My elder sister is so noble, this time it's my turn to strike back

At night, when the lights came on, a big, round moon hung in the sky, illuminating the magnificent imperial palace.

There were quite a lot of people at this banquet, which was held in a large square. At a glance, the originally spacious square was now full of people, who were walking back and forth between the tables and chatting with each other.

On the circular stage in the center, there was a singing and dancing performance, which was very lively.

Emperor Shengjing, accompanied by Empress Guo and Wan Rongyue, quickly arrived at the head of the table and announced that the ceremonial officer was ready to allow the Chu delegation to meet him.

"The envoys from the Xuanchu Kingdom entered the palace~"

Following the announcement from the chief eunuch Su Qinian, a group of people soon appeared outside the door.

The leader was Chu Shaochen, who had guessed three lantern riddles in a row at the inn. Behind him were Ban Ge, Qi Huai, and two other guards who were equally burly.

"Chu State Prime Minister Ban Ge greets the Emperor of Daxia."

Ban Ge took the lead, placed a fist on his chest, bent over, and saluted Emperor Shengjing.

"Haha, no need for formalities. Prime Minister Ban, you've worked hard on the journey. I specially prepared this welcoming banquet for you tonight. I hope that Prince Chu and Prime Minister Ban will feel at home and enjoy a good drink. Haha."

Emperor Shengjing made some polite remarks and ordered the eunuchs to lead them to their seats.

Chu Shaochen nodded slightly, and then followed the arrangement of the palace servants and sat in the position to the lower left of Emperor Shengjing.

At the beginning, both sides exchanged a few polite words and said some polite remarks. With the live singing and dancing performances, the atmosphere was pretty good.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, seeing Chu Shaochen put down his chopsticks, Ban Ge understood what he meant. He glanced around the banquet and soon found two half-grown children sitting opposite him. Judging from their clothes, it was not difficult to guess their identities. They must be the crown prince and prince of Daxia.

The one closest to the throne was a boy of about eight or nine years old, and the one next to him was slightly younger, around six or seven years old. He was a year or two younger than the Crown Prince.

Based on the information obtained previously, Ban Ge quickly identified the person.

The older one should be Xiao Yuche, the crown prince of the Great Xia Kingdom.

The smaller one next to him should be the favored Sixth Prince Xiao Yuzhi.

Looking above the throne, the person sitting side by side with the emperor was obviously Empress Guo.

The woman with stunning beauty sitting slightly below on the other side should be the legendary Concubine Wan.

She is truly peerless and unique in the world. She is even more beautiful than Princess Qingluan, who is known as the most beautiful woman in Chu State.

Ban Ge suppressed his thoughts, raised his wine glass, and said to Emperor Shengjing, "I've heard that your country is full of talented people. I wonder if we can have the honor of witnessing the elegance of the scholars of Daxia today?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the officials stopped eating or drinking, and the huge banquet became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone knew that Bange was about to start provoking everyone.

At this time, a young official sitting at the very end stood up and said with a bow, "Our Great Xia is a great nation, teeming with talented people. The Prime Minister of Chu is right. We are indeed blessed with talent. I have long heard that the Crown Prince of Chu has been gifted since childhood, a prodigy. I wonder if today would allow us to witness the Crown Prince of Chu's charisma?"

The person who was speaking was Qin Jizhou. He had passed the imperial examination this autumn and was among the top three. He was now working as an editor in the Hanlin Academy.

This person has always been arrogant and conceited, and boasts of his great talent. Now that he has just been granted an official position, he is very eager to show off in front of the emperor.

He walked calmly to the center of the square, bowed to Ban Ge and the others, and then said, "I've heard that the people of Chu are best at poetry and prose. Unfortunately, Qin, although not very talented, also has quite a bit of experience in poetry and prose. I wonder if I could ask Prime Minister Ban for some advice?"

Ban Ge had a polite smile on his face, his eyes occasionally flashing with a gleam of light. He stroked his beard and said:

"This young master is right. In the State of Chu, from the royal family to the common people, there is no illiterate person. Our emperor also attaches great importance to the cultural quality of individuals. Therefore, our State of Chu has become a country famous for etiquette and is loved by other countries.

Since this young master has such a refined taste, General Qi, why don't you come forward and have a discussion with him?"

Ban Ge gave instructions to Qi Huai behind him.

Everyone's eyes shifted and soon fell on Qi Huai, a burly man who looked like a rough man with only brute force and well-developed limbs.

At this time, everyone on the Daxia side felt indignant.

What a joke! Daxia produced a scholar, yet you, Chu, just picked up a random ruffian and said that there are no uneducated people among us. This shows that you don't take Daxia people seriously.

"I'm afraid Mr. Ban has misunderstood. I want to challenge your prince, not this general." Qin Jizhou said.

"Haha, Master Qin, you don't know that although General Qi serves as a military officer in my Chu State, he actually has research in the field of poetry. If Master Qin doesn't believe it, you can ask him a few questions." Ban Ge stroked his beard and answered with ease.

Then, Qi Huai's tall figure suddenly stood up and walked to the center of the hall. He said with a proud look on his face:

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a genius, how could he easily show up? Merely writing poems and essays, why use a butcher knife to crack a chicken? I, a mere warrior, am more than capable of handling them. Sir, please come in!"

As Qi Huai finished speaking, there was a sound of gasps at the scene.

arrogant.

Arrogant, so arrogant.

Some scholars and students could not help but criticize the Chu delegation, saying that they were arrogant and did not take the Great Xia Kingdom seriously.

Even Emperor Shengjing, who was at the top of the table, didn't look very happy.

Ban Ge's move was a severe warning to Daha.

If the two sides faced each other, if Qin Jizhou won, the opponent could completely make excuses by saying that Qi Huai was just a military officer and was not very knowledgeable about literature and writing.

But if Qin Jizhou loses, he will really lose face this time.

You are a Jinshi from Daxia, a serious scholar, and now you have been promoted to a higher position, but you are not even as good as a guard general of Chu. If this gets out, all the other countries will laugh their heads off.

Qin Jizhou obviously realized this as well. At this moment, he was standing in the center of the stage, his face turning pale and blue, and he didn't know whether to move forward or backward.

He felt deeply humiliated, but didn't know how to resolve it.

At this time, the Sixth Prince Xiao Yuzhi suddenly heard a sigh behind him.

He turned around calmly. Behind him stood a woman dressed in a maid's uniform, with her head half lowered, so her face was not clearly visible.

He asked in a low voice: "Aunt Qiu Ning, this Chu person is too arrogant. I want to give it a try."

That’s right, this palace maid was played by Qiu Ning.

In such an important occasion today, she must see with her own eyes how the Crown Prince of Chu gets severely slapped in the face.

Therefore, during this period of time, she focused on the training of Xiao Yuzhi, whether it was poetry, songs, or ingenious mechanisms.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Qiu Ning nodded towards Xiao Yuzhi and encouraged him, "It's all right, Your Highness, keep going. Auntie is rooting for you!"

At the same time, after Crown Prince Xiao Yuche had almost finished eating the food in front of him, he raised his head and soon saw that the Queen was winking at him, indicating that he should go on stage.

Xiao Yuche looked up and didn't know when two people stood on the field. One was Qin Jizhou and the other was the general of Chu State who served as a guard. It seemed that the two were going to have some kind of competition.

Without saying a word, Xiao Yuche wanted to step forward and show off, so that the people of Chu could appreciate the power of him as the prince.

But unexpectedly, when he just stood up, his stomach suddenly felt surging, followed by a "puff" sound, and a loud fart could not help but come out.