Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 355 This is a riddle competition! It's also a contest of literary skills!
"The river water outside the window reflects the colors of spring."

Guess a medicinal herb.

Liu Wan'er tilted her head back and looked at the tall lantern, recited the riddle on it, and then turned to look at Zhu Yaoying.

“Miss, this is what you excel at.”

Zhu Yaoying disguised herself as an ordinary rich young lady and answered after only a moment's thought.

"Kong Qing."

"Azure?" Liu Wan'er paused for a moment, then turned to look at the Imperial Guard in charge of managing the riddles. "Is the answer to the riddle 'Azure'?"

The captain was quite surprised. Seeing the two men's extraordinary demeanor, he spoke much more respectfully.

"Ladies, you need to explain why before I can tell you whether it is correct or not."

Zhu Yaoying, already quite adept at this, answered each word clearly.

"This is a combination of the character '融' and '会意'. '窗前' (window) is interpreted as '穴' (cave), '江水泛' (river overflowing) is interpreted as '工' (work), and the two together form '空' (empty). '春色' (spring colors) is interpreted as '青' (green). This medicine is known for its 'green color like jade'."

The captain gave the two men a complicated look and presented them with his waist token.

"Congratulations to the two young ladies."

"It's almost mid-May."

The answer is Pinellia ternata.

"The husband has been gone for three years."

The answer is angelica root.

"The letter is blank."

The answer is Angelica dahurica.

Like overcoming numerous obstacles, the two pushed their way through the chessboard street, solving one mystery after another.

For the sake of speed, the two even wore specially made "Flying Cloud Boots" from Xishan, frantically traversing through Qipan Street.

The captain looked quite shocked when he handed over the waist token.

Liu Wan'er stepped forward and took the waist token, expressing her dissatisfaction with this rude behavior.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

The captain could tell that the two men were of extraordinary status; just from the pendants around their waists, they seemed to be people he could not afford to offend.

He quickly cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and explained.

"I apologize for any offense, ladies. I just felt that there were too many women solving riddles today. The Japanese woman and the two ladies were all outstanding, even more so than ordinary men."

Upon hearing this, Liu Wan'er was somewhat pleased, and she narrowed her eyes as she spoke.

"How do the two of us compare to that Japanese woman?"

The captain regretted talking to the two men. He didn't know their identities and was worried that he might get into trouble if he said something wrong.

I could only say it tactfully.

"Please forgive me, gentlemen. It is only right and proper that women of the Great Ming should not lose to women of Japan. Unfortunately, those Japanese women are extremely formidable. I have heard that many talented men from the capital sought to challenge them today, and they were all defeated, whether in poetry, prose, or debates on classical texts."

He seemed a little unsure of himself as he spoke, so he added another sentence.

"Many literary talents in the capital praised him highly and admired him greatly."

Liu Wan'er's face turned into a big bun of anger, but she didn't have time to argue with this person. She pulled Zhu Yaoying away.

“Miss, we don’t talk to people like that.”

The captain paused for a moment, scratched his head, and couldn't help but worry about his future.

After walking quite a distance, Liu Wan'er forced a smile and said, "Your Highness, we absolutely cannot let that Japanese woman steal the spotlight. Look at these riddles. Zhang Zhangwei still cares about you. Many of the riddles are about medicine and herbs."

Zhu Yaoying scrutinized Liu Wan'er and said, "Wan'er, you've been acting strangely lately. Have you received instructions from Zhang Shiyuan?"

Given Princess Zhu Yaoying's status, it was absolutely impossible for her to participate in this Lantern Festival. Liu Wan'er somehow came up with a plan to refer to the two of them under the name "Liu Yongning," and she even managed to obtain identification documents from the clinic.

Liu Wan'er looked embarrassed: "Your Highness, what are you saying? How could I possibly seek out Zhang Zhang, the head guard? I am a palace maid; how could I possibly have private dealings with someone outside the palace?"

Zhu Yaoying narrowed her eyes and said, "You are exceptionally skilled at solving these riddles today, which is something you weren't like before."

Liu Wan'er blushed and said, "That Japanese woman couldn't possibly have solved so many riddles by herself, could she? And there's Yu Shenxing, who came in third. Do you think these people can solve the riddles all by themselves?"

She waved her little fist.

"Your Highness, that Japanese woman harbors ill intentions. How can we sit idly by? She dares to steal Your Highness's man! This is outrageous!"

"But," Zhu Yaoying hesitated, "can we possibly win against that Japanese woman?"

"How could we possibly lose?" Liu Wan'er patted her small chest. "Your Highness, you can rest assured, Wan'er naturally has a way."

Zhu Yaoying looked suspicious, her attention focused on Liu Wan'er's bulging waist. This little girl had secretly received quite a few notes along the way.

However, it is understandable. After all, there are hundreds of riddles at today's Lantern Festival. If we were to solve them one by one, it would probably take until dawn.

Which of the top ten or so players didn't receive help from others?

While it was supposed to be a competition between individuals, it has, to some extent, evolved into a contest between various forces.

The answer is soapberry.

"The fruit of the soapberry is dark brown."

After a standard explanation, Hosokawa Iya took the waist token from the captain opposite him and put it into his pocket.

She hadn't gone far when she saw her father, Hosokawa Yusai, approaching, and she couldn't help but stop and bow.

"Father."

Without waiting for a reply, Hosokawa Yusai handed a stack of notes to Hosokawa Iya and said...

"We need to be even faster! We absolutely cannot let Liu Yongning overtake us. Today, we are determined to win!"

Zhang Yunxiu naturally considered the possibility of someone solving the riddles on his behalf, so everyone who participated had to use their registered identity documents to solve the riddles and receive a waist tag.

The riddle can be solved with someone's help, but only the person who goes to answer the question with the captain and receive the waist token must be the captain himself.

Hosokawa Iya knew that Hosokawa Yusai had gone to great lengths for today's events, spending countless sums of money to find scholars and officials in the capital, and even hiring people to stage a scene where a talented Japanese woman defeated a talented Ming scholar.

People in the capital of the Ming Dynasty are generally quite arrogant, but with a generous reward, some will be willing to put on an act.

Hosokawa Iya looked conflicted, but finally nodded and said...

"Please rest assured, Father."

Hosokawa Yusai looked on with anticipation: "Iyo, you're not just putting on a show, you have real talent. After the riddles comes the poetry competition. We're well prepared, let's see how the Ming emperor and his ministers respond!" In reality, it was already difficult for Japan to achieve victory over the Ming Dynasty, so this victory in literature and art was especially important.

At first, Hosokawa Yusai did not have high hopes. After all, it was on Ming territory, surrounded by Ming people. How difficult would it be to achieve victory here?
But recently he suddenly discovered that the capital of the Ming Dynasty was not a monolithic entity. With these complicated power struggles, he could actually snatch chestnuts from the fire!
"The list of successful candidates was announced at 11:45 PM. The first place winner in the Lantern Festival riddle-solving competition was Hosokawa Iya, the Japanese envoy, who solved 145 riddles. The second place winner was Liu Yongning of Renmin Medical Hall, who solved 137 riddles. The third place winner was Yu Shenxing, a scholar from Shandong, who solved 121 riddles."

As the gongs and drums sounded in the center of the venue, almost everyone heard the names of those who had passed the imperial examinations being announced.

Even from the city tower of Daming Gate, Zhang Juzheng and Shen Shixing could use telescopes to observe the situation below.

Shen Shixing couldn't help but sigh and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "This scene is really tense. That Japanese woman is far ahead, but that Liu Yongning is closely following. I wonder which talented person in the medical clinic he is. I hope he won't make our Great Ming lose face."

He didn't seem to care much. The Lantern Festival was all about sharing the joy with the people, but keeping the top scholar in the capital was a simple concept shared by all scholars of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng remained silent with his lips tightly pressed together, then slowly spoke.

"I think the Japanese woman will come out on top."

Shen Shixing turned his head with some surprise to look at Zhang Juzheng's expression, and in a moment he couldn't help but guess a lot of things.

Those in the know will understand that it is extremely difficult for ordinary people to win this riddle competition. The top three are probably all backed by someone.

The Japanese envoy had such great power upon arriving in the capital that he was able to gather so many scholars to help solve the riddle?

Even if the Japanese used a large sum of money to make a move, it would likely be completely under Zhang Juzheng's control. Yet, he did not react to the actions right under his nose, and his attitude was naturally intriguing.

Or was Zhang Juzheng also involved in facilitating the remarkable performance of the Japanese woman in the capital?

Shen Shixing was wildly speculating in his mind.

These things are unknown, but one thing is clear: Zhang Juzheng must have strongly opposed his youngest son Zhang Yunxiu marrying a princess, to the point that he would rather have a Japanese woman become his daughter-in-law.

After all, given the current strength of the Ming Dynasty, whether or not it can win first place at the Lantern Festival is not such an important matter.

But for the Zhang family, if Zhang Yunxiu were to marry the princess, it would be an enormous event.

Duke Zhu Yingzhen fled from the "Lucky Field" looking disheveled, muttering something under his breath.

"Oh no, oh no, another two thousand taels of silver have been spent! That damned Zhang Shiyuan, how can he keep coming up with these addictive things! He's a money pit!"

Zhu Yingzhen had only managed to escape the clutches of the futures market a few days ago thanks to the "addiction treatment class" at Renmin Medical Center, but now he has fallen into the trap of this "mooncake gambling" game, which is simply impossible to guard against!

Zhu Yinghuai had just finished his performance on the stage next to Aoshan Mountain when he rushed over to check on his older brother's condition.

Seeing that Zhu Yingzhen was unharmed and had come out on his own, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother, it's good that you can turn back on your own. I warned you a long time ago that you shouldn't play in this 'Lucky Draw' today, especially the 'ten taels' of silver. If you want to play, you can solve the riddles and still get some rewards. Isn't that wonderful?"

Zhu Yinghuai is now a famous performer at the Xishan Theater. Whether it is solo or duo crosstalk, he is highly regarded in Beijing.

Since the start of the Lantern Festival preparations in Xishan, there have been repeated internal orders strictly prohibiting Xishan youths from participating in gambling at the "Lucky Field".

In Zhang Yunxiu's own words, those are things for rich playboys to do. You are scholars, and scholars should act like scholars. It would be much better to guess riddles in your spare time.

"That's what he says every time!"

Zhu Yingzhen was somewhat indignant.

Every time Zhang Yunxiu comes up with something new, he always says something like "there are risks," "do as much as you can," and "do not get addicted." But it is precisely because of this that the nobles and officials who are looking for fun in their daily lives are still very happy to do so, and they always fall for Zhang Yunxiu's tricks.

However, you can't say anything bad about Zhang Shiyuan, since he did give you a heads-up.

Zhu Yinghuai said with a sigh, shaking his head, "Brother, you've forgotten again that there's no such thing as a free lunch. If you want something for nothing, you'll end up losing everything."

Zhu Yingzhen was completely baffled. He waved his hand and said...

"It's the same stuff Zhang Shiyuan lectured on again; these principles are as difficult to understand as riddles."

When the topic of riddles came up, he turned his gaze to the list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations not far away and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"The top scholar in this category is actually a Japanese woman! What are you scholars of Xishan Academy doing? How dare you allow a Japanese woman to run rampant in the capital of our Great Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Yinghuai looked helpless and spread his hands as he spoke.

“Brother, you don’t know, that Japanese woman is indeed formidable. In my opinion, her talent is second only to Junior Brother Gu. We disciples of Xishan cannot participate in today’s Lantern Festival.”

"In the literary world of Northern Zhili, none other than Xishan reigns supreme. It's not surprising that without Xishan's intervention, the Japanese woman has overwhelmed all others."

Zhu Yingzhen looked furious: "What kind of logic is Zhang Shiyuan spouting? He's letting the Japanese bully us like this!"

Zhu Yinghuai lowered his voice and said, "My mentor probably can't make the decision entirely on this matter either. I've heard that the Grand Secretary is involved."

Zhu Yingzhen didn't understand what he meant and started cursing.

"No, no! We absolutely cannot let the Japanese woman gain the upper hand."

As he spoke, he turned to walk outside.

Zhu Yinghuai asked with some surprise, "Brother, where are you going?"

Zhu Yingzhen left behind the words: "There's a casino in Qipan Street and Tongluo Lane. I'll bet a thousand taels of silver on Liu Yongning from that clinic to win!"

"elder brother!"

Zhu Yinghuai tried to stop him, but the other person disappeared into the crowd without looking back.

"Ugh, you really are incorrigible!"

He sighed helplessly, but the thought of the name "Liu Yongning" made him frown.

This sounds familiar, doesn't it?

However, he was not very familiar with the clinic, so he thought he should seek out Gu Xiancheng, Zhao Nanxing and others to find out some clues.

Inside a shop on Qipan Street.

Gu Xiancheng, his face ashen, slammed his hand on the table and said...

"This is intolerable! Those students from the Imperial Academy are actually helping Japanese women! They've abandoned all sense of shame for money!"

Gao Panlong also said angrily: "I heard that there are not only students from the Imperial Academy in the capital, but also the third-ranked Yu Shenxing, who has the help of Prince Lu and the Qingliu officials. Today's Lantern Festival is not just a simple celebration for the people, but a contest between the literary and academic circles in the capital!"

We absolutely cannot afford to lose!

Zhao Nanxing sat upright in his chair, clenching his fist as he spoke.

"We, the Donglin Society, certainly cannot stand idly by! Quickly gather our members and join forces to help Young Master Liu Yongning!"

Although he didn't know who 'Liu Yongning' was, since he was using the name of Renmin Medical Clinic, he must be one of his own.

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiancheng, who clearly knew the inside story, looked strange and couldn't help but correct him.

"It's not 'young master,' it should be called 'young lady.'"

(End of this chapter)