Chapter 453 Winning the Championship

Xiao Qingyuan finally finished delivering flowers, and the next person in line to deliver flowers was Yuan Zheng.

Yuan Zheng took the flowers and handed them directly to Shen Wantang. He said with a serious expression, "I have read the Princess Consort's poem. It is excellent! It is both artistic and original. I think your poem should be ranked first today! Therefore, I give my flowers to the Princess Consort!"

Shen Wantang looked puzzled. Shouldn't Yuan Zheng be on the same side as Xiao Qingyuan? Why is he going against him today?

But no matter what, giving her flowers is like giving her face. Otherwise, she really wouldn't receive a single flower, and wouldn't she be laughed at to death by Liu Nanshi?

She picked up on Yuan Zheng's words and looked up at Xiao Qingyuan, only to see that Xiao Qingyuan also looked astonished, with a hint of anger in his astonishment. It seemed that he himself did not understand how Yuan Zheng had betrayed him.

Next to deliver flowers was Gu Qianhan.

He walked straight to the table where Shen Wantang and Gu Qianning were sitting.

Gu Qianning thought he would avoid suspicion and give the flowers to her, his own sister, but to her surprise, he didn't avoid suspicion today and gave the flowers directly to Shen Wantang.

She had been feeling down for several days, and today she had hit rock bottom. But at this moment, the gloom in her heart inexplicably dissipated, and she laughed out loud: "Second brother has good taste! I knew it, A-Tang's poems are the best! Some people are blind!"

Gu Qianhan didn't look at her, but looked at Shen Wantang and said, "The Princess Consort's poem is indeed good. The whole poem doesn't mention flowers, but it's all about flowers. It's amazing."

Shen Wantang stood up: "Thank you for your praise, Second Young Master."

Gu Qianhan nodded to her and turned to walk back.

He didn't glance at Liu Nanshi once throughout the entire process, which made Liu Nanshi, who had been waiting for him to give her flowers, turn pale with anger.

The next person to come up and present flowers was Yu Baifeng, the eldest son of the Yu family. His younger sister and cousin were sitting in the Imperial Garden, but he didn't present any to either of them. Instead, he gave the flowers directly to Shen Wantang.

The young men who came up later all gave all their flowers to Shen Wantang, to the point that the small stone table in front of her was almost overflowing.

After everyone had given their flowers, Shen Wantang had received a total of twenty-seven flowers, ranking first among all the women.

Liu Nanshi, who sat at the next table, only accepted one flower, the one that Xiao Qingyuan had given her.

Gu Qianning was overjoyed. She even forgot about the sad things the Crown Prince had brought her. The matter of whether she was the Crown Princess or not didn't matter anymore!

Now that my best friend has won the grand prize at the Spring Festival banquet, she has given those scoundrels a resounding slap in the face. That's the most satisfying thing!

Her smile was brighter than the flowers on the table: "Liu Nanshi, the great talent, what's going on? How come you only accepted one flower? Your poetry isn't very good. Shouldn't you relinquish your title as the number one talented woman of Dafeng?"

Liu Nanshi's face turned pale. She never expected this outcome. Her cheeks felt burning hot!

In the past, she always won the Spring Banquet, and no one dared to compete with her. Unexpectedly, Shen Wantang stole all the limelight on her first visit, causing her to lose face so badly!

She desperately suppressed her anger and put on a calm and collected demeanor, saying, "Appreciating poetry is a matter of personal preference. I can only say that my poems are elegant and profound, which most people can't understand. Some people write vulgar poems that everyone can understand, so they naturally assume that vulgar things are good."

Shen Wantang smiled calmly: "I think that whether it is poetry or songs, a good work should be appreciated by both the refined and the common people. If only my husband can understand the poems written by Miss Liu, then it is not elegant, but rather has a deeper meaning."

The others immediately understood what she meant.

Yes, only Xiao Qingyuan can understand Liu Nanshi's poems, which means that her poems were written for Xiao Qingyuan.

Everyone's gaze towards Liu Nanshi changed immediately. The daughter of a high-ranking official was secretly having an affair with Xiao Qingyuan, a man who was already married?!

Liu Nanshi's expression changed drastically. She glared angrily at Shen Wantang, realizing that she had fallen into a trap.

"Shen Wantang, stop talking nonsense and ruining my reputation!"

Shen Wantang remained calm: "Miss Liu, what did I say? When did I tarnish your reputation? Are you perhaps feeling guilty?"

Liu Nanshi was both angry and regretful. She had become accustomed to attracting everyone's attention on her own, but she never expected to suddenly encounter such a formidable opponent.

If she had known this would happen, she would never have provoked Xiao Qingyuan!

By the way, where's Xiao Qingyuan? He should hurry up and say a few words for her!

But when she turned her head, she saw Xiao Qingyuan arguing with Gu Qianhan over the male guests. If Yuan Zheng hadn't stopped them, the two of them would have started fighting.

Liu Nanshi cursed "useless" in her heart. It was impossible to rely on Xiao Qingyuan; she had to rely on herself!

Her gaze fell upon the Crown Prince, and an idea immediately formed in her mind: "Your Highness seems to have not yet cast your vote. I wonder which young lady's poem Your Highness thinks is the best? If Your Highness votes for the Crown Princess, then I'm afraid A-Ning will be unhappy!"

Gu Qianning's face instantly turned cold: "You're good at sowing discord, but unfortunately, I'm not as petty as you. It's not surprising that His Highness the Crown Prince votes for someone. After all, you yourself said that poetry is a matter of personal preference. Some people can write in a way that touches someone's heart and makes that person especially fond of it."

Xiao Qingxuan held the flowers, his expression gentle: "Originally I didn't want to give them, but since Miss Liu said so, I might as well give them to her."

After he finished speaking, he walked up to Yu Baoshu in full view of everyone and gave her the flowers: "Miss Yu's poem is unique, and I think it is quite good. I will give you the flowers."

Everyone was stunned!

Why would the Crown Prince give flowers to Yu Baoshu?!

Shouldn't he have given the flowers to Gu Qianning, the future Crown Princess?

In the entire Imperial Garden, only he and Xiao Qingyuan didn't give their women away to their own wives! Other married men or men who were engaged gave their women away to their wives or fiancées; only if their wives were no longer alive would they give them away to others.

They really are cousins; their ways of doing things are so similar!

The moment Gu Qianning saw the Crown Prince give the flowers to Yu Baoshu, her heart died completely.

In previous years, the Crown Prince would not participate in the spring banquet; he would always go alone to pick a large bouquet of flowers and give it to her.

He suddenly participated this year, but gave the flowers to someone else.

He really doesn't want her anymore.

How cruel he is!

Gu Qianning's mood instantly plummeted into gloom, and she couldn't smile anymore.

As if in response to her mood, the originally clear sky turned gray.

Dark clouds gathered, thunder rumbled, and raindrops began to fall.

People rushed to the pavilions or side halls to avoid the thunderstorm.

Gu Qianning didn't move. She reached out and caught the rain, then turned to look at Shen Wantang: "Atang, look, Heaven still favors me. It knows I want to cry but dare not, so it's helping me cover up my tears!"