An Jin and I managed to calm her down. General Shen had already gone to Southern Rui’s seating area. Jiang Yunqiao pulled me aside, apologizing for the parrot’s lack of propriety and praising my sister as beautiful and straightforward.
I apologized for my sister wrongly accusing General Shen, but Jiang Yunqiao didn’t mind, saying, “This is the first time I’ve seen Danding so angry. Your sister is indeed extraordinary.”
“The general was angry?” I couldn’t tell; his expression showed no emotion.
Jiang Yunqiao glanced at General Shen and said mysteriously, “He actually spoke to a strange girl, using idioms, and twice at that! I bet he has a good impression of your sister.”
I felt my eyebrow twitch. “Overestimating oneself” and “making a fuss over nothing” were idioms, but how did that relate to having a good impression…
Jiang Yunqiao indirectly asked about the follow-up of the mother-in-law’s adultery-catching drama, hinting that I could consider taking An Jin to develop in Nanrui Country to experience its social welfare. I wryly said I would consider it, and she left satisfied with her attendants.
My little sister tugged at her handkerchief, fuming: “Stupid bird! Stupid blind man! Stupid bird! Stupid blind man!”
An Jin and I looked at each other blankly until the competition’s signal drum was struck, and we hurriedly returned to our seats.
Twelve wooden houses were occupied by machine technique practitioners in white gauze caps and blue-green robes. Their attire was identical, with only slight differences in height and build. Among the contestants, Xiliang, Nanrui, and Qi Country each had four representatives, making it impossible to identify the countries of the contestants.
The competition comprised three rounds involving unlocking increasingly difficult mechanisms and retrieving hidden items, with the fastest time winning. The first round would eliminate six contestants, the second three, and the final round would determine the top three. Two judges monitored the contestants, recording times and striking a bronze gong for completed tasks.
The Crown Prince stood on the high platform, raising the gilded dragon hammer to strike the peace drum, silencing White Crane Plain. The ritual musicians beside the golden bell immediately played the yellow bell, their sounds thunderously resonating.
After the music ended, Minister of Rites Su Quan received the imperial scroll from Crown Prince Xia Zhiyuan and loudly read the competition’s procedures for the first round.
