Chapter 49

Jiang Xingchen and his group finally concluded their song and dance performance, which took up the time of three other acts. After everyone left, the audience was still savoring the performance, to the point that they couldn't even enjoy the subsequent acts.

The other dance troupes felt an indescribable bitterness. The performance by the Purple Bauhinia Dance Troupe was so outstanding that the judges gave it unprecedented praise. How could they possibly perform after that?

However, to compete for the remaining two spots, they had no choice but to go on stage. But seeing the audience's distracted expressions, they couldn't muster the spirit to perform.

After returning to the backstage, Jiang Xingchen didn't stay. While Wan Rou and the six soldiers wanted to linger and bask in the envious gazes of the other dance troupes, Jiang Xingchen couldn't. The women's eyes, which looked at him like wolves eyeing meat, made him shiver with cold fear, afraid of being devoured whole. He didn't dare to stay any longer.

When they left the backstage, Mo Hongxian and the others were already waiting there. After watching the performance of "Men Should Be Strong," they had no interest in watching other acts.

The two groups met and returned together. On the way, the brothers kept praising Jiang Xingchen. Mo Hongxian pinched his chin and said, "Little brother, can you sing another one for me?"

Jiang Xingchen was thunderstruck, inwardly wailing, "It was just a hug with Sister Wan Rou, and she hugged me. Why are you so resentful..."

Mei'er, however, was unusually quiet, sitting on the side with a dazed look, occasionally showing a silly smile. The redness on her face hadn't faded, clearly still savoring the performance.

Only when they got home and Mo Hongxian and the others left did the little girl reveal her true colors. She hugged Jiang Xingchen and jumped around excitedly, "Brother, today's performance was so good, the song was so beautiful!"

"Hehe! I told you, brother is better than those dance troupes!" Jiang Xingchen was outwardly proud but felt a bit embarrassed. Although this body's voice was much better than in his previous life, it couldn't possibly perform the high parts of the song so well, let alone with the almost unmatched penetration of Duke Dingbei's speech, not to mention the final pitch. All the credit went to the control of the qi fluctuations in the Mingzhi Array.

"Uh-huh! Brother is the best!" The little girl nodded, her eyes twinkling, and said, "Brother, you said you would perform for me in the future, right?"

"Uh!" Jiang Xingchen was stunned. He had only said that to criticize the monotonous form of song and dance in this world, partly to make the little girl happy. But now that Mei'er mentioned it...

"Whoa!" In the cold weather, sweat appeared on Jiang Xingchen's forehead. This girl wasn't joking. If he had to perform every day...

"I'll slap myself!" Jiang Xingchen wanted to hit himself. "For a moment's pleasure, you end up tying yourself up!"

The little girl blinked her eyes, looking at him expectantly, waiting for his answer.

"This... it depends on brother's schedule. After all, brother has to earn money... Okay!" Jiang Xingchen tried to refuse but saw the little girl pouting and finally agreed.

"I knew brother would be the best for me!" The little girl jumped forward, hugged Jiang Xingchen's neck, and kissed his face, then said, "Brother! Show me your new identity card!"

Jiang Xingchen handed the identity card to Mei'er. Seeing the little girl's beaming face and her eyes shining as she carefully examined the card, his expression softened.

"Brother, when can we go home?" Mei'er asked after a while.

"It will take some time. We have to wait for the Imperial Academy to confirm my contributions... Moreover, such contributions can earn me a fief from the Duke, but we can't reclaim our home. After all, there's still the Noble Management Department. Our fief was confiscated, and if the Duke were to return it, it would create conflicts..."

"Ah!" Mei'er immediately looked disappointed. "We can't get it back?"

"Hehe! Who said we can't get it back!" Jiang Xingchen patted Mei'er's head and explained, "If it were just the Imperial Academy's contribution, the Noble Management Department might obstruct it! But don't forget, there's also the Imperial Military Department!"

"What does that have to do with the Military Department?" Mei'er was puzzled.

"These two large drums are not just musical instruments; they have a significant impact on the army... The Duke said in front of thousands of people that he would give me a fief without specifying the location, wasn't that to let me choose? Without the contribution from the Imperial Military Department, how could the Duke be so obvious!"

"But the Imperial Military Department didn't..."

"The drums can be casually mentioned as musical instruments, but their use in the army must be kept secret..."

"Oh!" The little girl responded, smiling and squinting her eyes. "As long as we can get it back!"

"Don't worry!" Jiang Xingchen rubbed her head and said, "You rest for a while, brother will make dinner!"

Watching her brother leave the room, Mei'er burst into another cheer, hugging a large stuffed doll and throwing it onto the bed.

Jiang Xingchen heard the little girl's laughter, which didn't match her age, and shook his head helplessly, then walked into the kitchen...

At this time, the news from the preliminary selection venue finally spread.

"The second act of the preliminary selection received unprecedented praise from the judges, saying that even 'excellent' is not enough to match its brilliance!"

In a short time, this news spread throughout the streets of Hongyuan City.

"Is it true? Don't you just want to fool people? Unprecedented praise, isn't that too exaggerated! Even if the judges are elites from the Imperial Academy, they can't say such things. Do they have the right?"

"I'm curious, what kind of performance could make these judges say such things beyond their status! Unprecedented, what a big mouth!" Some dance troupes performing on the streets said disdainfully. They thought the Imperial Academy was deliberately boosting a troupe they favored.

"Exactly! We don't have the connections. If we could also connect with the Imperial Academy, we could not only participate in the preliminary selection but might even win and perform the New Year's song and dance!"

Such sour remarks were everywhere.

"It's true! Many people inside have spread the same news! And people outside heard continuous cheers, as if they could tear down the walls. The applause was like a tide, and they couldn't count how long it lasted!"

All kinds of discussions were everywhere, from doubt to affirmation, disdain to curiosity, everything was there.

Soon, with the continuous spread of news, the details of the second act became more detailed.

"What! Men performing, what a joke, can that even be watched!" People on the street were stunned.

"I understand why the judges gave unprecedented praise... Hehe, it really is unprecedented! Too funny, just thinking about men performing song and dance makes me... hahaha..."

"Did you hear cheers outside, or was it laughter..."

But soon, more definitive news silenced all the doubts.

"Yes, it was cheers! This performance used a new instrument, which could be heard outside the venue!"

"Laughter, you didn't see, we couldn't help but sing along. You don't know how震撼 (shocking) the scene was with ten thousand people shouting together!" A person who came out of the venue explained to others, looking up.

At some point, people on the street started humming, "Facing the waves with pride, the blood boiling towards the red sun..."

The lyrics were intermittent, the melody inaccurate, and there was no accompaniment of the drums. But everyone who heard it was attracted by the catchy rhythm. Gradually, the doubts and disdain disappeared, and the discussions turned into overwhelming praise.

"This is the song from the performance, it's really good!"

"Good? If you heard the thunderous drumming, you'd be boiling with excitement!"

"You don't know, the judges not only gave unprecedented praise but also petitioned the empire for merit! Duke Dingbei personally announced that the lead performer, Jiang Xingchen, was promoted to a third-rank baron and promised to grant him a fief!"

"Damn, no way! Is it that exaggerated, a song to become a baron!"

"A song? You don't understand, new instruments, new performance methods, do you know the profound impact?"

"Oh! That's possible, such a significant impact is enough to be promoted from a scholar to a third-rank baron!"

"From a scholar! Tell you, in just twenty days, Jiang Xingchen went from a commoner to a third-rank baron!"

"Damn... Who is Jiang Xingchen, I have to see him, how did he do it..."

"Heard he's a young man, very handsome, giggles... I'll go see too, maybe there's a chance..."

Not everyone who came to Hongyuan City was for the song and dance preliminary selection. After all, the venue that could only accommodate ten thousand people wasn't accessible to everyone. Most people came to experience the annual atmosphere.

But by the afternoon, almost everyone rushed to the preliminary selection venue, just to see what Jiang Xingchen looked like. Going from a commoner to a baron in twenty days was a legend.

The entire Hongyuan City was in an uproar, people everywhere sought the song "Men Should Be Strong" and information about Jiang Xingchen! They didn't see him at the venue; he had already left.

The Noble Management Department was going crazy, with constant inquiries about Jiang Xingchen. But could they say anything? Leaking noble information would mean the end of their careers!

At the Duke Dingbei's residence and the Imperial Academy, large crowds went to request another performance from Jiang Xingchen. The song was so hyped that not hearing it was like being clawed by a hundred nails.

But those who had heard it were smug, boasting to others about how good the song was, how brisk the drum rhythm was...

In the end, with more and more people demanding it, even the Imperial Academy couldn't resist. They personally went to find Jiang Xingchen to prepare for another performance.

However, when they arrived in the evening, Jiang Xingchen was not at home; he had gone to the headquarters of the Seventh Legion.