Yes, Duolong did cast a vote for Song Yuyuan.
At that time, Li Huan winked at Duolong, telling him not to vote for Song Yuyuan.
As a result, Duolong misunderstood and thought that Li Huan was implying that he had to vote.
Otherwise, Song Yuyuan's votes would be the same as Ake's, and the two would have to compete in a tiebreaker to determine the winner.
At this moment, Wu Sangui angrily accused Wei Xiaobao and Duolong of being "opportunists who change their minds easily," forgetting that Duolong had voted for Song Yuyuan.
Therefore, Duolong seized the opportunity to refute, leaving Wu Sangui speechless.
Wei Xiaobao said, "Your Highness, I don't like hearing you say that! From the beginning of the competition until now, whenever Your Highness votes, the young prince and Lord Feng will vote along with Your Highness; whenever Your Highness doesn't vote, the young prince and Lord Feng won't vote either! Who exactly is the fence-sitter?"
Wu Sangui looked embarrassed.
Feng Xifan said, "Lord Wei, your memory isn't very good either! Previously, the Prince and the Young Prince voted for Ouyang Yun's 'Stuffed Pork Trotters' from Tianshan White Camel Manor, but I thought the pork trotters were a bit too salty, so I didn't vote for Ouyang Yun!"
Wei Xiaobao was taken aback.
That's right, Feng Xifan did not vote for Ake who was impersonating Ouyang Yun!
Seeing Feng Xifan rebuke Wei Xiaobao, Wu Sangui's expression softened, and he revealed a smug smile.
Princess Jianning said, “Your Highness, you, the young prince, and Lord Feng have lived in Kunming for a long time, while Lord Wei, Lord Duo, and I have lived in the capital for a long time. Therefore, our eating habits are different, and our preferences are naturally different as well.”
"Regarding a dish, my opinion is basically the same as Lord Wei's and Lord Duo's. By the same token, the Prince's opinion is basically the same as the Young Prince's and Lord Feng's!"
"In this way, the six of us will form two factions, opposing each other yet checking each other. I think this is quite good, to avoid any random voting!"
Wu Sangui then said, "The princess is right. I was overthinking things."
Wu Yingxiong announced: "Zhou Yaoqin, the leader of the Emei Sect, received three votes for her performance of 'Farewell My Concubine'!"
The audience booed.
The people were very dissatisfied with the voting results.
Li Huan knew that, based on Zhou Yaoqin's cooking skills, she should have received at least five votes, or even a perfect six.
The undercurrents of struggle dragged down Zhou Yaoqin's grades, pushing her to the brink of failure.
Or rather, Zhou Yaoqin was destined to be eliminated.
Wu Sangui laughed and said, "Sect Leader Zhou, don't be discouraged. As long as you agree to submit to me and serve me, you will receive 100,000 taels of silver and beauties as a reward... No, beauties are not appropriate. I have decided to give you an extra 50,000 taels of silver! A total of 150,000 taels!"
The scene erupted in uproar.
Everyone was envious.
One hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver is enough for the Emei Sect's expenses for ten years.
In modern terms, that's enough for a company to keep operating for ten years.
Zhou Yaoqin's eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had been moved.
She smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. The Emei Sect has no intention of submitting to Your Highness. I prefer the life of a carefree hermit."
Li Huan was surprised.
Zhou Yaoqin actually refused Wu Sangui.
This time, it was Wu Sangui's turn to be disappointed.
The Emei Sect, a well-known sect in the martial arts world, failed to recruit Zhou Yaoqin, which frustrated Wu Sangui.
This sense of frustration fueled Wu Sangui's anger.
His thick eyebrows furrowed: "Sect Leader Zhou, I admire you. If you submit to me, I will reward you with two hundred thousand taels of silver!"
Holy crap, the bounty has been increased to 200,000!
Wu Sangui was determined to win!
Zhou Yaoqin shook her head: "Compared to these two hundred thousand taels of silver, I would rather rely on my culinary skills to win the championship and rightfully receive the reward!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Sangui's eyes blazed with fury.
"What do you mean, Sect Leader Zhou? Isn't it perfectly legitimate for you to pledge allegiance to me?"
Zhou Yaoqin said, "Your Highness, please calm down. Since our Emei Sect was founded by our founder, the heroine Guo Xiang, we have gone through countless bloody storms and tribulations. To this day, we have never sought refuge with anyone else, nor have we ever submitted to the imperial court!"
"At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the third-generation leader of our sect, Abbess Miejue, and the fourth-generation leader, Zhou Zhiruo, were captured alive by Zhao Min, the daughter of the Prince of Ruyang of the imperial court, and imprisoned in Wan'an Temple in the capital. The two elders were not afraid of Zhao Min's coercion and temptation and refused to submit to the imperial court!"
"Today, the Emei Sect is far less powerful than it was three hundred years ago, but our sect's principles and rules remain unchanged!"
Zhou Yaoqin spoke eloquently, her voice clear and powerful.
Li Huan smiled.
Unexpectedly, the Emei Sect of the Qing Dynasty knew about the deeds of the Emei Sect at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.
Although Abbess Miejue was short-tempered, narrow-minded, and ruthless, she did have some backbone. She would rather die than surrender to Zhao Min and refused to submit to the imperial court.
Wu Sangui said, "Since you were unwilling to submit to me, why didn't you tell me directly when you went up on stage to receive the award?"
Zhou Yaoqin smiled slightly but did not answer.
Li Huan knew that she hadn't refused Wu Sangui when she went on stage to receive the award, in order to avoid being retaliated against by Wu Sangui in the second round of the competition.
Just like Zong Fengming of the Kongtong School, who refused Wu Sangui's offer to accept the award, which led to Wu Sangui's malicious attack on him in the second round of the competition.
Seeing that Zhou Yaoqin did not answer, Wu Sangui suddenly understood the reason.
Wu Yingqi said, "Father, since Sect Leader Zhou has no intention of submitting, why force him? Besides, what great things can a woman do?"
Zhou Yaoqin looked displeased at Wu Yingqi's disdain.
Wu Yingxiong hurriedly said, "Father, let's continue the competition and taste the next contestant's dish!"
Yuan Batian of the Hai Sha faction immediately reached out and picked up a large pot, walked to the front of the referee group, and placed the pot on the Eight Immortals table.
The large pot had a diameter of one meter and was steaming hot.
Glug glug...
The pot contained lobster, crab, abalone, scallops, squid, sea cucumber, octopus, razor clams, oysters, and whelks...
There are so many varieties that it's dazzling.
Wu Sangui asked, "Sect Leader Yuan, what kind of dish is this?"
Yuan Batian clasped his hands and said, "Your Highness, the name of this dish is—Gathering of Heroes!"
snort!
Mai Renkuang of the Giant Whale Gang sneered.
Wu Sangui asked, "Chief Mai, what are you laughing at?"
Mai Renkuang said, "Your Highness, I think Yuan Batian is too shameful for actually copying my dishes!"
Imitation and plagiarism?
Li Huan observed intently.
On Mai Renkuang's stove, there was a large pot, steaming hot.
Wu Sangui asked curiously, "Chief Mai, is your pot also full of seafood?"
Mai Renkuang replied, "Exactly! In my big pot, there are eight kinds of seafood, and the dish is called—Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea!"
Yuan Batian laughed loudly: "Hahaha... Chief Mai's dish is called 'Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea,' which only has eight kinds of seafood, while my dish is called 'Gathering of Heroes,' which has nearly twenty kinds of seafood. How can that be considered imitation or plagiarism?"
Mai Ren roared in fury, "Could your skin be any thicker?"
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