As the girls laughed and chatted, a sudden clang of a bronze gong echoed outside, drawing everyone’s attention to the stage. A tall painting unfurled dramatically from the ceiling to the first floor, revealing tonight’s grand prize—the Lotus Glass Cup—displayed for all to see.
A collective gasp of admiration spread through the audience. Compared to the smaller illustrations in the booklet, this massive painting was far more exquisite. The technique used was unfamiliar, but it made the image almost lifelike down to the tiniest of reflections on the glass surface.
The entire Mianfeng Tower immediately buzzed with excitement. Some marveled at the painting’s artistry, but most were in awe of the cup’s beauty and eagerly speculated on who might win it today.
The madam of Qingfeng Pavilion stepped out to remind the eager crowd that the competition for the Lotus Glass Cup would begin in half an hour, and those interested in participating could start registering.
The rules of the competition were simple. Behind the stage stood a massive wooden board similar to the one used in the Flying Butterfly Hairpin arena. However, instead of chaotic lines, this board was laid out in squares resembling a chessboard’s grids, with ten rows and ten columns totaling 100 squares. Each square was a movable tile, with a unique image on the front and a blank back.
There were two of each image, forming pairs. At the start of the competition, participants would have one cup of tea time to memorize the positions of all 100 images. Afterward, all tiles would be flipped over, hiding the images. Participants would then stand in a designated spot and use a bow and arrow to shoot the squares. The goal was to shoot matching pairs consecutively. Hitting and matching all pairs would result in victory. Participants could compete alone or in pairs.
In essence, it was an ultra-big version of a ‘memory match’ game.
Liu Rui groaned, “I’m doomed! My brother will never manage this. He struggles even to memorize textbooks, and his archery is all for show.”
Zhang Jinru sighed as well, “My father wouldn’t fare any better. He might manage to memorize the patterns, but shooting arrows? A hundred of them? That’s impossible.”
Wu Zhixuan turned to look at Li Yining, who said, “I have no problem with archery, but I can’t memorize the patterns. Can you? Let’s team up—didn’t they say two people can compete together?”
Wu Zhixuan: “…”
If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was mocking her!
Only Zhu Nanxi laughed. “The Flying Butterfly one was already hard enough, and this one is for the best dowry—of course it’s not going to be easy to win.”
Mu Wan, who was busy writing recipes and formulas on the low table, casually remarked, “I think just having someone willing to compete on your behalf is already the best dowry a girl could wish for.”
After all, this prize was set up for young ladies. Whether it was a father, brother, or fiancé competing, it was ultimately about bringing honor to the girl. The sentiment behind it was what truly mattered.
Her words lightened the mood of the group once again.
“Exactly,” Liu Rui agreed. “Having fathers, brothers, or fiancés who care about us is already a blessing in itself.”
Zhang Jinru chimed in, “Exactly. That Mu Wan may have a fiancé, and not just anyone but the unattainable Marquis of Zhenbei. But so what? He’s still not here to compete and bring her any honor.”
“…” At this, Zhu Nanxi couldn’t help but glance at Mu Wan, only to see her blowing dry the recipe she had just written while nodding in agreement. “Exactly. Being Marquis Zhenbei’s fiancée is downright unlucky.”
Zhu Nanxi’s eyes widened. ‘Is it starting?!’
Zhang Jinru felt something was off about Mu Wan’s words but was quickly distracted by Zhu Nanxi, who was shaking with laughter. “Nanxi Xiangjun, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Zhu Nanxi took a deep breath. “It’s nothing. I just find this hilarious.”
Liu Rui added, “Right? I think it’s funny too. And to think she even boasted about being determined to win this glass cup. How exactly does she plan to win it? Is she going to compete herself?”
Mu Wan replied, “Actually, that’s not entirely impossible.”
Zhu Nanxi burst out laughing again.
Liu Rui leaned over the railing. “Speaking of which, if she really wants to win this glass cup, she should’ve arrived by now, right? Where is she?”
Wu Zhixuan and the others also glanced down toward the lower floor. Even though they no longer cared much about Mu Wan, it never hurt to enjoy a bit more excitement.
Mu Wan handed the skincare recipe to Wu Zhixuan. “Xuanniang, I have a favor to ask.”
Wu Zhixuan was happy to comply, “Why are you being so formal with me? Whatever it is, just say the word. If I can help, I absolutely will.”
Mu Wan took her hand, her expression serious. “I want to break off my engagement.”
“Pfft—” Liu Rui spat out her mouthful of milk tea, Zhang Jinru was dumbfounded, and Li Yining blinked, thinking this Miss A’Wan must have lost her mind.
Wu Zhixuan wondered if she had misheard. “What did you just say?”
As her question hung in the air, everyone’s attention shifted to Mushuang, who had been dutifully attending to Mu Wan all afternoon. They had all witnessed this ‘gentleman’ attentiveness, and Mu Wan’s behavior toward him seemed quite affectionate.
“I want to break off my engagement. Xuanniang, please help me plead with the Empress Dowager.”
Wu Zhixuan still felt as though her ears were playing tricks on her and instinctively asked, “Why on earth would you want to break off the engagement?”
Mu Wan sighed, clutching her chest as if in pain as she muttered, “Didn’t you all just say it yourselves? Being engaged to Marquis Zhenbei is such a humiliating thing…”
“Engaged to…” Wu Zhixuan took a deep breath, struggling to get the words out. “Engaged to Marquis who?!” Her voice rose uncontrollably.
Mu Wan straightened up and looked at Wu Zhixuan seriously. “The Marquis of Zhenbei, Xie Heng. My engagement was decreed by the Empress Dowager herself. Didn’t you say the Empress Dowager dotes on you the most, Xuanniang? Could you please ask her to let me break off this engagement?” Mu Wan shook her head, appearing deeply distressed. “It’s just too humiliating.”
Everyone present, except for Zhu Nanxi, Yunling, and Mushuang, looked completely frozen, as if their brains had stopped working. Her fiancé was… who? The Marquis of what?
Mu Wan placed the milk tea recipe and whitening formula into Liu Rui’s and Zhang Jinru’s hands respectively, with heartfelt sincerity. “It’s been such a pleasure meeting you all today. You’re absolutely right—living such a disgraceful life, I really can’t bear another day of it.”
Even though she had climbed high by being engaged to Xie Heng, somehow, the way she said it made it seem as if she was the one humiliated.
What was even scarier was that, from the perspective of ‘friends,’ her words almost seemed reasonable…
After a long pause, Li Yining finally recovered and cautiously asked, “Mu Wan?”
Mu Wan nodded, then turned back to Wu Zhixuan, her eyes full of hope. “So, Xuanniang, could you plead with the Empress Dowager for me to cancel this engagement? I truly don’t understand why I was given this marriage!”
Without missing a beat, she shamelessly lied, “I haven’t even met him!”
Wu Zhixuan: “…”
Zhu Nanxi turned away, trying desperately to stifle her laughter. ‘It’s happening, it’s happening!’ She could almost hear the mental screams of the trio collapsing in disbelief. Hahaha!
Wu Zhixuan remained frozen, unsure how to react. She wanted to get angry and accuse Mu Wan of deceiving them, but as she recalled their interactions, aside from not mentioning her fiancé’s name, Mu Wan hadn’t lied to them at all. In fact, they had spent the entire afternoon as close as sisters…
The worst part was that they were still holding the recipe Mu Wan had just given them. How could she possibly flip out now?
And the thought that screamed the loudest in her mind was: ‘How many times had we mocked Mu Wan this afternoon? What exactly had we mocked her about?’
‘Oh heavens! Someone, save me!!!’
…
At the same time, outside the east gate of Qingfeng Pavilion, Xiao Liu looked at Xie Heng with confusion. “My lord, why are we here?”
Xie Heng, holding his waist blade, replied coolly, “Investigating a case.”
Xie Tian kindly reminded him, “This gate only allows couples—one man and one woman—to enter.”
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Author’s Note:
Mu Wan: “Well, this is it.”
Wu Zhixuan, Liu Rui, Zhang Jinru: “This is it!!!!”
Xie Heng: “If I don’t go, someone’s going to stir up a big trouble.”
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haha i can’t wait until next
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yeeeeees !!! Finally 😂😂😂😂
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