Anyone present who wanted her dead could find a hundred ways to do so.
Xie Lingqin felt a chill run through her. This Yuwen Xian was a real scoundrel. He was clearly using her to test the Crown Prince because he saw that she was close to Yu Quanyi.
But with just a test, he wanted to kill her.
If he knew that she was Xie Lingqin, I wonder what he would think.
However, Xie Lingqin was not flustered. Instead, he smiled and raised his head, his voice clear and bright, "Your Highness, the landscape of my Beirong is so beautiful and magnificent that I was so delighted that I looked at it too closely."
"Is that so..."
"Well said, the landscape of Beirong is indeed breathtakingly beautiful."
The Marquis of Zhongyong nodded and smiled, clearly agreeing with this statement.
Of course I agree, that's clearly flattery.
It's an implicit suggestion that the emperor has governed the country well.
Throughout history, which emperor hasn't fallen for this tactic?
Several officials nearby echoed Zhong Tonghou's words.
Xie Lingqin couldn't help but sigh, these people were all talented. They were clearly just flattering each other, yet they could speak with such eloquence and conviction.
Their ability to flatter each other is subtle yet witty.
Talented!
"snort."
Then, Xie Lingqin clearly saw Yu Qingyi raise his head towards Yuwen Xianyi and let out a soft snort.
Yuwen Xian asked a question that hadn't been answered, then gave a self-deprecating laugh, without losing face in the slightest.
Seeing that Yuwen Xian had stopped causing trouble, Yu Qingyi turned to Xie Lingqin and said, "Ignore him, that guy is an idiot."
"Yeah, it's pretty stupid."
Xie Lingqin said.
Upon hearing this, Yu Quanyi chuckled and laughed, "Yes, wait, no..." Yu Qingyi turned back again, "So you were really looking at the Crown Prince just now?"
"No, I was looking at the mountains and rivers. I'm not lying."
Xie Lingqin answered in a very serious manner.
Yu Qingyi nodded and said "oh," simply believing her.
But no one noticed the fleeting smile that crossed the usually expressionless Crown Prince's lips.
In just a few words, the outcome was decided in the center of the arena: Li Junru won, and Ye Tianhao lost.
Xie Lingqin watched Ye Tianhao leave the stage and let out a soft "Eh."
Too light for Yu Qingyi to notice, but a glint of light flickered in the Crown Prince's eyes.
As the announcer read the announcement, Li Junru left the stage amidst cheers and applause, ready to move on to the next act.
Xie Lingqin's gaze then fell upon the Crown Prince.
It is said that the Ministry of War is close to the Crown Prince, but Ye Tianhao is the son of the commander of his personal guards.
Is the Crown Prince truly impartial?
Ye Tianhao was originally the second-place scholar in the civil service exam. If he were to also rank among the top three in the martial arts exam, he would be of great use, and even the Crown Prince would benefit from it. But just now...
Or, to put it another way, was the Ministry of War really close to the Crown Prince?
I can't figure it out.
"Am I that beautiful?"
Suddenly, a voice that was neither warm nor cold rang in my mind.
Xie Lingqin swallowed hard and immediately looked away.
This is even worse than being caught red-handed by Yuwen Xian earlier.
"No matter how beautiful I am, you cannot covet my beauty." The Crown Prince's voice echoed in her mind again, clearly a reminder.
Xie Lingqin...
She secretly watched the prince's ambiguous smile and gritted her teeth, "I'll remember this. I will never covet the prince's good looks."
Next up is a five-person competition. Since five people won the previous round, there will be one more person in this round of written tests. Usually, in this situation, the candidate with the highest score will advance first and wait for the final competition.
"Wait a moment."
Just as the announcer was about to read the matter aloud, Yu Qingyi suddenly stood up from his seat.
"What are you up to now, you brat? Sit down!" Prince Qing immediately tried to yell at Yu Qingyi, but Yu Qingyi was too difficult to manage. He smiled at his father and said, "Father, you won't even let me finish."
"What do you have to say, you..."
"Alright, Prince Qing, let him finish speaking. He'll probably feel restless if he doesn't." Once the Emperor spoke, Prince Qing naturally couldn't say anything more.
"Uncle, you know me best, haha. I was watching them fight so hard that I wanted to go down and try it out. There were odd numbers, so I went to make up the odd numbers and we made three pairs. How great is that?"
"Nonsense." Prince Qing's face was filled with anger, and he disapproved.
“Father, the laws of Beirong do not stipulate that the heir cannot participate in the martial arts competition. This is discrimination against me, and I will not accept it.”
"You..." Prince Qing was so angry that his face was trembling. He bowed to the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I will have someone drag him away immediately."
"I disagree, Father. How can you expect to win people's hearts with such unfairness?" Yu Qingyi challenged Prince Qing in dissatisfaction.
Xie Lingqin was truly impressed by how someone could talk so confidently about something that was clearly absurd.
However, the Emperor was clearly very indulgent. He smiled and pondered for a while before saying, "Speaking of which, what Qingyi said makes sense. However, your appearance on stage is clearly unfair to the other party."
"What do you mean by unfair? Do they think they're no match for me, Yu Qingyi?"
As Yu Qingyi spoke, his gaze swept across the field.
That one glance, that one sentence, was clearly meant to provoke someone.
The five people exchanged glances, their expressions varied, and remained silent. They didn't want their young master to participate, but that didn't stop them.
No one wants to admit that they are no match for anyone else.
"What, you really think you can't beat me?"
"Your Majesty, I am willing to compete with the Crown Prince."
It was Li Junru who spoke; his confident demeanor, devoid of any arrogance, only earned him more admiration.
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