Vol 2 Chapter 14 (2/2)

When she went to sit down, Liu Che naturally helped her into her seat. He said something to Li Yan and she furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. Liu Che gave her a smiling look that said he was going to let her be. He turned to Empress Wei, and though he was still smiling, his eyes no longer had the look of tender caring. In the eyes of the public, Li Yan went from acting like she didn’t want to steal the Empress’s thunder to now showing clearing to the courtiers who was more important in the eyes of Liu Che.

I looked around the banquet. How many people here want the future Emperor to be Liu Buo (Li Yan’s son)? Or how many just want to see the Wei family tumble from power so they can win in the aftermath? Those who support the Wei family are obvious and a powerful lot, but the are a clear target for those who want to help the Li family, since they can operate under the shadows.

My eyes meet Huo Qu Bing’s and he mouthed the words “You’re the most beautiful” to me. I pout at him and act all disbelieving of his clearly false words, but inside I feel full of sweetness and contentment.

Li Guang Li was watching my silent interaction with Huo Qu Bing and he scoffed loudly. He got up and addressed the Emperor and Empress “The various Xi Yu kingdoms have sent their twelve best dancing girls to perform a Xi Yu dance especially ch.o.r.eographed for the your highness’s birthday.” Liu Che smiled and looked at the Empress, who announced that they can perform.

Even though it was supposed to be a Xi Yu dance, because it is intended for the Empress, it incorporated more Han flavor and tempered the usual free-spirited pa.s.sion of the nomadic people. The dance is graceful and the lead dancer is a tall woman who dances like a b.u.t.terfly, her every move seemingly effortless. I can’t help but nod my head, what a truly top-notch dancer. To my surprise, I see Li Yan also nodding her head and our eyes meet for the first time tonight. Her eyes are clear like a lake in Autumn, like one can see into the depth of her soul. I remember the first time we met and how her eyes were rich with emotion. She’s like a completely different person now.

She suddenly smiled and gave me a pitying look while shaking her head. I wanted to smile back at her, as if asking her which of the two of us is more deserving of being pitied? But then I realized what a pointless exercise it was. Why do we need to keep pressuring each other? I turned away and stopped looking at her. When the crowd began to heartily applaud is when I snap back to attention. Liu Che was quite pleased and offered to reward the dancers.

Empress Wei was about to say something when Li Yan interjected “These dancers came all the way from Xi Yu hundreds of miles to reach the Han dynasty. They are all alone without any support. There is no reward you can give them greater than giving them a family. Since the most eligible men in Chang An are all gathered here today, why doesn’t the Emperor play matchmaker today and give them each a home.”

A dancer’s life is not forever and they need to find a safe harbor when they are still young. They are bound to a life as a concubine or even worse. If they can give birth to a son or child, in this foreign place they might have a chance to find some security. All the dancers brightened up with hope to hear this, but the lead dancer just took a quick survey of the entire banquet.

Liu Che saw all the girls light up with hope and he looked rather tender, turning to give Empress Wei a smiling look. Empress Wei appeared to remember something and her face turned red and she lowered her head. Li Yan immediately averted her eyes and looked towards the sky. Li Gan, who had been secretly staring at her, spilled the wine in his cup when his hands shook.

Liu Che turned to the Xi Yu dancing girls “I’ve heard that the Xi Yu ladies use horse racing to show their affection to the man they desire. They can also use dance to convey their interest. I want to emulate the Xi Yu customs today, and I hereby allow you each to pick the man you want.”

A song started up and this time it’s a genuine Xi Yu tune. It’s immediately pa.s.sionate and wild, the dancers turning sultry and limber as their bodies react to the music. Li Yan turned to smile at me and my heart chilled. I was wondering why she was doing all this. Now that Liu Che as given a royal decree that these ladies can choose, if one of the girls chooses Huo Qu Bing, then……

[One more friendly reminder, above is Koala approved canon Yu Er and Huo Qu Bing. Enjoy the pretty.]

Last time Huo Qu Bing opposed Liu Che’s wishes with an excuse that he won’t start a family until the Xiong Nu are eradicated. But today Liu Che has told the entire court and the Xi Yu dancers that he will let them pick. If Huo Qu Bing were to oppose him again in public…… I refuse to think any further, just gripping my skirt tightly and staring at the dancers.

Huo Qu Bing has clearly figured out Li Yan’s intentions as well and he got up to leave. But two girls had already danced right up to him and blocked his path. Huo Qu Bing’s demeanor turned cold and he returned to his seat with a small smile and started to drink, paying no attention to the two girls dancing in front of him. I let out a sigh of relief that there is still time. If Huo Qu Bing isn’t planning to accept both of then, then these two girls need to first use dance to determine a victor between them.

Li Guang Li’s expression turned ugly and jealous. I realized now that neither of these two girls were in cahoots with them in advance. They really just both want Huo Qu Bing. I turn to stare at the two girls with an exasperated expression, not sure if I should be proud or worried. The lead dancer is the most beautiful and eye catching one and all the young men and old lechers alike have clearly been eyeing her. Right now she starts to dance in tune to the music and moving towards Huo Qu Bing. The atmosphere in the entire banquet grows more excited.

A few people who have no inkling of what is happening start cheering “Such a beauty surely can only match with a true hero.” I don’t know if they are just brown nosing to Huo Qu Bing or seeking their own demise. A row of military officials seated next to Huo Qu Bing and Wei Qing stare coldly and dispa.s.sionately at this scene, not even paying attention to dancing girls who are before them. Li Guang Li and his toady ministers try to fan the flames so that the mood in the banquet is the extreme of hot and cold coming from the two sides.

The other two girls see the lead dancer and grow embarra.s.sed and frustrated. But they cannot compete with her so they twirl away. The lead dancer smiles like a flower and her beauty flutters with her every dance step. She brushes over Huo Qu Bing, who continues to quietly and calmly drink his wine.

The moment she kneels before Huo Qu Bing and offers him a drink is the moment she has made her selection. I can’t worry about anything anymore, I have to stop this now. I turn to meet Ri Chan’s eyes and he nodded his head.

I take off my shoes and put my wrist bells on my ankle. I slowly stand up and clap loudly three times. I disrupt the Xi Yu tune and everyone turns to look at me. Huo Qu Bing looks stunned but I just smile and wink at him.

A fast and carefree tune comes from Ri Chan’s short flute, akin to a feisty horse running through the plans, or a small bird gliding through the air. I follow the music and dance towards Huo Qu Bing. In every beat of the song, I stomp my foot and the bells add a new cadence to the rhythm. In the beginning I wasn’t quite ready yet so I make a few mistakes, which causes the dancing girls to t.i.tter. I glare at them and make a face. Humph! If they haven’t danced for seven or eight years like me and still dance as well as I’m doing, then I’ll let them make fun of me.

My dancing becomes smoother and the wild abandoned sensation of dancing on the plains returns to my body. Plus I know martial arts, so my dancing is even more light and controlled than the average dancer. The pa.s.sion dance of a Xiong Nu girl, I may not be perfect at it, but it’s riveting nonetheless. Huo Qu Bing smiled and downed his wine, staring at me with unfettered joy and pride.

Because it was so unexpected, no one at the banquet knew how to react, just staring at me with their mouths open. It was dead silent. The bells on my ankles are crisp and clear, like the laughter of a young girl floating in the wind. It makes a person turn mellow and content.

The lead dancer quietly looked at me for awhile and then smiled at me before changing her dance steps. It was also a Xiong Nu dance. We dance around each other in front of Huo Qu Bing, who has stopped drinking and appeared to be genuinely enjoying watching me dance, and then watching her dance, almost like he was trying to decide which girl was better. This person was like the gra.s.s on the plains, turning livelier under the basking sunlight. I’m secretly stewing inside so I act even more cheerful. I turn towards him and use my flowing skirts to hide that fact that I’m launching a kick towards him. Too bad he was antic.i.p.ating it and his hand was right there to grab my foot.

The tune from the flute becomes more urgent but I remain standing in place with a strange stance and a smile, moving my upper body in sync with the music. Thank G.o.d Ri Chan is the one accompanying me with the music, because he sees something is odd with me and immediately his tune slows down. That in turn causes the leader dancer to be caught off guard and she misses a few steps and almost slips. Everyone turns to look at her and forgets about me standing there all weird.

The moment she regains her balance she shoots an angry look over at Ri Chan playing the flute. To her surprise, she sees not an ordinary musician but a das.h.i.+ng richly attired young man. His wavy hair and high nose reveals that he’s also from the desert region. Ri Chan makes a slight apologetic bow to her and she suddenly turns red faced but flips her hair at him. I’m really losing my ability to keep a smile plastered my face. Even though there are dances where the feet don’t move and only the upper body sways to the rhythm, but right now…..

Huo Qu Bing sees that my gaze directed at him is growing decidedly chilly so he smiles and squeezes my foot one more time before releasing it and returning to his drinking without a care in the world.

The song continues but both the dancer and I are fl.u.s.tered and our dancing gets sloppy. Her face is red and my face is burning up, and we accidentally b.u.mp into each other while dancing. That startles me back to being alert and I turn and shoot Huo Qu Bing the evil eye. How dare he try to tease me at a time like this? But he continues to look at me with amus.e.m.e.nt and a wry smile.

The dancer also regains her mental clarity again and resumes her powerfully seductive dancing. I sneak a peek at her, deciding whether I should do something sneaky and injure her otherwise I couldn’t possibly out-dance her. But everyone was staring at me, especially with Li Yan here, there was no way I could get away with it.

Ri Chan’s melody suddenly stopped, and when it resumed it was a different song. It was a popular love song from the plains that is sung when a man is professing his desire for a woman. The bells on my ankle lose their beat and the dancer also stops for a moment. She turns to look at Ri Chan with a look of surprise and joy, and everyone else looks around in confusion, unsure of what the heck is happening tonight. Did everyone suddenly turn randy or went crazy with l.u.s.t?

I look at Ri Chan with a questioning look but he ignored me, continuing to look only at the dancer. She stared at Ri Chan and then back towards Huo Qu Bing, and then back at me again. She suddenly made up her mind and with a few quick steps she was standing in front of Ri Chan’s seat. She knelt down in front of him, indicating that she had made her choice.

Everything happened so fast that Li Guang Li stood up with look of pure rage but Li Yan quickly chimed in before he could speak “Congratulations to you both!” Li Guang Li looked at his sister’s expression and sat down stiffly. This smart dancer changed her mind at the last minute, deciding to gamble her life and her future on Ri Chan. He will not disappoint her. If he is around for one day, then he will take care of her for one day.

I bow towards Hup Qu Bing and turn to return to my seat. Everyone stared dumbly at me when Li Yan laughed “Jin Yu, you randomly went up and danced, and now you’re just going back to your seat without an explanation. Where do you think you are right now?”

I exchange a look with Express Wei and we understand each other. Since Li Yan is not giving me an inch and wants to pressure me, then I won’t keep backing down. I bow to her and say very clearly “This place is of course the birthday banquet that the Emperor planned for the Empress.” Li Yan fumed to hear what I said but she had no response. No matter how much she is loved by the Emperor, she is still the concubine to the Empress being the first wife. She must always bow down to the Empress, so this place isn’t up to her to say anything about what just happened.

Liu Che coolly looked around and when he heard what I said, he looked at Empress Wei and then at Huo Qu Bing before laughing “Jin Yu’s dance was also quite good, she ought to be rewarded as well.” The Empress gently agreed.

A tempest hidden under a pa.s.sionate dance performance has been averted for now. But what even bigger potential storm will come of this music and dance performance Ri Chan and I put on today? The compet.i.tion between the Wei family and the Li family is gradually out in the open. Liu Che may have favored the Li family tonight, it was his way of using his imperial power to even the odds. Just like how he used the w.a.n.g family to defeat the Bao family, then then he used the Wei family to defeat the w.a.n.g family afterwards. The time has now come for the too powerful Wei family.

The carriage has been traveling for some time but all Huo Qu Bing does is stare at me and smile. When we enter the room, he takes off his robe and keeps smiling nonstop. I’m finally had enough of his smiling “You’re not thinking about how to battle Li Yan, instead you’re just laughing for no reason. Who knows what tricks she has up her sleeve next.”

He let out a long sigh and laid down on the pallet, crossing his hands behind his head, his expression one of contentment “I’m looking forward to her tricks. Hopefully it’ll be more of what happened tonight.” I huff at him “Yes! In front of an entire court of scholarly and military officials, a few girls vying for your attention is definitely something to be proud of, something to crow about!”

He still had a smile and appeared to be reminiscing “It’s definitely worth reliving in my mind. If it wasn’t for them, I never would have known that you were nervous about me. And I could have never imagined that you would perform a pa.s.sion dance for me.”

I lifted my head and rolled my eyes, giving him two fake ha ha laughs “I sure am nervous about you!” His lazy att.i.tude is really annoying me so I lean in and wrap my hands around his throat to pretend to strangle him “If you dare to touch inappropriately in public again, I will nervous you to death!”

His one hand reached out to tickle me and his other hand tucked me into his arms “Do you mean that as long as it’s not in public, I can do whatever I want? I can touch you inappropriately? Then I guess I’ll go right ahead then.”

Qing Wu and Xiang Die had just walked in with the night wash when they saw us entwined together in a very pa.s.sionate embrace. Xiang Die dropped everything she was holding while Qing Wu actually managed to keep her cool and just bowed low and apologized before pulling Xiang Die and running out of the room.

Oh my G.o.d! I’m done for! I’m so embarra.s.sed, how can I face them tomorrow? I glare at Huo Qu Bing but all he does is release the bed curtains with one sweep of his hand.

……………………………………………………………

Who is the rabbit and who is the tiger, which is the one who is going to eat the other, I finally figured it out!

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