The following day, the long-awaited ice sculpture competition officially began. Thanks to the weather forecast, the past few days had been exceptionally good.
For Huaixi City, this was the first time the immortals had held such a large-scale event. The Prince Duan's Mansion placed this matter in the highest priority, not only sending troops to assist but also requiring all government offices to provide full support.
Therefore, local governments went all out to ensure the event proceeded flawlessly. In fact, even without the order from Prince Duan's residence, they dared not neglect the requirements for the immortals. From the preliminary rounds to the official competition, they dared not show any unfairness in any aspect.
The judges were selected after extensive research and consultation, and were composed of experienced artisans. Each of these judges was a lifelong craftsman, and sitting on the judging panel, they felt an unprecedented sense of pride.
They originally wanted to participate in the competition, but when they were told they could be judges, they thought they were dreaming. When the news was confirmed, they were so excited that they kowtowed repeatedly to the inn and the Prince Duan's mansion.
If they weren't afraid of being too high-profile and displeasing the immortals, they would have even wanted to hold a continuous banquet.
When the neighbors learned that they would soon be judges, they looked at them with envy. They had made a living with their skills their whole lives, and were already grateful to avoid being looked down upon; they never imagined they would one day be envied.
Even now, sitting on the judges' panel, I still feel a little unreal.
As An Ge watched the contestants enter, she silently expressed her gratitude to Feng Jinghan. Aside from putting in extra effort for the opening ceremony, she hadn't really worried about much else in this competition.
If it weren't for Feng Jinghan's indulgence, she would have faced countless difficulties in organizing such a competition.
"Achoo!" Feng Jinghan sneezed loudly while sitting in the carriage.
"Is Your Highness in good health?" An Yi asked with concern.
Feng Jinghan waved his hand, "It's alright. How many more days until we arrive in the capital?"
"Within two days."
Feng Jinghan closed her eyes. Perhaps because of the presence of the immortal and the companionship of Zhang Luo, her return to the capital was relatively smooth. But Feng Jinghan knew that this was merely the calm before the storm.
Even with the protection of a celestial being behind her, the Qian family would not easily give up the throne and might even launch a counterattack without regard for the consequences. Fortunately, her maternal grandparents' family was able to return to the capital this year.
Thinking of this, Feng Jinghan sighed. She had heard from the manor that the shopkeeper was going to hold an ice sculpture competition, but unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to attend.
The ice sculpture competition that Feng Jinghan was thinking about had officially begun.
After consulting with Chi Mu and others, An Ge chose the chicken, the most common animal among ordinary people, as the topic for the first round of the competition. Many contestants immediately started carving after seeing the topic.
The competition had a time limit, and they dared not waste any time.
The competition was quite long, but the audience didn't find it boring at all. Instead, they discussed the contestants' works in hushed tones with great interest.
"I think contestant number 12 is moving quite fast; he's almost finished."
"There's still a while before it's over. Rushing things might not be good. It's better to take it slow and do things carefully."
"Oh dear, the ice sculpture on the 25th is broken, what a pity!"
Contestant number 25 nearly cried as he looked at the shattered ice sculpture. He was so nervous that he accidentally broke it. Unfortunately, everyone only had one chance.
Song Dahe was a little nervous at first, but once he started carving, he seemed to forget everything around him and focused only on his work. By the time he finished, he was already one of the later ones to complete his piece.
"Ding!" The bell rang, signaling the end of the competition. The contestants who hadn't finished were sweating profusely but helpless, and could only sigh and leave the stage in disappointment.
"The competition is over. Please vote for your favorite work."
This was the first time the audience had participated in voting as judges, and the thought that their opinions could influence the outcome of the competition filled them with a sense of sacred mission. Although they didn't understand the technical aspects, they could still distinguish between good and bad based on aesthetics alone.
"I think entry number three is great; this rooster looks so spirited!"
"Look at number 30, it's incredibly lifelike."
Everyone discussed and chose their favorite works.
As professionals, the judges' votes carried more weight. After discussion, the advancing works were announced.
Those who successfully qualified for the next round cheered happily.
Those who didn't advance were dejected. After seeing others' work, they realized their own shortcomings. Although they were unhappy, no one was resentful. Despite their failure, the inn would still give them a consolation prize, making the trip worthwhile.
Song Dahe walked off the stage with a smile. His work had passed the assessment smoothly, and even ranked quite well, giving him more confidence for tomorrow's final.
"Daddy is amazing!"
Song Dahe picked up his son and said, "Tomorrow is the key, Dad still needs to keep working hard." In fact, Song Dahe was already very satisfied with advancing to the next round.
When Song Anping saw his second uncle advance smoothly, he couldn't maintain his smile anymore, and felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.
"Maybe I won't be able to treat the second wife's family the same way as before," he thought to himself.
Song Anping took a deep breath, forced a sincere smile, and said to his classmate, "My second uncle's family has successfully advanced. I'm going to congratulate them."
The group looked at each other as Song Anping walked away, then exchanged disapproving glances before revealing contemptuous sneers.
They actually thought this person had backbone? Although their group was ignorant and incompetent, at least they didn't have any intention of harming others. They had long been dissatisfied with Song Anping, and after this incident, their dissatisfaction reached its peak.
"Let's stay away from this Brother Song from now on," everyone agreed.
Song Anping was unaware that his actions had caused several of the friends he had painstakingly built up to leave him.
"Second Uncle, congratulations! Grandpa will be very happy to hear that."
Song Dahe's smile vanished. "It's Anping. How can my little skills compare to a scholar like you? The rise of the Song family still depends on you." He had completely seen through this nephew and couldn't help but retort with his old man Song's favorite saying.
"I'm too tired from the competition, I'm going back to rest now. There's another tough battle tomorrow." After saying that, Song Dahe didn't bother with pleasantries and turned to leave with his wife and children.
Song Anping's smile froze on his face. He gritted his teeth. If before he only didn't want the second branch of the family to rise, now he completely hated Song Dahe's family.
"No matter how skilled you are, you're still just a lowly person who makes a living by your craft. What's there to be proud of?" Song Anping muttered quietly, afraid that others would hear him belittling craftsmen.
While holding his wife and children's hands, Song Dahe said, "Let's stay away from the old house from now on. I think my nephew really hates us."
Seeing the villages near the inn, Song Dahe had the idea of moving. He didn't own any land, so he wouldn't feel any reluctance to leave.
Hui Niang nodded vigorously. She had long seen through the rest of the Song family. She had only tolerated them before out of consideration for face and because she didn't want to be a troublemaker. Now that her husband had come to terms with it, how could she not want to?
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