Mysterious smile
Ah Qiu had already seen Shangguan Yuqi's Qiankun Dingshi Sword Dance last night. It combines martial arts and dance techniques, and the sword energy is incredibly powerful, making it arguably the best in the Southern Dynasty.
Before the princess could react, she said, "What do you think, young lady? If you can't even defeat this Lord Shangguan, even if you enter the palace, you probably won't have the chance to see His Majesty."
This could be considered a tactic of provocation. It's no easy feat for the Princess to travel thousands of miles south, yet now she's stuck in the post station, helpless and desperate. If the Southern Emperor remains resolute in refusing to see her, she has no way to change his mind.
A Qiu and Shangguan Yuqi's actions undoubtedly gave her a fair chance to prove her strength. If she won, she could achieve her goal. If she lost, as A Qiu said, even her best skill, dancing, couldn't defeat a palace guard, so there was no future for her in entering the palace.
If she had even a shred of pride left, she should have accepted this challenge; it would have been far better than her constantly threatening suicide and acting like a scoundrel.
Princess Wansui's eyes flashed as she said, "A dance contest is not a martial arts competition, so how can we determine the winner?"
Shangguan Yuqi laughed and said, "That's easy. You have your Hu Ji play music, and we can dance as we please. Whoever can't dance anymore first loses."
Princess Wansui pondered for a moment. This method of determining victory seemed simple. There were only a few reasons why someone might not be able to jump: first, they couldn't keep up with the rhythm. This was something she could have the advantage of, because Shangguan Yuqi had explicitly stated that she would use her Hu Ji (a type of Huese musician) to play music, which could be either traditional Hu music, or unusual tunes that had never been passed down before, putting Shangguan Yuqi at a disadvantage.
The second possibility is that she has exhausted all her dance moves and can't come up with any new ones to connect with. However, having studied dance since childhood, she should at least know more dance moves and poses than this guard. Generally speaking, a person's energy is limited. Shangguan Yuqi's first-rate swordsmanship is undeniable, so her skill in dance must be limited.
The third scenario is where physical strength is no longer an issue, and it becomes a pure test of endurance, seeing who can last the longest. Generally, half an hour is the dancer's physical limit. If it comes down to this, I probably wouldn't be a match for this guard.
But is there any situation in the world that guarantees victory? In the first two points, the opponent has already given him a huge advantage. It is called a dance competition, but in reality, it is a battle between a guard who is trained in martial arts and someone like him who has been learning to dance since childhood. If he refuses, it will seem too undignified.
Shangguan Yuqi made this suggestion precisely because she was certain the other party wouldn't be able to refuse.
Princess Wansui rolled her eyes and said, "If I win, do you guarantee I'll get to see His Majesty the Emperor?"
A Qiu thought to herself, "I'm not Gu Yi. The emperor won't listen to me, so I can't guarantee anything." Shangguan Yuqi, however, had already spoken up, saying, "I can guarantee it with my life." Her words were resolute and without hesitation.
Given Shangguan Yuqi's position as the leader of the century-old civil official group in Jiangzuo, and her current position as the chief of the Dayan Flying Phoenix Guard, she is certainly capable of making decisions on behalf of the emperor. After all, the last person to hold her position was Consort Chen, now the most powerful woman in the inner palace.
Ah Qiu then replied, "I can guarantee that myself." But as he finished speaking, he was sweating profusely.
The dignified head of the Divine Weapon Hall has now staked her entire life on Shangguan Yuqi. What if Shangguan Yuqi loses and the emperor refuses to see the Princess? According to the hall's rule of "keeping one's promises even in life and death," would she really have to commit suicide?
Unexpectedly, in just one night and one day, she has already pledged her life to someone twice. The last time was with Gu Yi, and this time it is with Shangguan Yuqi.
A Qiu felt increasingly uneasy as he thought about it, realizing he should be more careful in the future, since he only had one life.
Shangguan Yuqi, who was holding the sword in the arena, glanced at her with a smile, as if to thank her.
Princess Wansui hesitated for a moment, then decisively said, "Fine! No matter how cunning and hypocritical you Southern Dynasty people are, with so many eyes watching, you can't possibly resort to any tricks or schemes!"
A Qiu broke out in another cold sweat. She thought to herself that among all the aristocratic families of the Southern Dynasty, the least likely person to resort to scheming and intrigue was the elegant and ethereal Miss Shangguan. This Princess Wansui should get to know Zhao Lingying or Madam Pei to understand what "the hypocrisy and cunning of the Southern Dynasty" truly meant.
Princess Wansui turned around and shouted, "Shang Bizhu, play the 'Shanshan Mohua'!" She then followed Shangguan Yuqi and stepped into the center of the arena.
At this moment, a group of Hu women, along with the post station workers, servants, and clerks, all crowded to one side to watch. Although these people did not recognize Shangguan Yuqi, nor did they know that she was not only the most beautiful woman from a prominent family in the Southern Dynasty, but also the emperor and crown prince's only choice for the future crown princess, everyone could see that she was as beautiful as a fairy.
She stood quietly in the courtyard, sword held horizontally, like a fairy descending to earth, making the noisy courtyard suddenly become tranquil and secluded.
She seemed to have brought the white clouds from the mountains and the clear streams from the forests to this place.
To have cultivated to such a transcendent level is a realm beyond the reach of human flesh and blood. A Qiu sighed inwardly, "The title of 'Sword Immortal' is truly well-deserved."
However, judging from the current situation, this beautiful and ethereal noblewoman will inevitably become his enemy in the future.
Princess Wansui closed her eyes and made a gesture of clasping her hands together.
Ah Qiu knew that she was using her closed eyes to relieve the invisible pressure that Shangguan Yuqi had put on her.
Faced with a beauty as stunning as Shangguan Yuqi, it would be difficult for a normal woman not to feel inferior, and thus difficult to avoid being led by the nose and failing to unleash her potential.
To A Qiu's surprise, the Princess Wansui's entire demeanor changed as she closed her eyes and clasped her hands.
She was originally perceived as a cunning, resourceful, and extremely difficult Hu woman. But after closing her eyes, her expression instantly transformed into one of innocence and holiness, seemingly radiating a divine light.
Ah Qiu himself is a dancer, and he knows that all highly skilled dancers who take the stage have this transformation of "transforming emotions and entering the realm of the artist".
In other words, the dancer in the dance is not like her in everyday life. All the thoughts and feelings in the music and dance are sublimated and purified according to the content being expressed.
Princess Wansui's expression at the start of her gesture was unique, mysterious, and otherworldly.
She had seen this expression before in the ancient cave scrolls of her master, Songxuetang.
Master Wanqiqing named it "The Smile of Buddha".
It was precisely because her temperament differed so greatly from that of Princess Wansui that Ah Qiu was so surprised by the stark contrast between them.
If A Qiu's "transformation into emotion" in dance represents daily improvement, then Shangguan Yuqi has already achieved "understanding the ordinary." Whether in sword dance performances or in her daily life, she has reached a state of perfect harmony between mind and action, transcending external things. Therefore, she always appears ethereal and otherworldly.
In Princess Wansui's case, this "transformation into emotion" was almost a shift between day and night, light and darkness.
Can a cunning and treacherous person truly transform into a person of pure heart in an instant?
Or is it that humans inherently possess two sides to their nature?
At that moment, the sound of the clapper rang out leisurely. And the two dancers began to move.
Princess Wansui suddenly opened her beautiful eyes, a radiant smile blooming on her lips, and began to dance to the music, her body rising and falling, tumbling and spinning.
Her image reminded A-Qiu of the celestial maiden scattering flowers and having fun on the secret scroll, full of exotic charm, light and unrestrained.
She deliberately circled around Shangguan Yuqi, her posture changing with each step, intending to distract him.
Only now did Ah Qiu realize something:
Southern Dynasties music rarely features such fast-paced and strangely varied melodies. The flutes and zithers commonly used by the aristocracy are peaceful and moderate; even if there are joyful and pleasant tunes, they do not have such frequent dynamic changes.
Therefore, whether it is the White Silk Dance or the Sword Dance, they all have a beginning, development, transition, and conclusion, with ups and downs, and cannot be synchronized with such a fast-paced tune for spinning and jumping.
She couldn't help but wonder how she would handle the situation if she were in that situation.
Before she could figure it out, she had already seen Shangguan Yuqi's solution.
Shangguan Yuqi seemed not to hear the sound of the zither, but rather the dance steps of the Princess Wansui.
For every three steps the Princess took, she would take one step in response.
He casually thrust and stabbed with his sword, without following any established rules or conventions.
Her face was serene and calm, as if she had entered another world while listening intently.
Seeing this, A Qiu knew that Princess Wansui had already lost this battle.
When music and dance reach this level, it's all about mental fortitude. And in terms of mental fortitude, Shangguan Yuqi is probably the strongest she's ever seen.
Because of his tranquility and lack of desire, his mind remained steadfast.
At this moment, Shangguan Yuqi was gradually merging herself into the rhythm of the other person's movements.
And when she is fully immersed in the music, she will become its master. At that moment, forcing the princess to stop will be a piece of cake for her.
Princess Wansui danced with Shangguan Yuqi at the center, and this circle was becoming increasingly tighter.
She was also racking her brains to reduce the scope of Shangguan Yuqi's activities.
A dance battle is not a killing, and Shangguan Yuqi cannot intentionally hurt her, otherwise she will lose. This is one of the unspoken rules.
If she were to run into the sword herself, then she would lose, because it would be as if she had trespassed into Shangguan Yuqi's territory.
Therefore, the key to her victory lies in how to subtly erode and control the opponent's space.
Once Shangguan Yuqi completes a turn and spin, she finds that the spot she set up has already been occupied, so her sword dance cannot continue.
However, so far, Shangguan Yuqi's sword strikes have all come from unexpected directions. This has secretly alarmed the Princess, leaving her at a loss for what to do.
Ah Qiu, however, saw through the clues.
Just as Princess Wansui was about to wrap her arms around Shangguan Yuqi's waist, making a hand gesture, A Qiu suddenly clapped her hands and shouted, "Good!"
Her "good" caught Bizhu in the middle of her breath. Bizhu's voice suddenly faltered, and when she resumed, it was far less fluent and coherent than before.
Meanwhile, the outcome of the match had already been decided.
The Ice Bamboo Sword suddenly shone brightly, and Shangguan Yuqi used the same technique against her, unleashing seven consecutive sword strikes in the air. Each strike blocked the Princess's path as she twisted and spun, nipping in the bud all four or five possible dance moves she could conceive.
Princess Wansui finished her "Supporting Heaven and Worshiping the Moon" move, and suddenly all she could see were crisscrossing sword energies. Although the courtyard was large, it seemed that there was no place for her to stand. She was greatly surprised.
At the same time, the music that was originally in harmony with her mind and body also froze and became intermittent.
Her breathing became disordered for a moment, and she staggered back to avoid falling, but everyone could see that she had been forced to stop.
Shangguan Yuqi gracefully rose with her sword, performed a beautiful "Flying Hawk" move, then sheathed her sword and landed, smiling at Princess Wansui and asking, "How was it?"
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