Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

Jin Ye didn't even glance at the cucumber salad in Shen Qing's hand before raising the red card.

A green card signifies the judges' approval, while a red card indicates a rejection of advancement.

Shen Qing needs to obtain at least six green cards in order to advance to the next level.

Therefore, besides Jin Ye, she needs to get green cards from all the other judges.

Shen Qing carried the cucumber salad to Old Master Sun, the former head of the imperial kitchen.

Old Sun shook his head and raised the red card without any mercy.

"Your cold dishes look good, but this is a competition, and cold dishes are ultimately not suitable for formal occasions."

The criticism was blatant, highlighting Shen Qing's choice of cold dishes, while also explaining the reasons behind his decision to raise his paddle.

They were too lazy to even pick up their chopsticks.

As soon as Old Sun raised his sign, Guo Tiancheng and Situ Liang below began to feel sorry for Shen Qing.

"Sigh, cold dishes really aren't good enough. Madam Shen is capable, but she won't listen to advice." Guo Tiancheng frowned, his eyes full of regret.

Situ Liang wished he could rush up and feed the plate of cucumber salad directly to the judges. In his mind, even if it was a cold dish, it must be something special if Shen Qing made it herself.

"Raising a sign without even trying it is incredibly disrespectful!"

The murmurs and laughter from the audience and other contestants grew even louder.

"She was eliminated as expected. I knew this girl was just there to make up the numbers."

"Serving cold dishes up at such a grand competition is simply embarrassing."

"It's good that they're eliminated. They can move on to the next round quickly. I'd rather see those amazing chefs compete."

"..."

The servant boy was hiding to the side, looking smug and like a petty person who had gotten his way.

I'm so clever! I poured a bowl of tea on the firewood, so this young lady could only be served cold.

Hmph, you dare offend me? This is what happens to you!

Everyone was waiting for Shen Qing to leave the stage in a daze, after all, she already had two red cards, and defeat was inevitable.

But Shen Qing ignored the noise outside and continued to serve her plate of cucumber salad to the third judge.

The third judge was the renowned gourmet Mr. He.

Grandpa He frowned slightly and said, "Girl, we already have two red cards. Even if the rest of us raise green cards, it will be useless."

These words were meant to tell Shen Qing not to waste any more time.

Shen Qing smiled faintly and said, "Isn't there still a chance to advance directly?"

"You mean Jin Zheling..." Old Master He's eyes widened.

"Each judge only has one golden rule, how could it be used here? This is only the first round! This young lady on stage is being too unrealistic!" an audience member shouted.

"Yeah, what kind of good idea is she thinking? It's outrageous."

"Serving up a cold dish and still expecting the Golden Token? Good heavens, is this young lady trying to be funny?"

"..."

The audience erupted in excitement, and the other contestants watched intently, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

Grandpa He chuckled lightly: "You think a cold dish is enough to make me produce a golden token? Girl, you're being far too arrogant."

As he spoke, he raised the red card.

He had meant well and wanted to advise the girl not to waste any more time.

I never expected that they would ask for a gold medal right off the bat; that's incredibly arrogant.

Shen Qing didn't waste any more words and continued walking towards the next judge.

She has absolute confidence in her dishes; once a judge has tasted them, one of them will definitely be willing to give them the gold medal.

The fourth judge was Mr. Wu, the president of the Beijing Food Association.

When Chairman Wu saw the first three bigwigs raise their red cards, he also raised his red card without hesitation.

The fifth Jiangnan scholar, Mr. Qingci, also raised the red card. He didn't think a cold dish would make him take out the golden card, especially since he had already tasted many dishes today and was tired of them.

The sixth judge was Chef Zhu, an old chef at Jinquelou who worked under Master Jin. Naturally, he raised the red card along with Master Jin.

Only one person remains.

Only then did Shen Qing feel a little worried.

She couldn't help but ask herself: System, what will happen if I fail to win the food competition?

[Ding—This is a randomly triggered hidden quest. Failure will only prevent you from unlocking the auxiliary management system; there will be no penalty.]

Shen Qing felt relieved.

Fine, if she loses, she'll go back to Ping'an County and continue running Zhiweixuan at a leisurely pace.

She was initially very confident, but she didn't expect that the judges wouldn't even try it.

That's why they're not lucky.

Shen Qing carried the bowl of cucumber salad to the last judge.

It was Fang Shanren. He was dressed in coarse cloth and had a kind face. Looking at Shen Qing, one couldn't help but feel a little sympathy.

"Why did you choose to make this cucumber salad?" he couldn't help but ask.

It's a real cooking competition; he's never seen anyone make cucumber salad.

Shen Qing said frankly, "The cucumbers provided by the competition are very fresh and perfect for this dish. Besides, someone deliberately wet my firewood, so I can't cook hot dishes."

Upon hearing this, Master Jin frowned immediately.

This is implying that his food competition is unfair.

"Someone deliberately spilled wet firewood. Do you have any evidence?" Jin asked coldly.

Before Shen Qing could speak, Situ Liang jumped out from below and shouted, "I'll testify!!"

"It's that shifty-eyed servant boy. He looks down on everyone, and he even deliberately spilled tea on Madam Shen's firewood!"

Guo Tiancheng also stepped forward: "I also testify; I saw it with my own eyes!"

"I saw it too!" It was the woman in red who had greeted Shen Qing before.

Jin Ye's face darkened instantly: "Go and bring him here!"

The servant was terrified, trembling so much that his legs went weak. He never expected to be so unlucky.

"Disrupting the competition's order and affecting its fairness, go and give him twenty lashes and expel him from the Jin residence!!"

There are countless eyes watching the food competition, and if fairness issues arise, the competition's authority will be diminished.

Therefore, punishing a servant is the simplest and most convenient way to show everyone that the food competition is absolutely fair.

The servant had no time to explain before he was dragged away, and his fate was predictable.

Everyone's attention returned to the competition.

"Since it's because of the firewood, I suggest we give her another chance and let her cook a dish again," said Master Jin.

Of course, he didn't really want to give Shen Qing a chance; he just didn't want people to say he was unfair.

Upon hearing this, Guo Tiancheng and Situ Liang were overjoyed and almost jumped for joy.

Cooking under the judges' noses is a fantastic opportunity.

Especially with Shen Niangzi's skill level, her advancement this time is definitely guaranteed.

Just as they were enjoying themselves, the two heard Shen Qing's voice of refusal:

"Thank you, Master Jin. Although that servant was hateful, all I wanted to make was cucumber salad. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to the other contestants to make another dish."