Shipin Dalizheng

The old man's face flushed with anger, and he waved his sleeves and said, "I am a second-class Jinshi. How can I be defeated by a brat like you? Just ask."

Rong Tang rolled up his sleeves and put his hands on his hips. "Then let me ask you a few simple common sense questions. Listen carefully. There are two silver notes on the street, one worth ten taels and one worth a hundred taels. Which one would you pick up?"

The old man said, "Do you think I'm stupid? Of course I picked up a hundred taels."

Rong Tang turned around and asked Rong Zhan, "What about you?"

Rong Zhan answered honestly, "I'll pick up both."

Rong Tang looked at the old man and said, "Look, you are not as smart as my guard."

The old man was embarrassed and said, "Your question is too frivolous. Who would throw money on the road when nothing happened... Then ask again."

"Well, don't accuse me of bullying you. I'll ask you the same question again. There are two silver notes on the road, one worth ten taels, and one worth one hundred thousand taels..."

The eldest man answered angrily, "Pick up both at once."

Rong Zhan looked at Rong Zhan again, and Rong Zhan was very helpless, "I only picked up ten taels."

The old man asked angrily, "Why?"

"Because Dai Viet doesn't have 100,000 taels of silver notes, if you pick it up you'll be arrested."

The old man choked on a mouthful of blood, unable to move it up or down, and nearly choked to death. Finally, someone noticed something was wrong and came up to help him, "Brother Su, go and take a break."

He looked at Rong Tang with a serious expression, thinking he had grasped the rules of Rong Tang's questioning. "I will answer your question, Lord."

"Well, just as the saying goes, good birds choose the right trees to inhabit, good wood also chooses the birds and beasts. Please listen to the question, why can toads fly into the sky?"

The man choked and said after a while, "A toad can't fly into the sky."

Rong Tang was too lazy to call Rong Zhan again, so Rong Zhan took the initiative to answer: "I ate the elixir."

The man was defeated and asked, "Is there any magic pill in this world?"

Rong Zhan said, "Since the toad flew up, it must be there."

The man was so angry that he was about to attack, but his companion stopped him. He glared at Rong Tang and said, "Okay, Earl Jian'an, continue asking questions, and I will answer them."

"Same question, why can snakes fly?"

The person who took over answered, "I took the magic pill."

Rong Tang and Rong Zhan said together: "Wrong."

The person who took over the baton blushed, "Why is it wrong? On what grounds is it wrong?"

Rong Zhan said, "The elixir was eaten by the toad and is gone. The snake flew into the sky after eating the toad."

What's going on with this chest pain? Seeing this young official also caught up in the vortex, unable to extricate himself, Wei Shangshu lost his patience and said, "Jian'an Bo, your question is so tricky, how can I answer it?"

Rong Tang spread his hands. "Tricky? They're all common sense questions. The last question is super easy. Listen carefully. Why can eagles fly into the sky?"

This question troubled many people, including Wei Shangshu, who were all supporters of King Rui. Seeing that no one dared to speak, King Rui was almost embarrassed. Wei Shangshu said in a trembling voice: "Eating toads and snakes."

"wrong."

Being rejected by everyone again, Minister Wei collapsed, "Why is it wrong? What's wrong?"

This time, Rong Tang looked around sympathetically, and finally fixed his gaze on Gu Zhongxun. "Master Gu, tell me, why is the eagle flying in the sky?"

Gu Zhongxun was confused for a while, but when he asked the question a second time, he suddenly understood.

"Why are eagles flying in the sky? Eagles can fly!"

Rong Tang sighed, "Hey... a stupid bird like this will break any piece of wood it steps on!"

"Rong Tang..."

Minister Wei's eyes were bloodshot, he was having trouble breathing, and was on the verge of collapse.

The servants of the Wei Mansion hurried to help him. At this moment, one of them ran over and said, "Sir, the old lady is holding a hearing in the inner hall in the backyard. Please come over and listen."

To put it bluntly, this chaste lady was a role model for noble ladies in the capital and a benchmark of morality. She had a privilege, which was that if she heard that a female member of a family had violated the virtues of a woman, she had the right to gather all the female members of other mansions to criticize them together. The reputation of the women in the harem who were criticized by her would probably be ruined for the rest of their lives.

"Grass."

Rong Tang cursed inwardly, this old hag really couldn't hold her fart in well, I don't know who she is bullying.

Prince Rui and Prince Huai exchanged glances, each revealing a spring-like smile. You called him "Third Brother" and he called him "Second Brother," showing their affection. They each put aside their own thoughts and walked ahead of the crowd.

Rong Tang also ended the ridiculous question and answer session and became the last one, waiting for Rong Wanli to appear.

As expected, Rong Wanli descended from a tree and said, "Master, Madam Wei is holding Miss Tang accountable."

Rong Zhan paused, "Can she still hold on?"

"Perhaps because of Madam Wei's status, Miss Tang didn't say much. It was Princess Zhaoling who blocked it for her."

Rong Tang was not too worried. When a person is criticized by everyone, as long as there is someone standing by her, she will not be too scared.

Songling Hall in the backyard.

Dozens of tables were placed in the side hall, divided into east and west sides. At this moment, Madam Wei, Zhenlie, pointed at Tang Tiantian and spoke righteously, "Miss Tang, I want to ask you, as a daughter, you supported your parents' righteous separation. Do you know your guilt? I'm asking you, don't hide behind Princess Zhaoling. Princess Zhaoling, as a Zhenlie Madam of the second rank, it is my duty to uphold the orthodoxy of Confucianism. If you insist on favoring Miss Tang, you are going against the Confucian ethics of the world. Even if I have to report you to the Empress Dowager, I will ask her to judge the matter."

Zhao Ling was about to speak, but Tang Tiantian held her back. She was a little nervous, feeling as if her throat was blocked by something. In the past, she would have stuttered, but today, she was fighting for her mother.

He took a deep breath and said, "Madam Wei, if I had known you sent me this invitation to publicly humiliate me, I wouldn't have come. The day before yesterday, you went to my grandmother's house, and my grandmother explained the cause and effect clearly. Your pressing me today won't change the outcome at all."

Madam Wei sneered, "So you still support your mother's decision to break up?"

"It's not that my mother is so determined to break up. It's that my father did something that my mother couldn't tolerate. If my mother continues to be married to my father, she will only suffer for the rest of her life. Since there is no love left between the two of them and they are tired of each other, why must they torture each other?"

"Because this is against etiquette!"

Madam Wei sternly declared, "As a woman, you should be respectful and obedient to your husband. This is virtue. As a daughter, you should be respectful and obedient to your father. This is filial piety. Your mother's divorce is an act against the will of Heaven and against Heaven. This is a violation of virtue. You did not dissuade her but instead supported her. This is treason. How can you live in this world with the dignity of such behavior?"

Tang Tiantian's face turned pale. Seeing the circles of men outside pointing at her, her heart trembled even more. "I... I..."

Suddenly, a familiar figure came into view. The man was not the tallest, and he stood lazily with his hands behind his back. In her eyes, he seemed to have infinite power.

"Madam Wei, I haven't read many sage books, and I don't understand those many rules and regulations. I only know that my mother has her own way in life. Since she feels she can't survive with my father, as a child, I must give her a chance to live. This is also a form of filial piety. If my ideas are not accepted by the world, I will set my mother free, even if it means my death."

Madam Wei's eyes widened in anger. "You only know you have a mother, but not a father?"

Tang Tiantian's mouth was filled with bitterness. "How Father has treated my brother and me over the years, Heaven and Earth know. He is my father, and perhaps he has undeniable authority. Now I only know that his suffering was not caused by my mother, but all of my mother's suffering was caused by him. I can't let him kill my mother."