Due to the heavy rain that suddenly fell in the afternoon, the materials prepared for the competition were soaked.
Aunt Wang organized the palace staff to work busily for the entire afternoon, and it wasn't until the hour of Shen (3-5 PM) that the competition items were ready again.
The palace servants relayed the message, guiding the contestants back to the Imperial Garden.
This time, there was no flower-viewing session; everyone was directly led into a long hall.
To avoid any sudden changes in weather, the female imperial physicians had temporarily decided to hold the competition here.
After everyone had gathered and prepared, Aunt Wang finally appeared.
"Thank you for waiting. Today's competition will take place here. Now, I will announce the rules for the second item of the second round."
With that, she gestured for the palace servants to come forward.
Instead of announcing the rules verbally, a sheet of white paper with large black characters was hung on the stage.
Only two words were written on the paper:
Smell, Discern.
The contestants looked at each other.
As they were all competitors now, no one was willing to voice their thoughts.
It wasn't until the palace maids entered in a line, each holding a tray filled with herbs, that things began to unfold.
They appeared before each contestant, and simultaneously produced strips of cloth from their sleeves, indicating that everyone's eyes would be covered.
Watching the series of actions by the palace maids, everyone gradually understood the rules of this competition.
It turned out that they were to have their eyes covered and identify the herbs presented to them by smell.
Based on past experience, they would pass if they could identify the name and medicinal properties of the herbs.
For physicians, identifying herbs was a fundamental skill. Many physicians came from limited financial backgrounds and had to collect herbs themselves in the mountains from a young age. Therefore, this particular task seemed incredibly simple for them.
The only difficulty in this segment was having their eyes covered, requiring them to rely on their sense of smell.
Since they couldn't see, those who were not skilled in identifying by smell would naturally be eliminated.
However, despite this, many still felt the task was too simple, as all of them were practitioners of medicine and possessed this basic skill.
Yet, even though everyone considered the second item to be somewhat too easy, they did not let down their guard and remained vigilant.
Wu Bingbing, standing nearby, was also puzzled. But seeing Cao Yunli, beside her, cover her eyes without hesitation and begin smelling, she suddenly realized something.
"So, it's about seeing who can identify the herbs in front of them the fastest? Then I might have a chance."
She had grown up in the mountains. Her father ran the most famous pharmacy in the capital. Apart from extremely rare medicinal ingredients that only royalty and nobility could possess, they had all the herbs needed by physicians.
Therefore, when it came to identifying herbs, she possessed a natural talent.
Even the rarest medicinal herbs presented today, she was confident she could identify by smell.
With this thought, she also quickly beckoned a palace maid to cover her eyes, then bent down and carefully smelled each herb before her.
Indeed, her talent was not in vain. Before long, she removed the blindfold and, while most others were still identifying with their eyes covered, her gaze quickly swept over Gu Qianying and the young lady of the Su family.
Why were those two standing there perfectly still?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little worried. But when she saw the blank papers in front of them, her heart couldn't help but lighten.
It seemed those two were not skilled in this particular segment.
She had initially thought these two would be strong contenders in this area, but it appeared she had overestimated them.
Thus, Wu Bingbing raised her arm and confidently wrote down the names and properties of each herb she had identified on the paper before her.
Her actions were noticed by the female official in front. Although her expression remained unchanged, she subtly shook her head, almost imperceptibly.
After her, one by one, others identified the answers and wrote them down.
But even at this point, Gu Qianying had not moved.
Su Yuxi had also not taken any action.
It was already the second round, and after so many traps encountered earlier, this task couldn't possibly be this simple.
She glanced around her, not daring to let her guard down.
As her gaze swept past the herbs and landed on a nearby maid, Gu Qianying suddenly understood.
At this moment, when everyone else had guessed the herbs before them, Gu Qianying finally covered her eyes, but her focus was not on the herbs but on the maid beside her.
Su Yuxi, observing Gu Qianying's actions, instantly grasped the deeper meaning.
"How could I not have thought of this? So, this is the real competition rule."
A smile spread across her face, and she then covered her eyes and began smelling the maid beside her.
Before long, Gu Qianying had identified the maid's condition. She then removed the blindfold and began writing on the paper before her.
Following her, Su Yuxi also removed her blindfold and began to write.
After the time it took for one incense stick to burn, everyone had written down their answers.
The palace maid bowed to Aunt Wang on the stage, and then she walked down.
She reviewed everyone's answers, but as she examined them, her expression grew increasingly grim. It wasn't until she reached Gu Qianying that her expression softened slightly.
Seeing the answer Gu Qianying had written, Aunt Wang nodded with satisfaction. Then, upon seeing Su Yuxi's answer, she also nodded with satisfaction.
Observing Aunt Wang's expression, the others seemed to guess the winners of this round. However, the most incomprehensible was Wu Bingbing. She carefully examined the names she had written and picked up the herbs before her, feeling and examining them closely.
There was no mistake. What she had written was correct. She had even identified one herb that could treat multiple diseases.
Yet, Aunt Wang had not approved of her answer.
At this moment, everyone was waiting for Aunt Wang to announce the results.
She pointed to Gu Qianying and Su Yuxi.
"The winners of this round are Gu Qianying and Su Yuxi."
As she spoke, everyone present was astonished.
"I protest! Those two clearly covered their eyes and started smelling and discerning last. Even if they wrote down the results in the end, they were still the slowest two. Why should they win this round?"
The one speaking was naturally Wu Bingbing.
Seeing someone express doubt, Aunt Wang cleared her throat and asked Gu Qianying to state what exactly she had written on her paper.
Gu Qianying, however, was very confident. She did not look at the paper she had written on but directly stated what she had discerned.
"Female, around twenty years old, body odor, rough fingers, breath with a sheep-like smell. This is a private ailment for women. Although not serious, it requires timely treatment to avoid any major issues."