Ashes to Crown

Chapter 76: Chapter 39: Continue

Chu Lan awoke with a start in his study, the room filled with the dim yellow light of dusk.

’Is it already dusk? A whole day has passed, and I didn’t even realize when I fell asleep.’

After a moment of disorientation, he recalled the day’s events. He strained his ears, catching the faint sound of birdsong and the soft footsteps of people moving about. Beyond that, there was no chaotic noise.

Only then did Chu Lan call for someone. A young manservant and a maidservant hurried in, exclaiming that the master was awake as they poured him tea.

”What’s... what’s happening outside?” Chu Lan asked.

The servants knew what he was asking. They vied to be the first to answer, ”They’ve all left.”

Chu Lan let out a breath of relief, then his brows shot up as he demanded, ”Where is Chu Zhao? Tell her to come see me!”

But the servants didn’t run out immediately. Instead, they exchanged a look.

”The competition in the garden has concluded for the day. After seeing everyone off, Miss Ah Zhao sent a message to you and the madam, saying she was tired and needed to rest. She said that anything else can be discussed tomorrow,” the maidservant said in a low voice.

’So she won’t come even if I summon her.’ Chu Lan slammed the teacup down on the table. ”Does she have any respect for her elders? Who is in charge of this family?”

Madam Jiang and Chu Ke entered from outside and sneered upon hearing his words.

”She stopped respecting her elders long ago,” Madam Jiang said. ”She’s been the one in charge of this family for a while now.”

Chu Ke nodded. ”That’s right, that’s right.” He sat down and said urgently, ”I told you Chu Zhao has lost her mind! We need to send her away, quickly! Father, you should have seen how she disgraced herself today.”

Although Madam Jiang had told him to hide in his room and not come out, Chu Ke had still snuck out the back door to peek at what was happening.

”People went up one by one to compete with her, while the others acted as judges. And she—she was utterly humiliated in front of everyone.”

”After each loss, she had to bow to her opponent and loudly proclaim that ’Chu Zhao is inferior to so-and-so.’ And she didn’t just have to say it—she had to write it down and present it with both hands.”

”That wasn’t a competition, it was a trial! She was judged again and again, and she bowed her head and confessed her guilt every single time.”

Chu Ke couldn’t bear to watch until the end. ’If it were me,’ he thought, ’I would have just thrown myself into the lake and drowned.’

Although Chu Lan had imagined such a scene, hearing it described still made his heart pound with fear. For a scholar, it was an unbearable humiliation. He said, ”I knew she was bringing this disgrace upon herself. When she competed with you, it was just a sibling squabble, and we kept it restrained. Did she really think that made her some kind of expert?” He then warned Chu Ke, ”You must stay out of sight for the next few days. Otherwise, as her brother, you’ll surely be dragged into a competition. *Sigh*... The Chu Family’s reputation is in tatters.”

Chu Ke nodded. ”I know, I know.”

Madam Jiang was worried about her other daughter. ”She’s definitely going to be ridiculed at the other household.” She had a maidservant take a box of money to Chu Tang so she could smooth things over with those around her.

The family managed to fall into a restless sleep, but they were woken by a servant before dawn.

”Master, Madam, those people are back again.”

Chu Lan sat up, throwing a robe over his shoulders. ”Why are they back? Wasn’t yesterday enough for them to vent their anger? Didn’t Chu Zhao already admit defeat?”

The servant replied, ”They said Miss Ah Zhao told them to come. They said the competition is going to continue.”

’What’s going on?’ Infuriated, Chu Lan ordered someone to summon Chu Zhao. Once again, Chu Zhao did not come, but Ah Le arrived in her place.

”The competition isn’t over yet,” she explained to Chu Lan. ”There are so many people, and our miss is only one person. It’s impossible to finish in a single day. So yesterday, my miss came to an agreement with everyone: they will compete for six hours each day.”

Chu Lan and Madam Jiang were dumbfounded. They asked blankly, ”Then... until when will this go on?”

Ah Le said, ”My miss says that since the Third Prince has set her up as the challenge, it will naturally continue until the day of the Wangchun Garden literary gathering.”

’She’s insane.’ That was the only thought in Chu Lan and Madam Jiang’s minds. Before, calling Chu Zhao insane had been a scolding. Now, they genuinely wondered if she had actually lost her mind.

...

...

By early morning, a crowd had gathered in Chu Garden, even larger than the day before. However, it was not as boisterous. Most people were clustered in groups, speaking in low voices, while others admired the scenery of the garden.

”I have long heard of Chu Garden’s elegance. Seeing it today, I can confirm it truly lives up to its reputation,” someone remarked with a sigh.

”I just never expected Chu Garden to have such a master,” the person next to him said with a laugh. ”Not a trace of elegance about her.”

Most hadn’t known of this Miss Chu before. But after making some inquiries over the past few days, they learned that despite having just arrived in the Capital City, she had already fought with another young lady and cursed out the household of Liang Siqing. Indeed, she was not an elegant person.

Everyone laughed. Then, they heard the sound of approaching footsteps ahead.

”Miss Chu is here.” ”Look, quickly.”

The crowd called out to one another, turning toward the sound. The first thing they saw was a few maidservants, and behind them, a young woman walking at a slow pace.

Those in the crowd who had been there the day before could see at a glance that, compared to her rushed appearance yesterday, today’s Miss Chu was clearly well-dressed.

Her hair was styled in a single spiral bun, revealing a broad forehead. Her willow-like eyebrows were as dark as ink, her eyes shone like stars, and her cherry-red lips were delicately shaped. She wore a goose-yellow dress that seemed to glow in the spring garden.

Yesterday, she had been constantly bowing, admitting defeat, and writing out notes declaring that ”Chu Zhao has lost” for so many people. But today, she showed not a hint of dejection or anxiety. On the contrary, her eyes were filled with fighting spirit.

”Competing one by one is too slow. It’s wasting everyone’s time,” Chu Zhao said. ”How about we have ten people at once?”

Competing with ten people in calligraphy was feasible, as each person could write on their own. But what about chess and literary debate? Those required intense focus and deep concentration. For her to play chess or hold a debate against ten people at once—wasn’t that just a farce?

’Then again, this whole thing is a farce,’ the crowd thought, coming back to their senses. The Third Prince’s goal was for everyone to humiliate this Chu Family’s Daughter. After yesterday’s competition, not only was she not ashamed, she had grown even more audacious.

’Why can’t she just obediently bow her head and admit she’s wrong?’

She refused to admit fault and insisted on suffering this humiliation.

”Alright!” a voice shouted from the crowd. ”We’ll do as Miss Chu wishes!”

Immediately, ten men stepped forward. Chu Zhao sat at her own table and gave them a calm bow. ”Gentlemen, please.”

...

...

The Third Prince’s Wangchun Garden literary gathering had already become a famous event known to everyone in the Capital City. So, the moment the name of the Chu Family’s Daughter appeared outside the gates of Wangchun Garden, it immediately swept through the capital.

Even the officials within the Imperial City were discussing it in low voices.

Compared to the common people who were just watching the spectacle, they felt the implications more deeply.

”So she’s Chu Ling’s daughter.” ”I never would have thought... How could a young girl like her do something like this?” ”What’s there to be surprised about? Everything Chu Ling ever did was shocking.”

”Actually, this affair doesn’t have much to do with the girl herself.”

A different voice suddenly interjected.

The few officials clustered together jumped in surprise. They quickly turned to see Deng Yi standing behind them.

Compared to their official robes, Deng Yi’s status was lower. But this Clerk, who had offended the Zhao and Yang Families and been assigned the drudgery of guarding the palace gates, often treated them to fine tea and wine.

Of course, it wasn’t as if they had never accepted gifts before; they had received plenty of things more valuable than fine tea and wine. It was just that Deng Yi presented his gifts with an air of magnanimity and sincerity, as if he weren’t offering a gift, but a piece of his heart.

Although Deng Yi had offended the Zhao and Yang Families, he hadn’t offended *them*. There was no need for them to step on this minor Clerk just to curry favor with the Zhao and Yang Families.

”Lord Deng,” they greeted him with a smile. ”On duty today as well?”

Deng Yi nodded.

’Poor man,’ the officials thought sympathetically. ’Working as a gate-guarding Clerk, he doesn’t even get a day off.’ They started to chat with him. ”Lord Deng, have you also heard about Chu Ling’s daughter?” ”Why do you say it doesn’t have much to do with the girl?” ”Is there some inside story? Could it be that Chu Ling instructed her to do it?”

Deng Yi smiled. ”There’s no inside story. What I mean is, the girl’s competition at Chu Garden wasn’t her original intention.”

’What does he mean, it wasn’t her intention?’ The officials were confused. ’She was clearly the one who accepted the challenge.’

Deng Yi said, ”Because it was originally just some playful bickering between her and her brother—a private family matter. But then someone else used it as a pretext to issue a formal challenge to her. How could she back down without a fight?”

After speaking, he walked past them and ambled toward the palace gate.

The officials stood there, stunned. ’Someone else? Who is ”someone else”? Isn’t he talking about the Third Prince? Is he expressing dissatisfaction with the Third Prince?’

They came back to their senses, expressions helpless. ’This Deng Yi really dares to say anything!’

’No wonder he keeps getting demoted even while handing out gifts. He’s completely incapable of pleasing his superiors.’