"Whatever is taught in the Imperial College is better than anything else." The girl's tone was casual.
"In the Imperial College, there are professors of rituals, music, poetry, calligraphy, painting, chess, riding and archery -" Song Xian's eyes seemed to see through the girl's intentions: "Does Mrs. Chang want to compete in calligraphy and painting?"
After all, what this Chang family girl is most famous for is the picture of a tiger in the forest.
Although he has not seen it yet, he knows that she has some abilities in calligraphy and painting, but if she wants to compete with this, he is not afraid.
After all, what is optimal for women is different from what is optimal for men.
Song Xian looked calm.
But the girl shook her head.
"It's not better than calligraphy and painting." She actually said: "It's not better than riding and shooting. I'm good at both and have talent. Even if I win, I won't feel guilty."
She looks like she doesn't want to use her talent to bully others.
Song Xian was startled and almost sneered.
The people behind him who were in the poetry club or the literati who came to participate in the poetry meeting all looked at each other in shock. Someone in the crowd sneered instead of Song Xian.
This little girl is not very old, but she is just beginning to show her fame, and her tone is not young at all!
Could she really think that because she had done a painting and had received a lot of recognition and praise, she could be so contemptuous of Song Juren, who was the most promising person in the coming spring?
But there was no contempt in the girl's eyes.
On the contrary, she seemed to be expressing her respect seriously and trying to make the competition as fair as possible.
In the private room on the second floor, someone stood in front of the open window lattice, just taking in the scene in the backyard.
Faced with the girl's words, it would be inferior to be sarcastic or hollow at this time, so Song Xian said seriously: "Okay, if that's the case, then it's no better than poetry."
The implication is that poetry is what he is good at, and he cannot bully others - especially a girl.
Chang Sui Ning smiled and nodded: "Okay."
In this situation, both parties showed humility to each other. At first glance, it looked like a scholar's courteous style.
But the tense feeling between the two parties still exists.
There were also some people who were just watching the fun, such as Tan Li, outsiders who came to participate in the poetry meeting, and they started talking in low voices at this time.
"What's the comparison?"
"Ritual music?"
However, the etiquette learned by men and women is different. It is said that they were taught by the Imperial College, but Mrs. Chang has never actually entered the Imperial College to learn etiquette, so she is still a bit bullying...
As for playing musical instruments, this is actually a music hall...
While everyone was thinking about it, they saw the girl raising her hand to the stone table aside: "How about playing chess?"
The girl wears a thin silk-colored silk skirt and stands tall and tall. The silk embroidered crane in her hands moves slightly in the wind, making her posture look more casual and even graceful.
The word grace has always been difficult for people to feel so intuitively about young women.
Song Xian looked at the stone table.
Playing chess is certainly more gentlemanly than musical instruments, but unlike many musical instruments, learning chess only requires a book of chess books, a chessboard, and a brain willing to delve into it. His family is not wealthy. In addition to studying since childhood, he has
He almost always plays chess, which is one of the few elegant hobbies that can improve his temperament without spending too much.
Later, he got to know more people who were good at chess, and step by step he became a scholar, went to the capital, and entered the Imperial College. He had more mentors and friends around him, and his chess skills also improved day by day.
The opponent is a lady in the capital, so learning chess is compulsory, but in the chess game, superficial skills are just an introduction.
The chessboard is also a world, and it tests not only skills, but also the player's mind, mentality, decision-making, and vision of means.
Therefore, playing chess can cultivate one's self, and it is also a form of spiritual practice.
Frankly speaking, he didn't think that such a flamboyant little girl who had just grown hair could understand this.
"Does Mrs. Chang really want to play chess with Song?" he asked.
"Well, let's compare it to this." She said, "I'm pretty good at chess."
Someone in the Xunmei Club who knew Song Xian's chess skills let out a sneer.
"Playing pretty well" is not enough to compete with Song Xiandi!
Song Xian no longer had those ups and downs on his face: "In that case, let's play chess."
After the two sides settled on this, Cui Lang urged Yihu: "Hurry up and ask someone to get the chessboard!"
"Since it's a competition, it's interesting if everyone comes out on top." Chang Sui Ning said.
Song Xian was silently on guard: "What kind of bet does Madam Chang want?"
He didn't have anything valuable on him... Could it be that the other party wanted to use this to humiliate him in public?
But I heard the girl say: "Winning or losing will prevail. If I lose, I will never set foot in the Imperial College again, and the Wuer Society will be disbanded."
It was suddenly noisy everywhere.
Not only Song Xian and others were surprised by this, Cui Lang and others were also shocked.
"Master, this..." Cui Lang came over and whispered tactfully: "Isn't this too risky?"
Why did the master put himself and the juju club under pressure? He didn’t want to lose his family in the Imperial College!
Chang Sui Ning disagreed: "No bets, no pain, no risk, no fun, what's the fun?"
Cui Lang's heart ached when he heard that - of course you can gamble, but gambling on something else will cost your family. Isn't this what a playboy and a spendthrift does?
Wow...he suddenly understood how his mother-in-law felt when she looked at him in the past!
"Master..."
He wanted to say more, but he saw the girl glanced at him, as if to say - if you talk more, she will suppress you too.
Cui Lang wanted to cry but had no tears. He pursed his lips and felt very aggrieved.
"It's very good. Mrs. Chang is courageous and admirable!" Someone from the Xunmei Society expressed their praise.
It seems to be a compliment, but in fact it is to set people up and leave no room for regret.
Song Xian did not comment on this, and only asked Chang Suining: "What if Song loses?"
Although this may be trivial, he at least needs to know the other party's plan.
Chang Suining: "I heard that Song Juren wanted to worship Jijiu as his teacher——"
After a moment of silence, everyone in Xunmei Society changed their expressions.
Is this exposing someone's scars and showing off that he has Qiao Jijiu as his disciple?
It's just based on the original relationship, what's there to show off?
Song Xianwei straightened the corners of his mouth: "What does Mrs. Chang want to say?"
"According to this, Song Juren never really worshiped anyone as his teacher. He had no teacher, right?"
Song Xian looked at her.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Anyone who teaches, or the scribes and elders who have the kindness to help you, can certainly be called a teacher, but those who seriously offer a cup of apprenticeship tea are indeed
No.
"No, so what?"
"Then Song Juren may have a teacher soon." The girl looked at him and said, "If you lose, how about asking me to be your teacher?"
Song Xian almost laughed.
Sure enough, he is still arrogant and does not know the importance of things, and he only acts to impress people and win people's attention!
"This is obviously trying to amuse Song Xiandi with words..."
"Brother Song, don't pay attention to such ridiculous suggestions."
Amidst the dissatisfied persuasion, Song Xiandao said: "Then let's make a bet with this."
No matter how absurd it is, it won't be true anyway, so the other party can only show off its power verbally.
There's nothing he wouldn't dare to gamble on.
Since he agreed to compete with the other party, he had no reason to shrink from it.
He originally disdains competing with a little girl in public, but his dissatisfaction with the other party has just been made clear. He needs to compete with the other party, and he needs to win openly and effortlessly——
Only in this way can his dissatisfaction be justified and make him qualified enough to say those words, instead of being shady and seeming to only dare to talk about her, a little girl, behind her back.
The chessboard was quickly set up and Song Xian had already sat down.
He didn't mean to bully her. After winning, he would admit that he could not win against her as a woman. He would not really force her to fulfill the bet she just made, whether it was to leave the Imperial Academy or disband the Wuer Society.
He's not an aggressive person.
He just needed to prove that his dissatisfaction was justified, and he just needed to dampen her self-righteous air.
He was ready to win, and he was also ready to show the gentlemanly demeanor that a man should have after winning.
So he raised his hand: "Ms. Chang, please go first."
Chang Sui Ning was not polite to him and raised his hand to take the white piece.
The two of them first placed two seats at the opposite corners, and then Chang Sui Ning took the white stone first.
With a soft "click" sound, the chess game is square and the chess pieces are circles. Between the square and the circle, a world is opened by the white stone under the girl's hand.
As the news spread in the concert hall, more and more people came to watch.
"Who is playing chess with whom?"
"That Song Xian and Song Juren... and a girl!"
"How can you compare with a girl?"
"She's not an ordinary girl, she's Mrs. Chang..."
"That Mrs. Chang!"
Prince Rong, who was wearing regular clothes, couldn't help but smile when he heard these voices: "From the words 'that Mrs. Chang', we know that Mrs. Chang has really made a name for herself in the capital in just a few months, and everyone knows about it."
And if you think about it carefully, you will know that such a rapid road to fame is something that few people have been able to achieve throughout the ages.
Could this be a sudden brilliance by chance?
"Come on, let's go take a look too." He picked up the flute on the table and stood up slowly.
He has always been fond of elegant music and would come here to sit for half a day every ten days.
But I heard about elegant music every time, but it was new to meet people playing chess.
As the number of onlookers increased, Song Xian gradually began to feel uneasy.
If everything goes as he expected, the more witnesses the better, but now...
He looked at the chessboard in front of him and the girl sitting quietly opposite him playing chess.
The chess pieces fell one by one, and as the chess surface became increasingly tense and dangerous, almost no one spoke, but there were occasional sighs of surprise.
It was quite quiet all around, and the ginkgo branches and leaves nearby made a soft rustling sound in the wind.
This chess game has become a battlefield.
But Heizi did not gain the upper hand as everyone expected.
The girl was always unhurried, no matter whether the opponent was in a hurry or slow, the time of each move she made was almost the same, as if she didn't need to think too much, and she seemed to be looking at the overall situation at all times.
Song Xian realized that this was also a kind of psychological conflict, so he reminded himself that he must deal with it calmly.
And, we must put away that contempt.
The young man next to the window on the second floor kept his eyes on the girl playing chess.
Her body is straight but not deliberately. When she raises her hands, she actually has her troops arranged in formation, building the momentum of the universe.
He couldn't see clearly the details on the chess board, but from the facial expressions of the people around him, he could tell that she was playing the chess game very well.
"...Is Governor Cui listening to what we are saying?"
There were suppressed voices of dissatisfaction in the private room.
There are several middle-aged men sitting in the room, all wearing long robes. One of them is an elder of the Cui clan, and he is the one who invited Cui Jing to come here today.
Cui Jing had changed into his regular clothes and was standing in front of the window without looking back. He only said: "Cui Jing has made it very clear just now. It is difficult for Cui Jing to obey your words."
"You...you, a noble son of the Cui family, are you really going to become a pawn of the Ming Dynasty?"
"After the Ming Dynasty, when they were in power, in order to eradicate dissidents, they killed and demoted people arbitrarily. If things go on like this, the Cui family will also be in danger..."
"Since you hold Xuance's army and military power, the defense of the capital is under control... If you use military remonstrance to force the Ming Dynasty to return power to the crown prince, you can restore peace and stability to the country and the court!"
Listening to those heart-wrenching words, Cui Jing finally said: "The prince is young and has a weak will. If I really rashly advise him, it will only allow someone with ulterior motives to take advantage of the situation. Therefore, I will never agree to this matter."
"The four of us will be able to stabilize the situation then!"
"Your Cui family is still the leader -"
Cui Jing's expression remained calm: "You have lived in the capital for a long time, and your eyes only focus on the small area of the court. You know that the overall situation of the world has changed a lot. The so-called four great families, do they still have the power to calm down the chaos after it was overturned in the past?
, you should probably understand."
The faces of those people suddenly changed: "That's precisely because of the suppression after Ming. As long as Ming is removed, everything will be as before..."
Cui Jing still didn't look back, and his words were cold and forceful: "Besides, the Xuance Army is not owned by Cui Jing, but was created by His Royal Highness the former Crown Prince. Cui Jing will not be able to agree to any move that uses this to shake the stability of the country."
"you……"
Someone stood up and pointed angrily at the young man's back: "It's in vain that you are the eldest grandson of the Cui family... but you have ignored the prosperity and survival of the entire clan!"
Cui Jing was unmoved: "The rise and fall of the gentry cannot be reversed by my own efforts. If you really want to survive, it is not a difficult thing. The unsolvable thing is that you want more than just survival——"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! It is the arrogant selfish desire that still wants to be above the imperial power and stand on the top of all things.
And he couldn't let Xuance Jun become a sword to satisfy his selfish desires.
He will never be a knife.
"There's no need to talk to this guy any more!"
"He keeps thinking about the overall situation of the country, but if this is really the case, how can he be willing to be a hawk after the Ming Dynasty!"
"You can go out of this door and enter the palace, and tell Empress Ming directly what we have said today, so that you can make further contributions!"
"You have never hidden your intentions. If this proposal has not been completed, why should I go and tell the truth." The young man standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back said seriously: "If I have the intention to make a contribution, I should pretend to agree to your proposal first, and then rebel at the critical moment.
Water makes it impossible for you to retreat——"
"you!"
Several middle-aged men almost fell down with anger.
They would like to thank him for caring and showing mercy!
"You, Ms. Cui, have really raised a good son!"
"Da Lang, you...hey!"
The sound of sleeves blowing and the sound of pushing the door to leave were heard one after another.
Watching those people leave, Yuan Xiang couldn't help but sigh: "This is like rejuvenating, everyone is so angry that they are like grandchildren..."
Seeing the closed door, he affirmed: "It's true that you are a nobleman. When you are so angry, you don't forget to close the door."
With that said, he walked behind the young man and reminded him: "Grand Governor, everyone has finished leaving. Please go back and sit down."
No more pretending to look out the window.
The young man ignored him.
Hey, isn't the Grand Governor just pretending?
Yuanxiang looked over curiously.
He vaguely heard someone playing chess early in the morning, but it was nothing unusual to play chess in a place like this.
It's just...it turns out that the person playing chess is Mrs. Chang?
No wonder the Governor took it so seriously - that was the Governor's only friend playing chess with others. A rough calculation meant that the Governor himself was sitting there playing chess with others!
But why did it suddenly become noisy? Is this the winner?