The Rebellious Son Becomes a God

"Then let's begin!"

Princess Le'an also showed no sign of weakness and replied.

Since people often held contests on the stage in the Tingxue Pavilion, there was a specially set up arena there.

At this time, all the items needed for the contest had been placed on the arena. They were just waiting for everyone to arrive before the official start.

The two groups of people came to sit on both sides of the arena in the very center of the hall, facing each other. There seemed to be invisible swords and shadows in their eyes. A war without gunpowder was about to begin.

"Since we're going to compete, there should be a stake. I wonder what Princess Le'an's stake is for today? We should make it clear in advance! Don't play dirty after losing the contest." Wei Wanrou, looking confident of victory, took the lead in bringing up the topic of the stake, and her tone carried a hint of provocation.

"Humph, I, Le'an, would never do such low-class things. On the contrary, don't be too confident. It's still uncertain who will win or lose!" Princess Le'an snorted and replied with disdain.

Princess Le'an clapped her hands, and the two maidservants beside her quickly stepped forward and presented the boxes they were holding.

"My wager is one hundred taels of gold, plus the body-protecting spiritual weapon that my elder brother found for me - the Seven-Colored Heavenly Silkworm Heart-Protecting Armor."

The maidservants opened the boxes. The shiny gold ingots inside almost dazzled everyone's eyes. When everyone saw the Seven-Colored Heavenly Silkworm Heart-Protecting Armor, their eyes widened even more.

"Is this the Heavenly Silkworm Heart-Protecting Armor? It's rumored that it can withstand a full-strength blow from a Soul Saint or a Martial Saint! This is truly a rare treasure!" Someone who knew its worth couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Unexpectedly, the princess is so generous. Well, in that case, I won't be stingy either. My wager is this Moon Shadow Bow, plus a three-courtyard residence on the outskirts of the city!"

Wei Wanrou also had her wager brought up.

"Unexpectedly, Miss Wei's wager is no less impressive."

"What's the origin of this Moon Shadow Bow? How does it compare to the Heavenly Silkworm Heart-Protecting Armor?" Someone who didn't know asked the person beside them.

That person didn't hesitate to enlighten him:"Although the Moon Shadow Bow is a bit lower in grade than the Heavenly Silkworm Heart-Protecting Armor, this Moon Shadow Bow can injure people without arrows. As long as spiritual power is injected into it, the spiritual power will be transformed into sharp arrows by the Moon Shadow Bow. For cultivators, it's quite a good weapon! Miss Wei's residence on the outskirts of the capital, even though it's in the suburbs, is worth more than one hundred taels of gold. So the two people's wagers are quite equivalent!"

"So that's how it is! It seems that these two are really generous with their wagers!"

"Exactly!"

Jiang Li listened to the conversations of these people and couldn't help secretly clicking his tongue in amazement. He thought to himself: I never expected that the wagers of these two young ladies would be so extravagant. I'm really too poor compared to them! I feel sorry for myself!

Seeing that Princess Le'an didn't raise any objections, Wei Wanrou continued in a gentle voice,"I know that the princess doesn't like me. In order to reduce the conflicts between us in the future, after today's competition, the losing side, please try to avoid the other as much as possible." Wei Wanrou's words were soft, but the meaning behind them was quite forceful!

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place was in an uproar.

After all, Le'an was a princess. If she lost, and had to avoid Wei Wanrou everywhere when she went out in the future, it wouldn't just be a matter of her losing face. Even her father and elder brother would lose their dignity!

"Okay, just what I wanted. You should remember this. If you lose today, all of you should stay far away from wherever I, the princess, appear in the future!" Princess Le'an immediately agreed! Her companions behind her didn't even have time to stop her.

Changing the topic, Princess Le'an added,"If you lose, you are not allowed to show off your little bit of learning in front of others anymore! It makes me sick just looking at it!"

Seeing that Princess Le'an agreed so readily, Wei Wanrou actually felt uncomfortable instead.

She couldn't help but worry whether Princess Le'an had some kind of reliance. Her eyes unconsciously looked at the unfamiliar Jiang Li again.

At this time, Jiang Li was listening attentively to the explanations about the wagers from the spectators beside him, with an ignorant look on his face!

Wei Wanrou sneered softly,[Hmph! It seems that I was really overthinking it. Today's competition mainly focuses on the four arts of qin (a musical instrument similar to the zither), chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as poetry, lyrics, and odes. These are our strong suits. How could we let those good-for-nothings win!]

Thinking like this, Wei Wanrou regained her confident look from just now!

"Okay! It's a deal!"

With the announcement of the master of ceremonies, the competition between the two groups officially began!

Today's competition mainly centered around the four arts of qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as poetry, lyrics, and odes.

The two sides took turns to show their skills, and the competition was intense and evenly matched. It was Jiang Li's first time participating in such a competition, and he was watching with great interest, completely looking like a spectator. He even forgot that he was also a participant!

[Tsk, tsk, tsk! These noble children really deserve their high-quality education. Each of them has hidden talents! Judging from this, the young people of the Great Han Dynasty are all quite capable. As long as the Xuanyuan imperial family doesn't do anything stupid, it should be no problem for the Great Han Dynasty to thrive for another hundred years!]

At this time, the competition had reached a white-hot stage. Both sides had their wins and losses, and it was currently a draw!

It was time for the final stage of the literary talent competition. The people on Princess Le'an's side couldn't help but start to feel nervous. They could still manage to cope with the previous events somehow, but when it came to poetry, lyrics, and odes, they were indeed no match for the other side.

In the next round, Wei Wanrou herself took the stage. At this moment, she had already climbed onto the platform.

Wei Wanrou looked down at Princess Le'an from above and said,"I wonder who the princess intends to send out for this round?"

Everyone unconsciously lowered their heads. Although they looked down on the way Wei Wanrou and her group behaved, Wei Wanrou's reputation as the number one talented woman in the capital was indeed earned by her own abilities.

The people behind Princess Le'an couldn't help but start to worry about her.

"Princess, if it doesn't work, let Prince Yun Tian go!" The second young lady of the Ministry of Punishments' family quietly reminded Le'an. Although it wasn't very proper to ask someone from another country to participate, it was better than losing! The other few people also had the same idea.

However, they then found that both Princess Le'an and Prince Yun Tian had fixed their gazes on Jiang Li.

"Princess, why are you looking at Jiang Li?"

"Hehehe, Jiang Li will take part in this round!" Le'an showed a naughty smile.

"Brother Jiang Li, is it okay for you to take part in this round?" Princess Le'an turned around and asked Jiang Li.

Jiang Li smiled and nodded."I'd be happy to!" Saying that, he got up and walked onto the stage.

Seeing his calm and composed appearance, everyone still couldn't help but worry.

"Can Jiang Li do it?" They had just met Jiang Li and had no idea about his background at all.

"Don't worry. He's the helper I specially invited. There will definitely be no problem! Just wait and see!" Le Yun was full of confidence in Jiang Li. After all, he was the one who passed the Xiucai examination at the age of twelve! Dealing with a little Wei Wanrou would be a piece of cake!

Wei Wanrou couldn't help but feel a bit nervous when she saw Jiang Li coming onto the stage.

[If it were anyone else, I would be confident of winning. But this Jiang Li is too unfamiliar. Since Le'an dares to let him come on stage, there must be a reason. Could it be that he really has some real talent and learning?]

Despite all these thoughts in her mind, she still looked as calm and composed on the surface."For poetry, lyrics, and odes, I wonder which one Master Jiang intends to compete in?"

"Any is fine. Miss Wei can just choose what you're good at!" Jiang Li replied casually.

Seeing how casual he was, Wei Wanrou couldn't help but become serious.

She gave Jiang Li a sweet smile and said,"In the past, most of the competitions were about poetry, lyrics, and odes, and I'm already tired of them. How about we match couplets today?"

Jiang Li raised his eyebrows!"Matching couplets is rather rare, but it doesn't matter. How will we compete?"

Seeing him say this, Wei Wanrou knew that she had picked something Jiang Li wasn't good at, and she was secretly delighted.

"I'll give the first line of the couplet, and you'll come up with the second line. There will be a time limit of one stick of incense. If you can't come up with it, you'll lose. How about that?"

"Sure! Then, Miss Wei, please go ahead!" Jiang Li asked Wei Wanrou to give the topic.

"The wind caresses the green willow branches with thousands of strands," Wei Wanrou took the lead and gave a rather conventional yet quite aesthetically pleasing first line of the couplet, intending to test Jiang Li's skills first.

Jiang Li thought for a moment and then replied calmly,"The rain moistens the red lotus stamens with ten thousand beads." The antithesis was neat, and the picture of the red lotus in the rain depicted was fresh and elegant, complementing the first line perfectly.

Wei Wanrou felt a slight chill in her heart. She hadn't expected Jiang Li to respond so smoothly, but she still didn't take it too seriously. Some talented people could also handle this couplet relatively easily.

"The moon hangs on the sparse paulownia tree with its shadow covering half of the wall," This time, the first line of the couplet created a more secluded atmosphere in the scene, increasing the difficulty a bit.

Jiang Li remained unhurried and quickly responded,"The stars hang over the flat wilderness with their light shining for thousands of miles." Not only was the antithesis precise, but the artistic conception was even broader and grander, which made the people in the audience secretly nod and praise.

Wei Wanrou's brows furrowed slightly. Realizing that Jiang Li really had some skills, she decided to increase the difficulty a little.

"The clouds wind around the waist of the green mountain with ten thousand turns." This couplet tested Jiang Li's grasp of scenery description and antithesis through the dynamic depiction of the clouds winding around the green mountain.