Prince Xingnan lost twenty-one horses and returned to his seat in disgrace.
The other person was a young girl, and he couldn't compete with her in horseback riding and archery; he was even embarrassed to admit it.
Gu Xin returned to her seat with some regret. Sigh, only twenty-one horses! Yuan Yuan would need three hundred men to become a regimental commander. If only she could win three hundred warhorses!
Suddenly, the princess of Xingnan Kingdom stood up, clasped her hands in greeting to the emperor and empress, and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, I have heard that the noble ladies of the Great Zhou are proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I would like to learn from them."
The emperor ignored the princess when she spoke, otherwise he would accuse her of bullying a young girl.
Empress Xue continued, "I have heard that the women of Xingnan are just as skilled as the men in riding, archery, singing, and dancing. If you wish to learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, then there should be no more betting. Otherwise, people will say that our Great Zhou is bullying Xingnan."
After a pause, Empress Xue continued, "Your Majesty, am I right? Although Prince Xingnan is just as noble as the princess, if we were to set up bets on music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, we would really be bullying him. It would be better not to set them up!"
The Emperor held Empress Xue's hand, his face full of affection: "The Empress is absolutely right!"
Cai Xiaolian almost burst out laughing. These two were tricking people together. They said it was about gender equality, but the prince set the stakes while the princess didn't. Wasn't that intentional?
You even said you bullied them? Aren't you just trying to provoke them into playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting?
The first emperor of Xingnan was none other than a descendant of the Great Zhou dynasty. He was a civil official, so how could he not teach his descendants music, chess, calligraphy, and painting?
As expected, Princess Xingnan was provoked and said, "Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress have considered Xingnan's feelings, and I thank you on behalf of Xingnan. However, Xingnan's skills in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting are not bad either, and she may not necessarily lose to the Great Zhou! Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress, would you allow me to choose someone, and I will set the stakes?"
Before the Emperor and Empress Xue could respond, Princess Xingnan pointed at Gu Xin and said, "I want to compete with the youngest daughter of the top scholar in playing the zither and painting! If I win, I don't want anything except the warhorse that my brother lost to her."
Gu Xin didn't say anything. She had also learned to play the zither and paint from her parents, but she couldn't compare to them!
The other person looks to be about the same age as my sister. What if she's been with her since elementary school?
Gu Shouxin asked, "May I ask how the princess would compare?"
Gu Xin looked at Gu Shouxin in surprise. "Dad, I've only been learning for two years! You can't let your daughter down like this!"
Princess Xingnan saw the look in Gu Xin's eyes and knew what to do: "For the zither, play together, whoever stops first loses! For the painting, depict figures, whoever paints the most similar figure wins."
Empress Xue said, "The zither is judged by its winners and losers, but how do we judge a painting?"
Princess Xingnan: "Great Zhou will send ten people, and Xingnan will send ten people. I will paint with Miss Gu, without writing our names. These twenty people will leave the main hall while we paint, and come back to judge after we finish. How about that? I can guarantee that my ten people from Xingnan will be absolutely fair."
Gu Xin's eyes darted around, and she asked, "If there are ten people on each side, who will win?"
If you're talking about this kind of competition, you really can't beat me. I only know a few pieces, and I even have one specifically for musical duels, hehe~
Gu Shouxin: "How about we have a time contest? If there are ten people on each side, whoever draws the fastest wins?"
Princess Xingnan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay!"
Gu Xin blinked: "Your Highness, you only said what to do if you win, but you didn't say what to do if you lose?"
Princess Xingnan: "Hmph! This princess will not lose. If I do lose, you can say whatever you want, as long as I have it! Everyone here can testify!"
Gu Xin asked, "It's your horse, can you make the decisions about it?"
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