Fu Huang: Husband, here is a ginseng

"Now, I declare that the banquet officially begins!"

"Is there anyone who wants to perform a talent at today's banquet? Everyone can perform to your heart's content. The winner will be awarded a Jade Ruyi by me."

The emperor's words successfully attracted the attention of young talents and rich ladies, and even Huo Jinqian was successfully drawn back to their attention.

"I think we should have a competition, divided into three levels: poetry competition, arithmetic competition, and pot-tossing competition. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

The Queen then gave her own suggestions.

"I think it's feasible. Let's do as the Queen said. In each competition, the winner will receive a prize. What do you think?"

The emperor thought the queen's suggestion was very good. The banquet would be less fun without some talent show. He also wanted to see the talents of those young talents and young ladies.

"Your servant obeys your command!"

The minister's family members said in unison.

"To the winner, I will give him a colored glass cup."

The Queen also named her prize.

"I will also give you a coral tree."

The Queen Mother also named the prize.

"Since the Queen and the Queen Mother have both given rewards, I have decided that the prize for the poetry competition will be a coral tree, the prize for the arithmetic competition will be a glass cup, and the prize for the pot-tossing competition will be a jade ruyi."

"The first competition is poetry. Which gentleman or lady will go first?"

The emperor explained the rules of the competition and asked the minister's son and daughter to come first.

"Your Majesty, I will come first."

After the emperor finished speaking, a handsome young man, about fifteen years old, stood up. He was the grandson of Tutor Xie and the son of Hanlinyuan tutor Xie Jinyu.

"It is autumn now, and it is evening. I will use 'Autumn' as the theme and evening as the background to write a poem!"

"A ray of setting sun spreads over the water, half of the river is rustling and the other half is red. It's a pity that on the third night of September, the dew is like pearls and the moon is like a bow."

"I'm sorry for my humiliation!"

After Xie Jinyu finished reciting the poem, he said to the emperor, "I am sorry for the performance."

"What a good poem! What a good poem! A ray of setting sun spreads over the water, half of the river is rustling and half of the river is red. I really want to see such a beautiful scene."

"He is indeed the grandson of the Grand Tutor, the legitimate son of a reader in the Hanlin Academy, and a family of scholars. It is true that a good father will have a good son!"

After hearing this, the emperor was very pleased and praised Xie Jinyu highly.

"I am ashamed to accept this!"

Xie Jinyu said modestly.

The other ministers also praised it and discussed it in low voices.

Some ministers even disdained their own sons and grandsons, wondering how they could have given birth to such stupid sons and grandsons.

As for the female relatives, many famous ladies and young ladies admired Xie Jinyu and thought that only such a young man was worthy of them. They were all thinking about asking their parents to find an official matchmaker to go to Xie's house to propose marriage after they returned.

"Is there anyone else who wants to challenge Xie Jinyu?"

The emperor asked the sons and daughters of the ministers below.

"I will try my best to save you!"

Ma Jun, last year's top scholar and compiler of the Hanlin Academy, stood up and said to the emperor.

"Well, Lord Ma, you are extremely talented and well-read. I think highly of you!"

When the emperor saw that it was last year's top scholar, he was very pleased. He still remembered the essays and poems he wrote clearly.

"Your Majesty, thank you for the compliment! I am so ashamed to accept it! Then I will show you my humble performance!"

"Since Princess Xie chose 'Autumn' as the theme, I will also write a poem with 'Autumn' as the theme, and ask the Emperor to comment on it."

"Withered vines, old trees and dim crows, small bridges and flowing water, people's homes, the west wind and thin horses on the ancient roads. The sun sets in the west, and the heartbroken people are at the end of the world."

After Ma Jun finished reciting the poem, there was continuous applause from the audience. Some ministers shouted "good poem!"

On the female side, half of the ladies who had just thought that Xie Jinyu was a talented man and their dream lover, all turned to Ma Jun. It was just a pity that he had been taken by the daughter of the Minister of Rites, who had married last year. If they married him, they could only be concubines, so these high-ranking legitimate daughters disdained to be concubines. Only the concubines were thinking about how to meet Ma Lang by chance and hook up with him.

Ma Jun's wife, Yuan Min, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites, was so angry when she saw the infatuated woman next to her that she clenched her fists. She thought that if these shameless women dared to set their sights on her husband, she would tear them to pieces with her bare hands.

"What a beautiful sunset, with a heartbroken person far away!"

The emperor was very pleased and praised it highly.

He said that last year's top scholar was the best he had ever seen, and both his essays and poems were unique.

"I'm sorry for my poor performance. I hope Your Majesty will like it!"

Ma Jun said modestly.

No one could know that he was actually very happy in his heart. He was actually a double standard person, pretending to be humble and polite on the surface, but in fact he was gloomy in his heart, thinking that no one could compare to him, and he was a child of destiny.

"I like it! Are there any challengers?"

The emperor asked the people below.

The ministers were whispering about the poem. None of their sons dared to stand up. They knew that Lord Ma's poems were not as good as his.

In fact, most of them are playboys who spend their days either eating, drinking and having fun, or going out in groups to fight crickets and visit brothels. How could they write poetry?

The same is true for the female members of the family. These young ladies from prominent families spend their days either fighting to the death with their sisters at home, embroidering handkerchiefs, or attending banquets hosted by celebrities. How could they read or compose poetry?

"Father, I am here to recommend Princess Xiangyun. Not only does she know medical skills and can make magic weapons, she can also cultivate high-yield crops and make farm tools. Didn't your Majesty say that she is a role model for us women? I believe that poetry and songs will not be a problem for Princess Xiangyun, right?"

Suddenly, the Second Princess stood up and recommended Princess Xiangyun to the Emperor.

Everyone could see that this was a deliberate provocation by the Second Princess, intended to embarrass Princess Xiangyun.

As we all know, Princess Xiangyun came from the common people. She lived in the countryside when she was young and worked in the fields all day long. I believe she had no chance to learn to read and write. The Second Princess was just provoking her nakedly, wanting to embarrass Princess Xiangyun so as to avenge her for taking her seat.

This idea was not only thought of by the ministers present, but also by the emperor and empress.

The emperor and the empress glared at the second princess, thinking that she was narrow-minded and unworthy of being a member of the royal family.

This banquet was held for Princess Xiangyun. By making such a scene, isn't she just slapping me in the face?

Concubine Li also hated the Second Prince's wife with a vengeance, thinking that this daughter-in-law was more of a hindrance than a help, and was not worthy of her son at all.

The second prince also felt that his princess was ruining his plans, and was thinking of finding a reason to divorce her after the banquet.

The second princess's father broke out in a cold sweat, wondering how he could have given birth to such a daughter.

Murong Yuanbo and Liu Ningchu hated the Second Princess so much that they wanted to kill her for daring to embarrass her daughter.

The Gao family and the Sun family also hated the Second Princess. The two families were more afraid that Gao Zhijun would be humiliated and feel uncomfortable, but they could not help her.

Although Huo Jinqian was worried, he believed that Gao Zhijun could handle it. He silently remembered the Second Princess in his heart and would help his girl get revenge one day.

Only the Second Princess was happy. She had finally embarrassed Princess Xiangyun and finally vented her anger for today.