Chapter 258: Tensions and Twists at the Cultural Expo

What on earth is going on?

Bang! A fierce punch slammed onto the desk.

After a long silence, Park Qi Ye finally lost it – he simply couldn’t stand this outcome.

After meticulously planning for so long, having bet almost everything on the first performance segment and even preparing a press release in advance, what do they get? Completely outclassed by the unexpected appearance of the Long Kingdom’s Wan Gong Sedan Chair.

Just as the netizens said, they really just can’t pull off the Wan Gong Sedan Chair!

It’s crystal clear who is authentic and who is just imitating.

In that moment, he even felt as if he had been outmaneuvered.

“President, Long Kingdom only has two Wan Gong Sedan Chairs – one at the museum in Jiang Province and the other in Mingsha City! The museum one is absolutely not meant for performance.”

Cui Xiaozhong’s expression was equally grim.

“Mingsha City! Isn’t that the very place that lost the main venue to Jinlong Ancient City? They even went out of their way to film numerous dramas to steal Jinlong’s spotlight. How could they possibly…?”

Park Qi Ye’s eyes turned bloodshot, almost ready to burst into flames.

He had known all along about the feud between Mingsha City and Jinlong Ancient City, which is why he attached so much importance to this performance. If Long Kingdom had let Mingsha Ancient City handle it, they would have surely placed this segment last.

“Also, Mingsha City is over fifteen hundred kilometers away from Jinlong Ancient City. How on earth did the sedan chair get there? Our people reported just minutes before the opening that the backstage there had descended into chaos. There’s no way it could be a fake!”

After a brief pause, Park Qi Ye almost roared.

“There are just too many things here that don’t add up!”

Cui Xiaozhong was momentarily lost for words.

Park Qi Ye was right. Besides their underlying conflicts, Mingsha City wouldn’t help Jinlong Ancient City even if pressured by Long Kingdom’s authorities. And the logistics? Over a thousand kilometers away – even airlifting wouldn’t work in time! “Investigate! We must get to the bottom of this. If Mingsha City has sabotaged us, then they will pay dearly!”

Bang! Park Qi Ye’s fist struck the office desk once again.

It wasn’t just Park Qi Ye and Cui Xiaozhong who were baffled; even the Long Kingdom netizens, initially fired up but gradually cooling down, were completely mystified. Especially on one top forum in Long Kingdom where this incident dominated discussions. While some things couldn’t be openly remarked on the international stage, there were far fewer constraints internally.

“That performance earlier nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Absolutely!”

“Thank goodness that Wan Gong Sedan Chair made a surprise appearance and stole the show. Now, almost every forum post abroad is praising our traditional wedding customs, and the netizens from H Country have shut up completely.”

“We totally crushed the first performance segment!”

“But speaking of the Wan Gong Sedan Chair, it undoubtedly belongs to Mingsha City! I once had the chance to witness a wedding ceremony in Mingsha City, and that was the very one.”

“I completely agree!”

“There’s really no argument about it. Long Kingdom only has a few such sedan chairs, and Jinlong Ancient City doesn’t even have one! I still want to know why Mingsha City’s sedan chair suddenly appeared in Jinlong Ancient City. After all, Jinlong has been secretly causing trouble for Mingsha City.”

More importantly, a friend of mine who participated in the opening show mentioned that during Jinlong Ancient City’s closed rehearsal, they used a sedan chair similar to the one in H Country – even the backup one was of the same kind.

This clearly indicates that Jinlong Ancient City never planned to use the Wan Gong Sedan Chair from the start!

“That brother makes a lot of sense!”

Under one post, nearly every reply had tens of thousands, even over a hundred thousand likes – a testament to how many people were following this.

And that wasn’t all.

Soon enough, netizens began various analyses.

“Since Jinlong Ancient City never intended to use the Wan Gong Sedan Chair, and given the conflict between the two, its appearance must have a reason!”

“Obviously – everyone knows there must be a reason!”

“Do you think it’s possible that Mingsha City lent the sedan chair to Jinlong Ancient City just to save face for Long Kingdom? If so, Mingsha City deserves a huge thumbs-up.”

“Not impossible at all – if it weren’t for Mingsha City’s sedan chair, we’d probably be the laughingstock of H Country right now.”

“But there’s another possibility: perhaps the authorities coordinated the transfer! After all, this is a Long Kingdom-level expo, not a small fry event.”

“Coordination? That seems unlikely. If it were coordinated, they would have used the sedan chair during the closed rehearsal, not that ornamental wedding sedan chair.”

“Then what’s the reason?”

“Who knows!”

“The officials would know for sure.”

“Do you think the authorities will issue an explanation?”

At that moment, a netizen, frustrated by the lack of clear answers, commented again.

“Forget it – neither the authorities, Jinlong Ancient City, nor Mingsha City will respond. Any comment from them would just give H Country an opening.”

“This…”

“Let’s wait and see how the rest of the performance unfolds. I have a feeling this traditional expo is far from what we expected.”

Time passed…

Perhaps because the sedan chair’s appearance was so sudden that just minutes before the start of the Long Kingdom traditional Lantern Festival performance, netizens were still abuzz about this incident.

Meanwhile, in reality at Jinlong Ancient City’s command center, a man in his fifties let out a long sigh of relief before gripping Zhu Qiang’s hand excitedly. “General Zhu, if it weren’t for you and Mingsha Tourism, Long Kingdom would have been utterly humiliated this time!”

With that,

the man didn’t forget to shoot a fierce glare at the visibly perplexed Niu Hongchang and Zhang Si next to him.

When Niu Hongchang informed his superiors that both sedan chairs were compromised, the entire backstage fell into chaos, with frantic phone calls and desperate measures ensuing.

Then, just as everyone was nearing despair, Niu Hongchang’s phone rang!

It was a call from Zhu Qiang.

And that was when the major turnaround began.

Not only did Zhu Qiang bring the Wan Gong Sedan Chair, he also arrived with several exquisite handcrafted lantern wheels, small lantern towers, and other items related to the Lantern Festival performance.

“Leader, you’re too kind. Our boss had casually caught wind of something and was convinced H Country was planning mischief, so he sent me ahead of time with these items to the outskirts of Jinlong Ancient City just in case.

And wouldn’t you know it – something actually went wrong!”

As Zhu Qiang spoke, he also glanced at Niu Hongchang.

That look made Niu Hongchang even more abashed – he nearly wished he could bury his head in the ground.

“Researcher Xu handles everything impeccably. I will make sure to report this incident truthfully to the authorities and ensure that Mingsha City is duly rewarded.”

The leader immediately added,

Truth be told, this time Mingsha City not only saved Long Kingdom’s face but also its own.

Otherwise,

if such a massive problem had occurred, besides Niu Hongchang and Zhang Si being held accountable, he wouldn’t have escaped blame either.

“Leader, there’s no need for that. As Deputy Director of the Ancient Architecture Institute and overall head of the branch venue, Researcher Xu is simply doing his duty.

Besides, if the main venue falters, no matter how well the branch performs, the overall image suffers!”

Zhu Qiang shot another sidelong glance at Niu Hongchang,

his eyes seemingly saying that Jinlong Ancient City and Mingsha City simply aren’t on the same level. The underhanded tricks Jinlong pulled have never been taken seriously by Mingsha City.

“But that won’t do. You’re providing not only the Wan Gong Sedan Chair but also various lantern wheels, and the costs are surely significant.”

The leader shook his head firmly.

“Leader, the sedan chair and these items have always belonged to Mingsha City. The lantern wheels will eventually be used for decorating Mingsha City’s Lantern Festival.

However, for the upcoming performance, Mingsha City’s help might be limited – we can only rely on our own side! The sudden issues with the sedan chair and the unchanging performance style over there…

Zhu Qiang continued,

“If we can just get through today, we’ll have time to adjust the rest of the performance segments! We’ll investigate every remaining detail, but for the next few days, we might have to count on a bit more help from Mingsha City!”

Mentioning the remaining segments,

the leader nodded discreetly while casting a meaningful glance at Deputy Zhang Si, who was silently bowing his head.

“Ask us for help?”

Zhu Qiang was taken aback.

Only he and a few sedan chair transport team drivers had come over, while everyone else was busy with their own performance projects in Mingsha City. And moreover, they weren’t familiar with Jinlong Ancient City’s segment at all.

“As long as our branch venue makes a big enough fuss, the public’s attention will shift away from Jinlong Ancient City. Only then can the hastily modified main venue plan pass despite its flaws.”

The leader looked at Zhu Qiang gravely.

“So that’s it? Rest assured, Leader – we know how to stir things up!”

Upon hearing that Mingsha City’s role was to generate buzz rather than assist with the actual project,

Zhu Qiang confidently declared,

“Alright! General Zhu, as always, we won’t let Mingsha City toil in vain this time!”

“You’re too kind!”

At eleven in the morning, in Mingsha City, Xu Hao and several leaders were discussing the afternoon performance process in the grand lobby of the Ancient Building Courtyard.

Last night,

a closed rehearsal of the Palace Festival and culinary performance revealed several minor issues, which have now been finalized.

“Then it’s settled! We head to Lutai at two in the afternoon!”

Dong Liping looked toward Xu Hao.

“Alright!”

“By the way, Xiao Xu, how did you find out that Jinlong Ancient City was about to face trouble?”

After a pause, Dong Liping couldn’t help but add,

As one of the co-leaders of the Cultural Expo, any mishap at the main venue would be immediately known to him. More than just admiration for Xu Hao, there was a hint of fear in his tone.

Had it not been for Xu Hao’s foresight, a major disaster would have been inevitable!

Not only Dong Liping, but Feng Wancheng, Li Jue, and others were also looking at Xu Hao.

“It was a call from my Third Brother. After a few of H Country’s clients got drunk, he accidentally mentioned that they wanted to procure some items from us – many of which were related to Jinlong Ancient City’s performance. I couldn’t be sure, so I had General Zhu head over just in case.”

Xu Hao let out a soft sigh.

After all, if General Zhu, his right-hand man, had been out on an errand at such a crucial moment, things would have fallen apart.

“Then we really must thank Third Brother! Let me know when he’s coming to Su Province!”

Understanding the whole story, Dong Liping immediately said,

The gratitude he expressed wasn’t just for a meal.

Ding dong! Just as Dong Liping was about to say more, Xu Hao’s phone suddenly rang.

“Never mind, Xiao Xu, take the call first. We’ll talk after.”

Seeing this, Dong Liping immediately said,

“Alright!”

Xu Hao nodded and picked up the phone. It was Zhu Qiang calling.

“Qiangzi, how are things over there?”

Stepping aside, Xu Hao answered the call, saying,

“Brother Hao, everything’s under control here. But the main venue’s supervisor wants us to lend a hand!”

In the next moment, Zhu Qiang’s voice came through.

“Lend a hand? How so?”

Xu Hao immediately asked.

“The officials want our branch venue to create as much buzz as possible – the bigger, the better – to help ease the pressure on the main venue.”

“Create a buzz? The bigger, the better?”

Xu Hao’s expression shifted noticeably.

“Understood!”