Сун Синчжи жил во времена правления императора Хуэйцзуна

Глава 122

A womanizer? Isn't that supposed to be a notorious bandit?

"Never mind him. He's too conspicuous; he gets spotted wherever he goes. Let him hang there for a while; it's not like we said he'd die from being suspended like that."

Tian Shuang remained silent. She knew her mistress would definitely abandon Tian Yong. After all, Prince Ming wouldn't really do anything to Tian Yong; he only wanted to seduce her mistress. However, Tian Yong was definitely going to suffer... the feeling of being paraded through the streets as a flower thief...

But it's not a big deal. Tian Yong will definitely still be used as bait to lure out Miss. Oh... It's just a pity that Miss has already decided to abandon Tian Yong.

"Tian Shuang, pack your bags and let's go!" Xi Ri said decisively.

"Yes," Tian Shuang replied, her voice tinged with helplessness and reluctance. Her path as a chivalrous woman! So far, she hadn't had a single opportunity to help those in distress! It had been too arduous...

People say that the greatest hermit lives in the court, the middle hermit lives in the city, and the lesser hermit lives in the wilderness. But she hid in all of them. She couldn't stay in any one place for more than a few months. As she traveled, it was like she was being followed by a big tail. Everywhere she went, a bunch of people would chase and block her. For a while, the three of them had to become self-sufficient. They almost became farmers and farmed. Life was very difficult. They didn't dare to buy things casually even if they had money.

Tian Xiri now believed that Xiao Zuzi's words when they first met Long Ming were not arrogant. Offending Young Master Long really made it difficult to even buy some daily necessities.

Even the emperor's concubine running away from home wouldn't have such trouble, and even the most notorious bandits with imperial warrants posted on their heads would have an easier time escaping. She felt as if the whole world held no place for her. An indescribable frustration... Running away from home was so rare after all... How pathetic...

One year later. Qiong County.

Today, Qiong County held a competition to determine the "Most Handsome Man in the World." I heard that this year's competition is different from last year's. Last year, all the participants were lowly people like actors and male performers, but this year, the contestants are world-renowned noblemen.

I've heard that the four young masters of the capital, Xi En, Nalan Xuri, Ming Lu, and Fu Jinquan, have all come to participate, along with Prince Suoge, Commander of the Imperial Guards Xu Yi, and the renowned Prince Long Ming, who has made a name for himself in the court this year. They are all world-famous beauties. In addition to them, there are also young generals such as Zhao Zhengqi, the Military Commander, and Xu Fanda, the Commander of the Left Wing of the Vanguard. They are all noble young men who are hard to come by.

How could this not attract a lot of admirers?

"Was it just to lure her out?" Tian Xiri thought to herself, annoyed. Damn it! She couldn't resist and was lured here anyway. She suddenly remembered Zhang Guiyi, who had been lured here a year ago by the same competition...

I never imagined he would fall to such a state.

Knowing it was a trap, she still wanted to come. They were all noble young men she knew, and she couldn't help but be curious about who would become the most handsome man in the world. Suddenly, she understood Zhang Guiyi's incredibly complicated feelings at the time—he was simply unable to resist the itch!

Eight months ago, Tian Yong was arrested by Ming Lu. Xu Ri had already told Tian Yong and Tian Shuang that whoever was arrested only needed to play dumb—keep quiet for a day—giving her time to escape. She could confess everything the next day. If they wanted to torture her, she should show them the letter she had written beforehand; they wouldn't dare to use torture then. As for parading her through the streets, there was really nothing he could do about it. So, when Third Brother vented his anger on Tian Yong, making him parade through the streets as a womanizer, he had no choice but to endure it.

Not long after, Tian Yong was released with great fanfare. The authorities claimed that they had arrested the wrong person. Poor Tian Yong had clearly become bait. So far, she has not contacted Tian Yong and doesn't know how he is doing lately. She imagines that he must be having a hard time.

Returning to Qiong County now, I am filled with emotion. Back then, I dressed up as a man to compete on stage, which led to Zhang Guiyi's involvement. Recalling those thrilling moments, I can't help but feel a lot of emotions.

But now... I'm practically a reincarnation of Zhang Guiyi!

What a twist of fate!

Therefore, this time, just in case, they were well prepared and came prepared.

She arrived neither early nor late, just when Xilelou was at its busiest. She and Tian Shuang blended into the crowd, both carefully disguised.

They were both dressed as women, playing the roles of mistress and servant. This time, their roles were reversed, with Tian Shuang playing the mistress and her playing the servant.

This competition is different from the last one. Last time, all the participants were men, but this time it's mostly women, especially young ladies from prestigious families. Just getting in is extremely complicated. Not only do they have to write down their identity and name, but they also have to pay an entrance fee of one hundred taels of silver. Moreover, each person is not allowed to bring more than one servant.

Even so, the Joyful Pavilion was still packed with people. Xi Ri and Tian Shuang came here, and the conditions just happened to be met, which made Xi Ri even more suspicious that this competition was specially set up for her, and that Xi Ri had used her name to successfully sneak in.

Upon entering the Joyful Pavilion, the first thing the two saw were the portraits of the various young masters hanging around them.

Long Ming's portrait was prominently displayed at the top, and a huge crowd had gathered in front of it.

Minglu was ranked second, and his portrait was surrounded by a large crowd.

Soge was ranked third, and he struggled to walk in front of the portrait.

Fu Jin was ranked fourth, and there was a lot of people crammed in front of his portrait.

Xu Yi was ranked fifth, and a large crowd gathered in front of his portrait.

Nalan Xuri is the sixth in the group, and his portrait shows him facing away from his back.

Li Yu's portrait, my cousin's portrait... my cousin is on the list too? Xi Ri paused slightly when she saw her cousin's portrait from afar. Her first reaction was to look at Tian Shuang beside her. Sure enough, she saw Tian Shuang staring at Li Yu's portrait with a fascination in her eyes. Xi Ri immediately warned in a low voice, "Tian Shuang, don't lose your composure when you see your cousin, or you'll give yourself away!"

Upon hearing this, Tian Shuang immediately perked up and nodded solemnly, indicating that she had learned something.

Looking further back, behind Li Yu was a portrait of his elder brother, Xi En, followed by portraits of twenty-four other young noblemen from the capital, including Xu Fanda and Zhao Zhengqi. Each of them had supporters and admirers, and each portrait exuded a unique charm. A constant stream of people crowded in front of the portraits.

However, among all the portraits, the supporters of Long Ming were the most enthusiastic. Looking up, one could see a group of people spontaneously dressed in identical clothing, holding large red silk fans. They waved them in unison as shouts rang out, and one person in the middle yelled, "Young Master Long! Young Master Long!" Then, everyone shouted in unison, "You're the best!"

Seeing that most of those waving red fans were maids and servants, while the real young ladies stood behind, suppressing their excitement as they watched the spectacle, Tian Shuang couldn't help but sigh to Tian Xiri, "Alas, these days, even being a maid isn't easy. They have to stand up for the young ladies and chase after their husbands." Tian Xiri glared at Tian Shuang, who was complaining.

Perhaps influenced by this, other supporters spontaneously organized themselves, chanting slogans such as "Prince Minglu is the brightest!", "Prince Xi is the strongest!", and "The most handsome man in the world, who else but Young Master Fu would you choose?"

This situation was something Tian Xiri had never seen before in his life, and even with his strong ability to adapt, he couldn't quite adjust to it all at once.

This situation is not something everyone can accept all at once. Some onlookers couldn't help but shake their heads, thinking to themselves, "Sigh... I'm getting old." Their words were full of sighs.

This year's competition is different from last year's, as the participants are all noble young men. Therefore, the competition content is also different from last year's. The competition is mainly divided into three parts: the first part is a cooking competition; the second part is an individual talent show; and the third part is an individual Cuju (ancient Chinese football) performance.

The competition uses a voting system. Everyone present, except for the servants, has the right to vote. One vote is equal to one hundred taels of silver. You can also vote for someone one hundred times at a time, but of course, you have to be able to afford one thousand taels of silver.

The competition began without the excessive embellishments of the last competition; it went straight to the first part: a cooking contest.

Looking around the room, I spotted Third Brother first. I'd heard that he'd been single ever since he sent away all his concubines. Sigh, to be honest, Third Brother is quite patient. I underestimated him; I always thought he'd be the first to give in, but he's remained chaste to this day.

Just as Tian Xiri was lost in thought, she heard someone shout, "Ah! ... Prince Ming is so handsome! So charming yet so aloof and cold. I really want to be a moth drawn to a flame!"

Tian Xiri was startled and immediately looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a group of women who looked very excited, and he couldn't tell who had just shouted.

Long Ming made his appearance late, and his arrival caused a commotion as a group of women screamed and tried to break through the encirclement.

A sigh escapes me now... He's still the same as ever, a heartthrob, capable of turning even the most virtuous and chaste woman into a harlot.

Watching the twenty-four young men on stage, each wielding a spatula in a unique pose and swaying their aprons, a woman on stage couldn't help but scream. Tian Xiri, looking at several people she knew all too well, wearing aprons and holding spatulas, felt like fainting on the spot!