Chapter 36

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Translator: Anne

Editor: Miqi

Proofreader: Sal

The smoke from the incense rose gracefully.

The room was lined with sandalwoodshelves filled with countless books and files.

“Weren’t we told to wait here? Why hasn’t anyone come to read out the examination questions?”

Eventually, one of the candidates couldn’t stop herself from pushing her chair back and rising from her seat.

The group of five girls were led to their rooms by Ceremonial Officials and each were seated in their respective chairs. Tea and scented flowers were placed on their tables. However, as time went by, nobody came to announce the examination questions, except for the Ceremonial Officials that exited the room while saying: the empress and royal courtesans are in the courtyard waiting for the candidate that passed the first round to join the second round of the competition. In the end, nothing was even briefly mentioned about the first round’s examination questions.

Another candidate rose from her seat, muttering as she paced, “Is it possible that the focus is on the second round? But, if that were the case, how would the winners of the first round be decided?”

No one in the room was in the mood to drink tea, except for two people. One was the Ninth Prince, Prince Xia, who was seated in the main chair, and the other was Qiao Chu.

If one were to ask Prince Xia why he was there, he would respond with an answer one might think as odd; he was there to supervise the examinations. Along with the crown prince, the emperor had assigned several other princes to the eight rooms as proctors.

At that moment, some women walked to Qiao Rong’s side, pleading in a low voice, “Sister, can’t you ask the Ninth Prince about this?”

Although each of them were competing against each other, Qiao Rong was related to her elder sister, Qiao Mei; the crown princess, by blood. Everyone was aware of this. The Lord of the Northern Lands had five daughters, and although Qiao Chu was the third princess, she was nevertheless birthed from a concubine. Furthermore, her face was ordinary and the clothes she wore were worn out and plain. What kind of princess looked like that? It looked like she had gone to the selection in secrecy. It felt like she was looking down on them, thinking to win with that appearance and standing.

Although they didn’t grow up in a place like a palace, they were shrewd and had profoundly scheming minds. After all, they lived in households full of government officials; they were bound to have a skill in judging people’s disposition. Qiao Rong had become the main person that they relied on.

Seeing as Prince Xian was young, handsome and bright—although not as much as the Crown Prince—he was still dignified in appearance, and for that, she liked him. Additionally, seeing as everyone respected her, she was inevitably pleased with herself. She walked with deliberately slow steps until she was in front of Prince Xia, gracefully bowed in respect and asked, “Ninth Prince, as you can see, there must’ve been some mistake; why hasn’t a messenger come to tell us the examination questions yet?”

The other participants noticed that Qiao Rong had voiced their worries. It was a well-known fact that Prince Xia was unmarried, and that there were but a few servant girls in his courtyard. His mother, Concubine Hui, was also very favored in the palace. Thinking about all of this, Qiao Rong realized that even if she was unable to become Princess Rui, she could still marry the Ninth Prince.

Prince Xia’s mouth slightly lifted, “Ladies, this prince is only here as a proctor and does not know what arrangements the emperor has made. However, this prince thinks everyone should follow Lady Qiao Chu’s example and not be impatient.”

Inside, Qiao Rong was furious. She followed Prince Xia’s line of sight and noticed that his gaze was on Qiao Chu.

Qiao Chu, who was calmly drinking tea, was startled by Prince Xia’s words and nearly choked. She couldn’t help but mentally give him some unspoken criticism; this man couldn’t see how nervous and anxious she was. Qiao Chu wasn’t in a hurry and she thought anxiousness was useless, but she couldn’t help but feel uneasy. She was feeling rather tired as she had traveled from the desert to Zhaoge. Why did he want her to be the target of public scorn?

She felt several resentful gazes on her and sighed, deciding to put her tea cup down.

Prince Xia said indifferently, “Why have you stopped drinking?”

Qiao Chu wasn’t in a good mood, “I drank it all.”

Upon hearing her words, Prince Xia’s eyes narrowed and he passed her the teacup he had been holding in his hand.

Footnotes

(1) Sandalwood