Chapter 27
A massive vote began again. The audience was noisy, but Cui Youyi was a little annoyed.
Her carefully carved work was destroyed. How is this different from a child being murdered?
Having been slandered again and again, the vulnerable ice sculptor has been suppressed. Can her winning the competition really change the current situation in Ningguta?
Cui Youyi was a little skeptical.
Cui Youyi suppressed her troubled thoughts. At this time, the new voting results had been announced - Cui Youyi was the well-deserved first place and successfully advanced to the top 16.
For some reason, Cui Youyi felt a little uneasy. The next sixteen people would be divided into eight groups to determine the top eight, and finally there would be the individual finals and the final team competition. Since the team competition had fewer teams and took a long time, Wang Jun decided to set only one round of competition based on the opinions of Zhibin.
Cui Youyi thought that the Zhou family would definitely do something bad when the top eight were decided, but unexpectedly everything was calm.
Cui Youyi, Zhao Baiqian, Wu Wenxuan, Chen Wen, Li Sheng, Zhou Yunchao, Qiao's aunt's grandson Huo Xun, and an ice sculptor from the Zhao family's branch successfully advanced to the finals.
The closer the competition got, the more uneasy Cui Youyi felt, as if an unknown knife was hanging over her head. She didn't know how the people headed by the Zhou family would target her and the Cui family.
However, Cui Youyi and Wang Jun also made many emergency plans to deal with the enemy.
After calming down, Cui Youyi also welcomed the final.
The winter in Ningguta is getting colder. On the field, Cui Youyi exhaled lightly, intending to warm her hands, but she felt that the breath was about to turn into ice chips.
If you look closely at the stage, you can see Wang Jun’s white hands due to the freezing weather, as well as the theme of the finals - Yo Yo Lu Ming.
"The deer calls, eating wild apples. I have guests, playing the harp and blowing the flute."1 This theme comes from "The Book of Songs, Xiaoya, Deer Calling", which combines people, animals and scenery into one, and gives it surging passion.
Creating ice sculptures based on this theme requires ice sculptors to depict the three objects in great detail, with every movement and expression needing to be carefully designed.
What is most needed for any fine work is patience and time, but what is most lacking in this ice sculpture competition is time.
Cui Youyi kept thinking and comparing in her mind, racing against time to design how many deer and people needed to be carved, and in what kind of scene they would interact.
Not only Cui Youyi started to take action, other ice sculptors also began to design and select suitable ice blocks.
The weather is freezing cold, and the ice sculptors are constantly in contact with bone-chilling ice. No matter how used to it, they still become a little slow and numb.
The time-keeping incense was changed again and again, and Cui Youyi couldn't remember how many times she warmed her hands before she regained a little flexibility in her joints.
Cui Youyi carved carefully, but did not notice that someone took the opportunity to stay warm and quietly came around behind her.
"Miss Cui, get out of the way."
Wang Jun's urgent voice pulled Cui Youyi back from her thoughts of carving.
Before her brain could react, Cui Youyi had already taken action.
A servant behind her slipped and the charcoal brazier he was holding for heating fell directly on her position. Ashes swirled, charcoal flames flew, and scattered sparks burned her clothes.
When the ice cubes came into contact with the charcoal fire, a crackling sound was heard, which made people's scalps tingle. Cui Youyi was also frightened.
She didn't dare to think about it. If she hesitated for a second, or didn't react...
The sudden change made everyone stop what they were doing, and Wang Jun rushed up with the yamen runners.
"Miss Cui, are you okay?" Wang Jun went straight to Cui Youyi, fearing that she might have an accident. It was not until he had a rough examination that he felt that he was alive.
The servant was so frightened that he kowtowed and admitted his mistake: "Sir, please spare my life. I stepped on something and slipped. This is..."
"Please spare my life, sir!"
Wang Jun's face turned pale. It was his negligence that gave others the opportunity to cause this incident.
He doesn't believe in so many coincidences and accidents.
Wang Jun examined all of this with sharp eyes.
Cui Youyi looked at Wang Jun. She had her back to the servant and didn't know what had just happened, nor did she know whether the servant did it on purpose.
It was such a coincidence that such an "accident" happened during the finals. Cui Youyi couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.
Cui Youyi raised her eyes slightly, and Zhou Yunkai appeared from behind Wang Jun, with a face full of unbridled and gloating smiles.
Cui Youyi suddenly felt horrified - there was no need to guess, this matter was definitely related to Zhou Yunkai, but she didn't know whether he was targeting the ice sculpture or her this time.
If it was her that wanted to be destroyed...
Cui Youyi took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
"Lord Wang, is the competition still going on?" Zhou Yunkai shook his sleeves and spoke provocatively.
The implication is very clear, that is, the competition will continue, but Cui Youyi, who ruined her work, must withdraw!
Wang Jun looked at Cui Youyi, and the worry in his eyes could not be hidden. Cui Youyi nodded slightly, indicating that she could continue.
"The competition will continue naturally. The works of ice sculptors other than Miss Cui have not been affected, but it has been delayed for some hours. The competition time can be extended by one stick of incense, as appropriate."
"Miss Cui's work is completely destroyed. If she wishes to participate in the competition, she will need to carve a new piece. I propose that Miss Cui's competition time be reset."
"Does anyone have any objections?"
Wang Jun said loudly that if he and Zhibin discussed this matter, they might not be able to get a satisfactory result. But putting it in front of everyone could give them a glimmer of hope.
"Sir, there hasn't been such a rule in the Ice Sculpture Conference for hundreds of years. It's not good to make an exception for a woman, right?" Zhou Yunkai started to stir up the emotions of the people around him.
"As we all know, the ice sculpture competition is a grand event for us in Ningguta, and the winning works are related to our prayers for good weather and good harvests in the coming year. If Cui Youyi brings disaster upon herself, who will bear the consequences?"
"Everyone, don't you agree?"
It turned out that the spectators did not have much opinion on whether to give Cui Youyi overtime or not. They were just watching a game anyway. However, Zhou Yunkai's words left them with uneasy speculations. Unexpected things happen, what should they do if it really affects them?
"That's right. The harvests have been poor these past two years, and life has been difficult. If this incident brings bad luck, how can we expect to live like this?"
"It's always better to be safe than sorry. We can't open this bad door. If we anger the heavens, won't we be the ones who suffer?"
Public opinion was in an uproar. Zhou Yunkai looked at Cui Youyi and Wang Jun proudly and said, "Sir, we still have to make a decision early! The officials must persuade our Sir Wang and not let him..." He was blinded by lust.
Zhou Yunkai looked at Cui Youyi intently, and it was obvious what he had left unsaid.
"Sir Wang, the Ice Sculpture Competition has been held for so many years, and in the past, anyone who ruined their work was immediately withdrawn from the competition. There was no time extension!" A guest frowned, disagreeing with Wang Jun's suggestion. "This is against the rules."
"I don't agree with this either," Old Master Wu said hypocritically, stroking his beard. "The ice sculpture competition needs to have its own rules. If a piece is damaged today, the timer will be reset. If someone maliciously uses the damaged piece to gain a chance to re-enter the competition, then our ice sculpture competition will lose its fairness."
"But it wasn't Sister Cui who destroyed the work today!" Hou Yi was the first one in the crowd to stand up and protest. Even though he was young, he knew that destroying a work and having it destroyed were two different things.
Mr. Wu was refuted in public, his face looked very unhappy, and he directly stabbed the old man of the Hou family: "The Hou family is really well-educated."
"Brother Wu, why are you so angry? Today we are just discussing the facts, and everyone should speak freely. If anyone here has other opinions, please speak out together. We can't miss the ice sculpture conference." Old Master Hou stroked his beard and laughed.
The guests expressed their opinions, and there was a stalemate. There was also a lot of discussion in the audience, and the situation became increasingly unfavorable.
Cui Youyi knew that she could not wait any longer. Wang Jun could force her to participate in the competition, but that would not be her legitimate reason.
After thinking it over, Cui Youyi organized her words, then cleared her throat and spoke loudly, "Please allow me to report."
Cui Youyi stood up, and the noise around her gradually died down.
"My work was damaged today. A servant admitted that he stepped on something. Let me ask you, how could something on such a large platform have tripped him?"
Yes, normal platforms are always inspected repeatedly. Suddenly, something like this happened. Could it be someone did it on purpose? A seed of suspicion was planted in everyone's mind.
At this time, Wang Jun received the stone handed to him by the yamen runner, which was the truth behind the servant's slip.
"Everyone, please look." Wang Jun walked over to where the servant had slipped and compared the stone in his hand with the mark left on the ground. "This stone was found here by a yamen runner, but before the competition began, several of our guests carefully inspected the table and took detailed notes. A stone of this size wouldn't have been left on the table."
"Isn't that someone deliberately doing something bad?"
"Oh my god, this is the first time in a hundred years. This is extremely disrespectful and breaks the rules. This person must be found and severely punished!"
"This incident happened this year. I don't know if God will be angry. We can't let those who ruined the ice sculpture competition go."
"We can't let anyone who sabotages the ice sculpture competition go!"
Everyone started shouting.
"It takes time to investigate this matter. Today, we should focus on the ice sculpture conference, Lord Wang." Old Master Wu hated being contradicted the most. Although Wang Jun was the county magistrate, he was just a young boy in his eyes.
"But we can't tolerate this kind of inappropriate behavior." Wang Jun looked at Mr. Wu calmly, but his tone was firm.
"If Miss Cui were to withdraw from the competition today because someone maliciously damaged her work, others would resort to the same tactics again in the future. If this continues, improper practices will prevail, and how can the ice sculpture competition be considered fair?"
Cui Youyi looked around at the ice sculptors in the audience, and then looked at the few people who had entered the finals on the stage.
"I'm the one who suffered this misfortune today, but who can guarantee that I won't be the next one?"
Nowadays, ice sculpture is monopolized by wealthy families. There are already many conflicts between ordinary ice sculptors and ice sculptors from famous families. Who can guarantee that they will not face the same situation as Cui Youyi in the future because of offending the powerful?
Even if they themselves can't do it, what about their descendants? Who would be willing to be suppressed by an ice sculptor from a noble family for the rest of their lives?
Ice sculpture resources are limited in aristocratic families. Whether it's the main branch or the side branches, whether it's the legitimate descendants or the illegitimate children, who isn't fighting openly or covertly? Who isn't vying for resources?
Today, Cui Youyi's work was rejected and she had to withdraw from the competition. In the future, it is possible that their own works will be rejected and they will miss the opportunity.
As long as people imitate today, they will never get ahead.
Those who originally firmly supported the Wu and Zhou families also began to have doubts in their hearts, especially those ice sculptors who had the same experience - their works were destroyed in a certain competition.
At first, they felt that their work was strangely bad, but they had some doubts in their hearts. Now, looking back, they realized that the competitions they participated in were more or less influenced by the ice sculptors from aristocratic families...
Did they have a chance to win the game and change their team? But everything was ruined!
When people's own interests are affected, they are always particularly clear-headed and someone will soon stand up and speak out.
"Your Excellency, the County Magistrate's words make sense. We support you."
When one person steps forward, thousands and millions of people will respond.
"Support the County Magistrate!"
"Support the County Magistrate!"
Old Master Wu was so angry that his face turned red and his neck thickened: "You are making trouble, what if the gods get angry?"
"Bah." A man in coarse cloth stepped forward and spat. "How could the gods be angry at us for loving ice sculptures?"
He had been annoyed with these hypocritical people for a long time, so he stopped indulging them.
"That's right. If the gods are angry, they will just kill with thunder those who try to trip up the ice sculpture conference." An old lady took over with a hoarse voice.
"Even though Miss Cui is a woman, her ice sculpture skills are just as good as men's, so it's a shame for her to withdraw from the competition. Even if the person on the stage wins, it's not a fair victory."
The discussion grew louder, and Wang Jun asked cunningly, "Do you have any different ideas, my dear guests?"
It was the public's call to let Cui Youyi participate in the competition. These old men all have people from their families who have entered the finals. If they say no today, they will be branded as having won unfairly.
"Lord Wang has a good plan!" Old Master Wu waved his hand and returned to his seat, followed by the other guests.
"In that case, I declare that the competition will continue. The competition time for ice sculptors other than Miss Cui will be extended by one stick of incense. Miss Cui's time will be reset!"
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