Tianyun was still stunned by the realization when he heard a voice that was both surprised and delighted, "Here it is! Here it is! In our hands, Tianyun!"
It was the carefree Xie Xiaoni who loudly agreed on her behalf.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tianyun reluctantly stood up. Only one thought occupied his mind.
The saying "What is meant to be will be" is indeed true!
Hu Yanhongxue, who had also stood up, feigned surprise and said, "So it's Miss Shangguan." She gave a perfectly timed friendly smile.
He's putting on quite a show. He was clearly glancing at her frequently even before she turned her attention to her, but now he's pretending not to know anything about it.
Tianyun didn't expose him, but simply curtsied slightly, lowered his eyes, and said, "Greetings, Little Prince."
Hu Yanhongxue quickly said, "Miss Shangguan, you may rise." His eyes remained fixed on her without blinking.
Xiao Ziyan stood up and tried to smooth things over: "The young prince is a distinguished guest from Siam, and he is not proficient in the literature of our Great Liang. How about this, I will compose a poem for the young prince based on the topic given by Miss Shangguan, while the young prince will provide the topic for the poem or essay that Miss Shangguan is to write. Does anyone have any objections?"
"No, no, what the Second Prince says is absolutely right. It was our oversight that led us to overlook this."
"That's very good, that's very good, it doesn't mean we've neglected our distinguished guest."
"Your Highness, Second Prince Gao Jie!"
The response was naturally met with another wave of agreement.
Xiao Ziyan smiled gently and asked, "What does Miss Tianyun think?"
Is there any room for her to comment?
Tianyun concealed the mockery in his eyes and said with utmost obsequiousness, "It is entirely up to Your Highness to decide."
"Then please, young lady, give us your first question." Xiao Ziyan rotated his wrist, his wolf-hair brush filled with ink in the inkstone, and squeezed out the excess ink before lifting the brush and holding it over the Xuan paper, ready to write.
Tianyun pondered for a moment and said, "Then let's use these red grapes as the theme."
She pointed to the bright red, juicy little fruits on the table. The ripe fruits were clearly sweet and delicious inside, making one's mouth water.
The topic was fairly standard and posed no difficulty for Xiao Ziyan. He quickly wrote the first sentence, and the next three sentences were written as if by divine inspiration.
Although the topic is not difficult, it is also difficult to write a brilliant poem. Xiao Ziyan's poem is ornate, but the meaning of the topic is not very clear.
Tianyun glanced at it briefly and thought that Xiao Ziyan's writing was neither good nor bad, but it was far inferior to the great literary figures of ancient times.
The crowd praised the poem enthusiastically, and it was considered to have passed the test.
Xiao Ziyan set aside the still-wet Xuan paper and smiled at Huyan Hongxue, saying, "Little Prince, please give me a question?"
Hu Yanhongxue gave Tianyun a deep look, then suddenly asked a question that puzzled everyone, "Has Miss Tianyun ever eaten sweet potatoes?"
Sweet potatoes are plentiful in vegetable markets and are often used by farmers who can't afford rice to stave off hunger. However, such a cheap food is never on the tables of wealthy families.
She had eaten roasted sweet potatoes in the mortal world. Tianyun nodded slightly in confusion, then quickly searched her mind for poems about sweet potatoes.
A look of melancholy unconsciously settled between his brows. Hundreds of masterpieces of poetry flashed through his mind, but he couldn't find a single poem about sweet potatoes.
She frowned as she saw Hu Yanhongxue's face beaming with joy. She parted her thin lips and slowly uttered a question that baffled everyone!
Without the slightest embarrassment, he said, "Eating too many sweet potatoes makes one prone to urinating. I would like to ask Miss Shangguan to use her literary talent to compose a poem on the topic of urinating."
This is utterly disgraceful!
Standing behind her young lady, Lingqi was so angry that her face turned red. How could this topic be so indecent? Her young lady was still an unmarried young woman. How could she disregard the dignity of a lady from a respectable family and write such a poem?
The crowd was in an uproar, and they all had their own guesses.
Is this some kind of bizarre question that the young prince of Siam is deliberately trying to make things difficult for Shangguan Tianyun? Such a strange question is unheard of, and it's really unbecoming of him!
They did feel some sympathy for Shangguan Tianyun, but more than that, they were eager to see a good show.
Tianyun's expression changed slightly. He really hadn't expected Huyan Hongxue to be so unpredictable! He thought he would at most use sweet potatoes as a topic, but he actually used farting as a topic?!
Two flames of anger seemed to ignite in the beautiful woman's eyes, making her delicate face shine even brighter.
How could there be such a person, whose even angry little face is so beautiful that it makes his heart pound like a drum?
Hu Yanhongxue was completely mesmerized...
He caught his breath, then shamelessly chuckled, "You only have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to compose a poem, so I hope you'll hurry."
Tian Yun said indifferently, "I concede."
This question was clearly designed to prevent her from answering it, and even if she did answer it, she would only become a laughing stock, so she might as well just admit defeat.
Hu Yanhongxue raised his eyebrows and smiled smugly, saying, "Since you have admitted defeat, you must accept my punishment. No matter what I say next, you must do as I say."
This game was made for Huyan Hongxue.
It was Xiao Ziyan who led him into the women's section, which shows that he had conspired with Mu Yao beforehand.
So the mastermind behind the attempt to abduct her last night was very likely Xiao Ziyan!
Various details flashed through Tianyun's mind.
In addition, after she regained consciousness, Shi Que told her what had happened. Combining these two points, it became clear that the assassin who tried to kidnap her that night was sent by the Liao family.
Shi Que had confessed to her—
Shi Juan's death was caused by Liao Ming.
When Tianyun saved her, it was during her infiltration of the Liao residence to assassinate Liao Ming. Therefore, she had fought with the Liao family's secret guards and had some understanding of their techniques.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
