A woman wearing a jade-colored brocade robe with gold embroidery entered. Her appearance was somewhat similar to Chen Zifeng's, but her demeanor was different, exuding a heroic and dashing air.
Chen Zifeng immediately stood up and said, "Sister, you're back!"
Ma Gege and the others were stunned. This woman was so imposing that Jinzhu looked like a little bird nestled behind her.
Chen Zifeng's sister smiled and said, "Greetings, esteemed immortals. I am Chen Ziyue, the head of the Chen family. My younger brother is unruly and lacks manners. Since we have come to Jiangtian and you are all my friends, my Chen family must treat you well. I apologize for the inconvenience of you staying outside for one night. Please make yourselves at home for the next few days and do not feel constrained."
"Thank you very much, Patriarch Chen!" Li Mingke and the other two clasped their hands in thanks.
"Don't call me 'Patriarch,' it's too formal. Everyone, like Zifeng, can just call me 'Sister'!"
Chen Ziyue waved her sleeve and sat down as well, and Jinzhu immediately served her tea.
"I've been busy with the Yao Maiden's blessing ceremony lately. I was just summoned to the palace by His Majesty, and I'm swamped with many trivial matters. I really can't spare any attention, so I hope you all won't mind." She continued, "You all came to Jiangtian these past few days for the Yao Maiden's blessing ceremony, right? It is indeed a grand event for the whole nation. I hope you all have a great time these next few days."
“Speaking of which, His Majesty attaches great importance to this Yao Maiden's Blessing Ceremony, and several people from your immortal sect have also come to the palace!” Chen Ziyue recalled several people she had seen in the palace. Although she did not recognize them, she had heard that they were indeed cultivators.
"Does Sister Chen know why His Majesty summoned them?" Li Mingke asked.
"I don't know about that. It must be something important. The palace servants are keeping their mouths shut." As a royal merchant, she sometimes needed special means to get information from the palace, but this time, the palace was as solid as an iron wall.
Li Mingke listened and pondered to himself.
My father left some time ago to accompany the King of Wu to the palace to meet the Emperor. It is said that the Emperor was seriously ill, and perhaps he had to gather many cultivators in order to cure his illness.
Indeed, cultivators did enter the palace.
In the palace of the Fifth Princess, where peonies were in full bloom, a powerful man plucked the most beautiful flower from the entire garden.
"My lord, I beg you, if you're willing to help me this time, I'll give you whatever you want!" The Fifth Princess Wu Xidi didn't care that the man had ruined her favorite peonies; her eyes were full of anxious pleading.
"Why should I help you? You said you'd give me everything, but what do you have that's valuable to me? Your older brothers and sisters aren't easy to deal with." The man crushed the flower in his hand, and red juice seeped from between his fingers.
“My father is seriously ill, and my elder brothers and sisters are all ravenous wolves and tigers. I am still surviving in the cracks. If one of them ascends the throne, there will be no place for me!” Wu Xidi said anxiously.
"What does it have to do with me?" the man said indifferently.
“Yes, my life is worthless, and may be dispensable to you, sir. But a message from my men is of utmost importance to you! I invited you here today to tell you this message, but since you don’t want to hear it, there’s nothing I can do.” Wu Xidi shook her head, seemingly feeling sorry for the man.
"Oh? News that is of great importance to me?" The man then became slightly more serious. "I wonder what news Your Highness has received?"
"It's news about Fairy Half-Seeing. My people know where Fairy Half-Seeing is!"
"What did you say!" A gust of wind blew by, and the man instantly teleported in front of Wu Xidi, his hand in a five-claw shape stopping in front of the girl. He could crush the girl's head with a flick of his fingers.
Wu Xidi showed no fear. "As long as you are willing to help me, I will provide all the information." Her gaze went past the large hand in front of her and met the man's eyes.
"—Demon Lord."
*
The selection of Yao women is a step-by-step process, with only 99 people remaining in the final round. People will then evaluate these 99 people, and the winner will be the Yao woman, who will receive blessings.
He Banjian was surprised to find that she was quite lucky. From the initial elections to the later ones, she passed each one without any major incidents. Although she had done some work, the increasingly smooth process made her wonder if she was really that charming or if someone was helping her in secret.
Is someone helping her? What's their purpose? Although becoming a Yao woman isn't her ultimate goal, she has to seize this opportunity.
Before they knew it, the day of the decisive battle arrived, and Chen Ziyue personally saw the four of them off.
"There are many people here, so I'll send guards to accompany you. Our Chen family has special private seating areas. If you think a candidate is better, just tell the staff on site, and they will register them."
Because the ceremony was grand, Chen Ziyue specially made a new outfit for each of them.
Li Mingke was dressed in a light green silk robe with bamboo patterns, a refined and elegant young master.
Wang Jingyuan was dressed in a light white robe with auspicious cloud patterns, waving a plain gold fan, and acting nonchalantly.
Ma Gege was wearing a pale yellow narrow-sleeved silk shirt with a bright yellow jade pendant hanging from the tassel of her sword; she looked charming and lovely.
Chen Zifeng had changed from his usual drab appearance; he was now dressed in a Suzhou-embroidered brocade, and finally looked like a wealthy young master.
The selection of Yao women took place at Mingxin Square in the northeast of Jiangtian. Legend has it that the Yao women came from the northeast, and Emperor Gaozu specially built Mingxin Square to welcome them.
"Wow, so many people!" Ma Gege put her hand to her eyes and looked around; there was a dense crowd of people everywhere.
"It's a grand event held every five years, so of course there are a lot of people." Even the well-informed Wang Jingyuan was amazed.
Li Mingke was thinking, with so many people, what if an accident happened and a stampede occurred?
Some prominent people don't watch from the open air; instead, they book seats in nearby high-rise buildings to enjoy tea and the view. Meanwhile, the surrounding restaurants and hotels were fully booked months in advance.
The Chen family's location was slightly off-center. The Chen family was merely a royal merchant, while the central area was reserved for royal relatives and nobles.
Li Mingke could easily use her status as the granddaughter of the King of Wu to go to the center, but she didn't want to do so. Not to mention that she had always grown up in Pengzhou and had never met many members of the royal family, the King of Wu and his heir had never come to Jiangtian and had been staying in their fiefdom of Wenxiong. Why should she go and join in the fun?
The final selection process began quickly, with each candidate assigned a unique number and taking turns to compete in that order.
He Banjian was the 52nd person, neither at the front nor the back. She wasn't as nervous as the others. For her, it didn't matter if she wasn't a Yao woman. What she wanted to do was to use this world-renowned celebration to let "those people" know about "her" existence.
Even if the two people didn't know, it would at least reach their ears through other people's words.
Thinking of this, she excitedly licked her lips.
On the tall building in the center of the square, the emperor sat behind a curtain, obscuring his figure, while his princes, princesses, and high-ranking officials sat below him.
The current emperor has three sons and two daughters. The eldest prince died young, the third prince entered a Buddhist temple, and now only the second princess Wu Xiwen, the fourth prince Wu Xiyu, and the fifth princess Wu Xidi remain.
Demon Lord Luan Hua did not sit in his assigned seat according to his status; instead, he sat in a corner, hiding most of his body in the shadows.
He remembered what the Fifth Princess had told him.
"The person you are looking for is among today's 99 candidates. I hope you will get what you want."
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