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Most of these twenty people have never eaten seafood before, so their attitudes towards seafood varied.

Additionally, Lin Yuan’s gourd chicken was visually appealing and adorned with various beautiful petals; some people even ate the tiny bird’s nest.

This bite truly took everyone by surprise.

"Ah! This bird’s nest, it actually has fragrance! It smells like, like flowers!"

Lin Yuan curved her lips into a smile; indeed, the bird’s nest had a floral scent because she had used a little trick while boiling the syrup.

There was nothing extra added to the syrup; the secret was in the pot used for boiling the syrup.

Sun Qian and Gao Xuan exchanged a knowing smile, finally understanding why Lin Yuan had them boil the pot daily for the past half month.

This month, Lin Yuan provided them with different flower petals to boil in the pot—three times a day, each time for an hour, adding more water when required to keep the time strictly consistent.

At first, both were puzzled, but now it seemed that Lin Yuan had already decided on the recipes she’d use in the competition half a month ago.

If it wasn’t for the boiling of flower petals in the pot over the half month, the pot wouldn’t carry the slight fragrance of the petals now.

The crowd was unaware of the mystery, thinking it was the magic of the syrup, but when one person mentioned it, others started to praise endlessly.

Compared to the steamed water eggs with white clams from Drunken Immortal Tower, Lin Yuan’s gourd chicken received overwhelming positive reviews in the moment.

The common folk judges played an extremely important role at this moment; Master Niu watched as everyone praised the gourd chicken lavishly, but no one commented on his white clam eggs, and he started to sweat profusely without even realizing it.

Yan Xiangkai was also somewhat panicked; the white clams that he had taken great pains to transport from Dongling, could it really be inferior to a chicken from Lin Yuan’s hands? Hardly winning one round earlier, just when there was a chance for a successful turnaround, he couldn’t believe this...

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Yan Xiangkai became desperate. Drunken Immortal Tower has been prominent in the Capital for decades, always leading in competitions against rivals; could it be that today it would be defeated by a young girl?

At River View Tower, a certain ugly girl, while eating the oranges He Liansheng had peeled for her, chuckled, "Ah Sheng, you really are smarter than others, knowing that Dong Tian would surely win this match; hehe, my Silver! Haha, I’m going to make a lot of money again!"

He Liansheng’s lips twitched slightly, but there was no smile: "I’m afraid things are not that simple."

The ugly girl, wholly engrossed with the three dishes in Lin Yuan’s hands, didn’t hear what He Liansheng said, leaning on the window sill, swinging her little feet joyfully.

While some rejoiced, others worried.

In the Capital, almost everyone had bet on both sides drawing, but now, Dong Tian’s victory was just within reach!

Just as everyone was wringing their hands and pounding their chests in regret, a figure suddenly stood up from the spectator area.

Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng both arched their eyebrows high. Second Prince Zhao Hongsheng? What does he want to do?

Receiving their suspicious looks, Zhao Hongsheng did not hide his inner pride; he addressed the twenty common folk judges, "Everyone, the results of today’s competition will be out soon.

I hope you all carefully consider the result.

After all, Drunken Immortal Tower is not a small establishment; it has been standing in the Capital for decades with excellent reputation and credibility; surely it isn’t comparable to just any other tavern. Do you agree with my words?"

Having said this, Zhao Hongsheng also raised his eyebrows, scanning each of the twenty common folk judges.

Although he was smiling, the crowd only felt that there was a sharp pin in the smile and gaze of the Second Prince; whenever he looked at them, their entire body would be painfully pricked by this pin.

The crowd looked at each other, feeling like they were sitting on pins and needles, and could only nod in agreement, repeatedly saying, "Agree, agree."

It was called the common folk judge area, but due to various resales of the invitations, how many real common folks were actually sitting there?

They were either rich second generations from wealthy families or children of nobles who loved food and fun.

They were very clear about the identity of Zhao Hongsheng.

Now that even the Second Prince Zhao Hongsheng had spoken in favor of Drunken Immortal Tower, if they still chose to support Dong Tian, wouldn’t they be opposing the Second Prince?

"Who is that, who is that? Why after just a few words so many people are hesitating?"

The ugly girl threw the orange in her hand, pointing at Zhao Hongsheng and shouting loudly.

He Liansheng shifted his gaze slightly, agilely catching the orange that she had carelessly tossed away in anger, gently saying, "He is the Second Prince of Dayong; tell me, why wouldn’t others hesitate?"

The ugly girl was stunned, her thick lips pursed forcefully, and she began sneering disdainfully, "A prince? Just because he’s a prince, he can turn right into wrong at will?

A prince can interfere with other’s decisions?

Who does he think he is? Not just a prince, even the Crown Prince should handle things impartially; he really is shameless!

No, not shameless, but too shameless, thick-skinned! Two-faced!"

It had been a long time since He Liansheng heard the ugly girl ramblingly scold someone; he somewhat enjoyed it and slightly squinted his eyes, his lips trembling slightly, revealing a vague smile.

The ugly girl was momentarily stunned by the sight, forgetting about the competition happening outside.

"Fool!"

He Liansheng raised his hand, precisely touching above her lips where the mole was located, his expression softened tenderly.

"Oh no, stop! It will fall off!"

The Ugly Girl hurriedly pushed his hand away, carefully touching her own mole as if it were a precious little treasure.

He Liansheng helplessly shook his head, gently grabbed her hand and softly said, "Don’t worry, I won’t let your silver be wasted."

"I trust you!"

With a sly tilt of her eyes, the Ugly Girl lifted her hand to her hair, making a wickedly enchanting expression.

On her chubby face full of blackheads and acne, such an expression suddenly popping out, would surely disgust any onlooker, but He Liansheng, as if admiring the world’s most exquisite beauty, could never get enough of her, wishing he could swallow this unattractive creature whole.

If He Lienuo saw the Young Imperial Uncle at this moment, he would undoubtedly get goosebumps all over, waving his arms and shouting as he ran away.

Under the part threat, part coaxing words of Zhao Hongsheng, many judges raised their cards.

Unsurprisingly, all leaned towards the Drunken Immortal Tower.

Could it really be this way?

Lin Yuan glared at the somewhat smug Zhao Hongsheng, she had never seen someone so blatantly shameless before.

In the past, Xia Zheng had always let her manage her own tavern peacefully, but now, she just wanted to compete fairly, yet she had to face threats from Zhao Hongsheng!

Zhao Hongsheng, indeed come with ill intentions today!

But as angry as she was, she still had to do what needed to be done.

Luckily, not many civilians had shown their stance yet, there was still a chance if she tried.

Xia Zheng gave Lin Yuan a reassuring look and was ready to speak out.

However, this time, fate did not give him the chance to play the hero and save the beauty.

"Second Brother, did you come out of the palace today just to cheer for Uncle?"

The person who stole Xia Zheng’s thunder was not someone else but Lin Yuan’s sworn brother, the Third Prince Zhao Hongde.

Upon seeing Zhao Hongde stepping forward, Xia Zheng rolled his eyes, smirked and crossed his arms, leaning back to enjoy the show.

He was indeed curious to know whether the Little White Rabbit had made any progress after such a long period of training.

Talking about which, Zhao Hongsheng had not expected his gentle younger brother to speak up, but since he did, it was much easier to handle than if Xia Zheng had stepped in personally.

After all, Xia Zheng was not one to play by the rules.

"Oh, it’s Third Brother. I indeed came out today to cheer for Uncle. Have you forgotten? Drunken Immortal Tower is a property of the Yan family!"

Strictly speaking, Yan Xiangkai is Zhao Hongsheng’s uncle, but not Zhao Hongde’s, he merely used that term out of respect.

"I see!"

Zhao Hongde smiled gently, nodding and said, "Since Second Brother is here to cheer for Uncle, I too should encourage my sworn sister!"

Without waiting for Zhao Hongsheng to respond, Zhao Hongde had already turned around and smiled at the over dozen people yet to raise their cards, "Ladies and gentlemen, my sworn sister, Princess Pingxi, is a Princess appointed by the Emperor himself, and you all are well aware of the reasons behind this. Since she is the Princess, the adopted daughter of the Empress, and the future daughter-in-law of the General Mansion. Today, she has personally cooked for the future of Dong Tian. I must say, it’s uncertain if everyone here will get such a treat in the future! "

After a pause, Zhao Hongde glanced at Zhao Hongsheng whose face had slightly changed, and continued, "As for today’s competition, I have nothing much to say.

If you all appreciate my sworn sister’s culinary skills, please give her a fair chance to compete.

If not, I won’t force it, but I hope that the standards of Dong Tian will continue to improve, to serve everyone better! "

Compared to the veiled threats in Zhao Hongsheng’s words, Zhao Hongde’s speech was much more sincere, making everyone feel more comfortable, naturally reducing their concerns.

As people say, Lin Yuan’s status is not simple at all. Even if Zhao Hongsheng is powerful, he is just a Prince, who can ensure that he will be the Crown Prince in the future?

Upon thinking this, everyone had their own calculations, and they began to raise their cards one after another.