Everyone followed the sound and saw Cao Wei with a face full of jealousy and unwillingness. She glared at Ye Xi fiercely, then turned around and bowed in the direction of the emperor and others.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, please forgive my rudeness for interrupting the awarding ceremony. I'm really full of doubts in my heart. Since the Qingyun Competition was established in our Great Yin Dynasty, although it's just a recreational event to bring good luck to the autumn imperial examinations, it's also a chance for the children of each family to win glory for their clans. Every family has prepared carefully."
"But she,"
Cao Wei turned around angrily and pointed at Ye Xi, shouting loudly,
"Is this young lady really Miss Ye Xi? As everyone knows, Miss Ye Xi used to be extremely ugly and never dabbled in horse - riding or archery. Why has her personality suddenly changed and her appearance been greatly altered today? I can't help but be suspicious."
"If someone with ulterior motives..."
Cao Wei gave a cold snort and said condescendingly,
"Deliberately finds someone to impersonate and cheat just to win the championship in the Qingyun Competition and gain fame for themselves. Wouldn't that be ruining the original intention of the Qingyun Competition in our Great Yin Dynasty for personal gain? It would also be unfair to the other young ladies who have worked hard!"
She bowed to Emperor Zhaohuan again and said,
"I venture to make this speculation. I just don't want the Qingyun Competition to become a tool for some people to gain fame and curry favor. Please, Your Majesty, investigate clearly to reassure the young ladies present."
As soon as she said this, it immediately caused a great stir.
Cao Shu frowned tightly and quickly scolded,
"Wei'er, don't talk nonsense."
Would Prince Yu'an do such a stupid thing? Cao Shu knew it was impossible even without thinking. Cao Wei just had to seek attention in public. Cao Shu felt so ashamed.
However, those young ladies who had previously looked down on Ye Xi but had been outshone by her deliberately started to talk loudly:
"I knew she couldn't have suddenly become so powerful. It turns out she found someone to impersonate her."
"Heh - how ridiculous. She was too ugly to show her face and had no real talent, yet she came up with such a shameless way to promote her name..."
"Spit! I really thought she was some amazing person, but it turns out she's a coward who hides behind the scenes and doesn't even dare to show her face. No wonder she's an unknown wild girl. She has none of the elegance and integrity of us noble ladies. I'm so ashamed to have competed with such a person."
Ignoring Cao Shu's words, Cao Wei looked smug. She provocatively looked down at Ye Xi, who remained calm.
Actually, deep down, she vaguely knew that the Ye Xi below was probably the real one. But Ye Xi's sudden change was so great that it was reasonable for her to have doubts. Even if Ye Xi could easily prove her identity in the end, she, as the one who raised the speculation, would only be wrong at most.
She dared to question Ye Xi in public not really to prove that Ye Xi was fake, but for her own sake.
From her conversation with Yun Qianying just now, she could clearly feel Yun Qianying's disgust for Ye Xi. And among the noble young ladies below, although many were impressed by Ye Xi's talent, more were jealous and looked down on her. Before Ye Jueyao revealed Ye Xi's background, although everyone knew she was from the Ye family, they also knew she was a high - ranking official's daughter. But since Ye Jueyao revealed that Ye Xi was a picked - up wild girl, Ye Xi couldn't even catch their eyes in the capital.
So what if she had Prince Yu'an's doting?
Family background and bloodline were far more important than appearance and talent.
Ordinary people without the support of a family might not even receive a common invitation from a noble family. The better the marriage, the more jealousy it would arouse. Prince Yu'an couldn't protect her all the time.
As for her, Cao Wei, as a noble young lady who dared to speak out fearlessly in front of the emperor, the empress, and all the officials and noble ladies, no matter how many embarrassments she had had before, after today, they would surely look at her with new respect. Even if some still cared about face, she was sure to win Yun Qianying's favor.
Including...
Cao Wei's beautiful eyes fluttered as she affectionately looked at Yun Qi beside Yun Qianying.
And Yun Qi was focusing on Ye Xi.
He had been so focused on Qiao Yan before that he hadn't noticed what Ye Xi looked like. It was not until Cao Wei suddenly accused Ye Xi of possibly being an impersonator that he had the chance to look at Miss Ye Xi.
But with just one glance, Yun Qi suddenly stood still, stunned.
This person, this person was so familiar... He had grown up in the military camp with his father since childhood. Even if he couldn't know every soldier in the army, he had to be familiar with them to prevent spies from sneaking in, thus developing an amazing ability to remember people at a glance.
He must have met this Miss Ye Xi before and their friendship should be very deep. But where? When?
Yun Qi racked his brains but still couldn't find a clue.
The majestic emperor sitting in the middle had already spoken. Emperor Zhaohuan glanced at Cao Wei indifferently, leaned forward slightly, and put his hand on the low table in front of him, looking like he was enjoying a good show.
"Prince Yu'an, what do you have to say?"
How could Emperor Zhaohuan not see through Cao Wei's little tricks? Moreover, that was Yi Yuan, a person with the imperial blood. Emperor Zhaohuan didn't believe he was that stupid.
Yi Yuan looked calm. He bowed and said,
"It's just jealousy - fueled nonsense."
Being so directly exposed like this, Cao Wei blushed immediately. Just as she was about to defend herself, she heard Yun Qianying beside her say naively and coquettishly,
"Miss Cao is just making a guess. It's normal to have doubts since Miss Ye Xi has changed so much. It doesn't matter if she guessed wrong. How can Prince Yu'an talk to her like that?"
"Moreover, if you want to prove that Miss Cao's speculation is wrong, Your Highness and Miss Ye Xi should show some evidence."
"Xiaoying, don't interrupt randomly."
Yun Qi couldn't help but speak up. Apart from the familiar feeling Ye Xi gave him, even if he had nothing to do with Ye Xi, he didn't like his younger sister getting involved in everything.
Everyone's eyes were on Yi Yuan and Ye Xi.
Before they could say anything, they heard Yi Zhen above give a gentle smile and say,
"Father, I don't think Prince Yu'an and Miss Ye Xi would do such a thing. Even if Miss Ye Xi became famous in the Eastern Capital today in the Qingyun Competition and her peerless beauty was widely talked about, she still has to show herself in the future for decades. It would be very easy to find out this girl who impersonated in the competition since she is so beautiful."
"Since it's a lie that will be exposed sooner or later, just for the sake of a little fame, spending the rest of her life in fear, afraid of being exposed and laughed at. No matter how you look at it, it's not worth it."
"Um..."
Emperor Zhaohuan nodded appreciatively,
"Zhen'er is right."
But suddenly, his tone changed. His imperial eyes scanned Cao Sheng, who was shrinking his head and keeping silent.
"So, Cao Sheng, what do you have to say? Among all the people here, you're the most familiar with Miss Ye Xi besides Prince Yu'an, aren't you?"
Yi Yuan couldn't help but give Emperor Zhaohuan a sidelong glance at his attitude of adding fuel to the fire.
The scene suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Everyone present knew about Cao Sheng's past with Ye Xi. He used to dislike her for being ugly and talentless. Now, she was better than him in every aspect. Emperor Zhaohuan's direct question was really heart - wrenching.