Chapter 444 I'll Compare, You Guess
Jiang Wanjun watched as Empress Dowager Song Zhuyi squeezed into the crowd, and then followed her.
When Jiang Wanjun squeezed in, Empress Dowager Song Zhuyi had already rushed onto the stage, raising her hands high, "Alas... I want to try, I want to try."
The stall owner, seeing that Song Zhuyi was clearly a young master from a wealthy family, smiled even more broadly. "Young master, you need two people to participate in my games. Do you have a partner? If not, you can form a team on the spot."
"Would you like to find one yourself, or do you need me to find one for you?"
"Also, you have to buy one of my lanterns to participate in the game."
Song Zhuyi turned to look at Jiang Wanjun, who nodded silently. This was how the stall owner made money; he couldn't possibly be playing for free.
The stall owner followed Song Zhuyi's gaze and recognized Jiang Wanjun. Everyone in the capital knew that Jiang Wanjun was the first female scholar to pass the imperial examination in the history of Dongling Kingdom, especially since she was wearing official robes today.
Before they could even go to the mansion to change their clothes, Empress Dowager Song Zhuyi pulled them onto the street.
"So you're a friend of Lord Jiang. Then I naturally can't accept any money. Please feel free to play."
The stall owner said that, but Jiang Wanjun didn't intend to have fun for nothing, so she reached out to touch the purse at her waist.
He touched himself left and right, then rummaged through his sleeves, and suddenly remembered that someone had bumped into him when he squeezed through the crowd. It seemed that he had been robbed by a petty thief.
Jiang Wanjun looked up, "My purse is missing, too... You should all go to the Jiang residence to settle all the expenses this young master incurred on the street today."
The stall owner smiled and thanked him upon hearing this.
He then gave Jiang Wanjun and Song Zhuyi, who was dressed as a man, a meaningful look.
Song Zhuyi lifted her dress and strode onto the stage. Standing in the center, she lowered her voice and said loudly to Jiang Wanjun, "Lord Jiang, I'll demonstrate, and you guess."
Jiang Wanjun nodded with a smile.
The stall owner gave Jiang Wanjun and Song Zhuyi a meaningful look but didn't say anything more.
But the onlookers below didn't care about any of that and started discussing it amongst themselves.
"Is this the third-ranked scholar, the Jiang family's daughter?"
"Go away, go away, he's an adult now, you should call him Lord Jiang." Someone chimed in, "I must say, he looks quite impressive in that official robe."
"Who can argue with that? But who is this young master beside Lord Jiang? I don't think I've ever seen him before."
"I don't know either, but judging from the clothes he's wearing, they're not cheap. It seems like Lord Jiang might have paid for them. You know Lord Jiang used to be in business."
"She is probably richer than many officials in the imperial court."
"Could this young master on the stage really be Lord Jiang's..." The speaker didn't finish his sentence, but his tone at the end made everyone around him understand what he wanted to say.
Immediately, someone chimed in, "You know what, didn't Lord Jiang used to be very close to that Young Master Mu?"
"Why haven't we seen Young Master Mu lately? And now you're with another one."
"It seems that not only do men turn bad when they have money, but women also turn bad when they have power."
"We still can't give women power, wouldn't that just further diminish the status of us men?"
"I think you're right..."
“Young Master Mu was already penniless, and now he has failed the exam. Naturally, Lord Jiang wouldn’t take a liking to him. Perhaps this young master’s family is even more powerful than Lord Jiang’s.”
"Otherwise, why would Lord Jiang have taken a liking to him?"
“I don’t agree with what you’re saying. Young Master Mu has been poor for a long time, and Lord Jiang has been rich for a long time. If they were going to complain, they would have done so long ago. Why wait until now?”
"Yes, in my opinion, it's just that you stinky men can't stand women having more power than you and you're making things up on purpose."
"......"
Suddenly, the opinions of both sides became extremely polarized, with everyone talking at once, and far fewer people were watching the game.
The two parties involved acted as if they hadn't heard anything, focusing intently on playing the game.
Empress Dowager Song Zhuyi gestured wildly on the screen, and Jiang Wanjun responded with a smile. There were ten questions in total, and the two cooperated very well, answering all of them correctly.
The stall owner struck the gong in his hand, and the whispering crowd finally came to their senses.
"As expected of the third-ranked scholar, oh right, and this young master, the two of you have an exceptionally high level of teamwork."
"I never expected that this first game of the year would cost me a hundred taels of silver," the stall owner said, feigning tears.
Song Zhuyi hesitated, wanting to withdraw her outstretched hand, but Jiang Wanjun chuckled softly and said, "Don't listen to him."
"This stall owner is from Jin Yulou. He made a lot of money from this game last year. If we win, even more people will play it next."
"He won't pay."
Jin Yu Lou is a well-known gold shop in Dongling, filled with pure gold jewelry. Its business is booming thanks to its partnership with Jiang Wan Ning's hot pot restaurant.
This shopkeeper is always good at complaining about being poor. One hundred taels is a huge sum of money for ordinary people, but it's not so much that the shopkeeper of Jinyulou has to cry.
Only then did Song Zhuyi feel relieved enough to accept the silver.
"Lord Jiang, since you're here, why don't you help promote my little stall and say a few words?"
Jiang Wanjun smiled and looked at the shopkeeper, "Your business is getting better and better."
The shopkeeper laughed and said, "Lord Jiang, what are you saying? Compared to your family and the Princess, I'm just a nobody."
"Anyone who can do business well must have a keen eye. You've misjudged him today. He's better than me to speak."
“My words carry far less weight than hers.”
The shopkeeper looked at Song Zhuyi beside him. This Scholar Jiang was actually praising this man so much. He had really misjudged him. "Yes, yes, yes."
The shopkeeper smiled apologetically, "It was my fault."
As she spoke, she looked at Song Zhuyi, who unceremoniously raised the hundred-tael silver note in her hand and said to the audience below the stage, "I will donate all one hundred taels to the free clinic."
"This free clinic provides free medical care to the people on weekdays, and only charges a small amount of money for medicine. In some cases, even medicine for the elderly and children is free."
"Although I know that the Princess of Langya is behind this free clinic and that she is not short of money, we cannot stand idly by just because she is not short of money."
“This hundred taels of silver may not be of much use to me, but if it is placed in the free clinic, it could cure countless people.”
After Song Zhuyi finished speaking, everyone in the audience applauded, and the shopkeeper also clapped along.
Jiang Wanjun smiled and looked at the shopkeeper, "See? I told you so, didn't I?"
"Thank you, Lord Jiang."
Jiang Wanjun smiled and took Song Zhuyi's hand as they walked downstairs, leaving everyone shocked by her boldness.
Jiang Wanjun: In all honesty, she was just afraid that she would lose the Empress Dowager.
After they stepped off the stage, Song Zhuyi dragged Jiang Wanjun around everywhere, looking at this and that, wanting to try everything they ate and everything they played with.
Song Zhuyi was finally drawn to a lantern on a boat by the river. Pointing at it, she asked Jiang Wanjun, "Junjun, what's that?"
“This is a pleasure boat; it’s not appropriate for Your Highness to go,” Jiang Wanjun advised.
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