"Lin Zhiqing gets three points? Why, wasn't she a sheep?"
"She's no damn sheep, everyone was fooled by her!"
"Impossible, she even pointed out the other two wolves, and the Wolf Oracle didn't expose her!"
"The Wolf Oracle was eliminated on the second night. Lin Zhiqing must have guessed it. Everyone was played by her!"
The onlookers quickly realized that Lin Zhiqing had tricked everyone.
In this round, she was the only wolf remaining, and she hadn't been discovered. Only she could score a point.
In the Wolf-Sheep game, a cooperative game where the group triumphs over the individual, Lin Zhiqing was the sole winner!
"Impossible, how could Lin Zhiqing possibly win?" Most people couldn't believe that the final winner of this game was Lin Zhiqing.
"Why not?" The gentle woman who had played with Lin Zhiqing earlier was the first to retort:
"This is a game, and even more, a competition. Since it's a competition, where's the deception? Who said Lin Zhiqing was brainless? I'm the first to disagree!"
Not just her, but other voices also emerged in support of Lin Zhiqing.
"Can you call Lin Zhiqing brainless? Who spread the rumor that she was an idiot?"
"Rumors are not to be fully believed, rumors are not to be fully believed. Lin Zhiqing is beautiful and intelligent. Who says she's not worthy of Young Master Jiang!"
"How can you people change your tune so quickly? Have you forgotten about Lin Zhiqing's unchaste behavior and how she ran off to do business?"
"What's wrong with doing business? Isn't Miss Lu also doing business? If no one did business, where would your food and goods come from?"
"I can smell the sourness on some of you. Leaving everything else aside, could you even play this Wolf-Sheep game if you went up there?"
...
The commotion of the crowd was indeed quite loud, and it quickly reached the viewing platform.
The Imperial Academy's design was ingenious. Simply sitting on the viewing platform allowed one to overlook the entire competition.
"Grandmother, look, Miss Lin won!" Miss Hua suddenly jumped up, waving her arms, looking quite excited.
The old lady had already noticed the situation of the Wolf-Sheep game. At this moment, her eyes widened, and her lips slightly parted, very surprised: "Which Miss Lin?"
"Which other Miss Lin could it be?" Miss Hua stomped her foot: "Lin Zhiqing, she won!"
In fact, the old lady hadn't failed to see; she just couldn't believe it.
She knew how difficult the Wolf-Sheep game was. In previous years, there had even been situations where no winner emerged due to the scoring system.
Because this game relied on brains, and over three rounds, the variables were too great. Only a handful of people could achieve three points.
And who was Lin Zhiqing? She was the notorious "silent, unfeeling Miss" of Shengjing!
The most criticized aspect of her was her lack of intelligence, and she had even publicly defended her traitorous father.
Such a foolish and brainless person, let alone the Wolf-Sheep game, couldn't even understand the most basic situations.
"When... when did she become so intelligent?" The old lady looked at the other female guests beside her.
How could the others answer?
This brought a great shock to the old lady's heart.
On one hand, she particularly disliked Lin Zhiqing's traitorous parents and Lin Zhiqing's unconventional behavior.
But on the other hand, the intelligence Lin Zhiqing displayed today exceeded her imagination and subverted Lin Zhiqing's image in her heart.
This complex feeling left the old lady speechless for a moment.
"Old lady, I don't think this child is as stupid as the rumors say. On the contrary, she seems quite intelligent."
"That's not right. What can one competition show? It's just good luck."
"The Lin family are all fools, but just looking at Lin Zhiqing's appearance and aura, if not for her father's incident, she could have been the mistress of any family."
Several wives of high-ranking officials engaged in a heated discussion about Lin Zhiqing. The old lady listened quietly from the side, not speaking.
At the same time, everyone else's gaze also turned towards the Wolf-Sheep game.
At the zither competition, Princess Pingning still had her eyes closed, immersed in her melodious zither music, completely unaware that everyone's attention had shifted elsewhere.
It wasn't until her song ended and no applause came that she realized something was wrong.
Opening her eyes, Princess Pingning discovered that everyone's attention had been drawn to the Wolf-Sheep game.
Unaware of the truth, she thought Lin Zhiqing had made a fool of herself under the targeting of her arranged people, and a brilliant smile immediately appeared on her face.
"How was it? Did Lin Zhiqing lose terribly?" She had her zither put away and looked down at the men sitting in the front row.
But they didn't flatter her as usual, nor did they disparage Lin Zhiqing in agreement with her words. Instead, they gave very perfunctory responses, not even turning their heads.
Princess Pingning then realized something was wrong. She saw admiration and appreciation in their eyes.
But she had only seen such looks when they looked at her!
Even as slow-witted as she was, she now saw the problem.
The maid finally arrived late, whispering the situation into her ear.
"What? How could that idiot..." Princess Pingning's voice was sharp, a deviation from her usual gentle demeanor, making others frown.
"Why is the Princess so noisy today? Her zither music isn't as pleasant as it used to be."
"It seems Lin Zhiqing is incredibly intelligent, and her speech is very logical. Did you hear her analysis just now? She and Young Master Jiang also look very well-matched."
"Lower your voice, it wouldn't be good if the Princess hears you."
Princess Pingning suppressed the anger in her heart and looked in the direction of the voice, but she couldn't find out who was speaking.
With such a humiliation, Princess Pingning's lips were bloodless. She could only barely lean on her maid and walk out of the venue.
And those men who usually fussed over her seemed not to have seen this scene at all. They all craned their necks to look at Lin Zhiqing.
Their eyes held curiosity, admiration, and appreciation, as if they weren't the ones who had mocked Lin Zhiqing so much just moments ago.
At the same time, Lin Zhiqing stood tall and graceful, a faint smile on her lips, and nodded at Lin Shi'an, who had rushed over.
"When... when did you learn this Wolf-Sheep game?" Lin Shi'an looked at her as if she were a stranger, his expression very complex.
He had thought that today, the Lin family's dignity would be utterly disgraced by Lin Zhiqing. But now it seemed that not only was it not lost, but some had even been regained.
The person in front of him felt very unfamiliar.
Before Lin Zhiqing could answer, with a clang, a loud gong strike suddenly came from the high platform.
Immediately after, the old lady's deep voice rang out:
"Everyone rest for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. After a cup of tea, the second round of the competition officially begins!"
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