Best friends dressed up in ancient times to become mistresses? You run, I run too!

His tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

"Minister of Rites—Li Ziwen? Hearing you say that, he certainly has a lot of official airs. I'm even a little curious to see how he'll stop at nothing."

Miss Li: ……

No, that's not what she meant. She only said that to Shen Ningzhu, not His Highness the Crown Prince!

what happened?

Didn't His Highness the Crown Prince have no feelings for Shen Ningzhu? Now it seems different from before.

Shen Ningzhu was taken aback.

She hadn't expected the prince to be so cooperative.

But she only wanted to teach the other person a lesson; she didn't actually intend to gouge out their eyes!

"Brother Yan, wait a minute, I... I suddenly don't want her eyeballs anymore. How about we change it to twenty slaps?"

Ms. Li's vision blurred and she almost fell to the ground.

"No, I don't want to be slapped! Shen Ningzhu, you vicious woman, you did it on purpose, didn't you? Twenty slaps and my face will be ruined! How am I supposed to live after this? Waaah—"

Shen Ningzhu's lips twitched.

Getting slapped twenty times will at most make your head swell up like a pig's head, and it will heal in a few days. Is it really necessary to be disfigured?

You know it will ruin your face, yet you still talk nonsense?

Jiang Xuan Yan kindly reminded her,

"Your eyes may not be of much use, but they will allow you to see in the future. As for disfigurement... I think that with your face like this, it doesn't make much difference whether they are disfigured or not."

puff--

Shen Ningzhu looked shocked.

I used to think this prince was just sharp-tongued, but today I realize that he's not just sharp-tongued, he's practically covered in arsenic.

This Miss Li is just a little dark-skinned, a little stocky, has a big nose, loose skin, large pores, and small eyes.

I can only say that she's not that good-looking, but she's not ugly either. Why would he describe her as a car crash?

He's so rude to girls, what a jerk!

Finally, Ms. Li was pinned down and slapped hard twenty times, which Jiang Yi personally carried out.

The two noble ladies in front had their tongues cut out for talking about Shen Ningzhu. This time, Miss Li secretly provoked Shen Ningzhu and was slapped again, her face swelling up like a small mountain.

After the two incidents, an eerie silence fell over the scene.

Everyone looked at Shen Ningzhu with a hint of fear in their eyes.

Good.

This is exactly the effect Shen Ningzhu wanted.

She doesn't actively seek out trouble, but she's not afraid of it either.

I don't like being ridiculed and pointed at wherever I go; it really affects my mood.

She can't control what others think, but when they're around her, they can at least keep their mouths shut.

"Is the matter resolved? Can we continue?"

Shen Ningzhu's clear, melodious voice instantly brought everyone back to their senses.

Chu Wan'er blinked, somewhat puzzled, and asked,

"Judging from Consort Shen's words, does she also want to participate in this poetry competition?"

"What, you can't?"

“I can, but…” Chu Wan’er pursed her lips and looked up at Jiang Xuan’an with a worried expression.

What is Your Highness's opinion on this matter?

Jiang Xuan Yan felt helpless, but he didn't stop Shen Ning Zhu.

"It's alright, it's just a game. Zhuzhu, feel free to play if you want, it's fine." Her phoenix eyes swept lightly over Shen Ningzhu before looking away and straight ahead.

Chu Wan'er's face stiffened.

She took a deep breath before smiling and saying, "In that case, please, Concubine Shen."

Shen Ningzhu pondered for a moment, then slowly recited a poem.

“《荷影》

Delicate flowers reflected in the water naturally exude fragrance.

A fair-faced beauty stands by the green pond.

The wind rises, and the silk skirt dances, casting emerald shadows.

Her ethereal beauty and elegant charm captivated my heart.

This poem was written by Shen Ningzhu on the spot. It can only be described as passable, after all, the poems by the noble ladies before her were also very charming.

Winning this competition will likely be difficult.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yanche used his connections to put her in third place.

So she had no choice but to continue to the next round with the remaining two people.

In this round, Jiang Xuan Yan set the questions, and he would also decide the final winner.

Shen Ningzhu felt a little nervous and uneasy.

After all, this prince is unpredictable; who knows what he's really thinking? If he suddenly goes crazy and targets her, then nothing she does will make a difference.

It seems I'll have to carefully consider the next poem.

Ideally, it would be best to follow the other person's preferences, but Shen Mingzhu didn't know what he liked!

Liu Zhiyi whispered a reminder in her ear.

"It is said that he was forced to go to the battlefield at a very young age. Perhaps he preferred something passionate and exciting? Or something with a strong sense of national righteousness and integrity?"

Shen Ningzhu shook her head and leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

"No, no, no, I think the exact opposite. Think about it, his sinister and perverted nature might be due to killing too many people, which is why he is so dark and twisted."

Such people not only do not enjoy galloping across the battlefield and fighting to their heart's content, but they also deeply abhor violence and bloodshed.

"Then what should we do? Or, try to neutralize it?"

"Makes sense."

What is there to fear?

Standing serenely amidst clear ripples, proudly defying all directions.

Pink faces and green sleeves dance in the blazing sun.

The fragrance remains strong even when the wind blows.

It dares to laugh at the flowers that fear rain and frost.

This time, Shen Ningzhu was the first to step forward, and she composed a seven-character quatrain in one go.

The people at the scene were so shocked that their eyes almost popped out.

Is this... still the same Shen Ningzhu who couldn't read a single word before? "Please forgive my impertinence. I would like to ask, has Consort Shen recently hired any famous tutors? Her knowledge has indeed increased rapidly."

Shen Ningzhu smiled faintly at the other person.

The woman clearly suspected Shen Ningzhu, but because Shen Ningzhu was not someone to be trifled with, and His Highness the Crown Prince was also present, she chose to express her doubts in a tactful way.

Shen Ningzhu pretended to sigh and said,

"Sigh, it's all because of boredom."

"Huh?" The other person looked completely bewildered.

Shen Ningzhu continued, "In the past, I would watch everyone composing poems, painting, playing the zither, and playing chess, but I never tried it myself. Even when I did, it was a complete mess and I couldn't bear to look at it."

But actually, I can do all of those things; it's just that I'm preoccupied with other things and don't have the mood for those refined pursuits.

The crowd obviously didn't believe it.

Jiang Qingyi suddenly spoke up jokingly.

"I believe you. To be honest, although I have been living alone thousands of miles away all these years, I have always kept my homeland and the people here in my heart."

As she spoke, she turned her head and looked at Jiang Xuan Yan with deep affection before shyly lowering her eyes.

Shen Ningzhu hugged her arms with a blank expression.

It was so offensive and disgusting that she felt goosebumps all over her arms.

Jiang Qingyi continued, "I've heard before that Concubine Shen is infatuated with A-Yan and spends all her time around him. It seems that she really has no mood to do anything else."

Everyone suddenly realized.

Jiang Qingyi asked, feigning confusion, "But why are you picking up these refined pursuits again?"

Everyone looked at Shen Ningzhu, including Jiang Xuanyan.

Shen Ningzhu had to admit that this Qingyi brand green tea was indeed very potent.

Just those two sentences reminded Jiang Xuan Yan of those nightmarish years when she harassed him.

It also implies that after she got him, she stopped taking Jiang Xuan Yan seriously and started to pretend to be cultured.