Chapter 291: Raising The Stakes
“Alright, I won’t disturb your rest anymore.” Mei Yi finished speaking and left the room. “No need to see me off.”
Outside the room, several stewards of the Mei Clan were waiting. Seeing the Clan Leader come out, several men and women hurried forward. Among them, a tall, stern-looking middle-aged woman asked somewhat impatiently, “Did Sister Ruohua say the reason? Why did she forfeit to Lu Xin’s son!”
“I didn’t ask.” Mei Yi shook her head and walked toward the courtyard gate. “This is not the time to investigate.”
“Yes, after the Grand Competition, we must investigate strictly and punish severely!” The middle-aged woman was the Internal Steward of Shengyan of the Mei Clan… Unlike other clans, the Mei Clan’s stewards were divided into female inner and male outer, with inner as primary and outer as secondary.
Seeing Mei Ruohua hand over victory under an overwhelming advantage. This Internal Steward of Shengyan was simply furious.
This was simply unforgivable! Every quota in the Grand Competition was the most precious resource of the noble clans. Such irresponsible behavior was an extremely serious harm to the noble clans. Moreover, she gave it to the family the Mei Clan hated the most!
In the eyes of this rigid and upright steward, Mei Ruohua was simply a betrayal of the family!
“We’ll talk about it later…” Mei Yi got into the sedan and closed her eyes to rest.
“Yes…” This steward had no choice but to shut up.
.
In stark contrast to the oppressive atmosphere in the various clans’ resting rooms, in Yanbo Hall by the lake in the West Garden, it was a scene of chirping birds and fragrant flowers, full of laughter and noise!
These were all the noble ladies from the various clans who came to watch the competition. Although they were just spectators, with their status, how could the West Garden Supervisor and the Court of Diplomatic Relations dare to neglect these young ladies? They specially cleared out this great hall, lit the underfloor heating early in the morning, prepared lunch, and invited them to rest and enjoy here after watching the matches.
Naturally, the male guests and the madames also had their own thoughtful arrangements. There was no way around it; the Great Xuan Dynasty existed for these great aristocratic families. Taking good care of these noble clan nobles was the most important task of this country…
In this great hall, over a hundred young ladies from the various clans, served by their maids, wrapped in mink fur, sat around heated cages, enjoying lunch while heatedly discussing the morning’s competition!
“Brother Baiyu is so handsome, I’m totally smitten!” This was one of the two hottest topics in the little circles.
“He even smiled at me!” Such fangirls were everywhere in the hall.
“You’re lying, he clearly smiled at me!” Such arguments were equally common everywhere.
“It’s a pity Brother Baiyu swore not to marry until he becomes a Grandmaster…” Such regrets rose and fell continuously.
“But I’ll wait for him forever…” Such declarations were endless.
“These fangirls are so embarrassing.” But there were also many, many young ladies who sneered at these brainless fans.
In the eyes of these noble ladies who considered themselves mature and rational, Cui Baiyu was not worth such enthusiasm at all. The one they worshipped was Mei Ruohua!
“Sister Ruohua is the real idol for us girls!” These girls were still immersed in Mei Ruohua’s dashing figure, looking at her with full admiration: “Who says women are inferior to men? She will surely surpass Heavenly Master Zhang and become the youngest Grandmaster!”
“Not just Grandmaster, she will become the youngest great Grandmaster, pressing those stinky men under her.”
“Let’s see how those idiots from the Investigative Bureau can still justify excluding us women from the rankings!”
“It’s a pity women can’t marry women, otherwise I’d definitely marry Sister Ruohua!” Who knew, as they spoke, it took a weird turn again.
“Get lost, Sister Ruohua is mine!”
“Mine!”
“Mine…”
.
In the most central position in the great hall, noble ladies of the highest status such as Shang Luojia, Xiahou Yanran, Cui Ninger, and a dozen others sat around. Lu Ying was also dragged over by Cui Ninger and awkwardly took the lowest seat.
Glancing at the noisy two factions around, Xiahou Yanran said disdainfully, “One side fangirls, the other side idiots—no difference.”
“Sister Yanran is right. It’s laughable that the idiots think they’re nobler than the fangirls…” Pei Clan’s young lady Pei Mingsmoke laughed: “But this morning, aside from your four brothers, it was indeed these two who stole the show.”
“What’s the use of stealing the show? They still lost.” Xiahou Yanran snorted: “It benefited Lu Family’s young man.” The arrogant Miss Xiahou did not know that Lu Yun’s sister was also present. When Cui Ninger introduced her earlier, she only said she was the daughter of a Lu Clan steward. Seeing her unfamiliar face, no one talked to her.
“Exactly, they thought that guy was so great, but in the end, he’s just a silver spearhead with a wax tip.” Several young ladies who had bet on Lu Yun said resentfully: “What a waste of such a handsome face!”
Of course, the more important reason was that Big Sister was unhappy with Lu Yun, so they naturally had to bash him.
Hearing them glance and jabber, vying to disparage Lu Yun. Lu Ying was full of indignation and wanted to argue for her brother, but Lu Yun’s performance really left her speechless. She could only glare at Xiahou Yanran and turn her head away angrily.
“Sister Shang, your gambling house is really bad. You deliberately said you favored him to lure us into betting, right?” At this time, someone half-seriously accused Shang Luojia. They remembered she had personally said she favored Lu Yun to enter the Top 8.
At the time, the noble ladies present believed Shang Luojia and bet more or less on Lu Yun. Although the money wasn’t much and not their own, these arrogant young ladies cared about face…
“In any case, hasn’t he already entered the second round?” Shang Luojia was not annoyed and smiled faintly: “Win one more match, and isn’t that the Top 8?”
“He can still win another match?” The women burst into laughter: “Impossible! Even your merchant family’s gambling house raised his odds several times!”
“Exactly, everyone else’s odds in the Top 16 were lowered, only his dropped from one to ten to one to fifty. How are you still trying to fool us?” These young ladies had big tempers. Although they ate and drank from her every day, deep down they didn’t really take Shang Luojia seriously.
“This is your chance to get rich.” Shang Luojia still kept her smile and said indifferently: “If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.”
“I believe.” Amid the laughter, Lu Ying finally spoke. She trembled slightly with anger, but her voice was very loud: “I’ll bet all my money on Lu Yun to win!”
“Haha, Sister Shang, money delivery has arrived!” The young ladies looked at Lu Ying unkindly and laughed mockingly: “Someone actually fell for your trick?”
“Whether it’s a scam or not will be known this afternoon.” Shang Luojia smiled faintly and said to Lu Ying: “One to fifty is the odds for Lu Yun to win the championship. If you bet on him entering the Top 8, it’s only one to twenty.”
“I’ll bet on him to win the championship!” Lu Ying said firmly.
“This person’s crazy.” Many noble ladies finally sized up Lu Ying seriously for the first time. They asked one after another: “Who is she? Never seen her before.”
“She’s Lu Yun’s sister.” Cui Ninger then revealed Lu Ying’s identity.
“No wonder.” The women suddenly understood and laughed loudly: “It’s Old Wang selling melons, self-praise!”
“Afraid this melon is a fool…” The women laughed so hard they shook like flowers in the wind, but Lu Ying no longer bothered with these shallow women. She just told someone to hurry and place the bet.
“I just sent someone to add a bet too.” Cui Ninger leaned to Lu Ying’s ear and said in a voice only they could hear: “Bet all my assets on Little Yun to win the championship.”
Lu Ying gratefully glanced at Cui Ninger and squeezed her hand.
