"Then who does Your Majesty favor now? Could it be..." The minister from before spoke again, naming his own granddaughter.
"Your granddaughter is quite good, but compared to her, my daughter has a better chance of winning! My daughter is skilled in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting..." Another minister spoke up.
"What's so special about the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting? They're far too ordinary. My daughter is different—she once apprenticed herself to the Dance Empress. Her dancing has inherited the Dance Empress's very essence!"
"So what if she can dance? My granddaughter..."
And so, they ushered in the first debate of the day in court. Perhaps this was the earliest contest of Talented Women Unrivaled, a competition outside the arena.
"Ahem, ahem!" The Emperor coughed, interrupting their "competition," then said something that caught them by surprise—
"Your daughters and granddaughters are all excellent, worthy indeed of being the Empire's talented women. Under ordinary circumstances, I would certainly choose one among you. But this time, I will still choose Zhen Xiaoyan!"
"Why? Under fair conditions, there's no way she could win."
"You need not worry about fairness. If I say it is fair, then it is fair. Though you may think it impossible, since that brat Ye Lang has bet on Zhen Xiaoyan, the outcome is hard to say." Knowing they still had doubts about fairness, the Emperor clarified and guaranteed it once more.
"Why? Could it be that Your Majesty believes Ye Lang has the ability to change the outcome—to make Zhen Xiaoyan, that fat-as-a-pig, good-for-nothing girl, defeat so many beautiful and charming young ladies under absolutely fair conditions, where it should be utterly impossible?"
"No, I don't believe he has that ability!" The Emperor immediately shook his head. Ye Chengtian at the side seemed to agree, too. Zhen Xiaoyan's circumstances were simply too unbelievable; even a god could not change them, much less Ye Lang, that muddleheaded little fool.
"Then..." Before the ministers could finish, the Emperor spoke in a solemn, earnest manner, saying something utterly unbelievable.
"But I believe in his luck!"
"You may doubt his ability, but you must never doubt his luck! The Goddess of Luck has always doted on him. It truly makes one jealous!" the Emperor said with deep feeling, as though he really was a little jealous.
After that, no one had anything more to say. More or less, they had all heard of Ye Lang's miraculous luck. He squandered his family fortune, yet often ended up encountering good fortune—good fortune that others could not obtain even if they begged for it.
In truth, many of them did not know that Ye Lang's luck was not limited to squandering money. It also showed itself in everyday life. The fact that he had never been injured in an accident was proof enough. Otherwise, with his somewhat muddleheaded way of walking, who knew how many times he would have been hurt?
Back then, it was not strange when Tiger Girl watched over him. But during these five years, whenever he walked alone, if there was a pit ahead that he failed to notice, he would somehow step right along its edge and pass safely by. When he walked down the street, things falling from high above clearly should have struck him, yet for some strange reason, they would either land in front of him or behind him—always beside him. Only afterward would he curiously take a glance, then walk away...
The situation could only be described with the Emperor's words: the Goddess of Luck doted on him too much, unwilling to let him suffer even the slightest harm!
"But he isn't lucky every time. Much of the time, he truly does squander money. How can you be certain he'll succeed this time?" someone questioned. This was true as well; otherwise, whenever he bought something, others would rush to buy it along with him.
"Not success—failure! His goal is to squander money!" Ye Chengtian corrected, then added, "We were only having a small wager to begin with. Whether we win or lose depends on heaven's will!"
"Yes, what he has bet on is making something originally impossible become possible. That does not mean it will definitely happen. So if you wish to follow our bet, be prepared to lose money!" the Emperor said with a smile.
Although the Emperor had explained the risks and everyone understood the reasoning, and although no one thought highly of Zhen Xiaoyan, many still placed their bets on her. This made Zhen Xiaoyan, who had originally been an extreme dark horse, begin to gain a little popularity.
The reason was simple: the Emperor had placed a bet. To curry favor with him, these people each wagered a little, more or less. It could be considered a social expense rather than a wager.
Yet this was not the main subject everyone cared about or discussed. Their focus remained on Ye Lang—where he was, what he was preparing to do, and what method he would use to deal with this competition.
At first, many people waited for Ye Lang to do something foolish—no, something rather crazy. They wanted to see that madness, believing that was what made things exciting.
Many believed Ye Lang's method of making Zhen Xiaoyan win would be to cripple the opponents one by one. That was the only possibility. As for Zhen Xiaoyan herself, no matter how hard she tried to change, she could not shed her chrysalis and become a phoenix in such a short time.
If she had several months, it might have been possible, though even then the chance would have been small. Now there were only around twenty days. Unless an immortal descended to the mortal world, it was nearly impossible for an ordinary person to accomplish.
However, in the end, everyone was disappointed. Right up until the end, Ye Lang made no move at all. Everything remained calm and peaceful!
Could this merely be the calm before the storm?
Those talented women and their families, who had been trembling with fear, still could not set their minds at ease. How could they relax before the final moment? Thus, when the competition began, the entire scene looked as though a war were about to break out. Groups of fully armed guards, mercenaries, and City Guard soldiers made the atmosphere extremely tense!
"What's going on? Did we come to the wrong place? Is this the Talented Women Unrivaled competition, or some magic-and-martial arts tournament?" some spectators who did not know the truth asked.
"No, you came to the right place. This is the preliminary venue for Talented Women Unrivaled!" someone answered.
"Then why..."
"You're wondering why there's such a grand display, right? Because someone has threatened the safety of these talented women, so everyone is nervously protecting them."
"What?! Someone actually wants to harm these talented women? Who is it? Tell me—I'll wipe him out!!" one man said arrogantly. He seemed to be an important figure.
He believed his words would win everyone's support. After all, everyone here had come for the talented women. Naturally, no one would want anything to happen to them.
But he was wrong—utterly, completely wrong. Not only did he fail to gain everyone's support, he instead received ridicule and contempt from some people!
Sorry, brothers and sisters. If any chapter titles have been left in the text without being deleted, please point them out. When Xiao Xiao was organizing the manuscript, she was sometimes careless and forgot to remove the chapter titles from the physical books.
Also, this is already content from the second volume of the physical books and is nearing the third volume. But Xiao Xiao is too lazy to divide it into volumes again, so she will keep using the first volume...
Thank you all for your support. The weather is cold, so everyone should wear more clothes...
Before you continue