Chapter 12: Ladies' Etiquette Contest

Last time at the Song Manor, she also never spoke to him, and his eyes had always only ever held Song Xizhi; toward other women he was too lazy to even give them a glance.

When he just saw her, he actually blurted out "Fourth Miss"—how strange.

Shen Shuangning didn't figure it out, and just couldn't be bothered to think about it.

She lowered her head to look at her foot, brows slightly furrowed.

"Older sister, your foot is injured—do you want to see a doctor?" Shen Ling sat beside Shen Shuangning, her face full of worry.

Shen Shuangning moved her foot; it hurt a little.

It was just a slight twist earlier, not serious; only when she walked quickly did she now feel a bit of pain.

She wasn't a delicate lady; this bit of pain she could endure.

"It's fine, the ladies' etiquette contest is about to start; I can't delay—I'll be fine after a short rest." Shen Shuangning said.

Shen Ling then said no more.

"If older sister can't participate in the contest, and it's only me, I would be very anxious."

But this scene fell into someone else's eyes.

The Miss of Wei Manor secretly told Song Yao the news of Shen Shuangning's injury.

Song Yao's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam; she dared to flirt with her future brother-in-law, and she would certainly make Shen Shuangning look bad!

About the time it takes to finish a cup of tea passed, and the young ladies were all ready.

Shen Shuangning had rested enough; thinking of the upcoming contest, she gave Shen Ling a few instructions.

A Ling, did you remember what I told you earlier?

I remember, I won't hold older sister back.

Shen Ling seemed to think of something, then said: "By the way, older sister, how do you know Wei Changqing will use underhanded tactics?"

Shen Shuangning answered vaguely: "I dreamed that older sister would meet with misfortune, perhaps related to the brother-in-law."

In her previous life, when Zhao Lian'an fell from his horse, Shen Shuangning did not see it herself; later she also learned from her second brother that it was Wei Changqing who caused it.

Hope Zhao Lian'an is someone who listens to advice.

Shen Ling's face turned pale at once upon hearing that, and just as she was about to press further, a palace servant not far away shouted loudly:

"Her Imperial Highness the Grand Princess has arrived——!"

Shen Shuangning hastily rose to her feet, standing with Shen Ling among a group of aristocratic young ladies to greet the Grand Princess.

The matrons of the aristocratic clans also rose one after another.

All that could be seen was a woman in splendid palace attire slowly walking forward, surrounded by a retinue of eunuchs.

The Grand Princess was nearly forty, yet her face was gorgeous and striking; her phoenix eyes slightly lifted at the corners, and even the fine lines at her eyes bore an imposing dignity that needed no anger.

Everyone performed a respectful salute.

The Grand Princess sat upright on the gilt phoenix chair, smiling warmly: "Please rise."

Each year's content for the ladies' etiquette contest is decided solely by the Grand Princess; it does not test etiquette, only talent.

Needlework, music, chess, calligraphy and painting, culinary arts and tea ceremony—all count as talents.

And because the Grand Princess believes that food is the foundation of the people, there is a culinary arts assessment every year.

Shen Shuangning, however, thought the Grand Princess was simply greedy.

Madam Shen had received word in advance that this time they would be tested on culinary arts, tea arts, and painting.

This matched what Shen Shuangning knew.

The eunuch stepped forward to announce the rules of the ladies' etiquette contest; the usually lively young ladies were now all properly behaved.

The chief examiner was Madam Pei of the Zhen Guo Gong Manor; she together with three other ladies selected ten outstanding aristocratic young ladies, and finally the Grand Princess decided the top three.

Besides receiving a generous reward, the champion's most important prize is being able to see His Majesty the Emperor and ask for an imperial edict.

Past champions cannot compete again, so Song Xizhi is not among them; representing the Song Manor is her younger sister, Song Yao.

Shen Shuangning remembered that in her previous life, the first-place miss was from the Lin Manor, and second place went to the Song Manor.

Because she knew little about tea arts and lacked patience, her tea score was the lowest, dragging her down; she didn't even make the top three.

In this life Shen Shuangning does not dare hope for first place; it would be good enough if either she or Shen Ling made it into the top three.

The first round is painting.

Palace attendants had prepared brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for everyone; the venue was limited, with two people per table.

At Madam Pei's command, the examination began.

The other ladies sat in the next room, unable to see the contest scene.

Madam Shen and the clan matrons sat together; her expectations for the two young ladies were not high—just making the selection would suffice, but if they could win first place, that would naturally be even better.

Shen Shuangning and Shen Ling sat apart, far from each other; she knew Shen Ling had talent in painting, while her own painting was merely average.

This certainly cannot be learned by cramming at the last minute.

Shen Shuangning calmed her mind, thought a moment, then picked up her brush and began to paint.

Time trickled by, when suddenly a cry of alarm came from not far away.

"My painting!"

It's A Ling!

Shen Shuangning's face changed slightly as she turned to look.

"Song Yao, why are you harming me!" Shen Ling exclaimed, her eyes red with anger.

Song Yao also rose to confront her: "It was you who carelessly knocked over the ink; what does that have to do with me?"

Everyone put down their brushes and all looked over.

"What happened?" Madam Pei also came down.

Shen Ling's painting had been splashed with ink, making it almost impossible to see the original image.

Shen Ling went to Madam Pei to complain: "Song Yao destroyed my painting, Madam, you must uphold justice for me."

Song Yao said: "Stop spitting blood at me, what have I done to you?"

Madam Pei looked left and right: "Who among you saw that?"

The young ladies shook their heads.

They were all focused on their own paintings, who had the attention to notice others?

At that moment, someone pointed at Shen Ling and said: "I saw that she knocked it over herself."

Shen Shuangning frowned; she did not think A Ling would be so careless.

She turned her gaze toward the speaker.

The speaker was Miss Wei Chun of the Wei family; if I recall correctly, Wei Chun is close to Song Yao.

Shen Ling cried: "I didn't do it, it wasn't me who knocked it over, you're lying!"

"Enough." Madam Pei said sternly.

The Grand Princess was next door; she did not want to startle her.

Madam Pei said no more, ordered someone to bring fresh xuan paper, and told Shen Ling: "Time is short; rather than continue arguing, you should finish your painting quickly."

Shen Ling wiped her tears, feeling wronged, and knowing that further arguing would yield no result, she sat back down.

Madam Pei told everyone: "There's still half a stick of incense left."

Half a stick of incense—time is nowhere near enough! Shen Ling's face turned pale; as she lifted her brush, her hand trembled uncontrollably.

The painting examination must be completed within the allotted time, otherwise the qualification will be revoked.

If she can't even pass the first round, her mother will beat her to death!

Song Yao glanced at her, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly, and exchanged a silent look with Wei Chun.

When the half stick of incense burned out, Shen Ling had barely finished, sweat beading on her forehead.

Palace maids collected the young ladies' paintings and then handed them to the examiners.

Shen Shuangning keenly caught the fleeting regret on Song Yao's face, and her own expression instantly darkened.

Is this the kind of lady the Song family raises?

Not long after, Madam Pei announced those who had passed this round.

Over sixty young ladies took part in the ladies' etiquette examination, and in this painting test as many as five failed to pass, Song Yao being one of them.

Upon hearing her name, Song Yao stared wide-eyed in disbelief and exclaimed anxiously: "How could this be? My painting was fine—why didn't I pass?"

Madam Pei gave her a cold look and said: "Are you questioning me?"

"No, I wouldn't dare... I just..." Song Yao deflated; she simply refused to accept it.

Madam Pei unfolded her painting and said: "Tell me, what did you paint?"

Song Yao replied: "A twin lotus—what's wrong with that?"

Madam Pei snorted coldly, then threw her painting onto the ground in front of everyone.

"The twin lotus is a flower of love and lust; to paint such a flirtatious blossom in the ladies' etiquette contest is utterly corrupting morals! How could I tolerate your defiling the examination hall? Someone, burn this painting."

Hearing this, Song Yao's face turned deathly pale; she plunged to her knees with a thud, weeping pitifully: "I... I didn't know, I didn't mean to, Madam, please give me another chance..."

"Isn't the twin lotus meant to symbolize the beauty of love? How did it become a flower of lust? She had even planned to give this painting to her older sister afterward."

"He who harms others ends up harming himself"—Shen Ling's gaze was cold.

Song Yao was just taken away like that; from now on, there is no Song family lady left in the examination hall.

Shen Shuangning secretly shook her head; the Song family had always placed in the top three in past ladies' etiquette contests, but now Song Yao has brought this upon herself, failing even the first round—who knows how embarrassing this is.

Going back will be enough to make her drink a whole pot.

At that moment, Shen Shuangning sensed Madam Pei's gaze and suddenly understood something.

Could it be that Madam Pei punished Song Yao for her sake?

Shen Shuangning's heart was in turmoil; if that were true, she would feel a psychological burden.

Next door, Madam Song learned that Song Yao had been eliminated, and she was so angry her heart felt like it was being torn apart.

First, she was angry because Song Yao was disappointing; second, she had spent considerable effort and even bribed three examiners to help Song Yao achieve a good ranking.

She never expected the chief examiner to outright cancel Song Yao's qualification!

Now the Song family's reputation is ruined, the thousand taels of silver have gone to waste, she gained nothing, and it will affect the marriage prospects of other ladies in the Song household.

She was so furious she wanted to drag Song Yao over and ask what on earth she was thinking!

Song Xizhi worried about her mother's health: "Mother, don't be angry..."

At that moment, palace maids filed in, presenting the young ladies' paintings for the Grand Princess and the madams to view.

Madam Shen immediately looked for Ningning and A Ling.

Shen Ling painted green bamboo, with clear nodes, standing tall and straight, without a cluttered background or superfluous details; though simple and clear, it captured the bamboo's spirit to perfection.

Among the myriad dazzling paintings, it stood out especially.

Indeed, the Grand Princess lingered her gaze on this painting for a moment, and the madams praised it without cease.

What had just happened next door, Madam Shen also knew; for Little Sister Ling to finish something this good in such a short time was truly impressive.

Madam Shen nodded satisfactorily, thinking that from today onward, arranging a marriage for Little Sister Ling would go much more smoothly.

Meanwhile, the Third House Lady's face was ashen, full of disappointment.

"Useless thing—being schemed against is bad enough, and you still painted a broken bamboo shoot; how could you possibly beat anyone else?"

Madam Shen did not know what the Third House Lady was thinking; she saw Ningning's painting.

Shen Shuangning painted a spring magnolia scene; overall there was nothing wrong with it, but it wasn't particularly outstanding—just average.

Madam Shen was well aware of her daughter's abilities, and was not surprised.

She was just glad her daughter didn't paint a tortoise.

However, no one noticed that when the Grand Princess saw this spring magnolia painting, her expression flickered with a momentary dazedness.

Next up was the culinary examination.

This time, Shen Shuangning and Shen Ling were together in the same place.

"Older sister, is your foot alright?"

Although Shen Shuangning tried hard to conceal it, Shen Ling still noticed her discomfort when walking.

Shen Shuangning braced her hands on the stove; sitting had been fine, but now standing made the pain in her left foot grow increasingly obvious.

She endured it, took a deep breath, and forced a bright smile: "I'm fine, don't worry."

All four examiners, including the chief examiner, were present to supervise.

Madame Pei said: "The content of this culinary exam is simple; it just needs to match the Lantern Festival. Remember to keep to the point, otherwise it will be invalid."

"Ingredients are limited; first come, first served, each works on their own, no helping—if caught, you'll be disqualified. Do you all understand?"

The young ladies all replied in agreement.

"Begin." Madame Pei signaled a palace attendant to light the incense.

For a moment, the young ladies were all thinking seriously.

Although the topic is simple, producing something outstanding is still difficult.

Shen Shuangning knew that to place in the top three, she couldn't repeat her past life's approach.

She had previously reminded Ah Ling; Ah Ling should have an idea by now, so she wasn't worried about her.

People had already begun to go fetch ingredients one after another.

Shen Shuangning and Shen Ling exchanged a glance, nodded, and without delay sprang into action.