ebookland Chapter 242 A new bet
Chapter 242 A new bet
Clear skies and cool air
Wen Jiu celebrated his sixteenth birthday during the harvest season.
At the beginning of the lunch, the Chief Secretary Zhao Zhongchang, who looked refreshed and proud, raised his glass and spoke all kinds of compliments to Wen Jiu without hesitation.
The Yongle Palace also welcomed its first lively occasion, with lights and decorations showing a festive atmosphere.
The maids and servants in the mansion carried food and moved between the guests' seats in an orderly manner.
Compared to the joy and pride on Zhao Zhongchang's side, the people behind Qiao Shinian seemed a little listless. The people headed by Cao Yue looked at the boastful man and clenched their fists on their knees even tighter.
Cao Yue bit her lip and lowered her head to stare at the exquisite food in front of her.
Ding Cuicui's face was calm, but if you looked closely you could see the resentment and worry hidden within it.
In the three competitions yesterday, the women were almost defeated miserably.
Especially the female lawyers, the men were a little more aggressive and they made the girls timid. In all three competitions, they were defeated by the men.
In the field of horse riding and archery, only Cao Yue dominated one match, and the other two matches also ended in regret.
When it came time to settle the accounts, they were disturbed and questioned by people outside the field, so their original advantage gradually turned into a disadvantage, and finally they suffered a miserable defeat.
Ultimately, this is a lack of confidence.
So after being questioned, I gradually synchronized with the questioning.
After the failure, everyone was confused, and two of them even gave up on themselves, thinking that it has been a truth since ancient times that women cannot compare to men.
A few others were angry at the man's dirty tricks and shouted that they wanted revenge.
Ding Cuicui looked at Qiao Shinian, who had been very calm and didn't even try to comfort anyone. She wanted to know what Qiao Shinian meant and what she was thinking.
Qiao Shinian was too quiet, as if nothing had happened.
Even Yingzhu, who had been following Qiao Shinian, frowned slightly, as if she was not used to Qiao Shinian being so quiet.
Throughout the whole day, no one knew what Qiao Shinian was thinking.
Seeing that everyone was dejected, Cao Yue couldn't help but speak out to encourage everyone and comfort those who had failed. She never stopped, as if she had been injected with chicken blood.
By the time of Wen Jiu's birthday this morning, almost everyone had calmed down and were thinking about the consequences of this failure and the situation they would have to deal with next.
The singing and dancing were lively, and Director Zhao raised his glass and looked at Qiao Shinian.
Qiao Shinian noticed his gaze, raised his head slightly, and responded with a smile and a toast.
"Miss Qiao!"
Seeing that Qiao Shinian was the same as usual, with no trace of shame on his face, he couldn't help but speak out.
"Last year, you said you wanted to have a competition for a year, and we did have it. Now you should admit that women are not as good as men, right?" Zhao Zhongchang lowered his own status and asked for the results from Qiao Shinian like a street vendor.
Qiao Shinian responded in a calm and steady voice: "Yes, I admit that compared to the industry that has been dominated by men for a hundred years, women are weaker."
"Alas, that's wrong. What I want to say is that women have been inferior to men since ancient times." Zhao Zhongchang stroked his beard and stood up proudly.
After he finished speaking, he looked towards Wen Jiu and bowed, "Your Highness, according to the agreement, women are inferior to men, so we should withdraw the preferential treatment for women, so that some ignorant women will not want to compete with us men."
What he said was true. Ever since the comparison between men and women began and since Wen Jiu gave women more power, many women in Xiangye and the market have shown the intention to resist men. This change has loosened the solid rights of men.
Director Zhao could foresee that if this continued, the girl would be difficult to discipline.
"Just let them stay at home and take care of their husbands and children. The men should support them and they shouldn't complain."
Qiao Shinian put down her wine glass, stood up and straightened her clothes, and after a while she spoke calmly: "Master Zhao, I'm sorry I can't agree with what you said."
"What? Are you going to cheat?" Zhao Zhongzhang's eyes widened, and his tone was teasing: "Oh, I almost forgot that this girl has followed Your Highness for many years. If she wants to cheat for what she said before, it all depends on Your Highness's will."
After hearing this, everyone present turned their eyes to Wen Jiu. How to make the decision depended entirely on Wen Jiu's words.
Of course, if this matter is not handled properly, the reputation that Wen Jiu has worked so hard to build up over the past year will return to square one.
After all, the world is still ruled by men.
Wen Jiu raised his head and looked at Qiao Shinian.
Qiao Shinian's expression remained unchanged, and he remained calm: "Master Zhao, do you remember the bet we made last year? If I remember correctly, we just said that we wanted to compete to see who was right and who was wrong, but we didn't make a bet at that time!"
Zhao Zhongzhang rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth and said, "But you lost, which proves that women are inferior to men! Women should stay in the back house obediently."
"If a woman can break a business that has been dominated by men for a hundred years in just one year, then it's worth talking about. If it only takes one year to break your century-old foundation, then men are useless trash, aren't they?" Qiao Shinian bent down, picked up a glass of wine and took a sip.
"Since Lord Zhao is so eager for the woman to stay in the backyard, let's make a bet. If Lord Zhao wins, I will voluntarily give up all the rights I have fought for the woman, and the woman will do whatever she wants!
If Lord Zhao loses, then you have to promise in front of everyone that you will take the lead in fighting for women's rights for the rest of your life, how about that? "
"You! You little yellow-haired girl!" Director Zhao pointed at Qiao Shinian with one hand and pressed his other hand on his chest.
He looked around and found that no one spoke for him, so he said angrily: "Okay! Let's do it like last year. Let's have a competition, and all the gentlemen and ladies present here will be witnesses."
"Okay, I will come again next year, and I will be your witness to the bet between Lord Zhao and Miss Qiao."
Xie Qingyan stood up and saluted gracefully. Her voice was small but powerful.
Xie Yu looked at his sister, sighed helplessly and stood up: "Then I will also be a witness to this bet."
"I am here to join in the fun, too."
"I am coming too."
As more and more people stood up, Qiao Shinian looked at the smug Zhao Zhongzhang and smiled, "I know that Lord Zhao looks down on women, so this year, if you don't like anything, you don't have to use anything made or created by women.
I guess adults wouldn't bother using it, so I'll just say it in advance.
In October, a new batch of paper will come out. The production method is completely different from before, so the paper surface will be whiter and thicker.
As for the strong liquor that will be served later, we call it Zuiniang. The aroma of the liquor will be more than 20 degrees higher than before. In the next year, we will also launch strong aroma, sauce aroma, light aroma, etc. ”
After finishing speaking, Qiao Shinian raised her eyebrows, turned her head to look at Wen Jiu who had been staring at her, and asked, "Does Your Majesty have anything to say about the bet between me and Lord Zhao?"
"No, that's fine." Wen Jiu smiled, showing no reaction to the farce: "Since everything has been discussed and settled, let's sit down and continue."