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Yu Youwei did not agree to go home with Wangyue—right, Wangyue was the one with the glistening skin and bright, sparkling eyes, a naturally cute boy who proudly proclaimed himself as the Chief Chef of the Palace.
Because—Yu Youwei rushed backstage, her eyes shining as she went to see the girls changing clothes.
Don't get the wrong idea; Yu Youwei wasn't actually interested in the girls. What intrigued her more were the clothes.
Although this competition didn't feature a fashion show, beautiful outfits always caught the eye. She glanced around with a mischievous look and slipped out of the backstage, satisfied.
Bi Qi was waiting outside: "Let's go, Xi Yu."
Yu Youwei lifted her chin defiantly: "Wait until my competition is over!"
Wangyue glanced at her, hesitated to say anything, but ultimately obediently walked to find a seat in the audience.
The competition began.
The Flower Viewing Festival still couldn't change the classic mode of beautiful women competing against each other. To stand out among the many brothels in the city, their madam had devised numerous tricks, seeking novelty and change. Thus, the first competition was...
"Nine Chapters on Arithmetic!"
"Ah... what is this..." The beauties on stage turned pale, while the patrons below exclaimed in surprise.
The madam stood proudly at the edge of the stage, smiling: "A perfect woman must not only have beauty but also a clever mind. Understanding strategies and calculations is what qualifies one to be my top performer!"
Yu Youwei smiled proudly as well...
As if these ancient people could challenge her with math?
In the first round, she undoubtedly won with ease.
In the second round, they competed on speaking speed. To earn heaps of silver from customers, one needed a quick wit and eloquence like a machine gun!
Yu Youwei was still the last to take the stage. She swaggered onto the platform wearing her designed satin overalls and silk tank top, singing a song titled Nunchaku...
The girls were left speechless.
In the third round, the girls gritted their teeth in frustration, almost unanimously directing their ire towards Xi Yu, who had won the previous two rounds.
And this round... upon seeing the topic, they all broke into smug smiles.
Finally, their mother had not completely lost her conscience; the first three rounds had been new, strange, and unique. This time, they would be competing in something that Xi Yu was least skilled at—Perfume Making.
Yu Youwei's face darkened.
While Xi Yu was not good at it, she was utterly clueless.
She had majored in physics in college; perfume was merely a luxury item she occasionally envied when she saw it displayed in stores. If she could manage to create something resembling floral water, that would be quite an achievement...
Since Perfume Making involved many secrets that the girls kept close to their hearts, they were assigned to their own rooms for two hours. After that time, they were to present a fragrance themed "Spring Essence."
Yu Youwei did not return to her room. Dressed in her overalls, she wandered aimlessly around the entrance where the other girls were gathered before dejectedly walking to her own room and pushing the door open.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Yu Youwei exclaimed in surprise.
Wangyue was sitting inside, surrounded by several basic fragrances, carefully dripping them into a small green bottle in his hand.
Seeing her enter, he cautiously set down the dropper and smiled at her. "I knew you wouldn't manage it on your own, so I came to help."
Yu Youwei scoffed, "Just you, a cook..."
"A cook has a very refined sense of smell, especially one like me who's top-notch..." Wangyue's voice trailed off as he focused on adding the last fragrance into the bottle. He shook it gently, waved his hand over the opening, and took a light sniff, revealing a satisfied smile.
"All done." Wangyue capped the bottle and handed it to Yu Youwei.
She eyed him suspiciously; although she found it hard to believe that a cook could possess such exceptional olfactory skills, it was still better than relying on herself... so she decided to head downstairs instead.
At this point, only a little time remained. The girls stood in a line, each holding bottles that represented the colors of spring—pink, peachy pink, and apricot yellow. Yu Youwei glanced at her own meager light green bottle and nervously tucked her hands into her sleeves.
To ensure fairness in this round, the most famous Perfume Making shop owner in town had been invited as a judge.
He was a plump middle-aged man who slowly walked onto the stage and took the pink bottle from the first girl’s hand.
“Flowers bloom in abundance, and all things revive. Not bad.”
Next, he approached the girl holding the orange-yellow bottle.
“The fragrance of peach blossoms is rich and vibrant. Not bad.”
The third one.
“The scent of pear blossoms is elegant and refreshing. Not bad.”
He commented on each one, naming the primary floral notes of their perfumes as he moved from girl to girl.
When he reached Xi Yu, the plump man’s expression had grown slightly impatient. Without hesitation, he took Xi Yu's bottle for himself.
“What flower are you?”
He uncorked it and leaned in to sniff.
Hmm… is this… Wax Plum?
A few girls couldn’t help but laugh.
The theme was Spring Essence, yet she had created a scent reminiscent of Wax Plum—wasn’t that just handing the championship to someone else?
“No, wait…” The man suddenly became serious.
“The middle notes are woody and fresh, with a hint of cold spices. Is this meant to convey the essence of melting snow?”
“And this base note… is Forsythia?”
Furrowing his brow, he muttered to himself. It wasn’t until the fragrance had completely dissipated that he snapped back to reality and burst into hearty laughter.
"Alright! This captures the scene of the first Forsythia blooming after the snow melts. This is the true Spring Essence, the very essence of spring!"
Yu Youwei looked at the chubby man in surprise and couldn't help but glance at the audience below. Bi Qi seemed to have anticipated this outcome, smiling faintly as she gently applauded her.
Thus, Yu Youwei did not let down Xi Yu's physical form, nor did she disgrace the people of the twenty-first century—she achieved a complete victory!
However, in her moment of triumph, she forgot that after winning came the real trading event.
Her mother sang a brief tune and struck a small gong beside her.
"Miss Xi Yu has taken the lead, starting price three thousand taels. Is there anyone willing to bid..."
Sure enough, a fool from out of town spoke up: "I bid three thousand five hundred taels!"
"Twenty thousand taels."
At this declaration, the entire venue fell silent.
Wangyue stepped out from a corner, approached the stage, and grabbed Yu Youwei's ankle, pulling her down. Yu Youwei let out an "ah" as Wangyue securely lifted her in a princess carry.
Wangyue glanced at the restless woman in his arms and pressed her head against his chest. "Let's go home."
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