"I hope Your Majesty will like this 'surprise' that I have presented."
Regent Xiao Yuan's voice, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled around the decadent music and burrowed into Lin Wanwan's ears.
His face, which wore a forced smile, was filled with undisguised malice and the glee of impending success.
Lin Wanwan sat regally on the phoenix throne, her face still bearing the dignified smile of an empress, seemingly oblivious to the provocation in his words. She even nodded slightly, raised the wine cup in front of her, and offered a distant toast to the Regent, her demeanor composed and displaying the bearing of an empress.
However, beneath her wide phoenix robe, the nails of her hand, which hung on her knee, had quietly dug into her palm.
surprise?
She thought it was more like being frightened!
In the center of the main hall, the dance of the group of Western Region dancers became increasingly unrestrained and passionate.
The rapid drumbeats, like the pounding of war drums, struck at the hearts of everyone present. The alluring music spiraled upwards, possessing a deadly allure. The dancers, barefoot, spun wildly to the beat. The golden bells at their waists jingled sweetly and seductively, and the thin veils on their bodies billowed with their movements, revealing glimpses of delicate, snow-white skin, like a cluster of poppies blooming in the dark night—beautiful, yet utterly poisonous.
Many officials present were already mesmerized by the unrestrained dance, a spectacle unlike anything they had ever seen before. They were all blushing and completely absorbed in this visual feast, oblivious to the lurking danger within.
Lin Wanwan's gaze did not linger on the dancers in the group dance, but was fixed on the lead dancer.
The lead dancer was undoubtedly the most outstanding one in the group.
Her figure was the most alluring, and her dance the most exquisite. Every glance, every twist of her waist, seemed to possess a captivating magic. Her dance was like a beautiful red scorpion dancing in the desert; every seemingly casual turn, every daring backbend, carried a strong, undisguised purpose.
Lin Wanwan keenly noticed that the dancer's goal was very clear—no matter how complex or unpredictable her dance moves were, they all inadvertently led her to the main seat where she and Xiao Che were.
She was like a master hunter, using the most gorgeous dance moves as disguise, slowly and deliberately approaching her prey step by step.
The distance is being narrowed little by little.
Fifty steps... thirty steps... twenty steps...
Lin Wanwan's heart tightened little by little as she approached. She could even clearly see the fine beads of sweat on the dancer's forehead, and the fleeting killing intent deep within her seemingly alluring but actually icy-cold eyes.
She subconsciously turned her gaze to Xiao Che beside her.
Xiao Che's expression remained calm and composed. He rested one hand on his knee, gently swirling the wine glass in his other hand, his eyes even showing a hint of appreciation, as if he were truly enjoying the performance.
If it weren't for the "evolved" emoji above his head, Lin Wanwan would almost have been fooled by his Oscar-worthy acting skills.
The yellow triangular warning sign above his head had disappeared sometime during the night. In its place was a larger, more conspicuous, orange circular siren!
The alarm was spinning wildly, constantly emitting red ripples that represented "danger," making it at least two levels more tense than the previous yellow warning!
In the center of the alarm, a line of bold, dynamic orange text was flashing wildly, as if desperately screaming into Lin Wanwan's mind—
[Danger Approaching.jpg]
Lin Wanwan's heart sank to the bottom.
Her hand, which was under the table, clenched quietly. In her sleeve, a sharp phoenix hairpin was clutched tightly in her palm.
very good.
She wanted to see how this "dance of death" dedicated to her would end!
In this extremely tense atmosphere, Lin Wanwan and Xiao Che maintained the composure befitting an emperor and empress. They were like two players sitting from a god's-eye view, with a danger warning cheat activated, calmly watching the enemy marked as "red name" walk step by step into the "observation network" they had jointly laid out.
The atmosphere in the main hall gradually reached its climax, led by the lead dancer.
The drumbeats grew more urgent, and the music became increasingly loud!
Finally, the lead dancer spun to a point less than ten steps from the royal steps!
This distance is so close that it's extremely dangerous!
Just when everyone's hearts were in their throats, the dancer suddenly took a delicate silver wine jug inlaid with jewels from her waist.
Holding the wine jug, she began another series of dazzling, frenzied spins. Her speed was so fast she almost became a red afterimage, completely igniting the atmosphere of the entire banquet!
"good!"
"Beautiful dance!"
Unaware of the truth, the officials applauded and cheered, praising the superb dance skills.
Meanwhile, Regent Xiao Yuan held his wine glass, his smug smile widening.
Now!
Just as the dancer reached the pinnacle of her spin, she suddenly executed an incredibly stunning and highly difficult move—
With a sudden flick of her wrist, she tossed the silver wine jug high into the air!
"ah!"
A gasp of surprise rang out from the crowd.
Everyone thought she had failed. However, the next moment, everyone's eyes widened, and their faces showed disbelief.
With a flick of her wrist, the dancer unleashed a long, red ribbon tied to her wrist. As if alive, it shot out like a venomous snake and, with a "whoosh," precisely wrapped around the falling wine jug!
The wine jug, caught by the ribbon, did not fall immediately. Instead, under the dancer's control, it drew an extremely beautiful yet eerie arc in the air, defying the laws of physics!
Everyone's eyes unconsciously followed the arc.
Then they witnessed a scene they would never forget.
The wine jug, gliding through the air, tilted its spout, from which a glistening stream of wine flowed. And the endpoint of that arc, precisely, aligned itself with…
It was aimed at the empty glass wine cup in front of Empress Lin Wanwan on the Phoenix Throne!
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