May I strive for the well-being of all people, and live up to the promise of a glorious future! Guagua, tell me, should I compose a poem like "Drinking Alone Under the Moon," or a piece like "Ascending the Heights," or perhaps a "Spring River Flower Moon Night"? Any of these would surely outshine those four demons!
After having a private conversation with Guagua, Shen Mingzhu looked at Xiao Yanzhi and the other three with great sympathy.
Crown Prince Yan Beichen was filled with excitement. "Make them all!"
Let me witness the Crown Princess's literary talent.
Xiao Yanzhi was stunned for a moment, and a bad premonition suddenly rose in his heart.
The same bad feeling was shared by the "people" in the other private rooms of Tianxiang Tower and the ministers who had placed their bets on Xiao Yanzhi, a popular candidate for the top scholar.
But they dared not show themselves.
They were afraid Shen Mingzhu would find out, especially if she discovered they didn't support her and had even bet on her to lose...
They quickly shook their heads; the consequences would be unimaginable!
[Host, you're so noble, do you think I'd believe you?]
[Guagua, you've gone astray!]
[Hehe~~~ Host, you're mistaken. I've always been your most loyal partner!]
By this time, Shen Mingzhu had already eaten half a plate of pastries and glanced at the crowds at Tianxianglou.
The area outside was packed with people, and the storyteller's lips were practically burning from exhaustion. It was truly a wonderful performance!
After quickly wiping her hands, Shen Mingzhu looked at Crown Prince Yan Beichen.
"Brother Crown Prince, I need to trouble you to write this for me."
Yan Beichen smiled happily.
"It would be my great honor."
Immediately, all the writing implements of Tianxianglou were prepared, and everyone held their breath, waiting for Shen Mingzhu's masterpiece.
Shen Mingzhu gave Xiao Yanzhi a strange smile and began to recite...
"Have you not seen the Yellow River's waters come from the sky, rushing to the sea never to return? Have you not seen the bright mirror in the high hall reflecting white hair, black as silk in the morning, white as snow by evening?"
Upon hearing the first two sentences, Xiao Yanzhi and the others turned ashen-faced.
They lost!
Emperor Jingyuan wasn't particularly interested at first, and he was happily sitting at the table having a couple of drinks with a few people.
Upon hearing the first two lines of Shen Mingzhu's poem, he immediately got up and went to the corridor railing, staring intently downstairs.
Emperor Jingyuan got up, and his little Lakami naturally followed closely behind, especially Shen Changyuan, who wished he could go downstairs and write it himself.
He's her own father!
Father and daughter working together makes the work easier!
It might even become a legendary tale!
When everyone heard what happened next...
"Enjoy life to the fullest when you're successful, for your golden goblet will never be empty before the moon; Heaven has endowed me with talents, which will surely be put to use; though a thousand pieces of gold are spent, they will return!"
Everyone gasped in shock.
With such literary talent, if all the talent in the world were to be counted as eight-tenths, then Miss Shen would possess seven-tenths of it!
Those in the know looked at the Second Prince Yan Yunxuan with a hint of sympathy. He really lost a watermelon but gained a sesame seed. They wondered if he regretted it!
Yan Yunxuan had no idea what everyone was thinking at the moment; all he could see was Shen Mingzhu shining!
How holy!
What a nice view!
He felt that his wife should be just like that!
Crown Prince Yan Beichen: This younger brother should be exiled to Ningguta!
In the end, Xiao Yanzhi seemed to be hit hard and fell heavily to the ground.
"Young Master Xiao!"
"Xiao Yanzhi!"
"What happened to you!"
The three of them shouted in unison, fearing that something had happened to him.
He lost!
This wasn't what he found most unacceptable; rather, it was because he was so proud of his literary talent that he was struck by the bold and unrestrained lines of poetry, "Heaven has endowed me with talents that will surely be put to use, and even if I spend all my money, it will come back again," leaving him with a ringing in his ears.
It's his own narrow-mindedness that's the problem!
He shouldn't have underestimated or despised Miss Shen just because she is a young woman.
He still has so much to learn!
[Guagua, how was that! One move and I've got it all figured out!]
[Host is awesome!]
Haha~~~ Thank you, Guagua! I am a person of few words but decisive action!
[Host, why are you so mean!]
I learned it from you!
At that moment, Shen Mingzhu was unaware that, long, long afterward, her deeds would still have a profound impact on the hearts of many students.
The defeat is inevitable.
Xiao Yanzhi stood up and stepped forward.
"Miss Shen, I will instruct the manager here in Shengjing to be ready to deliver the goods to the Shen family!"
After saying that, he quickly wrote a note and then took out his personal seal from his sleeve and stamped it on.
"I am completely convinced today, and I will seek further guidance from Miss Shen in the future."
After speaking, the group pushed through the crowd and walked out of Tianxiang Tower.
Shen Mingzhu immediately ran to the betting area, grabbed all the silver notes, and chuckled to herself.
They're all hers!
The others gathered around Crown Prince Yan Beichen, taking out their pens to copy the text.
Such beautiful lines of poetry.
A masterpiece for all time!
In the days to come, when they think back to this day, their blood will boil with excitement!
At this moment, Shen Mingzhu's smiling face contrasted sharply with Shen Jiaojiao's gloomy expression.
"Sister, look! Everyone bet on their entire fortune, it's all just a joke, you'll surely understand, right?"
Shen Mingzhu looked at Shen Jiaojiao with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.
"You're so amazing, the Leshan Giant Buddha will rise up and let you sit! By the way, didn't you say you were going to help your eldest and fourth brothers pay back the money? I believe the Second Prince's Xuanwang Mansion keeps its word, right?"
"Yes, a person without integrity cannot stand! So many people are watching!"
"Eldest brother, fourth brother, you two follow the Second Prince and Consort Shen and make sure to get the silver back. Don't let them lose faith in you, or you'll be in deep trouble!"
"Understood, little sister! We'll go get the silver notes back!"
"Elder sister..."
"What sister? Please call me Shen Mingzhu, Young Miss Shen, or the official Lord Shen. My mother only gave birth to one daughter, me."
"You!"
After saying that, Shen Mingzhu happily hugged the silver notes and went upstairs!
Upon seeing this, Crown Prince Yan Beichen also followed suit.
Enraged, Shen Jiaojiao chased after them upstairs.
"Shen Mingzhu, don't go too far! I'm an imperial concubine now, you better be polite, or else I'll..."
The Second Prince Yan Yunxuan and Shen Jiaojiao were completely stunned.
Can someone tell them how the emperor ended up at Tianxiang Tower?
"You're a prince's concubine? Otherwise, what are you trying to do?"
"What are you two trying to do by threatening high-ranking officials of the imperial court?"
The two were so frightened that they immediately knelt down.
"Father, I just wanted to explain to Lord Shen that there was some misunderstanding before."
"Father, there's been a misunderstanding between my sister and me!"
"Alright, I don't want to hear your excuses. I was upstairs just now and saw everything clearly. Second Prince, you'd better watch yourself."
"Get back to your residence and be confined for a month. As for you, copy 'Women's Virtues,' 'Women's Admonitions,' and 'The Classic of Filial Piety' one hundred times!"
"Yes, Father."
"Get back to your residence!"
...
Inside the private room, Prince An and General Tian Xuezhou were extremely excited!
It's out!
It's out!
Shen Mingzhu happily gave Prince An a thick stack of silver notes, totaling 20,000 taels.
In the blink of an eye, he made a net profit of ten thousand taels!
Tian Xuezhou also received one thousand taels of silver.
At first, General Tian Xuezhou thought it was good to be knowledgeable, because he could earn so much money in such a short time.
As for Shen Changyuan and his two sons, they all wisely refrained from asking Shen Mingzhu for money.
[Guagua, how many more suckers like this are we going to get!]