Chapter 867 - 869: Is the Second Brother Pushing the Duck onto the Shelf?_1
Bai Ruozhu was wearing the team uniform of the Beiyu Study Palace, which was a very plain dark green color with simple white broad edges on the collar and cuffs, imparting a certain scholarly aura to her as a female student.
In order not to attract too much attention, Bai Ruozhu didn’t style her hair into a married woman’s coiffure. Instead, she swept her hair up into a bun with a slightly masculine touch and inserted a jeweled hairpin to signify her femininity.
Her figure was naturally slender and her skin fair. Coupled with an aura of spiritual energy about her, this attire instantly overshadowed the other men on the team. Even her second elder brother seemed to pale in comparison to her.
Jiang Yichun’s eyes widened at the sight, feeling in his heart that his wife was exceedingly beautiful. But it wasn’t long before he slightly frowned, really not wanting others to see such a beautiful side of Ruozhu.
He walked over and, without regard for those around him, wrapped an arm around Bai Ruozhu’s waist and coolly swept his gaze over the dazzled students from the delegations, saying, "My lady has worked hard."
As Bai Ruozhu’s waist was publicly embraced, her face couldn’t help but heat up. She glared at him and immediately understood that the big vinegar jar was asserting his ownership again. She found it amusing, yet her heart was also sweetened, and she simply chose not to point it out.
Tu Ying’s attire wasn’t as bright as her usual red horseback riding outfit but had a charm of its own. She wore a small bag slung diagonally and from it hung the tiny goldfish coin purse that Bai Ruozhu had given her.
The backpack was Tu Ying’s idea. She said it was to show those people, to prevent them from getting too arrogant. Bai Ruozhu knew how women loved to look their best, and felt that Tu Ying’s suggestion was good. It would show the women of Jiangnan a thing or two, giving the Northland some pride, and furthermore, it would benefit Hua Xiangrong’s expansion in the Jiangnan region.
The opening ceremony was held in the morning, and the competition officially started in the afternoon. Aside from Tu Bai who was recuperating and didn’t attend, everyone else on the team went to the competition venue. Jiang Yichun even humorously brought his son along, drawing quite a bit of attention.
At this time, it was a rarity for a man to be willing to carry a child, fearing ridicule. But Jiang Yichun never cared about the stares of others. Also because his father had spent the most time with him when he was a child, he wanted to be a good father who spends a lot of time with his son. So there he was, sitting relaxed in the VIP seats, occasionally playing with his son and peeling grapes for him.
Bai Ruozhu glanced in his direction and her eyes immediately curved into a smile. Tu Ying nudged her with an elbow and whispered, "Your husband, Mr. Jiang, is truly a rare breed of a good man—handsome, willing to care for your child, and so good to you."
Bai Ruozhu’s face heated up and she quickly gestured for her to be quiet. Tu Ying laughed quietly, clearly because Bai Ruozhu was embarrassed, wasn’t she?
Soon, the competition officially began. The first event was a written examination, and the content was policy discussions. The rules were simple: there were three topics in total, and those participating in this round had to choose their topic and stick to it. Then the organizers would reveal the questions, and each person had to write a policy discussion based on their selected topic.
All the men from the Beiyu Study Palace took part, but Bai Ruozhu and Tu Ying, who were not adept at policy discussions, sat aside to watch. Unexpectedly, female students from the Xuanlang Academy and the Chang’an Academy also participated in the policy discussions.
Bai Ruozhu and Tu Ying exchanged a glance, both showing a look of helplessness. Policy discussions were about current affairs, which they never paid attention to. How could they possibly complete it?
The two sat there, only to notice a woman from that morning, Xu Panrui, in the spectator seats not too far away. She looked at them with a mocking expression and was whispering something to the woman next to her.
Tu Ying couldn’t hear, but Bai Ruozhu could vaguely catch a bit of it. It was mainly about how they were just making up the numbers and didn’t even dare to participate in the policy discussions.
Bai Ruozhu silently curled her lip. How could she not participate in the competition if she was so skilled? Could she only stand aside making snide remarks, not feeling like a jumping clown herself?
Luckily, the policy discussion was time-constrained and soon enough time was up. All the papers were collected. As the judges needed time to read through them one by one, the competition proceeded directly to the second event.
The second event was a piano competition, don’t think that only women are adept at playing the piano in Danliang Country, as scholars feel playing the piano is a way to cultivate one’s sentiments.
Each delegation had only five participants in the competition, and among the five from Beiyu Study Palace, there was Bai Zepei!
Bai Ruozhu looked at her second brother in surprise, she had never seen Zepei play the piano before, and she even thought he couldn’t play. Each team needed to send five people to play, could it be that the Palace was short-staffed and sent Zepei just to make up the numbers?
Thinking of this, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat for her second brother, even if he was just filling in, so many people were watching. A poor performance would lose face for both himself and the Study Palace.
For the piano skills event, each person drew lots and then moved the piano to the center of the stage in turn to play. The first one up from the Beiyu Study Palace was Dang Youshen, who had become much quieter in the past few days. Bai Ruozhu was too lazy to bicker with him. The urgent matter was that the honor of the Beiyu Study Palace and Beiyu City was more important.
Dang Youshen carried his piano onto the stage and then sat cross-legged to play. Say what you will about him being mean and noisy, his playing did indeed have the air of a refined scholar. Bai Ruozhu didn’t understand much about piano skills and could only listen for the fun of it, but she felt it was very pleasant to hear, better by several marks compared to the previous contestants.
"Dang Youshen’s father is a famous scholar in the Northwest, particularly skilled in calligraphy and piano music. Dang Youshen has been learning the piano with his father since he was young, he truly is extraordinary," Tu Ying whispered to Bai Ruozhu. But after she finished, she curled her lips and added, "Dang Youshen is too narrow-minded, which is why his piano music lacks a bit of spiritual energy."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, feeling like it indeed lacked some charm.
Zepei drew number twenty-three, which was not at the front or the back of the line-up. Finally, when it came his turn, Bai Ruozhu’s palms were sweating profusely. Why hadn’t she asked her second brother earlier about what events he was participating in?
Bai Zepei went straight onto the stage without carrying a piano, heading towards the pianos provided by the organizers.
At this moment, murmurs spread among the audience. Normally, competitors would choose to use their own familiar pianos to achieve better results, preferably famous pianos. The pianos provided by the organizers were merely average, meant only for emergencies. It was unexpected that someone would actually use them.
Bai Ruozhu also sucked in a breath of cold air. Surely Zepei wasn’t scared off by the high prices of buying a piano and hadn’t spoken up about it? Bai Ruozhu almost wanted to slap herself. She hadn’t paid enough attention to him. Had she asked earlier, she could have bought Zepei a fine piano.
Does the Bai Family lack that money now?
Tu Ying was also surprised and asked quietly, "Your second brother didn’t bring a piano?"
The corner of Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched, "I’ve never even seen him play the piano."
This time, Tu Ying was so shocked that she could’ve swallowed an egg, "He couldn’t be standing in for Qin Kaichang or Du Xueru, could he? This is like throwing a duck onto a perch!"
Bai Ruozhu felt it was very likely, but now it was no use thinking about anything. She could only pray that Zepei would outperform himself and at least not embarrass himself in public.
The two of them involuntarily clutched each other’s hands, both anxious for Bai Zepei on stage, but Zepei himself was very calm and unconcerned. He flipped the back of his garment, settled himself in front of the piano, lifted his hands slightly to test the sound, then slightly nodded toward the judges’ stand, and his hands began to move.