After thirteen presentations of lakes, gardens, desert views, spring encounters, it was finally Lei Xing's turn. She stepped on the platform with a straight face, and a somewhat bored expression.
Her piece was showcased and again raised eyebrows, it was really subpar when compared to the rest and Lei Xing knew that, and at this point, she really did not care at all.
She flatly said, "To this fire ant, the tall grass on the cliff's edge is greater than the distant mountain. Life is all about perspective"
The crowd became enlightened by her words and collectively thought, 'Ah, it's an ant'...and they were all waiting for her to continue her explanation but she remained quiet, and they became puzzled and wondered whether she was really done.
After a while more of watching her stand there in silence, they realized that she was done. That was really all she had thought up, she really couldn't be bothered to think more on it and so simply said what she had.
"Isn't the ant just ignorant?" Prince Yi finally broke the silence.
Lei Xing inwardly rolled her eyes.
{...This a**hole again -_-)...}
Lei Xing remained silent, she really did not want to deal with him again and frankly hoped that he would just leave her alone if she ignored him.
Unfortunately.
"No matter how you look at it grass can never be greater than a mountain, ignorance is not an excuse for foolishness." He spoke up again after receiving no reply.
{...Why can't this guy just let it go?! -_-)...}
"There is the expression that ignorance is bliss." Lei Xing responded without even looking his way.
"So are you promoting ignorance then?"
"No, I am just stating a fact of reality. What bearing does an unknown fact have on one's viewpoint of life? The more you know, the more you have to worry about. The less you know, the less you have to worry about. That is a fact of life."
"So you're saying ignorance is the best way to live?"
"No, but given the nature of life, one cannot help but live ignorantly. There is no one who knows everything, there is always something more to be learned. Since there will always be something more one can learn, then we have no choice but to live ignorantly as life is a journey of learning."
Everyone watched on as Prince Yi and Lei Xing discussed, they remembered that he had also criticized her yesterday and now today again.
Normally, Prince Yi does not involve himself in palace matters. Even when he attended court he rarely chimed in, unless asked for his opinions. But yet, he seemed to be interested in the concubine selection, no, not the selection, it seems it is just this Lady Yin that he seems to be interested in troubling.
The onlookers were curious about how she had offended this aloof person to cause him to publicly criticize her.
"You have spoken well, but how is this relevant to the royal family?" One of the ministers from the back stood up and asked, while covertly looking towards Prince Yi, it seemed he was hoping to get into the Prince's good graces by further making her life difficult.
Lei Xing glanced behind her.
{...What sort of dumb question is this? Are they not living life too?...}
Lei Xing inwardly sighed, looked back towards the front, and began rambling an answer, "The Emperor like the mountain is mighty and dignified, and his presence like the mountain affects the general view of the landscape. All forces in nature work together to create a world in which we can all live and thrive in. While the Emperor is the mountain, nature's greatest and most dignified existence, the officials are the trees, the rivers, the grass, and other forces of nature are all actors within the mountain's sphere of influence..."
"The grass is a more important existence to the ant, not because it is actually greater than the mountain, but because it is more easily accessible than the mountain. How likely is it for an ordinary peasant farmer to be able to voice their grievances to the Emperor himself? It is almost impossible. Therefore, the peasant farmer will look to the grass, the small official, for aid..."
"This is why it is very important that the people assigned as officials are able to be resilient and steadfast like the tall grass which can sway with the wind, survive the storm and no matter the conditions, even if they are trampled upon by the elements, can still grow again and stand tall to provide a safe haven for the small ant."
Lei Xing said a lot and surprised the crowd, and some of them nodded in agreement with her words. Her father and brother covertly smiled, proud of her for putting that small official from the Ministry of works in his place.
The minister who had asked the question, stood frozen in place. This had backfired, he did not expect her actually to come out with such a reasonable explanation. He quietly lowered himself to his seat and slightly lowered his head with a frown, embarrassed.
"Wise words." A calm voice said from above.
Lei Xing looked up and saw the Emperor with a small smile on his face and slightly flinched and quickly looked down with a frown on her face. The Emperor was a bit perplexed by her reaction, but continued and said, "You can go down."
Lei Xing bowed and quickly walked off the platform; as she made her way to the back of the line, she glanced at the official that had questioned her.
{...Want to haggle words with me? The main reason I was pushed into law was because of my bullshitting talent in a war of words...the more you challenge me, the faster my brain works, pressure is my best friend! Hahahahahaha...}
Lei Xing silently scoffed and took her place.
The presentations continued on and were uneventful. Lei Xing didn't care and didn't pay them any attention, at this point, she was really bored now that the edge was taken off her since she was done.
She couldn't wait until this whole thing was over with, and her mind wandered off. Then it got to Lady Lian's turn, and Lei Xing's mind came back to the scene, and her eyes perked up, and she anxiously watched as Lady Lian went on the platform.
{...Ah, I've been waiting for this...}
As Lady Lian's work was opened and showcased, people gasped, and their expressions froze, Lei Xing became even more anxious and excitedly waited for the view to come her way.
{...Did she really do it?...}
Finally, she saw it and was disappointed. She had only drawn a bunch of dragons and phoenixes dancing in a sunset sky.
{...Well, it is well drawn...at least she had the sense not to attempt everything...but wait, I hope she doesn't say...}
Lady Lian smiled and said, "The Emperor is the son of Heaven and a leader that has been blessed by the heavens, mighty, brave, strong, intelligent. This painting shows dragons and phoenixes taking to the sky in celebration of a changing dynasty."
The ministers furrowed their brows and all looked towards the throne. The Emperor was frowning with a raised eyebrow and the Empress dowager looked like she was about to spew blood.
Lei Xing inwardly sighed.
{...She is really a fool ...even I know, and I'm not from here that you should not mention things like multiple dragons, there should be only one, and that is the current emperor, then when you add on "changing dynasty"...are you trying to rebel? or get killed?... Now, I somewhat feel bad...}
Lady Lian looked around and could feel the tense atmosphere and looked up at the tense and saw the expressions of the Emperor and Empress dowager, she bowed her head and quickly went through the words in her head, trying to understand what was wrong.
After thinking hard, she was enlightened and quickly added, "...the dragons and the phoenixes represent past emperors and empresses celebrating the new dynasty of the emperor who will lead this nation to greater heights of prosperity and power."
The atmosphere in the room instantly lightened, and the faces of the Emperor and Empress dowager relaxed.
"Nicely done, portraying the blessings of the ancestors." The Empress dowager said and nodded.
"Of course, the ancestors are in jubilation as our great nation has such a great leader." Lady Lian smiled and bowed. The Empress dowager nodded some more and told her to return. She bowed again and came down.
Lei Xing watched as Lady Lain came down and noticed her heave a small sigh of relief.
{...No, not a fool...a quick thinker...just a bit blinded...}
After the presentations finished, the Empress dowager praised their efforts and let them go back to rest. The next day was a day of rest, and the competition will continue the day after. The candidates bowed and left.
Lei Xing returned to her room and fell on the bed. She was proud of herself, she had done well today and had shown her enemies that she was not to be belittled. As she was smiling in satisfaction, the Emperor's smiling face crept up in her mind, her smile froze, and her good mood instantly vanished.
{...No way, it's nothing...it was just a normal smile, people do that. In fact, I could have mistaken it...Argh! It's all that a**hole's fault, if he would have just let me be!...and who was that lost puppy at the end?...so annoying...}