On the night of the moon, at the Xihua Palace.
Officials of the third rank or above in the imperial court would bring their family members to the banquet.
The dancers wore flowing, ethereal Guangling robes, with the dancer in the middle being the most beautiful and whose dance was the most graceful.
Li Shouhai sat to the left of Xu Zang, his eyes full of smugness.
He had noticed that Xu Zang had been staring in Li Wenlan's direction for quite some time.
What man isn't lustful? Lan'er is a beauty of unparalleled grace; it probably won't be long before the harem gains another empress.
Xu Zang's gaze seemed to be fixed on the dancers below, but his attention was actually entirely on Raya and Yimu.
Raya kept moving closer to Yimu, peeling grapes for him and telling jokes that made Yimu smile.
Xu Zang clenched his fist inside his sleeve, his gaze gradually deepening.
After Li Wenlan finished her dance, she was covered in sweat and panting heavily.
She slightly raised her head and gazed at the man in the upper seat.
She had never seen such a handsome man.
Her aunt and father always called her a "bastard" and a "foolish prince," and she originally thought that the current emperor must be vulgar and uncouth.
Unexpectedly, he was so handsome that even the famously handsome Third Prince of Xu Kingdom couldn't compare to him.
The thought that she might become this man's empress in the future made Li Wenlan blush, and her eyes sparkled with an indescribable beauty.
Seeing that Xu Zang seemed stunned, Li Shouhai smiled contemptuously, stepped forward, and said loudly, "Your Majesty, my daughter makes a fool of herself. Does this 'Dance of the Startled Swan' please Your Majesty?"
Xu Zang looked away and said calmly, "It's acceptable."
Li Wenlan's expectant expression froze on her face. In the inner chambers, everyone who saw her dance praised it as exquisite and unparalleled.
Why did he only use two barely acceptable "okay" comments?
Li Shouhai also looked dissatisfied. He saw that Xu Zang liked Li Wenlan very much, so this evaluation was inappropriate.
Undeterred, he pressed on, "Your Majesty, my daughter Wenlan has come to the palace for the imperial concubine selection and greatly admires you. Wenlan's dancing skills are unparalleled, but she cannot fully display them in this grand hall. Perhaps..."
The expressions on the faces of the officials present were quite interesting.
Li Wenlan's status is that of the Empress Dowager's niece, her father being a high-ranking official, and her mother being the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong. Her status is no less than that of a princess of the country, making her a typical golden branch and jade leaf.
Such a noble woman was presented to the emperor by her father like a commodity.
Any father in the world who has even a shred of love for his daughter wouldn't do this.
The blush on Li Lanxin's face had long since faded, replaced by a deathly pallor.
She knew her father was eager to seize power, but in front of everyone, she felt like an unsellable item being aggressively promoted, which made her feel very embarrassed.
Li Shouhai awaited Xu Zang's reply. Xu Zang did not grant his wish, but simply gave the order: "The Li family's daughter's dance is exquisite and has pleased me. I hereby bestow upon her a hundred bolts of cloth, a hundred taels of gold, and a number of pearl hairpins and ornaments."
How utterly clueless about romance!
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Li Shouhai could no longer show his anger and returned to his seat resentfully.
A tear rolled down Li Wenlan's face as she cried out, "Thank you for the Emperor's grace!"
Raya watched with interest, the beauty weeping. Poor thing, men don't know how to cherish a beautiful woman.
"Your Majesty, since this Miss Li is going to enter the harem anyway, why don't you take her in now?"
Xu Zang looked at her with a half-smile, "Laya, don't talk nonsense. As for you, have you taken a fancy to any of the young masters here? Your brother will bestow a marriage upon you."
Upon hearing this, all the young masters sat up straight, their faces revealing nothing, but their hearts were filled with unspeakable bitterness.
I've heard that Princess Laya of Xiliang learned martial arts from a young age, could hunt deer at nine, and defeated the strongest warrior of Xiliang at thirteen. She is a rare heroine.
This "heroine" sounds nice, but she's really a tigress.
Although the prince consort's status was noble, the desolate land of Xiliang was not a place that the pampered young masters of the Central Plains could endure.
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