Chapter 1: Chapter 27

As soon as she stepped into the great hall, the crowd froze as they looked toward her. A flash of unexpected enchantment flickered in the men's eyes, while in the women's eyes, there was nothing but pure jealousy.

The clothes she wore were made by the most famous master in the Xuanyuan Dynasty. That master was already in his sixties with a somewhat eccentric temperament; it was heard that he had long since retired from making clothes, and now only the Empress Dowager could persuade him to work. He would absolutely refuse to take orders from anyone else.

Therefore, the clothes she wore were likely something you couldn't buy even if you were incredibly wealthy.

"Hmph, isn't it just a piece of clothing? What's the big deal? That outfit would surely look a hundred times better on me," a woman's voice drifted in lowly, carrying obvious envy.

Meng Fuying sneered inwardly, but she paid no heed to those glares or the jealous whispers, slowly walking forward.

That level of indifference, that level of casualness, caused even more resentment and jealousy to flare in the women's eyes.

When Meng Ruxue looked at her, a hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes as well, but she quickly masked it, then walked forward with a gentle smile, "Sister, you've finally arrived. Come, sit with us."

As she spoke, her hand reached out, intending to link arms with Meng Fuying.

Showing unearned kindness is often a sign of ulterior motives; these past few days, this Meng Ruxue had been somewhat excessively enthusiastic toward her.

Meng Fuying's eyes narrowed slightly as she inconspicuously avoided the touch, then walked to the seat arranged for her on her own.

Meng Ruxue's expression stiffened momentarily, but she immediately pretended nothing had happened, smiling lightly as she sat back in her own seat.

She and Meng Fuying were sisters, so in such an occasion, they naturally sat together.

Just as she sat down, she felt a cold and piercing gaze shoot toward her. To be precise, it wasn't aimed at her, but at Meng Ruxue; she had just been unfortunate enough to be caught in its path.

Yet, merely being caught in its path carried such powerful lethality!

Meng Fuying raised her eyes slightly. When she met that gaze, her heart couldn't help but tremble slightly. That gaze was as sharp as a hungry eagle, and within its coldness lay a bloodthirsty ruthlessness, staring at Meng Ruxue as if intending to carve her into a thousand pieces.

This person was a stranger in her original memories, but judging by his seat and his attire, it wasn't hard for Meng Fuying to guess his identity.

He should be the Crown Prince of the Xuanyuan Dynasty, Xuanyuan Lie.

That single gaze made Meng Fuying realize that this man was definitely a formidable character. Born into royalty, he would absolutely be the type of person who would kill his brothers and father for the throne.

The Crown Prince spent most of his years away and rarely returned to the capital; had he actually made a special trip back this time?

Under such intense scrutiny, even Meng Ruxue found it difficult to maintain her usual facade, her body seemingly unable to stop trembling slightly.

A trace of amused interest flashed in Meng Fuying's eyes. Could there be something between this Crown Prince and Meng Ruxue?

However, since Meng Ruxue possessed that aura of "whoever obtains this woman obtains the world," the Crown Prince's reaction at this moment could be considered normal.

But the Crown Prince was born at the wrong time. He was already thirty-six years old today; back when the selection for concubines took place, Meng Ruxue was only two or three years old. So, even anger wouldn't help.

Heh...

In a man's heart...

Women? The world? In the end, there is only the world.

Women, in this society, are ultimately tragic.

Thus, she was very glad for the disguise on her face. If not for this disguise, if not for her years of being foolish, Meng Ruxue's tragedy today might have fallen upon her.

But she was now free, able to choose her own happiness.

Ha, freedom is truly wonderful.

However, when she saw Bai Yichen walking in alongside Xuanyuan Fan, she couldn't help but freeze. Why would Bai Yichen appear at such an occasion?

Thinking carefully, it was also normal; Bai Yiyu had also come to this selection ceremony, so he was likely accompanying her.

She didn't think much more of it.

Seeing that the time was about right and that the Emperor and Empress had already arrived, the main protagonist of the day had still not appeared.

This lord certainly had a massive ego.

Just as she was thinking, she heard the eunuch outside shout, "The Seventh Prince has arrived!"

The entire great hall instantly fell silent. Everyone's eyes turned toward the entrance, and Meng Fuying also slowly looked over.

When he appeared at the door, dressed in white, everyone stared blankly.

His tall, upright figure appeared even more slender under the slanted sunlight. The faint light spilled across his profile, making him look like a god descending to earth; even the sunlight seemed to lose all its brilliance to him.

Was this man a demon, or an immortal?

He ignored everyone's gazes entirely, eyes looking straight ahead, walking calmly toward his seat.

The Crown Prince's eyes finally moved away from Meng Ruxue, and when he looked toward Xuanyuan Ye, they held even more ruthless coldness.

And it was the kind that was not hidden at all.

A cold, ruthless, yet absolutely arrogant man.

However, that gaze directed at Xuanyuan Ye failed to stir even the slightest ripple.

"Very well, since Ye'er has arrived, let us begin," the Empress, sitting at the very top, said with a slight smile. Her bright red attire ostentatiously declared her status. Although she was in her forties, she was extremely well-maintained and still possessed great charm.

"Mm," the Emperor merely nodded slightly, his low voice carrying little emotion.

Beside the Emperor sat the favored concubines, of course, but Meng Fuying did not look at them one by one; she had no interest in them at all.

The first task was actually composing poetry on the spot.

A piece of paper was distributed to everyone, with the requirement that every woman must write a poem within fifteen minutes.

Meng Fuying only gave it a cursory glance and had no intention of picking up a pen. It had nothing to do with her to begin with, and everyone already understood today's outcome; this was merely a formality. Whether she wrote or not made no difference, not to mention that the previous Meng Fuying was foolish, so no one would say anything if she didn't write.

However, she unexpectedly discovered that Meng Ruxue also seemed to have no intention of picking up her pen, and her eyes would glance toward Meng Fuying from time to time.

Meng Ruxue was a famous talented woman of the Xuanyuan Dynasty; shouldn't she be starting to write quickly?

Her?

Meng Fuying's brow furrowed slightly as a thought suddenly flashed through her mind. Could it be that she...

Meng Ruxue was on guard against her.

Meng Ruxue knew very well that the current her was no longer the original her.

Of course, even if Meng Ruxue knew she was different now, given Meng Ruxue's confidence, she would never admit defeat to her.

So, the reason Meng Ruxue was delaying her writing was likely for another purpose.

With a slight curl of her lips, Meng Fuying suddenly felt interested. She picked up the pen on the table and, with swift strokes, quickly wrote down a poem.

Glancing sideways, she indeed saw Meng Ruxue's pen begin to move rapidly as well.

Although Meng Ruxue used a handkerchief to cover what she was writing, Meng Fuying knew from the slight movement of the pen tip that Meng Ruxue was writing the exact same content as her.

At a grand ceremony like this, if one failed to write something, the most that would happen is being ridiculed, but if one were caught copying someone else, then...

Hmph, she actually thought of using such a method to make her lose face? To frame her?

How laughable.

Since she wanted to play, then she would play along; she was idle anyway.