Finest Servant

Chapter 160 The Battle of Literature and Martial Arts (Part 1)

"A battle of literature and martial arts?" Xu Wei asked in surprise, "What do you mean by that?"

"The battle of literature and martial arts is actually quite simple," Tao Dongcheng began. "The Xiao family and I each choose a challenge, either literary or martial. If the other party cannot answer or is defeated, they lose. If there is no clear winner after one literary and one martial round, then we ask Minister Xu to pose an additional challenge to decide the victor."

Lin Wanrong understood, wasn't this just a best-of-three series? The idea of using one literary and one martial challenge was quite inventive. Miss Xiao, despite being a businesswoman, was lauded for her literary prowess, even by the most well-versed poetess in Jinling, Luo Ning. There was nothing to fear on the literary side. And the martial? That was just a fight, wasn't it? Who was he ever afraid of in a fight?

"This is interesting," Xu Wei chuckled. "But Young Master Tao, why do you wish to compete in these areas with the Xiao family?"

"If I lose," Tao Dongcheng responded, "I will resign from my position as Chairman of the Jinling Chamber of Commerce, and the brothers within the Chamber can elect a suitable successor. Additionally, my family's textile business, without taking a single penny, will be entirely handed over to the Xiao family."

The news shocked Miss Xiao. The scale of the Tao family's textile business was not inferior to that of the Xiao family. Tao Dongcheng's offer was a bet of the utmost stakes.

Tao Wanying, who seemed not to have expected her brother's drastic action, exclaimed, "Brother, no!"

"I never regret the decisions I make," Tao Dongcheng stated, his eyes radiating a chilly light.

Xu Wei nodded, his eyes twinkling mysteriously, "And if the Xiao family loses, what do you want them to do?"

Tao Dongcheng answered, "Lin San attacked two of us today. If they lose, I want the Xiao family to apologize to me and Chairman Yu. In addition..." He glanced at Xiao Yuruo, his eyes filled with fanaticism, "I want Miss Xiao to become my wife."

His declaration startled everyone present. To have Miss Xiao meant gaining the Xiao family. Gaining the Xiao family meant owning the business of perfumes and soaps. Tao Dongcheng's move was utterly cunning.

"Shameless!" Eldest Miss Xiao blushed with anger. Tao Dongcheng, who had always been refined, had revealed his brutal nature today. He was even worse than Lin San, who was consistently 'bad.'

With those words, Tao Dongcheng had decisively broken ties with the Xiao family. Today's fight was a desperate struggle—either the fish would die, or the net would break.

Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, "Who would have thought, the great Young Master Tao has fallen so low as to resort to such tactics, your skin is even thicker than mine!" This was not the first time this cheeky fellow had made such a move; the last time he had even slipped in an aphrodisiac. Lin Wanrong completely despised him.

Xu Wei looked seriously at Eldest Miss Xiao, "Miss Xiao, this matter involves your lifelong happiness. Please consider it carefully and avoid acting impulsively."

Indeed, old Xu had already made a peacekeeping judgement, each party receiving fifty corporal punishments, and the matter had been let go. Would he be foolish enough to go through another bloody battle with him? Lin Wanrong pondered in his heart, and said to Xiao Yuruo, "Miss Xiao, today's matter has already been judged by the officials, it has nothing to do with our Xiao family anymore. There's no need for a bloody fight."

Tao Dongcheng noticed the contemplation in Eldest Miss Xiao's eyes and laughed loudly, "Miss Xiao, today's contest is fair and open in front of Minister Xu. There's no room for bias or favoritism. If the Xiao family is afraid to accept the challenge, they will have no place in the Jinling Chamber of Commerce henceforth."

‘Damn it, this Tao is arrogant,’ Lin Wanrong thought furiously. Though Xu Wei was a high-ranking official of the court, he couldn't resolve the issues within the Chamber. Without the Jinling Chamber of Commerce, the Xiao family would be paralyzed in Jinling. The situation couldn't end well without dealing with Tao Dongcheng.

Eldest Miss Xiao understood the stakes clearly. She clenched her fists tightly, biting her lip uncertainly. Her lifelong happiness and the livelihood of hundreds of people in the Xiao family were at stake, and she was backed into a corner with no way out.

The matter concerned both Eldest Miss Xiao and the Xiao family, and for the first time, Lin Wanrong felt a sense of powerlessness. Based on his understanding of Xiao Yuruo, he knew what she would choose.

Xiao Yuruo sighed lightly, looking at him, "Lin San, I —"

Lin Wanrong chuckled, "Miss, you don't need to say it. I know what you would choose. Don't worry, I, this talent, rank second in the world, just a little behind Mr. Wenchang. I'm proficient in both literature and martial arts, there's nothing to be afraid of."

Eldest Miss Xiao nodded, a tear escaping down her cheek. Lin Wanrong tilted his head, whispering in her ear, "Don't worry, even if we lose, I'll just gather some men, kidnap you before you can marry that Tao guy, then we'll retreat to the mountains, and you can be the bandit queen."

Xiao Yuruo blushed at his words and retorted, "You can't be serious at this time, talking about being a bandit queen, is it that unbearable?"

She didn't quite understand her feelings, but his distraction had calmed her down considerably. In a contest of literature and martial arts, she and Lin San could handle the literature. Even if they lost the martial arts, there was still the third round with Xu Wei overseeing it. She believed Minister Xu wouldn't deliberately put her in a difficult position.

With these thoughts, she felt much brighter and smiled at Lin San, "At this crucial time, don't be disrespectful. If we lose, I'll deduct a year's salary from you."

Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, "And if we win, you'll have to do my laundry for a year. That seems fair, right?"

Eldest Miss Xiao blushed but uttered a soft hum of agreement.

Xiao Yuruo turned to Xu Wei, "Minister Xu, I accept Young Master Tao's challenge."

Xu Wei was taken aback, "Miss Xiao, you should think this through, this concerns your lifelong happiness."

Xiao Yuruo gave a soft laugh, "Thank you for your concern, Minister Xu. I have confidence. Besides, I have Lin San."

Seeing Eldest Miss Xiao's determination, Xu Wei sighed lightly, hoping that Lin San's scholarly talent would shine as it always had.

The audience was astonished to see the situation evolve in such a way. This was far more exciting than any annual Chamber of Commerce meeting. The entire room was buzzing. Liu Yue'e, one of the spectators, hastily grabbed Xiao Yuruo's hand, "Sister, I'm with you."

A flash of ruthlessness glinted in Tao Dongcheng's eyes as he addressed Xu Wei with a bow, "Minister Xu, since Miss Xiao has accepted, for the sake of fairness, let us draw lots to decide the order of the challenge."

"Of course," Xu Wei responded seriously.

In the draw, Miss Xiao drew "A", while Tao Dongcheng drew "B".

This gave Miss Xiao the right to choose the topic first and Young Master Tao the right to challenge first. The right to choose meant the Xiao family would select one of the two topics—literature or martial arts—with the remaining topic automatically going to the Young Master Tao. Young Master Tao, with the right to challenge, could pose the first challenge on the topic they picked.

Eldest Miss Xiao asked Lin San in a low voice, "Should we choose literature or martial arts?"

After a moment of thought, Lin Wanrong replied, "Let's choose martial arts. With us handling literature, they probably won't be able to outdo us. We are not so familiar with martial arts; it is better for us to select the topic."

Eldest Miss Xiao shared his sentiments, so she decided to select martial arts. Tao Dongcheng gave a cold laugh, "With the right to challenge first in my hands, it is now my family's turn to pose a challenge."

As the mediator, Xu Wei glanced at Xiao Yuruo and, upon seeing her nod, gave Tao Dongcheng the go-ahead, "Young Master Tao, give out your challenge."

A fierce light flashed in Tao Dongcheng's eyes, "We all are business people here. Thus, having a keen eye is a fundamental skill. My challenge will be a test of observation and insight."

Miss Xiao was surprised; she had assumed Tao Dongcheng's literary test would involve discussing poetry or prose. She hadn't expected it to be about observation. With the myriad things in the world, how could they have seen everything? This literary test seemed more perilous than promising.

Reading her thoughts, Lin Wanrong smiled, "Don't worry, I'm here." Eldest Miss Xiao rewarded him with a sweet smile. This Lin San, always able to set hearts at ease.

Seeing their expressions, Tao Dongcheng took out a small box from his pocket, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. He slowly opened the box to reveal a tiny object, about the size of a fingernail, looking somewhat like a stone. It seemed to be composed of countless tiny specks that glowed brilliantly under the sunlight, a dazzling kaleidoscope of colors. It was mesmerizing.

Everyone was astonished, including Miss Xiao and even Xu Wei, who was known for his wide breadth of knowledge. What was this object? A stone? It was so beautiful and radiant, yet they had never seen anything like it.

Taking in everyone's reactions, Tao Dongcheng looked triumphant. "Miss Xiao, can you tell me what this is? And where it comes from? If you answer correctly, I'll concede this round."

Xiao Yuruo clenched her teeth. Even Xu Wei, the most learned man in the world, didn't recognize the object. How could she? Was she going to lose this literary contest? She felt a pang of sorrow and turned to look at Lin San, only to find him deep in thought.

Eldest Miss Xiao believed that Lin San didn't recognize it either and was about to concede when Lin Wanrong suddenly cut her off, "We recognize this stone," he said with a smile.

"Lin San, you—" Both shocked and delighted, Eldest Miss Xiao felt a sense of resurrection upon hearing Lin San's words.

"You recognize this object?" Tao Dongcheng said with an incredulous look on his face, his tone filled with disdain.

Xu Wei, however, was deeply impressed by Lin San's broad knowledge. As a man of erudition himself, he had a natural affinity for the curious and unfamiliar, so he urged Lin Wanrong, "Little brother Lin, please tell us, what is this object?"

With a smug grin, Lin Wanrong looked at Tao Dongcheng and said, "If I'm not mistaken, this object isn't native to our Great Hua. I suspect it's an imported good, isn't it?"

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