Hearing this, the people around couldn't help but speculate. As a result, Su Mo'er and Liu Feifei were deep in thought and picked up their pens to write down the answers on their respective desks.
Afterward, someone took the slips of paper to check the answers, and then the new riddle was pronounced, "Looking south, the lonely star's eyebrow moon rises."
The two quickly wrote down their answers again. The riddles continued, with "Fireworks are far away and at ease, the visitor is unexpectedly from Penglai, and the shrimps play in the water from all sides of the mountain stream."
At the beginning, others tried to join in the guessing, but regardless, they couldn't keep up with the speed of Su Mo'er and Liu Feifei. Seeing this, they all recognized that these two were the ones to watch in the competition.
The guessing continued fervently, but Zhao Jinghuan and Du Zhong were watching leisurely.
Zhao Jinghuan asked, "After watching for a while, who do you think will win?"
"Liu Feifei, right?" He thought of the Crown Prince's words, as if hinting, and then said hesitantly, "Or should it be Su Mo'er..."
Hearing this, Zhao Jinghuan turned to look at him with a half-smile.
"...I don't know," Du Zhong replied honestly.
Zhao Jinghuan shook his head and remained silent.
But Du Zhong suddenly asked curiously, "Your Highness, who do you think will win?"
The Crown Prince remained silent for a moment before saying, "No matter the outcome of this competition, Liu Feifei has already lost."
"Oh," Du Zhong said, "How could Miss Liu, from such a noble background..."
As he said this, he seemed to remember something, and then heard the Crown Prince say, "Precisely because she is from a noble background, winning would be normal in the eyes of others. Even so, Su Mo'er has been able to compete with her for so long, what do you think others will think?"
Du Zhong then understood and couldn't help but sigh.
Sometimes, one's background is a foundation, but it can also become a shackle.
For Liu Feifei, losing to Su Mo'er was unbearable, but fighting with Su Mo'er for so long was also a low point for her.
Just then, Zhao Jinghuan suddenly said, "The time has come, the outcome will be decided."
As he said, Liu Feifei was indeed feeling very uneasy at the moment.
At the beginning of the competition with Su Mo'er, she didn't feel that pressure, but as time went on and Su Mo'er continued to answer the riddles nonchalantly and at a steady pace, her jealousy, unwillingness, and even a trace of inexplicable fear gradually spread within her.
These emotions also affected her subsequent performance, making her stress even greater as she emphasized in her mind that she must not lose to Su Mo'er.
When the final gong sounded, although Su Mo'er's face showed some signs of fatigue, her expression remained steady, causing Liu Feifei to almost lose her composure.
After hearing a quiet call in her ear, she took a deep breath and snapped back to her senses, only to realize that she was covered in cold sweat.
Looking at her, Su Mo'er smiled and asked, "Miss Liu, are you feeling unwell? Your complexion doesn't look good."
Liu Feifei coldly glanced at her and then turned to the judicator, asking, "Who won?"
The teacher at the side quietly whispered for a moment, then walked over with a smile and said, "This Miss Liu answered a total of forty-eight riddles, while this Miss Su answered a total of fifty-six, eight more than Miss Liu. Congratulations to Miss Su for winning this round."
The crowd immediately cheered, while Su Mo'er breathed a sigh of relief.
The result was not far from what she had expected, and no matter what, she had emerged victorious.
She graciously thanked everyone and then looked at Liu Feifei, who seemed utterly unconvinced and exclaimed, "This can't be!"
The person keeping score immediately became dissatisfied, "Miss, what do you mean by this? The correctness of the answers to the riddles isn't something that can be determined by just one person, it was all clear and there are so many people watching here. Are you saying you can't handle losing?"
She indeed couldn't handle it, and even more couldn't bear that she had lost to Su Mo'er!
She wanted to say more, but Bao Yue quickly pulled her aside and said urgently, "Miss, you can't do this, His Highness might still be watching around here."
Liu Feifei immediately came to her senses, took a deep breath, and looked at Su Mo'er, gritting her teeth, "This time, I'll admit you won!"
Su Mo'er didn't dwell on her current choice of words and simply smiled, "Miss Liu, thank you for your concession."
At this time, Li Gonggong stepped forward, smiling at Su Mo'er and said, "Congratulations to Miss Su for winning, so this award from His Highness is now yours. You'd better hold on to it."
Su Mo'er didn't immediately understand his deep meaning but graciously accepted the jade pendant, feeling as if she could sense the warmth of its previous owner.
"Thank you, Duke Li." She bowed, "Please convey my thanks to His Highness, Duke Li."
"That's not necessary." Duke Li immediately smiled with narrowed eyes, "His Highness has instructed that after Miss Su wins, he would like to meet with Miss Su."
"Oh?" Su Mo'er was surprised, "His Highness wants to see me?"
Duke Li nodded, "Miss Su, please follow me."
"This…" Su Mo'er was momentarily taken aback. She had always thought that she could only meet the Crown Prince at the tavern today. She had not expected to win the competition and receive this opportunity.
She glanced at the side where Yang Momo was and the latter nodded with a smile, "Hurry, don't keep His Highness waiting."
Su Mo'er let out a breath, nodded, and after giving a bow to Yang Momo, she followed Duke Li out.
Seeing this, everyone was envious, and some even turned red with jealousy.
Especially Liu Feifei, like Su Mo'er, she also thought that Su Mo'er's chance to meet the Crown Prince alone was due to winning the competition.
Liu Feifei couldn't help but tremble with jealousy. This opportunity should have been hers! It should have been hers!
She stared at the figure of Su Mo'er leaving with red eyes, and beside her, Bao Yue, fearing that her strangeness might be noticed by others, quickly advised, "Miss, do not forsake long-term benefits for momentary gains. Once tonight has passed, Su Mo'er will not be able to bounce back."
Liu Feifei's emotions gradually calmed down, and she asked in a low voice, "Is everything ready on the elder brother's side?"
Bao Yue immediately replied, "Miss, rest assured, everything is prepared, just waiting for the right moment."
...
Su Mo'er raised her watery eyes and called out to Duke Li, "What does His Highness want to see me for?"
Duke Li teased, "Miss, don't be in a hurry. You'll know once you have met His Highness."
They had not gone far when they saw the Crown Prince standing in the pavilion.
Su Mo'er couldn't help but be surprised. It turned out that the Crown Prince was so close to them, and they hadn't noticed.
She went forward, lifted the curtain of her hat, and bowed elegantly, "I give my greetings to His Highness, long live the Crown Prince."
Zhao Jinghuan's gaze stayed on her. He saw her plain attire, but it delineated her body's curves perfectly. Her every move exuded a charm that he had never noticed before.
Under the moonlight, she was the only colorful one, captivating his attention.
After a moment, he nodded lightly, "No need for such formality."
Only then did Su Mo'er straighten up, looked at Du Zhong, and called out, "Master Du."
Du Zhong nodded with a stern face, but he secretly examined her from head to toe.
Zhao Jinghuan said, "I have some free time. Will you accompany stroll with me?"
Su Mo'er was surprised, but naturally agreed, "It's my honor to accompany His Highness."
As they were talking, they walked along the path. After a while, they noticed that Du Zhong and Duke Li were following behind. Zhao Jinghuan couldn't help but pause.
Su Mo'er didn't understand and stopped too.
Then they saw Zhao Jinghuan walk again, and the people behind him moved, and when he stopped, they stopped too.
Zhao Jinghuan turned around, expressionless, "That's enough, you don't need to serve here. You can leave."
Du Zhong said, "Tonight there are many people, and subordinates must protect Your Highness."
Zhao Jinghuan said, "Can you beat me?"
Du Zhong, "Your Highness is strong in martial arts. How can subordinates be your match?"
Zhao Jinghuan, "If so, do you still need to guard? Step back."
"... " Du Zhong's face reddened, "The routes outside have many dangers..."
Before he could finish, he was forcibly pulled away by Duke Li, "His Highness is going, we will take our leave."
After they had gone far, Du Zhong broke free from Duke Li. His face didn't look good, "Little Li, your temper is out of control, dare to lay hands on me!"
He gave him a glance and snorted, "I won't bother with you for now, we'll settle the score next time!"
Seeing that he was about to run back, Duke Li said, "I'm telling you, General Du, what are you planning to do?"
Du Zhong raised his eyebrows, "What else? Of course, to watch over His Highness! You know that His Highness is not familiar with the route, what if he gets lost? Are you responsible?"
Duke Li had a dark face, "General Du, are you really not getting it, or pretending not to? Can't you see His Highness's intentions, wanting to have a private conversation with Miss Su? You, as a big rough person, where's your sense? Can't you understand a little?"
"You..." Du Zhong widened his eyes, "Do you mean that His Highness really has feelings for Miss Su?"
"Do I need to say that?" Duke Li had an expression of 'you don't understand this, right?' "What kind of person is His Highness? You know that, but he has done so much for Miss Su, does he need to say more?"
Du Zhong hesitated, "But, after all, His Highness is not familiar with the paths..."
Duke Li dismissed it, "You don't need to worry about that. His Highness came out several days in advance, and walked the route back and forth several times, just to not get lost tonight. And besides, even if something happens, there is Miss Su. If it's not Miss Su, there are also undercover guards, there shouldn't be a big problem. Let's not worry about it."
Du Zhong said, "His Highness is no longer the Crown Prince I knew."
Duke Li patted his shoulder in agreement, and Du Zhong cried out in surprise, "Don't you touch me like that, I warn you, next time, if you have anything to say, speak with me, don't just lay hands on me for no reason..."
Duke Li rolled his eyes, "Who cares about you, you fool!"
...
Everyone has left, Su Mo'er called out to His Highness.
Zhao Jinghuan looked at her and said, "It's okay, let's go."
Su Mo'er couldn't figure out what he meant, so she could only respond and follow along. But she was feeling uneasy, wondering how her son was doing.
At one moment, she hoped that she wouldn't get lost again while walking with His Highness.
But then she thought that Li Gonggong and the others wouldn't just leave it like that, so she felt a little relieved.
As they walked, there was a moment of silence, and Su Mo'er smiled and said, "By the way, I haven't thanked His Highness yet."
Zhao Jinghuan replied, "Thank for what?"
...
...