Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 155 - 155 156 Cant Stand This Annoyance_1

?Chapter 155: Chapter 156 Can’t Stand This Annoyance_1 Chapter 155: Chapter 156 Can’t Stand This Annoyance_1 The two on stage were evenly matched, and after several rounds of combat, no victor had emerged, leaving the audience below thoroughly entertained. Especially since the competitors were like a match of talented gentleman and beautiful lady, a perfect pairing of wit and charm, to the point where one might truly think they were a couple fated by heaven and earth.

When it was Qiao Yuanzhen’s turn to pose a riddle, he gazed deeply at the woman opposite him, causing her cheeks to redden significantly. With a deeply affectionate air, Yuanzhen recited the riddle, “Only when two hearts harmonize can the lovers be united, answer with a single character.”

The woman’s face flushed instantly, and she began to stutter, “Th-this, I—”
Laughter erupted from below the stage, “Say it, say it!”

The woman shot the crowd a coquettish glare before lowering her head and saying, “Sir, I cannot answer your riddle.”

Yuanzhen laughed heartily, “If the lady cannot answer, allow me to do so for you. The answer is the character ‘Qian’. Since I have won this round, may I ask the lady for something in return?”

The woman was not at all surprised by the answer; it wasn’t that she couldn’t guess it—the solution was all too obvious. It was her own name, “Qian”, that Yuanzhen had used as the answer to the riddle, a puzzle so brazenly indicative of affection that even a fool would understand its meaning.

The woman nodded shyly, “Then, sir, what would you like?”

Yuanzhen smiled, “I want the purse you are wearing.”

In ancient times, purses represented the affection between a man and a woman; if a woman gave a purse to a man, it was generally to one she fancied, unless he was a family member.

The woman blushed even more as the crowd below broke into teasing chants, “Give it to him, give it to him!”

The woman had no choice but to untie the purse from her waist and delicately handed it to Yuanzhen, “Then, sir, please take good care of it.”

The crowd erupted into cheers.

“Indeed, a pair of talents and beauties, truly enviable to others. I heard the lady is Lord Qin’s youngest daughter and also the niece of the Governor from the prefectural city. The gentleman is the newly honored Scholar this year, only seventeen years old. In our Chatu Town, it’s rare to have someone so talented; they really seem to be made for each other.”

“Exactly, exactly. Our Lantern Festival really does bring couples together. Look, a match of golden boy and jade girl has just been formed.”

The various discussions in the crowd were all well-meaning “blessings” from those unaware of the situation.

Jealousy surged within Muniang as she clenched and unclenched her fists inside her sleeves, making her way through the crowd and striding up to the stage.

She could not swallow this insult!

“Since this gentleman is so brilliantly talented, I too hold him in high esteem. Today, I would also like to challenge you to a game of riddles!”

A clear and resonant female voice arose, contrasting the previous woman’s softer and more genteel one, it carried a hint of a queen’s authority. Muniang leapt onto the stage in a single bound.

The crowd’s interest was piqued; this woman was beautiful and had an impressive aura. While they thought the previous woman on stage was pretty and had a presence, the moment Muniang stepped up, the other woman’s light seemed completely overshadowed, eliciting excited applauds from below, “Well done!”

Upon seeing Muniang, Yuanzhen’s originally gentle face immediately darkened, glaring at her as if to say, what are you doing here.

Muniang glared back defiantly: None of your business!

Qin Qian, not understanding the situation, looked at Muniang perplexedly. Muniang gave her a scornful glance, feeling nauseated by just a single look.

Muniang glanced at the purse in Yuanzhen’s hand and softly laughed, “I’m here to challenge you, sir. If I win, not only will I ask for something from you, but the purse that you obtained from Miss Qin will also belong to me, how about that?”

Qiao Yuanzhen scowled, “I don’t want to compete with you.”

Muniang mocked, “Is the young master afraid? I heard that the young master just became a Scholar this year, intellectually profound, yet I’m just a simple village girl, without a drop of ink in my belly. Could it be that the young master is afraid of losing face to me when he loses?”

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience.

Such provocative tactics were incredibly effective against someone like Qiao Yuanzhen. He ground his teeth and said, “You set the question!”

Muniang sneered, “Since ancient times, nothing is simple; there are people, and there are mountains. When mountains collapse, people stand tall, capable of supporting half the sky. Please, young master, guess a character.”

Qiao Yuanzhen’s face suddenly turned pale, his eyes filled with warning as he looked at Muniang.

As if Muniang would be afraid of him—ridiculous!

“What’s the matter? Can’t the young master answer? It seems the so-called profound knowledge is really false. Could this Scholar title have been obtained by cheating?” Muniang jeered.

Qiao Yuanzhen clenched his hand tightly as if wanting to crush Muniang’s neck.

A man in the audience started to shout, “Pathetic! He can’t even outdo my wife!”

Qiao Yuanzhen glared furiously, but the man was not afraid. He imitated Muniang’s mocking gaze, looking at Qiao Yuanzhen as if he were a jumping clown.

Muniang tugged the corner of her mouth, “It seems the young master cannot answer. Well, I won’t trouble you further. I’ll tell you; the answer is ‘wife,’ the wife of a married woman. You really do have a good memory, young master, forgetting even the wife who supports you through thick and thin, but remembering Miss Qin’s given name.”

The audience erupted into chaos, and Qin Qian’s face turned white immediately, “What do you mean by that?”

Muniang sneered, “You ask him what he means.”

“Enough!” Qiao Yuanzhen exploded, “Get lost!”

Muniang remained unfazed. Instead, Qin Qian was startled and looked fearfully at the enraged man before her, where not a trace of his previously refined demeanor could be found.

Immediately, a man jumped onto the stage, positioning himself in front of Muniang, “You are a faithless cad, casting your devoted wife aside. Yet, you won’t allow others to speak of it? Have you no shame?”

After saying this, he swiftly snatched Miss Qin’s purse from Qiao Yuanzhen’s hand, “You lost. My wife wants this!”

Muniang took the purse with a cold voice, “As for the things on your person, I scorn to want them. But a penniless Scholar who lives off his wife and yet puts on airs in front of others. Don’t forget whose money bought the fine clothes on your back? It’s truly unknown whether some people still have any shame.”

Qiao Yuanzhen trembled with rage. If he could, he would have thrown Muniang to the ground and beaten her, but he knew all too well that it was impossible, not just because of her protector but because he wouldn’t even be able to defeat Muniang himself.

Qin Qian looked at Qiao Yuanzhen in disbelief, “Is what they’re saying true? You really have a wife already?”

Qiao Yuanzhen said nothing with a dark face, and Qin Qian covered her face, crying as she ran off the stage.

The tone of the audience shifted immediately, chattering and pointing at Qiao Yuanzhen on the stage.

“How shameless! To forget his devoted wife just because he’s gained a title. I thought he looked like a decent man, but he could do such a thing, almost fooled us all.”