I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

Mr. Zhang frowned: "I'm willing to accept the consequences of my bet, no questions asked. But what do you mean by saying it's inappropriate?"

Xu Qing said seriously, "If the Prince of Jin's heir spends all his time pondering the affairs of the state, it might cause people to have doubts..."

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Jin's eyes widened, and he stood up abruptly.

"Shut up! How dare you speak ill of this young master..."

The two "servants" in the corner also suddenly stood up!

The remaining guests immediately fell silent, trembling with fear...

Xu Qing really dares to speak her mind!

A prince's son who talks about the country and its people all day long is practically guilty of treason!

Only the emperor could say that.

If it were someone else, as a subject, it could be said that they were sharing the ruler's burdens.

You're just a staff member in a prince's palace, what are you talking about regarding the monarch and the state...

That's a grand scheme!

Regardless of what the Prince of Jin's true thoughts were, he dared not take the blame in front of everyone.

"Guards, take him away for uttering nonsense..."

The Crown Prince of Zhao gave a cold smile and stood up.

"Brother, that's not right. The couplet was created by your Mr. Zhang. Even if Young Master Xu didn't say anything, others would still speculate. By not restraining Mr. Zhang and criticizing others in public, you're only making people think you're sore losers..."

"You!" The Prince of Jin pointed at him, stammered twice, but ultimately said nothing.

Explaining something is just covering it up, and covering it up means there's a story behind it.

The more you talk, the more mistakes you make.

The more you try to explain, the worse it gets...

He turned his head and stretched out his arm.

slap~

He slapped Mr. Zhang.

"What a terrible first line of a couplet you came up with!"

"I was wrong. I am a scholar, and it is perfectly normal for me to worry about the emperor," Mr. Zhang said hastily, not daring to cover his face.

Then he bent down and bowed deeply.

He bent over so low that his back was almost level with the table, and he held that position for a full ten breaths before straightening up.

His voice was much lower than before, and it could be said that he had lost all fighting spirit.

"A petty person has no disloyal intentions."

"Today, I have lost. Are you satisfied?" The Prince of Jin snorted coldly and left with his men.

Before they even came downstairs...

With a "smack"...

The Crown Prince of Zhao was the first to applaud.

Next was Li Yan, then his two classmates, then Headmaster Zou Linchuan, and then everyone in the hall.

The applause went from sporadic to continuous, rising like a tide and filling the entire second floor.

Some people were banging on the table, and others were shouting, "That's right!"

Someone shouted, "This really gives Hengyang County a sense of satisfaction!"

"Young Master Xiao is impressive, and his study companion is impressive too!"

"Our Hengyang County also produced a literary genius!"

The atmosphere suddenly exploded.

Mr. Zhang followed behind the Prince of Jin. When they reached the door, he paused and glanced back at Xu Qing.

He didn't say anything, but simply cupped his hands in greeting and strode out.

Chen Shijin stood there, his face even more unpleasant than that of the Prince of Jin's heir.

His hand gripping the folding fan was trembling, and his teeth were grinding together.

Zhou Kang muttered something to himself, but was glared at by him and shrank back.

Without saying a word, he flicked his sleeve and led his men away down the side staircase.

Zhou Kang and Sun Decai followed behind, not uttering a single word the entire way, slipping away as if their feet were greased.

The atmosphere in the hall immediately relaxed.

Xiao Mingyuan was the first to jump up, his bulky body "whooshing" to Xu Qing's side, and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Did you see Mr. Zhang's face? The look in his eyes when he left was the same as when you peed on the back of his neck!"

Li Yan walked over, cupped his hands in greeting to Xu Qing, and spoke with a more serious tone than he had ever spoken to anyone else: "Young Master Xu, if you need any help at the academy in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."

Xu Qing smiled and returned the greeting.

Zou Linchuan stood up from his chair, stroked his beard, walked over, glanced at Xu Qing, then at Xiao Mingyuan, and finally said nothing, just humming a little tune as he swayed downstairs.

The tune he was humming sounded like the tune of "Zhuangyuanlou," but it was off-key, clearly something he made up on the spot.

Su Man stood at the top of the stairs, looking at Xu Qing who was surrounded by people, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

She turned her head and whispered to Cui'er, "Go and investigate Xu Qing's background. He can't possibly be a page who just popped up on the spot."

Cui'er nodded and quietly slipped out.

In the corner, the "servant" dressed as a servant finally put down the osmanthus cake in his hand.

His companion nudged him with his toe and whispered, "Let's go."

He looked away and stood up.

The two silently retreated through the back door.

As they reached the corner of the stairs, the handsome young man in the worn scholar's robe suddenly stopped, turned around, glanced at Xu Qing, who was surrounded by people in the hall, and smiled slightly.

"interesting."

Then the two turned around and went downstairs.

No one noticed them.

But as Xu Qing was surrounded by people chatting and laughing, she glanced at the back door and caught a glimpse of the "servant" walking downstairs with his head down.

The way he walks doesn't look like someone who does manual labor.

Xu Qing didn't look at it for long. She looked away, picked up the tea that Xiao Mingyuan handed her, and took a sip.

By the time the banquet ended, it was already dark outside the window.

Lanterns were lit one after another, illuminating the area in front of the Zhuangyuan Tower.

The guests left in twos and threes, each person glancing at Xu Qing a few times as they passed by.

Several local literati even stopped and bowed, saying "Young Master Xu is highly talented," which made Xu Qing nod somewhat awkwardly.

As Xiao Mingyuan walked, he kept slapping his thigh in reverie, repeating Mr. Zhang's words "I admit defeat" over and over again six or seven times, as if he wanted everyone on the street to hear them.

As soon as the two stepped out of the Zhuangyuan Tower, Cui'er chased after them from behind: "Young Master Xu, please wait! My young lady says she has a few words she would like to say to you privately."

Xiao Mingyuan glanced at Xu Qing, who nodded: "I'll go up and take a look."

Although Xiao Mingyuan looked curious, he didn't ask any more questions. He touched his double-layered chin, put his hands in his sleeves, and left.

Xu Qing followed Cui'er up to the second floor.

The people in the hall had all left, leaving only Su Man sitting by the window with a freshly brewed teapot and two cups in front of her.

She gestured for Xu Qing to sit down, poured him a cup of tea herself, and then got straight to the point:

"Young Master Xu, your talent is clearly also very high."

Xu Qing picked up her teacup, took a sip of tea, and didn't rush to answer.

The tea was warm and just right for drinking; it was clearly brewed precisely at the moment he sat down.

Su Man waited for him to swallow the tea before speaking again:

"What happened today will be all over Hengyang by tomorrow morning. The pageboy has defeated Mr. Zhang from the capital... This will soon become the name of Xiao Mingyuan's pageboy. But not many people know the name Young Master Xu yet."

Xu Qing put down his teacup and looked at her: "What does Miss Su want to say?"