Chapter 230 Qingwu Sword Dance
Xiao Ji looked at Qing Wu. He wanted to indicate that no matter what, he would not allow her to be forced into a disgrace. However, when he met Qing Wu's soothing eyes with a smile, he shut his mouth.
Her eyes were full of confidence, clearly not afraid of such embarrassment. Xiao Ji was also intrigued, wondering what talent Qingqing was going to perform.
He watched Qingwu walk to the front of the seat, bowed gracefully and said, "Your Majesty, please wait a moment."
Xiao Yuancheng nodded, and Qingwu followed a maid down to make preparations. Then, the hall was filled with singing and dancing again, but most people's hearts were no longer on the matter.
About a quarter of an hour later, the clear cry of a crane suddenly rang out from outside the hall. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw two maids in plain clothes slowly unrolling a massive scroll. The snow-white silk surface was saturated with ink. A pine tree with twisted branches hovered, and several cranes seemed to be about to take flight. It was the auspicious "Pine and Crane Longevity Picture." Then, six musicians entered, carrying instruments such as zithers, zhengs, flutes, and pipa.
As they sat on the ground, the music in the hall suddenly changed, from the previous decadent music to ethereal music. The musician who was good at ventriloquism moved his lips, and another burst of crane calls sounded, which made people imagine the appearance of cranes flying in the sky.
Just as people were gradually attracted by the sound of cranes, a white shadow leaped out from behind the screen - Qingwu had changed her appearance, with her black hair tied up in a bun, a red dot on her beautiful forehead, and she was wearing a moon-white gradient dance costume with ink-black skirt and sleeves. When she raised her hands, her wide sleeves spread out like crane wings, and the skirt was decorated with feather patterns embroidered with silver thread. Coupled with her picturesque face and phoenix eyes, she looked like a fairy transformed from a crane.
The most surprising thing was that she pulled out a soft sword from her wide sleeves!
Is she going to perform a sword dance? !
"Crane's Cry Frosty Sky Sword--" Qingwu called out the name of the dance in a clear voice, and the tip of the sword shook lightly, producing several sword flowers.
Who said she had no talent? She had trained in martial arts for seven or eight years with her grandmother. Although her physique wasn't good enough to achieve mastery in swordsmanship, she could still wield a sword and perform a sword dance.
As the tune of "Entering the Battle" sounded, everyone's expression changed again. Could a woman like her really dance well to this tense and exciting song?
Everyone had already seen that Qingwu was preparing to dance with the sword, but they just thought it was just a fancy move like an ordinary dancer, until they saw Qingwu raise the sword and start to move. The posture and momentum were agile and graceful, without a trace of weakness.
Prince An and his wife, as well as Prince Ning all looked a little unhappy, but what shocked them even more was yet to come.
Watching Qingwu, sometimes like a crane perched atop a pine tree, sword pointed skyward; sometimes like a crane dancing across the clouds, sword light shimmering. The soft sword seemed to come alive in her hands, sometimes pecking like a crane's beak, sometimes fluttering like a crane's wings. With every turn and leap, the hem of her skirt splayed out like a crane's wingspan, her movements graceful and agile, shifting with the music.
Xiao Ji and Xi Jianan were stunned, their eyes full of amazement.
When the music reached its climax, she leaped up like a crane spreading its wings, and with the last movement, the tip of her sword lightly touched the ground, just like a crane standing on its feet.
The entire hall fell silent, then erupted into thunderous applause. Xiao Yuancheng clapped his hands and laughed, "Great! What a brilliant Crane-Crying Frost Sky Sword!"
Xiao Ji looked at the figure in the hall who was bowing with a sword on his back, and the corners of his lips rose unconsciously. His Qingqing always surprised him, but she had never told him this trick before.
Prince Ning and the others on the opposite side already had extremely ugly expressions on their faces. Was this girl who grew up in the countryside adopted by a martial arts family?
But their surprise was yet to come. Qing Wu sheathed his sword and stood, bowing gracefully to the throne. His voice was clear and distinct: "Your Majesty, I perform this dance to celebrate your birthday. The crane symbolizes immortality and longevity, the sword is the most important weapon, and weapons are the most important instruments that protect the nation. Recently, we have received frequent reports of victories from the frontiers. The soldiers have defended the borders with weapons, and only then has peace been achieved within the country. Therefore, I offer this dance to celebrate your birthday, using the power of the sword to symbolize the might of the army. I wish your Majesty a long and healthy life, and may the Great Yu Kingdom prosper!"
This speech not only met the theme of the birthday banquet, but also praised the frontier soldiers and elevated the sword dance to the level of family, country and the world. It was absolutely flawless. Xi Jianan stood behind the table, staring at the daughter of the central government for a long time without saying a word.
Could this daughter really be raised by an old rural doctor? Even if I raised her myself, I wouldn't be able to achieve this level, right?
However, his thoughts were soon interrupted. Someone at the generals' table excitedly exclaimed, "Excellent! Princess Zhao's sword dance is truly magnificent. It has both fierce and graceful moments, like a crane. She truly possesses both talent and beauty!"
Qingwu looked in the direction of the voice and saw the speaker dressed in purple, with a strong build. Although there was a little frost on his temples, his aura was still as strong as ever. It was Xue Chen, Marquis of Zhenbei.
He was reluctant to come originally, but under Xiao Yuluan's instructions, he came to look after his nephew Xiao Ji for her. Unexpectedly, the boy's princess was really good, so Xue Chen naturally showed his support.
King Wen, who was sitting diagonally opposite him, gave Xue Chen several glances but got no response. For a long while, King Wen could only convince himself that Marquis Xue was a military general, so it was normal for him to have a rough mind.
Shen Yushan, one of the civil servants over there, glanced at Xue Chen and praised him a few words. Xue Chen must be taking this opportunity to take credit in front of His Highness.
The head of the imperial court, Xiao Yuancheng, was indeed delighted. He said repeatedly, "It truly lives up to the name. The princess deserves a reward! A generous reward! I will give the jade ruyi I just obtained to the princess."
Prince Ning and the others looked a little embarrassed, and Princess An was even gritting her teeth. They had never expected that this country girl would have such talent and quick wit that she could actually please the emperor.
How does this reveal her identity?
Prince Ning gritted his teeth. Was he going to give up like this? He didn't want to! He watched Qingwu return to his original position after receiving the reward.
He glanced around and suddenly landed on Xi Jianan. His eyes flashed, and he stood up and said, "My sister-in-law is so outstanding, it's all thanks to the contribution of Master Xi..."
Prince Ning exchanged a few pleasantries, then seemed to express his confusion: "Hey, Lord Xi has only been in office for a short time, why did you suddenly return to the court?"
Xi Jianan subconsciously glanced at Xiao Yuancheng at the top and said, "Your Majesty has recalled me."
The original plan was to offer the tripod at the birthday center, but since the time had not yet come, it was natural to conceal it. And these expressions fell on King Ning's eyes, indicating that he was being evasive.
He has already investigated. It was only after Xi Jianan returned to Beijing that Madam Zheng was locked up in the other courtyard. Maybe Xi Jianan came back specifically to deal with this matter. He must be feeling guilty!
However, before he could speak, Xiao Yuancheng at the top also noticed something was wrong. If it was someone else, he might not notice it, but that was Xi Jianan, Xi Jianan who was about to present the Longevity Cauldron. Xiao Yuancheng didn't want anyone to pay too much attention to him. What was this third brother doing?
"Third brother, you are paying attention to the Xi family. Is there something wrong?"
Xiao Yuanben's intention was to reprimand and hint to King Ning to restrain himself, but in the eyes of King Ning who couldn't think of how to start, this sentence was undoubtedly a way out!
Prince Ning lowered his head for a moment, hesitating and struggling, and finally whispered, "I do have something to say... My subordinate accidentally saved a maid from the Xi Mansion the other day..."
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