25. Used as a Shield
After nearly four hours of competition, the winners of the various skills finally emerged. Ye Ying's results were somewhat inferior to last year's. Although she later strenuously performed a Fairy Dance, she barely managed to tie with Princess Qixia for first place. However, her qin playing was rejected by Third Young Master Feng, renowned as the Capital City's finest qin player, and she lost to Liu Ruyun, the young lady of the Liu Family, thus ranking second. Afterwards, she also achieved third place in poetry, but it was difficult to conceal Ye Ying's aggrieved and defeated expression. In contrast, Princess Qixia, despite being an outsider, shone brilliantly in the subsequent competitions, achieving third place in qin artistry, first in calligraphy, and second in chess. Consequently, with two first-place, one second-place, and one third-place finish, Princess Qixia became the champion of this Hundred Flowers Festival.
