Chapter 31 Victory

"Wuwuwu~"

Wei Wanrou rushed off the stage crying. Her disheveled figure looked especially aggrieved under everyone's gaze.

Her group of young master and young lady companions had changing expressions on their faces, feeling ashamed of Wei Wanrou's crushing defeat and full of envy and hatred towards Jiang Li's sudden emergence.

On the side of Princess Le'an, there were cheers all around. People crowded around Jiang Li, with excitement and complacency on their faces.

"Haha, I told you that Brother Jiang Li would definitely succeed!" Princess Le'an smiled especially brightly. She walked forward and patted Jiang Li on the shoulder vigorously."Brother Jiang Li, you're really amazing. You beat Wei Wanrou so thoroughly. Let's see how she can still show off in front of us in the future!"

Jiang Li smiled and said modestly,"Princess, you flatter me. It was just good luck that I happened to match a few couplets."

However, he knew clearly in his heart that after this incident, he had completely offended Wei Wanrou and the forces behind her. The circle of the powerful and noble in the capital seemed calm on the surface, but in fact, there were undercurrents surging beneath. Today's competition had only stirred up a corner of this deep pool.

His actions this time could also be regarded as taking sides.

At this time, Wei Wanrou finally concealed all the resentment in her eyes. Standing among the crowd, she took a deep breath and tried hard to calm herself down.

Although she had just been crying pitifully and her eyes were still swollen at the moment, she still forced herself to put on that weak yet tenacious look, got up and said softly,"Master Jiang, just now on the stage, I really didn't hear clearly the second line of the couplet you gave. I'm really curious. Please, Master Jiang, don't be stingy with your instruction so that I can be convinced of my defeat."

Jiang Li frowned slightly. He knew that Wei Wanrou was deliberately making things difficult for him and trying to regain some face by taking this opportunity. If he didn't agree, he would inevitably be called petty. But if he did, who knew what tricks she would play.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Li decided to face it head-on. He said in a clear voice,"Since Miss Wei wants to hear it, then I'll repeat it once more. The first line of the couplet I gave is 'The Wei maiden leans against the door, showing off her learning, truly in the manner of Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi'. And the second line is 'The Jiang lad relies on his wisdom, revealing his elegance, just demonstrating the lofty sentiment of a talented scholar'."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was an uproar among the audience. The second line of the couplet was not only neatly antithetical but also cleverly counterattacked Wei Wanrou's previous behaviors, showing Jiang Li's talent and self-confidence to the fullest.

Wei Wanrou's face instantly turned as pale as a sheet. She hadn't expected that Jiang Li would ridicule her so blatantly and in front of so many people, making her become the laughingstock of everyone once again.

Before they could react, Jiang Li continued,"

The first line: The coquettish maiden puts on airs, pretends to be gentle and demure, just like a fox dressing up as Guanyin.

The second line: The Jiang lad stays true to himself, fully displays his outstanding qualities, like green bamboos standing in the clear wind.

The first line: The legitimate daughter of the prime minister has an undeserved reputation and only leaves behind a laughingstock in the capital.

The second line: The virtuous young master of the An Kingdom truly harbors lofty aspirations and blooms with brilliance throughout the world."

"You... How dare you humiliate me like this!" Wei Wanrou pointed at Jiang Li, her voice trembling, and the hatred in her eyes could no longer be concealed.

Jiang Li, however, just smiled faintly and said,"Miss Wei, you're wrong. I'm just following the rules of composing couplets, giving out lines and responding with lines. If Miss Wei thinks it's inappropriate, then why did you ask me to give out lines for you to match just now?"

Wei Wanrou was left speechless by Jiang Li. She opened her mouth but found that she couldn't find any reason to refute at all.

"Jiang Li, right! I, Wei Wanrou, will remember this grudge today. We'll see!" Wei Wanrou dropped this harsh remark and then hurriedly left with her group of people.

A gorgeously dressed man in the crowd gave Jiang Li a deep look and then followed suit and left.

Seeing this, Princess Le'an made a face at Wei Wanrou's back and shouted loudly,"Remember our bet! When you see me in the future, take a detour!"

Everyone burst into laughter again. However, Jiang Li was secretly pondering. People like Wei Wanrou were not the kind to let things go easily with their dispositions. Today's competition was probably just the beginning.

But he soon let it go. What's done is done. At worst, his days in the future wouldn't be peaceful. There would surely be constant minor troubles, but they wouldn't dare to make big moves. As long as he rose fast enough, he could turn around and cause trouble for them instead.

After this incident, the whole world knew that the young scholar Jiang Li was the fifth young master of the Duke of An's Mansion.

His reputation became even greater than before.

You should know that although most of the children from noble families cultivated both in literature and martial arts, they more or less relied on their family's influence to embark on an official career under the protection of their ancestors.

But there were very few who actually took the imperial examination route like Jiang Li.

Even those imperial family members, no matter how outstanding they claimed to be, would have no confidence if they were asked to take the imperial examination.

Jiang Li had now completely made a name for himself.

"Brother Jiang Li, let's go and hold a celebration banquet. And all those prizes are yours. I mean what I say! And Zi Yan and the others won't have any objections either, right?"

Everyone behind responded,"Of course. Master Jiang has made great contributions, and we are also convinced."

"Let's go, let's go. It's time to go to the banquet."

Without giving Jiang Li a chance to speak, she dragged him by the arm and walked away.

While Jiang Li was winning the competition with his outstanding talent at Tingxuexuan and becoming famous, there was another lively scene in a restaurant in another part of the capital city.

Jiang Cheng was drinking and having fun with his cronies in the private room of this restaurant. The table was filled with fine wine and delicious food, but Jiang Cheng's mood didn't improve because of the sumptuous meal.

He was already feeling gloomy because his mother didn't allow him to deal with Jiang Li. Usually, he could only find some comfort among these fair-weather friends.

At this time, the door of the private room was suddenly pushed open, and a group of young masters who usually didn't get along with Jiang Cheng walked in. They were all gorgeously dressed, with a half-smiling expression on their faces. Obviously, they didn't come with good intentions.

"Oh, isn't this Jiang Cheng? Why do you have time to drink here today?" Zhao Zhongze, the leader among them, said in a sarcastic tone, with undisguised ridicule in his eyes.

Jiang Cheng frowned, and a feeling of displeasure already rose in his heart. He replied angrily,"It's none of your business where I drink. What are you doing here?"

"Haha, we're here to talk about that wonderful competition at Tingxuexuan today, of course." Zhao Zhongze said with a smile, but his eyes were fixed on Jiang Cheng all the time, as if waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

"Humph, what's there to talk about that competition? It's extremely boring!" Jiang Cheng snorted with disdain, but he was secretly a bit curious. He had been in this restaurant all day and hadn't had time to hear what was going on outside.

"Oh, you don't know yet, do you? Today's competition at Tingxuexuan was really wonderful. Especially that Jiang Li. Tsk, tsk, tsk. His talent is so outstanding that he completely defeated Wei Wanrou, the number one talented girl in the capital. Now the whole capital is talking about him. Everyone says he's a dark horse from the Duke of An's Mansion."

While speaking, Zhao Zhongze deliberately made exaggerated expressions. His words were full of praise for Jiang Li, but to Jiang Cheng's ears, it was like a thorn in his side.

"Jiang Li? Isn't he just that sickly and unfavored son in the General's Mansion? What's so great about him!" Although Jiang Cheng sounded tough, he couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy in his heart.

He had always looked down on Jiang Li, but now Jiang Li, whom he had always regarded as a good-for-nothing, had suddenly gained so much fame. How could he swallow this?

"Haha, don't say that. Jiang Li's performance in today's competition was really something. He's proficient in poetry, lyrics, music, chess, calligraphy and painting. He's much better than you." Another young master also joined in the jeering, and the sarcasm in his words became even more obvious.

"Exactly, exactly. Look at yourself. All you do all day long is drink and fool around here. What kind of future can you have? And look at Jiang Li. He's the one who's truly capable." Others also chimed in one after another, talking all at once. Every word was like a knife, stabbing hard at Jiang Cheng's heart.