Male superiority and female superiority: forced love

Are you going to be on stage again so soon?

Ruan Chuyin swallowed the lotus pastry in her mouth, took two sips of hot tea, and hurriedly stood up and stood back in the center of the hall.

The two beautiful figures once again attracted everyone's attention.

Since ancient times, scholars have been considered more than ordinary people. After witnessing Ruan Chuyin's painting skills, they became extremely interested in the upcoming competition. Cai Daru, in particular, offered his services to the Emperor of Dayong. Seeing this, the Minister of Rites, Yue Heng, also became interested and offered his services.

Emperor Yong had this in mind, and he immediately asked Yan An, the Minister of Personnel who had won the top three places in the imperial examination that year, to review the article. The topic was personally drafted by Jiang Wenzhou.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became lively, especially for the young men who loved to write, who sat upright, their eyes fixed on the topic of poetry.

Among the noble ladies present, only Cao Ranyue and Cai Lei had some talent in poetry, while the others, including Her Royal Highness the Princess, had almost no literary talent and their writing was poor.

Jiang Wenzhou put down the cup in his hand, looked at the bright figure of Magnolia in the hall, and quickly made plans in his mind.

After three rounds of competition, Ruan Chuyin has already won one round. As long as she wins one more round, it doesn't matter whether she competes in the last round or not.

Princess Qinghe had taken the initiative to propose a poetry contest, so she must have been quite confident. And Ruan Chuyin hadn't raised any objections, which showed she was quite confident as well. So, then...

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly noticed the two small hands of the delicate girl in front of him twisting fiercely. He suddenly swallowed the question he had prepared.

Yes... Not sure? He kept looking at her for confirmation, but that furry little head kept lowered for some reason, leaving him helpless.

After pondering it over again and again, he made up his mind and said softly, "My two noble ladies, please listen to the question. The content of the poem I want to ask is not limited, but it must be expressed in palindrome. The time is still half an incense stick."

As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

The three commentators stared at the prince in astonishment. He looked as if he had been struck by lightning, burnt on the outside and tender on the inside.

Emperor Dayong couldn't help but frown slightly and stared at Jiang Wenzhou in confusion for a long time.

Palindrome poetry is incredibly difficult. Excellent poems that survive today are few and far between. Is it appropriate to give two girls such a tricky topic? Even if he were to write one, he wouldn't necessarily be able to produce a decent one!

Sun Wanning was dumbfounded. How could she possibly make it in half an incense stick? Even if she were given ten incense sticks, she wouldn't be able to do it! Her face turned pale and red, and she was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

Ruan Chuyin, on the other hand, seemed much calmer. Upon closer inspection, the corners of her lips seemed to be slightly raised.

It's fate again. As a brilliant university student who's weathered two storms of adversity, how could I not have a few brilliant palindrome poems in my head? Is this any different from giving away points? I could only repeatedly suppress the corners of my lips that kept curling up, feigning composure.

Jiang Wenzhou looked at Princess Qinghe, who was filled with fear and tears, and Ruan Chuyin, whose lips were twitching slightly, and the stone in his heart finally fell.

"Isn't this question too difficult, Your Highness?" Lu Yinnian questioned unhappily. He knew Sun Wanning's abilities well, and he knew there was no way he could answer it.

Prince Beiyue expressed everyone's thoughts. Even Jiang Xuanzhou, who desperately wanted his wife to lose, had to admit that the question was overly tricky and seemed like a challenge. But why did Jiang Wenzhou do this?

The three commentators held back their suspicions, remaining silent. At this moment, no matter how many opinions they had, they couldn't question their own prince!

Is it difficult? Jiang Wenzhou raised a smile as bright as the spring breeze and said nonchalantly, "If they both answer it, what's the point of competing?"

Is that right?

This may sound reasonable at first, but upon closer examination it seems not to be the case at all.

If you can answer everything, what's the point? If you can't answer anything, then what's the point?

Lu Yinnian understood his intention in an instant, a hint of astonishment flashed across his eyes, and then he burst into laughter.

"Okay." He stretched out the ending tone lazily, with a smile on his face.

"In that case, Qinghe, you should do what you are able to do this round." As soon as the words fell, the narrow and starry eyes glanced at Jiang Wenzhou again.

Sun Wanning glanced at Ruan Chuyin from the corner of his eye, noticing she hadn't put pen to paper yet. His anxiety gradually subsided. In times of crisis, human potential is immense, and all impossibilities might be overturned at this moment.

Everyone watched with bated breath, secretly sweating for the two of them. Many of them also silently answered in their hearts.

"Leilei, if this were you, would you be confident?" Liu Dongxiang nudged her arm, her eyes still fixed on Ruan Chuyin's. Her friend had finally started writing! She was so nervous she could barely breathe.

"Don't even mention me. Even my dad might not be able to come up with a good one in such a short time. But he has written two pieces before that have never been published. If I were to compete, I would definitely win."

Liu Dongxiang turned away in shame. This was the first time in her life she'd heard someone describe cheating as so refreshingly refined. She'd taken the work of a leading scholar to a competition, and even if she won, what good would it do? Could anyone actually believe she'd done it herself?

With everyone eagerly waiting, the incense and candles finally burned to the agreed length.

Since it was Sun Wanning who first proposed the poetry competition, she was the first to show her work to everyone.

The Minister of Rites Yue Heng was the first to step forward and read the poem aloud.

The paths wind around the sloping peaks, and the towering rocks connect the mountains.

Birds are playing among the flowers, and cicadas are chirping in the dense trees.

(Selected from "A Palindrome Poem in the Back Garden" by Wang Rong during the Northern and Southern Dynasties)

He nodded silently and commented, "The handwriting is beautiful, the couplets are neat, the artistic conception is joyful, and it's quite interesting."

After hearing this, Cai Zhiyuan stroked his beard and rose to the stage. In his opinion, Princess Qinghe's calligraphy was even more striking than her poetry. Her regular script, written like a gentle breeze, was meticulously crafted, gentle yet with a touch of strength, a truly pleasing sight. Among the female students at Songshan Academy, including his own daughter, none could match hers. He couldn't help but cast a few more meaningful glances at the Crown Prince of Beiyue.

After listening to the comments of his two colleagues, Minister of Personnel Yan An felt that they were very pertinent and nodded in approval without further explanation.

Everyone turned their attention to Jiang Wenzhou and Emperor Dayong, wanting to hear what they had to say.

Jiang Chenfeng hadn't been deeply attracted to a woman in a long time, and he increasingly wanted to snatch this delicate flower away and make it his own. He didn't comment, but turned to look at the prince and asked calmly, "Wenzhou, what do you think?"

"I think it is quite rare that Princess Qinghe can write a neat and symmetrical palindrome poem in just half an incense stick. It shows that she has great literary talent and profound knowledge. I believe that the teacher who taught her must be no ordinary person. I wonder who her teacher is?" Jiang Wenzhou's face was still calm, but his tone seemed a little aggressive. It didn't sound like praise to his ears, but more like a question.

He hadn't anticipated Princess Qinghe would be so strong. He suppressed the slight savagery in his eyes and turned to look at the person he loved. He saw her with her head lowered, flipping through the sheets of white deer paper in her hands, her brows trembling slightly, which made him feel distressed.

Sun Wanning's expression instantly fell, and she suppressed her displeasure and said coldly, "National Master Zhou Ziyi."

What? Princess Qinghe's mentor was the incredibly talented and brilliant Beiyue Imperial Preceptor Zhou Ziyi?

Everyone looked at her in astonishment, even Emperor Yong and Jiang Wenzhou were stunned.

It was said that this Imperial Preceptor was very young and had lived in seclusion for many years, only summoned by the Northern Moon Emperor when he encountered a difficult situation. He held a very high prestige within the court. It was unexpected that he would personally teach the Princess of Qinghe, which was truly incredible.

Lu Yinnian's eyes were filled with pride. That's right! Zhou Ziyi was his biggest trump card besides his father. The two of them had a life-or-death relationship, so what was a mere teaching Sun Wanning a lesson?

Today's performance far exceeded his expectations, leaving him extremely satisfied. Sun Wanning's victory in this match was a foregone conclusion.