Chapter 260: Plan
Even though Chu Liuyue came late, n.o.body caused trouble for her as she had taken first place in the previous two compet.i.tions.
She quickly scanned her surroundings and saw Emperor Jiawen finally sitting down on the chair that had always been empty on the east side of the compet.i.tion venue.
The Empress sat next to him, while the princes and princesses were sitting at the side.
After taking a rough look, Chu Liuyue found most of them pretty familiar. However, Rong Xiu’s seat was empty.
Most of the compet.i.tors had already sat down in the compet.i.tion venue, and each of them had a cauldron in front of them.
Sun Zhongyan was currently announcing the compet.i.tion’s rules. “… There’s a jade box in front of everyone, which contains three formulas. The three formulas are of different grades. Based on your own abilities, you can choose the one that you’re most confident about. As long as you produce the pill, it’s considered that you’ve completed the compet.i.tion. The elders from the three academies will then determine the winner based on the pills’ grades.”
His thick and burly voice resonated throughout Jia Nan Square.
Everyone in the crowd was excited and expectant, but the competing heavenly doctors were more nervous.
Chu Liuyue quietly walked to her seat. Most of the crowd was focusing on the compet.i.tion now, so she did not attract much attention.
After sitting down, she glanced at the compet.i.tion venue.
Situ Xingchen was indeed standing within.
Everyone around her was guessing who would be the winner in hushed voices. However, Chu Liuyue was more interested in the formulas inside the box.
I wonder what kind of questions will be presented in the Qing Jiao Compet.i.tion…
Sun Zhongyan gave a few more instructions before announcing the beginning of the compet.i.tion.
Everyone in the arena opened the boxes in front of them to check the three formulas.
At that moment, some were shocked, some were elated, and others were put in a difficult position. It was obvious that the compet.i.tors were of different standards, so they had different reactions to the compet.i.tion’s questions.
After a temporary silence, a young man in the compet.i.tion venue raised his hand.
“Nan Feng Academy’s He Yang chooses the intermediate medical formula!”
The judges at the side hurriedly went forward and made someone deliver the corresponding set of ingredients.
“Everyone only has two sets of ingredients. If you continuously fail twice, you will be eliminated. Are you clear about this?”
He Yang swiftly nodded his head. “Thank you for the reminder, judges. I understand.”
He then placed his hand over the cauldron and injected his force.
A blue fire rose up.
Upon seeing this, the other students did not want to be left behind. They respectively chose their formulas and started to refine the medicine.
Chu Liuyue looked down with much interest and discovered that many people had chosen ‘intermediate.’ Not many of them had chosen ‘beginner.’
“I wonder what the difference between the formulas is? Why did people choose ‘beginner?’ Aren’t they bound to lose?” muttered Si Yang curiously.
Chu Liuyue laughed lightly and kindly answered, “That’s because all heavenly doctors have a clear understanding of their own abilities. Since they know their standards, they naturally know which formula they should pick. To heavenly doctors, picking ‘beginner’ would be better than picking ‘intermediate’ and failing. At the very least, they can have a ranking. If they can’t even produce a single item, they will be directly eliminated. Of course, some might want to take the gamble.”
Si Yang was enlightened and finally understood the reasoning behind their actions. “According to what you said, does it mean that those who chose ‘beginner’ might not be those with the lowest skills?”
Chu Liuyue corrected him and said, “To be more accurate, their rankings might not be the lowest.”
Si Yang nodded in deep thought. Then, he suddenly widened his eyes. “How do you know this?”
Chu Liuyue glanced at him lazily.
Si Yang immediately reacted—I almost forgot! This sick pervert is also talented as a heavenly doctor. It’s not surprising that she knows this.
“… Oh yeah! Why didn’t you join the heavenly doctor compet.i.tion?”
Chu Liuyue curled her lips into a half-smile.
Si Yang lightly slapped his mouth. I’m so stupid! Chu Liuyue has won first place in two out of three compet.i.tions. Why would there be a need for her to join the last one? Besides, the academy always had a rumor that talked about how Chu Liuyue was not very talented in this area. Hence, she probably found it a waste of time to join the compet.i.tion.
Chu Liuyue retracted her gaze and looked at the arena.
…
“Cough, cough cough—”
Emperor Jiawen turned around and looked upset when he heard Rong Jin coughing again. “Why don’t you rest in your residence since you’re injured?”
The Empress was elated when she heard this.
His Majesty looked stern, but he was actually still concerned about Rong Jin. If he really did not care about the Crown Prince, he definitely would’ve sent someone to bring Rong Jin back, and he wouldn’t have said such a thing.
Rong Jin also noticed this, and his pale lips curved up into a smile. “Thank you for your concern, Father. My body is fine. Mr. Zuo Rong said that I’d recover after resting for a while. Besides, I haven’t seen you in a long time, so…”
Ever since the Crown Prince was grounded, the palace did not receive any news about his requests to see the Emperor.
Today was a good chance, so he obviously could not miss it.
A moving look flashed across Emperor Jiawen’s eyes.
Even though the Crown Prince was petty, the Emperor had watched him grow up, and he had high expectations for the Crown Prince. How could the Emperor possibly not feel anything for the Crown Prince?
Seeing Rong Jin’s frail appearance, Emperor Jiawen also felt his heart ache. “Go back and rest later. It’s inappropriate for the Crown Prince to look sickly.”
Once the Emperor said this, everyone was shocked. The Emperor seems like he doesn’t plan to remove Rong Jin’s status as the Crown Prince?
The Empress felt even happier. Originally, she did not approve of Rong Jin coming over.
She knew better than anyone that Rong Jin came over for Chu Liuyue. However, she did not expect Rong Jin to move His Majesty and extract himself from his current difficult situation.
What a lucky hit!
She smiled earnestly. “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has matured a lot now. I’m sure he won’t make you angry over such small matters again.”
Emperor Jiawen grunted coldly and did not say anything else.
Rong Jin felt much more at ease, and he could not help but look toward Tian Lu Academy’s seating area.
Chu Liuyue was sitting in the crowd.
They were clearly a distance apart, but he still saw her at first glance.
Bright, dazzling, eye-catching!
He had already heard about Chu Liuyue’s performance in this Qing Jiao Compet.i.tion, and it made him fall for her even more.
Only such outstanding women were the most suited for him!
When he came, he had silently asked his mother about her plans. Knowing that she had not taken action yet, Rong Jin felt quite anxious.
At this point, another thought popped up in his head—If Mother still hasn’t done anything about this after the Qing Jiao Compet.i.tion ends, I’ll just ask Father myself!