eagle eyes

This morning, two major events occurred in the dance department, something that had never happened in the past ten years of the music bureau. It can be said that the entire department was shaken and the public was in a state of panic.

One of them is the Mid-Autumn Festival palace banquet, where the designated dance troupe is required to present the "White Silk" dance created by the previous Empress Wen.

Upon hearing this news, A Qiu couldn't help but admire Gu Yi's speed in handling matters. In just a few days, the opportunity for the dance troupe to see the light of day again was already right in front of them.

Lady Sun, however, was filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry. She was happy that these girls finally had the opportunity to meet the Emperor and showcase their talents, instead of enduring a life of obscurity and humiliation in the most corrupt places. But she was worried about whether the current dance troupe was capable of producing a performance that would satisfy the court.

If the first piece of news left Sun's wife with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow, then the second piece of news was a bolt from the blue for the entire dance troupe.

A lady is coming to the Dongguang Marquis's residence to teach them the White Silk Dance.

If it were merely about teaching the White Silk Dance, Lady Sun believed she could handle it. She wondered why the court had specifically transferred former court performers from the Dongguang Marquis's residence.

Pei Yuanli proposed this idea to ease the atmosphere in the court, but these lower-level dancers and musicians had no way of knowing what was happening in the court. Considering Huang Chao'an, the music director of the Music Bureau,'s dissatisfaction with Instructor Sun over the past six months, Instructor Sun could only conclude that the court had probably heard about her management of the dance troupe and how she had turned it into a "ghost troupe," and therefore intended to replace her.

Although the dancers in the dance troupe were still young and naive, they had developed feelings for Lady Sun over the past few days. The fact that a new teacher was coming, especially one from a prominent lady, had already instilled a deep sense of fear in them.

A Qiu was naturally not afraid of anyone, but this new teacher came from the residence of Marquis Pei Yuanli of Dongguang, and Huang Chaoan also came from the Pei family. With the two connected, she really didn't have much goodwill towards this new teacher.

As expected, this current favorite concubine of the Pei family, Xue Hongbi, who was formerly the head of the dance troupe in the palace, started cursing on her very first day at Xiangxie Corridor.

"Makeup is one thing, even if it looks like this, at least it can be washed off. But what kind of crappy posture are you teaching?"

Xue Hongbi's beautiful face was contorted with rage, her gaze fixed intently on Sun Neiren.

She pointed at the performers with her bamboo clappers and roared, "You're all like puppets! Are you planning to put on a puppet show, Sun Ci?!"

Sun's wife gritted her teeth and remained silent.

Xue Hongbi was still not satisfied and pointed at A Qiu standing in the back row with her bamboo stick: "You come out here!"

A-Qiu couldn't help but feel uneasy. Today, she had applied the exact same makeup as everyone else, and after practicing her figure and flexibility for so long, she felt she could blend in with the dancers. But she never expected that Xue Hongbi would recognize her so easily.

She did as she was told, stood in front of Xue Hongbi, lowered her head, and behaved respectfully.

Xue Hongbi's bamboo clapper struck her chin directly. "Sun Ci, look at these people! The others can be considered puppets, but this one isn't even qualified to be a puppet. Since when can you get into the dance troupe just by having a pretty face?!"

A Qiu was ashamed. She felt more and more that Madam Xue was quite capable. Not only could she tell at a glance from so many dancers that her figure lacked the refinement she had developed since childhood, but even under such heavy makeup, she could also tell that she was able to join the dance troupe solely because of her beautiful face—it was truly amazing.

He truly deserves his former favor and the top official of the previous dynasty.

Having finally gotten a chance to retaliate, Lady Sun was not about to let it slip by. She said leisurely, "She is Shi Changqing's daughter."

Xue Hongbi was taken aback, and her gaze towards A Qiu momentarily shifted away. Then she waved her hand and said, "Go back to your unit."

A-Qiu obediently shrank back into the group, not daring to utter a sound. — The time she spent pretending to be well-behaved in the dance troupe these past few days was probably more than the total amount of time she spent in Lanling Hall over the past ten years.

After this interruption, Xue Hongbi's cursing subsided somewhat. She put her hand on her waist, still seething with anger, and said, "Mid-Autumn Festival is in fifteen days. Sun Ci, what do you suggest we do?"

She pointed to the geisha again: "If these were used as background figures for me back then, I wouldn't want them either—I thought they were too dull."

She spread her hands and said succinctly, "Just three words: hopeless. I'd better go back. Any maidservant you pick from the Pei household could be better than this."

As she spoke, she immediately straightened her clothes and prepared to leave.

The dancers looked at each other in bewilderment, and even Lady Sun stood there, not knowing what to do.

To keep it, that's not right either. To not keep it, that seems even less right.

Fortunately, a figure moved under the eaves, breaking the awkward silence. It was a servant from the music bureau who came running to deliver a message.

"Huang Lezheng invited Madam Xue over for a chat."

Xue Hongbi left with the servants, not forgetting to leave behind a cold "humph".

As soon as she left, the dancers, like startled chicks, huddled around Instructor Sun's side, remaining silent.

Ah Qiu asked softly, "Lady Sun, will they replace you?"

Sun Neiren gave a bitter smile and said softly, "They might want to. But I don't think Hongbi would be willing to take my place." She said gently, "As you can see, she is currently a favorite of the Pei family, a pampered lady, while our dance troupe," she looked around dejectedly, "is living in darkness, and now we have performance assignments to keep us busy."

Sun Neiren's meaning was clear: Madam Xue had already made it ashore, living a life of luxury and having a secure future. There was no need for her to suffer in this cold cave in the dance troupe and do hard labor.

Performing before the Emperor is rewarded if done well, but punished if done poorly. It's nothing like the easy life of a lady in the Pei household.

A-Qiu turned her beautiful eyes and reminded him, "But if we do well and show our faces before the Emperor, proving to the court that we are useful, we will have more opportunities to perform in the future, and the dance troupe will become more and more important."

Lady Sun sighed and said, "It's easier said than done. You just heard what Madam Xue said. We don't even know if we can get through this hurdle." She looked deeply at the girls in front of her and said softly, "Madam Xue said you are dull. Today, I will teach you the first lesson of 'body and mind': 'looking with affection'."

But A-Qiu missed this crucial lesson.

Sun's wife is personally demonstrating "standing and gazing into the distance," her gaze slowly shifting from near to far, seemingly neither sorrowful nor joyful.

Like smoke shrouding cold water and mist enveloping sand, the vastness carries a hint of melancholy and a sense of searching.

His gaze went from gloomy to bright, growing ever brighter.

The moment the pose was captured, all the geishas stared, mouths agape, completely mesmerized.

Ah Qiu felt the same way. She suddenly realized that, in that moment of reflection, her mistress, Sun, was actually extremely beautiful.

When Xue Hongbi appeared, Lady Sun was immediately overshadowed. The other woman was adorned with vibrant makeup and sparkling jewelry, making Lady Sun appear prematurely aged, at least ten years older.

Now she feels that, all these years, Sun's wife has deliberately kept a low profile and concealed her beauty.

Firstly, it was for self-preservation. Secondly, apart from the inheritance of her dance skills, there was probably no one else in the world who made her feel the need to shine.

In truth, Lady Sun's appearance was merely considered pretty, but the moment she gazed at me with affection, something stunning arose invisibly.

Just as Sun Neiren finished demonstrating and was about to explain, a polite and clear voice came from behind the corridor: "Excuse me, may I ask which one of you is Miss Shi Wanqiu?"

Someone came to the dance club looking for someone, something that hadn't happened in the dance club for nearly ten years.

The dancers here all grew up in the palace, and even if they still have relatives outside the palace, they no longer have the energy to care about them.

Everyone turned around and saw a beautiful and dignified maid in a yellow dress standing gracefully in the middle of the corridor, looking at them.

Although they were very far apart, I could still smell a faint fragrance wafting from her direction. It was like the scent of hibiscus.

She stood there like a golden hibiscus suddenly blooming in the corridor; although it was early autumn outside, the corridor felt like summer.

Sun's wife seemed to have become accustomed to everything A-Qiu did, and nodded to A-Qiu, saying, "Go ahead."

A Qiu thought to herself: Gu Yi is indeed the most reliable. After entrusting the message to Gu Yi, Gongyi Xiu replied so quickly.

Thinking back to that night, she fought to the death on the top of Xianyang Palace, letting out a Lanling howl, but she couldn't even get Lord Gongyi to budge an inch.

A maid in a yellow dress led the way, guiding A-Qiu through long corridors and winding paths.

Ah Qiu had seen many people, and judging from her demeanor and movements, she could tell at a glance that she was a maid from a noble family, not someone from the palace.

Moreover, it should be the one that is more favored by the owner among them.

Because her actions and speech still carried a touch of naivety.

During his few days in the palace, A Qiu finally understood one thing: it's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. True masters aren't necessarily all harsh and cold-blooded; on the contrary, most are refined, charming, and witty. But the higher the level of the master—the more tiers—the more half-dead the people they bring along become.

That's why this maid in yellow doesn't seem like someone from the palace. The palace has too many layers; it's impossible to find a maid as lively and innocent as her.

A Qiu couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "May I ask who your master is?"

Gongyi Xiu couldn't possibly come in person; that would attract too much attention. What she wanted was for him to send someone to deliver a message to her. Logically, she shouldn't investigate the other person's identity, but she was genuinely curious.

The maid in yellow turned her head and smiled slightly, saying, "Can you smell my scent?" Her expression was both proud and confident, as if everyone should be able to recognize her scent.

A-Qiu exclaimed in astonishment, "Isn't this the smell of hibiscus flowers?"

The maid in yellow stopped in her tracks, displeased, and said with a slightly disdainful yet innocent expression, "Do you know how many kinds of hibiscus there are? Do you know the difference in scent between a hibiscus that blooms in the morning and one that withers in the evening? Do you know that the hibiscus planted in my young master's garden is a rare variety that we cultivated ourselves after grafting it with the Arabian rose?"

This was the second time today that A-Qiu had been looked down upon, and by a mere maid. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, daring not to retort, and could only silently say in her heart, "My apologies."

At the same time, she vaguely guessed who the maid's master was.

Who else in the entire Dayan Kingdom could create so many variations from a single hibiscus plant, and so casually bestow such precious hibiscus fragrance upon a maid? Who else could it be but Gongye Fusu, the richest man in the country and the "King of Ten Thousand Fragrances"?

At the same time, a calm and gentle voice rang out from behind the flowering tree opposite: "This humble servant has been unruly and has made the young lady laugh."

Along with the sound came a faint fragrance.

Although extremely simple, it is highly distinctive, as if behind the flowering trees lies a waterfall and a stream, which is refreshing and carefree, as if one is in another world outside the palace.