Chapter 38

"Uh!" Upon hearing this, Duke Dingsbei was taken aback. If this had happened to someone else, no matter how happy they were, they wouldn't dare to be impolite in front of him. But this kid was so bold, he even dared to make a request.

Strangely, he didn't feel the slightest bit annoyed; instead, he even liked it. Jiang Xingchen's tone and expression showed no disrespect, but rather a sense of affection from a junior to a senior.

"No wonder Wanrou gave this kid the evaluation of being as warm and gentle as jade, with a natural charm that makes people feel close! It seems to be true indeed!"

He sighed inwardly and said, "What are your requests? Speak up!"

"Hehe!" Jiang Xingchen chuckled, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Can His Excellency change my identity card right now?"

"What!" Duke Dingsbei stared with wide eyes, astonished, "This is a done deal, can't you wait ten days... No, it must be after the announcement before your identity card can be changed. Changing it now would not be in accordance with the rules!"

"I know it's not in accordance with the rules, but can't you give me a temporary one? I'm not going to use it to deceive others!"

"Are you crazy about the title, just these ten days! Are you going to look at it every day to make yourself happy?" Duke Dingsbei pointed at Jiang Xingchen, somewhat angry. He really couldn't understand why this kid suddenly had such an idea.

"His Excellency, I really need it, please help me!" Jiang Xingchen continued to plead.

Taking a deep breath, Duke Dingsbei asked, "Kid, do you know why I'm helping you so much?"

"It must be either Sister Hongxian or Sister Wanrou!" Jiang Xingchen thought to himself. Since Duke Dingsbei mentioned that selling the secret formula would boost the prosperity of Hongyuan City, he had guessed this possibility.

However, he didn't say it that way. Instead, he straightened his face and said, "Of course, it's because His Excellency values talent, has a vision for the empire's development, and respects Emperor Qiankun..."

"Stop!" Duke Dingsbei's whole body was covered in goosebumps, and he felt his teeth were about to fall out. He quickly shouted, "I've seen flattery before, but never like this. It's so nauseating, I'm afraid if I don't agree, this kid will keep talking, and I'll be covered in goosebumps."

"I agree to the temporary identity card, but you can't use it, or the noble management department will have a hard time explaining it!"

"Thank you, His Excellency!" Jiang Xingchen smiled and bowed, then said, "There's one more thing..."

Duke Dingsbei's forehead veins bulged, and he pointed at Jiang Xingchen, "You're not done yet?"

"His Excellency, don't misunderstand, I just want to change my name to Jiang Xingchen!" Seeing Duke Dingsbei's terrifying appearance, Jiang Xingchen quickly explained.

"Is that so..." Duke Dingsbei exhaled, changing a name when getting a new identity card wasn't a big deal. Many nobles changed their names because they didn't like them, and he didn't even bother to ask the reason.

"Alright! I know, do you have anything else?" Duke Dingsbei waved his hand.

"Oh! Since His Excellency asks, I'll say it. There's one more thing..."

Duke Dingsbei suddenly burst out, kicked toward Jiang Xingchen, and roared, "Get out of here quickly!"

Jiang Xingchen, more agile than a rabbit, darted out, and Duke Dingsbei's kick missed him.

"So agile, just as Wanrou said!" Duke Dingsbei stared, he was a master at the Essence Qi level.

Staring at the place where Jiang Xingchen disappeared for a long time, Duke Dingsbei suddenly smiled, "This kid is really interesting, daring to joke with me and get close. He must have guessed that I'm Wanrou's father..."

Duke Dingsbei's judgment was accurate. Jiang Xingchen had guessed that he was either Wanrou's or Hongxian's senior, which is why he dared to get close. So from the beginning, Jiang Xingchen positioned himself as a junior, not a subordinate.

Running out of the room, Jiang Xingchen felt excited. He wanted the temporary identity card to make the little girl happy at home. Thinking of the little girl's surprised expression when she saw the baron's identity card, he felt incredibly pleased.

He had long wanted to change his name. Being called Jiang Ling all the time made him feel uncomfortable.

But as he walked out, Jiang Xingchen soon stopped smiling. The Duke's mansion was too large, with one courtyard after another. He hadn't paid attention to the path when he came in, so he couldn't find his way out.

"That's right, it feels like this direction, but why haven't I reached the gate yet... This huge mansion, how can there be so few people, not even a servant in sight..."

Jiang Xingchen muttered to himself, walking in the direction he felt was right. Suddenly, he heard a song coming from the front gate.

"Someone ahead!" Jiang Xingchen was delighted, took a big step forward, and pushed the door open.

"Ah?" As soon as he entered, Jiang Xingchen finally understood why he couldn't see anyone in the entire mansion. There were a hundred or so people standing densely in front of him, men and women, old and young, clearly all the people in the mansion had gathered here.

"What are they doing, not working...?" Jiang Xingchen looked ahead, puzzled, and finally understood.

In the front, Wanrou, dressed in colorful clothes, was dancing gracefully, singing softly.

Next to her, three other women were also dancing, but not singing.

Beside the open space, seven or eight people were playing instruments that Jiang Xingchen had never seen before.

"So, Wanrou is related to the Duke, probably his daughter... Is this the performance Wanrou prepared?" Jiang Xingchen stood still, watching and listening carefully. He had been in this world for ten days and had only heard about performances but never seen one.

Watching carefully, Jiang Xingchen soon frowned.

Wanrou's colorful clothes were beautiful, but they didn't match the other three, making the dance seem chaotic.

As for the singing, Wanrou's voice was quite sweet, but the song lacked feeling.

Jiang Xingchen didn't know much about music and dance; in his previous life, he only listened to pop songs. But he had heard that good music could evoke resonance, and Wanrou's performance was clearly far from that.

The instruments were mostly wind instruments, somewhat like the sheng, xiao, and flute from ancient Earth, but the sound was somewhat dull.

"Does this world not have string instruments? Guqin, guzheng, pipa, guitar... forget the guitar!" Jiang Xingchen watched, his mind racing.

After a while, the music stopped, and Wanrou, out of breath, stopped. The audience burst into thunderous applause.

"Miss! The performance was excellent!"

"Miss, your voice is so beautiful!"

"The dance is the most beautiful, I'm almost enchanted..." Flattering voices came from the crowd, and Jiang Xingchen almost burst out laughing. Compared to what he had said to Duke Dingsbei, this was real flattery.

Wanrou frowned, glanced at the audience, and said sternly, "I asked you to come to point out my flaws, not to flatter me."

The scene immediately fell silent, and the servants all lowered their heads, no longer speaking. Flattery and praise were fine, but no one would be foolish enough to point out flaws, as it might make the miss unhappy, and they would be in trouble.

Wanrou frowned, looked around, sighed, and shook her head. The pre-selection for the dance and music performance was only ten days away, and the dance and music troupes from the surrounding large territories would all come. With her current state, she had no hope of competing for the top three spots and qualifying for the New Year's performance.

"This dance and music performance is not perfect and needs to be improved... but what exactly is wrong..." Wanrou rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache. Just as she was about to dismiss the servants, she saw Jiang Xingchen standing at the back.

"Ah!" Wanrou's eyes lit up, and she waved her hand, "Why are you here? Come over quickly!"

When Wanrou saw him, Jiang Xingchen's heart tightened. He was afraid she would call him "little brother" in front of so many people, which would be embarrassing.

Fortunately, Wanrou was clearly in a bad mood and didn't tease him.

Slightly relieved, Jiang Xingchen walked through the crowd to Wanrou.

"Did you see our dance and music performance just now? What do you think? Speak honestly, don't flatter me!" Wanrou asked immediately.

"Um..." Although Jiang Xingchen could point out many flaws, he wasn't a professional and didn't know where to start, so he hesitated.

"Ah~" Seeing Jiang Xingchen's hesitation, Wanrou's expression darkened, and she sighed, "He's from a remote village, he must have seen few dance and music performances. He's probably not even as good as my servants, how can he say anything useful!"

Thinking about this, Wanrou's mood became even lower, and she waved her hand, "Forget it, you don't understand!"

Jiang Xingchen thought for a moment, organized his words, and was about to speak when the gate of the courtyard opened again, and Duke Dingsbei walked in.

"Kid, why did you come here?" Duke Dingsbei's voice was like a bell, interrupting Jiang Xingchen's words.

Not wanting to comment on Wanrou's performance, Jiang Xingchen turned around and said with a bitter smile, "His Excellency! Your mansion is really too big, I can't find my way out!"

"Perfect! I was going to send someone to take you, but since you're still here, just take you back directly!" Saying this, Duke Dingsbei raised his hand and threw a light yellow card.

Jiang Xingchen caught it, looked down, and his lips curled. It was a temporary identity card. The material was unfamiliar, and on the front was "Jiang Xingchen," and on the back, "Third-Class Baron."

"So fast!" Jiang Xingchen was pleasantly surprised. How long had it taken for Duke Dingsbei to get the temporary identity card ready?

"Rubbish!" Duke Dingsbei didn't explain, just muttered.

"Uh!" Jiang Xingchen was taken aback, then realized that the ruler of Hongyuan City could easily get a temporary identity card for him.

"Go quickly! Don't delay Wanrou's practice!" Duke Dingsbei waved his hand, making a gesture to shoo him away.

"Alright, I won't disturb you! Sister Wanrou, don't lose heart, you can definitely do it!" Jiang Xingchen smiled, made a fist, and saw