Chapter 2: The dance battles have captivated countless young masters...
As dusk settled, Shen Fangru sat alone in the flower hall, her fingertips gently caressing the purple jade prayer beads in the brocade box.
When she ran into Gu Zhou in the market today, she intended to give him the string of Buddhist prayer beads, but someone from the Guanglu Temple came and hurriedly called him away.
However, Gu Zhou smiled and promised before leaving that he would definitely come to the Shen residence for dinner. Thinking of this, she smiled slightly, waiting for him to arrive so that she could personally present him with the Buddhist beads that her father regarded as a family heirloom.
"Miss, it seems Lord Gu won't be able to come today." The butler rushed in, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.
Fangru paused, her fingertips pausing: "What's wrong?"
"Lord Gu... has been imprisoned." The steward's voice trembled. "They say that a traitor named Zhou Jun came from Ciji Temple. Lord Gu had donated money to the temple before, but now he has been implicated and imprisoned. He is not even allowed to visit him."
Fangru suddenly stood up, and the brocade box crashed to the ground, scattering the Buddhist beads everywhere.
She begged to see her father that very night, kneeling outside his study, her voice choked with sobs: "Father, Gu Zhou is innocent! He and Zhou Jun are complete strangers; he only donated some money for incense offerings. How did he become an accomplice?"
After a long silence, Father Shen finally sighed and said, "Fangru, you should not concern yourself with this matter."
"Father!" Fangru looked up in disbelief.
Fangru wanted to plead further, but Shen's father had already turned and gone inside, leaving only the words, "Go back."
After Fangru staggered away, Shen's father's concubine asked in a low voice, "Why didn't you help, sir? Young Master Gu is, after all, Miss's fiancé."
Shen's father's eyes were dark, and his voice was very low: "He offended no one but that person..." He pointed to the sky, "No one can save him."
Fangru didn't believe in superstitions, so she went to her cousin for help the next day.
My cousin works in the Ministry of Personnel and knows many officials, but for two days in a row, their petitions have been ignored, and they haven't even been able to get through the gates of the Court of Judicial Review. What's worse, rumors are circulating that Gu Zhou will be beheaded and his head displayed in public in two days.
On the morning of the third day, Fangru and her cousin finally stopped an official from the Court of Judicial Review and presented him with evidence that Gu Zhou and Zhou Jun had no dealings whatsoever. The official accepted the evidence but only said perfunctorily, "I understand. You can go back and wait for news."
Fangru knew perfectly well that this evidence would probably never reach the right person to see it.
On the way back home, the streets were bustling and decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Fangru then remembered that today was the Qixi Festival feast.
"I heard that the Xuanji Banquet at the Prefectural Governor's Mansion will be held tonight, and the noble ladies from all the families will be performing dances!" Passersby discussed among themselves.
Fangru paused, a thought flashing through her mind.
Since the right path was blocked, she decided to take a dangerous one!
She turned and strode back to the mansion, saying in a deep voice to her personal maid, "Go and find my dance costume."
The maidservant asked in astonishment, "What are you going to do, Miss?"
Fangru's eyes were resolute: "I want to go to the Xuanji Banquet and meet the Emperor!"
Xuanji Banquet.
The vast prefectural mansion was bustling with people and brightly lit. Noble ladies, dressed in elegant attire, were all secretly vying for power.
As soon as Shen Fangru entered the room, she attracted countless envious and resentful glances.
She wore only a simple, elegant moon-white dress, with just a white jade hairpin in her hair. Yet, her fair skin and slender waist made all the heavily made-up noble ladies present look rather vulgar.
"Look at her, so frail and delicate." Zhao Minglan, the daughter of the Minister of War, gripped her fan tightly, staring jealously at Fangru's snow-white neck peeking out from under the light veil. "What are you pretending to be so pure and innocent for!"
"Oops!" As Fangru passed by, Zhao Minglan "accidentally" spilled half a glass of wine on Fangru's shoulder, the scarlet liquid immediately spreading across the pale white fabric. "Miss Chen, I'm so sorry." She apologized, but her eyes gleamed with glee. Now let's see how you pretend to be innocent!
Before Fangru could speak, several snickers rang out from all around.
These noble ladies had long disliked Shen Fangru. Despite not being from the highest social class, she possessed an alluring appearance. Especially her almond-shaped eyes, which, even without makeup, were captivating and had stolen the hearts of countless young men.
"Miss Zhao, you were quite careless." Su Wanqing approached gracefully, and as she handed over the handkerchief, she glanced meaningfully at Fangru's waistline, which appeared even more graceful after being soaked in wine. "Miss Chen's clothes... are even more eye-catching."
Fangru pursed her lips, about to speak, when Su Wanqing added, "If Miss Chen doesn't mind, you may come with me to change your clothes."
Fangru shook her head: "Thank you, Miss Su, but I have other important matters to attend to."
Fangru was trying to avoid the crowd when she bumped into a group of noble ladies surrounding Lin Yueyao like stars around the moon at the corner of the corridor.
The daughter of the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was dressed in her finest attire today. The peonies embroidered with gold thread on her crimson silk skirt shone brightly under the lamplight as she held a glass cup and prepared flower wine.
"This 'Drunken Hibiscus' was specially prepared for His Majesty," Lin Yueyao said in a charming voice, her fingertips lightly touching the petals in the cup. "I heard that His Majesty particularly loves it..."
Before she could finish speaking, she caught a glimpse of a figure in plain clothes out of the corner of her eye, and her voice immediately rose: "Isn't this Miss Shen?" She deliberately shook her head full of jewels, the gold hairpins jingling, "What, your fiancé is in jail, and you still have the leisure to attend a banquet?"
Fangru paused, her fingertips unconsciously digging into her palm.
The ladies around him covered their mouths and chuckled upon hearing this. One of them said sarcastically, "Sister Lin, you don't know, Miss Shen is famously aloof."
"Arrogant?" Lin Yueyao sneered. "He's just relying on his looks. Gu Zhou used to send me poems every day, and that 'Moon Rises Above the Willow Branches' was truly..."
“Miss Lin, you must be mistaken?” Su Wanqing had appeared beside Fangru at some point, gently waving a round fan in her hand. “That poem was clearly written for Miss Shen. Who in the entire capital doesn’t know that?” Her eyes sparkled, and she deliberately lowered her voice. “But Miss Lin, at your birthday banquet last time, Young Master Gu gave you… a tea set.”
Lin Yueyao's expression changed drastically, and she was about to lash out when Fangru turned and left.
Lin Yueyao's furious voice came from behind: "What are you so smug about! Gu Zhou is just a prisoner!"
Fangru didn't turn around, but quickened her pace. Su Wanqing hurried to catch up, whispering, "Miss Chen, don't take it to heart, what they're doing..."
"I'm fine." Fangru took a deep breath and stopped at the corner of the corridor. "Miss Su, do you know where His Majesty is now?"
Su Wanqing shook her head: "How could we possibly know His Majesty's whereabouts? However..." she lowered her voice, "His Majesty will definitely appear during the dance competition later."
A resolute glint flashed in Fangru's eyes as she turned to her personal maid and said, "Go and fetch my spare dance costume."
"Miss!" the maid exclaimed, "You really want to..."
"Go quickly," Fangru said resolutely. "This is the only way to save Gu Zhou."
Before long, in a side room of the side hall, Fangru changed into a light red wide-sleeved dance dress.
She wrapped the purple jade prayer beads around her wrist and applied makeup to her eyebrows and lips in front of the mirror. The person in the mirror had beautiful features, but also a resolute air of desperation.
“Miss…” the maid’s voice trembled, “You’ve been busy preparing for the wedding since your engagement and haven’t practiced in a long time. This is too risky…”
Before he could finish speaking, music suddenly burst into play outside.
"The dance competition has begun!" Su Wanqing pushed open the door and was visibly taken aback when she saw Fang Ru's completely transformed appearance. "Miss Chen, you..."
Fangru did not answer, but walked straight out of the hall. When the drumbeats sounded again, she lightly touched the ground with her toes and floated up to the high platform like a red cloud.
As her wide sleeves billowed, the string of purple jade beads shimmered with an eerie light under the lamplight.
Fangru's every turn was perfectly timed to the beat of the drum, her flowing sleeves fluttering like a startled swan treading on snow, captivating all the guests.
"Whose dancer is this? Her dancing skills are amazing!"
"That waist...tsk tsk, even more supple than the top courtesan at Zuixianlou!"
A murmur arose from the audience, but no one recognized that the dancer whose face was veiled was Shen Fangru, whom they had just ridiculed.
The noble ladies whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with both jealousy and wariness. Today's Xuanji Banquet was ostensibly for praying for skill in needlework, but in reality, it was for selecting consorts for the emperor. Who wouldn't want to take this opportunity to rise in status?
Lin Yueyao stared intently at the graceful figure on the stage, her nails digging deeply into her palms. She had dressed up in her finest attire today, hoping to stand out among the noble ladies and win the emperor's favor.
"She's nothing but a lowly dancer!" She stood up abruptly, shaking off the maid's hand that was helping her up. "Watch me teach her what real dancing is!"
Seeing this, Zhao Minglan couldn't help but stand up and said, "Sister Lin, wait a minute. Why should you do this yourself to such a vulgar person?" As she said this, her eyes were fixed on the direction of the high pavilion. Who didn't know that His Majesty loved watching dance battles? This was a great opportunity to show off.
"Make way!" Wang Jingshu, daughter of the Minister of Revenue, pushed through the crowd. "I've been dancing since I was a child, let me do it!"
Suddenly, three or four noble ladies vied to go on stage.
In the end, Lin Yueyao pushed everyone aside: "Get out of my way! My father is the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, in charge of rites and music. Do you think you're worthy?"
She charged aggressively onto the platform, her crimson skirt billowing like flames. But after only a few moves, she was met with snickers from below. Her dance was stiff as a puppet, and compared to Fang Ru's fluid movements, she looked like a fluttering hen.
"Haha, is Miss Lin performing an exorcism dance?"
"Come down quickly, don't embarrass yourself!"
"You think you can get into the palace with this?"
Amidst the laughter, Lin Yueyao stumbled, tripping over her own skirt and falling heavily onto the stage. Her hairpins scattered on the floor, her meticulously applied makeup ruined, making her look like a comical actress. The laughter from the audience intensified; the other noble ladies, far from showing sympathy, secretly rejoiced at the loss of another competitor.
On the high pavilion, Zhou Ling had put down his wine cup at some point.
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed intently on the red figure on the stage. When Fangru turned around, her veil billowing in the wind, revealing half of her stunning face, his pupils suddenly contracted.
"This dance..." he murmured, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the rim of the cup, as if savoring something.
On the stage, Fangru seemed to sense something and suddenly turned around.
Through the shadows of the crowd, her gaze met that burning gaze from the high pavilion. Zhou Ling's lips curled slightly, and he suddenly raised his hand, signaling the musicians to change the tune.
The drumbeats suddenly quickened, and Fangru's heart skipped a beat. She saw Zhou Ling had somehow appeared at the railing, his slender fingers tapping lightly to the rhythm. His eyes clearly said: Let me see what other tricks you can pull off.
Fangru bit her lip, then simply tore off her veil, flicked her water sleeves, wrapped them around the beam, and used the force to leap into the air.
The purple jade prayer beads traced a shimmering purple light in the air, making her appear like a celestial maiden descending to earth. Amidst the uproar, she clearly saw Zhou Ling's eyes darken and his Adam's apple bob slightly.
"Interesting." He chuckled softly, his voice reaching her ears clearly, "Issue my decree—"
A note from the author:
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