In previous dragon boat races, the Yun and Su families had always battled for second place. The Lei family had always been relatively low-key, but this year, they eliminated both the Yun and Su families. While not shockingly so, the result was still surprising. Fortunately, everyone's attention was drawn to the final match between the Imperial Court and the Yanbei Palace, and no one thought much about it at this time.
After a quarter-hour's rest, the gong sounded again amidst the clamor. The three remaining dragon boats on the river shot out like arrows. Initially, the Golden Dragon and the Azure Dragon were slightly ahead, with the Lei family close behind. However, after a round of back-and-forth, in the final sprint, the Lei family's Red Dragon actually surpassed the Golden and Azure Dragons several times.
This scene astonished everyone watching the race on the shore. In the past, when the imperial court's boats weren't participating, the Yanbei Palace always took first place. Neither the Yun family nor the Su family's dragon boats had ever beaten the Yanbei Palace's. But what was going on with the Lei family now?
At first, everyone thought that the young men on the Lei family's dragon boat had slipped and accidentally rushed to the front in their excitement, but the closer the dragon boat got to the finish line, the more surprised everyone was. The red dragon actually wanted to compete with the golden dragon and the blue dragon.
The clamor on the riverbank gradually died down, and the scene was surprisingly quiet. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the three dragon boats on the river. Of course, some people were secretly observing Lei Ting, the head of the Lei family, who was sitting on the high platform, trying to figure out what he was up to.
Lei Ting still sat calmly, his eyes fixed on the three dragon boats, but he didn't seem to be affected by the strange atmosphere around him.
At this moment, the King of Yanbei, who was sitting at the head of the group, turned and spoke to Lei Ting. Lei Ting replied respectfully. It was unclear what Lei Ting had said, but the King of Yanbei burst into laughter. The previously quiet scene became lively again, and the three dragon boats crossed the finish line one after another amidst the King of Yanbei's laughter.
When the results came out, the scene became more lively than ever.
The Red Boat came in first. The Green Boat came in second, and the Gold Boat came in third. This meant that the Lei family not only defeated the Yanbei Palace, but also the imperial court. And the Golden Dragon, representing the imperial court's momentum, not only lost to the Yanbei Palace, but also to a certain Yanbei family.
This result stunned everyone, and of course, after the stunned shock, many people reacted and began to wail. Previously, there had been many betting sites on the shore, and almost all of them were betting on Azure Dragon and Golden Dragon. No one had expected the dark horse of the Lei family to emerge.
The two court officials looked unhappy, but King Yanbei didn't seem unhappy at all. He even reached out and patted Lei Ting on the shoulder, acting like a gentle elder facing a younger generation he was very optimistic about.
Madam Xu smiled and shook her head: "I lost again this year."
Xu Wanli comforted her, "Madam, don't be depressed. I didn't win either."
The husband and wife smiled at each other.
Madam Xu glanced at Xiao Jingxi and sighed, "I never imagined this would be the outcome." She unfolded the rice paper in front of her. Written on it were, in order, the words "Blue Dragon," "Golden Dragon," and "White Dragon." Xu Wanli's piece of paper had the words "Blue Dragon," "Golden Dragon," and "Red Dragon" written on it.
Madam Xu looked at Pei Zhiyan and Ren Yaoqi again: "What about you?"
Pei Zhiyan smiled slightly and spread out the paper in front of him, but it was blank with nothing written on it.
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