tallest building

Chapter 246 Fighting for Victory

Ying Tong felt even more resentful towards Ying Bai, convinced that he was treacherous and wicked.

In ordinary, casual situations, he acts like a perfect gentleman. But when it comes to important matters, he won't give an inch.

If they won't give it to me, then so be it. I'll win this horse back honorably and let everyone know that they're no match for me!
"Consider this a fun activity for the banquet. There are three questions in total, and the one with the most questions remaining at the end will win the horse. If there is a tie, we'll add another question. What do Your Majesty and Empress think?"

“Very good, that sounds very interesting,” the Emperor said. “Let me hear what your three questions are.”

"The first question is to give each prince a tangled mess and find the red thread in it. Whoever solves it first wins." Qi Sihe's first question wasn't too difficult; as long as you were patient and quick, you could manage.

This tangled mess was naturally impossible to unravel, and before long, sweat beaded on Ying Tong's forehead.

He was brave but lacked patience, and with everyone watching, he inevitably became more and more impatient.

In contrast, Ying Bai was much calmer than him, concentrating on sorting things out inch by inch.

Everyone could see that Ying Tong was likely to lose this round.

Sure enough, after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ying Bai breathed a sigh of relief and untied the red thread.

Ying Tong rolled her eyes slightly, thinking to herself that it was just one game, and she would see what happened next!

"The second challenge is for the two princes to feed the caged beasts," said Chess. "They've been hungry for three days and are eager to eat. The two princes can only feed them by hand, and whoever finishes feeding them first wins."

After he finished speaking, someone carried in two large iron cages. The cages were covered tightly with black cloth, but low growls could be heard from inside from time to time. Judging from the sound, they were tigers.

"This...this won't do, will it?" Princess Zhao couldn't help but feel afraid. "What if someone gets hurt..."

They didn't care about the horse, no matter how good it was; what mattered was that their son couldn't get hurt.

Princess Chu nodded in agreement, as she shared the same sentiment.

But Ying Tong said, "What's wrong with that? Aren't there cages? How can the men of our building be so cowardly? It's laughable!"

After saying that, he looked at Ying Tong and said, "Of course, if anyone is afraid of getting hurt, they can give up. There's nothing shameful about it. A real man can bend and stretch."

Ying Tong was naturally a little scared, but now that things had come to this point, it would be too shameful to back down.

So he said, "I am indeed not as brave as my brother, but I am willing to give it a try."

Those people also removed the black cloth covering the cage, revealing two semi-adult tigers with paws larger than an adult's hand.

The tiger pressed its face close to the cage, and smelling the meat through the cage, it became somewhat agitated.

In order to win against Ying Bai, Ying Tong took the first bite of meat and offered it to the tiger's mouth.

The tiger's tongue rolled into his mouth, and when it touched his hand, it stung. The tiger's tongue had barbs, and the sensation sent chills down Ying Tong's spine.

But he also figured it out: firstly, since there was a cage between them, as long as he didn't stretch his hand too far forward, he shouldn't get bitten.

Another point is speed. The faster the meat is given, the less anxious the tiger will be, and the more stable its emotions will be.

He was bolder than Ying Bai to begin with, and he was also angry and wanted to compete with him.

So he used both hands to keep feeding meat into the tiger's mouth.

He quickly finished feeding the whole bowl of raw meat. Looking at Ying Bai, he had also tried his best, but he was still a step too slow.

He had failed to feed the tiger the first piece of meat; his hand trembled and it fell to the ground.

"I deliberately didn't mention it before, but these two tigers are trained and would never bite even if they were starving. Otherwise, how could I have dared to put the two princes in danger?" Qi Sihe stood up and apologized, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"I understand what you mean. If it had been said beforehand, the two children would naturally not have been afraid, and it would have been difficult to determine a winner," the Emperor said.

In fact, most of the people present knew what was going on, but only the two princesses, out of concern, spoke up to stop it before the competition.

Two of the three questions have already been answered, with each player winning one. The third question is now crucial, unless they tie, in which case another question will be added.

"The third question is this box," said Qisihe, taking a box from his attendant and holding it in his hands. "Which of you two princes can guess what's inside this box first will win this round."

"There needs to be a hint," the Queen laughed upon hearing this, "otherwise, wouldn't we be guessing things out of the blue?"

“Your Majesty is right, then I will reveal the clue.” Qi Sihe cleared his throat. “This thing is neither yin nor yang, neither single nor double. It can be large or small, and is difficult to find and hide.”

After he finished speaking, everyone began to ponder.

Both princes frowned, racking their brains over the riddle.

"Could it be water?" Ying Tong was the first to answer.

Qi Sihe smiled and shook his head: "Your Highness, please think about it again."

Everyone else also felt that his guess was wrong. Although water does not have a distinction between single and double and can be large or small, it is obvious that water belongs to Yin.

Ying Tong was unwilling to give up, and began to frown and rack her brains again.

“It’s ginseng! No, no, no, it’s ginseng soup!” He stood up again after a while. “I heard my wet nurse say that it’s very difficult for ginseng diggers to find ginseng. That thing is often a spirit that can transform. If you boil it into soup, one bowl can be divided into several bowls, and several bowls can be combined into one bowl. So there’s no distinction between single and double.”

Qi Sihe shook his head as he looked at Ying Tong's eager eyes: "The young master didn't guess right this time either."

Everyone felt that Ying Tong's answer was somewhat far-fetched; the story of ginseng becoming a spirit was just a legend. When would the ginseng they kept at home ever change size?

In fact, not only him, but the other ministers and noblewomen also couldn't guess what was inside.

Ying Tong guessed wrong twice in a row and couldn't help but feel discouraged, but of course he was not willing to give up.

She glanced at Ying Bai across from her; he kept his head down, resting his chin on his hand, but never answered.

Many things flashed through Ying Bai's mind, but he immediately dismissed them.

He wasn't as reckless as Ying Tong, but he wasn't much smarter than Ying Tong either.

He regretted it now. Why couldn't he have been bolder in the second round? He could have fed the tiger meat with both hands, just like Ying Tong, and then there would have been no need for the third round.

Just when he was at his wit's end, Gong Chang'an, who was sitting next to him, quietly reached out and wrote a word on his leg.

Ying Bai's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show it to the outside world.

He pondered the words written by Gong Chang'an in his mind for a while and felt that it was very likely.

Only then did he stand up leisurely, cup his hands to Qi Sihe and say, "Your Highness, this junior guesses that the box is empty. Empty means nothing, there is nothing inside."