Imperial Capital 24: The battle of piano and dance, Ye Ying's plot

Although Ye Li felt very bored, since the Hundred Flowers Festival would become the most important annual event for the noble ladies of the entire Great Chu, it naturally had its unique highlights. When the banquet was over and Princess Zhaoyang ordered people to serve the prizes prepared for the winners of the Hundred Flowers Festival, Ye Li was also somewhat surprised and understood when she saw the girls who had been reserved and elegant before showing eager expressions. All the girls present were from famous families, and they had seen countless treasures since they were young. The treasures that could move them were naturally not ordinary. More importantly, winning such a prize would bring them fame, which would be enough to make them look down upon their peers, whether in the private rooms or in their husband's family in the future. As the prizes appeared around the princess, the hearts of these unmarried girls began to beat fast.

The judges invited by the princess this year were obviously very important figures. Although among the six men and one woman sitting at the table on the left and right of the princess, only the sullen Prince Li, Mo Jingli, was known to her. And the man in brocade clothes with a coquettish smile smiled at her inexplicably. Although it was only a moment, Ye Li was sure that she had not seen it, and the man did smile at her, and that smile was not just an ordinary polite smile, "Who is the one in red?" Ye Li whispered in Qin Zheng's ear.

Only one of the seven people was wearing red. Qin Zheng knew who she was talking about at a glance. She covered her lips and whispered, "That's Feng Zhiyao, the third son of the Feng family in the capital. It is said that he is a playboy and was born in a concubine's family, so he is not liked by the head of the Feng family. Two years ago, there were rumors that the head of the Feng family wanted to expel him from the Feng family. But his piano skills are indeed the best in the capital."

Seeing them whispering to each other, Murong Ting also came over and said with a smile: "The princess has spent a lot of money this year to invite so many famous people."

Hua Tianxiang looked ahead with a solemn expression, but she was not idle. "This year's prizes are also very rich. The Zhuyan Pearl, the Purple Phoenix Hairpin, and the Xueyinqin given by the late emperor. If my piano skills were not indeed a little worse than Ye Ying's, I would have wanted to go down and try it." Hua Tianxiang admired the Xueyinqin in front of her with some regret. It was the third of the only five famous pianos in the world, and it was a treasure that every piano lover dreamed of. Ye Li was even more regretful, "I haven't touched a piano for several years." The four of them looked at each other, shrugged helplessly, and admired the prizes and people on the stage. Qin Zheng continued to introduce the people present to Ye Li in a low voice, "The ones on the stage, the old gentleman is the principal of the Imperial College, Mr. Su Zhe, he is also the teacher of the current emperor. If it weren't for the eldest princess's face, I'm afraid he wouldn't be invited. The other few are the former top scholar and current Minister of Personnel, Mo Jian. Mu Yang, the son of Marquis Mu Yang. The eldest son of the Zhenbei General's Mansion, Leng Qingyu."

Ye Li's eyes passed through the people Qin Zheng mentioned without leaving any trace, and he memorized them one by one in his mind, "Who is that woman?" Although he never thought that Ye Ying was really so breathtakingly beautiful, Ye Li always admitted that Ye Ying was beautiful enough. But today, he found that Ye Ying's title of the most beautiful woman in the capital seemed to be shaky. Not to mention the Princess Qixia from Nanzhao, Hua Tianxiang's appearance was enough to be compared with Ye Ying. Qin Zheng had a beautiful appearance, but the graceful and elegant temperament of being from a scholarly family was not comparable to Ye Ying's charming beauty. There were also several women sitting not too far away from the banquet who were also extremely outstanding. If there was only such a slight difference, how could Ye Ying have been the most beautiful woman for several years? Look at the one sitting on the stage. Her beautiful face had a bit of charming appeal. Even though she was sitting between two men, she was still calm and composed. A kind of charm that was completely different from that of a lady from a noble family.

Qin Zheng looked a little strange, and after a pause, she said, "That... is Miss Yao Ji from Qingchengfang. She is known for her excellent performance in both music and dance. Compared to her, Ye Ying's dance is not worth watching. Moreover... she is quite close to the Marquis of Muyang and the Third Young Master Feng." Qin Zheng's words were a little awkward, but Ye Li understood the identity of this woman. Seeing her sitting between the Marquis of Muyang and the Third Young Master Feng, with bright eyes and a gentle manner, and talking and laughing freely, he felt that this girl was also a remarkable woman.

While the four of them were chatting and laughing, the eldest princess had already announced the official start of the Hundred Flowers Festival. Ye Li was originally quite curious about how so many items such as music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, song and dance could be competed at the same time. But it was obvious that everyone knew the process of the competition very well. The table with pens, ink, paper and inkstone was placed at the edge of the venue, and the ladies who were interested in participating in the calligraphy, painting and poetry came forward on their own. The maids brought up various musical instruments and stood on both sides of the front of the venue, leaving the open space in the center for the women who were praising dance. Ye Li couldn't help but want to praise the organizer of the banquet. It was indeed a very humane setting. There was no rigid rule on which items everyone had to perform. After all, not everyone was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and it also avoided the possibility of many people making a fool of themselves.

Beside Princess Zhaoyang, Princess Qixia and Princess Ronghua stood up at the same time, but Princess Ronghua went to the place where the pens, ink, paper and inkstone were placed, while Princess Qixia went to the center of the venue. It was obvious that she was going to perform a dance. Ye Ying went to the side where the Yaoqin was placed, and with her jade fingers, beautiful music flowed out from under her fingers.

"It seems that Princess Qixia is really against Ye Ying." Murong Ting said with a smile. Everyone in the capital knew that Ye Ying was best at dancing. Princess Qixia chose to dance right after she came on stage, obviously wanting to give Ye Ying a warning.

Hua Tianxiang admired Princess Qixia's graceful dance and praised her, "The people of Nanzhao are good at singing and dancing, not to mention Princess Qixia, who is known as the most beautiful woman. It is certain that Princess Qixia will outshine the others today." Princess Qixia's dance was passionate and elegant, with both the unrestrained passion of foreigners and the grandeur and grace of the Chu people. In comparison, Ye Ying, who had not yet danced, was inferior in her clothes. Murong Ting also agreed, nodded and smiled, "I think only Yao Ji can beat Princess Qixia in terms of dancing. Ye Ying will lose in this dance this year."

"Ye Ying is not an idle person either. Seeing Princess Qixia's strength, she can still remain so calm." Qin Zheng reminded.

Hua Tianxiang laughed and said, "Without this little skill, Ye Ying has no face to show up. Wu is destined to lose, so her piano skills must be kept stable no matter what."

Ye Li frowned and said, "I'm afraid Princess Qixia is well prepared." Although she is no longer a sniper in this life, it does not affect her good eyesight. Ye Li did not miss the sneer that flashed across Princess Qixia's face when her eyes swept across Ye Ying.

Murong Ting was shocked. "Don't tell me that Princess Qixia is better at playing the zither than Ye Ying."

Hua Tianxiang shook her head and said, "If that's the case, Princess Qixia should compete in playing the zither first and then dancing. Dancing is very physically demanding, and playing the zither after dancing can easily affect your performance. You guys listen to Ye Ying's zither."

The melodious and graceful sound of the piano suddenly took a sharp turn, and the music became rapid and passionate. Princess Qixia's graceful figure also moved faster, and in the center of the field, her clothes fluttered like a gust of wind raging through the petals of hundreds of flowers.

Obviously, Ye Ying might have also discovered this, or she might have realized that Princess Qixia's strength made her feel threatened.

The people on the stands obviously noticed the change in the posture. Princess Zhaoyang frowned, and her eyes on Ye Ying were a little cold. Yao Ji, who was sitting gracefully and admiring Princess Qixia's dance, suddenly giggled, turned her head and smiled at Mo Jingli, who had a sullen look, "Your Highness Prince Li, the future Princess Li is indeed extraordinary. Yao Ji admires you." Mo Jingli had a cold face, and did not even glance at Yao Ji, but just frowned. In his eyes, Yao Ji, who came from a singing and dancing house, was not worthy of talking to him. Naturally, he did not have to pay attention to Yao Ji's words. Yao Ji did not care about his disregard, her beautiful eyes moved, and she smiled sweetly, "The first beauty in the capital really lives up to her reputation, but she lacks some hospitality."

Yao Ji's voice was not loud, but Ye Ying was sitting in the place closest to the stands. Yao Ji's words were heard by Ye Ying in a neither light nor heavy tone, and Su Zhe, the head of the Imperial Academy who had not expressed his opinion, also snorted softly. If Ye Ying did not need to care about Yao Ji's words, Su Zhe's attitude made her heart tremble, and her fingering, which was originally as smooth as flowing water, paused. Although she reacted quickly, Feng Zhiyao, who was sitting next to Yao Ji, gradually frowned and smiled lightly, "I thought that after a year, Princess Li's piano skills should be more advanced. I didn't expect..."

Ye Li naturally couldn't hear what the person in front was saying. Although Ye Li was proficient in lip reading, she didn't plan to speak it out to share with others. Therefore, what Qin Zheng and others saw was that Ye Ying's face looked uglier than Princess Qixia's face when she finished dancing. Princess Qixia ended the dance with a perfect posture, glared at Ye Ying fiercely, and turned back to Princess Zhaoyang. The beads of sweat on her forehead also showed that she was not as relaxed as she appeared. After all, the gap between the sudden turn before and after the song Ye Ying played was too big. She was caught off guard and didn't make a fool of herself on the spot because of her superb dancing skills and adaptability. If anyone dared to plot against her like this, she would definitely make her pay!