The Challenge of a Farmhouse Son-in-Law-Chapter 966 - 960: Consecutive Victories

He automatically ignored what she said afterward and remarked, "It’s good that Noble Consort Sheng still remembers her old master’s affections. It wouldn’t be too difficult for her to step forward."

Jin Zijin had also omitted the part about convincing the Emperor to agree to his request.

But for Jin Zijin, it wasn’t for his sake, it was simply on behalf of his master, or so he comforted himself.

"And how about you? Are things going smoothly?" Gu Youyou knew everything about his situation, so his question was merely casual.

He believed Youyou could handle it herself.

Gu Youyou said, "Naturally, it’s not going smoothly. Someone is tripping me up, but I know you must have taken care of the bigger troubles in secret."

Jin Zijin laughed and said, "You really do know everything."

Having tucked her back into the blanket, Jin Zijin sat on the edge of the bed and spoke softly, "I have to go back now. I can’t stay with you all night. You should sleep early too. Rest well tomorrow, because the day after tomorrow, the competition will likely involve calligraphy or poetry. The Empress favors Second Miss Zhang from Prime Minister Zhang’s family, and her expertise is just calligraphy and poetry."

Gu Youyou smiled and said, "Then isn’t she just walking into the line of fire? Unfortunately for her, I happen to be good at those arts too."

...

The next competition was poem writing, an approach rather cliché, themed again around spring flowers.

While others had properly composed poems about spring flowers, albeit most were passable at best, Miss Zhang’s poem was outstandingly well-crafted.

Gu Youyou picked up an easy win using a famous poem about flowers.

By this round, twenty people had won.

In the next round, Noble Consort Sheng announced that the day’s competition would be for a piece of calligraphy. Each contestant would write a calligraphy piece, and the topic was already set: the "Women’s Admonitions."

Families with means would send their daughters to the Women’s Private School, where the curriculum focused on the "Four Books for Women," primarily the "Women’s Admonitions." Therefore, she believed that these selected girls could recite an article of the "Women’s Admonitions" by heart.

Gu Youyou was not well-versed in it but, having been punished frequently by her aunt, she had almost learned it.

She was just uncertain if she could recite it from memory, which made her somewhat worried.

Yet, the Empress above was even more worried than her.

Since the task was assigned to Noble Consort Sheng, the topic was her choice, and the Empress had only just learned that this was the test.

Madam Li spoke in a low voice to the Empress, "Madam Gu Youyou has often been punished by Madam Lin to copy the ’Women’s Admonitions.’ She’s very familiar with it; she had been punished a hundred times just before she came to the palace. Empress, this topic must be changed."

Startled, the Empress agreed with what Madam Li had said.

She straightened her appearance and gently suggested to Noble Consort Sheng and the Empress Dowager with a smile, "Empress Mother, Sister Sheng, I believe every miss here knows the ’Women’s Admonitions,’ so it lacks competitiveness. Since we ultimately select only one person, we should strive for excellence. Perhaps we should change the contest."

The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then, according to the Empress, what should we compare?"

The Empress smiled and proposed, "Why not compare calligraphy? There’s no need to write down the entire ’Women’s Admonitions.’ A few words should suffice."

The Empress Dowager nodded and asked, "In your opinion, what should they write?"

"Let the misses be creative. We could first select and critique the ten best pieces of calligraphy, then present them to the Emperor. We’ll cover the names of the young ladies, letting the Emperor assign the Ministers to make the selection. This way, it’s fair."

Noble Consort Sheng looked worriedly toward Gu Youyou, who responded with a slight smile.

She feared unfairness, and this fair approach seemed favorable.