Chapter 140 The Eighth Prince Dominates the Oiran
Zhao Lü advised, "Mr. Shen must have his reasons for doing this. Look, he even wrote a poem for me. If I can win the Flower Queen tonight, it proves that Mr. Shen still has skill."
"I don't believe it!"
Ninth Imperial Prince snorted, turning his grief and indignation into appetite, and once again picked up the pastries on the table to eat.
But after a few bites, he always felt it wasn't as satisfying as eating stewed wild vegetables and steamed buns earlier today.
Zhao Lü smiled, not arguing, and casually picked up an orange, peeled it, and broke off half to put in his mouth.
"Hiss, so sour."
He frowned and casually threw the remaining half on the table.
Seeing that half orange, Ninth Imperial Prince's movements suddenly paused.
He inexplicably remembered the old woman selling hawthorns that afternoon.
Earlier, he had seen her pick up a broken fruit from the ground, carefully blow off the dirt, and only eat the small, unrotten part.
Even if it was just a rotten fruit, the old woman ate it with great care.
If that old woman found this half orange, she would surely be very happy, right?
"Eighth Brother."
Ninth Imperial Prince's Adam's apple bobbed, and he said in a low voice.
"Don't waste food."
Zhao Lü looked at him in surprise, as if looking at some rare animal.
"Ninth Prince, what medicine did you take? Talking about waste with me? How much gourmet food is thrown away in your mansion every day, do you think I don't know?"
Ninth Imperial Prince's face instantly turned red, he opened his mouth, but found that he really had nothing to refute.
He used to be quite wasteful with food, eating half and throwing away half, completely unconcerned.
But today, he suddenly felt a pang of pity for that half orange.
Just then, a burst of boisterous human voices suddenly came from downstairs.
Immediately after, the melodious sound of a zither rose like flowing water.
"Gentlemen, young masters! The Flower Queen is making her appearance!"
Madam's signature duck-like voice rang out, and the atmosphere of the entire Drunken Immortal Tower was instantly pushed to a climax.
A woman dressed in white, with her face covered by a light veil, was seen holding a pipa, gracefully walking onto the stage.
Although her full face could not be seen, her figure and temperament were enough to make all the men in the hall go wild.
After one song, the lingering notes echoed.
Miss Suyin's red lips parted slightly, her voice clear and cool as jade: "This humble one composed a new song last month, but has yet to find suitable lyrics to match it.
I wonder which young master has prepared lyrics. If they can please this humble one's eyes, tonight, Suyin is willing to spend a wonderful night with him."
As soon as her words fell, the entire place became agitated!
They had racked their brains for this day, and many were eager to try their luck with their own masterpieces.
Zhao Lü took a deep breath and straightened his robes.
He hesitated for a moment, but still handed up the half-finished poem he had painstakingly written.
After Miss Suyin returned to her room for a long time, Madam finally came out to announce the results.
"It is regrettable that none of the compositions today were favored by Miss Suyin. Please return tomorrow, gentlemen."
Amidst a chorus of disappointed sighs, everyone prepared to go home.
Zhao Lü gritted his teeth, suddenly stood out, pulled out the paper Shen Yulou had written from his bosom, and then took out a silver ingot and gave it to Madam.
"Wait! Please trouble you to send this to Miss Suyin for her to see again!"
Several acquaintances among the young masters nearby saw this and all laughed.
"Young Master Zhao, forget it. Miss Suyin has high standards, don't waste your effort."
"Exactly. I paid a hefty sum to have the current top scholar, Lord Zhang Xinjie, write for me, and Miss Suyin didn't even like that. Don't try to be strong."
Zhao Lü, however, ignored them, staring nervously upstairs.
Not long after, Madam was seen running down from upstairs like she had seen a ghost, her face filled with undisguised joy.
She rushed to Zhao Lü, her voice changing pitch from excitement.
"Congratulations, Young Master Zhao! Hearty congratulations, Young Master Zhao! Miss Suyin said that your poem is a work of celestial beings! Tonight, Young Master Zhao will have the Flower Queen all to himself!"
Boom!
The entire Drunken Immortal Tower erupted.
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on Zhao Lü!
"Damn! Young Master Zhao is awesome!"
"Young Master Zhao, accept me as your disciple! Teach me how to write poems and pick up girls!"
Zhao Lü's vanity was satisfied to an unprecedented degree at this moment. He straightened his back, feeling that his life had reached its peak.
He glanced triumphantly at the dumbfounded Ninth Imperial Prince, and whispered:
"See? Ninth Prince, I told you Mr. Shen was extraordinary!"
After speaking, amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, he swaggered upstairs, not forgetting to turn back and say to Ninth Imperial Prince before leaving.
"Ninth Prince, rest well. You still have work to do tomorrow!"
Ninth Imperial Prince:... Watching Eighth Brother's dashing figure ascend the stairs, and then thinking about having to feed pigs for Butcher Wang tomorrow, Ninth Imperial Prince's heart shattered into tiny, tiny pieces.
He stared blankly at the table full of almost untouched fruits and pastries, silent for a long time.
"Gaosheng."
"Your Highness?"
"Pack all of these up and take them with us."
...Shen Yulou returned to the palace.
For this operation today, he gave himself ninety-nine points, deducting one point for fear of becoming arrogant.
His grasp of the personalities of these two princes was quite accurate: the Eighth Prince responded to persuasion but not force, while the Ninth Prince responded to force but not persuasion.
These two princes were too picky eaters.
Look at the Consort, she could make soft food hard and hard food soft.
That's called skill.
Just as Shen Yulou was reminiscing about the Consort, a familiar young eunuch rushed over in a panic, almost tripping and falling in front of him.
"Lord Shen! I finally found you!"
"The Empress urgently summons you!"
Shen Yulou raised an eyebrow.
The Empress?
What does she want with me in broad daylight?
Isn't that inconvenient?
He followed the young eunuch, jogging all the way into Kunning Palace, and immediately felt a low pressure.
The Palace Maids and eunuchs were all like quails, shrinking their necks, not daring to breathe loudly.
Inside the inner hall, the faint sound of a little girl crying could be heard, sobbing intermittently, which made one's heart ache.
As soon as Shen Yulou entered, he saw the Empress holding Princess Qionger, her willow-like eyebrows tightly furrowed, her face full of worry.
Princess Qionger's little face was red from crying, one small hand covering her cheek, tears falling like broken pearls.
"Minister Shen, you're finally here!"
The Empress, seeing him, seemed to have found a savior.
"Your humble servant greets Her Imperial Majesty the Empress."
Shen Yulou bowed, his gaze falling on Princess Qionger.
"What's wrong with the Princess?"
"Toothache..."
Princess Qionger pouted her small mouth, spitting out two words aggrievedly, and tears welled up again.
An old imperial physician next to her replied nervously: "Reporting to Lord Shen, Her Royal Highness the Princess is changing teeth. The new tooth has already grown out, but this baby tooth has not fallen out, which is why it hurts so much. Logically, pulling it out would solve it, but Her Royal Highness the Princess..."
The old imperial physician didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.
The little ancestor wouldn't let anyone touch it!
Let alone using pliers to pull the tooth, even if a feather was brought close, the Princess would cry as if her life depended on it, making a huge fuss.
The Empress sighed and said softly to Qionger.
"Qionger, be good, let Mr. Shen take a look, alright? Have you forgotten, last time you were sick, it was Mr. Shen who cured you."
Shen Yulou would soon become the head of the Imperial Academy, and naturally, Princess Qionger's teacher in the future.
So the title could be changed.
However, the Empress felt that calling him 'husband' was more natural