HRPM – Chapter 252 Who is the Dark Horse?

Two painted pleasure boats drifted side by side. Standing at the bows were two handsome young men, elegant as jade trees in the wind—it was Xiao Che and Xiao Yu.

“Seventeenth Uncle is here too. And why do I feel like I also saw Father Emperor?”

Xiao Yu gazed across several boats toward the pleasure boat from which the voice had come earlier. Faintly, he could make out familiar figures—it was indeed their seventeenth uncle and the Emperor.

“How could Father Emperor casually leave the palace and come to such a crowded place? If anything happens, it’ll be troublesome.” Xiao Che could not help worrying about the Emperor’s safety. If there were ill-intentioned people hiding here, rescuing him would be difficult.

Xiao Yu, however, was not too concerned. “Third Brother, don’t worry. Since Father Emperor brought Seventeenth Uncle along, what is there to fear? Seventeenth Uncle is such a meticulous person—he must have secretly arranged expert guards for protection. Besides, the palace is terribly stifling. Coming out more often is good for Father Emperor’s health too.”

“It’s one thing for Father Emperor to come watch the excitement, but he’s even supporting one of the beauties in the competition. Where did Seventeenth Uncle find this beauty contestant? And he’s even going all out to promote her—it’s really strange.”

Xiao Che knew that his seventeenth uncle had never been interested in women. Supporting a beauty competition so enthusiastically was a first, so he could not help feeling curious.

“As long as he’s a man, he’ll eventually have a woman he likes. Maybe Seventeenth Uncle’s springtime has finally arrived. We’ll have to put in extra effort competing against him and see whose beauty wins. But Mu Yun basically has no hope. That girl learns everything halfway—she knows a little of everything but masters nothing. On the other hand, your Yang Ruoyao’s singing voice is praised as the number one oriole in the capital. This time she might just take first place.”

“These competitions are always full of hidden talents. A dark horse may suddenly appear.” Xiao Che involuntarily thought of Jin Luoluo.

Xiao Yu laughed as well. “A dark horse? The moment you say those words, the name Jin Luoluo immediately pops into my head. If Luoluo were here, she’d probably be the biggest dark horse of all. Though I really wonder what she’d perform. Could it be a grand collection of her sharp-tongued insults?”

“Other than doing business and speaking viciously, she doesn’t seem to have any talents. Besides, she’s probably at home right now in the accounting room, furiously clicking away on her golden abacus.”

“True enough.” Xiao Yu deeply agreed.

After the presentation of prizes, the competition officially began.

The beauties participating in the contest took turns riding small boats to board the large pleasure boat in the center, which served as the performance stage.