Chapter 311: Watching Her Compete

Ji Yuntang almost fell headfirst onto the ground.

This kid is hopeless!

Just then, a deep and pure bell rang through the clouds, echoing in the ears of all the students.

After three bell tolls, Mei Zhuyu stepped forward and said, "After decades of hard study, all for the sake of achieving official success, Headmaster Cheng and I are both very honored to be standing here, seeing so many new faces."

"You represent hope, and also the future of the Dongchen Kingdom. The imperial court will need your fresh blood to bring glory to the country and benefit the people."

"I hope that all the students here today can draw on their accumulated knowledge and achieve success, achieving excellent results in the Canglang Poetry Talk."

"Now, I declare the Canglang Poetry Talk competition officially begin."

As his words fell, applause erupted in waves around them, lasting for a long time.

Ji Yuntang stood in the crowd and clapped along with everyone else.

She had learned from Luo Junhe that Mei Zhuyu and Cheng Rushan were both very prominent figures on this continent.

Being able to see both of them today, Ji Yuntang was very excited.

After the applause ended, an official in charge came out to read the rules.

"This assessment consists of five rounds: arithmetic, law, carpentry, calligraphy, and poetry. Each round has a total score of 100, and there is only the time it takes to burn one incense stick. Each person has only one chance to answer per round."

"Eighty points is the passing line. Only candidates who pass this round are eligible to enter the next round."

"Anyone caught cheating or plagiarizing during the competition will be disqualified immediately."

"Anyone disrupting order during the competition will be disqualified immediately."

"Anyone who has not finished answering when the incense burns out will be disqualified immediately."

"Anyone who delays handing in the paper after the incense burns out will be disqualified immediately."

"When the competition begins, candidates cannot walk around or leave the competition area. Within one hour of handing in the papers, the judges will announce the scores and the list of advancing candidates."

"If there are objections, candidates may raise objections in person; after the time limit, objections will not be entertained."

After the official finished reading the rules, someone immediately lit an incense stick in the censer in front.

As the fragrant smoke curled up, a piece of pale yellow rice paper along with a brush and inkstone were placed on the table in front of Ji Yuntang.

A single table, a single stool, plus thousands of invigilating eyes—thus the arithmetic test began.

Ji Yuntang felt that this outdoor exam was really novel, giving her a bizarre sense of serene madness inside.

Her eyes swept over the test questions on the rice paper, and she saw these four lines written on it:

"Qinchuan River is nine hundred li long, at the river's source there's a chestnut.

The chestnut rotates once every five fen, how many turns to reach the river's end?"

Ji Yuntang: "..."

Are the test questions this unhinged now?

She tried to understand and finally figured out the meaning of the problem.

Qinchuan is a famous river in the Dongchen Kingdom, spanning both Dongchen and the Western Shu Kingdom, with a total length of about nine hundred li.

At the source of Qinchuan, someone placed a chestnut in the water.

The chestnut rotates one full turn for every five fen traveled. The question asks how many circles the chestnut has turned from the source of Qinchuan to the river's end?

This is a typical arithmetic problem.

Before coming, Ji Yuntang had looked at the unit conversion system of this dynasty.

Normally, one li equals five hundred meters or three hundred fifty bu, and one bu equals five chi equals five hundred fen.

After figuring this out, she quickly found a solution.

Ji Yuntang lowered her head to write and draw on the paper, looking very serious.

What she didn't know was that in a teahouse with a wide view not far away, a handsome black-clad man was sitting upright in a wheelchair, gazing at her with gentle eyes.

He wore a black-gold mask on his face, and his narrow peach blossom eyes sparkled like stars, and he couldn't bear to blink.

Chen Hu stood beside him and asked hesitantly, "Prince Ye, if we sneak out like this, won't the princess consort be angry when she finds out?"

Without even turning his head, Luo Junhe said calmly, "If she gets angry, I'll take the heat. No need to worry."

Ji Yuntang had barely left with Wang Sheng when Luo Junhe and Chen Hu arrived right after.

Because his recovery was still a secret, Ji Yuntang had kept all news under wraps and forbade anyone in the Prince Ye's mansion from leaking a single word.

For this very reason, Luo Junhe this time sneaked out through the back door, taking a carriage.

Chen Hu had also booked the private room in the teahouse in advance, and they entered through a special passage.

To be absolutely safe, Luo Junhe even took out his treasured mask that he had kept for years and put it on his face.

Chen Hu felt that their prince's action was too risky, but Luo Junhe didn't think it mattered.

If he couldn't see Ji Yuntang shine brilliantly in the Canglang Poetry Talk today, he might regret it for the rest of his life.

A smile curved Luo Junhe's lips, and his gaze at the woman grew even more tender and dreamy.

"Before, I only heard from others how amazing she was. Today, I can finally see it with my own eyes!"

Even if it was just a distant glance at Ji Yuntang, he felt this trip was worth it!

Chen Hu felt like a third wheel. He scratched his head and asked curiously, "Prince, do you think the Princess Consort will win?"

"Yes." Luo Junhe's voice was extremely firm. "I believe in her."

He had seen all of Ji Yuntang's efforts over the past three days.

Luo Junhe felt that with her intelligence, even if she didn't study or practice, she could still achieve a good ranking in the Canglang Poetry Talk.

He trusted Ji Yuntang unconditionally.

And at this moment, Ji Qingqing, seated in the stands, was extremely excited.

Her eyes were fixed tightly on Ji Yuntang's face, and a fierce glint flashed in her eyes.

Cui Liu flattered her from the side, "Second Miss, you are so clever. You actually went ahead and signed up Ji Yuntang for the Canglang Poetry Talk. With her stupid brain, she probably won't even pass the first round this time!"

Ji Qingqing shot her a glance and said arrogantly, "Hmph, didn't she receive the emperor's praise at the palace banquet and boast about her literary talent?"

"This young lady wants to see how she will save face this time."

Cui Liu immediately echoed, "How dare she show off her meager literary talent before an expert? The questions in Canglang Poetry Talk have even stumped the Third Young Master. What does a country girl have to compare with the Third Young Master?"

Ji Qingqing let out a scornful snort. "She naturally cannot compare to Third Brother. The champion of this Canglang Poetry Talk is definitely Third Brother."

"But she has always lacked self-awareness. Just because she composed a poem at the palace banquet, she is extremely proud. Who knows if she plagiarized it from somewhere?"

"I want her to witness the gap between herself and others with her own eyes, lest she really think she is the top talented woman of Dongchen Kingdom!"

Cui Liu said, "With Princess Shuyang and Miss Murong here, how could she ever be the top talented woman?"

"You are truly amazing, Second Miss. You prioritized signing up Ji Yuntang, otherwise we might not have been able to see this wonderful show!"

------------