Chapter 318 An Accident Occurred
As night fell, the lanterns around the room were gradually lit, and with the arrival of the Emperor and Empress, the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet officially began.
Xie Shang and Jiang Fenghua sat in the main seats not far from the Emperor and Empress. Several concubines from the Eastern Palace sat not far from them, and the other concubines of the harem sat on the other side of the Emperor and Empress. The surrounding area was filled with civil and military officials and their families.
The master of ceremonies shouted, "The Mid-Autumn Festival banquet officially begins! Play the music..."
The banquet was naturally opened by palace dancers and musicians, followed by those who had signed up to perform. Among them were not only imperial concubines and ladies-in-waiting, but also noble ladies from official families. The entire program was likely to last until late at night.
The palace maids and eunuchs began serving dishes one after another, with exquisite dishes brought out one by one, and fine wines offered to everyone.
Once the music ended, the master of ceremonies gave a loud shout, and the ministers rose to offer their blessings to the Emperor, Empress, Crown Prince, and Crown Princess.
Next, the emperor and the crown prince raised their wine cups in return, and only after this series of events did the talent competition begin.
The first to appear was Consort Zhao leading the Zhao family girls in a pipa ensemble. She had actually taken Consort Yan's advice and felt that only in this way could the uniqueness of the Zhao family women be reflected.
The pipa ensemble also tests everyone's coordination. The fact that there were no disordered sounds shows that Consort Zhao led everyone in a lot of practice. However, it lacked passion and sounded weak, which negated the meaning of the ensemble.
It's like Consort Zhao sitting in the middle, with the Zhao family girls standing on both sides, and she's enthusiastically promoting her products to everyone. There are even people in the room trying to get some recognition, which makes the effect even worse.
However, when she finished playing, she still received a standing ovation, with someone praising, "Consort Zhao truly deserves to be called a pipa master, brilliant, brilliant!"
"As expected of the Zhao family's daughter, who was raised by Consort Zhao, a great teacher produces a great student!"
The Zhao family woman kept throwing flirtatious glances at the Crown Prince, as if afraid he wouldn't see her.
Jiang Fenghua and Xie Shang exchanged a knowing glance, feeling only awkwardness.
Jiang Fenghua raised her wine cup, smiled, and clinked glasses with the Crown Prince. "On this Mid-Autumn Festival, when the moon is full and people are reunited, I, your concubine, offer you a toast."
Xie Shang had never seriously drunk with Jiang Fenghua before, and didn't know how good her alcohol tolerance was. He raised an eyebrow and said, "The moon is full on Mid-Autumn Festival, a beautiful time. May we all live long and share the beauty of the moon, even though we are thousands of miles apart."
The sudden sweet words made Jiang Fenghua blush slightly.
On stage, one song followed another, and Jiang Fenghua and Xie Shang drank one cup after another. To Xie Shang's surprise, Jiang Fenghua did not change color after drinking so many cups. Although it was fruit wine and not very strong, he still felt a slight fever.
Remembering how he always lost control after drinking, he didn't dare to drink too much. He took her hand, leaned close to her ear, and whispered a few words, which made Jiang Fenghua cover her mouth and chuckle.
Suddenly, the atmosphere around them became lively, and the couple looked at the stage at the same time.
Then a graceful woman in red entered the stage. Her face was covered by a thin veil, and her beautiful peach blossom eyes were captivating. Her waist was as slender as a willow and swayed like a water snake, showing how flexible her body was. Her neck and shoulders seemed to be folded, and she danced barefoot with silver bracelets to the rhythm.
Zhu Zhenzhen chose to perform the water snake dance, as dancing was one of her talents. She had heard that the Crown Princess was an exceptional dancer, and she wondered what His Highness the Crown Prince would think of her performance.
Judging from the expressions of the people in the audience, she knew she would become famous overnight with her dance. Everyone was stunned. As she danced, they opened their mouths wide and drooled, marveling at her performance.
Xie Shang stared at Zhu Zhenzhen on the stage, who was wearing a veil, but didn't recognize her at all. He only thought she was posing seductively.
Jiang Fenghua naturally recognized Zhu Zhenzhen. She was surprised that Zhu Zhenzhen was so flexible and could dance such a difficult dance. She usually seemed quiet and reserved, but she never expected that her dancing skills would reach such a level. It was just a pity that such a dance was suitable for performing alone behind closed doors for His Highness the Crown Prince.
Jiang Fenghua had exposed much more than this in front of Xie Shang, barely covering her vital parts, but she was alone in the room, and it was as if she was unintentionally or deliberately seducing Xie Shang.
As a concubine of the Eastern Palace, Zhu Zhenzhen was not suited to perform this water snake dance. The water snake dance imitates the flexibility of a snake, and wearing too many clothes would make her look bulky and lack beauty, which would be unattractive. Therefore, the requirements for clothing are very high. The clothes must be worn close to the body in order to bring out the flexibility of the snake.
Xie Shang also stared intently at the person on the stage. At this moment, he seemed to recognize who she was. He clenched his fingers, hoping that she would finish her dance as soon as possible. Fortunately, Zhu Zhenzhen was wearing heavy makeup and a veil.
He recognized her because her eyes were very distinctive.
Seeing the Crown Prince staring intently at her, Zhu Zhenzhen on the stage thought she had succeeded. She began to sway her waist faster and faster, her movements supple and boneless, as if she were a truly beautiful snake.
Jiang Fenghua glanced at Xie Shang discreetly. Was he so nervous because he was afraid Zhu Zhenzhen would disgrace the royal family, or was he attracted to her?
Just then, Zhu Zhenzhen on the stage felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, and something seemed to be flowing out of her lower body, like she was having her period.
But the pain in her stomach grew more and more intense, and the almost unbearable pain caused her to collapse instantly in the center of the stage.
At this moment, everyone was stunned. How did he fall?
Zhu Zhenzhen's maid rushed over, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Xie Shang then strode onto the stage, grabbed the clothes from the maid's arms, covered Zhu Zhenzhen with them, and carried her off the stage. He said in a deep voice, "Summon the imperial physician."
The Crown Prince acted quickly. Zhu Zhenzhen did not announce her name when she went on stage, so no one knew who the dancer was. She deliberately covered her face with a veil, probably intending to make a stunning appearance at the end of the dance. Unexpectedly, something went wrong.
As soon as Xie Shang carried the person away, the master of ceremonies couldn't let the banquet fall into a slump, so he quickly called on the next person to come up on stage to perform: "Please welcome Qin Yunyan, daughter of Prefect Qin of Quanzhou, to the stage to showcase her talents."
The Empress disliked the Emperor and left without anyone noticing. The Emperor was also somewhat confused, with Consort Ya accompanying him attentively. However, the Emperor was sitting in the central seat, and naturally could not lose his composure in such a situation. He only knew that the person dancing must be the Crown Prince's daughter, otherwise the Crown Prince would not have taken the initiative to go on stage and take her away.
Jiang Fenghua also followed Xie Shang.
Qin Yunyan was surprised that the Crown Prince was not in the main seat when she went on stage. Everyone was still shaken by the incident that happened to the previous dancer, and they hadn't recovered yet, so her performance was naturally ignored.
After she finished playing the piano, there wasn't even a single ovation. She was immediately annoyed, thinking that no one took her, the most beautiful woman in Quanzhou, seriously.
What happened?
If she hadn't missed the time to enter the palace, would she still need to go to such lengths to go on stage and showcase her talents to attract the Crown Prince's attention?
Rumors say the Crown Princess is incredibly beautiful and stunning, but she's nothing special today.
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