and asked, "Cousin hasn't come to visit us in the past two days, right?"
Liu Xin won the fourth place in the written test in the re-selection.
He came to see her on the afternoon of the day when the re-examination results came out.
He asked her if she could give up the literary exam if she could win the first place in the piano exam, or if she could give him some leniency in the literary exam, so that both of them, brother and sister, could bring honor to their grandfather.
Naturally, she couldn't agree to such a ridiculous request.
The cousin's failure to win the championship was his own fault, and had nothing to do with her. If he had the guts, he could go to grandfather and see what grandfather would say.
"He hasn't come to visit since you had an argument with him two days ago," the maid replied, "maybe he has come to his senses."
"It would be best if he could figure it out." Liu Qianyin took a sip of ginger and jujube tea. "There are so many talented people who have entered the final selection. It's not shameful not to get the top spot. If he can get into the top three, he will probably have a good future. Besides, there will be a literary examination in the early spring of next year. He has many opportunities."
But her chance only comes in these last two competitions.
After all, this is the first time that this general election for men and women is being held. It is hard to say whether it will be held again in the future and how often it will be held.
So - she made it to the finals based on her own strength, why should she let others pass? Even if they were her family members, she would never let them pass!
The next day.
Liu Qianyin woke up from the couch early in the morning and wanted to get dressed and wash up, but she felt her limbs were a little numb.
At first she thought that maybe it was because she had maintained the same sleeping position for a long time, which caused the temporary discomfort in her limbs, and that she could just stretch her muscles and bones.
But she soon discovered that was not the case.
It was because her hands were shaking slightly as she took the clothes, and she couldn't control it.
This made her a little flustered, and she quickly called the maid and asked her to go and get a doctor.
The doctor quickly took her pulse and gave the same result as she had initially guessed - she had been sleeping on her side for too long, and her hands and feet were temporarily paralyzed and weak, but she would recover soon, so there was no need to worry too much.
How could Liu Qianyin not be worried?
In a calligraphy and painting competition, if the wrist is not properly controlled, how can one display his true level?
But there was no point in her worrying, the exam was in the morning and she couldn't be late, so she had to go there anyway.
On the way to the competition venue, Liu Qianyin was very nervous.
The doctor said her symptoms would recover soon, but she didn't notice any recovery. Instead, her body trembled even more violently.
Until the moment she got off the carriage, she felt weak on her feet and had to be supported by her maid to enter the venue.
Many candidates had already arrived, and she was the last one in line. She tried to control herself from trembling, but she couldn't do it at all.
Someone beside her asked her, "Ms. Liu, it's not cold today, why are you shivering? Are you feeling unwell?"
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