Others want to advance but can't, but she can't even give up, which shows that this group of people dug a deep and big trap for her!
"You are the daughter of the Prime Minister!" Qin Ruoyan shouted indignantly.
"The Prime Minister's daughter is still a human being. In this competition, she is just an ordinary player!" Shen Lixue retorted coldly, her smiling gaze fixed on Su Yuting. She had jumped into the trap she had dug herself, yet she could still remain so calm. Her composure was truly remarkable!
“The champion is Sister Su. This competition can end now. We can open the box and take a look at the surprise!” Shen Lixue said to Su Yuting, noticing that her face had turned even paler. However, she did not panic. Her gaze narrowed slightly. Could it be that Su Yuting had another trick up her sleeve?
"Miss Shen has forfeited, so Miss Su is the champion of this competition. I will personally open the box and let everyone see the mysterious surprise!" The chief judge, who was in his fifties, chuckled and walked towards the box.
Shen Lixue smiled coldly. No wonder Su Yuting was so calm. The chief judge was her person and could switch the surprise contents in the box.
"Wait!" Shen Lixue stepped forward, blocking the chief judge: "Everyone has been eagerly anticipating the mysterious surprise in the box. It would be better to have someone of high status read it aloud. What do you think, judges?"
The chief judge chuckled and said, "It's just a bottle of miracle drug, as everyone knows, there's no need to bother others!" With that, he reached out to step past Shen Lixue and take the box.
Shen Lixue reached out and blocked the judge's arm, coldly saying, "Did the judge put the surprise in the box there?"
The chief judge paused, then shook his head: "No, I'm not a member of the Jiaowei Qin Workshop..."
"If it isn't, how do the judges know that it definitely contains the miracle drug?" Shen Lixue retorted coldly.
"This?" The judge looked somewhat embarrassed. He couldn't very well tell Shen Lixue that he was implied by Su Yuting and would announce that the surprise inside was a miracle drug: "That's what everyone else is saying."
"What others say may not be true!" Shen Lixue stood in front of the box, her cold gaze sweeping over the crowd nearby: "It's more reliable to have someone of high status open the box!"
Shen Lixue protected the box, preventing others from accessing it. Judging from her expression, she wanted to find an outsider to announce the surprise. Thinking of the mysterious surprise inside the exquisite box, Su Yuting's heart sank. The true contents of the surprise must never be announced in public!
With a cold glint in her eyes, Su Yuting rushed toward the box with her slender body, reaching out to grab it. To outsiders, it appeared as if she was hurrying toward Shen Lixue.
Shen Lixue smiled coldly, and the silver needle in her hand flew up, pushing the box a distance away. Su Yuting missed.
Qin Ruoyan reacted quickly, taking advantage of the moment when Su Yuting blocked Shen Lixue, and rushed towards the box. Shen Lixue swung her hand and threw the broken stringed instrument at Qin Ruoyan, which hit Qin Ruoyan's arm directly. Qin Ruoyan was a beat too slow, and Shen Lixue took the opportunity to snatch the box.
"Oh, beauties are fighting! This young master will go and mediate!" Nangong Xiao smiled smugly, lightly waving his folding fan, and floated out of the window, landing directly on the high platform.
Dongfang Heng quickly withdrew his attack, and Nangong Xiao went to help, so he didn't need to make a move for the time being.
Taking advantage of Shen Lixue's preoccupation with Qin Ruoyan, Su Yuting's eyes flashed coldly, and she unleashed a fierce attack aimed at Shen Lixue's back. Before Shen Lixue could turn around to parry, a sharp palm wind suddenly appeared, shattering her attack and forcing her to stagger back several steps.
After regaining her footing with a start, Su Yuting felt a slight numbness in her arms. She looked up at Nangong Xiao, who was calmly waving his folding fan and grinning in an infuriating way. A cold glint flashed in her beautiful eyes. It was all his fault for ruining her plans time and time again. She said angrily, "What are you doing meddling in girls' squabbles?"
"Hey, ladies, stop fighting! If you get your faces all bruised, you won't look pretty anymore..." A sudden punch rang out, silencing Nangong Xiao's words. He dodged quickly; the fist grazed his cheek and missed. When he turned around, he was furious, glaring at Qin Ruoyan with hatred: "How dare you slap this young master's face!"
Enraged, he was about to confront Qin Ruoyan when Shen Lixue stopped him: "The Prince of Yunnan is of noble birth, so why don't you read out this mysterious surprise?"
She exchanged a few blows with Su Yuting and discovered that Su Yuting's martial arts skills were unfathomable. Qin Ruoyan's provocation of Nangong Xiao was clearly an attempt to lure him away so that Su Yuting could snatch the box.
Let Nangong Xiao announce this mysterious surprise to everyone, and see how arrogant they can still be.
"I am deeply honored to receive such a privilege!" Nangong Xiao snapped his folding fan shut and reached out to take the box with a smug look on his face.
Su Yuting frowned slightly and objected: "The prince's status is indeed very noble, but there may be people of even higher status present. It's a bit unreasonable for you to look for Nangong Xiao instead of the most noble person here!"
Nangong Xiao glared angrily at Su Yuting: "This place is full of ordinary people, find someone with a higher status than me!"
Knowing that Su Yuting was deliberately making things difficult and trying to delay the time, Shen Lixue remained calm and smiled slightly as she looked towards a private room: "I wonder if Your Highness would be willing to move to the high platform and read this mysterious surprise to everyone?"
What?! His Highness the Crown Prince is here too! Su Yuting was taken aback. Following Shen Lixue's gaze, she saw the Crown Prince, Prince Zhan, the Fifth Prince, and Prince An all there. She had been so focused on scheming against Shen Lixue that she hadn't even noticed their arrival...
Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Crown Prince Dongfang Hong floated down onto the high platform, took the box from Nangong Xiao's hand, and looked at Shen Lixue: "Since the Princess Consort has invited me, I will naturally not refuse!"
Dongfang Hong is the future emperor, second only to the emperor, above all others. Su Yuting couldn't find a reason to refuse him opening the box. Her anxious gaze watched as Dongfang Heng's handsome hand gripped the iron lock and, with a slight force, the sturdy lock broke instantly and fell to the ground.
Upon opening the box, the depressed Nangong Xiao hurriedly leaned over to take a look. Inside was not some miraculous medicine, but an ordinary piece of paper, neatly folded. Gently unfolding it, a few lines of text appeared before his eyes.
"The winner of the zither competition will marry the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang as a concubine!" Dongfang Heng read the contents of the paper word by word, his face instantly darkening. This was the real surprise; there was only shock, no joy. No wonder Shen Lixue had voluntarily abstained.
The crowd erupted in uproar. Wasn't a surprise supposed to be a cure-all? How did it suddenly turn into an order for a marriage alliance?
Su Yuting's face was deathly pale, her lips moved but she couldn't say anything. Her slender body swayed precariously, as if a gentle breeze could blow her over. Her small hands clenched into fists and trembled slightly. Shen Lixue hadn't fallen for her trap, but rather wanted to use herself as bait to lure her into it. She was truly ruthless and cruel.
"Congratulations, Miss Su! You've become the Crown Prince's concubine in Southern Xinjiang. Your status is very noble. I'm sure it won't be long before I'm calling you Concubine Su!"
The scheme was set up by Su Yuting, and she ultimately reaped what she sowed. She hated it most when people mentioned the title of "Consort of the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang." Shen Lixue stepped forward with a smile to congratulate her, just to provoke her and remind her that she had lost, lost miserably. Her scheme against others had backfired, and she had ended up getting herself caught in the crossfire as well.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, a special surprise was announced: Su Yuting had been given the title of concubine of the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang. Just thinking about the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang's plain and unremarkable face and his strangely repulsive smell made her feel nauseous. If it weren't for dealing with Shen Lixue, she would never have cooperated with the brother and sister.
"Your Highness!" Trapped in the trap she herself had set, Su Yuting was unable to break free, so she placed her hopes on Crown Prince Dongfang Hong. The Emperor and the Duke of Wen both hoped that she would marry the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince also had feelings for her and would not leave her to die.
Su Yuting looked at Dongfang Hong with tears in her eyes and deep affection, but Dongfang Hong remained expressionless, glancing at her indifferently and saying coldly, "Congratulations, Consort Su!"
One sentence, like ice water in the twelfth lunar month, instantly extinguished the last glimmer of hope in her heart, and further confirmed her identity as the concubine of the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang, casting her into the deepest abyss!
Su Yuting stared at Dongfang Hong in shock and disbelief: "You don't care about me at all?"
Chapter 102: The Scumbag Woman Digs Her Own Grave
“Miss Su is already a concubine of the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang. Please be mindful of your status!” Dongfang Hong lowered his eyelids, his deep voice devoid of emotion, as if reminding or warning Su Yuting not to overstep the bounds.
"Good, good, good!" Su Yuting looked at Dongfang Hong and said "good" three times in a row. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her choked voice revealed unspeakable sadness and despair.
Shen Lixue's gaze narrowed slightly. Su Yuting was in trouble and asked His Highness the Crown Prince for help, but he showed no intention of helping her at all. Was he angry with Su Yuting, or did he simply not like her?
"Where is the manager of Jiaowei Qin Workshop?" Ignoring Su Yuting's plight, Nangong Xiao lightly waved his folding fan, a smug smile on his devilish face, his wicked gaze peering through the wide-open door into the Qin Workshop's main hall.
"Here he comes!" An old man strode out of the hall, approached Nangong Xiao, smiled politely, and said respectfully, "What are your orders, Young Master?"
"The zither competition has ended, the champion has been decided, and the mysterious surprise has been revealed. Where are the ice-string zither and the ten thousand taels of gold?" One of the three prizes of the competition has been revealed, and Nangong Xiao also wants to see the other two.