Chapter 46: The Young Master from an Aristocratic Family & the Tyrannical King (10)
It didn’t take long for scholars from all over the capital to take the exam. The inns with slightly better conditions in the capital are already full of people.
Every time there is a meeting, it is a good opportunity for restaurants in the capital to make a lot of money.
In order to attract these scholars rushing to take exams to spend money in their own restaurants, each restaurant tried their best and came up with various gimmicks to attract customers. Among them, the poetry competition held every time by Defin Restaurant was the most eye-catching.
Generally, the contestants in poetry contests are scholars who are studying, but Defan Restaurant is different. Every time it holds a poetry contest, it can invite many ladies from well-known families to participate or watch the competition.
The people of Daqi are open and open, and they also highly recommend women to study. If a lady is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, she is a good girl.
Since the ladies participating in the competition dare to participate in the competition, it is because they have some confidence in their own talents and learning, so that they have the confidence to compete with these scholars in poetry.
In order to prove their talents in front of these famous ladies, the scholars who participated in the poetry competition always performed with all their strength. After all, if one accidentally lost to a famous lady, it would not only be a shameful thing , and even people will question their talent and academic ability.
But this year, the poetry contest organized by Defan Restaurant actually came up with new tricks.
The restaurant owner gave out a blue wooden stick and a pink wooden stick to each table of customers who were consuming in his restaurant, saying that the people in the capital could vote to decide which scholar or lady was qualified to participate in the poetry contest.
The competition format of the Poetry Competition has changed from the original individual competition to a three-round team competition. The scholar team or the lady team must win two rounds to be considered victorious.
If the scholar team wins, each of the three participating scholars will get a chance to talk face to face with the great scholar of the day. And if the ladies team wins, each of the three ladies will get a rouge shop in a prosperous area of the capital.
As soon as the rules of this competition came out, the people in the entire capital found it quite interesting.
Now, before Defan Restaurant opens every day, the queue reaches the end of the street. Most of the people at the party went for the wooden voting tickets.
Many casinos also open markets for people to place bets on the candidates for the two teams.
After much anticipation, the day finally came when the voting results were announced.
As soon as the owner of Defin Restaurant posted the voting results, a crowd of people gathered around him.
The poetry competition in Defan Restaurant was so grand, so naturally Shen Rou knew about it.
Unlike other ladies who were full of expectations, Shen Rou wished she was not shortlisted. Ever since she knew about the existence of Fei Wu, she had been restless and had an ominous premonition in her heart.
As soon as Prince Wei returned to his house, he hurriedly found Shen Rou. He was smiling with joy and said in an excited tone: "Princess, you have been shortlisted for the competition."
Shen Rou originally wanted to use the fact that she was a wife and could not show her face in public as an excuse to refuse to participate. .
Before she could evade, she heard Prince Wei continue to say: "My mother-in-law specially told me about this two days ago, telling you that if you are shortlisted, you must try your best to win. We can just use this poem competition to recruit Those scholars who are proud of their talents."
Shen Rou opened her mouth, and seeing how excited Prince Wei was, she swallowed her rejection.
Since the list of contestants was announced, everyone in the capital has been speculating on what the outcome of the competition will be.
Some scholars got drunk in a restaurant and said with certainty that the scholar team they selected would definitely win. Women only know how to dress up all day long. How could they win in a poetry contest against scholars like them who are well-read in poetry? .
His words happened to be overheard by a passing lady from a well-known family. The lady composed a poem on the spot, which satirized some people who, although short-sighted and incompetent, were good at saying mean things.
After what the scholar said spread, it soon aroused the dissatisfaction of all the ladies in the capital.
They all approached the two wealthy ladies who were selected to compete, so that they would have to fight for their women. Even when Shen Rou went out to socialize, there was a wife who was indignant, so Shen Rou was bound to give a show of strength to those scholars who looked down on women in this poetry competition.
The day of the Poetry Competition soon arrived.
The owner of Defan Restaurant specially set up a poetry fighting arena in the open space in the middle of the restaurant.
Before the contestants even took the stage, many onlookers had already gathered in the restaurant.
Qin Yu and Ning Chen were also at Difan Restaurant today. They sat in the private room on the second floor and watched the lively scene downstairs.
I have to say that these contestants selected through voting are indeed extraordinary in literary talent.
The two parties in the first round of poem fighting were a young master from a small aristocratic family in the capital and a talented and famous lady.
Originally, both sides had their own winners and losers, but in the last round, the lady lost the round because she did not complete the poem within the specified time.
The results of the second round were soon announced. Another young lady won the second round with an absolute advantage.
Now, the result of the competition has also fallen into a stalemate. The two sides are tied. The result of the third round will determine the outcome of this poetry competition.
And this third round is also the round that the people and scholars in the capital are paying close attention to.
The Jiangnan area has always been rich in great Confucians, and Zheng Shipang, the scholar in the third round this time, is the grandson of a great Confucian in Jiangnan. Zheng Shifeng has been hailed as a child prodigy since he was a child, and his poetry and songs are truly inherited from his grandfather.
As for Shen Rou, the most talented woman in Daqi, her popular poems spread throughout Daqi before she married into Prince Wei's palace.
Therefore, the duel between these two people can be described as a tit-for-tat battle, which is particularly interesting.
Both of them had their own victories and defeats, and finally it was the final round that decided the outcome.
The players on the stage and the audience below became nervous at this moment.
The two young ladies participating in the competition and the wealthy ladies watching the competition in the private room upstairs secretly prayed for Shen Rou, hoping that she could defeat Zheng Shifeng and fight for their women to see if they would dare to say that women are inferior to men in the future. .
However, many scholars in the audience hoped that Zheng Shifeng could outsmart Shen Rou. After all, most of them had bet their money on Zheng Shifeng.
Moreover, if these three scholars were to lose to a woman in the end, wouldn't it be a disgrace to them as Daqi scholars? How can a majestic man lose to these weak women in poetry?
The owner of the poetry competition at Defan Restaurant announced the title of the last round: Bamboo.
When Shen Rou saw the topic of bamboo, she immediately remembered that she was a student in the School of Liberal Arts in her previous life. The teacher had shared Wang Anshi's famous article about bamboo with them during class.
She picked up the brush and quickly copied the poem that came to her mind onto the white rice paper.
Before Shen Rou finished writing, Zheng Shifeng submitted his poem to the judges of the Poetry Competition.
The judges of this poetry competition are two great scholars in the capital and the dean of the White Horse Academy in the capital. The owner of Defan Restaurant didn't know what method he used to invite all the judges to be these big shots.
When the judges saw the poem submitted by Zheng Shifeng, they looked at it with praise and nodded repeatedly.
Seeing the judges' reaction, Zheng Shifeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he had a relatively high chance of winning this competition.
After Shen Rou finished writing the poem, she asked the maid next to her to present the poem.
When one of the judges saw the poem, he couldn't help but slapped his desk: "What a poem!"
The dean of Baima Academy stroked his snow-white beard: "From this poem, we can see the tenacity and noble character of Princess Wei. There is a good saying, 'People who pity straight men are born thin, and they are expected to become stronger as they grow older.'"
Zheng Shifeng frowned when he heard this line recited by the dean of White Horse Academy.
The results of the three judges were announced soon. They all agreed that Shen Rou's poems were far better than Zheng Shifeng's. The final result of this poetry competition was that Shen Rou's lady team won.
Hearing that Shen Rou had won, the ladies from the famous families in the private room on the second floor were extremely happy. Princess Wei had gained a lot of face for these women this time.
Prince Wei was sitting in the private room on the second floor, looking lovingly at Shen Rou downstairs who was wearing a veil to cover her face. His princess was indeed the most talented woman in Daqi.
At the poetry competition, the three judges were exchanging opinions with Shen Rou about her poems.
Hearing the three judges praising the poem, Shen Rou's face hidden under the veil couldn't help but reveal a happy smile.
She said with a proud look in her eyes and a cheerful face: "I don't deserve such praise from you three. This poem is just a clumsy work that I just improvised on the spot. When I go back later, I will have to polish and refine the words of this poem to make it more perfect." It's good."
In order to show fairness, the owner of Defin's Restaurant ordered his servant to post the two's last works on the stage.
As soon as Shen Rou's poem was posted, everyone applauded and praised it, and some even took out pen and paper to copy it on the spot.
However, after Zheng Shifeng and other Jiangnan scholars saw Shen Rou's poems, their expressions changed again and again.
A scholar from the south of the Yangtze River approached Zheng Shifeng and asked in a low voice: "Brother Zheng, do you think this poem is a little too familiar?"
Zheng Shifeng said with a cold face: "Whether it is right or wrong, just ask You'll know."
Seeing Shen Rou about to step off the stage and leave, Zheng Shifeng hurriedly called out to her: "Princess Wei, please stay. I have some questions that I would like to ask you for advice." Shen Rou thought he was going to ask
her Asked about poetry, he smiled and nodded: "Please tell me."
Zheng Shifeng cupped his hands and asked: "May I ask Princess Wei if she knows Mr. Feikou?"
Shen Rou remembered this name as soon as she heard it. The one who took out the cement cube was Feiwu, but she had never heard the name Feikou.
Shen Rou shook her head and replied: "I have never heard of this gentleman."
Zheng Shifeng looked confused and continued to ask: "I just heard the princess tell a few adults that this poem was written by the princess on the spot. May I ask this? Is it true?"
Shen Rou suddenly felt something in her heart and had an ominous premonition. But she did say these words herself just now. If she said it back now, it would appear that she was guilty. She could only grit her teeth and nod to admit that she did say these words.