Chapter 34

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Translator: Anne

Editor: Miqi

Proofreader: Ani and Sal

Qin Qiuyu noticed the crown prince’s gaze on her and was stunned, bowing her head shyly. General Qin was slightly astonished, he hadn’t expected that his eldest daughter would catch the crown prince’s attention.

On the other side, Wang Yuzhi frowned slightly and glanced at Wang Mang, who was exchanging communicative glances with their father, Imperial Tutor Wang, who shook his head gently. The empress beckoned her niece, Lang Linling, closer and whispered something in her ear.

This became a very popular occurrence.

The other ladies, whose fathers or brothers were courtiers, went to them for advice. The one’s whose fathers or brothers hadn’t been invited to the ceremony stood quietly and warily on the sidelines.

On the other side, Eunuch Mo gave some confidential information to a number of Ceremonial Officials.

After a while, Eunuch Mo said, “there are a total of thirty two candidates, they’ll be divided into eight groups according to the arrangements, in each group there will be four candidates.”

The women immediately stood in the center of the hall and bowed to the empress, crown prince and crown princess in courtesy.

The empress looked at Prince Xian. He was the oldest brother but hadn’t received an act of courtesy. Her heart was filled with resentment.

The Ceremonial Officials organised everything, immediately dividing the candidates into groups.

The crowd looked at the divided groups, there… was something fishy about them. Qin Qiuyu, Qang Yuxhi, Lang Linling and Qiao Rong were all in different groups. Not only that, all four of them were even deliberately scattered into different groups.

Qiao Mei had been thinking about the crown prince, who was constantly keeping an eye on Qiao Qiuyu. From the corner of her eyes she could clearly see Prince Xian and Prince Ning looking at her, the latter watching with a mocking smile. Annoyed, she resolutely threw a quick glare at Prince Xian. In response, she heard a light laugh coming from Prince Xia and she directed her glower at him.

When she looked again, she noticed that, besides the younger princes, the other princes were watching her. Although she was pleased with her beauty, she began to feel overly indignant. Suddenly, they all averted their gazes. It was like they had seen something terrible. Qiao Mei was stunned and she saw the crown prince’s lips quirk slightly as he indifferently glanced at his younger brothers.

She felt happy and leaned a bit closer into the crown prince.

Seeing as everything had been prepared, the emperor and the empress looked at each other. Eunuch Mo understood what they meant without being told explicitly, “The competition shall commence! Take the candidates to their respective rooms.”

Except for the few people who still seemed calm, all the candidates were nervous and apprehensive. The Ceremonial Officials were about to lead the candidates out when a middle-aged man hurriedly ran into the hall.

It was Fang Ming, the steward of Prince Rui’s Mansion.

Fang Ming had an anxious look on his face as he lifted the hem of his robe and knelt down, “Your Majesty, just now, this servant was approached by a woman outside the hall… there’s another beautiful concubine candidate.”

For a short while, everyone was astonished. The emperor grasped the armrest of his chair tightly and asked with a frown, “What is going on?”

Fang Ming gave a meaningful glance to the youngster standing at the door, gesturing to bring them in. The youth had a bulky physique but an innocent face. He quickly nodded and dashed out at lightning speed.

Soon, he brought in three young women.

Qiao Mei looked visibly shaken, and Qiao Rong couldn’t help but voice, “Why are you here?”

The crowd was confused, the purple-robed girl standing in the middle led the other two to a kneeling position.

“Qiao Chu, the third princess of the northern lands greets the emperor. Long live the emperor.”

Wang Mang was surprised, he subconsciously glanced at the crown prince. The crown prince frowned as he stared at Qiao Chu.