: Victory in the Culinary Battle, Wang Yi Captured!

On the high platform, Ding Baozhen finally recovered from his excitement.

His expression turned serious again, and he announced, "At this point, the answer is obvious—"

"Nan Xu, you have passed, without a doubt!"

The other two examiners nodded and looked at Nan Xu with admiration.

"Thank you, gentlemen." Nan Xu bowed respectfully, his expression calm.

This obvious result is merely an appetizer.

The real highlight is yet to come.

Sure enough, he didn't have to wait long before Ding Baozhen cleared his throat and spoke again amidst the audience's surprised gazes:

"In addition, I have something else to announce—"

"Nanxu of Baiweilou and Jiang Yuqiao of Jiangjia made a culinary duel several days ago, with the eighth-grade chef qualification examination as the subject. The examination has been completed after confirmation by the Food Evaluation Office."

Therefore, we will compare their dishes and make a fair judgment!

Ding Baozhen's words caused a huge uproar among the crowd!

"Nan Xu actually made a culinary duel bet with Jiang Yuqiao? And it's during the chef qualification exam? He's really daring..."

"How strange, how did he convince that young master of the Jiang family to agree to the cooking competition? What impressive stakes did he have up his sleeve?"

"Hey, how can you be so sure it was Nan Xu who approached Jiang Yuqiao? Maybe it was Jiang Yuqiao who challenged Nan Xu!"

The audience was buzzing with discussion, and Xiao Zou once again showed a shocked expression.

"Chef Luo... what's going on with Ah Xu's cooking competition this time?"

To his surprise, even Luo Qinzhu was stunned and stood there for a moment.

After a long pause, she came to her senses and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry... I don't know either."

"But... I have a feeling that he did this for Baiweilou."

Meanwhile, at the other end of the examination room.

Jiang Yuqiao clenched his fists tightly, his face gloomy.

From the moment he heard the words "Feast of Life," he knew that he most likely couldn't beat Nan Xu.

However, he still clung to his last remaining hope and looked towards the center of the examination hall.

Gao Wenjie shook his folding fan and spoke first: "Jiang Yuqiao's Peach Blossom Mandarin Fish is indeed delicious and ingeniously designed. In terms of quality, it is at least at the peak of the seventh grade, and may even be close to the level of the sixth grade."

Then, Prefect Zhao continued, "But Nanxu's Mountain Delicacies Soup, considering both its powerful nourishing effects and its novel concept, is already worthy of being rated as a sixth-grade dish."

"So..." Ding Baozhen paused, then announced loudly, "The winner of this culinary competition is Nanxu from Baiweilou!"

The sound, imbued with true energy, echoed across the square, and the crowd suddenly erupted in a clamor.

"Great! Ah-Xu won!" Xiao-Zou clenched his fist excitedly.

Luo Qinzhu also breathed a sigh of relief, and the worry in her heart finally dissipated.

Jiang Yuqiao looked unwilling, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

On the judging panel, Ding Baozhen spoke again: "Then, according to the culinary duel contract, the loser will fulfill the wager under the notarization of the Food Review Bureau."

"However, at the request of the parties involved, the stakes for this cooking duel were a secret known only to the two parties who agreed to the duel, and we were unaware of them beforehand."

He turned his gaze to Nan Xu: "Nan Xu, now you can demand that the other party fulfill their bet."

Nan Xu nodded, and was about to speak when Jiang Yuqiao's voice came from the side.

"No need for all that trouble, I'll just get straight to the point. The wager is to identify the person in Baiwei Restaurant who is secretly colluding with the Jiang family."

He walked to the center of the square, glanced at the crowd around him, and his gaze settled on a certain person.

"Wang Yi of Baiweilou was lured by someone from the Jiang family with the position of head chef of Baiweilou. During the culinary battle, he cooperated with the Jiang family to frame Li Zhengfeng, a seventh-rank chef, which almost caused Baiweilou to lose."

"As far as I know, he has also contacted that person from the Jiang family many times, plotting how to harm Baiweilou so that Luo Qinzhu would step down and he could gain ownership of Baiweilou."

The crowd fell silent for a moment after these words were spoken.

Then, a sudden uproar erupted!

"What?! Did I hear that right? There's a traitor at Baiweilou?!"

"This news is absolutely explosive..."

"So that's why Chef Li didn't participate in the previous culinary competition; he was framed!"

"That Wang Yi is a real scoundrel, a traitor to his own people!"

"I never expected the Jiang family to resort to such despicable tactics. I even bought salt from them before..."

Xiao Zou looked at Wang Yi in shock, then at Luo Qinzhu beside him, and stammered, "Chef Luo... Chef Luo, is... is this true?"

Luo Qinzhu didn't reply. She just stood there, frozen in place, as if she had lost all ability to speak.

After a long while, she finally spoke with difficulty: "Uncle Wang, you... have you really betrayed Baiweilou?"

She has always treated everyone at Baiweilou as family, and that's why she doesn't believe anyone could betray her.

But Jiang Yuqiao's words forced her to face this possibility.

Large beads of sweat appeared on Wang Yi's face as he cursed inwardly: Damn the Jiang family, they actually used you and then discarded you!

He argued frantically, "This...it must be that brat Nan Xu framing me! That's right, his wager in the cooking competition was that Jiang Yuqiao had to cooperate with him to frame me!"

To everyone's surprise, after he said those words, Luo Qinzhu looked at him with even more disappointment.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuqiao snorted coldly: "Frame someone? I'm not so bored as to gamble with something like that."

He pointed to the sky and solemnly declared, "I, Jiang Yuqiao, swear here that everything I just said is the truth. If I break this oath, may my culinary spirit crumble and my food business cease to exist!"

Wang Yi's face turned pale. He knew that once these words were spoken, he would have no chance to refute them.

"Why? Uncle Wang... would a mere position as head chef make you betray everyone at Baiweilou, and even my father?" Luo Qinzhu asked incredulously.

Wang Yi stopped struggling, his expression gradually becoming frantic: "Sorry to your father? He was the one who wronged me first! He's a selfish bastard, only willing to pass Baiweilou on to his own daughter, not to his old partner who's been with him for so many years!"

"Luo Qinzhu... Someone like you, with all your culinary skills but no business acumen, is completely unworthy to inherit Baiweilou! The position of head chef at Baiweilou should have been mine! Mine!"

"Enough!" Ding Baozhen slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "A chef should rely on skill to decide everything!"

He glared angrily at Wang Yi: "You despicable villain, instead of diligently honing your culinary skills, you turn around and attack others! I think you've become obsessed with resentment to the point of madness!"

Immediately afterward, he waved his hand and shouted, "Guards, arrest this criminal! Give him fifty strokes of the cane, brand him, permanently strip him of his cook status, and throw him into the kitchen prison!"

Wang Yi was dragged away by the guards, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness.

Nan Xu, standing on the high platform, remained calm. From the moment he won the cooking competition, Wang Yi's fate was already sealed.

That means being stripped of all chef ranks and forced to perform the lowest of jobs in the prison where chef prisoners are held, such as handling dangerous ingredients that no one else wants to handle, or making food for monsters.

Those who are caught cheating in a cooking contest will suffer this fate.

Given the severity of Wang Yi's crimes, he will likely be imprisoned for life.

Wang Yi's fate was entirely his own doing. His arrest today is a case of karma coming back to haunt him.

Nan Xu felt extremely relieved after helping Baiweilou get rid of a major pest.

He was about to walk off the field when he suddenly heard a system notification.

[Ding! The hidden quest "Saving Baiweilou" has been completed!]