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Quick Transmigration: She's a Heartbreaker: Ch 91, The Imposter Noble Lady These noble young masters all regarded themselves as high-minded and above secular things. Therefore, when they communicated in private, they didn’t bother about the courtesy between Royals and the ministers. Meeting up, no one destroyed the mood by bowing. On the contrary, when some people saw the Fourth Prince and Kang Wangye, they laughed, "You guys are late, you’ll have to punish yourselves with three cups." "Sigh, Yun Rui, why did you bring so many beautiful ladies?" "Don't talk nonsense, those are the noble ladies of each family." "These noble ladies also want to play Xing Jiu Ling with us, so I brought them all, nobody wouldn’t mind, right?" Yan Cong had on an appearance even if you minded there was nothing they could do. Either way, he had already bought them over. Most of those men were brothers of the ladies. Although they are surprised, it wouldn't be good to say anything, only that they weren’t as laid-back as before. However, these ladies are all pretty, so having them would also be a kind of pleasure. Ning Dynasty was rather open, so the argument that men and women can’t be together in the same meeting was something people have long forgotten. Even if their parents knew, they would probably only agree with them. After all, their marriage partners will also be selected from these noble women. It would be better for them to observe whether there is a candidate they favored. Thinking about it this way, everyone readily agreed. Jiang Xun has been hiding behind the noble ladies to not let those men see her face. Since those men didn't keep staring at the ladies’ side, no man has noticed her yet. Only Yan Cong kept glancing at her from time to time with interest flashing in his eyes, who knew what he was thinking. When Kang Wangye noticed that his nephew kept looking at that amazingly beautiful woman just now, his expression sank slightly as he said coldly, "Since we are going to Xing Jiu Ling together, then let’s all sit down." All the ladies gradually came forward. It turned out that there was an open space outside the pavilion with a soft mat on the ground. Next to the mat were ten jars of wine and some glasses. It seemed that they were planning to play Xing Jiu Ling with actual wine. The soft mat was so large that it wasn’t a problem for more than twenty people to sit on it. Moreover, when Yan Cong saw that there was only one mat, he had someone bring out another mat so that the men and women could sit separately. When Jiang Xun followed the Yan sisters to sit down one by one, her face couldn't be hidden anymore. As she slowly approached everyone's sight, her charming face was really the epitome of feminine beauty. The inadvertent shyness between her brows was the most attractive. That slender willow waist of hers had a natural wonder when she walked, making her appear even more attractive. Yet such an attractive woman had such clear bright eyes. Her face was also cold without any expression, but her eyes were curved into a crescent. They had truly never seen such a beauty before. People all say that beauty was seductive. Originally none of these men believed it until they had met Jiang Xun today. They were shocked that there was such a beautiful woman in the world. It really made people want to take a few more glances at her. When Xiao Wang He saw Jiang Xun, he revealed a hint of surprise. However, he quickly recovered, only he couldn't resist staring at her face for a while. Initially, he thought that the woman he rescued the other day was as beautiful as they could get. He didn't think that after a few days, he would see a woman who was more beautiful than her. Moreover, the facial features of the two were quite similar to each other too. It was really amazing how small the world is. Shen Xi Tang's gaze also became dark and unclear. The cold smile in his eyes was like a deep icy pool, profound and charming. Yet Jiang Xun didn't even glance at the men. She just sat down beside Yan Yu Yue without looking up, her eyes drooping slightly. These noblemen were only admiring her beauty and weren’t desperate lecherous ghosts. Therefore, they soon looked away, but the surprise in their hearts was still lingering and it didn’t show on their faces. Xiao Wang He held up a paper fan and smiled softly, "We were planning to make a wine Xing Jiu Ling, but it would be inappropriate with so many ladies here. Substituting wine with tea would be more appropriate." "Wang He is right, then the ten jars of wine we specially prepared can't be used. This is Yu Xu Wine though." The Second Young Master of the Jiang family sighed regretfully. "The Yu Xu Wine from Hui Xian Tower?" Young Master Wei raised the volume of his voice with visible amazement. All the other people’s eyes shone. You should know that there are many hotels in the capital and the hotels could be divided into different grades according to a scale with inn being the highest level. Each major inn had their own specialty wines. Hui Xian Tower had Yu Xu, Xin Le Tower had Xian Lao, He Le Tower has Qiong Jiang, Wang Tower has Yu Yun, Shi Tower has Bi Guang, Ban Tower has Qiong Bo, Pan Tower has Qiong Ye, Qian Chun Tower has Xian Chun... … And this Yu Xu Wine was the best wine among the many famous wines. As early as two years ago, the secret recipe of Yu Xu Wine was lost, so Hui Xian Tower will never sell Yu Xu wine again. At the time, there were only a hundred bottles left in the inn and those had long been sold out while the Yu Xu Wine collection each family had wasn’t that much. One bottle drank meant one less bottle left. Nowadays, it was already extremely rare to be able to drink this fine wine. "If it wasn't for Brother Xi Tang bringing these ten jars of wine today, I wouldn’t have known that he was the one who bought these remaining hundred bottles of good wine back then." Xiao Wang He smiled, "Since we can't drink it today, we should go to the Shen family together one of these days and drink all the good wine in his private collection." "Wang He's proposal sounds good, I agree." Yan Cong clapped his hands and applauded. "Shen Xi Tang, tell me, what other good things are you hiding?" Yan Shen stepped forward and took a jar of Yu Xu wine. He opened the red silk cover on it to take a whiff, "Good wine." He raised the wine jar and took a big gulp. His actions were free and unrestrained, causing the ladies to shyly lower their heads. Only Jiang Xun, looked straight at him with a clear gaze. Staring at his pulsating Adam apple, it made her a little restless. Looking at him in this way, this wangye was quite sexy. "Then won’t the theme we chose before for the modified poem be too difficult? How about we change it?" Someone suggested. These men here were all richly educated and talented. Yet even if the noble ladies were born in an influential family and also learned with teachers since childhood, having them be as familiar with the Four Books, Five Classics and poetry like these men would be too difficult. "You’re right, then let’s change it." "Does anyone have a good suggestion? What kind of Ya Ling should we replace it with?" "How about the Flying Flower Order?" "Flying Flower Order is too simple. Although it is necessary to reduce the difficulty, it shouldn’t be that easy. Then it would be too boring." Shen Xi Tang, who has not spoken this entire time, said in a slow voice, "How about let the ladies make an Eight Character Order first before doing the Poem Modifying Order with us? Those who fail in the Eight Character Order don't need to continue the Poem Modifying Order." His voice was refreshingly cold and slightly distant. Just by listening to it was enough to make people addicted. "Excellent idea. Not only would it not be boring, but it’ll take care of everyone and everyone can have fun." Xiao Wang He nodded. Wei Ming Yu stood up and looked at Shen Xi Tang with a soft smile, "May I ask what is the Eight Character Order?" Although Wei Ming Yu wasn’t breathtakingly beautiful, she was still a pretty woman with fine facial features. In addition she was also carefully dressed today. Wearing a goose-yellow grape-wrapped hang silk overdress, a verdant dress embroidered with pomegranate flowers, and a pink begonia flower on her head, such a gorgeous playful dress made her especially stand out within the crowd of noble ladies. In this way, Shen Xi Tang took a slight glance at her. That slight glance was enough to make Wei Ming Yu's heart instantly bloomed in happiness and her cheeks blush. There is no need for Shen Xi Tang to explain before someone else replied, "The Eight-Character Order requires everyone to say a word with the character 'eight'. This character must be a general term for eight of the same kind." "It turned out to be like this." Wei Ming Yu thought about it. Her expression was a little nervous, but she still had some hope. She has been studying with her elder brothers since she was a child, so she has always been confident in her knowledge. However, this time she was doing the Xing Jiu Ling in front of the best young masters in the capital and was afraid that she would perform badly. Yet, her mind turned again. If she had who was the best among the noble ladies, that would definitely be her. As a result, Wei Ming Yu's mood improved again. She smiled, "Then what prize will be given to the one who performed the best in the end?" As soon as this question came out, everyone looked at Shen Xi Tang again as if he was responsible for determining the prize. Shen Xi Tang faintly answered, "A copy of the Scholar Zi Lian’s book and a hundred sheets of Cheng Xin Tang Paper." As soon as his voice fell, everyone fell into an uproar. Everyone had guessed that the prize Shen Xi Tang offered would definitely not be something simple, but the moment Cheng Xin Tang Paper came out, everyone's eyes instantly lit up. "I didn’t expect this prize to be so precious! Shen Xi Tang, you’re really willing ah. First Yu Xu Wine and then this Cheng Xin Tang Paper, you are simply too generous." It is said that the Shen family’s wealth was comparable to the country’s and by the looks of it, it seems to be true. Cheng Xin Tang Papers were extremely precious as it is the paper used by the previous dynasty’s Imperial Court. Nowadays, all the ones on the market are imitations, but even the imitations are also highly valuable. A stack of Cheng Xin Tang Paper can be said to be worth tens of thousands of yuan. For scholars, it is such a treasure for their collection that no one could bear to write on it. "Then I’ll have to bring my skills to the table." The gazes of all the young masters flashed with excitement and an urge to challenge. ……… Xiao Wang He smiled, "Then let’s start now, shall we? Who will go first?" "To be fair, let's draw lots." Young Master Jiang took out a bamboo tube from out of nowhere with dozens of bamboo sticks in it. "I already prepared the bamboo sticks." "The lady drawing the number one will go first, then we’ll go from left to right." In the end, it was a lady from the Cui family who drew number one. In reality, being the first person also had benefits. This Eight Character Order might seem simple, but there are only so many words with the character "eight" in the world. Furthermore, this character must be a general term for all eight words of the same kind. These kinds of characters get less with each one said, so it would be better to go earlier. The lady of the Cui family thought for a moment and then said, "Let me just say the simplest, The Eight Immortals; namely Li Tie Guai, Quan Zhong Li, Zhang Guo Lao, Lu Dong Bin, He Xian Gu, Lan Cai He, Han Xiang Zi and Cao Guo Jiu. " Everyone nodded one after another. All of them knew The Eight Immortals were indeed a good answer. It was Wei Ming Yu's turn next. She bowed her head and muttered for a while before saying, "The Eight Sounds; Metal, Stone, Silk, Bamboo, Gourd, Clay, Hide-skin and Wood." Everyone's eyes lit up. This one was actually rather hard for anyone to think of. Several of the young masters also nodded slightly in appreciation. By the time it reached the lady from the Jiang family, she was already the sixth person and the difficulty had significantly increased. Jiang Cheng had thought of one long ago. She was nervous when each person before her went, for fear that someone else would say the one she had in mind. The others were the same as her. Some people are happy, while others are worried. If the one they thought of was said by someone else in advance, they’ll have to think of another one again. Only now did everyone feel that the earlier they went was an advantage. But those who can really stay until the end didn't mind this. Only those who don't have much ink in their stomachs and want to mingle until the end will complain about their bad luck. Seeing that it was finally her turn, Jiang Yi smiled, "The Eight Monarchs, that is, The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors: Sui Ren, Fu Xi, Shen Nong, Huang Di, Zhuan Xu, Di Xu, Tang Yao and Yu Shun." Jiang Cheng managed to pass, but Yan Xi Wu, who was after her, had a long face. She could only say one word for a long time, "Eight… … Eight… …" One word, eight, was repeated many times, yet she still couldn't think of anything. Many ladies were pursing their mouths and smiling. In the end, Yan Xi Wu finally came up with one, "The Eight Directions; North South East West, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, the eight different directions." Truly, this can only be regarded as a reluctant pass. If they were being stricter, then it wouldn't have counted. But if they stretched it, then it could pass. It's just that some people were sneakily laughing at her. Once Yan Xi Wu was done, it was Jiang Xun's turn. Jiang Xun barely thought before she said, "The Eight Trigrams; Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui." Jiang Xun’s voice was soft and delicate. When she opened her mouth, it made people’s ears tingle pleasantly. The noblemen’s gazes towards her changed again. It turned out that this noble lady was not only soft and charming physically, but even her voice was just as attractively soft. She was truly a natural stunner. Shen Xi Tang's fingers moved slightly. He only felt his fingertips become a little numb and his heart restless. The author has something to say: Xiao Wang He: Such beauty was really heart-throbbing Shen Xi Tang: This voice, I just don't know how it’ll sound on bed Yan Cong: Not collecting such a beauty in my arms will only benefit others Yan Shen: Hmph, a vixen Jiang Xun: Such a beauty like me naturally needs to be fought over. Elder Brothers, you guys’ll have to work hard~ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Notes: Xing Jiu Ling (行酒令): an Ancient Chinese drinking game where one person is set as the judge that determined a theme, while the others make poems using that theme and those who can’t think of one will be punished with drinking Four Books and Five Classics (四书五经): these are the most important classics of Chinese Confucianism. More information here Ya Ling (雅令): an elegant way of drinking while reciting poems Poem Modifying Order (改字诗令): a type of Ya Ling with two poetry lines, where you change one word of the previous poetry line and keep a homophone word in the next line to explain the previous line. Those who mess up get punished by drinking and will be out in that game Flying Flower Order (飞花令): a type of Ya Ling with a set word that has to be in the poetry lines that shifts to the next word in each round until it reaches the seventh word and repeats. For example, the set word is flower. The first person that goes has to say a poetry line with the word, flower, as the first word in the line, the second has to say a poetry line with flower as the second word in the line and so forth until it’s the seventh word in the line. Then the cycle repeats until someone can’t think of one, thus they’ll be punished by drinking and be out in that game Eight Character Order (八字令): a type of Ya Ling where someone says a phrase with the word, eight and has to have eight objects/idea within that phrase. Those who mess up get punished by drinking and will be out in that game Cheng Xin Tang Paper (澄心堂纸): one of the most well-known papers made in Ancient China that’s extremely difficult to make and still isn’t able to be recreated with modern technology. More information here The Eight Immortals (八仙): eight immortals revered by Taoists. More information here The Eight Sounds (八音): the eight major categories that Ancient Chinese people separated their instruments into. More information here those who don't have much ink in their stomachs (肚子里没多少墨水): an idiom to say someone isn’t that educated The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors (三皇五帝): the most important monarchs in Chinese legend. More information here The Eight Trigrams (八卦): the eight symbols used in Taoist cosmology. More information here
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