“Excellent couplet!” Kou Zimo stood up directly, but seeing everyone looking her way, she blushed and sat back down.

“It truly is an excellent couplet!” Xu Jinghong clapped her hands lightly.

Lan Xinong suddenly smiled and asked Du Feixue, “What does Miss Du think of this second line?”

Du Feixue hadn’t caught the deeper meaning behind Qiao Zhao’s pointed look at her. Though unwilling to add to Qiao Zhao’s glory, under everyone’s watchful gaze, she couldn’t possibly distort the facts, so she laughed dryly: “Third Miss Li’s couplet is indeed ingeniously crafted.”

“Yes, the key is how well it matches. ‘Seeking help from people, difficulty seeking people, everyone when facing difficulty seeks people with difficulty.'” Lan Xinong slowly repeated the second line, her gaze sweeping over everyone before finally returning to Du Feixue’s face, saying with a half-smile: “Don’t you think so, Miss Du?”

What Lan Xinong despised most were people like Du Feixue. Her earlier difficulties with the Li sisters were one thing, but Du Feixue, as the host of this gathering and Li Jiǎo’s cousin, had stood by and watched her cousin be humiliated—that was truly contemptible.

All the young ladies present were intelligent and perceptive. With Lan Xinong’s reminder, they all understood, and their gazes toward Du Feixue carried disdain.

Du Feixue naturally realized what had happened, too. Her face flushed red as she glared at Qiao Zhao, wanting to confront her, but questioning her in such a setting would only be more embarrassing. She secretly ground her teeth and swallowed this humiliation.

The assembled ladies unconsciously looked toward Qiao Zhao, seeing her calm expression and indifferent demeanor, all feeling a shock in their hearts.

This Third Miss Li was truly extraordinarily talented. She had just so beautifully resolved Lan Xinong’s provocation, then used the opportunity of creating couplets to subtly mock Du Feixue.

What was most admirable was that Third Miss Li hadn’t brought up Du Feixue blocking her at the main gate, but instead subtly mocked Du Feixue for standing by while her cousin was humiliated. Such a counterattack was so beautifully executed that it left people speechless, and doing it through the elegant activity of couplet-making only increased their admiration.

Xu Jinghong’s eyes flickered slightly as she inconspicuously glanced at the unusually silent Li Jiǎo, rarely feeling curious.

All being daughters from literary official circles, though she wasn’t well acquainted with the Li sisters, she did have some impression of them. But those impressions were rather interesting: when Li Jiǎo was mentioned, she naturally thought of a kind girl who had lost her mother early and lived in difficult circumstances, but when Third Miss Li was mentioned, she immediately formed impressions of someone who bullied the weak, fawned on the powerful, and was crude and rude.

Xu Jinghong curved the corners of her lips.

With Third Miss Li possessing such talent and capability, yet having such a reputation spread about her—hmm, she must be yielding to her sister out of consideration for Li Jiǎo losing her mother so young. Otherwise, she truly couldn’t think of any other reasonable explanation.

Xu Jinghong glanced sideways at Qiao Zhao, who had become the center of attention, then lowered her eyes with a slight smile.

This Third Miss Li was truly an interesting person.

Qiao Zhao was pulled down to sit, and the couplet activity continued, with the pavilion becoming lively again.

Ouyang Weiyu, who had quietly returned to the pavilion at some point, stood in a corner, repeatedly savoring Qiao Zhao’s second line in her heart: “Seeking help from people, difficulty seeking people, everyone when facing difficulty seeks people with difficulty.”

Wasn’t this second line describing her current predicament perfectly?

She, too, had once been one of these noble ladies, composing poetry and creating couplets, playing the qin and flute, living such a carefree life. Her biggest worry was nothing more than eating too much spicy food today and getting pimples on her forehead tomorrow.

But in just a day and a night, her life had been turned upside down. All the relatives and friends who used to visit her family regularly had vanished without a trace. Her family had tried everything but couldn’t even reach the threshold of the Jinlin Guards, not even knowing whether her father was alive or dead.

What she had finally thought of was nothing more than perishing together with Lan Xinong, just to make the treacherous minister Lanshan and his son feel some pain.

But Third Miss Li had told her that even if she sacrificed her own life to do this, to them it would actually be nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

She was truly unwilling to accept this!

Ouyang Weiyu stared at Qiao Zhao in a daze, thinking: If only she were as clever as Third Miss Li, she would surely be able to think of a solution.

At this thought, Ouyang Weiyu’s heart stirred.

That’s right—when Third Miss Li was leaving, she had reminded her about whether she was familiar with Jiang Shiran—

Ouyang Weiyu’s gaze unconsciously moved to Jiang Shiran.

Today, Jiang Shiran wore a bright red brocade dress with bird patterns. She wasn’t participating in the couplet activity, but sat on a stone bench not far away, chin propped on her hand as she gazed into the distance with a bored expression.

Jiang Shiran was the only daughter of Jinlin Guard Commander Jiang Tang. It was said that the terrifying head of the Jinlin Guards doted on this daughter beyond measure, willing to pluck the moon rather than pick stars for her, which was why Jiang Shiran had a status comparable to a princess.

Ouyang Weiyu secretly clenched her fists.

She had to find an opportunity to plead with Jiang Shiran!

Third Miss Li’s reminder was right—rather than throwing away her life for nothing and pushing her family toward even greater danger, it would be better to swallow her pride and plead with the Jinlin Guard Commander’s daughter. Perhaps she could even learn about her father’s situation.

As Ouyang Weiyu was thinking this, suddenly a hand covered hers.

“Weiyu, what are you thinking about?” It was Kou Zimo, who had somehow withdrawn from the activity and come to her side.

Ouyang Weiyu came back to her senses and looked at her friend, showing the first genuine smile she’d had in days, saying softly: “Nothing much. I just think Third Miss Li is not only intelligent, but when facing insults to her family from someone of much higher status, she could still respond without being servile or overbearing. She’s worth befriending. Sister Zimo, my father has gotten into trouble, so it will be difficult for my family to establish itself in the capital in the future. It will probably be hard for us to meet again later, so you should try to maintain good relations with Third Miss Li. Befriending someone like her won’t lead to any losses.”

Kou Zimo tightened her grip on Ouyang Weiyu’s hand: “Those are all future matters. Right now I’m just worried about you—”

“I’m fine, I’ve figured things out.” Ouyang Weiyu’s gaze followed Jiang Shiran, suddenly seeing her stand up and walk toward the group of ladies.

“Have you decided the winner yet?” Jiang Shiran asked impatiently.

She found poetry and couplet-making the most tedious, pure idle entertainment for the overfed.

“What’s the matter?” Lan Xinong raised an eyebrow.

Jiang Shiran played with the jade pendant tied at her waist, smiling broadly: “I’ve already thought of a topic to test Third Miss Li with. You keep going on and on here without ending, and I’m getting so bored waiting.”

Hearing this, quite a few people felt very displeased.

Calling something so interesting “boring” showed what a crude person she was. It was only because she was the Jinlin Guard Commander’s daughter that everyone dared not offend her.

“We’re finished. Miss Jiang, please proceed,” Lan Xinong said indifferently, waving her fan.

With Qiao Zhao’s outstanding performance setting the standard, what followed had indeed become rather uninteresting. Rather than continuing with couplets, she was more eager to see how Jiang Shiran would make things difficult.

Du Feixue immediately forgot her earlier embarrassment, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly: “Miss Jiang, is there anything you need me to prepare?”

She had deliberately replaced all the lots in the five-colored lot tube with ones bearing the character “Jiang,” waiting for precisely this moment.