She became a god

Chapter 359 Moon Goddess Festival

The fifteenth of August is the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Officials, dignitaries, and talented individuals from seven kingdoms gathered in the capital to celebrate the Moon Goddess Festival.

That day, there were poetry contests and tea tastings, sumo wrestling and sword dancing, and moon-viewing boat trips—it was quite a lively event.

At five quarters past dusk, at Wangyue Tower, as the host, Jiang Guo's Yuan Zhan and Liu Jia naturally brought their most treasured possessions as a prize for the Moon Goddess Festival.

The winner of the poetry contest is a master of painting "The Goddess of the Luo River".

The tea connoisseur received two Taiping Houkui tea cakes, a priceless treasure.

Sumo champions wear a suit of soft, gold-threaded armor that is impervious to swords and blades.

The leader of the sword dance received a deadly sword called Autumn Water Sword.

…………

The wine cups were clinked and toasts were exchanged several times.

Yuan Zhan smiled and said, "Today, heroes from the seven kingdoms have gathered, and talented scholars and generals have displayed their prowess. I am overjoyed and have therefore added a competition with seven pieces of millennium-old black iron as the prize."

A glint flashed in Wen Xichun's eyes. She had entered Wangyue Tower today as a divine beast attendant, but she hadn't expected to have this opportunity.

The others were also very interested.

Millennium-old black iron is so precious that even if one cannot use it oneself, it would be excellent to give it away or sell it.

Seeing this, Liu Jia laughed and said, "Sanlang's words have stirred up the minds of all these talented people; he truly has excellent eloquence. However..."

Yuan Zhan looked at her and said, "Zitong, just speak your mind. There's no need to beat around the bush."

Liu Jia teased, "I just don't know what the theme of this competition is? Everyone has already done so many competitions. It would be difficult to find one that is different and fits the theme of the Moon Goddess Festival. We can't expect everyone here to offer Nuo sacrifices to the Moon Goddess one by one."

"If it is a dance performed for the moon goddess, then it is not for us to comment on who is better or worse, so how can we determine who is superior?"

Yuan Zhan pondered for a moment and said, "The competition is a Nuo ritual. As for judges, we mortals are naturally unworthy. So please ask the divine beast for guidance."

Liu Jia clapped his hands and laughed, "Good idea! How about each of the seven kingdoms sends three candidates for Nuo ritual? The top three will be selected jointly by you, me, and the chief and deputy envoys of the six kingdoms' delegations. The top three will then perform a Nuo dance, which will be judged by the divine beasts."

Everyone agreed, thus ensuring that the outcome was neither unfair nor blasphemous.

Ji Xunxi chuckled, "Interesting."

Wen Xichun said in a low voice, "Don't forget what you owe me."

Ji Xunxi stopped laughing and said, "Are you going to go on stage to dance?"

Wen Xichun shook her head and said, "It's not me, it's you."

Ji Xunxi frowned and said, "If I win the jackpot for you, you will leave the capital the next day."

Even if you win the lottery, you only have seven dollars, and you still owe me three dollars.

Ji Xunxi wasn't annoyed. She simply said, "If I give you ten pieces of thousand-year-old black iron, you must leave the capital immediately and never see Zhouzhou again in this life. Can you do that?"

Of course, it's impossible.

But... without the witness of Heaven, lying to a mortal should not incur any karmic consequences.

So Wen Xichun said, "I promise you."

Ji Xunxi's brows relaxed, and he immediately rose from his seat to request permission, "Your Majesty, I am willing to offer a Nuo dance to the Moon Goddess."

Yuan Zhan laughed loudly, "Very well! The first person from Jiang Kingdom to perform a dance is Ji'an. Who else would like to perform a dance? Have the delegations of the six kingdoms decided on who will perform?"

After an incense stick had burned, several musicians played the flute and zither on the side, while the seven retainers of the princess's mansion sang "The Moon Goddess Ritual".

Ji Xunxi wore a yellow silk robe, a jade rabbit pounding medicine mask over her face, a lychee belt around her waist, and black boots on her feet. Her clothes fluttered, and her dance steps were light and graceful, like a butterfly shadow under the moon.

After the dance, she received a standing ovation.

At 7:45 PM, the twenty-one dancers finished their performance. After a vote, the top three were, in order: Princess Jixi of Jiang State, Princess Li Xiuning of Yan State, and Holy Maiden Tian Minjun of Jin State.

At 11:45 PM, the three presented three new dances, each with its own merits. The people inside the building argued endlessly about them, their faces turning red with rage.

Liu Jia seized the opportunity to praise, "If it weren't for Sanlang's wise and insightful judgment, which allowed the divine beast to comment, we would probably have been fighting all night for the title of Nuo Dance champion."

Yuan Zhan nodded and smiled, “Gentlemen, let’s stop discussing this and see what the divine beasts will do.”

The much-anticipated mythical red panda slowly circled around Ji Xunxi and the other two before finally stopping at... Li Xiuning's feet.

Ji Xunxi's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?"

I am a legitimate divine beast keeper, yet the divine beast chose a stranger it had only met once instead of me.

Ji Xunxi felt a pang of jealousy, but Li Xiuning was overjoyed and gave a deep bow, saying, "Thank you for your favor, divine beast."

Yuan Zhan and Liu Jia also praised Princess Pingyang, who had come from afar, and the guests and hosts were all very happy and harmonious.

Princess Yunhe noticed her daughter's loss of composure and quickly brought her daughter, who had just stepped down from the stage, to her side. "It's just a few pieces of thousand-year-old black iron, why are you so distraught?"

Ji Xunxi simply revealed her deal with Wen Xichun, and then complained, "I believe I have served the divine beast with utmost care, but the divine beast seems to have no special feelings for me."

Yuan Baohua shook his head, "You child, it would be bad if you actually won the prize."

"Everyone knows you serve a divine beast, and you should have been absent from this competition to avoid suspicion. But you insisted on participating."

"Although you won first place in the seven-nation selection, in my opinion, if you were not a royal noblewoman from the host country, you might not even have made it into the top three."

"Princess Pingyang truly deserves her reputation for building an all-female army. Her dance moves are both graceful and powerful, and her singing voice is deep and resonant. It's no wonder that her Nuo dance won first place."

Li Xiuning's dance was indeed better than hers, but Ji Xunxi still felt uncomfortable. It was one thing for the divine beast not to favor her, but her mother wasn't either.

Seeing Ji Xunxi's downturned lips, Yuan Baohua knew her daughter was being temperamental again, and quickly coaxed her, "In my heart, you are the best."

Upon hearing this, Ji Xunxi immediately beamed with joy, but after drinking three cups of pear wine, a sense of melancholy welled up in her heart. She complained to her mother in a low voice, "Without the Thousand-Year Black Iron, how am I supposed to get rid of Wen Xichun?"

Yuan Baohua chuckled and tapped her brow. "My child, have you gone mad and forgotten all your cunning and scheming?"

Ji Xunxi sat upright, adopting an attitude of listening attentively, "Please enlighten me, Mother."

Yuan Baohua said, "This Miss Wen is too idle to keep following the divine beast. Since she has nothing to do, why don't you find her a good job? Once people get busy, they won't have time to fawn over the divine beast."

Ji Xunxi listened attentively, but she worriedly asked, "What if I can't find a good job that Miss Wen is satisfied with?"

Yuan Baohua said seriously, "You try it first. If it doesn't work, I'll gather all ten pieces of thousand-year-old black iron."

Ji Xunxi quickly hugged Yuan Baohua's arm and acted coquettishly, "Mother is the best!"

"You……"

Ji Xunxi was overjoyed at the moment, and a bunch of flattering words poured out, such as, "My mother is in her prime, people who don't know us would think we're sisters!"

Yuan Baohua smiled, her eyes crinkling, "This is all thanks to the treasure you gave me."

Thinking of the taste and miraculous effects of that spiritual fruit, Yuan Baohua's heart stirred, and he said softly, "My son, can you still ask the divine beast to bestow a spiritual fruit?"

Ji Xunxi wasn't sure either, but looking directly into her mother's expectant eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say anything to refuse.

"I will definitely pray for a sacred fruit for my mother this year."

Yuan Baohua said, "I want to see the spiritual fruit before the first snow of winter."

After a long pause, Ji Xunxi nodded with difficulty.