Chapter 1517: Never to be underestimated
Isn’t the thatched hermit the Prince’s tutor Yu Zhilan?
The man's heart started beating "bang bang bang".
"You, you are the disciple of Mr. Thatched Cottage?" the man asked stutteringly, "That, that Mr. Thatched Cottage?"
Tang Bao blinked, looking puzzled.
"Which one?"
That person: “…”
Opened his mouth.
Could it be that there is someone else in the world who calls himself the Thatched Cottage Monk?
At this time, a thin man squeezed over.
"Do any of you have relatives participating in the competition?" the thin man asked in a mysterious voice.
Everyone shook their heads.
If a girl does not have exquisite embroidery skills, she would not dare to go on stage to participate in the competition.
After all, if you fail to show your face and end up embarrassing yourself, it would be a waste of time and effort.
The most direct impact is on marriage.
Of course, if you can get praise, that would be icing on the cake.
Therefore, even though many families have daughters, they dare not go up and participate.
After all, everyone knew that this year's competition would include the county magistrate's youngest daughter and the embroiderer from Jinxiufang.
Others who participate are just there to serve as a foil.
The thin man's eyes lit up when he saw everyone shaking their heads.
Then he took out his purse from his pocket, grabbed a handful of copper coins and stuffed them into the hand of an old lady.
"This is a little gift from my master."
"Your master is..."
"Shopkeeper Li from Jinxiufang."
After the thin man finished speaking, he grabbed some copper coins and distributed them to others.
"Everyone, use this to buy some tea. Today, our ancient embroidery lady from Jinxiufang relies heavily on your support and will definitely take first place..."
Everyone understood before the thin man finished speaking.
This is to let them vote for Gu Xiu Niang!
Originally, the thin man wanted to stuff money into Tang Bao and Xuanyuan Jin's hands, but when he saw Tang Bao and Xuanyuan Jin's clothes and demeanor, he embarrassedly took his hand back.
He always felt that if he stretched out his hand, he would never be able to take it back.
The thin man gave Tang Bao and Xuanyuan Jin a dry, flattering smile, then quickly slipped into the crowd and continued to canvass for votes with money.
As soon as the thin man left, another man dressed as a servant squeezed over.
"Everyone, this is the tea my master gave you as a reward..."
"Your master is..."
"Of course it's our county magistrate's wife..."
Everyone understood that this was a vote-gathering for the county magistrate's youngest daughter.
Tang Bao couldn't help but sigh that this kind of behavior of using money to swipe tickets actually existed in this era.
Indeed, human beings’ wisdom in favoritism and corruption should never be underestimated!
Someone looked at the two handfuls of copper coins in his hand and said hesitantly, "Which girl should I give the lantern to?"
"Of course, we'll give it to the girl with the best embroidery skills!" Shi Liu said matter-of-factly, "They forced the money on us. We didn't agree to anything!"
When Shi Liu said this, he glanced at Tang Bao.
Tang Bao nodded slightly.
Shi Liu happily added, "What's more, if only one company paid, it would be a bit unreasonable for us to accept the money and not do anything. Now that both companies are paying, it's naturally up to us."
Everyone: “…”
It seems... that makes sense...
Tang Bao smiled and said, "That's the truth!"
After hearing Tang Bao's words, everyone looked at each other...
A woman clapped her hands and shouted, "That's exactly the truth!"
Everyone: “…”
That's exactly the case!
Tang Bao smiled and said, "In this way, if there is a girl from an ordinary family with superb embroidery skills, everyone can give her lanterns with peace of mind and don't have to do anything against their conscience."
"That's right!" Shi Liu immediately cheered for her young lady, saying loudly, "Let's do things according to our conscience. No matter who we are, we will support the girl with the best embroidery skills!"
After Shi Liu finished speaking, she revealed an indignant expression and continued, "Why can the rich and powerful just buy their way out? It's not right that girls from ordinary families like us can't make it big? This isn't fair!"
"Right! It's unfair!" Zhao Wu waved his fist and shouted, "We should support whoever we should support! It's just a handful of copper coins! This is too much of an underestimation of us!"
"Can we be bought off with just a handful of copper coins? Our character is in the eyes of others, is it really worthless?"
As Zhao Wu asked emotional questions, people around him showed expressions of hatred towards the rich.
At this time, the embroidery competition began on the stage.
Small embroidery frames were placed on the stage one by one.
In the middle, facing four directions, four identical Buddha statues were hung.
All the girls who participated in the embroidery competition came on stage one after another.
Each girl stood in front of an embroidery frame.
The embroidery frame is facing the direction of the Buddha statue.
The needle and thread basket next to the embroidery frame contains embroidery needles and threads.
The woman on the stage said with a smile, "The rules are still the same. The total time is one stick of incense. After one stick of incense, no matter how much you have embroidered, you are not allowed to embroider anymore."
As soon as the woman finished speaking, there was an uproar both on and off the stage.
It would take the time of an incense stick to finish embroidering even one tenth of the Buddha statue.
After the woman finished speaking, she looked towards the audience and asked with a smile, "Are there any other girls who would like to participate in the competition? This is our annual Qiqiao Festival. It would be a pity to miss it."
When the woman said this, there was a hint of temptation in her voice.
"If the girls are brave enough to come forward and participate in the competition, who knows, they might win the favor of a young man and form a happy marriage!"
As soon as the woman finished speaking, several more pretty girls came on stage with blushing faces.
There are a total of eighty embroidery frames on the stage, twenty in each direction.
In this way, people below the platform can see the girls embroidering on the spot from all directions.
Not all of the eighty embroidery frames were occupied by girls, and there were still a few empty frames.
On the other side of the platform, Xia Siya said anxiously, "Where's Sister Fuya? Why hasn't she gone up yet? It's about to start!"
Da Pan protected Xia Siya, preventing her from being bumped into, and comforted her, "Don't worry, little aunt must have her own plans."
When Xia Siya heard Da Pan's steady voice, she suddenly felt more at ease.
That’s right, Sister Fuya has always been the most methodical in doing things.
"Good job, nephew, you are becoming more and more manly." Xia Siya looked up and said admiringly.
Da Pan: "...I am originally a man!"
Can you please not say those three words?
Damn "nephew"!
Princess Linghua, who was not far away, was also looking around anxiously.
"What's wrong with Su Tang? Where is she at this time? Could it be that she didn't make it here in time? I'm so worried!"
"Oh! Why are you in such a hurry?" Er Pan curled his lips and said coldly, "You should worry about your Crown Prince first! With his character, there are so many girls here, maybe he's already dazzled!"
Er Pan paused at this point, then added with a gloating tone, "Especially the county magistrate's youngest daughter, she's so beautiful. Ming Xuan must have noticed her. You better be careful, don't lose her favor..."
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