Chapter 189: Provocation

The General's Mansion owned many properties; that cosmetics shop on Wanqing Street was merely one of many unremarkable ones. Lin Hao didn't even know such a storefront existed here.

On this day, she brought Baozhu to Wanqing Street to inspect the shop's situation.

The storefront was not large. Like many street-facing shops, it followed a layout of a front shop with a backyard. In total, there was only one shopkeeper and one assistant.

The shopkeeper was a woman in her thirties. When Lin Hao walked in, she was leaning against the counter, dozing off, while the assistant was wiping the shelves.

Seeing this, Baozhu let out a cough.

The shopkeeper snapped her eyes open and looked at Lin Hao and her servant with sparkling eyes: "Does the young lady wish to buy rouge or powder? Our shop has a complete selection. Peach pink, orange red, coral red—as long as the color of rouge exists on the market, we have it here..."

Listening to the shopkeeper's continuous stream of introductions, Lin Hao felt secretly puzzled.

The shopkeeper was so talkative, so why was the place so deserted?

"Then let's take a look at everything."

The shopkeeper hurriedly brought over a pile of bottles and jars for testing.

Lin Hao picked up a box of rouge and used her pinky to casually pick up a bit to examine closely. The powder was not bad, but it couldn't be called excellent either. Furthermore, directly across from this shop was an even larger cosmetics store, with people constantly entering and exiting the door.

"How much is this box of rouge?"

After asking the price, Lin Hao bought it and went directly across the street.

As expected, the goods across the street were more abundant and complete. In addition to various types of rouge, there were also floral waters, scented soaps, perfume balls... one could buy everything a young lady needed in a single trip. As for the price, the same brand of rouge was the same price as their own shop.

As they walked out of the store, before Lin Hao could speak, Baozhu let out a sigh: "No wonder our shop's business is poor; we don't have a single advantage... Miss, look, even our shop's name can't compare to theirs. They are called 'Hua Xiang Rong,' while ours is called 'Lin's Fragrance Shop.' If I were a maid, I would go to Hua Xiang Rong too."

They had lost right from the sign!

Lin Hao lifted her eyes to glance at their own shop's sign and smiled faintly: "The key is still the quality of the goods."

Women who care about their appearance have sharp eyes for things like floral water; they can distinguish even the slightest advantage. Good goods are never a problem to sell.

"Miss, when can our shop officially open?" Looking at the people coming and going on the street, Baozhu looked eager to try: "We don't come to Wanqing Street often, I didn't expect it to be quite so lively."

"I have to figure out the steps for distilling floral water, order all kinds of equipment, and purchase fresh flowers... there are many things to do. It won't open in a short amount of time." Thinking about the busy work ahead, Lin Hao actually felt a sense of fulfillment and stability.

Baozhu suddenly pointed: "Miss, look, there are many people gathered over there."

Lin Hao also saw the bustling crowd in front of the teahouse.

"Come, let's go see."

The master and servant walked over, and just as they approached, they heard two people arguing.

"This is outrageous! A tiny little country actually dares to come to Great Zhou and act so arrogant!"

"Exactly! Our Great Zhou has countless talents, and the capital is a gathering place for brilliant minds from all directions. Are we actually afraid of the Yuliu people?"

Someone who had just approached asked curiously, "You two brothers, what happened?"

One man's face was flushed with excitement as he pointed at the teahouse and said indignantly, "A few Yuliu people were drinking tea, claiming that the scholars of our Great Zhou could not match the couplets or the eloquence of their Yuliu people. A few scholars happened to be drinking tea as well; hearing this, they couldn't help but argue with them and engage in a competition."

"Did they win?" the newcomer asked.

The other man sighed: "They lost."

The newcomer grew anxious: "How could they lose?"

The man who spoke first became even more furious: "It's because those Yuliu people are too cunning! Those scholars were just ordinary students, while three of them are said to be top-tier young talents of Yuliu. How could they compete!"

"Then... then are we just going to let the Yuliu people keep competing?"

The other man became excited: "How could that be? Just now, a few of our talents went in—they are even Jinshi from last year's imperial examination!"

The newcomer breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good."

Usually, watching a commotion was one thing, but when facing the Yuliu, Great Zhou absolutely could not lose!

Lin Hao listened silently and understood the general situation.

Scholars naturally look down on one another; it went without saying when it involved scholars from different nations.

Suddenly, there was a stir in the crowd: "Someone is coming out!"

Several young men dressed in cyan scholar's robes walked out quickly. Some covered their faces with their sleeves, and some had bright red faces, fleeing in disgrace under countless gazes.

The onlookers looked at each other in confusion.

Was this... a loss in the competition?

This realization was like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads. As the atmosphere grew stagnant, the laughter and chatter coming from the teahouse became increasingly piercing.

"Hahaha! They say Great Zhou has a profound foundation and produces brilliant talents one after another, but now it seems it's nothing special. They can't even match a simple couplet." A young man dressed in Yuliu attire walked out of the teahouse, waving a folding fan and sweeping a smiling gaze over the crowd.

Another Yuliu man shook his head and sighed: "Meeting them is not as good as their reputation. The talents of Great Zhou are truly disappointing."

These words made the onlookers turn red with embarrassment.

"Don't go too far!" Several young men walked out of the teahouse with furious eyes.

The Yuliu man with the folding fan showed an exaggerated expression of terror: "Could it be that in Great Zhou, if you cannot win a literary battle, you resort to fighting?"

These words left the several young men, whose faces were already not very thick, so ashamed they couldn't speak for a while.

The common people watching also felt uneasy.

In terms of martial strength, it was normal to feel some fear when facing the barbaric Qi people, but to lose even in talent to the Yuliu people—that was something that made one lose heart.

Has Great Zhou fallen to such a state?

The silent stillness made all the scholars present feel deeply humiliated.

To lose face in a foreign land—how could they endure this!

One young man said coldly, "You needn't be so proud. I heard you are famous talents of Yuliu, while those who just competed with you were merely the most ordinary scholars of our Great Zhou—"

"Ordinary?" The Yuliu man interrupted the young man with a laugh. "Just now I heard you Great Zhou people say those people were your new Jinshi from last year. Your country holds the Spring Examination once every three years with thousands of candidates, yet only eleven make the list, and those thousands of candidates are selected from tens of thousands of Juren who participated in the Autumn Examination. If new Jinshi are considered ordinary scholars, then your country's requirements for scholars are far too high."

As soon as these words were spoken, the other Yuliu people burst into laughter. The unrestrained laughter traveled far, acting like invisible slaps against the faces of the Great Zhou people present.

A man strode out from the crowd and stood before the several Yuliu men. With a *swish*, he opened a gold-painted folding fan and said nonchalantly, "Is it just because they won a few people in a couplet competition that it's worth laughing like pigs? Say the upper line, and my friend could match it even with his toes."

When he said the first part, the crowd's hearts surged with passion, but hearing the latter part, they nearly choked on their own breath.

So, he was bragging on behalf of his friend without having to take any responsibility!