OMG! Tyrant's Pampered Baby Is a Valued Princess-Chapter 697: You Truly Deserve First Place

Several shopkeepers were about to hand over the silver to Xu Zhong when they heard someone stopping them, and they were taken aback, looking towards Yuan Ruxin.

Yuan Ruxin circled around Xu Zhong, her eyes filled with critical suspicion.

"Can such a destitute scholar create such an exquisite poem? Don’t you all find this matter suspicious?"

Scholars are diligent, and Xu Zhong was most angered by someone questioning his talent.

"This young lady, I, Xu, could write at three, read history and literature at five, and by the age of eight, I had already participated in the village examinations."

Yuan Ruxin smirked, letting out a sneer.

"I’m not interested in hearing about your past achievements because, after all, they could all be falsified!"

"What I want to point out is that you obviously come from a poor family. As far as I know, studying requires a lot of silver; otherwise, you can’t even afford paper, ink, or inkstones."

"Given your family background, maybe you have some talent, but it’s not certain you could compose such excellent poetry!"

She harshly looked at the four shopkeepers: "You must have hired him to fake it; the leader was decided long ago, wasn’t it?!"

The shopkeepers exchanged glances.

They solemnly said, "Young lady, if we had pre-decided the leader, why would we have just chosen Miss Zhizhi’s poem as the first place?"

Yuan Ruxin was momentarily at a loss for words, unable to refute: "That’s because... because..."

Xu Zhong was infuriated, clasping his hands in salute to the heavens.

"I, Xu, read saintly books and studied the governance scrolls. Even though I come from a poor background, what is wrong with my earnest pursuit of knowledge?"

"I participated in the poetry gathering today to win the thirty taels, so I can continue buying books to study."

"Young lady, in your expensive attire, you must come from a noble background. Why mock a small person like me for amusement?"

Yuan Ruxin frowned: "You! Who wants to mock you for amusement? I’m just voicing the doubts in my heart, what’s wrong with that?"

At this moment, a soft and tender voice was heard— 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"I agree with Lord Xu’s words. In my previous readings, I saw that ancient people, unable to afford ink and paper, would use tree branches to practice writing on white sand."

"This first place, I believe Lord Xu Rightfully deserves it!"

Yuan Ruxin turned her head to look at Bai Zhi’er, glaring in anger.

This Princess Cuicuo, how can she change her words so easily?

Didn’t she just say that such poetry gatherings were just for fun?

Yuan Zhen had already stood up, his face stern, signaling to Yuan Ruxin: "Come down."

Stop embarrassing him further!

At this point, those present were discussing—

"I’ve heard of this Xu Zhong before; he seemed to be the most famous talent in Yanzhou. During the former dynasty, he even achieved noble ranks twice!"

"Yes, I remember too, but sadly, he couldn’t afford to pave his way and ultimately failed to make it."

"How has he fallen into such misery now? Reduced to attending poetry gatherings to raise money for studying, how pitiful!"

The way everyone looked at Yuan Ruxin turned distinctly contemptuous.

This young lady, draped in gold and jade, yet making it hard for a poor scholar.

It’s simply shameful!

Yuan Ruxin couldn’t bear their stares, lowered her head, and quickly returned to Yuan Zhen’s side.

She didn’t forget to mutter under her breath: "These poor miserable ghosts!"

Xu Zhong likely felt humiliated, his eyes slightly brimming with tears.

When the shopkeepers wanted to give him his earned silver coins, Xu Zhong unexpectedly refused.

With tears gathered, he clasped his hands: "Thank you, shopkeepers, but as a humble scholar, to need to exchange poetry for silver coins now is truly improper. I will not accept this silver."

Saying so, amidst the voices of people urging him to stay, Xu Zhong quickly left the teahouse.