Chapter 209: The Banquet Against Her
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qiao Yanqi, who was at the side, naturally noticed the change in Ao Li’er’s mood and was instantly exasperated. However, she couldn’t badmouth Xu Qing at this time! Otherwise, it would confirm that what she had said in the room was an attempt to slander Xu Qing. She had to calm down. She couldn’t be too anxious!
Xu Qing was extremely calm and didn’t feel intimidated or restrained.
Everyone had different thoughts. After all, they had only heard rumors about her in the past and had never sat across from Xu Qing like this. They didn’t know her well. Some people’s impression of Xu Qing changed.
Xu Qing sat there quietly with the children. She knew that the silence was temporary and definitely wouldn’t last long because someone would definitely cause trouble.
Indeed, no one would give up such a good opportunity to degrade Xu Qing. Last time, when they wanted Xu Qing to perform, Xu Qing counterattacked beautifully. There were many excuses she could use to escape last time. However, it wouldn’t be so easy this time!
The Eldest Consort, Jin Zhi, immediately said, “This is the best season to admire chrysanthemums, and we’re lucky to be invited to the Eldest Princess’s residence to admire chrysanthemums. In that case, I suggest that we not hold musical instrument competitions this time. How about all the ladies compose a poem about chrysanthemums? It’ll be more in line with today’s chrysanthemum banquet!”
Jin Zhi’s words won everyone’s approval. Of course, not everyone wanted to see Xu Qing make a fool of herself. They also wanted to show off their talents. Poetry was the best way to showcase their talents. As long as their talents were outstanding today, they would be praised by everyone and their reputation would spread. Then, their status in the family would be different! They would have more choices in the future.
For example, Mu Weiqing, who had been ostracized, was called a talent because her poetry was the most outstanding at a previous banquet. That was why she was sought after as the number one talented girl!
“Everyone here has studied in the women’s academy founded by the Eldest Princess. Isn’t composing poetry easy?” The Second Prince’s wife, Sun Mi, echoed, completely ignoring Xu Qing’s educational background. Of course, she did it on purpose. With the poetry competition, she wanted to see how this village girl would escape.
“This year, I will still give the same prize for the first place,” Ao Li’er concluded. Since thingds had already reached this point, she could only prepare a gift.
Hearing this, some of the young ladies were excited. After all, the prizes given by the Eldest Princess definitely wouldn’t disappoint. It would definitely give them glory, and they would have ties with the royal family!
However, some people felt that it wasn’t interesting enough. Qiao Yanqi wheedled, “Aunt, poetry is so boring.”
“What else do you want to do?” Ao Li’er asked dotingly.
Qiao Yanqi looked at Xu Qing and smiled. “Let’s play the pass the parcel game! When there are more people who want to compose a poem later, there will definitely be people who will be too embarrassed to snatch it. That will be so boring. Everyone has to participate. Or rather, some people might feel that one time is not enough to show their talent. Since it’s so lively today, let’s make things more exciting! Get someone to beat the drum blindfolded, then stop. Even if that person has already recited a line, she has to continue. Whoever can’t recite a line will be punished with three glasses of wine. Isn’t that more fun?”
The most important thing about this game was to stimulate people. Once there was a time limit to urge them, they would get anxious. However, calmness and self-restraint were the number one criteria for talented women!
The Eldest Princess had no objections and agreed.
Xu Qing looked at Qiao Yanqi with a faint smile. In order to target her, this woman had blocked off all possibilities of escape. However, how could she be afraid? It was just a poem about chrysanthemums. Although she had studied medicine in her previous life, for her to have such achievements, she had gotten into a top university! She had read a lot of books during those years and was knowledgeable in both ancient and modern history.
Therefore, Xu Qing didn’t say a word from the beginning to the end. Those people were waiting for Xu Qing to take the initiative to stand up and admit that she wasn’t talented enough to play this game, but in the end, nothing happened. They could only glare at Xu Qing and start the game.
The person beating the drum was a little girl who was 17 or 18 years old. She kept tapping and stopping. The embroidered ball had already been passed to a few people. Of course, those people composed poems calmly, but they were praying that it wouldn’t be their turn again. Those who were qualified enough to come here were all prepared, but who could prepare dozens of poems in one go?
On the fifth time, the drumbeat stopped and landed in Xu Qing’s hand. Xu Qing handed the ball to Xu Hanxue and let her play with it.