When everyone had settled down, Meng Weiren walked onto the stage and said, “Today’s competition is the dance contest. There’s no preliminary round or finals. A single round will decide the final results. At the end of each contestant’s act, the judges will give a score according to the contestant’s performance. We will exclude the highest as well as the lowest score they received and then calculate their average score. The contest’s ranking will be based on their final score. There are a total of sixteen contestants for this contest. The contestants already drew lots yesterday to decide the order. Now, the contestants will come forth onto the stage to perform according to that order. The first to perform is Miss Qin Chunmei of Eastern Li. After her, it will be Miss Deng Hanxue of Northern Qi. May Miss Qin Chunmei please come onto the stage.”

Meng Weiren left the stage, and Qin Chunmei went up dressed in her dance attire and brought along a musician who was instructed to be on standby. Once Qin Chunmei was ready, she sent a signal to the musician, who then began to play the melody. Following along with the music, Qin Chunmei began to dance.

At a corner, Ji Liufeng and Han Mingyi were surveying the situation in the competition site to see if there were any suspicious people making conspicuous movements. This was in order to ensure that the contest proceeded smoothly.

Ji Liufeng looked at Zhao Zhen, who was sitting beside Han Mingze, and elbowed Han Mingyi, saying, “Hey, this Zhao Zhen really is bold, actually using a trade city as a wager. What do you think is his intention?”

“Exactly what it seems,” Han Mingyi said impassively.

“Exactly what it seems? So he really wants to use this competition to decide the opening of a trade city? Isn’t he afraid that we’ll take this chance to invade after they open their gates?” Ji Liufeng asked.

“He’s probably thinking that this is a chance to pry open our gates without using a single troop or soldier,” Han Mingyi said.

“He’s that confident?”

“It should be that he has confidence in Zhao Zirui’s dancing skills,” Han Mingyi stated as he glanced at the red-clad figure on stage. “This time, it’s their Northern Yuan who came to us for peace talk. No matter what, they must express some form of sincerity. However, he also wants to fish for some benefits from us.”

“Since they are in the conceding party, using this method to obtain benefits is really quite smart. But isn’t he too confident in his younger cousin’s dancing skill? If he loses, their country’s gates would be opened to us,” Ji Liufeng said.

“Even if their city gates are opened, it might not necessarily be a bad thing for them!” Han Mingyi said. “Although Northern Yuan has more territory than Northern Qi and Northern Rong, don’t they still have to get most of their products from us? If we opened up as a trade city, they would be able to get even more goods.”

“So, he gains benefits either way?” Ji Liufeng was suddenly enlightened. “No wonder that fox would propose such an idea. Turns out it was like this.”

“However, there are also benefits for us. Some products, such as leather, still have to be acquired from Northern Yuan, so opening the trade city will be beneficial to both sides. It’s just that the country that opens the trade city will also have to shoulder the risk that comes with it,” Han Mingyi analyzed.

“Did the Emperor also think of this?” Ji Liufeng asked.

“He thought even deeper than this. This is only an analysis from the economic perspective. He needs to consider how this will impact the entire country. We can be considered to be the prevailing country, but if we lose a trade city to a country that we defeated, the entire world will see it as we’re the ones who lost even if we won,” Han Mingyi explained.

“Then Xiaoli must win, otherwise…” Ji Liufeng looked worriedly at Du Xiaoli who was sitting in the contestant resting area. He suddenly felt that it was unfair to place such a heavy burden upon her.

“Since he made such a decision, he must be prepared for the possible consequences. I believe Li’er will try her best, but the result need not be shouldered by her. This prince won’t allow such a heavy responsibility to fall onto her.” Han Mingyi felt distressed for her.

Du Xiaoli had only arrived in the capital for merely a few months, yet the things she had to do were not few in number at all. In particular, she had to handle all the arrangements for the Academy Competition. If it wasn’t for Du Yunhan and Han Mingyi helping her, who knew just how overworked would she be!

Ji Liufeng looked at Han Mingyi’s domineering appearance and let out a sigh inwardly.

If Du Xiaoli were to lose... Even if Han Mingyi didn’t care, those old-fashioned people were sure to push the blame onto Du Xiaoli!

After Qing Chunmei finished performing, some time was given to the next contestant to prepare while the judges decided on their scores. The next person would start their performance once the scores were finalized.

This sort of scoring system ensured the fairness of the competition, letting everyone accept the results of the competition willingly.

Lu Junqi was scheduled as the fifth to perform. Ever since knowing Du Xiaoli was also competing, she lost hope of getting first place. Nevertheless, she still danced elegantly, earning her a high score that far surpassed that of the previous four contestants and made her the front runner.

After seeing Lu Junqi’s performance, the later contestants felt intimidated and didn’t perform very well.

MoonWhisperer, Cubic's Thoughts

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