The seat next to Su Youran suddenly became empty, and a figure immediately darted over and sat down without any hesitation. "Princess, where is my nine-section whip?"
Su Youran took a look and saw that it was the fifth princess of Nan Yue, named Tazana. She smiled and said, "So it's the fifth princess. Your nine-section whip... was given to the guard by the Crown Prince Xuan that day."
"What?!" Tazana exclaimed, "You dare to bestow my clan's treasure upon a servant?!"
“What do you mean by ‘servant’? He’s a guard,” Su Youran argued. “Besides, that nine-section whip is a treasure in your Southern Yue, but in the Great Zhou, it’s just an ordinary whip. No matter how precious a whip is, it’s still just a weapon. Isn’t it appropriate to reward a guard with a weapon?”
"You!" Tazana was furious. "I want to have another match with you! I'll wager that nine-section whip!"
She thought for a moment and then said, "No, we also need to add that glass bead you gave me last time."
She was attracted by the glass beads, which is why she placed the nine-section whip, but she never expected to suffer such a crushing defeat.
Su Youran smiled and said, "Alright, I wonder what the Fifth Princess wants to bet on?"
Tazana immediately thought of her forte: "Dancing!"
Then, recalling the light-footed skill that Su Youran had demonstrated that day, he quickly added, "It's not the 'wu' of martial arts, but the 'wu' of dance!"
Su Youran raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to dance in public? At a state banquet like this, dancing is the dancers' job. If we steal their thunder... wouldn't we incur their hatred?"
When Tazana saw her hesitate, she immediately became smug. "You don't dare?"
“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Su Youran said. “You’re willing to show your face in public, but I’m not.”
"Hmph, isn't the point of learning to dance to impress others? I don't care about showing my face in public!" Tazana made up her mind. Originally, she just wanted to show off her charm at today's state banquet so that she could get what she wanted.
To be honest, since she arrived in the Great Zhou Dynasty, she only caught a glimpse of the high and mighty Crown Prince on the first day she entered the palace, and she hadn't had a chance to see him since.
With such a great opportunity today, she must show her charm and capture his attention and heart!
Su Youran thought for a moment, "If you insist on competing... how about this, we all cover our faces and don't show them yet. After we finish dancing, everyone can judge who danced the best, and that will determine the winner, how about that?"
Tazana was initially reluctant; how could she win the prince's attention if she didn't show her face?
But then I thought, the veil would only make me more mysterious and more likely to pique a man's curiosity. Perhaps removing the veil at the final reveal would have an even better effect.
So he nodded in agreement, "Okay!"
"Then, Fifth Princess, what is your bet?"
Tazana was speechless for a moment; she really couldn't come up with anything more precious than the nine-section whip.
She had no choice but to tell the truth: "The most valuable thing I brought is the nine-section whip, and your glass beads are also very valuable. There is really nothing that can compare to these two things."
Unfortunately, she really wanted to win back both of them.
“In that case…” Su Youran thought for a moment and said, “You can place your bet with three conditions. If you lose, you will grant me my three conditions.”
Tazana pouted, "That won't do. What if you ask me to betray the interests of South Vietnam, or to assassinate my family?"
“There is absolutely no way I would ask you to do something so unscrupulous and harmful to the people.” Su Youran raised an eyebrow. “If that’s the case, you can refuse.”
“Okay! It’s a deal!” Tazana nodded excitedly, glancing at Su Youran’s flat chest at thirteen years old, her face showing a confident expression.
Soon Emperor Shunqing entered, accompanied by the Empress and Consort Zhou on either side, followed by the Crown Prince and the Third Prince.
After bowing to everyone, Su Youran asked Yueyue in a low voice, "The Third Prince is the Empress's son, and the Crown Prince is the eldest son, so what about the Second Prince?"
Yueyue lowered her voice and said, "The Second Prince was born to Consort Shu. He has had an eye disease since childhood, so he has never appeared in front of others, and Consort Shu rarely appears as well."
She paused, then continued, "It's strange, really. Since the little princess was born five years ago, the harem has produced no offspring. Come to think of it... even the Emperor isn't that old..."
Looking at the Crown Prince who was walking steadily, Su Youran asked, "Did your Crown Prince brother used to have a limp?"
Yueyue nodded. "Yes, how did you know? But... that was many years ago!"
Su Youran thought to herself, "I've had a limp for many years, but it's healed now."
But the crown prince was deposed because of his lameness in the previous life. Could it be that someone healed his leg injury many years ago?
The emperor said a few words and then the banquet began, with toasts and drinks flowing freely.
As expected, dancers performed continuously throughout the banquet.
Prince Tazashi of the Southern Yue Kingdom snorted, "How utterly boring!"
Tazana immediately said, "Your Majesty, my daughter has just made an appointment with Princess Fengle to have a dance competition. Please grant her permission."
Upon hearing this, Madam Su immediately looked worried, knowing that her daughter was not good at dancing at all.
Everyone's eyes immediately turned towards Su Youran.
Su Youran stood up and confidently curtsied in the direction of Emperor Shunqing, "Yes, this humble woman dares to give it a try with the Fifth Princess of Nanyue."
After saying that, he glanced at the Empress almost imperceptibly.
Seeing her confident demeanor, the Empress knew she must have come prepared, and coldly said, "You are the legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion, yet you perform a dance in public, don't you feel ashamed?"
Su Youran was overjoyed. She knew that the Empress had long disliked her and would not let her compete so easily.
Oh, actually that's not quite right. It should be said that the Empress and Consort Zhou didn't get along, so she also disliked her.
It was because she treated Consort Zhou a few years ago and successfully got her pregnant with a little princess. Consort Zhou now has both a son and a daughter.
However, after that, no one in the harem became pregnant again.
In fact, she had a slight suspicion that the root of the problem might lie with Emperor Shunqing.
But she didn't dare to say it, and no one had ever asked her.
A few years earlier, the Empress had competed with Consort Zhou for the affections of the Su mother and daughter in the palace. However, after discovering that the Su mother and daughter were close to Consort Zhou and had even helped Consort Zhou prepare her body to give birth to the most beloved little princess of Emperor Shunqing, she gave up her intention to win over the Duke of Yun's family and became cold and unfriendly to the Su mother and daughter on several occasions.
Seeing that Su Youran was going to have a dance competition with the Princess of Nanyue, he didn't want Su Youran to steal the spotlight, and he also wanted to take the opportunity to make his presence known.
Unless it's a state banquet or a New Year's Eve banquet celebrating the whole country, she almost never has the chance to show her face.
For the past ten years or so, she has been suppressed by Consort Zhou to the point that she could hardly lift her head. If she doesn't fight back now, her third prince will never have another chance!
It is said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so the Fifth Princess of Nan Yue, who stood on the opposite side of Su Youran, naturally became the person she helped.
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