Inside Moonlight Pavilion, Cheng Xiao stood in a corner, calmly observing the people whose eyes burned with eagerness, his expression composed.
He casually swept his gaze around. Not far away, more than a dozen young men and women were equally excited. Unlike the others, however, they did not dare step forward. They huddled in small groups in the corners, timid as rats in the dark.
Like Cheng Xiao, they were not children of nobility. They had spent heavily to find connections and enter Moonlight Pavilion, hoping to catch some noble's eye, become a lover, or choose someone to serve.
The entire Moonlight Pavilion was like a miniature of the empire. Commoners fawned over minor nobles, minor nobles gathered around great nobles, and great nobles hoped to win the royal family's favor. On the surface, it wore the guise of etiquette, but beneath it was a marketplace of fame and profit, where everyone came to pursue their own desires.
Cheng Xiao had no intention of criticizing them. He was one of them too.
He too hoped to establish a connection here with Qian Renxue, who was disguised as Xue Qinghe.
Before, he might have needed to rack his brains over how to catch Qian Renxue's attention. But now, it was much easier.
Thanks to Ye Renxin, the two had already met once. What Cheng Xiao needed to do now was appear before Qian Renxue again and make her recall their first encounter.
Moonlight Pavilion's opening ceremony was quite different from that of the Soul Master Academy. It had the affectedness of nobles, but also their elegance.
First came the freshman speech. As the most dazzling pearl among the new students, the choice was naturally Xue Ke, Xue Ye's most beloved daughter.
Xue Ke stood on the stage with a smile at