0p0 Chapter 165 Different Treatment
Chapter 165 Different Treatment
After reading it aloud, she swallowed hard and began to think deeply.
The scene fell silent for a moment, and everyone's attention was focused on Ms. Sun.
After a long pause, she suddenly bit her lip and shook her head.
"Your Majesty, I... cannot answer."
The Emperor sighed slightly in disappointment, and Lin Yuwei spoke first:
"Your Majesty, I will answer."
Upon hearing this, Madam Lin immediately beamed with joy, and Consort Liang also showed a delighted smile at this moment.
The Emperor gestured with his hand.
"Okay, then you try it out."
Lin Yuwei's eyes flickered, and she said loudly:
"Snow-white sheep, silver beard, silver horns, silver body."
"it is good."
Upon hearing this, Lin Chengda immediately clapped his hands.
“My granddaughter paired Snow White Sheep with Smoked Green Chicken, that’s wonderful.”
The Emperor nodded with a broad smile.
"Not bad, not bad, Yuwei is indeed a child of the Lin family, she is very smart."
Lin Yuwei raised her eyebrows triumphantly and looked at Lan Zhi, but Lan Zhi raised the corners of her mouth in disdain and smiled.
When she provided the matching line, these people all looked miserable, as if someone owed them eight hundred taels of silver.
Now that Lin Yuwei has provided the matching line, everyone is cheering and flattering her.
It seems that there is a significant difference between having a powerful backer and not having one.
"Lan Zhi, what are you laughing at? If you're so capable, come up with a matching couplet."
Clearly, Lin Yuwei wanted to make things difficult for Lan Zhi, but Madam Lin feigned concern and offered advice.
“Yuwei, Miss Lan has never been to school since she was a child. It’s really not easy for her to be able to answer one of the questions just now. You mustn’t make things difficult for her in front of everyone.”
"Mother, I didn't make things difficult for her. If she doesn't have any skills, she should just admit defeat. Why is she wasting everyone's time standing here?"
Lan Zhi frowned slightly, and said generously:
"Yes, a snow-white horse, silver mane, silver tail, and silver hooves."
Her couplet caused the room to fall silent once again.
No one expected that this country girl would be able to come up with another matching line after Lin Yuwei had already given the first one.
After a moment of silence, the Emperor was the first to speak.
"Hmm, Lan Zhi's answer is good, but that doesn't count as a win. You need to come up with the matching couplet in your hand."
Lan Zhi smiled disdainfully to herself once again.
If her behavior had been directed at Lin Yuwei, the Emperor wouldn't have remained so calm!
However, she didn't care. Seeing Wei Jianning's worried expression, she gave him another gentle smile, then spread her hands and read aloud:
"Without a prime minister within the country and no generals without the country, we are forced to exchange gifts of gold and silver. What will become of us then?"
This first line is undoubtedly the most difficult of the four couplets.
Wei Jianning couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat for her, his heart leaping into his throat.
Just when those who disliked her were eager to see her make a fool of herself, she rolled up the first line of the couplet in her hand and calmly said:
"I replied: Heaven is hard to fathom, earth is hard to measure, this is the measure of an emperor, and it is no problem to measure it."
The scene fell silent; everyone held their breath, waiting for the Emperor to speak.
"Crack, snap, snap!"
The Emperor clapped his hands and praised:
"The words are concise and the parallelism is perfect; it's a fine couplet."
Lin Xingliang nodded in agreement and praised:
"Yes, she not only composed a perfect couplet, but also praised the Emperor, saying it was a wonderful and ingenious match."
Seeing her own father praising Lan Zhi, Lin Yuwei immediately pouted, glared at Lan Zhi resentfully, and said to Lin Xingliang in a coquettish voice:
"Father, I am your daughter. How can you side with outsiders?"
Lin Xingliang, however, laughed heartily without any hesitation.
“Yuwei, your father is being reasonable rather than kinship-based. Their couplet is indeed quite good and deserves praise.”
Lin Yuwei glanced at Madam Lin with displeasure, and Madam Lin quickly gave Lin Xingliang a look, after which Lin Xingliang immediately coughed awkwardly.
"I was just saying that; the final decision rests with the Emperor, the Empress, and the imperial concubines."
The Emperor immediately nodded.
"Yes, now everyone raise your hands to vote. Whoever you think has the best matching second line, vote for them."
The current situation is that neither Miss Zhang nor Miss Sun has come up with a matching couplet, Lin Yuwei has come up with two, and Lan Zhi has come up with three. To be fair, Lan Zhi should be considered the winner.
However, everyone knows that neither the Emperor nor Consort Liang wants Lan Zhi to become the Crown Princess, so the winner and loser must be determined by the referee.
The Queen was the first to speak:
“Yuwei performed well, but Lanzhi played three sets. I think Lanzhi should win this game.”
Although the Empress looked down on Lan Zhi, she was even more unwilling to let the Lin family and the Crown Prince marry.
Rather than letting Lin Yuwei marry Wei Jianning and strengthen his power, it would be better to let him marry Lan Zhi, a country girl with no background whatsoever.
Madam Lin immediately glared at the Empress with a livid face, then turned her gaze to Consort Liang.
Without a doubt, Consort Liang voted for Lin Yuwei.
Next was Consort Zhen. When facing Consort Liang, she decided to stand on the same side as the Empress, so she voted for Lan Zhi.
Finally, it was Consort Duan's turn. She was Yu Jie's biological mother. Although she gave birth to Yu Jie, she was only a consort, and her words carried little weight. The reason she was brought here today was purely to make up the numbers. She dared not offend the Empress on the left, nor did she dare to offend Consort Liang on the right. It was a bit difficult for her to choose one of them.
However, Yu Jie had already told her that, all things being equal, she had to choose Lan Zhi.
Thinking of this, she looked at Lan Zhi.
"I think Miss Lan's last couplet was well-matched, so she should win this round."
Consort Liang rolled her eyes at her and then turned her gaze to Consort Jiang, who had the final say.
The score is now 2-2, and Consort Jiang's vote is crucial.
Consort Jiang is Yu Min's mother. Yu Min has a good relationship with the Empress. Logically, she should follow the Empress's wishes and cast her vote for Lan Zhi.
However, she and Madam Lin had a good relationship in private, and Consort Liang had given her prior notice and sent her many gifts. Now she was truly in a dilemma and didn't know what to do.
"Ouch!"
Suddenly her body went limp, and she covered her head with her hands, wailing in pain.
"My head hurts so much."
Upon seeing this, the Emperor hurriedly inquired with concern.
"What's wrong with Consort Jiang?"
"Your Majesty, my headache has flared up again. I'd like to go back and lie down for a while."
The Emperor quickly waved his hand at the maid beside him.
"Quickly, help Consort Jiang back to rest."
The Empress, however, insisted:
"Consort Jiang should at least cast her vote before leaving."
Consort Liang frowned in resentment.
"Exactly, your vote is crucial. If you leave, how can the evaluation be conducted?"
Consort Jiang, however, was already completely powerless, clutching her chest and pretending that she couldn't even speak and might faint at any moment.
The Emperor immediately urged anxiously:
"Consort Jiang is unwell, so everything can be put on hold for now. Let's help her back to rest!"
Upon hearing this, Consort Jiang quickly signaled to her maid to take her away.
This was a dangerous place, and she didn't want to stay a moment longer on this job that would offend people.
Consort Jiang left, and Consort Liang looked at the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, the score is now two to two. The final decision rests with you. You decide who wins and who loses!"
The Emperor frowned slightly and glanced at Lan Zhi and Lin Yuwei respectively.
Logically speaking, Lan Zhi should win this round, but he also hopes that the Lin family's daughter will become the Crown Princess.
After hesitating for a moment, he raised his hand and said:
"This round is a draw, Qin Shun, let's move on to the next match!"
Madam Lin knew that, compared to Lin Yuwei, Lin Yuwei's chances of winning this round were slim. Now that the Emperor was giving her a way out, it was a way of giving face to the Lin family, so she didn't say anything more.
Qin Shun stepped forward and loudly proclaimed:
"In the first round, Lin Yuwei and Lan Zhi are tied for first place, and Zhang Li and Sun Shuang are tied for second place. Now we will proceed to the next round, which will be the qin (a stringed instrument) and qi (a stringed instrument) of the qin, qi, shu, hua (a stringed instrument, a ...