"Collaborative review is fine, but I heard from the rules that collaborative review is only required for questions with highly controversial answers. Does that mean every single one of my answers will need to be collaboratively reviewed?"
Zheng Quchi spoke in a calm and gentle tone, even with a hint of a smile on his face. Knowing he was in the wrong, Yu Manqi stood up abruptly.
He said with a sneer, "What, are you scared? Your answer may be eloquent and may be able to sway people for a while, but now that the fourteen master craftsmen and Master Gongshu are reviewing it together and expressing their opinions, you're starting to worry?"
This is a provocation tactic.
Zheng Quchi understood, but didn't refute him: "I'm not afraid, nor am I worried, but..." She glanced at him with a half-smile: "Since you all know it's against the rules, yet you all agree, and I can't compare to your numbers and unanimous voice, can I also make a request?"
She didn't object?!
Yu Manyi's face showed a moment of great joy, but after hearing her words of feigned retreat, his expression became hesitant and his eyes flickered.
He was naturally unwilling to grant her any of her requests, but he had already forced her to participate in the joint trial, and she understood that, as did they.
Now that she has agreed so readily, he can't very well refuse outright.
Abbot Miku looked around with his clear eyes and saw that these so-called fair and just people, the great craftsmen of the seven kingdoms who were always impartial and unbiased, were all silent now. In order to protect the people they favored, they kept quiet about the unfairness of their actions.
As Zheng Qing said, "Since you all know it's against the rules, but you all agree, I can't compare to your numbers and your unanimous opinion."
Of all the people present, she was the only one from the unwelcome Ye Kingdom, and she was destined to be isolated and helpless.
He then looked at Gongshu Jiruo, wondering what he would do next.
Gongshu Jiruo has never shown any unusual bias towards Zheng Qing from the beginning, at least not in the eyes of others, and this is still the case now.
Having already consulted everyone, he naturally had to follow the usual procedure and ask her, "So, what do you want to ask for?"
There's nothing wrong with this.
When Zheng Quchi was asked, he looked up and met the man's downcast gaze: "My request is that I also join you in the trial."
"Joint trial?"
Everyone was taken aback when they heard this.
Before they could utter any disrespectful words, Zheng Quchi preemptively said, "My request is not excessive. I am merely trying to gain an opportunity to defend myself at the point of contention. Ultimately, the final outcome will be decided by the master judges and the great Gongshu."
The person who was about to launch a scathing rebuttal was suddenly silenced.
"What do you all think?" Gongshu Jiruo asked everyone present, then flicked his sleeves behind his back, his expression now tinged with a frosty coldness: "Should we decide to jointly try the case and accept Zheng Qing's request, or should we abandon the joint trial?"
Gongshu Jiruo did not tolerate it this time and decisively gave them two choices.
"Let's have a joint trial, we have no objection."
"I... I think Zheng Qing's request is fine, I agree." Yu Hai said this time in one smooth motion.
At this moment, Yu Manqi was extremely wary of Zheng Qing. He felt that every expression and every sentence she uttered was a trick.
However, her request was not unreasonable. Given that they had made harsh demands based on the bad rules first, they felt guilty this time and no one objected.
Gongshu Jiruo said, "Since no one has raised any objection, Zheng Qing, the conference will grant your request to participate in the final judging, to offer opinions and debate, but not to give scores."
"Thank you very much, Master Gongshu." Zheng Quchi bowed and clasped his hands in thanks.
He nodded: "Now, let's begin reviewing the answers together."
To save time, the same answer sheet will be reviewed by one person, who will read aloud the "absolute" questions and then read Zheng Qing's answer sheet. The answer sheet will be reviewed together with the standard answer key.
This time, the one who read the questions was naturally the rather leisurely Abbot Miku.
He was given a question about architectural structure, which required him to analyze the famous civil engineering project, Kitabuchi Deer Park.
The master craftsmen first listened attentively to the questions, then listened to Zheng Qing's answers while analyzing the depth of the content, and occasionally flipped through the standard answers.
Upon comparison, they found that her expression and the precise parts of her answer were almost identical, leaving those who wanted to give her a low score with no way to do so.
Just like the standard answer is 1+1=2, she said that the compound character of 一 (yī) is 二 (èr). Doesn't it look different? But her conclusion is absolutely correct.
Seeing the master craftsmen staring blankly into silence, Abbot Miku reminded them, "We can begin scoring now."
After hearing the question and Zheng Qing's answer, the top ten finalists felt dizzy and overwhelmed.
This question covers content far beyond the syllabus. Even touching on some of the basics is a testament to the knowledge they've acquired over the years. But listen to Zheng Qing's answer...
Is she even human?!
This was the first time the finalists had seen Zheng Qing's answers, and this one time was enough to shock them.
The same person, but comparing them is infuriating!
The master craftsmen exchanged glances, their eyes revealing a mixture of curiosity and awe.
Some of the questions were easy for these veteran craftsmen who had participated in countless large-scale construction projects to answer, but Zheng Qing, who was only around twenty years old, had such profound knowledge and expertise, which was simply unbelievable.
"Zheng Qing of Ye State, has four points."
"Zheng Qing of Ye State, has four points."
...
Gongshu Jiruo was once again the last person to score. In this round, there was no dispute over the scores of the fourteen master craftsmen. He said, "Zheng Qing of Ye State, four points."
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