Chapter 195: There’s not even a capable person here, and I’m ashamed to be associated with you all!
We’ve come to this point, and you still want to ask for more money?
You’re too greedy!
Indeed, “Desire is the root of all sins, what worries is there without enough words!”
“Principal Lin, you’re asking for too much. I don’t have that much money!” The Third Prince said with a dark face.
“Who would believe that? You are the magnificent Third Prince of the Great Yan Empire, greatly favored by the Emperor, with many supporters. How can you not have money?” Lin Beifan said incredulously.
“In the Great Yan Empire, we have strict regulations on the control of officials and royal family members. Every year, the salary is fixed and not substantial. If corruption and bribery are discovered, severe punishment will be imposed!”
“Light punishment could result in demotion, and serious punishment could lead to losing one’s head. It could even bring calamity to three generations of the family!”
“Although I, as the Third Prince of the court, am greatly favored by my father, if I am found to be involved in even the slightest violation or corruption, I will be imprisoned and strictly disciplined by the Zongren Mansion!”
“My father is just and fair, and no one can be an exception!”
The Third Prince helplessly said, “That’s why I really don’t have that much money!”
“Third Prince, if you can’t even take out a million taels, you’re living a life of failure!” Lin Beifan mocked, “I know a princess who, in order to recruit me, promised me tens of millions of taels of silver, and even offered herself! But I didn’t agree! Your mere several hundreds of thousands of taels can’t make me budge!”
“Which princess is so rich? I don’t believe it!” The Third Prince shook his head.
That princess Lin Beifan mentioned is naturally Princess Ziyue!
The fugitive princess who is also a princess!
And this princess is really rich, much more impressive than those legitimate princesses!
“Believe it or not, it’s up to you! Third Prince, since you don’t have any money, then I can’t help you!” Lin Beifan stood up and said, “Gentlemen, I apologize for the inconvenience earlier. I’ll take my leave!”
Mr. Wang, the old minister, extended his hand and called out, “Principal Lin, please wait, let’s discuss again!”
Saying that, he pulled the Third Prince aside in a corner and whispered, “Your Highness, you must agree! If Lin Beifan leaves, we won’t have a chance, and the Yan and Wu competition will be in jeopardy!”
The Third Prince helplessly said, “But Mr. Wang, I really can’t come up with so much money!”
Mr. Wang gritted his teeth, “Your Highness, I still have some private funds! Although it’s not much, it should be enough to satisfy his appetite!”
“Thank you, Mr. Wang. I will remember your kindness!”
And so, the Third Prince managed to gather 1.2 million taels, barely meeting Lin Beifan’s demands.
With a smile on his face, Lin Beifan put the thick stack of money into his pocket, “Third Prince, Mr. Wang, you have shown your sincerity! Rest assured, tomorrow you will see how I perform!”
“We will trouble you, Principal Lin!” The Third Prince, now a pauper, and Mr. Wang bowed their heads.
“Don’t mention it! However, I cannot blatantly lose. Even if I have to lose, I want to lose gracefully, with a sense of pride in the defeat! Only then can I maintain my dignity and also be accountable to the Empress and the people!”
The Third Prince and Lin Beifan understood each other’s point and nodded.
The Third Prince asked, “Principal Lin, what’s your plan?”
“My plan is like this!” Lin Beifan cleared his throat, “During tomorrow’s literary competition, I will pretend to be arrogant. You won’t be able to stand it and will increase the difficulty of the questions. Feeling provoked, I will rise to the challenge.”
With a smug smile, Lin Beifan continued, “Even with the increased difficulty, I will perform normally, or even exceptionally well, but I will still lose to you. In this way, it won’t be because of my lack of ability, but because the heavens are not on my side. I will lose gracefully!”
The Third Prince and Lin Beifan both nodded and said, “This plan is good!”
Lin Beifan raised his glass and said confidently, “Here’s to our success!”
“Success!” Everyone laughed.
After finishing the drink, Lin Beifan, carrying the large sum of money, said his goodbyes and left.
The next day, the literary competition continued.
Due to the Great Wu’s victory on the first day of the Yan and Wu competition, representing Great Wu, Lin Beifan defeated the representative team of Great Ya and the people’s morale was high.
As the sky brightened, many people had already gathered outside the venue.
“I hope we continue to win big today!”
“I think as long as we have Principal Lin, there won’t be any problems!”
“Yes, as long as Principal Lin is here, Great Yan will be invincible and unbeatable!”
“The time has come, it’s starting!”
…
Inside the martial arts field, the Empress and the officials were already present.
After yesterday’s victory against the representative team of Great Yan, the Empress and the officials were very happy, and their faces were relaxed.
Their gaze couldn’t help but drift towards Lin Beifan.
They hoped that he would continue to excel and lead the young talents of Great Wu to pursue victory.
In comparison, the representative team of Great Yan had a more solemn expression.
After losing two rounds yesterday, the situation was not looking good, and they had to win today no matter what.
The Empress looked at the sky, nodded towards the announcer, and said, “We can start!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The announcer turned around, facing the two representative teams, and announced loudly, “The third round of the literary competition – Calligraphy!”
“Each side will send forth one talented individual to participate in the calligraphy contest. The winner stays, the loser steps down! This will continue until one side’s five talented individuals have all been defeated. The contest ends when the winning side remains!”
The representative team of Great Yan.
“Liu Hai, you go first for this round!” the Third Prince ordered.
Liu Hai was a bit nervous and hesitant, “But Your Highness, my calligraphy is only average among everyone. If I go first, and heaven forbid I lose, it will affect our team’s morale!”
“No need to worry, show your true strength. We will definitely win today!” The Third Prince was very confident.
I have bought off their strongest person, so why should we be afraid of losing?
As long as he throws the match, what is there to be afraid of for the others?
“Yes, Your Highness!” Liu Hai took a deep breath and stepped onto the martial arts field.
Great Wu’s side.
“Liao Rumin, you go first!” Lin Beifan said.
“Mr. Principal, shouldn’t you go first?” Liao Rumin was surprised and asked.
Lin Beifan disdainfully said, “They are too weak, and they can’t stimulate my fighting spirit! You go first, show everyone your calligraphy skills! Relax, I have your back!”
“Yes, Mr. Principal!” Liao Rumin confidently stepped onto the martial arts field.
And so, the calligraphy contest officially began.
The rules were as follows: both sides would receive the same topic and write the characters on the paper. After finishing within the specified time, they would display their work for everyone to vote, and the one with the most votes would win.
In less than half an incense stick’s time, both sides had finished writing and displayed their work.
“The characters written by Liu Hai are clean, powerful, and even carry a hint of elegance. Not bad, not bad!”
“Liao Rumin’s characters are also very well-written, but compared to Liu Hai’s, they are slightly lacking.”
“Yes, there is an obvious difference between the two!”
“Although Liu Hai is representing Great Yan, I still want to vote for him!”
…
“Now, it’s time to vote!” the referee shouted loudly.
After one round of voting.
The referee announced loudly, “Liu Hai from Great Yan received a total of 55 votes, while Liao Rumin from Great Wu received a total of 22 votes! Therefore, the winner is Liu Hai from Great Yan!”
The Great Yan representative team cheered, while the Great Wu side sighed in disappointment.
Next, Great Wu sent out their second participant.
They wrote their characters again and had another round of comparison.
After the voting ended.
The referee announced loudly, “Liu Hai from Great Yan received a total of 44 votes, while Xu XX from Great Wu received a total of 33 votes! Therefore, the winner is Liu Hai from Great Yan!”
The Great Yan side cheered again, while the Great Wu side sighed in disappointment.
Then, Grear Wu sent out their third person, fourth person…
But surprisingly, none of them were a match.
The Great Yan side was overjoyed, but the Great Wu side was dejected.
“We actually lost all of them. Did our luck run out?”
“That can only mean that the Great Yan representative team is too strong. It’s difficult to deal with a genius like their top scorer!”
“They are indeed strong! But don’t worry, we still have Mr. Principal!”
“Mr. Principal is powerful! If Mr. Principal doesn’t lose, then we won’t lose!”
…
Although they had lost four rounds in a row, the people from Great Wu were still full of confidence.
Because they still had Lin Beifan, the to scholar, a man who gave infinite confidence and always created miracles!
He was the undefeated banner of Great Wu’s literary world, holding up the backbone of the literary world!
As long as he was there, Great Wu would not be defeated!
“Please send out the final contestant from Great Wu!”
Step by step, Lin Beifan leisurely walked onto the martial arts field.
Great Yan’s team suddenly felt a sense of crisis.
The other representatives from Great Wu were not even worth considering.
Only Lin Beifan had to be taken seriously.
Because it was this guy who won two rounds yesterday, completely extinguishing their arrogance!
It was this guy who ruthlessly trampled on their dignity, as well as the dignity of Grear Yan, making them unable to lift their heads up until now.
Whether they could defeat Great Wu depended on the person in front of them.
At this moment, Lin Beifan stood with his hands behind his back, raised his head high, and contemptuously said to everyone, “I didn’t expect you to actually force me to make a move. It seems you’re not completely useless!”
“You…” Great Yan’s team collectively became furious.
“Lin Beifan, don’t be so arrogant! Fortune always changes, and today is your time to lose!” Liu Hai said with a fierce expression.
“You worthless dogs, how dare you speak so boldly?” Lin Beifan looked down with disdain and mocked, “If it weren’t for me taking pity on your pitiful selves and giving you a chance to perform, I would have already shaved your heads!”
“You jerk! How did Great Yan end up with a loser like you?” Liu Hai was furious.
Lin Beifan seized the opportunity and shouted, “Your Majesty, the Great Yan representative team has spoken arrogantly, defamed the humble servant and Great Wu. Their hearts are deserving of punishment! Please allow this humble servant to once again take on five opponents and teach them how to behave!”
Great Yan’s team: “What the f*ck!”
Who was really speaking arrogantly?
The Empress began to sweat, “Sir Lin, there’s no need for that! They were just being hasty with their words. Let’s continue the literary contest according to the rules, one by one!”
Lin Beifan yelled, “Do you see now? If it weren’t for Her Majesty’s mercy towards your pathetic self-esteem, I would have annihilated you all! How dare you call yourselves talented champions? You can’t even fight, I’m ashamed to be associated with you!”
Great Yan’s team: “What the f*ck!”
At this moment, they were truly outraged!
They wished they could tear apart Lin Beifan, who had become successful as a lowly person!
Even the Third Prince’s eyelids were twitching!
Although they already knew the other party would act arrogant, they didn’t expect it to be this arrogant. Just listening to him made them want to hit someone!
At this time, the referee next to them said, “Principal Lin, that’s enough, don’t provoke them any further. Let’s continue with the contest!”
“Today, this official will give Mr. Liu some face and not argue with you!”
Lin Beifan extended his right hand and said confidently, “Bring me the pen! Today, I will let you all witness what true characters are! What true calligraphy is!”
