"The second round of the competition will be held the day after tomorrow. The results have now been announced."
Shen Qingping tightly held back Song Yu, who was about to charge forward, but raised his own voice loudly: "Just a list isn’t enough. We need to see the scoring details from all six judges."
Judging by the look on his father’s face, there was definitely something fishy going on.
Hearing this, the three judges from Dayue paled.
The surrounding crowd immediately echoed Shen Qingping’s demand. "That’s right! Show us the judges’ scores!"
As the situation grew increasingly chaotic, one of the Dayue officials turned to the headmistress of the women’s academy and said, "In Dayue, we’ve never disclosed anything beyond the final list."
"But we’re in Daqi now."
The headmistress replied coldly, "All six of us scored fairly, so there’s no reason not to make the details public. Unless… you have something to hide?"
"Before grading the papers, we specifically asked you, and you told us only the list would be released!" Another Dayue judge, his face flushed with anger, retorted, "As the headmistress of Daqi’s women’s academy, you’re going back on your word!"
"And what if I am?"
Just as the headmistress and the three Dayue officials were locked in a heated standoff, a voice suddenly rang out from within the academy:
"Huh? Why did three judges give me zero marks?"
Instantly, the crowd fell silent.
Then, an even greater wave of fury erupted.
Song Shihuan stood with icy eyes, holding six sheets of paper. "I had doubts about the results, so I requested a review."
"Only then did I discover that three judges gave me zero marks—while Princess Rong Lan received three perfect scores."
Song Yu could no longer contain his rage. "Guards! Take the score sheets from the young mistress and post them on that wall. Make sure to label which judge gave which score—let everyone see for themselves!"
The six sheets were displayed, with the judges’ names boldly written in red ink beside their scores.
The crowd surged forward to examine the posted scores, and when they saw the blatant bias, all eyes turned to the three Dayue judges with burning anger.
"Such shameless, underhanded tactics from the mighty Dayue!" Some bold spectators even spat in the direction of the Dayue officials. "Our Daqi judges scored your princess fairly, yet you dared to give our young mistress zero marks? Disgraceful!"
"Call your Second Prince here! He owes our young mistress an explanation!"
Rong Lan, witnessing the uproar, didn’t dare step outside the academy. Hidden Dayue guards hurried toward the courier station.
When Rong Sheng heard the news, he was both furious and anxious—he had never ordered those three fools to do such a thing.
Meeting Song Shihuan’s gaze sent a chill down his spine.
"At the Chrysanthemum Banquet, the Dayue princess accused my father of cheating. Now it’s clear—Dayue has a habit of foul play, so they assume others are just as dishonest."
Song Shihuan fixed her eyes on Rong Sheng. "I demand these three be removed, the scores recalculated without their input, and that they be barred from judging the next round. What does the Second Prince think?"
"Of course. This was Dayue’s mistake, and these men will be punished upon our return."
Despite Rong Sheng’s attempts at damage control, the people’s opinion of Dayue had already plummeted.
After removing the three biased judges and recalculating the scores using only the Daqi judges’ marks, the rankings shifted dramatically.
Song Shihuan took first place.
Rong Lan fell to tenth.
The irony was like a slap from the heavens. Rong Sheng’s face darkened like scorched iron as he led his entourage away from the academy.
......
Courier Station.
The three officials knelt on the ground as Rong Sheng kicked each of them.
"Fools! How could you be this stupid?" For the first time, Rong Sheng doubted the competence of his own faction.
"Your Highness, spare us! It was the princess’s order this morning on the way to the academy—we had no time to report to you!"
The three officials pleaded innocence.
They knew such a scheme, though effective, was far too reckless.
Rong Sheng nearly laughed in frustration before storming into Rong Lan’s room.
"Rong Lan, it seems we’ve spoiled you rotten, turning you into this reckless, thoughtless fool."
"Second Brother, you dare scold me like this?" Rong Lan’s initial guilt vanished under his harsh words. "If those three had just stopped them from posting the scores, everyone would’ve believed the Dayue princess was simply superior!"
Blinded by rage, Rong Sheng raised his hand to strike.
"Go ahead, Second Brother! Hit me right here!"
Seeing her defiance, Rong Sheng let his arm drop, exhausted.
"Rong Lan, even if your marriage to the Prince of Qin falls through, you must not provoke the Fuan Junzhu. Do you understand?" His voice was heavy with weariness. "Cross her, and I won’t hesitate to cut ties with you."
As Rong Sheng left, hatred burned in Rong Lan’s eyes.
What could some wild girl possibly do to her?
......
The scandal spread like wildfire across Daqi, yet the imperial court remained silent. Only Song Yu entered the palace—what was discussed, no one knew.
Two days later, the second round began.
This time, the competition was held outside the academy, open for all to witness.
Hearing that Song Shihuan excelled at the qin, Rong Lan deliberately chose to play the same instrument, assuming a mere ten-year-old could barely pluck the right strings.
Rong Lan performed first. The moment she sat before the qin, a sparrow swooped down, circling above her head.
Then—
Plop.
A white dropping landed squarely on her forehead.
The sight was absurdly comical.
Rong Lan shrieked, calling for her maids to help her change, while the sparrow leisurely flew away.
"If the princess leaves now, it will count as an absence," Shen Qingping said with a smile. "The choice is yours."
Flustered and red-faced, Rong Lan had no choice but to sit back down and play.
When her piece ended, Shen Qingping found it mediocre at best—not to mention the wrong notes scattered throughout.
With an exaggeratedly conflicted expression, he shook his head, then solemnly picked up his brush.
And drew a large, bold zero.
