Chapter 1784: Competing with Miss Su
Ye Feiyu was surprised. No wonder Zhou Tianyu and Xu Tongxuan once said that Wen Xinya was a special being and that no matter where she went, she would shake up the entire situation.
She came as a judge for today’s gala and none of her rivals like Lin Yingxin or Xia Ruya were here today. Things were supposed to proceed smoothly. However, Miss Su suddenly came out to challenge and consult her, who was a judge.
Miss Su’s direct challenge could not be rejected by Wen Xinya. “Naturally.”
The rules of the gala did not state that the participants could not consult the judges, so all she could do at that moment was accept it.
Everyone in the audience, upon hearing Wen Xinya’s acceptance, was excited and looked forward to watching the gala’s most exciting segment.
The owner of Boya Pavilion just looked on coldly, while a few of the judges were happy to see it happen.
Miss Su started. “Miss Wen, you won the award back then by competing in the four categories of music, chess, writing, and painting. I naturally won’t dare to compete with you in those. How about I consult you in knowledge! I refer to your learned knowledge and not calligraphy. We shall question each other.”
In today’s banquet, she purposefully avoided the four categories that Wen Xinya excelled in because Wen Xinya had already set such a high standard. Hence, she did not want to be compared to her in fear of falling short.
Today, she wanted to compete with Wen Xinya in other talents, such that she could clinch the same award that Wen Xinya did back then.
To compete with Wen Xinya was not part of her original plan.
However, because in the music category earlier on was difficult to back down from her challenge. Hence, she suggested consulting her, such that she could better improve her image.
Wen Xinya nodded. “We shall follow your plan.”
She was not that good in poetry, which Miss Su seemed to be talented in. She was really worried that Miss Su would pick that. Hence, she was secretly relieved.
Miss Su asked, “To look up and find a hundred things, to look down and see a thousand crickets, in your reflection of gold, in the sky of clouds that cover the sun and moon. Miss Wen, where is this quote from?”
She looked a little proud of herself. To ask from such a literary piece could throw anyone off, including Wen Xinya.
At that moment, the audience whispered to each other and discussing about the answer.
Wen Xinya answered without even thinking, “From Ou Yangxun’s Nine Palace Inscription.”
Grandpa liked literature and read many pieces written by these famous writers. Wen Xinya naturally knew of these pieces. Thus, Miss Su’s question did not pose a problem to her at all.
Miss Su was surprised, but she calmed herself down soon after. This was only the first round, they still had more afterward.
The audience was even more surprised. “Miss Wen is a talent indeed!”
Next up, Wen Xinya posed her question. “Miss Su, have you read the dream journey?”
It was no famous work, but it was interesting. Miss Su, a genius in her own right, would definitely have seen it before.
Miss Su nodded. “I read through it a little.”
This was nothing but a humble answer.
Wen Xinya asked, “In the store, in the chapter of the flowers, birds, fish, and worm, it mentioned a five-colored bird. What did this bird eat?”
Miss Su was shocked, as the story did not mention what the bird ate. She thought before answering, “Birds naturally eat worms and grains.”
Although she felt that Wen Xinya’s question was a little weird, she did not put too much thought into it as birds only eat those few things.
The audience felt the same as well.
Wen Xinya simply said, “In the story, in that particular chapter, it was not mentioned what the bird ate. However, in the next chapter about mountains and water, it mentioned that ‘Fishes can be seen in the clear river, and the bird lives there as it depends on it.’ Clearly, the bird ate fish.”
Wen Xinya then raised her cup of tea and drank from it.
This match was already over, there was no need for her to say more.
At that moment, Miss Su’s face turned pale and she started thinking of what she could say, but her words were stuck in her throat and she had no idea how to rebuke. She had lost to Wen Xinya in the first round.
Her confident challenge earlier on was already a bold move, and she felt as if the laughter that came from the audience was mocking her. Her face burned up and she felt helpless.
At that moment, a judge laughed. “Alright, Miss Wen is truly a learned person. I didn’t even know that there was so much more meaning behind such a novel. Looks like we have wasted all of our time reading.”
Wen Xinya against Miss Su.
One used her mind to read and thought through things.
One used her eyes to read and saw words.
It was obvious who was better in this case.
Zhou Huiyan said, “I read this book too and did not know that there was such information in it.”
It only took one round to pin Miss Su down, this truly surprised her.
The owner of Boya Pavilion suddenly felt as if the tea in her hand was a little bitter. “Miss Wen, you’re truly a talent.”
She originally thought that Miss Su could prove herself in four different categories as well, and even if she was not as impressive as Wen Xinya was back then, she could still match up to her. Who knew that Miss Su was not good enough for it?
She was sorely disappointed.
“Clap clap clap clap—” The audience broke out into applause, congratulating Miss Wen on her talent as they felt that she truly deserved her reputation in the city.
As for Miss Su…
Everyone felt a little disapproving of her.
Although she was talented, she was too bold and took it overboard, not knowing that someone would always be better than her.
Ye Feiyu raised a thumbs up to Wen Xinya and mouthed “Powerful!” to her.
Miss Su was well known to be talented and had a good reputation among the elites.
Wen Xinya winked at her.
This banquet was an impressive one and showed off a few talented ladies, which received the recognition of the judges and the owner of the pavilion.
“Okay, today’s banquet will end here. I will see everyone here three years later.”
The owner of Boya Pavilion felt energetic. Although a few minor incidents happened in the banquet, it still ended successfully.
Although Miss Su lost in the knowledge category, she still excelled in three different categories, winning the award ultimately.
However, her award was not as prestigious, as she boldly challenged the judge, which left a bad name on her. This was a good example of her failure to outdo her betters.
Ultimately, Boya Pavilion’s gala was still prestigious and enjoyed by everyone around.
After the whole day of talking and keeping up an image with the owner of Boya Pavilion, Wen Xinya felt a little tired. She was happy and relieved that the gala ended. As she sipped her tea, she saw a shadow from the corner of her eyes, but it soon disappeared into the garden. She felt as if this shadow was familiar, but thinking carefully about it, it left no major impression on her. She thought that it was probably one of Boya Pavilion’s helpers and did not care more about it.