Chapter 58 Competition (I)
In fact, among all the female members in the hall, Yu Mengqing was not the only one who was excited. The other female members were also looking forward to the arrival of the competition.
At this time, Eunuch Huang walked out of the center of the hall again and said, "The first competition is a contest of couplets. I will read the first line of the couplet, and the ministers, wives, and young men of various families can write the second line on paper."
"After you've answered, you can reveal the second half of your couplet. The first place winner will not only be able to make a request to the Emperor, but will also receive a pair of jade ruyi. The second place winner will receive a jade ice bed, and the third place winner will receive a painting of early winter."
Sure enough, as soon as Eunuch Huang finished speaking, everyone started talking again.
Because these prizes are extremely rare and have extremely high value.
The most important thing is that these prizes are all awarded by the emperor. Many dignitaries or large families like to treat these things as heirlooms and pass them down from generation to generation.
Soon, palace maids carried dozens of sets of writing brushes, inkstones, paper and inkstones to the center of the hall, and placed a set on each table.
Meanwhile, Eunuch Huang, who was in charge of reading the test questions, took the test questions from the palace maid very naturally and read aloud: "Please listen to the first couplet: Thick green leaves shade the long pavilion, and the midsummer heat is not felt."
After Eunuch Huang finished speaking, he personally tore off the rice paper in his hand, causing it to fall down so that everyone could see the test question.
"You may begin answering the questions."
When Yu Mengqing heard Eunuch Huang reading the questions, she had already picked up her pen and started writing.
Although couplets are not her strong point, as a postdoctoral fellow in the last days, this couplet is not difficult for her.
Not to mention that these couplets have been memorized by people in the apocalypse, even if they haven't been memorized, she can still pick up a pen and write them without having to think at all.
"You may open..."
"Red flowers bloom alone on the path, and the deep winter has not yet felt the cold as a blade."
Before Eunuch Huang finished speaking, Yu Mengqing had already stood up and read aloud.
After saying this, she raised the rice paper in her hand so that everyone could see that she had indeed matched the couple.
The whole audience was silent, and everyone looked at Yu Mengqing with incredible eyes, full of disbelief. The couple had just been read out, how could she answer it immediately?
Not only everyone, but even Chu Shiheng beside her looked at her with a strange look.
After a long time, when no one in the hall was speaking, the emperor clapped his hands three times and praised loudly: "Good, good, good, a cold as a blade... Hahaha..."
Xue Zhonglan on the opposite side also looked at Yu Mengqing with a strange look, and his eyes clearly revealed an emotion of surprise.
It’s no wonder Xue Zhonglan had such thoughts, because at the banquets in the past two years, the original body either made a fool of himself here or there.
Many times, I can’t even recognize all the fonts in the test questions.
Such a person has changed so much in just one year. It would be strange if she wasn't surprised.
In fact, it was not just Xue Zhonglan. No, Xue Zhonglan was relatively okay and only had doubts in his heart, but the others in the hall started talking about it right away.
"Princess Zhan answered the question so quickly this year. Could it be that Prince Zhan wrote the answer for her because he was worried about being embarrassed again?"
"Who knows? But even so, they wrote it down, didn't they?"
"I think it's very likely, because usually Yu Mengqing makes a fool of herself because Prince Zhan doesn't attend these banquets. Now that he attends this year, she can answer the question."
"No, no, I just saw Princess Zhan writing the answer with her head down. It doesn't look like it was written by Prince Zhan." Another person said again.
"Isn't she just a loser? How could she suddenly become smart? I won't believe it even if you kill me."
"That's right. Come to think of it, maybe she only knows this one question. There are several test questions, right?" said another daughter.
"Just for a while, let's watch her make a fool of herself."
“…”
The young ladies who thought they were talking quietly didn't know that their words had all fallen into Yu Mengqing's ears.
She was originally not going to pay attention, but when she heard that they actually thought that he was Chu Shiheng because he answered these couplets, she couldn't help but say:
"What if I were you? When I say something bad about someone, I'd either speak louder so they can hear me, which would make me appear more upright. Otherwise, I'd just sit there quietly to avoid being criticized and thinking I can't afford to lose."
Yu Mengqing's words could be said to be very direct, and even offended many daughters of wealthy families.
But Yu Mengqing didn't care at all. She had her own abilities, so why should she let herself be pointed at by these people here?
The more Yu Mengqing thought about it, the angrier she became. So she pointed directly at Li Qiaochu, the daughter of the Shangshu Mansion who had just spoken the most enthusiastically, and asked:
"I can give you a chance now, a chance to refute me. If you think you can do better than me regarding the pair I just made, then I admit defeat."
"You are a well-known loser. How could you come up with such a couplet? Besides, you have solved the problem, so everything you say is right." Li Qiaochu said arrogantly.
"The facts are right in front of us. If I were you, I would readily admit that I'm inferior to you, so as not to embarrass myself here."
"Yu Mengqing, you..." Li Qiaochu was so angry that he pointed at Yu Mengqing and couldn't say a word.
Although Li Qiaochu was not particularly talented, she was considered a well-known talented woman in the capital, and no woman had ever spoken to her like this before.
After teaching Li Qiaochu a lesson, Yu Mengqing turned to the young ladies who had been whispering to each other and said:
"What about you? Can you answer it? Or can you answer it at the same level as me in such a short time, and answer it better than me? If not, please shut up."
The daughters: "......"
With these words, Yu Mengqing could be said to have completely disregarded the daughters of wealthy families and completely offended them.
However, Yu Mengqing seemed not to notice and immediately turned to Eunuch Huang and asked softly, "Eunuch Huang, how did I do on this question?"
"Very good, very good. The Emperor just said that this question was very well answered and the time taken was very short..."
After hearing this, Yu Mengqing nodded in satisfaction and scanned the entire audience again.
"Don't look at me with suspicion. The questions are what they are. I was able to answer them because of my true ability. If you couldn't answer them, it means your abilities are not up to par. Obviously, you need to reflect on yourselves."
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