Chapter 319: Sighting Prince Ye

Chapter 319: Seeing Prince Ye

Due to his special constitution, he had possessed extraordinary keenness since childhood, often able to smell what others couldn't.

This thing wasn't necessarily a physical object; it could also be a sensation or a telepathic feeling.

When that feeling was particularly strong, he could keenly detect it.

In simple terms, it was what people call "a dog's nose."

Xie Liuzheng felt the sour smell in the air was growing stronger, as if dozens of vinegar jars from someone's home had been knocked over, allowing the sour smell to waft out.

He scanned around but didn't see anything suspicious, eventually his gaze fell on the dishes Ji Yuntang was eating.

Xie Liuzheng frowned and said, "Could the food you're eating be sour? Let me try it."

With that, he picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of yam cake.

At the same time, Ji Yuntang also took a piece of yam cake, and they both took a bite at the same time.

The yam cake was sweet, soft, and dense, with a sticky texture and no sour taste at all.

Xie Liuzheng then tried a few other dishes, but none had any sour flavor.

Just as he was scratching his head in confusion, he suddenly felt a sharp, icy glare land right on him.

A piercing chill seemed to shoot from his feet up through his whole body. He turned to look but only glimpsed a figure in black robes flashing by the window.

Xie Liuzheng rubbed his eyes—was he imagining things?

Otherwise, why did he feel like he had just seen His Highness Prince Ye?

But Prince Ye should be in the Prince Ye Mansion; how could he possibly be here?

Xie Liuzheng put down his chopsticks and lightly slapped his own cheeks.

He muttered under his breath, "Illusion, it must be an illusion."

Noticing his strange behavior, Ji Yuntang asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"

Xie Liuzheng wasn't one to keep things bottled up. Although he thought he might have been mistaken, he still told Ji Yuntang anyway.

"Sister, guess who I saw just now?"

"Who?"

"Your husband."

Ji Yuntang: "..."

She spit out a mouthful of tea.

Then, thinking of something, she lowered her voice and asked, "Where did you see A He?"

"Over at that teahouse."

Following Xie Liuzheng's eyes, Ji Yuntang only saw a pair of closed windows. She narrowed her eyes without thinking.

Was the gentle gaze she'd felt today Luo Junhe's?

After mulling it over briefly, Ji Yuntang quickly found an answer.

Whether the person in the teahouse was him or not, she couldn't admit it right now.

If anyone found out Luo Junhe could get out of bed, sit in a wheelchair, and had even left the mansion, it'd definitely bring more trouble later.

For now, she had to help him cover it up.

With this in mind, Ji Yuntang smiled and said, "Brother, sometimes the eyes can be deceiving too. A He hasn't recovered yet and is still lying in bed. How could he possibly leave Prince Ye's mansion? You must have been mistaken!"

Xie Liuzheng nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think I was mistaken too. I just felt that person's aura was really similar to Prince Ye's. Actually, I didn't even see his face clearly."

"Sister, sorry to startle you!"

Ji Yuntang pursed her lips slightly. "It's fine. Everyone sees things wrong sometimes, right?"

Actually, Ji Yuntang thought Xie Liuzheng was very unlikely to have been mistaken.

She had her reasons for that.

If Xie Liuzheng could point to that room, then someone was definitely there.

When she looked over, the window was closed, meaning whoever was there had spotted them and shut the window right away.

The crowd at today's Canglang Poetry Talk was a mixed bunch, and that teahouse room faced the stage directly—a perfect spot to watch.

If she'd felt a gentle gaze on her while solving the problems, then as soon as she started eating the snacks Xie Liuzheng had prepared, that gaze vanished.

She didn't feel any ill will from this person.

From this perspective, it was highly likely that the person was Luo Junhe.

However, Ji Yuntang couldn't confirm it herself right now.

Inside the teahouse, Luo Junhe sat with his back turned in his wheelchair.

His breathing was slightly heavy, and his heart beat a little faster involuntarily.

That was close—he had nearly been discovered by Ji Yuntang.

Xie Liuzheng and Ji Yuntang were unusually sharp.

Luo Junhe once again felt grateful that he was wearing a mask.

He withdrew the aura he had been exuding but chose not to leave just yet.

He was very curious about what Ji Yuntang had designed in the second round that would leave Headmaster Cheng and Director Mei so shocked.

Just then, the invigilator's voice rang out, as the last bit of incense burned down.

"Time's up! All candidates, stop writing. Papers will be collected now."

After collecting the papers, there was still one step: candidates had to present what they had designed and convince the judges to score them.

Ji Yuntang and Ji Zihang also returned to their seats.

The first round of arithmetic had eliminated eighty people, leaving only about 130 people remaining.

Thinking that Ji Zihang was the first to submit his design, Cheng Rushan asked him to stand up and introduce the item he had invented.

Seeing this only made Ji Zihang more convinced that his design was outstanding, which was why Headmaster Cheng had called on him first to present it.

He first cupped his hands in a salute to the audience, then pointed at the drawing and said, "The item I have designed is called a folding bed."

"As the name suggests, the folding bed uses mortise and tenon joints to fold and store the bed, thus reducing its footprint."

"There is also a clever feature here: the folded bed doubles as a chair, serving a dual purpose."

"Families with many members but limited space can buy this folding bed and simply unfold it when it's time to sleep."

As soon as Ji Zihang finished speaking, a judge stood up.

"Third Young Master Ji's folding bed is cleverly conceived and quite impressive. It not only solves the problem of cramped living spaces for families with many members but also puts every inch of space to good use. Truly remarkable."

After saying this, he gave Ji Zihang a high score of ninety-eight.

For a contestant presenting first, this score was exceptionally impressive, and Ji Zihang's confidence soared.

He watched happily as the judges behind him gave their scores.

Unfortunately, Ji Zihang's debut was his peak. Aside from the first judge who gave him a high score of ninety-eight, the subsequent scores hovered around ninety.

This made Ji Zihang feel a bit resentful.

His design was so good—were these people all blind?

Even Cheng Rushan and Mei Zhuyu only gave him ninety-one.

The scores kept dropping from there.

Noticing the embarrassment on Ji Zihang's face, Mu Rongyue, after much hesitation, stood up and demanded, "Th-Third Young Master Ji's folding bed is so practical. Why did His Highness the Crown Prince only give him eighty-five points?"

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