Chapter 265: A Night of Schemes and Spectacles

President: There might be a performance element to it, but…

Seeing Park Qi Ye erupt in anger, Cui Xiaozhong hesitated to speak.

Today, Long Kingdom’s ancient architecture exhibit did have a slightly mystical air. Sure, that volunteer reporter’s over-the-top performance left a mark, but what about the other visitors? Fifteen thousand people were admitted, and many of them were foreigners!

Long Kingdom simply couldn’t have bribed everyone to play along.

And most importantly, among those thousands of foreign visitors, there were definitely some from H Country. They certainly wouldn’t all be in cahoots with Mingsha City.

Still, he understood how Park Qi Ye felt at that moment!

When it came to ancient architecture exhibits, today H Country took a complete beating. No—more precisely, the Mingsha City branch exhibit outshone every other project.

Online forums were buzzing nonstop about the Eight Formations Array at Mingsha Academy North Campus and the centerpiece, Jixia Academy.

Some were eager to challenge the Eight Formations Array, while others were set on visiting Jixia Academy! In short!

Today, Mingsha City not only gained two irresistibly attractive check-in spots but also effectively sidelined the Master Carpenter and the Confucian Academy projects they had previously pushed for heritage status.

Even though heritage projects won’t be cancelled, from now on, every time those two projects are mentioned, people will immediately think of Mingsha City’s Eight Formations Array and Jixia Academy. And if that’s the case, what’s the point of those projects?

“As long as there’s even a trace of performance in it, it doesn’t count. We must lodge a complaint with the International Cultural Organization!”

Park Qi Ye fumed, adding angrily.

“Do we really want to keep complaining? President, I believe our top priority is to steady the upcoming exhibits.”

Upon hearing that Park Qi Ye wished to continue the complaint,

Cui Xiaozhong was momentarily stunned and quickly interjected.

Yesterday, they had filed a complaint over kimchi infringement. Today, they received notice from the International Cultural Organization that Long Kingdom had also complained, demanding that officials re-examine the origin of kimchi to vindicate its name.

This has put us in an awkward spot! Some matters are best left unexplored; once you start dredging up old skeletons, we simply won’t be able to handle it.

After all, when the other side brings evidence, we’ll end up taking the hit.

“Steady the remaining projects? Explain yourself. Our strong projects get no attention at all—it’s only the branch exhibits that are stealing the limelight. And to top it off, those earlier rumors were all lies! The culinary exhibit was hyped as a street food alley but turned out to be Long Kingdom’s historic banquet, and at Mingsha Academy they promised a Yuelu Academy but delivered an even more enigmatic Jixia Academy. So tomorrow at the Palace Festival, it certainly won’t resemble a grand sacrificial ceremony!”

Yet our Palace Festival tomorrow is modeled after Long Kingdom’s grand sacrificial ceremony.

Park Qi Ye’s eyes nearly burst into flames.

Once this issue is settled, he’ll stop at nothing to take Mingsha City down. If Mingsha City doesn’t fall, our entire bid for intangible cultural heritage will be completely blocked and rendered worthless.

“President, although Mingsha City might not pull off a genuine grand sacrificial ceremony, such ceremonies are the pinnacle of Long Kingdom’s Palace Festival. They probably have no better alternative. Plus, the underhanded tricks they pulled today in the ancient architecture exhibit have given us some ideas.”

Cui Xiaozhong took a deep breath and quickly said,

“Some ideas?”

“They might deliberately craft an air of mystery—why shouldn’t we do the same?”

“Hmm?”

Park Qi Ye’s expression shifted as he gradually regained his composure.

“What exactly do you mean?”

“President, tomorrow during the Palace Festival we can stage some off-camera disruptions. For example, we could simulate a sudden strong wind or pre-place some dry ice around the altar to evoke the ambience of Mingsha City’s Jixia Academy.”

Cui Xiaozhong nodded in agreement.

Even though visitors might not actually reach Jixia Academy in Mingsha City because of its elusive nature, he believed that the atmospheric effect inside was achieved using some kind of advanced tech.

“That could work—but can we pull it off in time?”

Park Qi Ye stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“President, time is on our side.”

“Excellent! Then let’s convene another meeting to explore any other tricks we might employ. By tomorrow, we’ll declare that our ceremony is the only authentic one.”

“Agreed!”

Night deepened.

In Mingsha City, the lights blazed brilliantly. At the Lutai of Oasis 4, visitors streamed in non-stop for their check-ins!

Although the star of today’s exhibit was ancient architecture, the culinary zone was still buzzing with activity.

At that moment,

After a long day’s work, Fang Hou stood by the railing atop Zhaixing Pavilion at Lutai, gazing over the panoramic view of Mingsha City while idly chatting.

“President Luo, have you taken care of things over there?”

Taking a deep breath, Fang Hou turned to look at Luo Peng.

“All sorted! But with the ancient architecture exhibit ramping up the pressure today, things have suddenly gotten a lot tougher!”

Luo Peng couldn’t help but offer a bitter smile.

This time, he was mainly responsible for the traditional costumes exhibit. The display area was inside the grand hall following the Langya Mountain altar.

He had assumed that the exhibit would set the day ablaze—but now he felt uncertain.

It wasn’t that the traditional costumes exhibit was poor; it was just that yesterday’s projects were so sensational that nothing that followed could possibly match up. Much like any performance act—if the opening number is a huge hit, every subsequent act suffers by comparison.

“You all have so much prepared and still feel the pressure?”

At that, Fang Hou paused.

Although outsiders weren’t privy to the specifics of the branch’s traditional costumes exhibit, as one of Mingsha City’s executives, how could he not be? This exhibit primarily featured live reenactments of famous paintings and dance performances.

The live reenactments included works such as ‘Spring Dawn in the Han Palace’, ‘Lady of Guo’s Spring Outing’, ‘Fan-Wielding Beauties’, ‘Palace Music’, among others, and there was even a dance called ‘Tang Palace Night Banquet’.

This ‘Tang Palace Night Banquet’ wasn’t created from scratch.

It drew inspiration from the museum’s vibrant terracotta figurines, borrowing elements from Tang dynasty costumes and incorporating scenes from ‘The Grinding of Pearls’, ‘Adorned Ladies’, ‘The Memorial Ride of Xu Min of Shandong’, ‘A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains’, and cultural relics such as the Fuhao Gui Zun, Lotus and Crane Square Pot, and the Jiahu Bone Flute.

The dancers moved as if they were stepping through an ancient painting—absolutely mesmerizing.

During a recent makeup rehearsal, he thought that this dance would have been perfect as a standalone promotional piece for the Cultural Expo.

If that alone is pressure, he couldn’t imagine any traditional costumes exhibit surpassing this format.

“How could there not be pressure! You saw the chaos today. Those diehard visitors have already lined up at the North Campus entrance with tents and sleeping bags, planning to challenge the Eight Formations Array at dawn tomorrow!”

Luo Peng glanced toward Mingsha Academy.

Especially after today’s Long Kingdom TV reporter got lost inside the Eight Formations Array with his camera—his misadventure created a promotional buzz that rivaled several editions of the Spring Festival Gala, even trending in the top three search results at one point.

As expected, the coming hours would see a steady influx of visitors.

“And with tomorrow being the Palace Festival—which you know! Recently, Brother Hao has been secretly tinkering with something. I have a feeling that tomorrow’s commotion won’t be any less than today’s! Now, tell me, how do we follow up on the traditional costumes exhibit scheduled for the day after tomorrow? It would have been so much better if we had put it on the first day!”

After a pause, Luo Peng rubbed his forehead and continued.

Sometimes, people are like that. Although everyone in Mingsha City comes from the same background, no one wants his own project to flop—they all crave hot topics and buzz for their projects. More importantly, Mingsha City still has to help ease the burden on the main venue.

Sharing the pressure means that all the day’s attention must focus on the branch exhibits.

Otherwise,

Jinlong Ancient City might end up suffering a crushing defeat!

“Then…” Fang Hou hesitated.

He understood Luo Peng’s feelings and even felt a tinge of relief—thank goodness, the culinary exhibit was on the first day, or he’d be in the same boat as Luo Peng.

“I have to figure something out!”

After a moment of silence, Luo Peng took a deep breath, a new determination glinting in his eyes.

“Figure something out? President Luo, what do you propose? The exhibit process is already set.”

Fang Hou was taken aback.

“Don’t worry! Didn’t Brother Hao mention that yesterday afternoon some officials called and said adjustments could be made? With both the culinary and ancient architecture exhibits secured, we can’t afford to drop the ball on the traditional costumes exhibit.”

Luo Peng immediately responded,

“Then if you need any help on your end, just say the word. Haozi will be too busy tonight and tomorrow.”

Fang Hou turned and glanced toward Langya Mountain.

“Mm!”

Elsewhere, in an office at the backyard of Taiyi Hospital, Dean Lin Wenian sat in silence for a long moment before addressing the other four elder masters by his side.

These four were the additional national medicine masters whom Lin Wenian had invited to Taiyi Hospital.

They had originally prepared the entire traditional medicine performance—but over the past two days, their confidence had waned.

The traditional culinary exhibit was a hit that even restored Long Kingdom’s kimchi reputation; yet today, the ancient architecture exhibit exploded online, effectively nullifying H Country’s Master Carpenter and Confucian Academy. So what about the traditional medicine performance? If we can’t overshadow ‘Eastern Medicine Treasure,’ wouldn’t that imply Long Kingdom’s traditional medicine falls short?

“I agree! Old Lin, if nothing works, we can—”

After a brief silence,

An elderly man in his eighties with kindly, benevolent eyes, named Zong Shengcai, spoke up. A respected figure in Long Kingdom’s traditional medicine circle, he joined Taiyi Hospital not for money or fame, but simply to use Mingsha City’s Taiyi Hospital as a platform to promote Long Kingdom’s traditional medicine and contribute his final efforts.

“Old Zong, what exactly are you suggesting?”

At Old Zong’s words, the other elders couldn’t help but show a hint of hesitation in their eyes.