Chapter 311: Chapter 309: I Would Like to Recommend Someone
The Li Family has fallen.
Li Zhu glanced at Lu Ying out of the corner of her eye.
Back when the Shen Guogong Mansion was raided, Lu Ying had intended to break off his engagement with Shen Yinning. Li Zhu couldn’t have been happier about it. Obedient to the arrangements of the Imperial Grandmother, she adorned herself beautifully and made a few trips to the Eastern Palace. Who would have thought that the Crown Prince didn’t even glance her way? Instead, that fool Shen Yunxi snatched the coveted position.
She thought it was probably because her own family background was too humble.
But it wasn’t until last year, when she discovered that even a criminal’s daughter like Shen Yinning, whose family status was even lower than hers, could earn the favor of the Crown Prince, that she belatedly realized the bitter truth. The Crown Prince’s refusal to marry her was not due to her lack of family status—it was purely because he truly didn’t like her.
Compared to Shen Yinning, was she really so much worse?
Li Zhu felt indignant.
She had been raised by the Empress Dowager from a young age, skilled in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Her manners and upbringing were flawless. She was no less accomplished than Shen Yinning—of this, she was certain.
Rumor had it that Noble Consort Zhang had been defeated by a Yan Country woman.
She wanted to surpass this woman from Yan Country. She wanted to draw the Crown Prince’s attention—just as Shen Yinning had back then, defeating five masters single-handedly, while the Crown Prince stood silently in the crowd, watching her with undisguised admiration in his eyes.
Across from her, a gentle voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts: "Miss Li Zhu, if you don’t focus on this game of chess, you’re going to lose to me."
Li Zhu snapped out of her reverie, realizing she had just made two consecutive mistakes in her moves.
She dared not let her mind wander further and immediately began concentrating with all her effort.
Yet, a quarter of an hour later, she was still forced into a dead end.
Gan Tangwei stood up and politely remarked, "Thank you for the game."
Yan Zheming, as expected, let out a hearty laugh: "Hahaha, wasn’t Go invented by the people of the Central Plains? How is it that you Han people are now losing to us foreigners? Is there no one in the Great Zhou worth their salt to challenge us? Your Majesty, does your nation truly lack any talent who could represent you?"
The assembled civil and military officials were seething with fury.
But the fact remained—they had lost two games in a row. There was no room for argument.
Lu Yu’s face darkened. "Continue the competition!"
The third contest was calligraphy.
Disregarding the age gap, Lu Yu directly summoned Madam Chen, an elderly woman.
Madam Chen’s calligraphy was widely admired, surpassing even that of many Great Scholars. The civil and military officials were confident they would at least win this round. Yet, astonishingly, the Yan Country woman, like some sort of prodigy, wrote the Han script with greater proficiency than even Madam Chen!
Yan Zheming sneered: "Your nation’s history books claim that during the era of the Yellow Emperor, the Historian Cangjie invented characters. The Central Plains have always prided themselves on being the cradle of Han civilization, often criticizing us ’barbarians’ for being uncultured and lacking etiquette. But now, how is it that your calligraphy lags behind that of our so-called ’barbarians’? Your Majesty, could it be that our Yan Country is a better inheritor of the Central Plains’ legacy than your Great Zhou? You tell me—shouldn’t those cities along the border be rightfully ours?"
Such words were utterly provocative.
The fiery indignation in the hall was palpable, with whispers spreading like wildfire. Apart from the few pro-peace officials, nearly every pair of eyes blazed with outrage.
Madam Chen heaved a sigh: "I must admit defeat. Miss Gan’s calligraphy is truly exquisite. I fear that within the Capital, only Madam Shen could rival her."
At this statement, everyone couldn’t help but think of Shen Yinning once more.
Indeed, Shen Yinning’s calligraphy was nothing short of extraordinary. If she were to step forth, she would undoubtedly eclipse this Yan Country woman.
Shen Yunxi curled her lip in disdain. "A criminal’s daughter, burdened now with accusations of murder—she’s utterly disreputable! The Court has its dignity. How could we allow such a woman to represent us? Wouldn’t that just be inviting ridicule? I refuse to believe that our vast Great Zhou cannot produce a single capable talent! And if worse comes to worst, I’m willing to step up myself! As her cousin, we share the same blood—surely our skills aren’t far apart!"
Her words fell, and the hall instantly fell silent.
Everyone knew exactly how much—or little—Shen Yunxi was capable of.
If she entered the competition, it might be better to surrender outright!
Lu Yu wiped the sweat off his brow.
He had wanted to negotiate peace, but Yan Zheming’s arrogance was unbearable.
If things continued this way, how would the tributary states and smaller nations that acknowledged Zhou’s suzerainty perceive them?
When the time came and they too demanded territorial concessions and revisions to boundaries, how much land and revenue would he lose?
No, he had to restore some semblance of dignity.
Resolutely, he declared, "The fourth round will likely test artistic skill. Who among you dares to accept this challenge?"
Silence reigned. No one stepped forward.
From her corner, Lu Qianqian suddenly smirked playfully. "Didn’t my Empress Sister-in-law claim she’d step up herself?"
Shen Yunxi froze.
Her earlier declaration had been nothing but bravado.
Her artistic skills were so poor she couldn’t even draw an egg properly. How could she possibly compete?
At a loss, Shangguan Min sighed and stood. "This subject is willing to give it a try."
Shen Yunxi quickly latched onto the opportunity. "I was going to step up myself, but since Miss Shangguan is so eager, I shall yield this moment in the spotlight to you. Miss Shangguan, don’t let me down!"
Shangguan Min hadn’t wanted to step up either.
But her indignation spurred her on.
Though a woman, she understood all too well the humiliation of ceding land for peace.
She couldn’t fathom why the Emperor was so insistent on negotiations. They had the strength to wage war on Yan Country, the capability to defend their lands and protect their people.
Witnessing the Yan people’s audacity today, she could not swallow her anger.
She might lose, but she needed the Yan to know that not all Great Zhou citizens were cowards.
They were courageous.
Shangguan Min gave it her all, but in the end, she still lost to Gan Tangwei.
Gan Tangwei’s painting was a sweeping landscape of ten thousand miles. The composition, though seemingly effortless, exuded majesty and ambition. It was masterful—but she had deliberately painted Yan Country’s territories. Even more provocatively, the national borders in her painting extended 200 miles southward, encompassing all eight cities Shen Xingye had once won through bloodshed, as well as the snow-covered mountains and grasslands of Great Zhou’s Northern Territory.
Yan Zheming’s intentions were glaringly obvious.
This so-called negotiation was nothing more than a land-grab!
The murmurs in the hall grew impossible to suppress.
For once, both the pro-war and pro-peace factions stood united, glaring daggers at Yan Zheming. It was as if their collective gaze could bore holes in him.
Yan Zheming feigned ignorance, laughing uproariously: "Your nation has lost all four contests—it’s a complete disgrace! What, is there truly no one among you capable? You claim to be a land of propriety and culture, yet you’ve been trampled beneath the feet of a mere woman from Yan Country! Laughable, laughable!"
Lu Yu was beside himself with rage.
He was the Emperor, chosen by heaven to rule eternally—a figure revered as the Celestial Khan by countless vassal nations.
He had always dismissed these militaristic foreign nations as nothing more than brutes. Never had he expected they would embrace the culture of the Central Plains, much less surpass it. His humiliation today was profound—how could he maintain authority in the future?
Somehow, he had to reclaim their honor.
Grimly, he announced, "For whoever can defeat the woman from Yan Country in today’s contest, I shall bestow the title of Commandery Princess and reward her with a Red Book Iron Certificate!"
Cui Ji rose and respectfully declared, "Your Majesty, I wish to recommend someone."