Because the judges were impatient, Serena Feng's "work" quickly made the rounds. After the seven judges glanced at it in a rush, they only had time to marvel that one could write on rice, without examining Serena's calligraphy closely.
Except for Ninth Royal Uncle, the judges wanted to look again, but he kept a firm hold on Serena's "work" and refused to let go. The other six exchanged glances and tacitly gave up trying to wrest it from him.
Serena's script wasn't especially striking—upright regular script, almost like printed text—but precisely because it was written on rice, it unwittingly earned her extra points.
Soul Bound to All Lands, Love Shared with No One.
Tranquility Cultivates Far Reach, Detachment Clarifies Aspiration.
Both are eight characters: one Yan-style, one regular script. It's genuinely hard to judge. The six judges began to discuss. Master Yuan Xi said Serena's script was exquisite, so she should have the edge.
Old Master Yan said Wendy's calligraphy had integrity, while Serena's had style—hard to compare.
The three calligraphers from Jixia Academy said Wendy's work was true calligraphy, but Serena's was hard to judge: if her small regular script were on paper, it wouldn't stand out, but on rice, it's a different story.
Terrence of Lyndaria said, 'This is a calligraphy contest; it's not about cleverness or style, but the characters themselves. Since both sides wrote eight characters, let's judge solely based on these eight.'
"Prince Terrence's suggestion is reasonable," the three Jixia Academy calligraphers echoed, which signaled their agreement that Wendy had won.
Old Master Yan and Master Yuan Xi said nothing. As great scholars, they had to maintain dignity and composure; even if they favored someone, they couldn't make it obvious. Terrence knew this, so he deliberately goaded them.
Terrence didn't actually care whether Wendy won or lost; what mattered was Reid Yale. Reid wanted Wendy to win, so Terrence did him this favor, making Reid owe him more and more. Eventually, even if Reid didn't want to, he'd have to take Terrence's side.
Terrence bypassed Ninth Royal Uncle and went straight to the three Jixia Academy calligraphers to settle the outcome between Wendy and Serena.
"Ninth Royal Uncle, since you have no objections, I'll announce the result of the calligraphy contest," Terrence said politely, seeking Nolan's opinion. With four of the seven judges already siding with Wendy, Nolan seemed powerless to change the outcome.
"The result? Who said the contest is over? Didn't you notice that besides the eight characters 'Soul Bound to All Lands, Love Shared with No One' on the rice, there are also characters at both ends?" Ninth Royal Uncle leisurely pushed the small brocade box toward Old Master Yan.
'Serena Awaits!' Serena had actually written a character at each end of the rice grain. What clever handiwork. Old Master Yan wanted to say: Ninth Royal Uncle, how do your eyes work? Such tiny characters, and without a crystal lens to magnify them, you still spotted them. You managed to find a flower in a grain of rice—amazing.
"It's true, there are characters at both ends of the rice grain." Master Yuan Xi shifted the rice to make it easier to magnify the writing with the crystal lens.
Uh... Serena was stunned. Did she really write characters at both ends of the rice grain?
Thinking back, Serena nodded hard. She probably did—when practicing, she'd written at both ends of the rice. She hadn't expected that, picking at random, she'd choose two grains with extra characters. The four-character phrase was a bizarre coincidence.
She remembered writing 'Waiting Allure, Serena's Wish' on the rice, but somehow it ended up as 'Serena Awaits.' Well, it's pointless to explain now.
Serena sat silently, her eyes lifting just enough to meet Ninth Royal Uncle's thoughtful gaze. Serena calmly closed her eyes and turned away.
Ninth Royal Uncle was overthinking it. Those twelve characters really had nothing to do with him; 'Soul Bound to All Lands, Love Shared with No One' was just Serena's feelings at the time.
She'd originally considered writing 'Within four seas, all men are brothers; distant lands feel as neighbors,' but decided it was too showy. The stringless zither incident hadn't faded yet—Serena truly didn't want to be labeled a 'great talent.' She couldn't handle that.
Faced with Serena's silent refusal, Ninth Royal Uncle felt a sharp pain in his chest. His already pale face turned paper-white. Knowing his condition wasn't good and unwilling to spar with Terrence, he quietly took a breath and cut straight to the point, leaving Terrence no room for debate.
"Everyone has appreciated Serena's calligraphy. Now we begin judging the winner. To ensure fairness, we'll use anonymous voting to decide the result."
Soon, the eunuch will distribute slips of paper and charcoal. Each slip bears the names Wendy Summers and Serena Feng. Whoever you think has won, circle their name, fold the paper, and place it in the prepared bamboo tube. Later, Miss Wendy and Miss Serena will open them together, and whoever's name is circled the most wins." Ninth Royal Uncle hadn't spoken until now, but when he did, his words were final—firm and impossible to refuse.
As soon as Ninth Royal Uncle finished speaking, the eunuch handed out the slips with Serena Feng and Wendy Summers' names to the seven judges, including Nolan himself.
Clearly, Ninth Royal Uncle had already prepared for this!
"Ninth Royal Uncle, isn't this a bit much?" Terrence frowned, sensing something was off.
Ninth Royal Uncle shot Terrence a sidelong glance. "What's wrong with it? Prince Terrence, don't you think my method is the fairest possible?"
It was certainly fair, but... Terrence frowned deeply. Pulling this move just as Wendy was about to win—what was Ninth Royal Uncle up to? A desperate last stand? That wasn't his style.
"Ninth Royal Uncle's method is indeed fair. I agree," Old Master Yan and Master Yuan Xi said, one after the other.
The three Jixia Academy calligraphers nodded in agreement. They'd barely expressed any admiration for Serena before feeling a wave of killing intent; now, their tone changed, and they felt a chill down their spines.
No matter what, they couldn't win. Might as well go with Ninth Royal Uncle's method—whatever happened, it wouldn't be their responsibility.
"Ninth Royal Uncle, calligraphy contests have never been judged this way." Wendy didn't know what Nolan and Serena were plotting; she just knew she couldn't let his proposal pass.
"Calligraphy contests have never used Dragon-Tip Imperial Brushes, nor written on rice grains either. Since this contest is unique, the judging method should be too. Real gold fears no fire—Miss Wendy, do you lack confidence in your own work?"
Ninth Royal Uncle spoke almost word by word, so slowly it could drive someone mad. The contempt was clear, yet his tone and expression were so natural that there was nowhere to vent anger.
Wendy was furious, nearly snapping her Dragon-Tip brush. Nolan and Serena were both infuriating—one sentence could block all her escape routes.
What could she say under these circumstances?
Ninth Royal Uncle's proposal was perfectly fair, and Wendy was confident in her calligraphy. She swept her beautiful eyes over the seven judges, finally landing on the three Jixia Academy calligraphers. Seeing their satisfied expressions, her worries gradually eased.
"Since Ninth Royal Uncle believes this is fair, let's begin." Wendy stepped back, with the grace of a gentleman, widening the distance between herself and the judging table.
Serena was much lazier—she simply turned her back.
At this moment, she finally had nothing to worry about. This contest—she was certain to win!