Chapter 872 - 874: The Gentle and Jade-like Young Master Tang_1
The topic had been easily diverted by Bai Ruozhu, for even in the open-minded Jiangnan, women still needed to maintain a sense of propriety.
Xu Panrui’s face paled a few shades and she said somewhat awkwardly, "That’s not the case, we both belong to Xuanlang Academy, so he is also considered our senior brother."
"Oh, is that so?" Bai Ruozhu’s tone stretched out long on the ’oh,’ and the others at the table were holding back laughter, almost unable to contain it.
"It’s a pity that Miss Xu didn’t have the chance to take part in the competition alongside Tang Feng, otherwise it could have made for a beautiful story." Bai Ruozhu continued with a smiling expression.
Xu Panrui did want to "make a beautiful story" with Tang Feng, so she didn’t think to argue against Bai Ruozhu’s words, but upon further thought, it didn’t sound right to her. It was a clear jab that she couldn’t even participate in the competition, and with a bit of resentment, she said, "Our academy’s Lin Xufei and Lin Hanlan are also siblings, and are not inferior to you, Miss Bai, so don’t be too arrogant."
"Dare not, dare not, we came to participate in the competition with the intention of learning, and we definitely respect and learn from excellent opponents; but as for the inferior stuff, we can only avoid it more. Isn’t there a saying that one should take the essence and discard the dregs? The same principle applies when coming out to learn." Bai Ruozhu’s face still wore a smile, looking very polite.
Xu Panrui’s face shifted in color and asked, "What do you mean by that? Surely you’re not saying Tang Feng is among the dregs? He is the leading talent among the four great talents of Jiangnan, Miss Bai should not insult him."
Hearing Xu Panrui twist the truth, the people from Beiyu Academy were anxious, and Tu Ying even stood up directly and said, "Miss Xu, don’t fabricate things out of nothing and stir up trouble!"
Bai Ruozhu gently pulled on Tu Ying’s sleeve, then smiled and said to Xu Panrui, "Where is Miss Xu’s mind going? I naturally hold the utmost respect and admiration for Tang Feng. He is my second brother’s opponent in the chess finals, how could I possibly insult my second brother’s opponent? Don’t tell me Miss Xu hasn’t heard that insulting an opponent is akin to insulting oneself? Regardless of who wins or loses, disparaging an opponent is the same as disparaging oneself."
As she spoke, she paused for a moment, and the corners of her mouth rose a bit higher, "On the contrary, if my second brother needed to seek Buddha’s feet at the last moment, wouldn’t Tang Feng’s face be lost? Miss Xu should be careful not to speak carelessly outside and lose face for your senior brother Tang Feng."
The crowd couldn’t help wanting to applaud; Bai Ruozhu had turned the topic back onto Xu Panrui’s earlier sarcasm about Bai Zepei with just a few words, and done so with reason and propriety, leaving Xu Panrui unable to refute.
If one insists that Bai Zepei is not up to par, then it’s not just an insult to Tang Feng, but also to the others participating in today’s competition.
But Xu Panrui couldn’t reconcile it in her heart and muttered, "He just got lucky defeating someone like Chen Zhong, that’s all."
"Miss Xu, words can bring disaster, and as the host, our Xuanlang Academy should treat guests warmly," a gentle voice sounded from behind, and everyone turned to look, seeing a man in the uniform of Xuanlang Academy standing tall. He happened to be backlit, and his expression was obscured, but his voice was very pleasing, instantly uplifting people’s moods.
"Tang Feng, I, I didn’t mean that," Xu Panrui’s composure was shaken, she became nervous, her face flushed red, clearly the shyness and embarrassment of a young girl encountering her crush.
It was then that everyone saw clearly, the newcomer was Tang Feng, set to have a decisive battle with Bai Zepei.
As the leading talent among the four great talents of Jiangnan, Tang Feng’s manner of speaking and his demeanor were indeed exceptional, no wonder he had captured the hearts of countless young ladies.
Then, Jiang Yichun coughed lightly, emanating his usual chill. Bai Ruozhu realized that her jealous husband was not pleased with her staring at Tang Feng.
Holding back a smile, she picked up the child and pretended nothing was amiss, shifting her attention away from the two of them, and even proactively served Jiang Yichun some vegetables with her chopsticks. Thereupon, Jiang Yichun’s face cleared, and the icy aura around him faded.
Naturally, the others thought nothing of it, but Tu Ying knew of Jiang Yichun’s jealousy and immediately understood the situation, almost unable to hold back her laughter.
Tang Feng greeted everyone with a bow and said, "I am Tang Feng, and on behalf of my junior sister, I apologize to everyone. What Miss Bai said earlier is absolutely true, to belittle an opponent is to belittle oneself, and as for the dregs Miss Bai mentioned, I am also aware of what that refers to. I will certainly talk to those around me when I return, as we are all from Danliang Country, why should we make distinctions among ourselves?"
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but nod. Tang Feng was very smart and knew exactly what she meant by the dregs. Of course, she didn’t believe that everyone in Jiangnan looked down on the people from Northland; it was just that some aristocrats were leading this trend, and without suppressive measures, it would only get worse.
Xu Panrui felt she couldn’t save face and, somewhat annoyed, called out, "Brother Tang!"
Tang Feng’s gentle face took on a stern look, "Miss Xu, you mustn’t be willful anymore, otherwise, I will have to have a talk with Lord Xu."
Xu Panrui’s face changed colors, and she dared not speak anymore. With reddened eyes, she turned her head and ran away.
Tang Feng shook his head slightly and once again bowed to apologize to everyone before he took his leave.
"As expected of the top talent among the Four Great Young Masters of Jiangnan, he truly lives up to his reputation," Mr. Zhang couldn’t help but praise.
"You can tell a lot about a person by their poetry. Someone who can create such works is evidently of high moral character," other teachers also joined in the praise.
Bai Ruozhu also had a good impression of Tang Feng. Of course, she was not one to say much; the adulation of talented young men was better left to young girls.
Tu Ying, on the other hand, didn’t pay much attention to Tang Feng; she found him a bit too meek. Instead, she looked at Bai Ruozhu with admiration and said, "Ruozhu, you argue so powerfully, without raising your voice or glaring, and still you rendered that Xu Panrui speechless. It’s so satisfying!"
Bai Ruozhu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at her words, "I wasn’t arguing, I was reasoning. She was speechless because she was in the wrong."
Tu Ying chuckled, "Anyway, you’re awesome. How do you and your second brother have such sharp minds? You’re both so smart."
"My parents are smart, we have good genes at home," Bai Ruozhu said unabashedly.
Jiang Yichun, sitting nearby, couldn’t hold back his laughter. Ruozhu’s skin was really getting thicker and thicker—saying her mother was smart was tolerable, but where was her father smart? Of course, he only thought this; he dared not speak ill of his father-in-law directly.
After everyone had finished eating and chatted for a while, seeing that it was about time, Bai Ruozhu went into the room to call her second brother. Lying on the bed, Bai Zepei had fallen asleep, but now his complexion looked much better. With Bai Ruozhu’s medicine and acupuncture plus rest in the afternoon, he had recuperated.
"Second Brother, wake up, it’s time to leave," Bai Ruozhu gently nudged her second brother and saw him open his eyes groggily, looking at her bewilderedly. But soon, Bai Zepei’s eyes cleared, and he suddenly averted his gaze before sitting up on the bed.
"I am much better now; let’s go," said Bai Zepei, his expression indifferent, revealing nothing more of his thoughts.
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