On that day, he left Yue Ming, who had disguised himself as Zhang Run, for several reasons. Firstly, it had been Yue Ming who had been managing the affairs of ’Da Yuan Building’ over the past few years, and Zhang Run suddenly taking over would not adapt easily. Secondly, Yue Ming’s methods of training subordinates were novel and brilliant, turning every one of them into elites, which pleased him greatly. Thirdly, he trusted his ninth sister, and having Yue Ming around made his connection with her more secretive and timely.
On May 12th, the competition began as scheduled, and the bets in the market were sizzling hot.
As for the men’s group, there was no need to mention that the majority were betting on the three Dongchu men to win. Of course, there were also bets on Xiahou Muyang and Wu Zhenglie, and some people wagered on Qi Zonghao.
Contrarily in the women’s group, almost everyone unilaterally bet on Princess Yashuang and Princess Feilan, with a minority betting on Qi Qiuxin. However, Dongchu supporters were not absent, but they bet on Hai Ruofeng and Su Manru to win, after all, the reality of strength was apparent, and even Dongchu people would not bet on their own country to triumph.
Those close to Yang Mengchen bet heavily on her to win, and officials supporting Long Xuanmo also reluctantly placed some bets on her victory.
"Third Imperial Sister-in-Law, I have bet five hundred thousand taels of silver on your win, which is all my wealth, so please don’t let me lose everything," Long YiXuan pretended to wail.
Nangong Lingfei and the others rolled their eyes at him, "We too have staked all our fortunes."
Sister Jin and the others showed a trace of scorn on their faces, betting merely five hundred thousand taels was really stingy. If one knew that betting on the princess would yield a return of twentyfold, the princess herself had spent six million taels betting on her own victory. All the servants from the Princess Mansion and the Prince Mansion had also put up all their capital betting on the princess’ win.
Around noon time (approximately 8 AM), the Emperor, accompanied by civil and military officials and judges from all four nations, as well as the contestants, offered incense in the open air, followed by a speech from the venerable Old Hai, who then announced the start of the competition.
The men’s group went first, with the first contest being poetry composition on the theme of "Summer". This theme was almost always used in every competition, making it quite difficult to stand out.
Yang Mengchen sat at the Dongchu representatives’ place, her gaze fixed on Long Xuanmo in the center of the arena, her eyes brimming with intense tenderness and pride. There’s a common saying that men immersed in their work are especially attractive, and at this moment, she felt this deeply. The warm sun cast a faint halo over Long Xuanmo, making him look as handsome as a deity.
Suddenly feeling a scrutinizing glance from the right, Yang Mengchen turned and saw Su Manru with a faint smile.
Beautiful in appearance, with a high nose bridge, full lips, and raven-black hair styled into a flowing cloud bun adorned with a red gold plum hairpin, she emanated a strong scholarly aura. Her fair, jade-like face bore a perfectly appropriate smile. She wore a light purple silk brocade top paired with a dark red Hundred-Butterfly Playing Flower skirt, accentuating her gentle and graceful demeanor.
Caught off guard by Yang Mengchen’s sharpness, Su Manru was initially taken aback, but upon seeing Yang Mengchen’s smile, she also responded with a warm yet distant smile.
She admired Prince Chen and had dreamt of marrying him and becoming a princess. As such, she had strived to learn various talents from a young age, hoping to prove her worthiness for Prince Chen.
However, before she could express her feelings to her grandfather, Prince Chen married a peasant girl as his wife and swore to be devoted to her for life. This peasant girl, despite being somewhat attractive, was ignorant of everything and exuded the smell of copper—how could Su Manru be content with this?
Originally, she had hoped to attract Prince Chen’s attention through this competition, but she did not anticipate that her opponents would be so formidable, leaving her no chance to take the lead.
Just as she was disheartened, an opportunity arose; the peasant girl was also participating in the competition. Even if she could not win, she wanted at least to surpass the peasant girl and let Prince Chen realize that she was unworthy of him.
Perceiving Su Manru’s thoughts, the corners of Yang Mengchen’s lips curved into a subtle smile before she turned away and quietly chatted with Hai Ruofeng to her left.
The three-day competition for the men concluded with the Dongchu contestants securing first place with an overwhelming advantage, followed by Nanping in second, Beiyue in third, and Xiliang in fourth.
Besides the chess event, Long Xuanmo swept first place in all other categories, while Hua Ziyu and Lin Zheqi also performed exceptionally well.
Even though the winnings were modest, the Dongchu People beam with joy, their cheers for Prince Chen resonating everywhere.
The women’s group will commence tomorrow, and in the eyes of the majority, it was incontrovertible that Dongchu would finish last. As for the other three countries, it was still uncertain which one would claim the championship. Although Princess Yashuang and Princess Feilan were renowned for their talents, and Princess Qiuxin was a bit behind, the other contestants were very strong. As for Princess Chen, there was no need to discuss. While Hai Ruofeng and Su Manru were famous domestically, they clearly fell short of the contestants from the three other countries.
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