There was a slight hitch when forming pairs.
The Second Prince adamantly refused to be paired with Wei Qing, exclaiming loudly, "Finding partners yourself is so boring. It's the same every year, with no novelty at all."
Wei Qing maintained her dignified and graceful smile, softly asking, "Then, according to Your Highness's wishes, how can it be made interesting?"
"Drawing lots."
Wei Qing was momentarily stunned. The Fourth Prince chimed in, "Second Brother's words have merit. A forced relationship is not sweet. Drawing lots leaves it all to fate; whoever you draw is destiny's gift." He then turned to the Fifth Prince, "Fifth Brother, don't you agree?"
The Fifth Prince replied, "I don't mind, as long as there's fun to be had."
"Oh, you," the Fourth Prince chuckled, shaking his head helplessly.
Wei Qing then instructed a maid to prepare the name slips for the draw, listing only the male guests, for the female guests to draw.
The Second Prince disagreed again, "There's no need for such trouble. Have someone collect all the invitation slips of the young ladies present, and add yours and Second Cousin's. Let us men draw."
He was afraid Wei Qing would have the maids tamper with the process.
Wei Qing's expression soured slightly, and she said in a flat tone, "As Your Highness wishes."
If the male guests drew, Wang Qingyao's clairvoyant eyes would be useless.
She scanned the surroundings, praying that a capable partner would draw her.
Xiao Yun glanced at her and whispered, "No need to be nervous, it's just a game."
She wasn't nervous; she was worried about a dead weight hindering her ability to earn money.
As it turned out, she was drawn by the Second Prince, indeed the most influential among the men present.
The Second Prince was ecstatic, letting out a long sigh of relief. He practically skipped over to her, "Miss Wang Er, we're a team." He then addressed Xiao Yun, "A'yun, I'm borrowing your future wife for a moment."
Wang Qingyao let out a hollow laugh.
She could feel the icy glares Wei Qing was shooting her way. *Don't shoot me,* she thought, *shoot the Second Prince if you dare. It wasn't my suggestion, nor did I draw.* She was completely passive, after all.
The Fourth Prince drew Wei Qing. "Cousin Qing, it seems we are fated to be together."
Wei Qing responded with a similar hollow laugh.
The Fifth Prince drew Wei Yu. Xiao Yun drew Miss Gu from the Marquis of Yongning's household. The Seventh Prince drew Miss Ban, from Wei Yu's maternal family. The others looked at the names on the invitation slips, some with surprise, others with knitted brows. In short, it was a chaotic pairing, a complete mess.
Unnoticed by others, Wang Qingyao, despite her clairvoyance, saw the Fourth Prince glance at the name slip after drawing it and then quickly exchange it with someone next to him.
This was interesting.
A love triangle?
He loves her, she loves him, he doesn't love her.
The first event was "Smelling Fragrance to Find a Partner." The men's eyes were blindfolded, and they had to identify their partners by the scent of the women. Of course, they couldn't get too close to the women; they had to stay a meter away.
The partners were randomly formed, and with the distance, it was impossible to identify them by scent.
Almost everyone failed. Only the Fifth Prince, while exclaiming, "Are we dogs? How can we smell anything?" managed to guess randomly and get it right.
Wei Yu giggled.
Xiao Yun was more amusing. He didn't smell Miss Gu but recognized Wang Qingyao. He lingered in front of her for a long time.
Wang Qingyao regretted it. Why hadn't he drawn her? Then they could have scored a point and taken a commanding lead.
The second event was "Identifying a Lover Through a Screen." The men stood behind a screen, and the women had to identify their partners from beyond it. The screen was quite thick, allowing only a vague silhouette to be seen.
For Wang Qingyao, this was child's play.
She guessed correctly. The Second Prince excitedly rushed out and high-fived her, "One point, one point!"
Wei Qing's cold gaze swept over Wang Qingyao again.
In this round, besides Wang Qingyao, no one else guessed correctly.
Soon, it was time for the third round: "Pitch-Pot for a Surprise." As the name suggested, it was a game of pitch-pot. Whoever played well would not only earn points but also receive a surprise.
As for what the surprise was, Wei Qing kept it a secret.
Wang Qingyao wondered if it would be gold or silver. The thought made her eyes light up.
The Second Prince asked, "How is Miss Wang Er at pitch-pot?"
Wang Qingyao replied, "It's my first time playing."
The Second Prince sighed, "...We're done for. Wei Qing is a master at pitch-pot; even I can't beat her."
The female partners were supposed to compete in pitch-pot. It seemed Wei Qing had set this event based on her own strengths. However, since her partner had changed to the Fourth Prince, she seemed somewhat less enthusiastic.
"Everyone knows I'm very good at pitch-pot. For fairness, this round will be blindfolded pitch-pot," Wei Qing announced.
Wang Qingyao was surprised. It seemed Wei Qing didn't want to win.
Pitch-pot was similar to modern dart throwing. Each person had eight arrows, and they stood one meter away. Hitting the pot earned one point, hitting the ears of the pot earned two points, and if one could pass through the ears and hit the pot, that was the mark of a top master.
The Second Prince said, "Wei Qing can do it."
Pitch-pot was a popular game in the Great Sheng Dynasty, and most people knew how to play. In a normal competition, Wang Qingyao would have no chance of winning. However, with blindfolds, others were effectively blind, but it had no impact on her.
Wei Qing was a pitch-pot expert. Even blindfolded, with calculated distance and force, she could hit a few arrows. Yet, she missed every single one, either too far or too close. Some girls who were usually worse than her at pitch-pot were actually better than her while blindfolded.
She explained with a smile, "As soon as I put on the blindfold, I lose my sense of direction."
The girls who beat her felt awkward and a little scared.
Wei Qing was known to have a bad temper. She always stole the spotlight at the annual Lotus Banquet. If someone else outshone her, who knew what kind of revenge she might exact.
It was Wang Qingyao's turn. She didn't have high hopes for her first arrow, it was purely a test shot. To her surprise, she hit it on the first try.
It wasn't that difficult, only one meter away. Ring toss in the park was further than this.
Her confidence soared. Thinking of the surprise, she swiftly threw all eight arrows in succession.
The entire venue fell silent.
She hit all of them.
Hitting all the shots in pitch-pot wasn't a great feat; many people on the scene could achieve this in normal play. But the key was that Wang Qingyao was blindfolded. The fact that she could hit all of them while blindfolded was astonishing! My goodness, what a formidable person!
The Second Prince was the first to react, "Hahaha, all hits! Miss Wang Er, you're amazing! How are you so amazing?"
He repeated "amazing" twice, his joy like that of a child.
Wang Qingyao removed her blindfold and triumphantly raised an eyebrow at him.
Wei Qing's face darkened.
When Wei Qing finally revealed the grand surprise, Wang Qingyao understood why she hadn't wanted to win.