Volume 3, Chapter 382 – Noble Consort Wei Makes His Entrance

“What a grand courtyard.”

Lu Zhuxin followed Cheng Yinyin into Huayue Court.

Taking in the bustling crowd before her, she couldn’t help but exclaim.

“So many people.”

The moment the words left her mouth, several strange glances turned their way.

Standing beside Lu Zhuxin, Cheng Yinyin felt as though she could curl her toes tightly enough to grip the floor beneath her.

She began to wonder whether bringing this girl along to the imperial consort selection had truly been the right decision.

Still, remembering the plan her mother had laid out beforehand, she swallowed the thought for now.

Cheng Yinyin let out a strained laugh and pulled Lu Zhuxin along, murmuring low.

“Second Sister. Let’s not chat here. Let’s hurry inside. If we keep standing around, we’ll block the people behind us.”

With that, Cheng Yinyin pulled Lu Zhuxin along and hurried deeper into the garden.

“Wait. Little Sister Yin, slow down.”

The commotion drew more glances from those around them.

Cheng Yinyin felt her face grow even more mortified.

Standing off at a distance, Chi Xiyan watched Lu Zhuxin and Cheng Yinyin dashing about and couldn’t help but frown.

For daughters of noble houses to chase and horse around in public was already a breach of etiquette.

And this was, of all places, the site of the imperial selection itself. The officials judging the candidates might well be hidden somewhere in the crowd, quietly scoring every noble scion who had come to compete.

If those officials caught sight of Xue’er and Cheng Yinyin behaving like this, it would certainly cost them points.

That was exactly why the noble sons and daughters around them were watching the two girls with such looks.

What should she do? Should she warn them?

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Chi Xiyan took a step forward, then stopped short.

She lowered her eyes slightly.

Never mind.

Better to let Xue’er be eliminated here than to let her face the Empress directly.

***

Within Huayue Court, a high platform had already been raised.

Immortal energy drifted through the garden, and the glazed tiles shimmered with a rainbow sheen in the morning light.

Cheng Yinyin pulled Lu Zhuxin along until they reached the inner garden.

The noise around them fell away at once, leaving only the graceful strains of immortal music playing somewhere within the garden.

An official holding a jade scroll blocked their path at the entrance. “You two, please present your registration tablets for the selection.”

Cheng Yinyin hurriedly drew a name tablet from her storage ring and handed it to the official before them.

The official unrolled the jade scroll and checked their identities against it.

“Identities confirmed. You two, please take your tablets and go find your seats.”

“Understood!” Cheng Yinyin said quickly.

Around the high platform in the garden, many people were already seated.

They all sat properly upright in their places, and even when speaking with companions, they kept their voices low.

Cheng Yinyin murmured to Lu Zhuxin, “Second Sister, our seats are over there. Let’s go sit down now.”

Lu Zhuxin looked in the direction Cheng Yinyin was pointing.

Their seats were tucked away in an out of the way corner to the side of the platform, the kind of spot where it would be hard to draw anyone’s attention even if you tried.

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The seating arrangement was probably determined by family standing.

Given the Cheng family’s connections, this was likely the best they could manage.

Lu Zhuxin glanced at Cheng Yinyin, who looked thoroughly excited.

Well. Given this girl’s abilities, standing out under these circumstances would be rather difficult.

It would all come down to Chi Xiyan’s skill.

The two of them came to the table and sat down. As soft music played nearby, attendants soon arrived bearing fruit.

Cheng Yinyin fixed her eyes on the stage at the center, brimming with anticipation.

Just then, Lu Zhuxin felt a burning gaze on her.

Someone was watching her!

And in a place where she knew no one, no less.

Startled, Lu Zhuxin turned her head slightly, following the sense toward its source.

Not far from where they sat was a noble young lady dressed in pale orchid gauze.

She sat properly upright, but her gaze kept drifting sideways toward Lu Zhuxin.

The face was unfamiliar, and yet it stirred a strange sense of familiarity in Lu Zhuxin all the same.

More than that, the way the girl kept glancing over made it clear she recognized Lu Zhuxin.

Lu Zhuxin cast an idle glance her way and thought the girl’s eyes must be somehow off.

Where her irises should have been a deep black, there was instead an elusive, unnatural tinge of gray.

Wait. This girl’s build and aura were off too.

Lu Zhuxin suddenly realized where the sense of wrongness was coming from.

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It was a disguise. Every part of this girl had been concealed and altered.

The technique looked like the work of the Fox Clan.

“No way…” The corner of Lu Zhuxin’s mouth stiffened for an instant. “Who would be so bold?”

At that moment, Chi Xiyan walked in as well.

The moment the young lady in pale orchid gauze caught sight of Chi Xiyan, she immediately withdrew her gaze and sat up properly.

Watching this unfold only confirmed Lu Zhuxin’s suspicion further.

Chi Xiyan’s attention was fixed entirely on Lu Zhuxin. She hadn’t noticed anything strange about the other girl.

“Xue’er.”

Chi Xiyan called out softly.

Lu Zhuxin kept her face cold and did not respond.

A shadow crossed Chi Xiyan’s eyes, but she didn’t press the matter. Instead, she walked over quietly.

“Xue’er, the Empress’s selection isn’t like the matchmaking arrangements noble families are used to.”

“The Human Emperor’s Palace doesn’t place much weight on family background. What matters far more is a candidate’s bearing and talent.”

“If you can master what I taught you before and put it all together, it should be more than enough to get you through the first two rounds of the preliminary selection.”

Having said this, Chi Xiyan walked off to a seat some distance from Lu Zhuxin and sat down.

Cheng Yinyin couldn’t resist chiming in. “Second Sister, Big Sister thinks you can only make it through the first two rounds. That’s her looking down on you.”

Lu Zhuxin’s brows twitched.

This little girl really never missed a chance to stir up trouble between them.

Of course, Lu Zhuxin knew Chi Xiyan wasn’t wrong.

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If they were competing normally, then with only the meager skills Chi Muxue had learned so far, going up against noble scions from across the entire commandery would indeed be difficult.

But Lu Zhuxin hadn’t come here to compete normally.

She was fairly confident that both she and Chi Xiyan would make it through the selection.

“Little Sister Yin, I won’t lose to Big Sister.”

As Lu Zhuxin spoke, the rest of the candidates had all taken their seats.

Before long, a clear bell tolled from the high platform in the garden.

The whole of Huayue Court fell silent at once, every eye drawn toward the platform at its center.

With that bell toll, the thick spiritual energy in the air rippled outward like water disturbed by a stone.

Amid the drifting immortal mist, feathers like gold foil drifted slowly down.

A man clad in a golden phoenix cloak stepped onto the high platform in time with the ethereal music.

At the sight of this strikingly handsome man, many of the noble sons and daughters around them lowered their voices in astonished murmurs.

“It’s Noble Consort Wei.”

“It’s Wei Ziqing, Noble Consort Wei!”

This was Wei Ziqing?

The male consort from the Empress’s story.

Lu Zhuxin looked at the man standing at the center of the platform.

This was another one of her Heaven Mandated Male Leads.

In terms of looks alone, he was every bit a match for Song Shixuan.

And yet, as a noble consort, Wei Ziqing carried an added beauty so androgynous it defied telling male from female at a glance.