A gentle breeze blew, causing the plump woman's clothes to flutter and her dark hair to dance. Her fair face was as bright as snow, and her eyes were sparkling. At this moment, she even had a rare air of otherworldly grace, like a hermit immortal.
The men were all lost in their own thoughts. Princess Chang Le, Feng Qian, realized what was happening and, this time disregarding her brother's expression, stood up and looked at her aunt, the sect leader, on the high platform.
"The Crown Princess's performance of this piece wins the competition."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone realized what he meant, and applause erupted like a tidal wave, lasting for a long time.
Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue finally came to their senses. Their beautiful faces paled instantly. They bit their lips and looked at Crown Prince Feng Zixiao with a pitiful expression. However, Feng Zixiao did not speak this time. Instead, he looked at Hai Ling with unfathomable eyes. He suddenly felt that this woman was not so vulgar. Although she was fat, he could tolerate her.
When Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue saw that the Crown Prince had no intention of standing up for them, the two women could no longer stop trembling. They hadn't forgotten the bet: the loser would have to bark like a dog. The more they thought about it, the more frightened they became. In the end, both of them fell onto the platform and fainted at the same time.
They were so perfectly in sync. Hai Ling watched their movements and a smile appeared on her lips.
They thought they could escape by pretending to be unconscious? Well, they were wrong.
At that moment, someone in the audience exclaimed, "Miss, Miss!"
The servants of the Ye family and the Jiang family all rushed over, ran up to the high platform, and surrounded their respective masters, calling out anxiously.
Suddenly, the sound of orderly footsteps rang out in front of the hall. Five or six soldiers rushed in nimbly and went straight to Feng Zixiao's side. One of them clasped his hands and calmly reported, "Your Highness, the person has been captured."
"Okay, take him back."
Feng Zixiao raised his eyebrows arrogantly, not even glancing at anyone behind him.
The reason these people appeared in the Banana Garden Study was not to watch any assessment or the fight between Jiang Hailing and Ye Xiuying, but because someone had approached the study to eavesdrop while Feng Zixiao, the Left Prime Minister Xi Lingfeng, and the Imperial Censor Wei Lin were discussing matters. They were discovered, and the Crown Prince's soldiers tracked the person all the way to the Banana Garden Study.
Because the Banana Garden Study was still a place for women to study, and ordinary people were not allowed to enter without evidence, the Crown Prince led people in. On the one hand, he watched the assessment without making a sound, and on the other hand, the soldiers of the Crown Prince's residence secretly investigated various places. Now that the people have been found, there is naturally no need to keep them. He has no interest in these women's struggles.
As the Crown Prince and his entourage walked out, Hai Ling on the high platform suddenly spoke up: "Crown Prince, wait a moment."
All the talking and noise stopped, and Crown Prince Feng Zixiao turned to look at the woman at the top.
The plump woman rushed down from the platform and ran right up to him. She looked up at him with a shy expression, nervously twisting the hem of her clothes with her hands, and spoke softly.
"Your Highness, everything Hailing has done is for your sake. Has Your Highness seen this?"
The woman's shy whispers reached Feng Zixiao's ears, instantly turning any goodwill he had towards her into disgust. A woman who offered no sense of conquest, and a fat one at that, was utterly uninteresting.
A cold and indifferent aura enveloped Feng Zixiao's sculpted features. He pursed his lips, gave Hai Ling a cold glare, and then turned and left.
The rest of the people followed her away. The Left Prime Minister Xi Lingren had a faint glint in his eyes. This girl really dared to do it.
The group quickly left, and inside the assessment hall, the Ye and Jiang families helped their two masters prepare to leave.
Hai Ling turned her head to look at the two groups of people walking towards her, her face instantly turning gloomy and cold, and she uttered bloodthirsty words.
"Put it all down."
He exuded a murderous aura, his eyes gleaming, and a bloodthirsty smile played on his lips as he stared at the person opposite him.
The servants of the Ye and Jiang families spoke tremblingly, "We don't know what Your Highness the Crown Princess means? Our young lady has fainted."
This time, without Hai Ling having to speak, Princess Chang Le, Feng Qian, had already led her people over. She glared coldly at the group of people opposite her and ordered in a deep voice, "How dare you! The Crown Princess ordered you to put them down immediately. There are female healers here who can treat any illness. Their bets haven't been settled yet. Do you think you can just leave?"
Princess Chang Le had spoken, so who dared to disobey? The servants of the Ye family and the Jiang family dared not disobey any longer and immediately put down their two masters.
Princess Chang Le, Feng Qian, glanced at the palace physicians training not far away and said, "Examine the two young ladies immediately and see why they haven't woken up. If you can't cure them, you'll be punished."
As palace maids specializing in treating the imperial concubines, if they couldn't even cure minor ailments, Princess Chang Le would have no grounds for complaint in punishing them.
The female physician, accompanied by two maids, approached and knelt down to examine Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue. Before she could even take the pulses of the two young ladies, she noticed that their faces were deathly pale, their foreheads were covered in cold sweat, their eyelids were twitching slightly, and their hands were clenched tightly. It was clear that the two were feigning unconsciousness.
As a trained female physician in the palace, she naturally knew that the two young ladies in front of her were of noble status. One was the daughter of a general of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the other was the daughter of the current Grand Tutor. Therefore, she had better not say anything.
However, she also had Princess Chang Le watching her back. The princess was always upright, and if she couldn't cure these two people today, she would probably be severely punished immediately. So, although the female physician wanted to protect Ye Xiuya and Jiang Feixue, she dared not be careless because the princess was present. She stopped taking their pulses and quickly got up to report.
"Your Highness, Miss Ye and Miss Jiang did not faint at all; they were just pretending."
As soon as she finished speaking about disciplining the female doctor, Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue instinctively opened their eyes and glared at her fiercely.
Upon seeing the two pairs of wolf-like gazes, the female physician was so frightened that she quickly took two steps back and hid behind Princess Chang Le.
Princess Chang Le, Feng Qian, smiled slightly as she looked at the two women lying on the ground and spoke slowly.
"Today, we're honoring our bet. Even if you're fast asleep, you'll at least learn this dog's bark before you die."
Ye Xiuying and Jiang Feixue were pale and sweating profusely. They dared not oppose the princess and turned their gazes to Hai Ling, wishing they could devour her whole.
If she hadn't spoken up, they would have been dragged out. They never expected this woman to be so heartless as to not allow them to leave.
It seems she's deliberately trying to embarrass them today...
Chapter 49 Dog Barking
Jiang Feixue bit her lower lip, and a few drops of blood spilled out, making her beautiful face appear even paler. Her eyes flashed with green light, and she exuded a strong aura of malevolence, causing some of the young ladies surrounding her to take a few steps back in fear.
Although the two women had malicious eyes, Hai Ling was not afraid of them. She was not easily frightened. Having wielded a scalpel for several years, she was not afraid of even the corpses of the dead, let alone these living people. So, her face was calm, a faint smile playing on her lips, and she spoke slowly and deliberately.
"Does Miss Ye not wish to keep her promise? The daughter of the Grand Tutor is actually a person who breaks her word. I wonder how the Grand Tutor raised her?"
This time, not only Ye Xiuying, but also her father, Grand Tutor Ye, were implicated.
Ye Xiuying's face turned pale, she gasped for breath, and screamed through gritted teeth.
"Alright, I will keep my promise, but please make sure all these people leave, because the bet didn't stipulate that others could watch."
As soon as Ye Xiuying finished speaking, all the young ladies who usually addressed her as "sister" or "brother" dispersed to the back, retreating without waiting for any instructions.