Shuiqing didn't care much about whether or not he passed the imperial examination.
Some people are highly knowledgeable, but not suited for exams; others have strong practical skills, but just don't do well on exams.
She didn't take the provocations of the three people in front of her to heart. However, Fan Jin, as a scholar, seemed to value the imperial examinations very much. His dark eyes dimmed at this moment, and his eyelids drooped, concealing his disappointment.
She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Whose dog wasn't leashed and let out?"
Zheng Pingsheng was initially pleased to see his senior brother unable to retaliate, but when he suddenly heard someone call them dogs, his anger surged.
Upon closer inspection, it was still a woman, which fueled his anger even more. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Who are you calling a dog?"
"Whoever answers is a dog," Shui Qing retorted bluntly.
The three scholars were humiliated by being subtly mocked as dogs. Zhou Wenzhang, holding a folding fan, pointed at Shui Qing and gritted his teeth, saying, "You actually dared to subtly mock us as dogs! You're the dog!"
"Who is the dog cursing?" Shui Qing retorted.
"The dog is cursing you!" Zhou Wenzhang replied without thinking.
The diners at the surrounding tables burst into laughter.
Zheng Pingsheng quickly tugged at Zhou Wenzhang's sleeve. Amidst the laughter, Zhou Wenzhang realized what was happening and his face turned red with anger.
The five children, who had been about to rush forward when the three men were talking about their father, were now dumbfounded when they saw this.
Fan Jin was surprised that Shui Qing didn't take the ridicule about his repeated failures to heart at all, and instead helped him!
These three were always inseparable when they went out, and whenever they encountered him, they would do everything they could to mock him. He always believed in staying away from them whenever possible.
After all, he failed the imperial examination, and what others said was the truth, so he couldn't refute it.
He had argued back before, but people around him would only criticize him, saying that if he couldn't pass the exam, others couldn't say so.
They said he lacked knowledge and had a bad temper.
It's said that he focuses his mind on being competitive, no wonder he keeps failing his exams...
Others would only criticize him, but Shuiqing was different. She didn't care at all whether he was wrong or not, and she defended him with a clear conscience.
Hearing the laughter filling the room, Zheng Pingsheng looked at Fan Jin and slowly raised his head again.
His gaze toward Shui Qing was full of disdain, and he said coldly, "The sage is right, only women and petty men are difficult to deal with."
Shuiqing: If you're going to argue, then argue. If you can't win an argument, why bring up gender? Is being a woman a reason for him to attack her?
That's all the guy can do!
"The emperor governs the world with filial piety, yet you are so unfilial to your mother. You are truly unworthy of being a scholar."
Scholars fear being accused of being unfilial, as it could severely damage their career prospects!
Accused of being extremely unfilial, Zheng Pingsheng became furious and hurriedly defended herself: "How have I been unfilial to my mother? Don't talk nonsense, you're just a village woman!"
Shui Qing sat at the table and leisurely asked Zheng Pingsheng, who was standing, "You said that only women and petty men are difficult to raise. Your mother is not a woman, so you can't be the child of your father and a man, can you?"
Since your mother is a woman, how can you put her and a scoundrel together? Isn't that the greatest act of filial impiety?
Zheng Pingsheng blushed, thinking of a rebuttal but not knowing how.
The surrounding diners began to whisper among themselves.
Seeing that his two companions were speechless, Sun Qiang realized that the three of them were always the ones talking about others, and had never been forced to this point before.
He was immediately enraged and took two steps forward to bluntly rebuke Shui Qing: "A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent!"
Shuiqing didn't argue with him about whether the statement was right or wrong. Instead, she asked him, "What's the sentence before this? Tell me."
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