Chapter 973 Birthday (6)
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard an adult say, "Since everyone is here now, let's all congratulate His Royal Highness on his birthday!"
Everyone raised their glasses to congratulate. Xie Jingxing curled his lips in response and drank the whole glass. Then one of the ladies said, "Speaking of which, Madam Ye just found Miss Ye and Young Master Ye. Miss Ye is so beautiful, and I think she's also talented and well-connected to Prince Rui's mansion. Why don't you show off your skills and congratulate His Royal Highness?"
There was something disparaging about these words. A young lady performing her talent in front of everyone would seem frivolous if it weren't for a proper competition. Besides, Ye Mei was raised in a merchant family; who would know about her talents? This lady was clearly here to find fault; the Ye family had many political enemies in Longye.
Ye Ke looked unhappy, and Madam Ye was about to respond when she heard Ye Mei say with a smile, "It's not impossible, but I'm afraid of spoiling everyone's fun, so I dare not show off."
The lady who had suggested it was eager for her to "show off," and she immediately laughed and said, "How could that be? I don't think so. Your Highness, don't you agree?"
Xie Jingxing raised his eyebrows, then glanced over here, raised the corner of his lips, and said with a smile: "Dance."
His tone was somewhat casual, as if he was giving orders to some dancer who was there for people's entertainment.
Ye Mei's eyes flickered, but he still stood up, bowed to Shen Miao, and said, "Since everyone is in such a good mood today, I don't know if we have broken any rules by coming to Longye. I am not very sensible, but I am willing to show off and make everyone happy. After all, it's just a playful mood."
The words were spoken in a polite and considerate manner, with a touch of innocence, yet with a touch of charming provocation.
Shen Miao, however, saw the provocation in Ye Mei's eyes.
"I once learned a water sleeve dance from Qinzhou with my adoptive mother, and today I will show it to you all," she said.
Shen Miao lowered her head slightly, a sneer flashing across her lips.
Ye Mei quickly changed her clothes and emerged. She was naturally beautiful, somewhat alluring, but now she was wearing a snow-white dress, the wide waistband enveloping her waist until it was so slender that it seemed almost impossible to grasp. She was trying to look chic in mourning, and the white dress truly accentuated her delicate features, her graceful figure evoking a sense of allure. Four screens were arranged, holding rice paper, along with pen and ink. The maid playing the zither was also there. At the first pluck, Ye Mei shook her long, floor-length sleeves and began to dance gracefully.
Shen Miao’s nails were almost digging into her palms.
Ink dance is Ye Mei's most accomplished form. Ye Mei is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, each a masterful skill. Being the only favorite in the harem naturally has its charms. Ink dance is just one example of this. As she dances, she dabs ink from her sleeves onto the rice paper, and once the dance is over, the painting is complete. It's both elegant and unique, a beautiful woman, a beautiful scene, and a beautiful painting—a truly romantic scene.
But this dance of water sleeves was a thorn in Shen Miao's heart and a sting in his eyes. Every time he saw it, he felt unbearable pain.
When the Xiongnu came to request a marriage alliance, Fu Xiuyi wanted to marry Wanyu to them. Shen Miao used both soft and hard tactics, even threatening the Shen family, but Fu Xiuyi's heart was as hard as a rock and remained unmoved. Wanyu thought for a long time and came up with an idea. She learned a song and played it for Fu Xiuyi herself.
Wanyu had been searching for that song for a long time, and Shen Miao had revised it over and over again. Everything Wanyu wanted to say was in the song. She just hoped that Fu Xiuyi would remember their father-daughter relationship and not be so ruthless, leaving Wanyu a way out and giving up this idea.
But that day, Shen Miao invited Fu Xiuyi to Kunning Palace and asked Wanyu to play for him. Just after she finished playing and saw a touch of emotion in Fu Xiuyi's eyes, Madam Mei came uninvited. She smiled and said as if no one was around, "Your Majesty is here. I have learned a new dance today and would like to perform it for Your Majesty to see. Since the Empress is here, why don't you watch it together?"
She danced charmingly and passionately, and he watched with deep affection, but he completely forgot about Wanyu and Shen Miao who were still waiting. Shen Miao would always remember the disappointment in Wanyu's eyes. The life in the eyes of the teenage girl faded little by little, and she almost returned to calmness.
On the second day, Wanyu came to kowtow to her and said, "Mother, please don't waste your time worrying about me. I am willing to marry."
Why would anyone want to marry? It was just that Wanyu had seen Fu Xiuyi's ruthlessness and Madam Mei's tactics earlier and more clearly than she had. Perhaps Wanyu felt that even heading off into an uncertain future was more comfortable than staying in the palace, surrounded by conspiracies and backstabbing.
Finally, Wanyu was freed.
But Shen Miao could never let it go.
The snow-white long sleeves fluttered in front of her eyes, but Shen Miao felt that what was stained on the long sleeves was not ink, but every drop was Wanyu's blood.
It is also a thorn in her eyes and a thorn in her bones.
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