Two jade trees
Two more people stepped in, one after the other.
The one lagging behind was naturally the handsome and dashing Left Chancellor, Gongyi Xiu, a peerless gentleman with an air of elegance and refinement. He held a jade-framed fan with a hundred flowers in his hand, a jade flute with a dragon's roar tucked into his waistband, his face as bright as the moon, his body as graceful as a willow, his smile as radiant as the morning sun, and his expression one of humility and respect.
Looking at his incessant yet cautiously obsequious expression, A Qiu seemed to understand why his senior brother could achieve such a high position in the court at such a young age.
The person who walked in front of him made everyone present gasp in shock.
This man had handsome, gentle features, and an elegant, refined air. His temperament was four or five parts similar to Gu Yi's, but the bright gold embroidery on his imperial yellow robe already indicated his identity.
Ah Qiu had only met this person twice, both times in public, but he immediately recognized who it was.
Gu Yi's nominal disciple is Xie Tiao, the current crown prince and the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace.
As the two entered, the hall fell silent for a moment.
A Qiu remembered that the Crown Prince had a slight dislike for dancers. Although she later saved the Crown Prince Xie Tiao's life from the claws of a white tiger by performing a dance before the Emperor, she was able to get rid of her status as a dancer and be promoted to a female official because of this merit.
But she wouldn't be so tactless as to try and get close to this nobleman who disliked ordinary women.
Therefore, she immediately lowered her eyes and looked down, trying to minimize her presence.
Zhang Exu and Cui Luzhu followed suit, and even Sun Neiren and Xue Hongbi dared not utter a sound, for fear of offending the Crown Prince's noble demeanor.
At this moment, Xie Tiao was the most honored person in the hall, and no one else dared to speak unless he spoke.
However, An Daoling had served in the palace since previous generations and was highly respected, so he was an exception. He immediately concealed his surprise and calmly came out from behind the bell tower to greet him, saying, "Your Highness, may you be well? What brings you here?"
Before Xie Tiao could speak, Gongyi Xiu immediately announced in a clear voice: "Miss Shangguan came to the Taigan Hall to ask which of the court officials had ever learned to dance and could replace Miss Pei and General Xiao Fan to perform a dance for tomorrow's state banquet. Upon hearing this, the Junior Tutor did not hesitate and immediately appointed me."
A Qiu almost laughed out loud. Since Gu Yi knew that the One-Word Hall Master of Lanling Hall was hiding in the court, he certainly wouldn't hesitate to use him now.
Xue Hongbi stammered, "Then His Highness the Crown Prince... was he also appointed by the Junior Tutor?"
Xie Tiao flicked his brocade sleeves and said solemnly, "I saw that even the Left Prime Minister was willing to risk his life for the country, so I volunteered to come to the front."
Xue Hongbi and Sun Neiren looked at each other in bewilderment.
If we only consider their appearance, Xie Tiao and Gongyi Xiu standing side by side like this are indeed brothers in misfortune, like jade trees emerging from the moon, which shows the great talent and spirit of the Southern Dynasties.
But after all, what needs to be presented is a dance, not just standing still.
It's just that no one dares to say those words.
An Daoling finally managed to ask, "Young Master, does he have no objection to this?" His mind raced, and he quickly and tactfully advised, "His Highness is, after all, the Crown Prince of a nation, a man of great importance. If anything goes wrong while he is performing a dance at a state banquet, we old servants cannot bear the responsibility."
If an ordinary dancer makes a mistake, it is the country's face that is lost, but if the crown prince makes a mistake, the face of the imperial family is lost as well.
Xie Tiao replied calmly, "My teacher was unaware of this. After appointing the Left Chancellor, he immediately took General Xiao Fan and Commander-in-Chief Sikong Zhao directly to the central camp of the Jianzhang Army for a meeting."
Then, with a hint of smugness, he said, "I was recommended by Mao Sui himself."
This time, even An Daoling could only look at the others blankly, not knowing where to begin.
Xie Tiao glanced at the seven large vermilion drums displayed in the hall and said with delight, "These must be the drums used in the 'Yanshi Ning'. I heard that Empress Feiyan of Emperor Cheng of Han could perform a dance on the palm of a hand. Now our dynasty has a dance on drums. It is as if the seven stars are arranged in the sky. It is no less magnificent than the style and grandeur of the Han Dynasty."
As he looked toward the drum, he naturally noticed the three girls standing beside it. When his gaze fell upon A Qiu, Xie Tiao's eyes immediately lit up, then fixed on her, and he unconsciously began to walk toward her.
A Qiu was completely taken aback when Xie Tiao came over, and for a moment she didn't know how to react. In a moment of quick thinking, she immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."
Before she could even bend down in greeting, Xie Tiao reached out and supported her arm.
A-Qiu looked up in surprise, then withdrew her hand as if she had been electrocuted.
The Crown Prince was of such high status and unparalleled elegance that she dared not humiliate him, not even for a moment longer than she would dare to be touched by his imperial hand. She wouldn't even dare to do so through his clothes.
To everyone's surprise, Xie Tiao had a gentle demeanor and clear eyes, and said kindly, "Junior Sister."
When he uttered the word "Junior Sister," A Qiu almost stumbled, but what surprised her even more was her senior brother, Gongyi Xiu. He even forgot to wave his folding fan and just stared blankly at the Crown Prince and A Qiu with his mouth half open.
Without even asking, A Qiu knew that he must be wondering when A Qiu had become the Crown Prince's junior sister.
Shouldn't she be Gongyi Xiu's junior sister?
Seeing the Crown Prince being unusually friendly, A Qiu immediately forced a smile and said, "Your Highness is of noble birth and precious lineage. Although I have been fortunate enough to be favored by the Junior Tutor and join his family, I would never dare to presume upon such a position. There is a distinction between ruler and subject. From now on, Your Highness may simply call me A Qiu."
Xie Tiao was even more pleased to hear that she spoke with great manners.
In truth, he was only doing this because A Qiu had saved his life in front of everyone, and now that she was the only successor of his teacher Gu Yizhao, he couldn't pretend to ignore her now that he had seen her in front of everyone. Otherwise, he would appear arrogant and rude, and he might also be impeached for being mean and ungrateful.
In the political arena where numerous stars vie for power, if Xie Tiao wants to secure her position, she must be careful not to make any mistakes in these small matters and try her best to cultivate an image of virtue and benevolence for herself.
Xie Tiao was not born a prince. His mother died early, and his father, Xie Lang, became emperor when he was a teenager, thus making him the crown prince. Lacking both a powerful maternal family and outstanding achievements (the Great Yan was newly established and everything was in ruins, requiring arduous pioneering efforts; even Gu Yi had to work tirelessly, and it was not easy to gain experience easily), this inevitably made him uneasy.
Therefore, he always did his best to share the burdens of his sovereign and father, such as the marriage alliance with the Shangguan family, and this dance performance.
Although A Qiu didn't want to get too close to him, she ultimately remembered that Gu Yi had entrusted her with something. Looking at the current situation, how could she not understand the predicament of An Daoling, Sun Neiren, and the others?
Gu Yi was well aware of the entire process and difficulties of rehearsing "Yan Shi Ning". Since Gongyi Xiu was chosen, there must be a reason. However, the Crown Prince had volunteered himself, and it would take some thought to send him back without losing face.
A Qiu then smiled and said, "Your Highness's zither playing is extremely exquisite, so you must also be very proficient in music and dance. Xiao Xiao, could you demonstrate for Your Highness and the Left Prime Minister the dance moves that Miss Pei and General Xiao Fan originally arranged, and please give your feedback?"
Xiao Chang'an finally got the chance to come out of the side hall, stretched lazily and laughed: "I can't demonstrate making an entrance like Miss Pei, doing eight somersaults in a row."
Such continuous shifts in center of gravity and head-down rotations are not something every martial arts master can do, because they are not needed for offense and defense, and if they weren't needed, no one would practice them. Only someone like Pei Yu, who has practiced specifically since childhood, can do them with ease.
To everyone's surprise, Xie Tiao's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this, and he said, "Somersaults? I can do that!"
This move took everyone by surprise. A Qiu asked with a suspicious look, "Your Highness, are you really sure you can do this?"
If someone else had asked this question, Xie Tiao would have thought that person was inconsiderate. But A Qiu was his junior sister, and when she asked the question, she looked innocent, her clear black and white eyes full of curiosity and expectation. Xie Tiao didn't think she was questioning him, but rather that she was surprised and curious.
He was happy to answer her, so he said earnestly, "When I was a child, I also played in my father's military camp. I saw the soldiers of the Divine Mastiff Battalion wrestling and doing somersaults, and I tried to play them too." He tried to recall and said, "I remember that when I was a child, I could do up to six somersaults."
A-Qiu immediately clapped his hands and exclaimed joyfully, "That's wonderful! Please give it a try, Your Highness!"
Xie Tiao wasn't actually very confident in front of these professional dancers and martial artists. His arrogance was less a matter of innate pride and more a defensive posture he had to adopt when facing his subjects, fearing that he was unworthy of his position.
Now, encouraged by A-Qiu, he immediately felt full of confidence and stepped forward to give it a try.
Xue Hongbi immediately said, "Quickly move those drums away, don't let them get in His Highness's way!" As she spoke, she personally started moving them, saying, "His Highness, test your strength on flat ground for the first time. Once you're more familiar with it, you can try it on the drum surface. If you can't do it, you don't need to flip it on the drum surface; flipping it on flat ground is fine too!"
A simple flip on flat ground doesn't require a fixed point, but a flip on a drumhead requires precisely finding the right direction and landing point each time. And these seven-star drums are arranged according to the Big Dipper, and they aren't even in the same direction. Each turn requires adjusting the direction, making the difficulty level far greater than that of a drumhead.
Xie Tiao had only seen Xue Hongbi twice, once in the side hall and once before the emperor. At the time, he really disliked this teacher who spoke crudely and had a vulgar appearance. But now he suddenly felt that this teacher was not so annoying after all.
Once Xue Hongbi started, A Qiu, Zhang Exu, and Cui Luzhu had no reason to watch, so they immediately moved the drum to one side. Xiao Chang'an, however, couldn't bear to see A Qiu doing such rough work, so he used his feet to lift the remaining three drums upright and rolled them to the side.
Shangguan Yuqi continued to watch them quietly, though her previously displeased expression softened slightly.
A large area was cleared up, and Xie Tiao walked to the middle, placed his hands on the ground, measured the distance, and looked up at the crowd, saying, "That's enough, everyone move aside."
Everyone parted to the sides, partly to avoid blocking his path and partly to protect him in case of an accident. An Daoling was especially careful, watching his every move, also out of a desire to protect him.
Xie Tiao took a deep breath, placed his hands on the ground, and leaped forward in that stance. When he successfully landed on both feet for the first time and stood up using his waist strength, Gongyi Xiu had already taken the lead and shouted, "Good!"
Xie Tiao didn't stop, performing one somersault after another. Although he wasn't as fast as Pei Yu, he was extremely steady. Every time he landed and got up, he was accompanied by a series of "Good!" from the crowd.
Those present were all speaking from the heart. Even from A Qiu's perspective, his movements were fluid and powerful, showing both gentleness and strength. While not the style of a martial arts master, he was certainly well-trained.
When he got up for the seventh time, A Qiu noticed that he was starting to have trouble. She immediately and subtly stood in front of him, exclaiming in astonishment, "Your Highness, you've practiced martial arts? We didn't know you were so skilled."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
