The Prime Minister’s Darling-Chapter 510 - 256 Three Hairpin Flowers (First Update)_2

Chapter 510: 256 Three Hairpin Flowers (First Update)_2

Chapter 510: 256 Three Hairpin Flowers (First Update)_2

“But…” The girl in the purple dress stamped her foot, huffing as she sat back down in her chair.

After the girl in purple made the first attempt, several other plucky daughters of wealthy families tried to challenge the newly crowned scholar. All of them ended up facing defeat without exception.

Next came a particularly tough challenge. She didn’t ask Xiao Liulang to match rhyming couplets or compose a poem but instead asked him to recite a passage from “Turn Left” backwards.

She had presented the formidable challenge to Xiao Liulang, armed with the book “Turn Left”, containing over ninety thousand words. To recite any part of it while pointing to it, let alone backwards, one really has to know the book by heart to an incredible degree.

This was terribly harsh!

The people initially found great amusement in the situation but now began to sympathize with the poor scholar.

An official from the Ministry of Rites was sweating profusely. He had said before that the challenge should have rules, like only asking to compose verses or rhyme couplets, not off-topic questions like this. Wasn’t this just deliberately setting him up for embarrassment?

Only those who had studied extensively could understand just how difficult this question was. However, common people didn’t understand, and would only think, “Isn’t he the top scholar? Why can’t he even recite a passage from a book?”

The rich young lady from upstairs said with a bright smile, “You can’t answer it, can you? Scholar, your safflower is mine now!”

Without showing any haste or panic, Xiao Liulang began, “Feather white, analyze with Xu Shengzi Wang makes Chu, winter…”

The rich young woman was startled, her eyes fixated on the book in her hand, he… he didn’t mispronounce a single word!

“I concede,” Xiao Liulang politely yet somewhat distantly shifted his gaze away.

“Next?”

He asked.

The room was silent, everyone was still under the shocking spell of his fluent recitation of the “Turn Left” passage. For a while, no one dared to step forward to face embarrassment.

Xiao Liulang’s gaze fell on Gu Jiao’s face, with an enviable hint of warmth in his eyes, “Miss, please state your question.”

Oh, it’s her turn?

Gu Jiao was dumbstruck.

Everyone else had recited poetry, but she didn’t know how to do so.

Actually, she did, but she had been too busy staring at the handsome man earlier, so she hadn’t been able to think of anything.

Gu Jiao blinked her eyes, her eyeballs rolling around, “Um… ‘The white sun sets behind the mountains?'”

Everyone stumbled!

No, miss, what kind of question is that? Even a three-year-old can answer that! The top scholar can even recite “Turn Left” backwards!

Xiao Liulang hummed in thought, gazing at her intently, and said seriously, “I don’t know. I lose.”

Everyone: “…….”

No way, top scholar, you can’t even answer this?

Everyone was at a loss for words until another rich young woman stepped forward and said something that most people couldn’t understand.

Xiao Liulang gave her a cold look and responded in a language that most people didn’t understand either.

The girl who had previously worn purple was totally confused, “Sister? What were they talking about?”

The young nun raised an eyebrow, “The girl just used the language of Chen Country to say ‘The white sun sets behind the mountains’ to the top scholar.”

“Ah?” The girl in purple was startled.

The young nun slowly said, “Then the top scholar responded with ‘Kuanghe river flows into the sea’ in five different languages of Chen, Liang, Zhao, Jin, and Yan countries.”

Did that girl genuinely believe that the top scholar couldn’t match the couplets? That she could take advantage of this apparent error, positioning herself as superior to the young woman in green, thinking that the top scholar would spare her a second glance?

But she ended up getting a severe humiliation.

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He knew everyone else’s questions, but would not answer yours.

Winning the world, just to lose to you.

Most people were not clear about what was happening, but they saw the girl who had been speaking in a gibberish language turn beet red all of a sudden.

What the nun said was passed on by the maids, and then everyone finally understood what was happening.

They had come early in the morning to see the scholar’s parade, skipping breakfast. Now, they were all full, almost dropping their teeth from astonishment!

In the end, Gu Jiao came to possess the scholar’s safflower.

She was marvelling at the hairpin flower in her hand, unable to tear her gaze away from it.

So beautiful!

Xiao Liulang watched her from afar, his eyes expressing a tenderness unbeknownst to him.

Suddenly, a small head emerged from beneath Gu Jiao’s arm.

“Hm? Flower? Jiaojiao, I want to wear it!” Little Jing Kong patted his bald head with his small hands.

Girls all around clamored for it.

Little brother, you have no hair, why don’t you give it to us sisters to wear?

Look at how thick our hair is!

Jing Kong frowned and turned his face away, refusing. He insisted on wearing it himself!

Gu Jiao fashioned a headband out of a silk scarf for Little Jing Kong, planted the flower in it, then watched him contentedly wobble his bald head with a large safflower on it.

Then, the recently established scholar king frowned.

Gu Jiao’s goal was to obtain three hairpin flowers. She had already gotten the one from the scholar king, and now she was after the flowers from the runner-up and the third place laureate.

When faced with An County King, her mind was terribly clear, not a foggy thought in sight, and she challenged him directly with an arithmetic problem.

The County King of An was taken aback.

He had planned from the beginning to intentionally lose to her, just like how Xiao Liulang had done, but he hadn’t expected she would present such a difficult problem.

Who taught her that? Xiao Liulang?

Why was she holding back with Xiao Liulang, but going all out with him?

The An County King took a deep breath: “I concede.”

Xiao Liulang squinted, watching the An County King give the hairpin flower to Gu Jiao, his gaze cold and daunting.

However, soon Gu Jiao set her eyes on Ning Zhiyuan, who had won the third place.

Due to Ning Zhiyuan’s appearance, no one had challenged him yet. Thus, he could choose to directly donate the hairpin flower to Gu Jiao. But Ning Zhiyuan did not want to. He was determined: if anyone challenged him, he would refuse outright and keep the flower for himself.

Seeing that Gu Jiao was also eyeing Ning Zhiyuan’s flower, Xiao Liulang, surprisingly, did not get angry.

Ning Zhiyuan firmly held onto his hairpin flower.

He had no intention of giving it away.

He wanted to keep it as a family heirloom, to be passed down through generations.

“Hand over the hairpin flower.” The newly-crowned scholar king ordered menacingly.

“No.” Ning Zhiyuan refused.

“The consequences for not complying are severe.” The scholar king continued to threaten with a stern face, “I am the scholar king. I will make things difficult for you.”

Ning Zhiyuan: “…..”

The top three scholars all have the right to enter the Hanlin Academy, but a scholar king holds a higher position than a runner-up or third place laureate. So if the scholar king wanted to make things difficult for the third place laureate, he could.

The ancient King Goujian once suffered humiliation for the sake of revenge. Today, I, Ning Zhiyuan, shall surrender the hairpin flower with tears in my eyes!

Ning Zhiyuan swallowed his pride and handed over the imperial gift, the hairpin flower.

Oh! His family heirloom was gone.

Gu Jiao had won three hairpin flowers, becoming the first woman in Zhan Country’s history to possess all three. For a moment she surpassed the crown princess in status, outshining everyone else.

Xiao Liulang, as the scholar king, was undoubtedly the most recognized man that day, and Gu Jiao was undoubtedly the most recognized woman.

As for public comment, you can only imagine.

The parade lasted for almost an hour. Led by the scholar king, through the bustling Chang’an Street, and onto the establishment catalogue at the Jingzhao Residence. After the feast, they could finally return home.

“Liulang, I can’t believe it’s real.” In the grand hall of the Jingzhao Residence, Fen Lin spoke to Xiao Liulang, his heart surging with emotions, “Walking through the streets, seeing so many people watching me…. I haven’t felt this proud in my entire life.”

His prestige was nothing compared to the new scholar king, but he never intended to compare himself to Xiao Liulang. The disappointment of only having passed the same degree had evaporated during the parade. His heart was filled with passion, and he wanted to serve the court to the best of his abilities!