Chapter 51: The Delicate Maiden (2)

“With someone like you... I advise you to be careful with your words, or else if someone overhears what you just said, you’ll find yourself in serious trouble,” someone remarked, their tone tinged with disdain.

At first, the person addressed didn’t understand what was happening. He stood there, puzzled, before finally reacting. “What’s wrong with me? I am...” He declared his identity, one that was formidable compared to most, though not exceptional.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, unless you’re from the royal family of one of the three great empires—and not just any member, but one wielding real power. Otherwise, you’d better quietly watch the competition and refrain from making such ignorant boasts!” The reply was as scornful as before.

“Who is he?” Now curiosity got the better of him, and he understood that in a place like this, anyone could easily outmatch him.

“He is our thirteenth young master of the Ye family,” came the simple reply, needing no further explanation.

The man fell silent. Though he had never heard of the Ye family’s thirteenth young master, nor knew who he was, the name Ye family alone was enough to make him hold his tongue.

Yet, he found it odd that everyone spoke of the Ye family’s thirteenth young master with an inexplicable warmth. Shouldn’t they resent him, since he threatened those talented ladies?

Given the circumstances, one would expect everyone to hate Ye Lang, the one responsible for turning events upside down. But, as this man sensed, most saw it as little more than a farce, with few blaming Ye Lang.

Their closeness to Ye Lang was easy to understand for many present. Although he spent his days squandering his fortune, he had, in the process, helped quite a few people. And with his former naïve demeanor—though many believed he hadn’t changed much—his nature endeared him to many. He was nothing like those infamous, tyrannical heirs who bullied others.

Because of this, his popularity among the common people was remarkably high, far surpassing those who deliberately cultivated support.

To be a wastrel and reach the heights Ye Lang did—truly, he was peerless, unmatched by any before or after!

Ye Lang’s subdued presence in recent years had almost made people forget him. But when he appeared in public again, that familiar feeling returned. It wasn’t intense, more faint and subtle, easily overlooked and forgotten.

Yet, paradoxically, sometimes such faint impressions linger the longest in one’s memory.

Like many competitions, the Talented Ladies Unmatched contest featured preliminary rounds. Not just anyone could enter this grand event; take Zhen Xiaoyan, for example—with her qualifications, she would be eliminated outright in the preliminaries.

Today marked the beginning of those preliminaries. From all the talented ladies participating, ten would be chosen for the finals. The duration of the preliminaries depended on the number of contestants and their performances.

This time, the preliminaries lasted a full three days. The talented ladies dazzled the audience with their performances, each gathering their own supporters. When the final roster was announced, it brought joy to some and disappointment to others.

Yet even those eliminated received warm applause, so long as their talents were genuine.

But the identity of the ten finalists was not the focus of everyone’s attention. What mattered was why Ye Lang and Zhen Xiaoyan had yet to appear. Had Ye Lang merely played with them, just to frighten others? Or had Zhen Xiaoyan stumped even him, rendering his extraordinary methods ineffective?

No, that wasn’t the case.

At the last moment, when the crowd was beginning to feel disappointed, the appearance of one person stirred instant excitement.

It was a beautiful young girl, with a natural, delicate beauty and an air of purity. Even in this gathering of talented ladies, her radiance was undiminished, giving her an elegant charm. She ran in from outside, calling out with her lovely voice—

“Wait! I... Zhen Xiaoyan...” The graceful girl was out of breath from running, her words somewhat unclear.

Was she Zhen Xiaoyan? The girl who had once weighed over two hundred pounds?

“Zhen Xiaoyan? No way, is she really Zhen Xiaoyan? That’s just too absurd.”

“Impossible, this has to be a fake!”

“That Ye Lang, the scoundrel—he actually found someone to substitute for her. He’s blatantly mocking us, isn’t he?”

...

A wave of protests erupted, the crowd expressing their outrage at Ye Lang’s actions.

Quickly, it became clear that it was just a false alarm. The graceful girl pouted and said, “Who told you I’m Zhen Xiaoyan? I’m just here to deliver a message! Honestly, do any of you think I resemble Zhen Xiaoyan? Hmph, I’m far more beautiful than she could ever be!”

“Oh, so it was a misunderstanding. I thought so—how could Zhen Xiaoyan have changed so much? That would be unbelievable!” The crowd wholeheartedly agreed with the girl’s claim of being much more beautiful than Zhen Xiaoyan.

“May I ask, miss, whose message are you delivering, and what is it?” The host of the competition inquired.

“The thirteenth young master asked me to tell you that he and Zhen Xiaoyan will appear in the finals. They won’t participate in the preliminaries, so you should add Zhen Xiaoyan’s name to the list!” The girl spoke calmly.

“That may not be possible... It’s against the rules...” The host and judges hesitated, knowing that outright refusal might offend the thirteenth young master of the Ye family—with potentially severe consequences.

“I knew you’d say that. The thirteenth young master told me that you should proceed as usual, and Zhen Xiaoyan’s name is to be specially added. He assures you won’t regret this decision! If you refuse, he said he’ll remove someone from the list, and replace them with Zhen Xiaoyan!”

“...”

A threat. An open, undisguised threat.

Some protested, vowing not to be intimidated, claiming they would not be cowed by such threats. But most chose to comply, unwilling to take risks or offend the Ye family.

After all, for them, whether it was ten or eleven contestants made little difference, and most importantly, no one believed Zhen Xiaoyan posed any threat to the others.

Under the “harmonious” majority rule, the competition decided to add an extra name, allowing Zhen Xiaoyan to bypass the preliminaries and enter directly.

This was unprecedented—not for lack of trying, but because no one else had the power. Those who did would never stoop to what they considered such “lowly” acts.