"That's not all," Chen Mianmian continued, "And what's more, doesn't your Yaotaifang teach you manners? Do you think you can show off in any situation? Only ladies and young women of noble birth are qualified to perform at gatherings hosted by ladies of high social standing. You actually think a lowly courtesan like you can compete with our lady in talent? Do you even have a brain? A fool like you can enter the Marquis's mansion? What a joke!"
While cursing, Chen Mianmian secretly glanced at her sugar daddy's expression.
Sure enough, the lady's expression gradually improved.
Ladies and young ladies—it's begun! It's begun! The bickering has started! Today's gathering was worthwhile; this is much better than any piano performance.
This time, it was the Lady of Xuanping Marquis's residence who looked unhappy.
Zhou immediately retorted, "Who taught you to be so sarcastic?"
Chen Mianmian feigned surprise, "Oh! Young Madam Huo, you must have misunderstood. I wasn't being sarcastic. I was just teaching this clueless young lady a lesson. Yaotaifang is so unreliable. They didn't teach the girls manners before they came out, and they want a young lady to compete with a respectable lady in talent? She really dares to think that way! She doesn't know her place!"
Another wave of sarcastic remarks followed, while simultaneously keeping an eye on his sugar daddy's mood.
Great, the sponsor is happy.
The sugar daddy's smile is really something!
Everyone could see that Shen Mianmian was ostensibly scolding Liu Xiangning, but in reality, she was scolding Zhou Shi, since it was Zhou Shi who proposed the competition between the two.
Shen Mianmian sneered inwardly—her sister didn't start a war with Jiang Yinjin because she was using the body of a transmigrated woman, which felt unfair to the reborn woman; besides, Jiang Yinjin was the female lead, and she was indeed awesome and had a halo.
But that doesn't mean she's easy to bully!
Want to harm her? They'll have to see if the Marquis of Xuanping's household has the ability.
Thinking of this, Shen Mianmian changed her previous aggressive demeanor and put on a humble smile, saying to the crowd who were either dumbfounded or waiting to watch the show, "I'm sorry to have made you ladies laugh. I think it would be better if my young mistress and Mrs. Huo could give a performance. If I remember correctly, Mrs. Huo's maiden name is Zhou Miaoyin, so she must be very good at music."
After saying that, before Zhou could react, he blinked his innocent eyes and asked, "Young Madam Huo, you're not afraid to compete, are you? Don't worry, our young mistress is kind and compassionate, she doesn't have many bad intentions, and she won't embarrass you."
Every word was full of sarcasm and mockery.
“You…” Zhou’s pretty face flushed red and then turned white with anger.
Seeing that the situation was too ugly, the Minister's wife was about to smooth things over, but she was also secretly angry when she thought of how Zhou had deliberately suggested that the skinny horse and Jiang Yinjin compete in talent.
Vice Minister Jiang was a capable subordinate of Minister Zhong, and she had watched Yin Jin grow up. At the time, she even considered marrying Yin Jin directly into the family as her daughter-in-law.
Later, seeing that the Jiang family and the noble family had arranged a marriage, they didn't have the heart to stop it.
Now, people from the Marquis of Xuanping's residence are actually bullying Yin Jin in her own home? Do they even respect the Ministry of Rites?
Thinking of this, the Minister's wife also said, "Yes, I had heard before that Madam Huo was skilled in music. Let us take this opportunity to broaden our horizons."
"Yes, Mrs. Huo's piano skills must be superb."
"I really want to hear about the talents of Mrs. Huo and Mrs. Bai."
People started fanning the flames.
Jiang Yinjin was very intelligent. When she saw that the Minister's wife had spoken, she understood that the Minister's wife wanted her to get revenge.
Jiang Yinjin smiled and said, "Sister Zhou, we can't refuse your kind invitation, so let's perform a talent for the ladies. You can play first, and then I'll play the piano."
As he spoke, he carefully handed the cicada incense in his hand to a maid in the Minister's residence.
Zhou blushed and looked pleadingly at the Lady of Xuanping Marquis for help.
Lady Xuanping was furious—why was Zhou so quick to anger? She caused chaos in the Marquis's mansion at home, and now she was causing trouble outside as well.
But she had no choice but to help her daughter-in-law, saying, "The banquet is about to start, why don't we wait and talk about it later?"
The Minister's wife said, "Don't worry, Madam Huo, there's still an hour left."
"..." Lady Xuanping.
final,
This competition is something we have to do, whether we want to or not.
Zhou Miaoyin was indeed skilled in music, so she gritted her teeth, took the zither, calmed herself down a bit, and began to play.
Everyone praised it highly—a fine instrument! A fine piece of music! Excellent technique.
After Zhou Miaoyin finished playing, the zither was handed to Jiang Yinjin.
Jiang Yinjin smiled slightly, without deliberately restraining her mind, and directly recited an ancient poem: "Floating clouds do not reach the same height as this mountain, the mountain mist is hazy and confusing. The morning moon briefly flies among the tall trees, the autumn river is separated by several peaks to the west."
What makes Jiang Yinjin so remarkable is that she doesn't just recite stories.
When reciting the first line, he plucked two notes.
When reciting the second line, five notes were plucked.
When reciting the third line, a series of sounds were played.
When the fourth line is recited, the zither music officially begins, becoming one with the ancient poem.
This poem, like a prelude or an introduction, elevates the mood of the music, making the listener feel as if they are there while enjoying the beautiful melody.
Shen Mianmian gave a thumbs up and whispered, "As expected of my heroine, she plays so well that she can't even get angry at the cannon fodder."
Standing to the side, Liu Xiangning realized the seriousness of the problem—her young mistress had been defeated, and she had no benefit whatsoever! The young mistress already disliked her, and now that she had witnessed her young mistress's humiliation, her situation was likely to be even worse.
The thought that Young Master Huo bought her not out of lust or to buy a "skinny horse," but as a substitute for Chen Mianmian, made her even angrier.
Seeing Chen Mianmian's stunningly beautiful face and her smug expression, he impulsively threw a punch.
Shen Mianmian was hit directly in the eye, seeing stars and feeling a sharp pain in her eye socket. "You dare hit me?"
Without saying a word, he slapped her across the face, and that wasn't all; he grabbed Liu Xiangning's hair.
Liu Xiangning also grabbed Shen Mianmian's hair, and the two beauties started fighting right there.
The ladies stood there stunned—they'd seen plenty of bickering, but this was the first time they'd ever witnessed someone actually resorting to violence.
Everyone stood there stunned for a while. The two women, pulling each other's hair, rolled under the table. Only then did the Minister's wife react, and she angrily scolded the servants, "What are you looking at? Pull them apart!"
The servants then realized what was happening and pulled the two apart.
On the other side,
Inside the waterside pavilion.
Minister Zhong was very generous and directly revealed that Prince Bai had participated in the county examination for the first time and had won first place in the county examination.
He said this not only because he appreciated Prince Bai, but also because he wanted to save face for his good subordinate, Minister Jiang.
Tell everyone that Minister Jiang's precious daughter didn't make a mistake in marrying him; the heir is not a coward, but rather someone who has accumulated great talent and is destined for greatness!
In the crowd, Huo Rang looked at Bai Qingzhou, who was being fawned over, in shock. His feelings were extremely complicated, and he also felt a bit bitter.
He used to look down on Bai Qingzhou, a spineless and effeminate man, so he made things difficult for him and framed him. But in the blink of an eye, the spineless man became the top scholar in the county. What did he become?
Just then, a servant rushed over.
Seeing the servant's flustered expression, Minister Zhong asked, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?"
The servant's tone betrayed his shock: "It's like this, the Lady of Anning Marquis and the Lady of Xuanping Marquis are leaving ahead of time, and they asked me to inform Young Master Bai and Young Master Huo."
Everyone was puzzled as to why he had left so suddenly.
Bai Qingzhou had a bad feeling and hurriedly stood up to ask, "Excuse me, are the two ladies feeling unwell?"
It's impossible for both of them to be feeling unwell at the same time, but Bai Qingzhou couldn't openly ask if there was some conflict between them.
The servant could only tell the truth: "It's... Madam Shen from the Marquis of Anning's residence and Miss Liu from the Marquis of Xuanping's residence got into a fight..."
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