Chapter 50: New Year's Eve Confrontation
Snow-white skin, black hair, fairy-like figure, stunningly beautiful!
Emperor Sheng Yuan curled his fingers slightly under his bright yellow dragon robe, and was shocked.
Back then, Concubine Jia was known as the most beautiful woman in Dayue, but now it seems that she is far inferior to the beauty before her.
Seeing the emperor in a daze, Concubine Jia's face had turned visibly darker; the third princess Xie Siqi also recognized the person coming and looked jealous; only Empress Hua had an unfathomable smile on her face.
Jiang Yuyan took in everyone's expressions but remained calm.
"Ahem..." Emperor Sheng Yuan covered his lips with his hand, "Jiang has great talent and compassion for the world. The Five Proposals on the North Gate that I announced a few days ago were written by Jiang.
I conferred upon Madam Jiang the title of a consort of the sixth rank, and now that she is my cousin's wife, I will give you a wedding gift and confer upon you the title of a consort of the third rank!"
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your kindness!" Jiang Yuyan kowtowed again.
She was naturally happy about the promotion, but her knees were no longer able to move. Seeing that her legs were almost numb from kneeling, Emperor Sheng Yuan waved his hand, and Jiang Yuyan was immediately pardoned and quickly returned to her seat.
The ministers in the hall were all talking about it when they heard it. As men, they naturally applauded the North Gate Five Proposals. Now that they knew it was written by this beautiful and extraordinary woman, their admiration and adoration were beyond words.
After that day, the Beimen Five Deliberations became known as the Jiang Furen Five Deliberations, which brought Jiang Yuyan's popularity among the people to a climax. The first election of the virtuous lady in the capital was also won by Jiang Yuyan with a high vote.
But some people were dissatisfied. Princess Baoyue Xie Siqi sneered, "How can a village woman like her have such insight? Wasn't it the memorial submitted by the emperor's uncle to the emperor? She wants to give the credit to her daughter-in-law..."
King Wu quickly stepped out and said, "Your Majesty is wise! How could I, a mere idler who plays with flowers and birds, have such thoughts? All the rules and regulations are what Jiang experienced and felt in Yunzhou. You will know once you check."
Emperor Sheng Yuan nodded, "The sage said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Although Jiang was born in the countryside, he is good at thinking and has extraordinary insights!"
"Father!" Xie Siqi pouted, quite dissatisfied.
Emperor Sheng Yuan frowned and looked at her, not knowing when his daughter had had any disagreement with Jiang, so he could only signal her with his eyes to be quiet.
Jiang Yuyan was also puzzled. How could she still hold a grudge against that incident? Qin Shangyu was the victim after all.
Looking up, Jiang Yuyan found that Xie Siqi's seat was above the other princes, showing how much honor and favor she had. If she was deliberately going against him, he would have to be more careful in the future.
Just as he was daydreaming, a woman below him knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the princess may have the same doubt as the others and the people. If Madam Jiang can prove that the Five North Gate Proposals were indeed written by her, we will be convinced."
Jiang Yuyan wondered who this person was, with a flat nose and a big mouth, ugly and showing off.
Xie Jingyu explained in a low voice, "This is Li Ruyun, the daughter of the Minister of Rites. She is known as the most talented woman in the capital."
"Hehe." Jiang Yuyan curled her lips. With this IQ, the palace fighting drama probably wouldn't last more than three episodes.
I immediately said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, when I was young, I often heard my father say that every citizen has a share of responsibility for the prosperity of the country. I wrote this letter in the past only for the people's livelihood. As for whether you are pleased or not, I don't care. Moreover, Your Majesty has praised me for my 'great talent and extraordinary insight'. Miss Li still has this doubt. Could it be that you are not completely convinced by Your Majesty's words?"
These words brought silence to the entire hall.
"Every citizen has a share of responsibility for the prosperity of the country! Great!" After hearing Jiang Yuyan's inspiring speech, Right Prime Minister Hua Shulan almost stood up on the spot and took the lead in applauding, "Great! Great! Jiang Shuren is truly a man of unparalleled insight!"
Zheng Shaopu, the Junior Official of the Dali Temple, also stood up and praised, "Madam Jiang does things not for fame or gain, she is a sincere person."
The Minister of Rites was frightened and drenched in cold sweat.
Jiang was such a good talker. Since she could say "Every man has his share of responsibility for the fate of his country", how could she be just an ordinary person? Why did she need to prove herself? The second half of her sentence accused her daughter of disrespecting His Majesty.
The Minister of Rites knelt down with his legs shaking tremblingly, "My daughter is ignorant and said something rude, I hope Your Majesty will not blame me, and I hope Jiang Shu will not blame me!"
Li Ruyun was so frightened that her legs went limp. She knelt down for a long time and did not dare to look up. She wanted to agree with the Third Princess, but who knew that the woman could be so eloquent?
Emperor Sheng Yuan watched the undercurrent surge, and he admired the woman's intelligence and wisdom even more. Then he looked at the so-called noble lady, whose brain was like a straw bag, and she could make people speechless with just one sentence.
Emperor Sheng Yuan secretly sighed, if it were earlier, maybe the Queen could have taken on the responsibility... Unfortunately...
Then he waved his hand unhappily, "Get up, it is said that children speak without restraint, Lord Li needs to be properly educated when he returns."
These impolite words made Li Ruyun blush with shame, and she glanced at Princess Baoyue secretly as if asking for help.
Xie Siqi rolled her eyes and said, "Father, Miss Li made an unintentional mistake and said the wrong thing. Why don't we let her perform a show as punishment?"
After saying this, he winked at Li Ruyun.
“Okay~” Emperor Sheng Yuan waved his hand.
Talent shows have been a regular part of the New Year's Eve banquet over the years. If the nobles in the capital were lucky enough to have a chance to perform and fell in love with each other, His Majesty would often grant them marriage on the spot.
"I heard that Li Ruyun is good at calligraphy and poetry." Xie Jingyu covered his eyes with his fan and said in a low voice.
The palace servants brought over a writing desk and writing brushes. Li Ruyun said stiffly, "Your Majesty, I will write a poem on this beautiful night of New Year's Eve to wish your Majesty and your Majesty a long and happy life."
"On New Year's Eve, we made an appointment to go to the flower market, but the arcade looked like a painting hall, saying that the scenery would be better next year, with thousands of red and purple flowers heralding the spring."
Li Ruyun wrote while the palace maids read. When it was finished, a palace maid hung the vertical scroll high up and showed it to everyone.
There was a burst of praise in the hall.
"Ms. Li is so talented!"
"Good handwriting! Good poetry too!"
Women in Dayue country rarely read books, so this poem is really outstanding among women, and everyone cheered for him. Some young men also looked at him eagerly.
Li Ruyun's not-so-fair face turned a little red at this moment, but her neck was raised high, and all the depression just now was swept away.
At this time, Concubine Jia, who was standing above, spoke coquettishly, "Your Majesty, what's the point of writing poetry alone? Since Jiang is so talented, why not let her compete with Miss Li? I can also add some excitement and make everyone happy. What do you think?"
Emperor Sheng Yuan frowned slightly. Although Jiang was eloquent and had strategies in mind, he didn't know how talented she was. So he said gently, "This... Jiang, are you willing?"
Jiang Yuyan realized that Concubine Jia's visit was ill-intentioned and was very confused. She wanted to be a background board, but it seemed that the wind did not stop even though the tree wanted to be quiet. She did nothing to arouse such jealousy, so why should she pretend to be so generous?
She stood up and said with a gentle smile, "Your Majesty, I am a third-rank lady appointed by you personally. Although I do not hold a position in the court, I am still your Majesty's subject. How can I lower my status to do something that entertains people and seeks fun? If this gets out, wouldn't the court officials of Dayue Kingdom be regarded as actors?"
Emperor Sheng Yuan was stunned by the accusations. A third-rank lady also had the right to make comments on politics, which made her half a minister. He had never seen such a quick-thinking woman before!
Concubine Jia's face darkened. Jiang Yuyan was totally giving her no face. Li Ruyun was even more angry. Wasn't this saying that she was an entertainer?
Emperor Sheng Yuan was just about to say forget it when he heard the woman below him smile.
"However, since Your Majesty has spoken, I will just regard it as a prayer for Your Majesty, the princesses and the princes, and not a competition."
"Okay, okay!" Emperor Sheng Yuan suddenly felt a little expectant.
Jiang Yuyan walked to the desk and stood still. Although her calligraphy was not perfect, it was more than enough to surpass Li Ruyun. As for poetry…
Jiang Yuyan muttered to herself, "Please don't blame me, seniors, for borrowing my masterpiece." Then she began to write on the paper.
"I turned into a crane, the Taoist priest's former self, and drove it to the Zen forest. So, please don't let the plum blossoms down, as they have already painted a small building for the New Year's Day."
As the palace servants read out the music loudly, Xie Jingyu stood up excitedly and cheered for his wife, "Good! Good! Good!"
Jiang Yuyan smiled and winked at him, and the two of them exchanged glances secretly.
The King of Wu was so happy that his face turned red. Who would dare to say that his daughter-in-law was an ignorant village woman?
Prince Xie couldn't help but smile bitterly. With such skills, he still asked himself to write a plaque for him. He was really humble.
The audience was talking about it enthusiastically. The idea and style of this poem were both excellent. There was a lot of praise, "What a good poem!" "Jiang Shuren is so talented!"
Emperor Sheng Yuan was very pleased. He laughed and applauded personally.
"Good poems, and good calligraphy! Is Jiang really from the countryside? Who taught her such good calligraphy?"
Jiang Yuyan was stumped by the question. Recalling the story she had made up about the people of Hongshan County before she settled down, she said, "When I was young, I was appreciated by a hermit who taught me poetry and literature. Later, my master passed away and I never saw him again."
Making up a non-existent hermit master should be able to fool a few people.
"Do you know the name of that expert?" Emperor Sheng Yuan asked. A man who could teach such a girl should not be an unknown person!
"I only know that my master's last name is Gu, and I don't know anything else." Jiang Yuyan spoke nonsense in a serious manner.
Emperor Sheng Yuan felt very sorry, but since the person had passed away, there was no point in talking about it. He rewarded many gold, silver and jewels on the spot.
Although Jiang Yuyan clearly stated that this was not a competition, it was clear at a glance who would win and who would lose.
Everyone kept discussing Jiang Yuyan's calligraphy and New Year's Eve poems. Li Ruyun's works became the foil that no one cared about. The face turned pale, and they gritted their teeth and wished they could escape from here immediately.
Concubine Jia and the third princess were also very unhappy. Li Ruyun was said to be the most talented woman in the capital, but she was so stupid! Jiang stole the limelight!
The New Year's Eve banquet passed in the midst of the undercurrent. When leaving the palace, Jiang Yuyan finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm afraid I've offended someone again today!"
Xie Jingyu held her in his arms and comforted her, "Didn't you say before that wherever there are people, there is a martial arts world? We don't cause trouble, but we are not afraid of it. You have my Wu Wang Mansion to protect you."
"Um"
Jiang Yuyan sighed softly, afraid that she couldn't escape. If an enemy comes, we will fight him; if a flood comes, we will block it with earth. Besides, she has these people who love and care for her around her, so why should she be afraid? !
The two drove back to Jiang's house in a carriage. Jiang Yuyan looked at Xiao Yuanyan, who was drunk and unconscious while keeping watch alone, and kissed him several times as compensation. She placed a jade crown awarded by Emperor Sheng Yuan beside his bed. She also gave a jade hairpin to Xie Jingyu. Then she rushed back to Qin's house at 12:30.
After tonight, it is a new year. So far, she has been in this world for one year and three months. Jiang Yuyan stroked the silver ring that she had never left her fingertips. Fortunately, I have you, you all…
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