The pig-riding competition was held in the very center of Baihe Prefecture.

A large square lawn, more than 100 meters long.

Participants first draw lots to form group matches, with ten people in each group. After several rounds of group matches, the ten winners will compete in the final.

The competition had four rankings.

First prize, second prize, third prize, and honorable mention.

One first prize, three second prizes, six third prizes, and ten honorable mentions.

"Although the first prize is only ten piglets, this is an annual event in the whole state, and several thousand people sign up."

On the way to the competition venue the next day, Ouyang Xiuqi explained.

"So the competition starts as soon as the sun comes out, otherwise it won't be finished in one day."

Princess Zhaoyang and Ji Yunhua listened casually.

They originally came aiming for first place, but after listening to what that little girl said yesterday, they weren't so concerned about winning or losing anymore.

I just want to experience it to my heart's content.

Marquis Yong'an was also deeply moved yesterday.

He remembered Yi Shuihan asking him to compile textbooks. He hadn't wanted to bother with it, but seeing the little girl competing with a large group of people in a pig race, using a short-legged pig, just to go to school, he was deeply moved.

Although that unfilial son was a scoundrel, he did say one thing correctly.

Education is indeed a matter of great benefit to the present and future generations.

Although the people on this land are poor, they are full of vitality. If they could read and write, given time, they might become even richer than Da Xi.

And there are so many breeds of pigs here.

They come in all shapes and colors.

He saw more than a dozen different breeds of pigs on the street yesterday, and when he arrived at the competition venue today, he found that there were at least dozens of breeds.

If these pigs can be crossbred properly, they might soon be able to breed the high-yield, high-quality super pigs that Qingyin described.

He wrote down all these pigs, planning to draw them later and have someone buy a batch to properly select and breed them.

Although they were dressed very modestly, their appearance was so striking that others could tell at a glance that they were not from this state.

Their arrival immediately drew everyone's attention.

People whispered among themselves, discussing the matter.

"Where did this distinguished guest come from?"

"That goes without saying, it must be a family from the Holy City."

"Weren't the four great families supposed to be gone? How come there are still so many of them?"

"Perhaps it's from another minor aristocratic family."

"..."

Many contestants were extremely nervous, fearing that they might have offended the important person and be punished.

When they discovered that even their esteemed friend was participating in the pig race, they immediately stopped being nervous.

It turns out that even noble people are no different from them.

They all love riding pigs.

They quickly closed the distance between themselves and Ouyang Xiuqi and his group.

Even the officials hosting the competition felt much more relaxed.

I think that Ouyang Xiuqi, the imperial envoy, is very approachable.

He truly deserves to be the imperial envoy of the new dynasty.

If they were members of the Holy Church, they would not only avoid participating in the competition, but they would also hide away when the competition was held. Some people even wanted to cancel the competition.

Ouyang Xiuqi never expected that he would actually benefit from Ji Yunhua's pig-riding incident.

My heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Yunhua was indeed his lucky star. With her by his side, he, the high and mighty imperial envoy, easily became one of the locals.

If only she could look at him a few more times.

Ji Yunhua was too busy competing to look at him.

Black Whirlwind was as swift as the wind, easily winning several rounds of group matches.

The final round, or the final match, was a bit tricky.

The difficulty lies in controlling its speed to prevent it from rushing too fast and snatching the little girl's first place.

That's right, the little girl also made it to the finals.

Although her little black pig was small and had short legs, it ran incredibly fast, leaving many tall people far behind.

However, it might be difficult to defeat Black Whirlwind.

Black Whirlwind was carefully selected by Ji Yunhua from hundreds of wild boars.

Princess Ouyang's handsome husband was far inferior to it in both speed and stamina.

Of course, the Bai Mian Lang Jun pig was originally bred to be both prolific and delicious.

However, the handsome young man also made it to the finals.

Ji Yunhua and Princess Zhaoyang had a great time. Before the final, they changed their competition method: to see whose pig could run slower.

When the starting flag was raised and the other contestants rode their pigs and charged forward, they did their best to hold onto their own pigs and prevent them from running with the main group.

This is even harder than getting them to run fast.

Pigs are quite strong, especially when they want to charge forward; it's not something an average person can hold them back.

The little girl and her little black pig raced ahead, leaving everyone else in the dust, and once again won first place.

However, she seemed a little unhappy when she received the award.

Seeing this, Princess Zhaoyang asked, "Didn't you get first place? Why do you seem unhappy?"

The little girl glared at her, puffed out her cheeks, and huffed, "I only got this first place because you guys let me win."

Princess Zhaoyang blinked.

"We didn't..."

"You have them!"

The little girl resolutely said yes.

"I just watched your race. Your pig was clearly faster than Little Black, but it ran very slowly in the final. It must have been on purpose."

Princess Zhaoyang never expected that she would be seen through.

She squatted down, rubbed her little head, and laughed, "We were just here to have fun, not to compete for first place, so we're not really participants. You truly deserve the first place."

The little girl muttered, "Since you've entered the competition, you should do your best. What's the point of letting others win? Nobody let me win last year."

She wanted to win the game fair and square.

Instead of relying on the pity of others.

If I had known they were also participating yesterday, I wouldn't have talked to them so much.

"I'm sorry, it was our oversight."

Princess Zhaoyang said solemnly.

"We will definitely compete seriously next time."

"Okay, remember that," the little girl replied. "Although I don't entirely agree with what you did, I still want to thank you for making it happen."

If they give it their all, she can only get third place.

Although the third-place winner also received a prize, it was only two piglets, far less than the first-place winner.

"You're welcome, we really like you."

Princess Zhaoyang smiled.

"Would you like to have dinner with us later?"

The little girl waved her hand: "No, I have to go home, otherwise I won't be able to get back before dark."

Princess Zhaoyang had no choice but to give up.

She watched the little girl and the little black pig walk away, and just as she was about to turn her head, she suddenly saw a group of people rushing into the arena with knives, slashing at anyone they saw. The little girl couldn't dodge in time and was about to be stabbed.

Her expression changed drastically.

"Qingxian, don't move, I'm going to save people."

Having said that, she drew a long sword from the guard's waist and leaped forward.

Be careful!

The Marquis of Yong'an gave her some instructions from behind.

He watched her fight those people with bated breath, and although other guards quickly came to her aid, he was still worried that she would get hurt.

His attention was entirely on his wife, and he was completely unaware that someone had drugged the guard beside him and rushed to his side.