On Our Wedding Night, I Discovered the Crown Prince's Hidden Illness

Lai Jiajia whispered in explanation, "Our group of five cannot form a team, we need six members to participate in the assessment, but we only have five people."

"So you want me to join your team?" Leng Yu Yan got straight to the point.

Lai Jiajia immediately nodded, "Honestly, when uncle said sister was coming to the academy, I harbored this thought."

Leng Yu Yan's eyes swept over the five girls in front of her; apart from Lai Jiajia who looked cheerful and upright, one was slightly overweight, another had acne on her face, and the other two were so timid they virtually had no presence.

"With so many students in the academy, why were you the only ones left out?"

The slightly overweight girl answered, "We are the worst performers in Class D, so..."

"And our talents truly are inferior," the girl with acne added softly with her head bowed.

She could not understand; she only had acne, while it was said that the Fifth Miss of Lai had ugly blotches on her face. How could she still be so confident?

Why couldn't she be like that too?

Lai Jiajia grabbed Leng Yu Yan's arm, "We also want to take part in the assessment, even if it's just for form's sake, so our time at the academy isn't wasted."

Leng Yu Yan responded, "You might have heard that I wear a veil because I am ugly. Joining your team will only drag you down; do you still want me to join?"

"Yes!" Lai Jiajia and the slightly overweight girl exclaimed in unison.

"Why?"

"We five are already scorned; we could say we share the same plight," Lai Jiajia answered as the slightly overweight girl nodded in agreement.

However, the other three were not as optimistic as Lai Jiajia and her companions; in their view, even if they could participate in the assessment, they had no chance of winning.

Lai Jiajia noticed their thoughts and encouraged, "Being able to participate is a chance to prove ourselves; even if we lose, at least we've had the experience, without regrets!"

Hearing this, Leng Yu Yan nodded, "I agree to join you."

Lai Jiajia jumped up in excitement and, feeling it was not enough, threw her arms around Leng Yu Yan for a tight hug.

Suddenly hugged, Leng Yu Yan felt uncomfortable all over and quickly pushed her away.

Lai Jiajia shamelessly smiled, "Sister, you are so soft and smell so nice."

Just then, a few people entered from the doorway, led by the pink-clothed girl from yesterday's Huayang Hall.

The slightly overweight girl recognized her and quietly introduced her to Leng Yu Yan, "She is Miss Xu, whose father is the Junior Minister of Taichang Temple."

Miss Xu looked down scornfully and scoffed, "Getting into the assessment is not so easy; this time the assessment relates to the Flower Festival, and participation must be approved by Lady Cao."

Someone chimed in, "The Flower Festival is all about dance skills; with you lot?"

Lai Jiajia glared at them, then turned to Leng Yu Yan and said, "Sister, let's go to the Dance Society and ask; Lady Cao likes to practice dancing there during her noon rest."

The group left the study and headed straight for the Dance Society, unaware that more and more people were following them.

"You need a Grade Dance Card from the Dance Society to participate."

"Those who just joined the school today probably aren't qualified."

Leng Yu Yan paused, "What's a Grade Dance Card?"

Lai Jiajia also stopped, bit her lip, and touched her waist.

"At Xinya Academy's Dance Society, there are Grade Dance Cards; the entry-level card is an Iron Token, and above that are Copper, Silver, and Gold Tokens," Miss Xu sneered, "These worst performers from Class D probably only have Iron Tokens, and the newcomers don't have even that."

Today offered a good opportunity to get back for yesterday's humiliation at Huayang Hall.

With that thought, Miss Xu's challenging gaze shifted to Leng Yu Yan and then to Lai Jiajia, "Show us the Iron Token you're keeping by your waist."

At this comment, everyone around laughed.

The female students each brought out their Grade Dance Card to show off.

Those who laughed exaggeratedly mostly held gold medals, and at the very least silver medals, but Lai Jiajia and her group of five all had Iron Tokens.

Leng Yu Yan looked at the patterns on these one-inch-wide, three-inch-long Grade Tokens and fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, someone mocked, "Those who don't even have an Iron Token should forget about taking the assessment!"

"Exactly, even cramming at the last minute wouldn't be enough."

Leng Yu Yan asked, "Are these tokens issued by Lady Cao?"

Lai Jiajia nodded, looking quite distressed, "Sister, should we just…"

Leng Yu Yan gently patted her shoulder and said to her group of five, "Wait here for me, I'll be back soon."

The Dance Society was right in front of her, and Leng Yu Yan stepped inside after a few strides.

The crowd watching the excitement grew, but respecting Lady Cao's preference for quiet, they waited outside the Dance Society in a disciplined manner.

Although they were well-behaved, they still occasionally sneered, eagerly awaiting to see what a plight Leng Yu Yan would be in when she came out.

Lady Cao had seen the dispute outside the Dance Society, and now seeing Leng Yu Yan come in, she showed no pleasant expression, "It's only because you are the Crown Prince Consort that you were exceptionally admitted to the academy and to take the assessment. There's no need for this."

Leng Yu Yan smiled lightly, "Has Lady Cao come to such a quick conclusion?"

The Dance Society was her territory, Cao Shu's domain, and in the absence of other teachers, she could speak her mind.

"With the Crown Prince's reputation already as it is, do you want to make it even worse?" While speaking, Cao Shu pointed towards the door, "If there's nothing else, please leave!"

Leng Yu Yan opened her waist pouch, took out a piece of candy, placed it in her mouth, and then started fiddling with a Jade Token.

Seeing her daring to snack here, Cao Shu was about to get angry but was suddenly captivated by the Jade Token.

"Where did you get this Jade Token?"

Leng Yu Yan lightly pinched the Jade Token between two fingers and threw it up into the air.

This action frightened Cao Shu so much her heart leapt into her throat, terrified the Jade Token might crash to the ground and shatter.

Leng Yu Yan casually caught the Jade Token and spoke leisurely, "I am not sure what use this Jade Token has. I saw my classmates with similar tokens, although different in material, yet the designs on them are identical."

How could Cao Shu not recognize the Jade Token?

It was hers to begin with!

And it was the sole one in the world!

Remembering a year ago, when she couldn't make any breakthrough in dance, she traveled through mountains and rivers to clear her mind.

One day, atop a mountain, she saw a fairy dancing in the air, performing a dance she had never seen before.

As she ran over, the fairy had disappeared, leaving only her maids behind.

Back then, eager to improve her dance skills, she wanted to seek mentorship and left her personal Jade Token as a sign of sincerity.

The maids accepted the Jade Token and passed on her request. Finally, an opportunity arrived, and the maids told her that the next day when the sun rose, their Mistress would return to perform another dance for her to learn well.

Although she only learned one-tenth of the fairy's dance then, it was enough for her to smoothly join the Xinya Academy as a teacher. Over this year, she had secured her position as the lead Dance Master of Xinya Academy and was revered as Lady Cao.

Now seeing the Jade Token again, she was very excited, "Has my Master come?"

Leng Yu Yan glanced again at the Jade Token she was casually playing with, "Your Master?"

"Yes, although I only learned part of her dance, she is my Master in my heart."

At this moment, Cao Shu's eyes no longer showed any disrespect from earlier.