Chapter 176 Talent Show
Nangong Ning nudged Nangong Xiang lightly with her elbow, but Nangong Xiang was so engrossed in eating that she didn't even realize that someone was touching her.
Nangong Ning was speechless. He could only tilt his body slightly and pat Nangong Xiang with his hand: "Is it really that delicious? You've eaten all kinds of good things since you were a child. How can you eat the food at the palace banquet so well? It really suits your name."
"Fifteenth Sister, aren't you going to eat?" Although Nangong Xiang was eating happily, she didn't lose her manners. She swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking to Nangong Ning.
Nangong Ning was speechless. "I'm not like you, all you think about is food. Sixteenth Prince, look at the county princess that the Imperial Uncle bestowed upon her. Although she comes from a commoner background, she's much more powerful than us. She even has a title."
"She's really amazing. I admire her quite a bit. My father said that her contribution of offering grain was huge. If she were a man, she might have been granted a title and a noble rank. I was thinking of going to talk to her after my uncle leaves the table."
That said, I heard she's over thirty, but she looks so young and beautiful; she doesn't look like someone with two children at all.
Nangong Ning and Nangong Xiang are not born to the same father, but their birthdays are close together. Whether they are studying at the Royal Academy or attending events like the Lantern Festival banquet, their seats are always next to each other, so they spend much more time together than other cousins.
Although Nangong Ning would secretly laugh at Nangong Xiang for being naive and foolish, only knowing how to eat, she also quite enjoyed being with her because Nangong Xiang was unguarded towards her.
However, Nangong Xiang herself is naive and often used as a pawn by Nangong Ning. Because of her honest and straightforward personality, people, whether adults or her peers, are much more forgiving of what she says or does.
For example, in the academy, everyone actually felt that a certain teacher's lectures were too boring, and Nangong Ning would coax Nangong Xiang to say it in front of the adults.
Then the royal family actually replaced that teacher with someone else to teach students in other classes.
In addition, the meals at the Royal Academy were generally not very good, since those who came to study were either children of royalty or nobles, and their families would prepare exquisite meals separately.
Little did she know that Nangong Xiang loved to eat. She saw that the academy had a wide variety of dishes and decided to try them every day. However, she didn't like the first meal, so she went to complain.
As a result, she succeeded again. The royal family replaced the chefs at the academy, and the deliciousness of the food improved dramatically. Because of this, other families stopped preparing separate meals for them. The emperor specially assigned chefs from the imperial kitchen. How could they dare to refuse to eat, considering it was the emperor's face?
Such incidents were frequent. In fact, it wasn't just Nangong Ning; other royal children often intentionally or unintentionally made Nangong Xiang the one to take the lead.
Sometimes Nangong Ning was jealous of Nangong Xiang, but she was also curious. It seemed that the Imperial Uncle doted on Nangong Xiang quite a bit, but she didn't have a title either. Because of this, Nangong Ning felt that Nangong Xiang was actually similar to herself, so she didn't need to be jealous of Nangong Xiang. She just thought that Nangong Xiang was simply a simple-minded person with good fortune.
This time, Nangong Ning also had the idea of getting Nangong Xiang to take the lead.
The news about Wang Shulan's background had already spread throughout the upper circles of the capital and among some well-informed families. So, even though Nangong Ning and Nangong Xiang had never met Wang Shulan before, they knew that she had once fled with her two children and later bought a house and settled down in the prefectural city.
However, not many people know that Wang Shulan changed her name.
“Yes, she really doesn’t seem like someone from a farming background. Her demeanor is more like that of a noblewoman than some of the daughters of officials. Do you think she might also be skilled in playing the zither and dancing like those noblewomen?” Seeing that Nangong Xiang’s eyes were full of admiration for Wang Shulan and that she didn’t feel jealous at all, Nangong Ning simply and directly guided her further.
Nangong Xiang was unclear about Nangong Ning's true intentions, but she did take Nangong Ning's words to heart. "Now that you mention it, it seems to be true. She is so beautiful. She must be very beautiful when she dances. And I think her fingers are very slender. She must be very beautiful when she plays the zither."
Nangong Ning smiled and said, "I think so too. Sixteen, would you like to see this new county princess perform some talents?"
"Is that alright?" Nangong Xiang's eyes lit up, and she asked Nangong Ning with a smile.
Before Nangong Ning could continue guiding Nangong Xiang to mention Wang Shulan's performance to the Emperor and Empress, Nangong Xiang's actions were noticed by Emperor Nangong Chen.
Nangong Chen noticed that his niece, Nangong Xiang, who always thought about food no matter where she went, was not eating anything this time. Her bright little face seemed to be talking to Nangong Ning, which was quite cute, and he found it amusing.
A little curious, she asked directly, "Xiang'er, it's rare to see you not eating. What are you talking about that makes you so happy?"
When Nangong Xiang saw that she had been called out, she quickly stood up and bowed: "Uncle, I admire the Princess Sheng'an across from me. As a woman, she has achievements that are no less than those of men. I also see that Princess Sheng'an is beautiful and I am curious whether she is good at playing the zither, singing and dancing."
After hearing Nangong Xiang's words, everyone in the hall turned their attention to Wang Shulan. There were already people staring at Wang Shulan from time to time, and now everyone was staring at her even more openly.
Empress Murong Yanran stared intently at Wang Shulan. Sure enough, Wang Shulan was very beautiful, and her fair and delicate skin was even better than her own skin, which was maintained by palace servants every day at great expense.
When Nangong Ning saw that the Empress was indeed staring at Wang Shulan, he thought that the Empress was jealous of Wang Shulan, a commoner, for having such good skin. He wondered if the Empress had some improper thoughts, such as seducing high-ranking officials or even the Emperor.
Murong Yanran noticed that everyone was looking at Wang Shulan, and the Emperor also had curiosity in his eyes. However, since Wang Shulan was a woman, it was not appropriate for the Emperor to ask her directly. It would be more appropriate for her or the Empress Dowager to speak first.
So Murong Yanran maintained a polite smile and looked at Wang Shulan, asking, "Princess Sheng'an, it seems everyone is quite curious. What talents do you have? Would you be willing to let everyone feast their eyes on them?"
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