They didn't give Shen Wan a chance to refuse at all.
A layer of frost covered Shen Wan's clear eyes.
She didn't speak, but Xie Jingyan's deep voice echoed throughout the hall, "My wife isn't good at dancing."
Empress Song smiled and said, "Princess Consort Jin and Princess Consort Ling are sisters who grew up together. Prince Ling is reluctant to let Princess Consort Ling perform in front of others, nor can he openly deceive everyone."
Although Shen Wan has married Xie Jingyan, it has only been a short time since their marriage. It is normal for Xie Jingyan not to know Shen Wan well. However, Shen Ying and Shen Wan grew up together and practiced dancing and learning skills together. If Shen Ying says she is good at it, then it must be true.
Shen Ying, always eager for excitement, said, "Big sister, why don't you dance a little something and let everyone see your amazing dance skills?"
Frost crept from Shen Wan's eyes to her cheeks.
Is it true that Shen Ying won't rest until she's humiliated today?!
Since she's asked to jump, then she should just do as she pleases.
Today, she will make Shen Ying realize that she is no longer the Shen Wan she once was.
Shen Wan was about to get up when Xie Jingyan grabbed her hand. Shen Wan whispered, "Don't worry, I won't embarrass you."
Is he afraid of losing face?
He just didn't want her to be goaded into actually becoming someone else's worst person.
But everyone was watching them, and Shen Wan said so too. Xie Jingyan had no choice but to let go. Why didn't she believe him? As long as he didn't let her, no one could force her to go on stage and dance.
Shen Wan walked onto the stage and curtsied to the Emperor and Empress Song.
The Emperor frowned slightly, while Empress Song smiled broadly.
But as the music began, Shen Wan's smile froze on her face as she turned her head with a flick of her sleeve.
Not only did Shen Wan actually go on stage, but she also danced the most difficult Green Waist Dance.
Her figure was like a willow branch in the wind, graceful and light. Every movement was just right and perfect. Even the most nitpicking person could not find anything wrong with it.
It's worth mentioning that Shen Wan's ability to dance this dance is all thanks to Princess Shouchun. Princess Shouchun deliberately manipulated her, making her perform a dance on the Emperor's birthday banquet, and even chose this green waist dance for her. She practiced for three whole months, from the initial stumbles and bumps to finally achieving perfection.
However, the training was worthwhile. In her previous life, when the emperor celebrated his birthday, Princess Xiliang also came. After Princess Xiliang performed a dance, she wanted to have a competition with Princess Shouchun. Empress Song knew that her daughter could not win, so she pushed her out.
She stole the limelight from the Princess of Xiliang, and the Princess of Xiliang caused her no shortage of trouble during her half-month stay in Da Chu.
They could never have imagined that the dance they forced her to learn in her past life would be used to slap themselves in the face in this life.
Empress Song's face turned ashen, and Shen Ying's face became even more unpleasant.
She said that Shen Wan was good at dancing, but that was just a pretext to force Shen Wan to go on stage. She never dreamed that Shen Wan was really good at it, and not only that, but she was far better than Fu Shu, let alone her.
Empress Song already had some dissatisfaction with her, but she went ahead and used herself as a stepping stone for Shen Wan, telling everyone that she was truly inferior to Shen Wan.
The fragrant handkerchief in Shen Ying's hand was almost torn to shreds.
After Shen Wan finished dancing, the hall was quiet for a while before applause broke out. The first person to clap was the Emperor, who smiled and said, "As expected of the daughter of the Marquis of Pingyang, she is truly excellent. It's just that she was too low-key before."
The Emperor looked at Shen Jing and asked, "Minister Shen, aren't you being a little too strict with your daughter?"
Shen Jing, "..."
strict?
Has His Majesty forgotten that he has spent at least half of these years at the border...?
Shen Du sat behind Shen Jing and couldn't help but cover his face.
The father spoils his younger sister to an extreme degree; it's questionable whether he even knows how to write the character for "strict."
If they still say the regulations are too strict, then I can't even imagine what would happen if they were loosened.
However, it was quite unexpected that his younger sister danced so well. In his memory, wasn't his sister always half-baked and haphazard in everything she learned?
Shen Jing stood up and said, "My daughter was one month old when the Emperor arranged her marriage. He was afraid that if he didn't discipline her strictly, she would bring shame to the royal family."
Looking at his own father, who was neither blushing nor out of breath, Shen Du wondered if these words could be considered deceiving the emperor...
The Emperor was overjoyed and took off the jade pendant he always wore, giving it to Shen Wan.
Empress Song's face looked as if she had been slapped a dozen times. The jade pendant was a gift from the founding emperor to the emperor and was considered a family heirloom. Empress Song had always thought that the emperor would give it to her son, but she never expected that the emperor would so casually bestow it upon Shen Wan, simply because she danced well.
Shen Wan never expected that she would receive such a valuable reward for dancing, but the jade pendant was clearly meant for men, so it was inappropriate to give it to her.
Shen Wan glanced at Xie Jingyan, then accepted the jade pendant, thanked the Emperor for the gift, and sat back down next to Xie Jingyan.
Fu Shu stomped her foot in anger. If Shen Ying hadn't pushed Shen Wan out, the jade pendant might have been given to her!
From the moment Shen Wan turned around, Xie Jingyan's gaze had been fixed on her. Shen Wan's face turned pale from his stare; could he please stop looking at her like that? There were a lot of people watching.
Everyone was filled with envy. Although Prince Ling had broken his leg and could not stand up, Princess Ling remained by his side and firmly chose him. The two were inseparable, which made others envious. Just look at the way Prince Ling looked at Princess Ling; he was truly captivated by her.
Xie Jingyan's gaze towards Shen Wan was one thing, but Xie Jingyin, sitting opposite him, had a face as cold as if carved from ice, his eyes dark and filled with murderous intent. It was unclear whether this murderous intent was directed at Xie Jingyan or Shen Wan.
While Xie Jingyan and Xie Jingyin were engaged in a subtle power struggle, the eldest prince, sitting not far away, was drinking his wine in frustration. When a young eunuch poured him more wine, he placed a note on the table.
The eldest prince frowned, picked up the note, glanced at it, and, in a bad mood, crumpled it into a ball and threw it at his feet.
The eldest prince continued drinking, the singing and dancing continued, and occasionally a young lady from a prominent family would come up on stage. He, who rarely paid attention to such things, watched quite attentively this time. Just as he was enjoying the show, the third young master of the Right Prime Minister's residence went up on stage and wrote a poem in front of everyone. It was quite good, and the emperor praised it a couple of times.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
