The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

The group, led by Lady Duanning, came to Changchun Restaurant in a mighty procession.

At this moment, the restaurant gradually became crowded with people. Most of the people sitting in the lobby were officials of low positions, or wealthy gentry. Hearing that the noble ladies were going to compete, everyone was very excited.

Shen Yan also went out with Lady Gu, the wife of Duke of Lu. After Chen Ke's leg was disabled, he became extremely violent. He smashed things in the room all day and injured several maids.

Gu was also worried that Shen Yan would be unhappy, so she took her out to relax. Shen Yan used the excuse of going to the bathroom to go downstairs to get some fresh air.

Before I even reached the hall, I heard two little maids chattering about words like competition, Ning'an Marquis' Mansion, and Duanning County Lady.

He signaled Lvliu to stop the two and ask what was going on. Not long after, Lvliu came back, looking as if she wanted to say something but stopped.

Shen Yan frowned and asked, "What's the competition those little maids were talking about?"

Luliu hesitated for a while and said, "It was the Princess of Duanning County who invited Mr. Suzhi to set a question for the competition."

"Then why did they mention Ning'an Marquis Mansion?"

"It was mainly a competition between the Fourth Miss and the Second Miss of the Su Shangshu Mansion. I heard that they even made a bet. It seems that the Fourth Miss used the reputation of the girl from the Ning'an Marquis Mansion to bet with the Second Miss Su."

"If Miss Su loses..." Before Lvliu could finish her words, Shen Yan turned around angrily and strode towards the place where the noble ladies were in the hall.

There was a boundary between the girls led by Shen Baozhao and the group led by Princess Duanning, just like the Chu-Han River. It was clear that the two sides were not getting along.

When Shen Yan saw this, she felt that Shen Baozhao was overestimating his own abilities and dared to use the reputation of Miss Manchu to gain fame for himself.

She walked up to Shen Baozhao, and before she could say anything, she grabbed Shen Baozhao's arm and pulled her upstairs.

Seeing this, Miss Su Er immediately stopped them and said, "We agreed to compete, are you afraid now?"

Shen Yan stopped dead in her tracks when she heard what Miss Su said: "Don't dare? How dare you say that? When have you ever been able to defeat me?"

"You..." Miss Su's cheeks were puffed with anger.

Although what Shen Yan said was the truth, the competitions among the noble ladies were extremely elegant. No one would talk about winning or losing. Even if they were always in first place, no one would rush to say it out.

Miss Su Er must have never thought that she would be humiliated in such an occasion.

She suppressed her anger, and as if she had thought of something, she raised the corners of her mouth slightly and said, "Shen Er, aren't you married? You don't have to worry about our affairs."

When Shen Yan heard Miss Su Er mention that she was already married, she reluctantly let go of Shen Baozhao's hand.

Indeed, in Kyoto, competitions were only between unmarried young ladies. Even the elders were not allowed to interfere too much. If the family intervened, it would involve a matter between two families.

Shen Yan just wanted to persuade Shen Baozhao not to participate in this competition, so she said to Baozhao: "Fourth sister, you have never participated in a competition, and you only know a little about music, chess, calligraphy and painting. You probably don't want to compete now, right?"

There was a hint of threat in Shen Yan's tone, and her eyes were fierce.

In her opinion, her fourth sister had not been particularly outstanding since she was a child. Maybe she was provoked by the Duan Ning County Lady and others to compete. Now that she was giving her a way out, she would definitely refuse to participate in the competition.

Unexpectedly, Shen Baozhao calmly walked to the opposite side of Su Erniang and said, "We have agreed to compete. If we don't have to compete today, I'm afraid the reputation of Miss Shen will not be good."

The latter sentence was said to Shen Yan. Who would have thought that Shen Yan would be even more angry when she heard her mention the reputation of the Shen family girl.

"Fourth sister, I know you want to be competitive, but you shouldn't use the reputation of the sisters in the mansion as a gamble for yourself."

"The talent of Miss Shen should be known to everyone in Kyoto. There is no need for you to add to her reputation. I advise you to apologize to everyone and give up the competition."

After hearing what Shen Yan said, everyone in Duanning County couldn't help laughing.

Shen Baozhao frowned. Shen Yan was such a fool. She jumped out to stop him before she had figured out the matter. If he really listened to her today, the whole Shen Mansion would become a laughing stock.

By then, my father and younger brother will be laughed at when they go out.

After thinking about it, he resisted the urge to slap Shen Yan in the face and said, "Second sister, we must compete. If you give in today, you will be too ashamed to go back to the mansion to see grandparents."

Seeing that Shen Baozhao was still unmoved, Shen Yan wanted Lvliu to take Shen Baozhao away.

Bao Zhao remained unmoved. Shen Yan became angry and said, "Fourth sister, you are determined to compete."

"Well, Fourth Sister, do you dare to declare that you will bear all the results of today's competition alone, and not on behalf of any other girls in the Shen Mansion."

Shen Yan was afraid that Shen Baozhao would affect her reputation, but she never expected that Shen Baozhao participated in the competition just for her.

What's more, it seems that Shen Yan, like Wang Shi, doesn't quite understand the principle that when one prospers, all prosper, and when one suffers, all suffer.

Shen Baozhao was forced to this point by Shen Yan. In order to continue the competition, he had no choice but to make the statement as Shen Yan said. He just hoped that Shen Yan would not regret it by then.

The nobles in the private rooms upstairs saw this little farce downstairs clearly. Some thought Shen Baozhao was overestimating his own abilities, while others thought Shen Yan was too snobbish.

The maid that Princess Duanning sent to invite Mr. Suzhi has returned.

Soon, Su Zhi, wearing a wide-sleeved green dress, came downstairs, with a graceful and graceful manner. The ladies saluted Mr. Su Zhi and then took their seats.

Mr. Su Zhi said, "I have heard that you ladies want to compete. In previous years, you have competed in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. This year, why not try something new."

"Let's try a flower fight. How about that?"

People at that time were particular about elegance, and every household had a greenhouse and tea room. Even noble families kept a group of people who grew flowers and plants.

Farmers don’t dare to say how much they know about flowers and plants, but young ladies from aristocratic families must have some knowledge of them. Every year in Kyoto, if a family grows a rare variety, they will definitely hold a flower-viewing event.

"Excuse me, Mr. Suzhi, what is flower fighting?" asked the young lady who was eager to try.

What the young lady asked was what everyone wanted to know. At this time, the windows of the private rooms in Changchun Restaurant were all open, and the nobles upstairs must have been paying attention to the movements in the lobby downstairs.

Mr. Suzhi said calmly, "It's very simple. Each participating young lady chooses a flower, and adds various matching flowers and grasses, and puts them in a vase. If the combination is good, and the conception and design are ingenious, then you will win, right?"

This is a novel way to play, and everyone has some ideas in mind. Flower arrangement is not only a test of thought, but also a test of personal aesthetics and knowledge, which can be regarded as a comprehensive test.

It's a bit difficult, but also very novel.

No one said anything.