As soon as the Empress finished speaking, a group of officials' wives chimed in, "The Empress is right. How can a county princess show her face in front of all these officials?"
"She's not a dancer for people to admire; how can she dance in public?"
Tazana panicked, "No, we won't show our faces... we'll wear veils..."
"Isn't it the same? It's just the two of you competing, so it's obvious who's who."
One was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, and the other was a thirteen-year-old little sprout. They were covered from head to toe, but you could tell them apart just by their height.
Su Youran was secretly delighted. She wasn't good at dancing, so she naturally didn't want to compete in any dancing contests.
The Empress, however, thought that since there was going to be a competition, she couldn't choose a topic that Su Youran had prepared for; she had to come up with something unexpected.
She thought for a moment and then said, "Besides, the dance of Nanyue is very different from that of Dazhou. Everyone present is from Dazhou, and their aesthetic preferences are already biased, which is quite disadvantageous to the princess of Nanyue. I have long heard that both men and women in Nanyue are skilled in swimming. In my opinion, since the princess of Nanyue is a guest, let's use swimming as the theme, what do you think?"
She thought to herself, most women in the Great Zhou Dynasty don't know how to swim, and she had never heard of Su Youran being able to swim. Besides, swimming skills aren't something that can be learned in a short time. She was doomed to lose!
Madam Su immediately objected, "Your Majesty, it is unfair for the people of Great Zhou to compete in swimming with the people of Southern Yue. Moreover, if one cannot swim, wouldn't entering the water be life-threatening?"
In just a few words, the Empress had already come up with a method for the competition. She smiled and said, "The Duchess need not worry. There is a hot spring pool outside the main hall. It is only half a person's height. If you cannot swim, you can simply stand up. There will be no danger to your life."
Consort Zhou also said displeasedly, "How can a young lady so easily jump into the water in public? Isn't that just as humiliating? Where is her dignity?!"
The Empress laughed and said, "Place screens around the pool. Just make sure you can see if anyone's shadow floats to the surface. Then have a contest to see who can hold their breath underwater the longest. Whoever can stay underwater the longest wins. How about it?"
She looked at the princess of Nanyue with a smile, her face full of smug satisfaction.
Tazana's eyes lit up immediately; this was something she excelled at!
The nine-section whip and the glass bead are hers now!
She nodded frantically, "Your Majesty the Empress is absolutely right, I agree!"
Yueyue protested, "Using your Southern Yue's expertise in swimming to compete, isn't that bullying our Great Zhou?!"
Before the Empress could even speak up, Tazana had already goaded her, "Could it be that the Princess doesn't dare?"
Su shook her head urgently at Su Youran.
Su Youran stood up. "Thank you, Your Majesty. You know I'm usually lazy and can't dance that kind of dance. I'm more than happy to have such a simple competition."
She looked at Tazana and nodded, "It's just a trip in the water, we'll go change our clothes."
Everyone was stunned by her calm demeanor.
Tazana asked in surprise as she walked, "You can swim?"
Su Youran smiled without saying a word.
Su felt both worried and relieved when she didn't hear her daughter's denial. Perhaps her daughter had learned to swim from the Grand Preceptor at some point?
Tazana thought to herself, "So what if you can swim?"
How could a princess who grew up by the South China Sea be a better swimmer than a man from the Great Zhou?
Who would have thought that Empress Zhou would be such a helpful wingman!
It's good to test her swimming skills. Once she comes out in her new clothes, I guarantee that the crown prince's eyes will pop out!
As expected, the Empress did not disappoint her, and said cheerfully, "The Duchess can rest assured, the County Princess can swim. So it can't be considered that they have bullied our Great Zhou. Let's see who is a better swimmer."
About fifteen minutes later, the two came out one after the other.
Gasps of surprise filled the room.
All eyes were on the curvaceous Princess of Nanyue.
She had changed into a revealing outfit with a cutout at the waist, showing off her flat stomach and slender waist. The tassels and small pearls hanging from her chest swayed with her movements, almost as if they were trying to show off her ample bosom.
Before leaving, she deliberately turned back and gave the Crown Prince a seductive look.
Gasps of breath rose and fell.
The man gasped because he had seen such a stunning beauty.
The woman gasped because she had witnessed something shameless.
In comparison, Su Youran, who had simply changed into plain clothes and removed her jewelry, was not much to look at.
Only the Crown Prince's gaze followed her for a moment, but Su Youran did not turn around, so she did not see him.
The pond outside the gate had been surrounded by screens by palace servants.
Su Youran gently entered the water, completely ignoring the alluring Tazana's seductive poses on the other side.
Staring at the alluring figure reflected in the screen as she danced into the water, the men practically wanted to pop their eyes out.
Only the Crown Prince calmly picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then glanced at the Emperor Shunqing, who was staring intently at him, as well as the Empress and Consort Zhou, whose expressions were displeased.
As one of the supervising aunties announced, "Begin!"
Two heads slowly sank into the pool at the same time.
Tazana opened her eyes in the water, staring defiantly at Su Youran opposite her.
She originally thought that Su Youran, being in the Great Zhou, even if she could swim, would only be an average swimmer and would have to come out of the water to breathe in just a few breaths.
Unexpectedly, after a short while, Su Youran calmly closed her eyes.
Tazana was losing her composure, because she knew she could only hold on for another incense stick's time.
If this Su Youran is someone who's hiding her true abilities, then haven't I been completely fooled?!
Gritting her teeth, she swam two steps forward, removed a hairpin from her hair bun, and thrust it forcefully at Su Youran.
Anyway, since it's underwater, the people inside can't see it.
The stewardess standing by the pool saw it, but she was so shocked that she froze, unsure if this violated the rules of the competition, and dared not speak up.
I just said that whoever surfaces first loses, but I didn't say that we can't fight underwater.
Su Youran sensed the unusual movement of the water and immediately opened her eyes, only to see the Southern Yue princess stabbing at her with a hairpin in her hand.
She sneered, stretched out her arm, and immediately grabbed Tazana's wrist.
Tazana was furious and reached out with her other hand to grab Su Youran's hair.
It really is like women fighting; they start pulling each other's hair at the slightest disagreement.
How could Su Youran let her succeed? She released her wrist, tilted her head back, and flipped backward, kicking her shoulder with one foot.
Those in the hall saw water suddenly splashing behind the screen and assumed a winner had been decided.
Someone asked, "Who has surfaced?"
The head maid shook her head. "No, we don't have any."
Mrs. Su became anxious. "What happened?"
"They're fighting!" the head maid said anxiously.
"What?!" Madam Su was so shocked that she immediately stood up. The Princess pulled her back and whispered, "You Ran looks so confident, she won't suffer any losses."
Su then sat down, feeling uneasy.
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