Chapter 452 I Have an Even Worse Idea
Gu Qianning sat next to Shen Wantang. She was in a terrible mood and had no interest in writing poems or sending flowers.
But when Xiao Qingyuan walked over, he went straight past Shen Wantang. She almost instantly came to her senses and tripped him.
Xiao Qingyuan stumbled and almost fell. He turned around angrily and said, "Gu Qianning, what are you doing?!"
Gu Qianning's expression was icy: "I just wanted to remind Prince Xiao that your princess consort is sitting here, and you've already passed by."
"I'm not blind. I can see her sitting there. Do I need you to remind me?"
"If you're not blind, why are you still walking forward? Where are you going? Who are you going to give the flowers to?"
"Of course I'll give it to the person who writes the best poem!"
"Isn't A-Tang the best writer?"
"What do you know? Among women, Miss Liu is the best poet. She is the number one talented woman in Dafeng. Do you have a problem with that?"
Gu Qianning was so angry that she couldn't speak for a moment. How come she never noticed that Xiao Qingyuan was so annoying before?
Since her best friends had stood up for her, Shen Wantang naturally couldn't continue to pretend she hadn't seen anything.
She said with a slightly self-deprecating tone, "When the young master was at home, he said he admired Miss Liu's talent, so it is only natural that he would give her the flowers. However, I was just betting with A Ning that the young master would definitely give me the flowers, but I didn't expect to lose."
As soon as Shen Wantang said this, the people in the Imperial Garden had different expressions. Some looked at Xiao Qingyuan with shock, while others looked at Liu Nanshi with a hint of mockery.
Liu Nanshi immediately spoke up: "Today, Her Majesty the Empress set the question, and everyone won the flower based on their own abilities. The young master wanted to give me the flower only because he thought my poem was good, and it has nothing to do with anything else."
"It's understandable that the Crown Princess wants to win the flower based on the bond between husband and wife. After all, her poetry is only so-so, so she can only rely on their relationship."
"Your Highness, please give your flowers to your Princess Consort. It would be too pitiful if she couldn't even get one. You should at least consider your relationship and not be so righteous!"
The more she said that, the less willing Xiao Qingyuan was to give the flowers to Shen Wantang. What kind of marital relationship did they have? Absolutely none! He did, however, have a close friendship with Liu Nanshi!
"Southern Poetry".
Xiao Qingyuan unconsciously called Liu Nanshi's name affectionately: "I'll give you this flower. I give flowers based on facts, not sentiment. Shen Wantang's poem is far inferior to yours. This flower is what you deserve!"
"Thank you for your praise, Your Highness. I also like my poem very much and I am very confident in it. Even if Your Highness doesn't give me this one, someone else will, and they will give me many. I am sure I can win that peony!"
Liu Nanshi smiled and said, "But your Crown Princess is different. Without your flower, she probably wouldn't get a single one, which is why she wants your flower so much. You can give it to her; I don't want it!"
"Whether she receives the flower depends on her own abilities. If her poem isn't good, naturally no one will give it to her. I'm a person who likes to be realistic, so you must accept this flower from me!"
The two went back and forth, one saying no, the other saying you have to; one insisting on not wanting, the other insisting on giving.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, whispering amongst themselves, covering their faces with handkerchiefs.
"What do you mean? Are Young Master Xiao and Miss Liu getting together? Why is he still calling Miss Liu by her maiden name?"
"Impossible! Prince Xiao already has a princess consort, so there's no way Liu Nanshi would become his concubine!"
"Could it be that Prince Xiao is going to divorce his wife again?"
"Huh? What do you mean by 'again'?"
"Oh dear, didn't you know? The young master Xiao wanted to divorce his wife for a concubine, and then he wanted to divorce her again for a maid. He seems to want to divorce his wife every single day!"
"I heard that Prince Xiao has already kicked his beloved concubine out of the palace. The number one romantic in the capital has fallen for someone else, probably Liu Nanshi!"
"That's not surprising. Liu Nanshi is the most talented woman, and she's a perfect match for Prince Xiao. If you ask me, that princess is not good enough for Prince Xiao at all!"
"Whether she's a good match or not isn't up to us to decide. She was personally chosen by Princess Ning, and Prince Ning praises her everywhere. If she didn't have some real skills, how could she have won over such picky people as Prince Ning and Princess Ning?"
...
While everyone was discussing, Gu Qianhan kicked Yuan Zheng: "Give your flowers to Shen Wantang."
Ignoring the sharp pain in his calf from the kick, Yuan Zheng looked at Gu Qianhan in shock: "Why did you make me give it to her?"
"Just do it! Stop talking nonsense! Or I'll break one of your legs!"
"Okay, okay, I'll give them to you! But what about you? Who are you going to give your flowers to?"
"Naturally, it's Shen Wantang."
"What?! You're not going to steal Qingyuan's woman again, are you? This is different. This is his legal wife, not one of those concubines or maids! You'd better behave yourself!"
"Am I crazy? Why would I steal a woman that Xiao Qingyuan doesn't like? Wouldn't that solve his problem? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"
Yuan Zheng nodded in agreement: "That's true, you really don't have any good intentions, you're all black-hearted and black-gutted!"
Gu Qianhan said indifferently, "I just don't like Xiao Qingyuan and want to embarrass him in public."
Yuan Zheng glanced at Xiao Qingyuan, then at the pretentious Liu Nanshi. The thought of making them both look foolish excited him. "Alright! I'll do as you say! But it's not enough for just the two of us to give the flowers to the Crown Princess. I have an even more wicked idea!"
Gu Qianhan glanced at him. Yuan Zheng was uneducated, but full of bad ideas. Even he said that his ideas were bad, so they must be really bad.
Yuan Zheng smiled maliciously and turned to walk away.
After a while, he returned and gave Gu Qianhan a thumbs up: "Second Young Master Gu, your reputation is really useful! Just wait and see!"
Gu Qianhan had already guessed what he had done, so this time she didn't care that Yuan Zheng was using her name. As long as the goal could be achieved, the means didn't matter.
On the other side, Xiao Qingyuan and Liu Nanshi's refusal finally came to a conclusion—Liu Nanshi ultimately accepted Xiao Qingyuan's flowers.
Because if she doesn't accept it, there will be no way to end this situation.
People started looking at her strangely. Although she wanted men to admire her and pursue her, she didn't want to ruin her reputation.
Of course she couldn't marry Xiao Qingyuan; she was just deliberately stringing him along to annoy Shen Wantang.
But today, it seems she's gone a bit too far; Xiao Qingyuan seems to have fallen for her!
Liu Nanshi held the flower in her hand, a smile playing on her lips.
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