But then this young lady began dancing while balancing those ten small wine cups on her fingertips. Throughout her entire dance routine, not a single cup fell from her fingers, making one wonder if the ten cups were somehow glued to her fingertips.

However, this young lady’s subsequent actions proved that theory wrong. She tossed all ten cups into the air in succession, then used dazzling hand movements to catch them with the gaps between her fingers. From beginning to end, not one cup fell to the ground, and her movements were so fast that people couldn’t see clearly how she did it. Everyone present couldn’t help but cry out in amazement, and even Old Princess Consort perked up and watched with great interest.

Finally, this young lady swept her water sleeves, and those ten wine cups suddenly vanished without a trace. Then she turned her hands over, and a large bowl suddenly appeared in her hands, filled with tea that was eight-tenths full. No one knew how she managed this – if that large bowl of tea had been hidden in her wide sleeves earlier, how could she have performed all those movements without spilling a drop? The audience once again exclaimed in amazement at this miraculous skill.

The young lady smiled sweetly, carried the bowl up to the platform with both hands, then presented it to Ren Yaoqi: “Master Ren, please have some tea.” Though she was smiling, her eyes held a hint of provocation, as if saying: “Do you dare drink this bowl of tea in my hands?”

Naturally, Ren Yaoqi didn’t want to drink this bowl of unknown origin, but one couldn’t lose face even if losing the battle. She still smiled as she accepted the tea bowl from the young lady’s hands, lowered her head to smell it – it was ordinary jasmine tea, and the tea water was still steaming warmly. Just as she was about to say a few words to dismiss this young lady who was still staring at her, Xiao Jinglin stood up and walked over, feigning curiosity as she took the tea bowl from her hands without argument: “It looks quite magical. Let me try it.”

Ren Yaoqi thought she meant “try” as in drink it and was about to stop her, but saw Xiao Jinglin imitate the magic-performing young lady’s movements, turning her hands over, and the tea bowl that had just been in her hands immediately disappeared. Seeing this, everyone was stunned, then they all called out “Bravo” for Xiao Jinglin.

The magic-performing young lady’s expression soured: “County Princess, that bowl is my family heirloom. Please return it to me.” There was no real magic in this world – her tricks looked mysterious and dazzling, but relied only on those seemingly simple implements.

Xiao Jinglin raised her eyes, then smiled quietly. Suddenly, she imitated the girl’s earlier manner and flicked her sleeves. Though her sleeves weren’t as wide as the young lady’s and didn’t look as graceful when swept, she still amazed those present. Because ten wine cups had suddenly appeared in Xiao Jinglin’s hands – the same ones that had mysteriously disappeared earlier.

Xiao Jinglin expressionlessly handed over those ten wine cups: “Here, returning them to you. I helped you magic them back!”

The magic-performing young lady: “…”

You didn’t magic them back – you stole them from me! she grieved inwardly. Unfortunately, Xiao Jinglin had already returned directly to her seat, resuming her noble and aloof County Princess demeanor, completely ignoring her.

When this young lady finally left the stage, she was so angry that her eyes were red.

No one noticed that after sitting down, Xiao Jinglin winked at Ren Yaoqi – only Ren Yaoqi could see the pleased mischief in her eyes after her prank.

Xiao Jinglin thought: Let you show off with a broken bowl, and dare to force people to drink random things. Asking for trouble!

Perhaps these people thought County Princess Xiao was too bored, because the fourth and fifth performers demonstrated archery and sword dancing. The archer somehow kept missing her targets, while the sword dancer smoothly completed her performance, which was quite pleasing to watch – only at the end, when she struck a beautiful finishing pose and was about to request “Master Ren’s” guidance, her shoe flew off, making her blush deeply.

Starting with the sixth young lady, the competition finally returned to scholarly contests.

The sixth performer, Miss Li, painted. Possibly influenced by the capital’s customs, these young ladies loved creating eye-catching gimmicks in their calligraphy and painting. This Miss Li naturally wouldn’t paint properly either – she set up two blank screens and worked with both hands simultaneously, dancing while painting two pictures at once, completing a flower-and-bird painting and a snow scene in an extremely short time. Her painting skills were decent, but all art emphasizes a pure state of mind. Too many miscellaneous flourishes easily lose authenticity, and painting with such an attitude inevitably gains craftsman-like qualities while losing spiritual essence.

As Ren Shimao’s daughter, having studied under Pei Zhiyan and immersed herself in appreciation for years, Ren Yaoqi’s vision was naturally incomparable to ordinary people. Setting aside those flourishes, she gave Miss Li’s paintings detailed commentary. When an expert makes a move, one immediately knows whether there’s substance – anyone who understood painting and appreciation could tell from Ren Yaoqi’s critique of Miss Li’s work that she truly had some ability. Even several older ladies sitting with Madam Xu, who were well-versed in painting, began genuinely appreciating this “Master Ren.”

Those who had originally been waiting to see Ren Yaoqi make a fool of herself all fell silent now. No wonder Prince Yanbei’s mansion dared to use the young Ren Yaoqi as a master. If today’s thousand-gold banquet had only included Yanbei’s young ladies, Ren Yaoqi’s outstanding performance might have been suspected as Prince Yanbei’s mansion deliberately creating momentum for her marriage into the mansion. But today, those specifically requesting “Master Ren’s” guidance were all sent by the Empress Dowager to undermine Prince Yanbei’s mansion – no one would suspect Ren Yaoqi had prior “communication” with these people. She had real ability.

The seventh and eighth performers, Miss Tan and Miss Zhuang, appeared together. Miss Tan excelled at composing poetry and couplets, while Miss Zhuang specialized in composing music and singing. Miss Tan asked the masters to set topics for her to compose poetry on the spot, while Miss Zhuang was responsible for composing music and singing along. Miss Tan was quick-witted, and Miss Zhuang had a soft, bright, clear voice. This pair worked together extremely well, refreshing everyone’s spirits.

Ren Yaoqi wasn’t particularly skilled at composing poetry and couplets, but having read and studied everything she should have under Imperial Tutor Pei, she could still manage to critique poetry and songs using some profound-sounding technical terms by following established patterns. Combined with her excellent previous performances and her consistently calm, confident expression, she gave people an illusion of omnipotence. So after her commentary, no one found anything amiss – fortunately, they only asked her to comment, not to compose poetry on the spot to compete with Miss Tan.

After the first eight young ladies had all performed, only Yan Ningshuang and Zhao Yingqiu remained.

Everyone’s attention had been captured by the battle between these capital beauties and Ren Yaoqi, while the Yanbei young ladies participating in the thousand gold banquet had become mere decorations, going through the motions before hurriedly leaving the stage. Everyone knew the finale was saved for last, so when it came to these final two young ladies, everyone perked up to watch the battle.

Yan Ningshuang and Zhao Yingqiu exchanged glances, and finally, Zhao Yingqiu rose first to compete.

Just then, someone came to whisper a few words in Princess Consort’s ear. Hearing this, Princess Consort seemed somewhat surprised. After thinking it over, she nodded, then smiled at everyone: “Several gentlemen sent by the court have arrived. Though our Yanbei thousand gold banquet has never had male attendees, these gentlemen are all highly talented and virtuous elders who represent the court and Empress Dowager, so their attendance is perfectly appropriate.”

Since Princess Consort said this, naturally, no one dared object.

The three gentlemen were quickly escorted over. Except for Pei Zhiyan walking behind, the other two seemed somewhat embarrassed.

Several palace nannies sent by the Empress Dowager were anxious, seeing these young ladies defeated one by one by Ren Yaoqi, so they insisted on requesting these gentlemen to oversee, fearing Prince Yanbei’s mansion was secretly manipulating things to bully them. But the gentlemen felt quite uncomfortable coming into this gathering of women.

Princess Consort had the three gentlemen seated on the eastern side of the high platform, opposite Madam Xu and her group.

After everyone was seated again, Zhao Yingqiu stepped forward and curtsied gracefully toward the place of honor, saying softly: “This humble woman is lacking in talent and learning, with no particular skills. After much thought, only my chess playing is somewhat presentable.” Her gaze swept across the faces of those on the platform, finally settling on Ren Yaoqi’s face, with some apology in her eyes: “I wonder if ‘Master Ren’ would play a game with this humble woman?”

Generally, when young ladies demonstrated chess skills at the thousand gold banquet, chess-skilled masters would play against them. Since Ren Yaoqi had become a master, Zhao Yingqiu’s challenge was perfectly reasonable – unless Ren Yaoqi admitted her chess skills were inadequate and voluntarily conceded.

But Ren Yaoqi had been placed at the forefront by Prince Yanbei’s mansion and naturally wouldn’t easily concede. However, in chess, victory and defeat were uncertain. Not knowing Miss Zhao’s depth, Ren Yaoqi naturally wouldn’t be arrogant enough to think she could defeat all opponents. But she wasn’t afraid of losing either.

Ren Yaoqi stood up, politely nodded to Zhao Yingqiu, and walked toward the chessboard. When she passed Princess Consort, Princess Consort smiled and said, “Just play with peace of mind. Losing wouldn’t be shameful – after all, no one can be talented in everything.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded and replied yes, then sat across from Zhao Yingqiu.

They drew for pieces, and Zhao Yingqiu drew black stones to play first.

Ren Yaoqi observed Zhao Yingqiu’s style while contemplating and slowly placing her stones. From the opening, Zhao Yingqiu could be considered a mid-to-high level player among women who played chess, and her style was hard to read, somewhat scattered, like hitting here and there without focus, scratching like tickling, making it impossible to counterattack.

Fortunately, Ren Yaoqi had a very patient temperament. She had played against many true masters of the era, like Pei Zhiyan and Xiao Jingxi. Especially Pei Zhiyan – when Master Pei was demoted and had nothing to do all day, they would often set up games, playing for half a day at a time.

So, regardless of whether Zhao Yingqiu was deliberately trying to disrupt her opponent’s thinking, Ren Yaoqi remained unmoved.

They played this bland game for about one cup of tea’s time. Zhao Yingqiu wasn’t hurried, and Ren Yaoqi was even less so. The audience who had originally expected an exciting battle were nearly falling asleep watching.

Just when everyone thought this match would continue blandly to the end, Zhao Yingqiu’s chess style suddenly changed. With several moves, the situation instantly turned upside down, and Ren Yaoqi’s stones in the lower left area were almost completely wiped out.

The audience suddenly perked up. Some sighed disappointedly, others secretly cheered for Zhao Yingqiu, and still others thought that indeed no one was talented in everything – Ren Yaoqi wasn’t exceptional at everything either, which gave them some comfort.

Conversely, Ren Yaoqi, who had lost half her territory, remained calm and composed. She didn’t even change her chess strategy, still playing blandly and unhurriedly, not thrown into confusion by Zhao Yingqiu’s sudden aggressive attack.

This made it impossible for Zhao Yingqiu to maintain her attacking momentum. Their game slowed down again as Ren Yaoqi methodically reclaimed lost ground. Though progress was slow, she had seized control of the rhythm.

Zhao Yingqiu couldn’t help glancing at Ren Yaoqi: “Miss Ren has excellent composure.”

Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi smiled at her and placed another stone unhurriedly.

Actually, by now, Ren Yaoqi had mentally analyzed Zhao Yingqiu’s chess style several times. Zhao Yingqiu was fine when static, but when she had just set up her trap to devour half of Ren Yaoqi’s territory, Ren Yaoqi felt Zhao Yingqiu’s chess style had a strangely familiar quality.

She hadn’t figured it out initially, so she deliberately sacrificed her lower-left corner to see Zhao Yingqiu’s true style. The more she watched, the more alarmed she became, because Zhao Yingqiu’s chess style was extremely similar to Pei Zhiyan’s. After careful thought, Zhao Yingqiu should have no connection to the Pei family, so she must have carefully studied Pei Zhiyan’s games and learned his style to five or six-tenths mastery. For instance, when setting traps to lure enemies, she had learned Pei Zhiyan’s unconventional approaches and surprise attacks. It must be said that Zhao Yingqiu was truly clever – if Ren Yaoqi weren’t so familiar with her teacher’s methods, she might very well have been fooled by Zhao Yingqiu’s deception.

But Zhao Yingqiu wasn’t Pei Zhiyan after all. Limited by her perspective, experience, and knowledge, no matter how well she learned, it was merely imitation.

Pei Zhiyan, sitting in the place of honor, glanced at the chess game a few times, raised an eyebrow, and smiled mockingly. But after watching a few more shows, he gradually became serious, his eyes showing interest.

Ren Yaoqi’s chess style remained consistently steady, even when slightly disadvantaged. But the situation didn’t remain deadlocked. Just when Ren Yaoqi seemed on the verge of collapse, her chess style suddenly changed, becoming murderous and decisively brutal. Zhao Yingqiu was caught completely off guard by her killing spree, her rhythm unconsciously disrupted, and she carelessly let Ren Yaoqi turn the tables.

Besides Pei Zhiyan watching with interest from above, Madam Xu was also quite astonished, because the move Ren Yaoqi had just used to defeat Zhao Yingqiu was the killing move Xiao Jingxi had used against Pei Zhiyan during their game on the boat last time.

Ren Yaoqi had learned Xiao Jingxi’s technique perfectly, but Zhao Yingqiu wasn’t Pei Zhiyan after all. While Pei Zhiyan had gritted his teeth and withstood Xiao Jingxi’s killing move, Zhao Yingqiu couldn’t withstand Ren Yaoqi’s.

Ren Yaoqi had indeed used Xiao Jingxi’s technique. When she saw Zhao Yingqiu learning Pei Zhiyan’s chess style, she remembered that game on the boat and couldn’t help but feel her palms itch. Moreover, Ren Yaoqi understood Pei Zhiyan’s methods even better than Xiao Jingxi, so among the layers of traps Zhao Yingqiu had set, she moved as if on level ground.

From then on, Zhao Yingqiu’s defeat was like a landslide. Ren Yaoqi didn’t want to drag out the battle and used the most direct, simple, and brutal method to annihilate Zhao Yingqiu. From this perspective, Ren Yaoqi was indeed suited to be a daughter-in-law of Prince Yanbei’s mansion – birds of a feather flock together. If Prince Yanbei had been present, he would have been pleased.

When the final, clean, ruthless killing move was executed, Pei Zhiyan, sitting in the place of honor, lightly tapped the table and called out, “Excellent!”

What kind of figure was Pei Zhiyan? Born to prominence, a young champion scholar, imperial tutor, and a figure revered by scholars throughout the realm. His shout of approval gave Ren Yaoqi tremendous face, and even Princess Consort couldn’t help curving her lips in a smile.

What Pei Zhiyan had wanted to express was: What an excellent student who can draw inferences from one example!

But since the approval had already been shouted, what Pei Zhiyan had wanted to express was no longer important. Everyone just needed to know that Master Pei greatly appreciated Miss Ren’s scholarship.

Zhao Yingqiu’s face was somewhat pale. She looked down at the chessboard, forced a smile, and conceded defeat by placing down her stones.

After Zhao Yingqiu left, the last to take the stage was Yan Ningshuang.

Yan Ningshuang’s expression wasn’t good either. The Empress Dowager had sent ten young ladies to Yanbei, but the first nine had gained no advantage. The pressure on her, the last to appear, was imaginable. But seeing Ren Yaoqi standing on the platform with her brilliance fully displayed, accepting various appreciative gazes, Yan Ningshuang bit her lip, took a deep breath, and stood up.

“What talent will Miss Yan demonstrate?” Seeing Yan Ningshuang stand empty-handed without maids preparing instruments, paper, brushes, etc., Madam Xu couldn’t help asking.

Yan Ningshuang straightened her back and stood in the center, smiling slightly: “I’m competing in books.”

“Books?”

Everyone present was somewhat curious upon hearing this. Yan Ningshuang wasn’t holding any books – how would this “books” competition work?

Yan Ningshuang looked at Ren Yaoqi and pointed to her head, telling everyone, “My books are all here. I’ve long heard that Miss Ren is extensively learned and knowledgeable, and I can’t help wanting to request Miss Ren’s guidance.”

The crowd was in uproar, hearing this. Miss Yan was speaking too arrogantly, claiming to have memorized all the books in her head and wanting to compete with Miss Ren in extensive learning and knowledge!

Ren Yaoqi was also somewhat surprised, not expecting Yan Ningshuang to compete in this, and couldn’t help asking: “How does Miss Yan want to compete?”

Yan Ningshuang seemed well-prepared and answered unhurriedly: “I’ll randomly say a sentence, and Miss Ren will identify its source. Miss Ren says a sentence, and I’ll identify the source. How about it?”

This method was simple, direct, and relatively fair, but anyone proposing such a competition method must have extreme confidence in themselves. Ren Yaoqi was also curious about Miss Yan’s abilities.

“However…” Yan Ningshuang suddenly changed her tone. When everyone’s attention focused on her, she smiled slightly: “However, I have an additional wager. I wonder if Miss Ren dares accept it?”

Yan Ningshuang’s words carried undisguised provocation, and everyone turned to look at Ren Yaoqi again.

Ren Yaoqi wouldn’t take the bait and smiled: “I’m only here to score today, not to compete.” But everyone seemed to have forgotten this point.

Yan Ningshuang curved her lips, her tone certain with some disdain: “You don’t dare!”

Ren Yaoqi wasn’t angry, only somewhat curiously asked: “What wager does Miss Yan want to add?”

Yan Ningshuang glanced at her: “If you lose, you’ll come with me to the capital for three years!”

Everyone gasped in shock, and both Princess Consort and Xiao Jinglin frowned.

Ren Yaoqi also raised an eyebrow. Miss Yan was really direct. Everyone knew her marriage to Xiao Jingxi was set for August – going to the capital with her would mean breaking the engagement, wouldn’t it? And whether she could return from the capital was still uncertain!

A Yanbei girl said indignantly: “What if you lose?”

Yan Ningshuang smiled proudly: “If I lose, she can dispose of me as she wishes!”

Ren Yaoqi smiled and shook her head, joking: “Miss Yan, you’re an honored guest sent by the Empress Dowager. Even if I won, I couldn’t dispose of you arbitrarily. So you might as well just say directly that you want to invite me to visit your home.”

Hearing this, everyone realized – Miss Yan truly wouldn’t lose either way! But who did she think she was? What right did she have to do as she pleased?

Someone quietly mocked below: “Still not awake, is she? Does she think this is her family garden?”

Yan Ningshuang didn’t believe she could lose to Ren Yaoqi, so she had spoken without much thought about letting her dispose of her as she wished. Unexpectedly, people would interpret it this way, making her blush somewhat.

Just then, Old Princess Consort, sitting in the place of honor, said casually, “If you’re going to compete, then compete. Not having even this much courage would be losing face for our Yanbei, wouldn’t it?”

No one knew Old Princess Consort’s mentality in saying this, but these words clearly showed her agreement to this competition. The scene fell silent again as everyone watched Princess Consort and Ren Yaoqi’s reactions.

Hearing this, Princess Consort couldn’t help feeling annoyed and was about to speak when Grand Consort Yun, who had been sitting aside as if it were none of her business, spoke: “What sense is there in a master competing with a student? That would truly lose Yanbei face. It’s getting late – Miss Yan should finish her demonstration quickly so this thousand gold banquet can end sooner. Princess Consort, begin!”

Grand Consort Yun spoke these words with undeniable authority in her calm tone, completely suppressing Old Princess Consort’s momentum, regardless of how ugly Old Princess Consort’s expression became.

The old Princess Consort’s face alternated between red and white. Today, Grand Consort Yun had repeatedly embarrassed her in public, making her lose face. She wanted to explode but couldn’t bring herself to, lacking the confidence to surpass Grand Consort Yun. This left Old Princess Consort almost unable to catch her breath.

With Grand Consort Yun making the decision, this farce was forced to end. Though Yan Ningshuang was unwilling, she didn’t dare contradict Grand Consort Yun, and even Old Princess Consort remained silent.

Ren Yaoqi was somewhat surprised as she looked up at Grand Consort Yun, who had resolved her predicament. Grand Consort Yun glanced at her, then calmly looked away.

Princess Consort signaled to Madam Xu, who calmly stepped forward to announce the continuation of the competition.

Yan Ningshuang looked at Ren Yaoqi, secretly vowing in her heart that no matter what, she would win this round.