After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows-Chapter 140: Testing Jiang Yuanzhao Again

After nearly a minute of silence, Wei Xiao took a deep breath. Instead of immediately commenting on Jiang Lingxi’s performance of the segment, he looked toward the corner and gestured, "Do you think you can perform better?"

Jiang Lingxi thought to herself that she wasn’t really acting, and followed his gaze to the corner.

She had noticed someone in the corner as soon as she entered, but it was too dark to see the face clearly, so she paid no attention.

"How would you know unless you try!"

Wei Minmin gave a small snort, stood up, and walked forward. She looked up at Jiang Lingxi standing on the stage. Although she felt a bit intimidated, especially after seeing Jiang Lingxi’s recent performance, she still stiffened her neck and said defiantly, "I’m Wei Minmin, and I want to perform this segment as well. Let’s have a fair competition!"

Upon clearly seeing the person walking out from the corner, Jiang Lingxi’s eyelids flickered imperceptibly.

This face had about a fifty percent resemblance to the Wei Fuying she remembered, but its liveliness and spirit were more like Wei Fuying’s daughter, Wei Xiaozhan.

The only little girl who dared to lean on her knee, lift her face, and call her Your Majesty.

With the surname Wei, and a resemblance to Wei Fuying, could she be a descendant of Wei Fuying?

Thinking of this possibility, the originally sharp aura around Jiang Lingxi softened a little. She nodded and stepped aside, "Okay."

This time, it was Wei Minmin who was momentarily stunned. Not only had Jiang Lingxi’s earlier performance stunned her, but it also seemed to have satisfied her uncle. She thought she would have to argue more to interrupt midway like this.

"Thank you!"

Jiang Lingxi stepped aside, waiting to see the performance of this young girl named Wei Minmin, who seemed to be a descendant of the Wei family.

Unlike Jiang Lingxi, who spoke directly on stage, Wei Minmin first raised her chin slightly and circled around the stage, "I, Wei Fuying, at three years old... dare you to duel with me?"

Wei Xiao raised his head and met his niece’s eyes, which were filled with defiance and some rebelliousness. He unconsciously tapped his pen on the desk.

Although this girl’s aura wasn’t as strong as Jiang Lingxi’s, this budding and brash demeanor amazed him. Jiang Lingxi’s previous performance seemed a bit overly calm and assured.

It seemed she had indeed secretly put in a lot of hard work without his knowledge.

Looking again at Jiang Lingxi at the stage’s edge with an appreciative look, Wei Xiao thought, "..."

He could hardly believe his eyes.

He looked again to confirm that the admiration in Jiang Lingxi’s eyes was real.

It confounded him.

Had the girl forgotten that the two of them were competitors?

Seeing that she had also stunned her uncle, Wei Minmin looked over at Jiang Lingxi still standing on the stage and met a pair of gentle, smiling eyes that seemed not to mind her sudden entrance at all. She was instantly taken aback.

What’s going on? Even she felt she was performing better than ever, yet Jiang Lingxi didn’t seem to feel any threat?

Just at that moment of mutual gaze on the stage, Wei Xiao suddenly had a mysterious feeling.

He had co-created the script for "Empress Yuan Zhao" with the writer, from searching for materials everywhere and consulting historians to combining historical archives into the script. He could recite it backward by now.

Seeing Jiang Lingxi and Wei Minmin staring at each other on stage, it almost subconsciously reminded him of the following plot segment.

When Wei Fuying gained everyone’s respect through her own skills, Emperor Yuan Zhao, watching the battle, was probably just as gratified to see the talent he had nurtured, wasn’t he?

"Ahem!"

A low cough from beside him interrupted Wei Xiao’s thoughts. Seeing the two figures on the stage still silently gazing at each other, he rubbed his temples in slight frustration, "I need to think more about who to choose to play Wei Fuying. You will be notified once a decision is made."

Wei Minmin withdrew her gaze from Jiang Lingxi, understanding from her uncle’s words that Jiang Lingxi was no longer the only possible choice for playing Wei Fuying in his eyes.

Satisfied, she nodded and jumped off the stage.

Turning her head to look at Jiang Lingxi, she saw that she was still standing there, then walked to the center of the stage. Her calm and clear voice reached everyone’s ears, "I also want to audition for Jiang Yuanzhao."

When the words were spoken, Wei Minmin, who was about to return to the corner, stopped abruptly and turned back in disbelief.

Xu Qingmei was in the nearby lounge. She had just been chatting with someone and knew that the role of Jiang Yuanzhao was already approved by her uncle. This was just a formality.

Didn’t Jiang Lingxi know?

Impossible. The news of Xu Qingmei returning had been overwhelming lately. Even if Jiang Lingxi doesn’t pay attention to entertainment news, her agent would.

Knowing about Xu Qingmei and still daring to audition for the female lead, she must be really stubborn!

Even Wei Xiao didn’t expect Jiang Lingxi to still hold onto the idea. He thought that knowing Xu Qingmei’s recognized talent in front of her, no one would dare to audition for the female lead. He didn’t even prepare a segment for the female lead’s audition.

"Since you’ve read ’Yuan Zhao Secret History’, I won’t specify a segment. Prepare one on your own and show us."

Jiang Lingxi acted as if she hadn’t guessed that he hadn’t prepared anything and was pondering which of her memories to relive. Then she noticed Wei Minmin, who hadn’t yet left the stage, "Xiaozhan, no, Minmin, since you are still here, would you come up and perform a scene with me?"

Upon hearing her name being called by Jiang Lingxi, it was the first time Wei Minmin felt her ordinary name sounded so beautiful. In a daze, she nodded and agreed.

It wasn’t until she was back on the stage that she snapped out of it.

Did I get bewitched or something? frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

As she was lost in thought, a warm hand gently rested on her shoulder.

Though it was barely perceptible, she could feel the slight warmth through her clothes. But when Wei Minmin looked up and met Jiang Lingxi’s gaze, the hand felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds.

"A general dies in a hundred battles. You are to be the vanguard. Is wearing fifty pounds of armor heavy?"

Wei Minmin instinctively stood up straight, feeling her cheeks quiver, and replied without thinking, "Not heavy!"

"The road is long, the blades are blind, and tens of thousands of soldiers depend on you. Are you afraid?"

"Not afraid."

"General Wei, I await your triumphant return!"

When he heard Jiang Lingxi speak the first line, Wei Xiao knew which segment she had chosen.

This was when Wei Fuying, set to lead troops to the frontier for the first time as a vanguard general, was bidding farewell to Emperor Yuan Zhao before departure.

The Emperor asked her those two questions, entrusting the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers in her first command. It was a heavy burden, yet also the Emperor’s trust.

In ancient times, serving the country also meant being loyal to the Emperor in one’s heart, not merely giving lip service.

If a battle was lost, many who had failed to summon the courage to face the Emperor would commit suicide to atone for their mistakes.

In that moment of introspection, it truly seemed as though he could see a naturally majestic Emperor, bidding farewell to his minister about to embark on a campaign.

What was even more remarkable was that Minmin, this girl, seemed to be drawn into the role unexpectedly and without any preparation.

Until Jiang Lingxi withdrew her hand, Wei Minmin hadn’t moved from her spot.

Jiang Lingxi turned and met Wei Xiao’s gaze, "Director Wei, my performance is over."

After speaking, she nodded slightly and walked off the stage.

The staff at the door quickly scrambled to open the door for her, "Take care, Ms. Jiang."

Wei Xiao tightened his grip on the pen in his hand, his mind in turmoil.

Until he heard an elderly professor beside him give a light "hmm," "That young lady who just auditioned, is her name Jiang Lingxi? I just remembered that before Emperor Yuan Zhao ascended to the throne and changed the reign title and his name, his original name was also Jiang Lingxi. I wonder if it’s the same characters? If so, what a coincidence."

Hearing this, Wei Xiao instinctively wrote the characters ’Jiang Lingxi’ and handed them to the professor for verification, given that ancient characters differed from modern ones. Then he looked at his big niece, who still seemed unusually transfixed.

"Minmin?"

Wei Minmin took a deep breath, turned around, and revealed a pair of slightly red, tear-filled eyes to her uncle, "Uncle, it seems our family’s ancestral autobiography wasn’t an exaggeration. Your Majesty truly cherished her."

She truly felt it just now!

Wei Xiao: "..."

She got bewitched just by acting out a scene? It’s been a millennium, where would Your Majesty come from?