After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Prince Xin's words surprised everyone, so much so that a collective gasp filled the flower hall.

The men in melon-shaped hats stroked their beards with great interest. The Marquis of Zhenguo's mansion had indeed received a lot of gifts today, and it was certain that someone would send calligraphy and paintings.

When it comes to running script and cursive script, the few great scholars of Bailu Academy in the Southern Dynasties could outshine even the literary emperors of the Northern Dynasties. But when it comes to Wei stele script... Nilong and Fan Shilie chuckled. It seems that apart from Liu Zhenxi, there is no one in the Southern Dynasties who can rival him.

It just so happens that Liu Zhenxi did not make a move today, but instead gave away a yellow inkstone. If this old man were to make a move now, even if he is still vigorous and truly surpasses Ning Jiexiao, then the Southern Dynasty would lose in terms of magnanimity.

Liu Zhenxi and the others frowned, exchanging almost imperceptible glances, somewhat puzzled by Prince Xin's meaning... Could it be that Prince Xin had sent someone to deliver a Wei stele inscription by a master of the Former Liang Dynasty? Perhaps by Dong Sibai, or a masterpiece by Tang Yin or Zhu Yunming?

These individuals, renowned for their elegant bearing and refined manners, were all masters of both poetry and calligraphy. They had left behind several copies of Wei stele calligraphy, which were kept hidden deep within the palace. It was indeed not impossible that Prince Xin would bring them here today as a congratulatory gift. The feelings of the assembled luminaries suddenly became complex.

Madam Jia, however, did not think much of it.

After Prince Xin gave his instructions, she immediately told a steward waiting nearby to prepare a list of gifts from today's guests and to ask the Marquis's staff to select all the calligraphy and paintings from the gifts presented by the distinguished guests and bring them to Huanyue Pavilion. The steward nodded and hurried off.

Madam Jia remained composed. To her, whether the Wei stele calligraphy copybook among the congratulatory gifts from the Marquis's residence could outshine the other party was actually unimportant.

The important thing is that in front of this prince, the Marquis's mansion severed ties with the Northern Dynasty.

If the gift truly contains the Wei stele inscription that Your Highness mentioned, that would be ideal, but the possibility is extremely small; if not... that would be even better!

Although it would be a loss of face for the Marquis's family, losing face, though seemingly terrible, could actually foster a sense of shared hatred and righteous indignation if it happened alongside the future Emperor.

Madam Jia remained calm, turned to Zhu Cui with a smile, and said, "Your Highness, the servants are not very efficient. It will take some time to prepare the gifts. Please, Prince Xin, take a seat."

Zhu Cuiwei smiled faintly and said, "What you say is very true, but I will not sit here... I am afraid that my presence here will make the guests of your esteemed residence feel somewhat uncomfortable. After I have appraised a few antiques and a couple of paintings and calligraphy, and seen whether the literary spirit of our Great Liang can be stolen by a few little devils, I will take my leave."

Upon hearing Prince Xin's witty remark, Lady Jia and the other noble ladies covered their mouths and laughed, saying, "Let alone these two or three little devils, even if their old devil came, he would be no match for Prince Xin's literary talent!"

Liu Zhenxi and the other scholars looked on with admiration and immediately smiled and echoed, "We old men are indeed grateful to Prince Xin for exorcising the little devils for us..." Their tone was light and cheerful, and they felt much more at ease.

Ever since they heard that the emperor intended to abdicate the throne to Prince Xin, people have been filled with anxiety at private literary gatherings.

The Northern Dynasty was eyeing Liang covetously. If it weren't for its recent military campaigns in the northwest and the presence of the Rakshasa Kingdom further north to restrain it, it would likely have launched a southward attack on Liang within a year of preparing for war.

Prince Xin is a woman, and the court has been turbulent in recent years. Even the current emperor has powerful ministers who look down on him. If Prince Xin ascends the throne, the Southern Liang Dynasty will likely become even more unstable.

But today, upon seeing him, Prince Xin displayed remarkable poise and composure. When the foreign envoys pressed him aggressively, he responded appropriately, silencing Nilong with just a few words. He truly possessed some of the grace and demeanor of Princess Xuanwu back then!

The sun outside was gradually setting in the west.

The light in the flower hall had dimmed slightly, so Madam Jia instructed the servants to light the lamps in the flower hall.

Then, Zhu Cuiwei stepped forward and asked Liu Zhenxi and other famous scholars to introduce her to some calligraphy, paintings and antiques. For example, she knew that Zhang Jian, a great scholar from Bailu Academy, was skilled in painting, so she asked Zhang Jian to introduce her to the painting "Poetry Reciting on a Donkey's Back".

Knowing that He Weng was an expert in Tang history, she asked him to introduce the Tang tri-colored glazed pottery. As for Liu Gong, she naturally asked him to introduce some valuable calligraphy works.

Even among these noble ladies, Zhu Cuiwei did not neglect them. She smiled and said that she was not good at needlework. Pointing to a piece of Shu embroidery, she asked a noble lady from a family of weavers to introduce Shu brocade.

She even pointed out the lady's daughter and asked her if the young lady knew needlework. The thirteen-year-old girl blushed and stammered that her mother had taught her. Zhu Cuiwei then smiled and praised her for her intelligence and wisdom.

In the short span of fifteen minutes, the atmosphere in the flower hall did not become uncomfortable due to the arrival of the superior; on the contrary, it became even more lively. Whether they were the great scholars or the many ladies and young women, they all felt flattered and overwhelmed when Prince Xin spoke to them.

Especially when the Prince not only knew the origin of a certain allusion but could also draw inferences from it to suggest another, the Prince felt a great sense of kinship.

As the atmosphere in the flower hall changed, the few people in melon-shaped hats, who had previously been at ease, gradually became out of place.

Nilon's face was ashen. He stepped back and, along with a few staff members wearing melon-shaped hats, silently watched the Prince Xin being surrounded.

At this moment, a steward led a number of servants into the room.

A dozen or so servants each carried a sandalwood tray, which contained mostly long wooden boxes filled with calligraphy and paintings brought by the guests that day.

Since the mistress had not given any instructions, the staff of the Marquis's mansion did not dare to open the gift box on their own initiative, so they had the steward and servants bring the gift box over with them.

Zhu Cuiwei looked at the first wooden box, which was sent by Zhang Jian, a great scholar from Bailu Academy. Zhang Jian smiled and said, "This is a piece of cursive script that I wrote when I was young. It is not Wei stele script. Your Highness, please don't make this old man embarrass himself." Madam Jia immediately smiled and thanked him.

Next, Zhu Cuiwei looked at the second one... The poster was from Chen Xingzhi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Chen Xingzhi was skilled in painting, so this must be a painting. Upon opening it, it was indeed a painting of "Embroidered Mandarin Ducks".

Niman frowned. Ha, all pretense.

Fan Shilie had just figured something out and whispered it to him.

Fan Shilie said that Prince Xin must have heard about the fact that the master was going to send Ning Jiexiao a copy of the Wei stele. This woman wanted to spoil the young talent of our Northern Dynasty, so she found a copy of the Wei stele from the Former Liang Dynasty in advance from the imperial treasury and arranged for an official to send it over.

There were quite a few great calligraphers in the Former Liang Dynasty. Although Liu Zhenxi was remarkable, he was only the best of his time, while Dong Qichang, Tang Yin, and others were great calligraphers for hundreds of years!

Now that this woman has said that, if she then pretends to produce Dong Qichang's calligraphy and says that Ning Jiexiao is not as good as Dong Qichang... well, that's for sure!

"It's only today that you've managed to save face a little," Nylon said, narrowing his eyes. "Sooner or later, I'll cut off your literary reputation!"

Ahead, when we reached the fifth wooden box...

Zhu Cuiwei narrowed her eyes slightly.

The wooden box is accompanied by the name card of the gift giver.

"Lijia Village, Jiangning County, Yingtian Prefecture, Daliang South, Ningnan."

Upon seeing the name card, Madam Jia's eyes lit up. She turned to Zhu Cui and smiled, "Your Highness, this is a gift from my nephew, Ning Nan. He is exceptionally talented and writes excellent poetry! I never expected that my nephew Ning Nan would send me a painting today!" Madam Jia was overjoyed.

"Hmm," Zhu Cuiwei nodded, glancing at the somewhat pleased Jia Shi, her lips slightly rounded, but quickly regained their composure, and she said in a calm tone, "Open it and take a look."