Chapter 188 Provocation
The General's Mansion has many businesses, and the cosmetics shop on Wanqing Street is just an inconspicuous shop among many shops. Lin Hao didn't even know that there was such a shop here.
That day she took Baozhu to Wanqing Street to inspect the shop.
The shop is not big. Like many shops on the street, it has a front-store and back-yard layout. There is only one shopkeeper and one clerk.
The shopkeeper was a woman in her thirties. When Lin Hao walked in, she was leaning against the counter, drowsy, and the clerk was wiping the shelves.
Baozhu coughed when she saw this.
The shopkeeper suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Lin Hao and her servant with shining eyes: "Miss, do you want to buy rouge and powder? Our shop has a complete range of goods, pink, orange, coral red, as long as there is rouge color on the market, we have it here..."
Listening to the shopkeeper's endless introduction, Lin Hao was secretly surprised.
The shopkeeper is so eloquent, why is there so few customers?
"Then let's take a look at them all."
The shopkeeper hurriedly brought out a bunch of bottles and jars for people to try.
Lin Hao picked up a box of rouge and picked up a little with her little finger to take a closer look. The rouge was not bad, but it was not great either. Just opposite this shop was a larger rouge shop, and people came in and out of the door from time to time.
"How much is this box of rouge?"
Lin Hao asked the price, bought it, and went straight across the door.
As expected, the goods across the street were plentiful and complete. In addition to various rouges, there were also floral waters, scented soaps, scented balls... everything a girl could need. When I asked the price, it was the same price as the same rouge in my shop.
After leaving the shop, before Lin Hao could say anything, Baozhu sighed, "No wonder our shop's business is not good. We don't have any advantages. Look, young lady, even our shop's name can't compare to theirs. They're called 'Hua Xiangrong', and ours is called 'Lin's Fragrance Powder Shop'. If I were you, I would also go to Hua Xiangrong."
We lost from the signboard!
Lin Hao glanced up at the sign hanging on his shop and smiled faintly: "The key is that the products are good."
A coquettish woman has a keen eye for things like floral dew, and can identify any slight advantage, so good things will never have trouble selling.
"Miss, when can we open our shop?" Baozhu looked at the people coming and going on the street with an eager look on her face. "We don't come to Wanqing Street often, but I didn't expect it to be so lively."
"I need to figure out the steps for steaming floral dew, order all the necessary equipment, and buy fresh flowers... There are so many things to do, it will take a while." When Lin Hao thought about the things that would be busy next, he felt fulfilled and at ease.
Baozhu suddenly pointed and said, "Girl, look, there are a lot of people gathered over there."
Lin Hao also saw the bustling crowd in front of the teahouse.
"Let's go and take a look."
The master and servant walked over and heard two people talking as they got close.
"How can such a tiny country actually come to the Great Zhou to act so arrogantly?"
"That's right. We have countless talented people in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the capital is home to many talented people from all over the world. Are you afraid of the Yu Liu people?"
Someone who had just come over asked curiously, "Brothers, what happened?"
One person, his face flushed with excitement, pointed at the teahouse and said angrily, "There are some Yu Liu people drinking tea, and they keep saying that the talented scholars of our Great Zhou can't match them in couplets. A few scholars happened to be drinking tea, and when they heard this, they couldn't help but argue with them and started comparing themselves."
"Did you win?" asked the newcomer.
Another person sighed: "Lost."
The newcomer was anxious: "How could we lose?"
The person who had spoken earlier was even more furious: "Isn't it because the Yu Liu people are too cunning! Those scholars are just ordinary students, and three of them are said to be Yu Liu's top young talents. How can they compare?"
"Then, let the Yu Liu people win?"
Another person got excited and said, "How could that be? We just had some talented people come in. They were the newly admitted Jinshi last year."
The person who just arrived breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay, it's okay."
It doesn’t matter if we just watch the fun normally, but when facing the Yu Liu people, the Great Zhou must not lose!
Lin Hao listened quietly and understood the general idea.
Literary men look down on each other, not to mention those who are from different countries.
Suddenly there was a commotion among the crowd: "Someone is coming out!"
Several young men in green robes walked out quickly, some of them covered their faces with their sleeves, some of them had red faces, and fled under countless gazes.
The onlookers looked at each other in bewilderment.
Is this...better than losing?
This discovery was like a bucket of cold water poured on everyone's heads. As the atmosphere became stagnant, the laughter coming from the teahouse became increasingly harsh.
"Hahaha, it's said that the Great Zhou has a profound heritage and has produced many brilliant people. But now it seems to be just so-so. It can't even make a small couplet." A young man in jade and jade clothing walked out of the teahouse, waving a folding fan and looking at everyone with a smile.
Another Yu Liu man shook his head and sighed, "Meeting him is not as good as hearing about him. This talented man from the Great Zhou Dynasty is really disappointing."
These words made the onlookers blush.
"Don't go too far!" Several young men with angry eyes walked out of the teahouse.
The Yu Liu man holding the folding fan showed an exaggerated look of fear: "You guys from the Great Zhou are not going to fight because you can't win the literary duel, right?"
These words made the young people, who were already shy, so embarrassed that they were speechless for a while.
The people who were watching the fun also felt bad.
In terms of military strength, it is normal to be a little afraid of the barbaric Qi people, but it is really hard to accept that they lose to the Yu Liu people in terms of talent.
Has the Great Zhou fallen to this point?
The silent silence made all the readers present feel humiliated.
We have brought shame upon ourselves in a foreign country. How can we tolerate this?
A young man said coldly: "You don't have to be so proud. I heard that you are famous talents in Yu Liu, and the one who just competed with you is just an ordinary scholar in our Great Zhou——"
"Ordinary?" The Yu Liu man interrupted the young man with a smile. "Just now I heard you people of the Great Zhou say that those people were your newly graduated Jinshi last year. Your country holds the Spring Examination every three years. There are thousands of candidates, but only eleven make the list. And these thousands of candidates are selected from the tens of thousands of Juren who participated in the Autumn Examination. If all newly graduated Jinshi are considered ordinary scholars, then your country's standards for scholars are too high."
As soon as these words were spoken, the other Yu Liu people burst into laughter. The unbridled laughter echoed far away, like an invisible slap in the face of the Da Zhou people present.
A man strode out of the crowd and stood in front of several Yu Liu men. He opened his gilded folding fan with a swish and said nonchalantly, "Isn't it just a matter of beating a few people in a couplet game? Is that worth making such a fuss? Just tell me the first line of the couplet. My friend can figure it out with his toes."
When he said the first part, everyone's heart was filled with emotion, and they almost suffocated when they heard the latter part.
So this is just bragging for friends without taking any responsibility!
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