Chapter 30 On that ship, they were playing the piano again…
The sight of people playing music and dancing on the boat instantly drew the attention of almost everyone around.
Xiao Yan's attention also fell on the awning boat, and then her gaze was completely drawn to it.
It must be said that the woman's dance was extremely beautiful. Whether it was the light spinning and leaping or the soft kicking and bending, she did it all with ease. As the music reached its climax, the woman dancing at the bow of the boat leaped into the air, her whole body bent backward like a fully drawn bow. The suppleness and the feeling of being suspended in the air were simply a perfect fusion of strength and beauty.
"Amazing!" Xiao Yan was momentarily disappointed by her lack of words. At this moment, she should have composed a poem to praise it greatly, so as not to disappoint that artist-level dance.
"Xiao Yan, shut up." Suddenly, Xiao Quexian's low rebuke rang out beside her.
After being jolted back to her senses by the low rebuke, Xiao Yan Hui immediately noticed that the atmosphere around her was a bit strange. Most of the young ladies within sight no longer looked relaxed and cheerful as before, and some even had displeasure written all over their faces.
The doubt lasted only a moment, but after a moment's thought, Xiao Yan understood why. There was nothing wrong with dancing itself, but the fact that the dance was performed here made the problem very big.
Nowadays, it's not uncommon for ordinary banquets to invite entertainers who can talk, sing, or perform various theatrical acts. In fact, inviting famous performers to a banquet is a way of subtly showcasing the host's power and wealth.
For example, when holding a birthday banquet for an elder, it is customary to invite opera troupes and variety show troupes, which are both bright and lively.
Some literati gatherings prefer to invite a few refined ladies-in-waiting who are knowledgeable in literature. After a few cups of fine wine, they can compose good poems and have beautiful women play instruments and sing, making it an unparalleled elegant affair.
For the ladies' private banquets, they would often invite their home musicians to play a few tunes to liven things up.
These are all common occurrences. Today's flower viewing banquet also has a music troupe, but since the guests have not yet arrived and the host has not yet come, the flower viewing banquet has not officially started, and the music troupe has naturally not yet begun to play and sing.
Now, let's return to the scene on the lake. The dance was indeed beautiful. Not only were the dance movements beautiful, but the dancers' figures were also showcased to the fullest extent.
To people of this era, every movement of the dance is a seductive trick—this is the way of the brothel, and the way of attracting customers.
Today's flower-viewing banquet has a considerable number of unmarried young women, and everyone tacitly understands that although it is called a flower-viewing banquet, it is actually a disguised large-scale matchmaking event.
Under these circumstances, the appearance of the dancers on the awning boat was inappropriate; to put it more seriously, it was even a provocation and an insult.
Before the boat appeared, the girls on the shore were also showing off their talents. At this moment, the dance put all those who were playing the piano or painting in an extremely awkward situation.
"What's with the dancing on that boat?"
"I don't know, maybe the program was arranged incorrectly?"
"No way, how could such a mistake happen?"
......
"Oh dear, look at that dance! It's so embarrassing!"
"Everyone was just praising Sister Wu's outstanding piano skills..."
"Who brought such a vixen into the flower-viewing banquet?"
......
Whispers and complaints had already begun to circulate around them. Xiao Yan Hui and the others stopped at the fork in the road leading to the lake. Xiao Yan Hui and Xiao Que Xian exchanged a glance and decided to go look at the flowers elsewhere first.
After all, the dance today was rather strange. Not only them, but also the girls who were originally staying on the shore sensed that the atmosphere was not right and gradually made excuses to disperse.
"What does he mean? He's deliberately coming to slap me in the face, to slap the Liang family in the face!" The slightly shrill female voice from behind made no attempt to hide her anger. Along with the voice, a splash of crimson and a wisp of fragrant breeze rushed in from around the corner.
"Get out of the way!" An angry shout rang in her ears. At the same time, Xiao Yan felt herself being pushed hard from behind. She suddenly lost her balance and stumbled to the side.
"Girl!" Several exclamations rang out from the side.
"Ah!" As Xiao Yan scrambled back to maintain her balance and avoid actually falling to the ground, Zhao Danya, who had also been pushed, crashed into a tree and cried out in pain. Xiao Quexian's maid, Li Xia, was the most unlucky; she fell to the ground immediately, and judging from her pained expression, the fall was clearly quite severe.
By the time the swaying group had regained their balance and were helping each other to their feet, the group that had brazenly pushed their way through had already moved about ten meters away. And judging by the direction they were heading, they were heading towards the opposite bank where the male guests had been settled.
"Ouch! Who are they? How dare they be so arrogant?" Rubbing her hand that had been bumped, Zhao Danya looked at the back of the group of people, feeling both angry and aggrieved.
"Liang Jiaojiao, the eldest daughter of the Liang family." Xiao Quexian answered with these words. At first glance, her tone was flat, but upon closer inspection, there was a faint, cold feeling beneath that flatness, which made people feel a chill even in the late summer heat.
Hearing Xiao Quexian speak in such a tone, Xiao Yanhui couldn't help but take another look. Seeing that Xiao Quexian was staring at the direction Liang Jiaojiao had left with an inscrutable expression, he knew that this person probably had an old grudge against Xiao Quexian.
Upon hearing the man's identity, Zhao Danya swallowed all her remaining complaints and instead began to worry: "We blocked her way just now, did we offend her?"
"They didn't even glance at us, so how could we have offended them?" The attitude of being completely ignored and disrespected left Xiao Yan feeling resentful.
What's even more distressing is that the disparity in their social status makes the emotions of these lower-class individuals seem utterly meaningless.
Judging from Liang Jiaojiao's actions and the words she uttered, it's clear that the dance on the lake was caused by a conflict between her and someone on the opposite bank, and the dance was intended to embarrass Liang Jiaojiao.
As for the fact that she had disgraced all the young ladies by the lake that day, she didn't care. After all, she was already on the Liang family's territory, and she respected Miss Liang and even Madam Liang's reputation, so why would she care about others?
"I wonder if the one acting so recklessly is the rumored nobleman from the capital, or the mysterious Prince Cheng?" Xiao Yanhui muttered to herself, still somewhat angry, as she tugged at her handkerchief.
This was also Xiao Quexian's question. After all, in her memories of her previous life, neither Prince Cheng nor any of the nobles in the capital had appeared at today's flower-viewing banquet. This change made her somewhat uneasy.
The time and place have changed. If she were to meet Liang Erlang today, would he still fall in love with her at first sight?
When Xiao Quexian glanced at Xiao Yan Hui beside her, in addition to her anxiety and worry, she felt a layer of resentment: it was all because Xiao Yan Hui refused to accept the marriage with the Qin family that she was now burdened with such a marriage contract.
Why are these people so hard to shake off? They just keep sticking to you and making you feel disgusted.
......
"Why are some people so hard to shake off?" Wang Heng frowned, his tone full of annoyance as he watched the approaching red figure.
"Aren't you going to watch? The dance on the boat is almost over." Su Mingyue, who was opposite him, didn't respond to this question, but instead focused on appreciating the zither dance on the lake.
But in reality, Su Mingyue herself is probably three times more stunning than the dance on the boat.
He was wearing a slightly loose-fitting embroidered bamboo-sleeved robe, and he was leaning casually against the jade platform, looking at the lake. If his teacher, who was in charge of etiquette, were to see this lazy demeanor, it would be completely out of line with the proper etiquette.
But when Su Mingyue performed these actions, they all exuded an unparalleled elegance, like the moon reflected in a clear lake. This person had handsome features, and his eyes were especially beautiful. His gaze was like shimmering spring water, making people unconsciously fall into them. They were truly eyes that looked at everyone with deep affection.
"Su Mingyue, Brother Su, I'm talking to you seriously!" Wang Heng lightly touched the table with his fingers, trying to bring Su Mingyue, who was engrossed in listening to the music and watching the dance, back to attention.
"Last time, it was obvious enough that I had Liang Er invite the girls from Chunmian Tower to tour the city with me. Who knew the Liang family would be so clueless as to push their daughter over here again and again? This Miss Liang is really... With you, Young Master Mingyue, here, what does she see in me? She should be interested in you."
Although Wang Heng considered himself a rare handsome man, he had to admit that he was far inferior to Su Mingyue in terms of gentleness and consideration.
Most women seem to prefer Su Mingyue's type, but how come it's me who's gotten into romantic entanglements with her while staying at the Liang family's house together?
"This time, Miss Xue's dance can be described as top-notch. She worked so hard to dance, yet you didn't even glance at it. It's such a waste." Su Mingyue's tone was full of regret that a wild boar like you could never appreciate fine food.
“Why hasn’t Prince Cheng arrived yet? If I didn’t have to wait for him, I would have left long ago.” Wang Heng stood up: “I’m too lazy to argue with that Liang family girl. I’m leaving first. Anyway, it’s just about the salt fields. You can talk to Prince Cheng when he arrives.”
"Don't be like that," Su Mingyue, who had been leaning back lazily, finally sat up straight. "What I want to discuss with Prince Cheng is a cooperation between the Su family and him, while you want to discuss a cooperation with the Wang family. How can that be the same?"
“In my opinion, these trivial matters can be handled by the subordinates, but he just…” Considering that the other party was a prince, Wang Heng did not say the part about not knowing how to be worthy.
"That person is, after all, a prince. Brother, you should calm down to avoid being impolite later," Su Mingyue advised Wang Heng.
To be honest, Wang Heng didn't really think much of such an unclear and ambiguous prince.
In particular, his behavior became bizarre after he arrived in his fiefdom. A proper prince actually went to his lowly maternal family and devoted himself to business, which was even more despicable.
If he hadn't accidentally created the Snowflake Salt, no noble family in the capital would have remembered that there was such a Prince Cheng.
But what's infuriating is that even though the Wang family had already extended an olive branch, he still refused? It's strange that his family would give him so much face, even though he's just a prince, and insist on making him come to Jiangzuo in person.
What infuriated Wang Heng even more was that despite his personal visit and the delivery of his visiting card, Prince Cheng showed no intention of receiving him at the Prince's residence.
The thought that this person he looked down upon might also look down on him fueled Wang Heng's anger. Adding to his irritation was the constant fawning from the Liang family woman, which intensified his resentment. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so disrespectful to the Liang family today, using a dancer to embarrass the Liang family woman.
Speak of the devil and he appears.
"Liang Er, get out of my way." Liang Jiaojiao's voice from outside the door was still tinged with anger.
"Wang Heng, what exactly do you mean by this? Why did you send a dancer from a brothel to humiliate me?" His words carried a direct questioning tone.
"Bang!" Upon hearing the question, Wang Heng's fleeting sense of remorse vanished, and he slammed his fist on the table.
This woman actually took advantage of her father's status as the prefect to make a scene. Listening to her words, anyone who didn't know better would think she and I had a very close relationship.
One person was inside the door, and the other was outside. It looked like they were about to start arguing. Su Mingyue on the other side just narrowed her affectionate eyes, looking like she had tried to persuade him but he wouldn't listen, so she could only watch the show with amusement.
......
"Your Highness, this way please." Outside a slightly secluded side gate in the garden, Steward Liang respectfully ushered a carriage in.
Looking at the large and luxurious carriage beside him, Steward Wu couldn't help but sigh inwardly that this Prince Cheng was indeed as eccentric as the rumors suggested.
Otherwise, why would they choose to go through a secluded side gate instead of the main gate, and why would they specifically emphasize that the host family doesn't need to come out to greet them, but only need someone to lead the way?
However, thinking of the two distinguished guests from the capital who also had their own eccentricities, the steward felt somewhat relieved: "I suppose all distinguished guests are like that."
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