Chapter 163: Can Even This Be Competitive?

Outside the Fang Fu at this moment, colorful curtains had completely surrounded the perimeter.

After the first round of selection, the number of qualifiers still exceeded ten thousand, and each possessed a dignified appearance and excellent temperament.

Compared to the present world, in this life everyone practices martial arts; the children born to martial artists all have firm skin and vigorous vital energy.

At the very least, it is not the case that parents who can lift a cauldron give birth to flesh and blood that is a weakling.

This also means that although there are no cosmetics or beauty filters, the upper limit of average appearance in this world far exceeds that of the present world.

As for these qualified Misses, a single glance reveals no obvious flaws in their appearance.

But for this, the female instructors responsible for the open selection have their own scoring standards.

These instructors, before the talent show, were actually close attendant palace maids responsible for selecting imperial concubines for the Emperor.

They surged into the crowd of contestants like fish entering the sea, picking through them with an extremely critical gaze.

First, they selected based on the three most basic points: appearance, temperament, and skin, then proceeded to observe whether there were scars, body hair, or moles on the body.

But the more they looked, the more startled they became, because the quality of this batch was truly extraordinary.

At present, although it is only a preliminary observation and there has been no full inspection with clothes removed, nor a careful check of voice, teeth, or whether the Yuan Yin remains intact.

Yet relying on years of experience, there are at least a thousand seed contestants with the potential of a Noble Consort within.

'What is this situation?'

The instructors exchanged glances; could this really be a gathering from a folk open selection? Are they joking?

They had expected that by coming personally, with their own level of pickiness, they could eliminate ninety-nine percent, ending up with fewer than a hundred people, but after walking through, they had only eliminated eighty percent.

Beauty has an upper limit; looking at the remaining two or three thousand people, dozens of instructors were sweating profusely, feeling the severity of the challenge.

"Come, follow me inside for a full inspection." With the start of the second round, the instructor snorted coldly.

She signaled for the numbered Misses to come in, strip naked, and undergo a careful check for flaws.

"Number three hundred and sixty-seven."

As the number was called, Lu Lu Zi Yi holding her number plate walked inside; the instructor responsible for screening spoke in a gentle tone: "Miss, please undress."

Following the instructor's words, she calmly let the fabric fall to the ground bit by bit.

The next moment, the other party circled Lu Lu Zi Yi continuously, as if examining a work of art.

But even with the most critical gaze, no fault could be found; both her appearance and skin quality belonged to the finest grade, flawless.

"Open your mouth, let me check your teeth."

"Raise your arm, let me check your armpits."

"Lift one leg over your head; I am observing your flexibility and Yuan Yin... Hiss, it is actually the Four Seasons Jade Vortex from the ancient books."

"Repeat after me; let me see how your voice sounds."

With the instructor's repeated exclamations of surprise, Lu Lu Zi Yi remained expressionless, clearly very confident in her own beauty.

As early as childhood, she had already been screened by similar requirements, specially selected.

Whether in appearance, figure, or music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she had undergone special training.

Even to make her skin tighter, the Wang Fu had specially let her cultivate to the second level of Xuanguan, maximizing her body's development to cope with certain special occasions.

Therefore, on a day like today, she was confident she would not lose to any opponent.

'For my lord's mission, I must get close to Fang Can; this open selection is unnecessary, just default me as the champion.' Lu Lu Zi Yi thought indifferently.

And like Lu Lu Zi Yi, there were over five hundred confident contestants today, all inserted by various factions wanting to spy on Fang Can's military intelligence.

And these five hundred-plus candidates, plus folk experts, were fighting for a mere one hundred spots.

The intensity of the competition is evident.

"What? You say the person we sent was eliminated?" Inside the Qing Wang Fu, Qing Wang widened his eyes in disbelief.

Has my Qing Wang Fu declined to such an extent that the beauties we sent cannot even get selected in a folk competition?

"Y-yes..." the steward awkwardly agreed, and only then did Qing Wang realize it was not a joke.

"This is not about fighting for the championship; as long as one enters the top hundred, it is fine, yet they cannot even achieve that."

As Qing Wang spoke, his brows furrowed: "Let the eliminated person come see me; I want to see just how confused the household has become, unable to pass even a mere group of common girls."

Following the order, not long after, the eliminated person walked into the room with light steps and a graceful figure.

But upon seeing the visitor, Qing Wang fell silent; he saw the visitor walking with slow, graceful steps, untouched by dust, with black hair like a waterfall hanging to her waist, a few strands of green silk brushing her Bai Xi face like jade, adding a touch of charm.

The young girl's eyebrows were long and gentle, like distant mountains holding mist; her eyes were clear, as if able to penetrate the secrets of the human heart, making one unconsciously intoxicated. Her nose bridge was high and exquisite, her lip color naturally pink, red without needing paint.

She wore a pale brocade long dress; the skirt hem swayed gently with her steps, like willow branches swaying gracefully in the morning breeze, embroidered with delicate orchid patterns on the fabric, perfectly blending with her temperament, as if a fairy walking out of a painting, unstained by dust, transcendent.

'Your daughter Li Yuling greets the Prince.' When the young girl slightly opened her Zhu Chun, her voice was like a oriole leaving the valley, crisp and pleasant, making one feel joy upon hearing it.

Qing Wang:...

After seeing the eliminated person with his own eyes, Qing Wang wordlessly rubbed his forehead, turned his head to look at the steward; although he said nothing, the meaning in his eyes was very clear.

'What? This level can be eliminated? Can't even get into the top hundred, are they joking?'

Understanding Qing Wang's meaning, the steward could only bow in guilt: "This old servant is incompetent and has ruined the matter."

Sighing lightly, Qing Wang looked at Li Yuling and said: "Tell me, how did they choose? Random lottery?"

"Replying to the Prince, they chose according to five aspects: appearance, temperament, figure, cultivation, and family background."

"In appearance, temperament, cultivation, and family background, this common girl achieved a score of 9.8; only in figure did I lose the advantage, with only 9 points." When Li Yuling spoke, her tone carried a hint of grievance, making one involuntarily feel pity.

'Figure?' Qing Wang looked her up and down, seeing no problem.

"They... they said Li Yuling does not possess one of the Ten Famous Vessels from the ancient books; compared with other contestants, she is ordinary, and after selecting the best, they eliminated me."

"So we were eliminated just like that?" Qing Wang thought wordlessly.

"My lord, it is still not too late." The old man beside him bowed: "There are still two days until the selection ends; we can still try harder and send a few more people in."

"You arrange this matter; whether they force it or not, they must shove one in for me." Prince Qing waved his hand weakly, not expecting even this aspect to become a competition that reached him; it was simply absurd.

The steward responded and immediately went down to make arrangements.

The next day, seeing the contestants before them whose quality was no less than yesterday's, the legs of the dozens of instructors instinctively went weak.

How are there still so many experts?

(End of this chapter)