The mistress is not a cannon fodder, the cold prince falls in love with her every night

Chapter 237 Guessing Lantern Riddles

The lantern riddle game was held in a spacious pavilion, with men and women on either side, separated by a screen. A palace lady was giving the riddles.

Anyone who answers a question correctly will get one point.

Xu Jing looked up and saw Prince Su among them.

In addition, Lin Wantang was also sitting at the last seat in the ladies' section, concentrating on scribbling on a piece of paper.

"go!"

Xu Jing straightened her hair and clothes, walked in with confidence, and found a seat in the women's section.

She was determined to surpass Lin Wantang and let everyone know that she, Xu Jing, was the one with both talent and beauty who was worthy of being the principal wife.

As soon as he sat down, the female official asked a question.

Xu Jing smiled softly. This level of skill was truly effortless for her. She picked up her pen and wrote the answer on a piece of paper, then raised her hand to signal a palace maid to collect it.

When she finished writing, she looked back and saw Lin Wantang still writing and revising on the paper. The palace maid who was collecting the answers passed by her, took a look and couldn't help shaking her head slightly.

Xu Jing couldn't help but feel relaxed both physically and mentally.

Lin Wantang, the fifth daughter of the Lin family, has always kept a low profile. She never attends any banquets or poetry gatherings, and rarely appears in public. People know very little about her.

Now it seems that apart from her decent appearance, she is really nothing special.

As I was thinking this, I heard the female official in front of me sing along:

"Four people answered correctly in the women's section, and five in the men's section."

……

The female official continued to ask questions. This question was more difficult than the previous one, but it was not difficult for Xu Jing at all.

Each subsequent question became more challenging, and fewer and fewer people answered correctly. By the end, Xu Jing had to think for a moment before writing down her answer. In the end, only she and the man were still answering, seemingly neck and neck.

The female official looked at the situation on the field and said with a smile:

"It seems that today's winner will be between the two of you. The difficulty will increase further from now on."

Shuanghong secretly checked the men's area opposite, then whispered happily in Xu Jing's ear:

"Miss, it's His Royal Highness Prince Su. I've seen him answering questions without stopping. Miss and His Royal Highness are truly a match made in heaven. If both of them win first place in this pavilion today, it will be a story that will be sung by the people one day. It will definitely be written into a legendary story and sung in restaurants and teahouses!"

Xu Jing blushed and glanced at her.

"Stop talking so much."

After a pause, he asked again:

"Take a look at how many questions Miss Lin Wu answered correctly?"

Shuanghong covered her mouth and laughed, "Don't worry, young lady. Every time a palace maid passes by Miss Lin Wu's desk, she always returns empty-handed. I've been counting, and she hasn't answered a single question."

Hearing this, Xu Jing raised the corners of her lips and smiled contemptuously.

Through the screen, she could vaguely see the figure of Prince Su on the male side. She vaguely remembered that she had occasionally met Prince Su on Taiye Lake during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

At the time, she paid no attention to Prince Su, and was only thinking about attracting Prince Jing's attention so that she could successfully marry into Prince Jing's mansion. Thinking about it now, it was really ridiculous.

Fortunately, she was not destined to die, and the matter between her and Prince Jing was delayed again and again, so she turned a disaster into a blessing and avoided the Prince Jing case.

Looking at the current situation in the court, the crown prince position will definitely be between Prince Kang and Prince Su. Prince Su is still unmarried, and if she can become the principal wife, she will definitely help Prince Su with strategies to advance to a higher level.

In the future, she will be the queen who rules the country.

This is the future and destiny that Xu Jing deserves.

Xu Jing, with great ambition, secretly glanced over there and saw that the male guest, Prince Su, was bored and copying the art of war.

A few days ago, he was picking on Concubine Jiang again, saying that Lin Wantang was a stutterer who stuttered when nervous. He had thought that his mother would just decline the marriage, but Concubine Jiang said nonchalantly:

"Have you forgotten what I, your mother, am best at? Stuttering is not a terrible thing. After you get married, your mother will give Miss Lin acupuncture every day and will definitely be able to cure it."

That unquestionable attitude strangled Prince Su's little plan in the cradle.

Concubine Jiang also gave him a strict order: today is the Lantern Festival, he can either choose two concubines himself, or Concubine Jiang will designate two for him.

He turned his head to look at Sun Zhonghuai who was still answering questions beside him. It was rare that Zhonghuai also came to the palace today. Apart from looking a little thinner, his expression was warm and there was nothing wrong with him.

"Zhong Huai, let's find a place to have a drink later? Su Zhe happened to be here today too. We haven't gotten together for a long time."

Prince Su moved his butt and tested cautiously.

"No."

Sun Zhonghuai quickly wrote down the answer to the riddle the female official had asked on a piece of paper, and turned his head to look at a woman standing outside the pavilion.

"I promised Miss Shen that I would help her win the game. We'll go over there and match the cards later."

As soon as he finished speaking, Miss Shen over there also looked over affectionately and smiled at Sun Zhonghuai.

"Who is that?"

Prince Su felt as if he had been hit by a blunt force.

"Your Highness is choosing a concubine today, and I am here with a mission. That is the blind date arranged for me by my grandmother, and we will get married after I pass the Spring Examination." Sun Zhonghuai smiled and waved over there.

"..."

Prince Su's face was livid, and he wanted to say something but couldn't. Men and women should marry when they are old enough, and Zhong Huai, like himself, could not escape the arrangements of family and fate.

At this moment, the leading female official announced:

"These two young ladies and young man are truly equally talented. I declare them both first place. The prize is a pair of jade pendants, one for each of them."

Xu Jing couldn't contain her excitement, she stood up and walked forward, holding up her skirt, but saw Prince Su sitting there in a daze. Not only did he not stand up to receive the award, he was also staring outside the water pavilion with a gloomy face.

Following his gaze, Xu Jing saw a bright and beautiful woman.

At the same time, Sun Zhonghuai was also surprised to see Xu Jing.

"It's you?"

"It's you?"

The two said in unison.

The female official stepped forward, holding the jade pendant. "Miss Xu and Master Sun are both exceptionally talented. This competition was evenly matched and truly spectacular. This jade pendant is a fitting gift for them both."

"no need."

Xu Jing picked up the chips from the tray but ignored the jade pendant. "Young Master Sun is so talented that I'm ashamed of myself. Today was just a stroke of luck. I'll give you this jade pendant. Shuanghong, let's go."

She and Sun Zhonghuai had discussed marriage before, and she was too busy avoiding suspicion in such an occasion to dare to have anything to do with him. She bowed, turned her head and looked back at Prince Su affectionately, then hurried away.

"Accepted."

Sun Zhonghuai also left with the chips and jade pendant.

The people in the pavilion gradually left, leaving only Lin Wantang still hunched over the table drawing.

The maid beside her laughed and said:

"Miss, everyone has left and you haven't finished painting yet!"

"Two more!"

Lin Wantang added two strokes, holding up the rice paper and said proudly:

"One turtle, two turtles, three turtles, hahaha, look at my drawing, does it look like it?"

"Miss, you are a very good turtle, but the maid just now kept shaking her head at you. I guess Concubine Jiang looks down on you even more now."

"What I want is that she looks down on me."

Lin Wantang threw the pen in her hand, stood up with her skirt lifted, and stretched her arms and legs in the pavilion. She had been sitting for too long and her legs were numb.

"Let's go find a place to sleep."

As soon as Lin Wantang left, Xu Jing, who had been hiding in the shadows, came out. She walked into the pavilion and picked up the turtles that Lin Wantang had drawn, looking thoughtful.

Shuang Hong said, "Miss, I never thought that Miss Lin Wu actually didn't want to marry into Prince Su's Mansion."

"Wouldn't that be better?"

Xu Jing raised the corner of her mouth and smiled: "Since she doesn't want to go to Prince Su's Mansion, I will help her and fulfill her wish."