Everyone stared in disbelief, and someone whispered, "How arrogant! Princess Kang Le actually wants to take on ten people by herself!"
"Yes, I've only heard that Princess Kang Le is a shrewd businesswoman, but I've never heard that she likes to read and is very learned," others chimed in.
The young waiter listened with a hint of excitement, but he remained silent.
A woman noticed something amiss and had her maid give her a purse as a reward.
The young shopkeeper, clutching the silver coins in his purse, continued his story with a broad smile.
"Distinguished guests, you may not know this, but the competition actually took place, and coincidentally, the Emperor and several high-ranking officials also came to watch the excitement. The Emperor then became the judge. Princess Kangle proposed setting a prize: whoever loses must slap someone in the face!"
"As a result, the noble ladies all agreed that ten of them would join forces to deal with the princess. Of these ten, eight were from noble families, and the other two were from slightly less prestigious backgrounds."
"After the competition started, Miss Lu, the eldest daughter of Lord Lu, the head of the Court of State Ceremonial, went first, but she was immediately defeated. She was slapped in the face by Princess Kangle's maid, and her face swelled up immediately!"
"Ah!" Everyone gasped in shock, instinctively covering their cheeks, and then, afraid of interrupting the waiter, they covered their mouths with handkerchiefs.
The young waiter became more and more excited as he spoke, "The second contest was between the eldest daughter of Vice Minister Chen of the Ministry of Personnel. As soon as Princess Kangle read out her poem, Miss Chen immediately admitted defeat and was then slapped hard across the face!"
"Has Princess Kang Le gone mad? How dare she hit the legitimate daughter of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel?!"
One of the women could no longer contain herself and cried out in surprise, but was immediately stopped by those around her who pressed her for an answer: "All ten noble ladies lost and were beaten?!"
"No, no!" The waiter quickly waved his hand. "Perhaps Miss Lu and Miss Chen lost too miserably, so the Emperor stopped the competition and ordered the other eight noble ladies to give one piece of their jewelry to Princess Kangle as an apology!"
Everyone sighed in unison, their faces full of regret.
Ten people make a team, so how come only two were hit?
Princess Kang Le should beat them all up one by one, and give them a good beating!
It must be said that those who enjoy watching a spectacle are never afraid of things getting out of hand...
"Princess Kang Le did write a poem, so how did the noble ladies lose so badly?" Someone who also enjoyed reading asked this question.
The young waiter immediately took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and said with a smile, "I was afraid I wouldn't remember them, so I copied them down. Now these two poems are being circulated everywhere. They are really well written."
After saying that, he began to read.
Even if many women were literate, most of them had only memorized a few books of precepts and rules for women, and were not proficient in poetry at all.
But the beauty of both poems lies in their simplicity and ease of understanding!
So, the group exchanged glances, but none of them went against their conscience and spoke up to belittle them.
"It seems...not bad, quite easy to understand."
"Yes, it sounds much better than what those pedantic scholars write. Is farming really that hard? Do you have to water the crops with your sweat? You'll have to leave more grain for my family's farm in the future, won't you?"
"I also feel that writing poetry isn't so difficult anymore."
The women became increasingly excited as they talked, and suddenly felt a strange sense of agreement.
They were of lowly status and could not catch the eye of the Imperial Concubine. As a result, those noble ladies who went to the banquet turned out to be complete fools, failing to compose poems and even getting humiliated.
That's awesome! So awesome!
That's so satisfying! So satisfying!
"The princess is truly formidable; she dares to hit anyone! I admire her temper!"
"Me too, that's how it should be. Who told those arrogant rich girls to lose!"
The women chatted animatedly and gradually lost all restraint.
A woman laughed heartily, gloating, "Hmph, that Lu family girl is always so arrogant. I even wanted to marry her as my daughter-in-law, but unfortunately she looks down on our humble family!"
Now she's nothing but a pig-headed good-for-nothing, let's see how she manages to marry into a wealthy family!
"That's right, she might come back and beg your family to marry her." The woman's close friends chimed in with their mockery.
The jewelry store owner, however, believed in making money through harmony and didn't want to offend anyone.
Seeing that the topic was getting further and further off track, he quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Esteemed guests, our shop has limited resources, and this is all we can find out for now. No one can guarantee whether it's true or not; we're just trying to amuse you all."
The women weren't stupid; they naturally understood what he meant.
So the women bought some jewelry, more or less, and then left satisfied.
In the private rooms upstairs at the teahouse across the street, the men, young and old, had completely different thoughts from the women when they heard about this.
Regardless of how they treat their wives and concubines at home, they should at least leave a good reputation for being gentle and chivalrous to outsiders.
As a result, the two young ladies who were beaten, especially Miss Chen from a prominent family, received their sympathy to the greatest extent.
Some people said, "Composing poems and essays is supposed to be an elegant pursuit, how can you use a slap as a prize? It's a disgrace to culture!"
"That's right, and how could someone so young and delicate have such a cruel heart to slap such a woman!"
"And those two poems aren't very good either!"
"If I were there, I would definitely make a fair judgment."
"That's right. The Li family is just a peasant family with no background whatsoever. It was already a blessing from heaven that they produced a top scholar. Now, how can I possibly be worthy of the title 'good' when a little girl casually writes a couple of poems!"
As they were talking animatedly, the door to the private room was pushed open.
Two middle-aged scholars entered, fanning themselves. One of them, with a cold expression, sneered, "Are you all complaining that the Emperor is unfair in his dealings?"
The men, young and old, turned their heads and saw that someone recognized the person. Their expressions changed, and they mumbled, "Um... Lord Li, we were just chatting, and we had no intention of disrespecting the Emperor."
The visitors were none other than Li Lao Er and Mr. Wen. They had finished their official duties early today and were taking a break to have some tea when they heard that their niece was making waves in the palace.
They were just about to rush home to find out more when they heard these people slandering them behind their backs.
"Hmph!" Li Lao Er's sneer deepened. "The Princess and several noble ladies competed in composing poems, and the Emperor personally judged them, praising the Princess's poems as good, simple, easy to understand, and melodious. Yet you are questioning the judgment, which is obviously questioning the Emperor's favoritism!"
"No, no, Lord Li, you've misunderstood!"
"Yes, we didn't know the judges of the competition were the Emperor!"
The men, young and old, turned pale with fright and began to defend themselves.
Li Lao Er ignored their pleas for mercy and said, "Next time you gossip about others, you'd better find out more beforehand. Not everyone is someone you can mess with."
"Furthermore, you have to accept the consequences of your bet! If all the losers could gain sympathy by crying a few times, then what's the point of the competition? They could all just sit together and compete to see who can cry the most!"
"Furthermore, my eldest son's top scholar title was achieved through rigorous examinations, personally selected by the Emperor and the six high-ranking officials. He is undoubtedly a man of genuine talent and learning, and cannot be questioned or slandered by you with a mere word!"
"If you want to slander me, you should focus on your studies and get into the top exams first! A bunch of frogs in a well, where do you get the audacity to comment on the ambitions of a great swan!"
After saying that, he slammed the door and left, leaving a group of men, young and old, speechless for a long time, their faces covered in a deep grime...
Two updates today!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com