Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 316 There's something fishy going on! There's definitely something fishy going on!

She had completely forgotten that Gu Qingyue had won both the flute playing and painting competitions that afternoon.

Hu Shi, standing to the side, drank her tea expressionlessly, but if you looked closely, a barely perceptible hint of schadenfreude flashed across her lips.

The two daughters-in-law sitting on the other side of Liu's family exchanged a glance and then lowered their heads.

Even the eldest daughter-in-law, who was eloquent and adept at navigating social situations, dared not provoke Liu Shi any further.

Wei, who had just returned to his seat, couldn't help but twitch his lips. This little sister's fighting power was quite formidable!

Gu Qingyue searched among the many talented men and women engrossed in writing poetry and finally found a spot.

Just as I picked up my pen, a somewhat familiar voice rang out beside me.

"Sister Qingyue, you're writing poetry too?" Liu Zichan's excited voice was particularly loud from the small table on the left.

"That idiot!" Gu Qingyue cursed inwardly.

But she can't curse. That one shout just now turned the heads of everyone nearby who were engrossed in writing around. She's being stared at by countless people now, so how can she curse now?

She needs to maintain her image, you know.

Gu Qingyue nodded helplessly and buried herself in choosing a calligraphy brush.

Liu Zichan, who had just been extremely excited, saw Gu Qingyue start writing and ignoring him. He awkwardly touched his nose, realizing that he had been a little too excited.

However, he was still very happy to be able to sit next to Qingyue. This must be fate!

Qiu Lin and Dong Zhiyuan, who were not far away: That's shameless!

Gu Qingyue didn't care what kind of story the man next to her was imagining; she was currently lost in thought.

Saying she was daydreaming wouldn't be accurate; she was deep in thought.

She definitely can't write poetry. Even if she had completed her master's degree in her previous life, she still couldn't write poetry; she just lacked the talent.

But it shouldn't be too much to borrow some poems from elementary school to university, right?

They're forcing us into this!

After thinking it over and over, Gu Qingyue picked up her pen and wrote a poem on a piece of paper, then asked Zhu Qing to quickly take it to the eunuch.

Half an hour later.

Headmaster Lin, Zhang Xubai, Princess Pei, and the Eldest Princess finally arrived late.

In Princess Pei's hand was a list, while behind her two maids carried a purple-gold lacquered tray containing the poems of all the noble ladies and gentlemen that evening.

From the VIP seats, Pei Yunshan spoke calmly: "After unanimous evaluation by our four judges, considering aspects such as theme, conception, artistic conception, and personal understanding, combined with today's talent performances, we have selected this year's Top Ten Talented Women and Top Ten Talented Men of Beijing. The rankings are now announced..."

As for what Princess Pei said at the end, Gu Qingyue didn't quite hear it. She only heard her own name on the list of the top ten talented women in the capital. Uh, she was third!

Is it really necessary to be so frivolous?

She felt like a million alpacas were stampeding through her mind—there was something fishy going on! There was definitely something fishy going on! Could it be because of her identity?

She didn't participate in the talent shows yesterday or this morning, okay? How could she only get third place?

Or, if there was no foul play and she truly deserved third place, then... Gu Qingyue stroked her chin. Did the princess really not resort to underhanded tactics?

Next, the poems of the ten most talented men and women were posted behind the main seating area for everyone to appreciate.

Gu Qingyue wanted to cover her face.

"At the time, I only remembered entering deep into the mountains, the green stream leading to the cloud-shrouded forest several times. In spring, peach blossoms bloom everywhere, making it impossible to discern where the immortal spring could be found. Truly wonderful, wonderful indeed! Entering the mountains in spring to seek the Peach Blossom Spring?"

A man in a blue robe stood before Gu Qingyue's poem and recited it with great intonation, his tone revealing his admiration.

Because of his praise, men and women who had just been quite dissatisfied with the ranking of the top ten talented women and men immediately surrounded him.

Gu Qingyue wanted to cover her face again.

The poem is actually quite long, but she particularly liked these few lines at the time. Today, she just borrowed them, and surprisingly, she even won third place among the top ten talented women in the capital. She really feels guilty!

"Whose poem is this?" A group of people gathered around, and a man's voice rang out, but he immediately added, "Gu Qingyue? Is she the third young lady of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?"

The previously noisy crowd fell silent for a moment, then immediately the murmurs grew louder.

Gu Qingyue quickly seized the opportunity to slip away.

Leading Jiang Wan, she walked briskly into the garden, feeling a bit irritated!

Gu Qingyue, the invincible top agent in her previous life, now needs to rely on other people's poems to complete her mission here?

That's not good. Don't do it again next time. Once is enough.

While she was lost in thought, a tall, blue figure suddenly emerged from the woods beside her, startling Gu Qingyue.

If she hadn't been skilled in martial arts, she would have almost run into it.

"Miss Gu," the man's gentle voice rang out.

Gu Qingyue squinted and looked, and lo and behold, this was the Fifth Prince, Mu Yunjing.

"Fifth Prince," Gu Qingyue bowed slightly in greeting, inwardly cursing at his recklessness. If he wasn't waiting for her here, then he must have something extremely urgent to do.

"Miss Gu is here to stroll around the garden?" Mu Yunjing stared intently at the woman in front of him.

Under the hazy lights, the closer you get, the more breathtakingly beautiful it becomes!

Her phoenix eyes were sparkling, her skin was as white as snow, and especially her moist lips, pink and translucent, made him unable to resist the urge to kiss her.

"Yes, it's noisy over there. I came over to take a walk and calm my mind." So, you all should leave now. I don't want to talk to ordinary people right now.

The key is that now whenever I see the Fifth Prince, I think of his confidante, Miss Yueji, and Pei Jiu, the commander of the secret guards who was captured by the Moon Shadow Pavilion.

A little...guilty? No, actually a little...smug!

Hehe, if you knew that all your arrangements outside Nanchong Pass were destroyed by me, I wonder if you would still be as elegant and dignified as you are now?

Oh, right, that Yue Ji is actually Yue Zhiqi's person, which is very interesting. I wonder if the Fifth Prince knows the truth?

"Your poems are clever and natural, quite interesting. In my opinion, you deserve to be ranked first among the ten most talented women." After saying this, a gentler smile appeared on his handsome face. Gu Qingyue smiled politely, her lips twitching slightly.

"Thank you, but I am only a woman of limited knowledge and can only recognize a few characters. You are too kind to accept this," Gu Qingyue said modestly.

Mu Yunjing smiled and said, "Next month, this prince intends to hold a spring outing and garden party. I wonder if Miss Gu would do me the honor?"

Gu Qingyue: Your sudden act of humility as a prince makes me very uneasy!

"Thank you for the invitation, Fifth Prince. If there's no urgent matter, I will certainly go. If I'm not available, I certainly won't go."

Back at the Spring Appreciation Banquet, the dinner had officially begun.

As soon as Gu Qingyue sat down, Madam Wei came over and said, "Congratulations, Yue'er, on winning the title of the talented woman of the capital."

Gu Qingyue forced a smile. Could she refuse?

"Thank you, sister-in-law," she said, picking up her chopsticks. Before she could even touch the food on the table, a warm sensation came from her left arm.

Gu Qingyue immediately flicked her sleeve to block the scalding soup. Instead of burning her arm, the soup was deflected onto the maid, who cried out "Ouch!" and fell to the ground. The soup pot in her hand also fell to the ground with a "thud" and shattered into pieces.

Gu Qingyue frowned and looked at her sleeve, which was soaked and had a few greasy mushroom slices stuck to it.

Damn it! Don't let her know it was intentional, or she'll beat someone up!

Such a commotion naturally alerted the people at the banquet. Madam Wei hurriedly stood up and went to Gu Qingyue's side to check on her. Fortunately, she was not injured.

However, these greasy clothes are definitely not suitable for wearing.

"What's going on?" came the voice of a maidservant beside the princess.

Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound and saw the maid sitting on the ground, grimacing and crying in pain. The crowd began to whisper among themselves.