At this moment, a girl dressed in blue brocade walked out from behind the crowd, her face calm, but her eyes were full of jealousy as she looked at Qin Qing.
Qin Qing looked up at the sound and a familiar face came into view, causing her to frown instinctively…
She remembered that the girl's name was... Ma Xinyue!
She seems to be the daughter of some vice minister... and also the former mistress of Peony!
At the same time, everyone noticed the girl who wanted to show off and immediately showed a sarcastic expression.
Ma Xinyue, the daughter of the Vice Minister, was a well-known admirer of General Wang. It is said that she was once captured and taken to a bandit's den, but managed to escape. She encountered General Wang's victorious army returning to the capital and was taken in. After that, she shamelessly clung to him...
But General Wang was the eldest princess's darling, and Ma Xinyue's shameless advances naturally enraged her. The vice minister was also affected, becoming even more impatient with his daughter, and all the noble ladies in the capital subconsciously distanced themselves from Ma Xinyue...
It's fair to say that everyone hates her now, and her reputation is ruined!
Now that she's going to recite poetry and songs with that woman in public, it's even more despicable!
Qin Qing had an impression of her, but what she remembered most was the scene of the girl and her mother being coy and refusing to climb through the dog hole, which later delayed her and almost caused them to be caught by the group of thieves.
"Oh, it was you!"
Hearing her tone, the mistresses and young ladies present all turned their heads in surprise.
"What? You two know each other?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Xinyue's expression immediately changed, and she hurriedly shouted in a tense and sharp voice!
"I don't know her! How could I possibly know such a rustic village woman!"
The jarring sound immediately made everyone frown uncomfortably; judging from her reaction, she clearly knew her.
Qin Qing smiled but did not reply.
It wasn't until Old Madam Wang spoke up out of curiosity.
"Qin, do you really not recognize her?"
Qin Qing chuckled upon hearing this. A normal person would probably be too lazy to explain what had happened before and just let it go. However, she was different. She shook her head helplessly.
"We can hardly be called acquaintances. It was just that I was kind enough to venture into the bandits' den alone to rescue someone, but a mother and daughter refused to crawl through the dog hole because they thought it was too smelly, which almost got me captured too. They even used my status as the daughter of a vice minister to threaten me!"
After saying that, Ma Xinyue's face turned white and then black. In the end, she could only look at Qin Qing with a face full of shame and indignation, her expression as if she wanted to strangle her on the spot.
"So that's how it is. No wonder she, a frail woman, managed to escape from the bandits' den, and supposedly even burned it down. Now it seems it was all a lie..."
"That's right! They kindly saved her, and not only was she ungrateful, she even went out and challenged a village woman to a poetry contest! Bah! How shameless!"
"In my opinion, she refused to climb through the dog hole, so she must have been caught later. Who knows what happened... There were so many bandits, it's disgusting!"
Whispers of disdain rose from the crowd, though they were clearly audible.
Ma Xinyue's face was now flushed crimson! Her hands were clenched tightly, and facing the strange looks from the crowd, she wished she could die on the spot! Then, she couldn't help but shout.
"Enough! I bet you're just too scared to compete with me, so you made up a story to change the subject! How despicable and shameless!"
Qin Qing shrugged indifferently in the face of her denial.
"Alright...aren't you supposed to go first? Let's begin!"
This attitude clearly showed that he didn't take her seriously. Ma Xinyue was so angry that she jumped up and down, but she didn't dare to cause trouble at the princess's residence. She could only say...
"A lotus leaf skirt, cut like a lotus flower, her face parted in two."
"Unseen in the chaotic pond, only the sound of singing reveals its presence."
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone couldn't help but savor them, pondering the artistic conception of the poem repeatedly, and then their gazes toward Ma Xinyue were filled with admiration.
Although she was shameless and had impure intentions, her poems were indeed quite good!
Hearing the whispered praises from others, Ma Xinyue gradually regained some confidence and looked at Qin Qing with a smug gaze! In order to stand out at today's banquet and redeem her reputation, she had made many preparations in advance and racked her brains to come up with this poem!
It seems that it did have some effect!
Seeing this, Qin Qing looked at Ma Xinyue indifferently, seemingly without any pressure whatsoever.
"The spring's sound is like a gentle stream, and the shade of the trees reflects the soft sunshine."
"The lotus buds are just beginning to show their tips, and dragonflies have already alighted on them."
She doesn't remember many poems, but this one is in elementary and middle school textbooks, so she remembers it quite clearly!
Upon hearing this poem, everyone was astonished and turned to look at the woman who stood ramrod straight. Even with such beautiful verses, her expression remained calm, and the natural and beautiful imagery in the poem was unforgettable!
"What a wonderful poem! It truly is a wonderful poem!"
As one person began to praise, others followed suit, expressing their amazement, and the way they looked at Qin Qing immediately changed.
Qin Qing just smiled.
"It's a good poem... I think it's a good poem too! Even though I didn't write it!"
Everyone: ...
The matriarch who had just praised Qin Qing froze, and a young lady from a prominent family who was about to praise someone else also stood there dumbfounded...
"No...you didn't do it?"
Qin Qing nodded without any hesitation...
Upon seeing this, Ma Xinyue, who had been lost in thought, was instantly overwhelmed with joy and shouted excitedly.
"This is plagiarism! It's an insult to literature! I told you you can't write poetry, you lost!"
For a moment, no one knew what to do! The atmosphere became extremely awkward.
Qin Qing just smiled.
"Let me ask you this: when I agreed to compete with you in poetry, did I say that I had to create something myself? Besides, have you heard this poem before? Has anyone here heard it?"
This rhetorical question threw Ma Xinyue into a panic. She stared blankly at Qin Qing, unable to refute her words...
It was Old Madam Wang who broke the atmosphere.
"Alright, alright! It's getting dark, the banquet is about to begin, and all the ministers will be here soon. Let's head over there as soon as possible."
Qin Qing was taken aback upon hearing this, then looked at the sky and realized that the sun had already set and the sky was gradually darkening, indicating that it was already quite late.
Everyone then came to their senses and quickly turned around to walk towards the banquet hall in the backyard.
At this moment, a woman with an unpleasant expression walked up to Ma Xinyue and stared at her intently, which frightened Ma Xinyue so much that her face turned pale.
"mother…"
Qin Qing turned around upon hearing the sound, glanced at the woman curiously, and noticed that this woman was not the beautiful woman who had been with Ma Xinyue before. She instantly understood what was going on.
It turns out that Ma Xinyue was not born of the principal wife, but was the daughter of the Vice Minister's concubine. The noblewoman in front of them was the Vice Minister's legal wife and the mistress of the Vice Minister's mansion.
Having figured this out, she lost interest in watching the drama unfold and quickly turned to leave with Old Madam Wang.
A moment later, the crisp sound of a slap behind her reached her ears, but it didn't make her turn around!
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