The stage looked like a dream, with curtains of spiritual light rain flooding the temple. The contestants, following a previously agreed arrangement, stepped slightly back, spreading themselves to the sides, leaving the winner in the middle.
Shi Qingxuan's voice exploded in the spiritual broadcasting array, "The winner of The Bian Zhuang Huanghou Xuan Mei, or Shi Qingxuan's Dragrace is General Xuan Zhen as The Empress Si-Ling, the Goddess of the Silkworm!"
All the other queens clapped politely and their smiles looked somewhat strained; it was clear that even though most of them joined this competition because of Shi Qingxuan's harassment or pleading, everyone worked hard and was willing to win. Out of everyone's unreadable expressions, only Feng Xin looked obviously displeased.
The judges also clapped politely, The Guoshi a little too enthusiastic for his taste, and Hua Cheng was twitching his lips, probably thinking the audience must be blind for not choosing Gege.
Shi Qingxuan continued, "General please step forward, take your crown and accept this well-deserved honour. The people have spoken, and their voice is the voice of The Heavens!"
Mu Qing did so, and his poise and expression were proud and majestic, looking like he was never anything else in his life, his aura radiating nobility, above all earthly matters. He walked to the middle of the stage for Shi Qingxuan to crown him, while two festival attendants brought him a sash and an elegant and exquisite bunch of flowers, the symbols of his queendom, truly spiritual devices.
His expression was of someone who expected nothing less than true adoration, magnificent in his stance, his worth never questioned; he actually emitted a presence far more regal than Xie Lian and Lang Qianqiu, who were actual crown princes by birth.
The crowd cheered and applauded, their veins filled with fervour, their senses exploding.
After receiving the crown, sash and flowers, winning the dragrace, or slaying, as Xie Lian had said before, he walked around the main stage, slow and solemn, gracious, proud and dignified, smiling softly, waving to the noisy audience. His spiritual silk threads crossed the air once more as his triumphant walk was bound to become the tale of the ages.
Shi Qingxuan, signalling the crowd to keep clapping and cheering, then, smiling brightly, added on the spiritual broadcasting array, "Esteemed Lords and Ladies, now we've crowned our queen, this lowly Temple Master would like to propose a toast with my fellow judges!"
He added, "To the most glamorous and fabulous quee...", and he trailed off; looking at the judges, his eyes widened, and he couldn't stop staring in spite of himself. Something was definitely not right, and the whole temple just followed his gaze, all eyes on General Ming Guang.
Thank you for reading! 😀