I was sold when I opened my eyes! My sick and disabled husband comforts me every night after he wake

Seeing that the four people had stopped, Qin Shun spoke loudly again.

"Today's competition will be judged by Her Majesty the Empress, Her Majesty Liang, Her Majesty Zhen, Her Majesty Duan, and Her Majesty Jiang, with the Emperor making the final decision. No one else is allowed to speak or participate. The competition will be divided into three rounds. Are you all ready?"

Lin Yuwei slightly raised her chin and nodded confidently.

"Ready."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Ready."

Qin Shun then turned to the Emperor and reported:

"Your Majesty, they are all ready. We may begin."

"Ah."

Having received the Emperor's permission, Qin Shun glanced back at the four of them and then loudly proclaimed,

"By order of the Emperor, the competition for the Crown Princess shall officially begin. The first event of the competition is poetry and prose. I now have four couplets in my hand. You shall provide the matching lines. The Empress and the imperial concubines shall judge who provides the best and most perfect matching lines."

At this point, he raised the four couplets in his hand high above his head.

"To be fair, you can draw the lots yourselves now."

Holding the couplet, he approached Lin Yuwei first, saying, "Miss Lin, you're standing at the front, please go first!"

Lin Yuwei looked up, glanced thoughtfully at Qin Shun, then picked up the top card and smiled calmly:

"What's there to choose from? Just pick one at random, and I can answer any question fluently."

Judging from her appearance, she seemed very confident and self-assured.

Qin Shun took two steps forward and presented the other three couplets to the two people behind him. After they had drawn theirs, only the last one remained. "Miss Lan, you're standing at the very back, so you have no choice."

Lan Zhi took it without a second thought and smiled calmly.

She had no choice, nor did she want to choose.

Although she wasn't good at couplets, she had attended a prestigious university in her previous life, so she was more than capable of competing with these ancient people in terms of knowledge and intelligence.

Qin Shun approached the Emperor, his voice hoarse, and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, the first line of the couplet has been distributed. Please give your instructions."

The Emperor nodded solemnly.

"Then let's get started!"

After Qin Shun nodded in greeting, he turned to look at Lin Yuwei and the other three.

"Starting with Miss Lin, each person will read out the first line of a couplet and then provide the second line. The Empress and others will then select the person who provides the most perfect couplet as the winner."

Lin Yuwei arrogantly unfolded the couplet in her hand and loudly read it aloud:

"The sound of wind, the sound of rain, sound, sound enters the ear."

She narrowed her eyes, raised her chin, and replied loudly:

"Yes, I care about everything—family affairs, national affairs, world affairs."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Consort Liang was the first to speak.

"Hmm, not bad, the antithesis is perfect, without a single flaw."

The Empress, however, said softly:

"The answer is correct, but it's a bit too simple. Even my eight-year-old son could probably come up with a matching couplet like this."

Upon hearing this, Madam Lin immediately snorted in displeasure.

"What do you mean by that, Your Majesty? Yuwei was able to draw the simplest couplet, which proves that she has good luck and that she is old and destitute. How come you portray her as completely worthless?"

Lin Xingliang quickly gestured to her with a furrowed brow.

"How dare you speak to the Empress like that?"

Mrs. Lin also retorted without holding back.

How could she comment on our Yuwei like that?

Madam Lin showed no respect for the Empress, which angered the Empress. However, Madam Lin was Lin Xingliang's wife, Lin Chengda's daughter-in-law, and a second-rank imperial consort. The Empress couldn't very well argue with her in front of everyone; that would not only make her seem petty but also offend the Lin family.

She also has Ye'er and the Lin family; she can't afford to offend them.

The atmosphere became slightly awkward for a moment. The Queen swallowed hard and smiled apologetically.

“Madam Lin has misunderstood. I was merely stating the facts and had no intention of targeting anyone. If Madam Lin finds this inappropriate, I retract what I just said.”

At this point, she glanced at Qin Shun.

"Next one!"

The next girl was the daughter of Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Personnel. She was petite but also very beautiful.

After she stepped forward and bowed to the Emperor, she unfolded the couplet in her hand and softly read aloud:

"Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp, shrimp eat water, and the truth will come out."

As soon as this first line of the couplet was uttered, whispers immediately broke out among the people present.

"This one is definitely much more difficult than the previous one!"

"Yes, this is not easy to answer!"

Ms. Zhang frowned slightly, bit her lip a few times, and then bowed slightly, saying:

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, I cannot answer."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuwei immediately revealed a smug smile. What she didn't know was that this Miss Zhang was a smart person. She knew that she had come today only to act as a shield for Lin Yuwei. Even if she could answer the question, she was unwilling to do so.

The Emperor nodded slightly.

"Since you can't come up with a matching answer, does any of the three of you know how?"

Lin Yuwei was stunned for a moment. She was sure she didn't know how to answer this question, so she quickly lowered her head.

Of these four questions, Mother only got two from Consort Liang. One of the first lines of the couplet was above the other, and Mother could answer them easily no matter which one she chose.

But Miss Zhang's couplet is clearly the one in the middle, which she has never even heard of before, so how could she possibly answer it?

She didn't answer, and the Miss Sun behind her didn't dare to speak either. Lan Zhi's lips curved slightly, and she bowed slightly, saying:

"Your Majesty, I can provide the matching line."

Upon hearing this, Consort Liang's face immediately turned ashen, and Madam Lin kept giving Lin Yuwei meaningful glances, urging her to be the first to come up with the matching line.

But Lin Yuwei blushed and kept shaking her head, indicating that she hadn't thought of a matching line.

The Emperor glanced at Lin Yuwei, and seeing that she dared not speak, he simply raised his hand and said:

"Okay, then you can check it."

Lan Zhi glanced at Wei Jianning, who was sitting there watching her with worried eyes, smiled gently, and then calmly spoke.

"I agree, the stream flows into the river, the river flows into the sea, the sea is vast and boundless."

"it is good."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xingliang immediately clapped and cheered. Madam Lin glared at him fiercely, but he looked at her, puzzled.

"What's wrong, Madam? Are your eyes bothering you?"

Madam Lin gritted her teeth and turned her face away. The Emperor didn't even bother to praise her, and simply said:

"Hmm, Lan Zhi is right, next one!"

Lin Yuwei muttered to herself:

“She just made eye contact with the Crown Prince. He must have given her a hint. That’s not fair.”

This……

Upon hearing this, Lan Zhi almost burst out laughing, but Wei Jianning's expression turned extremely ugly.

Madam Lin glared at Lin Yuwei resentfully. "Yuwei, what did I tell you when we came? You had to keep your composure."

Lin Yuwei then pouted, looking unwilling yet resentful.

At this moment, Miss Sun, who was standing next to Lan Zhi, stepped forward, unfolded the first line of the couplet in her hand, and began to read:

"Smoked chicken with an iron beak, iron comb, and iron feet."