The veiled lady was very calm. She turned to face Lin Yi's direction and confidently stated, "I am a person of Mister Lin, and I would not harm Your Majesty."

Hearing this, Lin Yi was frightened into a cold sweat behind her back. When had Yin Niange secretly run out, and to openly claim to be his person here?

Wasn't this pushing him into a pit of fire?

The young Emperor sensed that something was off with Lin Yi's expression and, combining it with what the veiled woman had said, he was basically certain that she was unaware of Lin Yi's eunuch identity.

"Ying Qi! This young lady claims to be affiliated with Mister Lin, go and confirm it."

Fortunately, Ying Qi immediately discerned Lin Yi's concern and quickly approached, whispering a few words into Yin Niange's ear.

After hearing that, Yin Niange was utterly stunned, and suddenly at a loss for words. Slowly, she took off her veil, revealing a fresh and clean face, staring blankly at Lin Yi.

At that moment, she finally understood what Lin Yi meant by keeping his secret.

It took a good while before she came back to her senses, then she bowed respectfully to the Emperor.

"Citizen Yin Niange, greets Your Majesty. It was disrespectful of me just now. I hope Your Majesty can forgive my transgression."

The young Emperor toyed with the teacup in his hand, pondering over how to respond to the striking young woman.

'Well done, you rogue, not being by my side and yet enjoying such fortune. The girl you've picked does indeed have a pure appearance, but thinking of entering court as an official, merely a pretty face isn't enough.'

"Rise!"

"Today is the Qixi Festival, where both men and women pray for marriage. Why do you pray for an official position?"

The young Emperor asked with a serious face.

Niange sneakily glanced at Lin Yi. Her initial intention was to stand out and catch the Emperor's attention and then, with the Emperor's assistance, have Lin Yi officially recognize her as a concubine.

In reality, she had no actual desire to become an official. Now she was really in trouble.

"Your Majesty, I misspoke earlier. I am here to participate in the love song competition. If a woman wins the singing competition, can she become an official in the court?"

Seeing several scholars could enter the Hanlin Academy, Niange was truly tempted.

But she didn't realize she had posed a difficult question for the Emperor.

The Emperor's expression grew solemn and after a moment's hesitation, he slowly replied, "There is no precedent for women to serve as officials. If the singing alone wins the competition without other talents, I'm afraid—"

Today was a day of celebration, and the young Emperor didn't want to waste time discussing the matter of entering court service with Niange.

"Today's winner of the love song competition will be rewarded with 1000 taels of silver!"

Out of options, the young Emperor could only offer a silver reward to quickly end the topic.

The initially embarrassed Lin Yi also noticed the Emperor's impatience and this time he approached Niange, whispering to her.

"Don't anger His Majesty, otherwise I'll suffer the consequences as well."

Niange finally understood and, after respectfully bowing to the Emperor, she said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Citizen was merely inspired by those scholars and wanted to emulate them, but now sees that she only wishes to win the competition and claim the reward."

Finally, the topic was steered back on track. Lin Yi stepped forward and loudly announced.

"Good, I hereby declare that the Qixi Festival love song competition officially begins!"

As his words fell, those who registered for the competition started to line up.

After two hours of competition, including thirty singers and actors among them, Niange.

From the preliminary round, Niange's performance was quite good, but in the semifinals, her advantage was not as evident.

Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "I recognize her, the woman in red is none other than Zhen Ji from the Sixth Prince Manor. Her singing is truly peerless in the Imperial City."

The recognized Zhen Ji appeared slightly shy, and soon, the others who came with her to the competition were also identified.

The private singers of the Sixth Prince, rumored among the common folk, were actually gracing this illustrious Qiqiao stage today, and the commoners craned their necks even more eagerly to watch.

You see, this troupe that's hailed as unrivaled is reserved for performances for the Sixth Prince alone, and now that the common people can enjoy watching without spending a penny, of course, they would not miss this great opportunity.

They wanted to share in the joy that the Sixth Prince experienced.

The commoners were overjoyed, but the young Emperor was not so happy. Although she initially felt some jealousy towards Niange, she preferred the prize of 1000 taels of silver to fall into Niange's hands rather than to the singers of the Sixth Prince.

After all, why let the water flow into a stranger's fields?

At this point, Niange also felt immense pressure. During the intermission, she was nearly frantic with worry; she really wanted to win the 1000 taels reward as travel expenses to seek out her long-lost family.

Lin Yi looked around the audience but couldn't see the Sixth Prince's palanquin, which was very strange. So he took it upon himself to come down to the ground level.

Logically, the Sixth Prince should have been present at the venue, but to everyone's surprise, Lin Yi ended up waiting for the Fourth Prince's palanquin and a luxurious carriage.

'The Fourth Prince, didn't he just excuse himself saying there was some urgent matter at the mansion and then left? How did he resolve it so quickly?'

In the midst of his pondering, the Fourth Prince approached the grand stage with the luxurious carriage, followed by a slender middle-aged man in rich attire with a half-grown beard trailing behind the Prince.

"Lord Lin! Allow me to introduce you; this is Yang Gong, the Chairman of Yunding Commerce."

Lin Yi remained composed. At this time, for the Fourth Prince to introduce a commerce chairman to him, his intentions could hardly be simple.

"A pleasure to meet you, Chairman Yang!"

"Yang has the honor of meeting Lord Lin!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Yi learned that the singers of the Sixth Prince onstage had now been bought by Chairman Yang and were part of the Yunding Commerce.

The sudden emergence of Yunding Commerce baffled Lin Yi, not knowing the strength of the other party, so he could only probe.

"Unexpectedly, Yunding Commerce has considerable strength, to take over the Imperial City's number one singers from the Sixth Prince. You must be determined to win the championship of this love song competition."

"Hahaha!"

Yang Gong burst into laughter, feeling delighted to be praised by the esteemed Great General.

"Lord Lin flatters us too much. A small group of singers is not worth mentioning. It's Yang's honor to witness Lord Lin's esteemed presence."

After a brief conversation, Lin Yi surmised that Yang Gong was probably a low-key wealthy merchant, who rarely appeared in the circles of the rich in the Imperial City, hence he was not well-known.

The Fourth Prince tactfully gave center stage to Yang Gong, but his eyes were fixated on the graceful figure of Zhen Ji on the stage.

Soon, the semifinal began, with the young Emperor setting the questions.

The theme of the first piece was blessing.

Quickly, Zhen Ji was the first to step forward, having composed music to the chosen poem, she began to sing acapella.

"May you be blessed like these mountains and rivers, tumultuous and towering as the winds and clouds arise."

Niange, not to be outdone, picked up her flute and offered a melody.

"May all your wishes come true, all that's desired be obtained, all that's hoped for be as anticipated, all encounters come at the perfect time, all journeys turn to open roads, all your loved ones stay healthy, abundant happiness, lasting peace, years free of worry, and much to look forward to."

When Niange's clear and ethereal voice sounded, everyone was astonished, praising that such a song should only exist in heaven.

Lin Yi was also nodding in satisfaction, believing that Niange's victory was all but assured.

...End of Chapter...

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