"Prince Jiang is finally here." Xie Jing looked at Jiang Shi with a smile.
He did not hide his dislike for Jiang Shi.
"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long." Jiang Shi smiled slightly, elegant and calm.
Yu Tanqi quickly said, "I just arrived too. Prince Jiang's arrival is just in time."
When she met Jiang Shi's gaze, her cheeks felt a little hot and she quickly lowered her head.
The girl's blush is brighter than the flowers blooming on the branches.
Jiang Shi's eyes flickered slightly.
Xie Jing also noticed the girl's shy look and pursed his lips slightly.
He had never seen Yu Tanqi so concerned about someone, even though they had just met yesterday.
Is the identity of fiancé so useful?
Xie Jing's face was cold, and he said in a deep voice, "Now that Prince Jiang is here, we can start today's welcoming banquet. Prince Jiang, please take a seat."
Jiang Shi nodded slightly and sat at the man's table.
Yu Tanqi sat at the women's table. The two tables were only three feet apart, and there was no barrier in between, so he could see everything clearly.
Almost everyone present is a member of the Xie family, so there is no need to separate men and women to avoid suspicion.
Xie Shishan looked at Yu Tanqi clutching her handkerchief and looking at Jiang Shi worriedly, and couldn't help but teasing: "Prince Jiang is so handsome that our sister Tanqi can't take her eyes off him."
Yu Tanqi looked away, a little shyly: "Sister Shishan."
Xie Shishan held her hand and said, "Don't worry, my brother just wants to see if Prince Jiang has the ability. He won't make things too difficult for him."
"I understand." Yu Tanqi nodded slightly, but still looked at the man's table with some concern.
Jiang Shi is naturally capable, but now he is still enduring and lying low. He cannot reveal his talent, otherwise it will attract attention, which is not a good thing for him.
But if he didn't show his talents in front of the Xie family, the Xie family would definitely not let him take Yu Tanqi away easily.
No matter what he does, it seems difficult to have both.
Yu Tanqi sighed softly, his eyes filled with worry.
Why did Jiang Shi come to the Xie family in Chenjun to pick her up in person?
Her original plan was to take her dowry and go to the capital to join him.
Everyone in the pavilion had different thoughts.
Even when Jiang Shi was sitting, his back was still straight, his face was gentle, his eyebrows were clear and his temperament was noble and easy-going.
He could naturally feel Yu Tanqi's gaze. He looked at the teacup on the table, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl's sad look.
She was worried about him.
A strange feeling spread in his heart, but Jiang Shi didn't want to reject it.
The young man in blue slightly curled his lips, his appearance was gentle and elegant.
Xie Jing said, "Yesterday was the annual Flower Festival. Crown Prince Jiang was once a student at the Imperial College, so he must be very talented. How about we use the Flower Festival as the theme, have each of us write a poem, and then have the girls throw flowers to choose the best poem?"
The Xie family is a family of scholars with many years of heritage. They are best at reading, and writing poetry is not a difficult task for them.
Although Jiang Shi was once a student of the Imperial College, it was only "once upon a time". He never went to the Imperial College again after he was thirteen years old and had been studying at home.
Moreover, he is the eldest son of Marquis Wu'an, who was born into a family of military generals. As the eldest son, he should be best at martial arts, not literature.
Xie Jing used literature, which was the Xie family's strongest subject, to compete with Jiang Shi, the son of Marquis Wu'an, which was a blatant challenge.
Jiang Shi remained calm and composed, "I think Master Xie's suggestion is a good one, but I wonder if there will be any prizes in this poetry competition?"
Xie Jing said, "The prize is the red silk inkstone. What do you think, Prince Jiang?"
The Hongsi Inkstone is one of the four famous inkstones. It is very valuable and is the most sought-after inkstone by all scholars in the world.
Jiang Shi smiled slightly: "Since I want to participate too, you can't be the only ones to pay the prize. I will also pay a prize."
He paused, pondered for a moment, and then said, "The Wu'an Marquis's Mansion is different from the Xie family. I can only offer a hairpin as a prize. I hope you don't mind."
Buyao?
Xie Jing frowned slightly, thinking that this prize was a bit strange, but he didn't think much about it. "It's okay. If anyone among us wins your prize, we can give it to Sister Tan Qi."
Jiang Shi seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in his words and remained calm and composed. "The prize has been decided. Are there any other matters that require attention?"
Xie Jing said, "Each of us will use flowers as our subject and write a four-line, seven-character poem within half an incense stick of time."
He asked the servants to bring the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, "Let's start now."
The servants placed writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone for each of them and lit a stick of incense. When the incense was half burned, the contestants had to stop writing and hand in their papers.
The young masters of the Xie family were already accustomed to this kind of competition. After taking the pen and thinking for a while, they began to write poems.
They are definitely no match for Xie Jing, and today they are just serving as a pairing for him and Jiang Shi.
Jiang Shi took the wolf-hair brush and looked at the spotless white rice paper in front of him, lost in thought.
It was not difficult for him to write four seven-character poems about flowers, but the difficulty lay in how to strike the right balance.
It not only shows talents that satisfy the Xie family, but also is not too outstanding and amazing.
Xie Jing did not pick up his pen either. He was thinking about how to write a stunning four-line seven-character poem to surpass Jiang Shi.
Although he was born into a wealthy family and grew up with everyone's praise and expectations, Xie Jing did not look down on others. Instead, he was always humble and firmly believed that "there are people better than you and there are people beyond your reach". He never looked down on anyone.
Maybe Jiang Shi is really an uneducated fool as rumored, and he can't take it lightly.
Moreover, Jiang Shi's appearance did not look like that of an incompetent person with all appearance of beauty but rotten inside.
When Xie Jing looked at Jiang, the young man frowned and seemed to have difficulty writing. He held the pen and looked at the rice paper, but did not take the next step.
If someone saw this, they would think that Jiang Shi was indeed a mediocre person with an empty head. However, Xie Jing's eyes fell on his right hand holding the pen, and his lips were slightly pursed.
He had seen many people writing with pens, and he could tell whether a person was diligent and studious just by looking at their posture.
Jiang Shi's pen-holding posture is familiar and elegant. It must be that in the past ten years or so, he has rarely not held a pen to write.
Is such a person really an uneducated and mediocre person?
Xie Jing's expression became more serious. He withdrew his gaze, looked at the rice paper in front of him, and began to write after pondering for a while.
In this case, he doesn't have to worry anymore.
Jiang Shi wanted to take Yu Tanqi away from the Xie family, but he didn't show any real talent. Even if Yu Tanqi insisted on going with Jiang Shi, Xie Jing would not let him go easily.
How could such a good sister like Tan Qi entrust the rest of her life to an uneducated and incompetent person?
Xie Jing composed a four-line seven-character poem in a quarter of an hour. After he finished writing the last word, he put down the wolf-hair brush and looked up at Jiang Shi.
He seemed to have just started writing, and his movements were slow.
The young man's long eyelashes like black feathers drooped, the spring light fell on his body, and a white petal floated over from somewhere and landed in his hair. The picture was like a holy painting.
At this time, the incense stick was almost half burned, and there was less than half an hour left.
Yu Tanqi looked at Jiang Shi and covered his violently beating heart.
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