Capital Rhapsody 25: Used as a Shield

  Used as a shield

  After nearly two hours of competition, the winners of each item finally emerged. Ye Ying's score was slightly inferior to last year's, although she later made a great effort to showcase a segment of flying fairy dance and barely tied with Xi Xia Princess for first place. However, her piano skills were rejected by Feng San Gongzi, known as the "Piano King" of the capital city, and lost to Liu Jia's daughter, Liu Ruyun, ranking second. Later, she also obtained a third place in poetry composition, but it was hard to conceal Ye Ying's disappointed and defeated expression. On the other hand, Xi Xia Princess, as an outsider, performed exceptionally well in the subsequent competitions, achieving excellent results of third place in piano skills, first place in calligraphy, and second place in chess skills. As a result, Xi Xia Princess became the champion of this Hundred Flowers Grand Assembly with two first places, one second place, and one third place.

  The Princess Zhaoyang was clearly very pleased with the result, and the judges on stage also showed more appreciation for this foreign princess. Just as Old Man Su was about to announce the results of the Hundred Flowers Gathering, Princess Qixia leaned in close to Princess Zhaoyang's ear and whispered a few words, then stood up and bowed apologetically to Old Man Su before turning around to look at Ye Ying below with a gloomy expression, a hint of cold smile flashing across her eyebrows.

  "Everyone, please excuse me. Xiāo Xiǎ requests a rematch with Miss Yè Sì in the dance competition." Princess Xiāo Xiǎ said loudly, and the scene suddenly erupted into a commotion.

  Feng Zhi Yao lazily leaned back in her chair, smiling at Xiaya Gongzhu and said: "To be able to see the princess and the number one beauty of the capital's dance skills again, I believe everyone present is delighted. However...I don't know why we need to have a rematch?"

  Qixia Princess looked up and said proudly, "Isn't it said in the Central Plains that there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts? Although this dance is not that kind of martial art, I am not used to being on par with others." As she spoke, she glanced at Ye Ying with disdain, almost saying that Ye Ying was not worthy of being on par with her. The Ye Ying below the stage suddenly turned pale and swayed, as if about to fall over. The people present couldn't help but feel that Qixia Princess was bullying others too much. However, Qixia Princess didn't care about other people's opinions, only staring fixedly at Ye Ying.

  The phoenix's distant and lazy phoenix eyes swept over the sitting Mo Jing Lei with a gloomy expression, and smiled: "Your Highness King Lei, what do you think? After all... Miss Ye Si is your fiancée."

  Mo Jingli glanced at Ye Ying below the stage, and his cold eyes had a hint of fluctuation. He said lightly, "Is Princess Qixia dissatisfied with Yuemei's evaluation?"

  Yao Ji smiled, and suddenly a hundred charms were born. "If Princess Qixia has a more beautiful dance, Yao Ji is naturally willing to appreciate it. I just don't know if there's such an honor."

  Mo Jing Lei was silent. Although he didn't know much about dance, Mo Jing Lei naturally knew that Ye Ying and Qi Xia Gong Zhu's dancing skills should be on par with each other from the results given by Yao Ji earlier. However, dance is an art form that is appreciated with one's eyes. Even if the two people's foundation was similar, Qi Xia Gong Zhu's passionate performance was obviously more moving than Ye Ying's elegant and refined style. This situation could also be called "the melody is high but the audience is few". If Ye Ying lost to Qi Xia Gong Zhu again... Mo Jing Lei's handsome sword-like eyebrows gradually furrowed.

  Seeing him not speaking, the eldest princess Zhao Yang on the main seat frowned slightly, "Jing Lei."

  "Oh no......"

  A low cry came from under the stage, followed by the crisp sound of porcelain hitting the ground. The crowd looked around and saw that the maid next to Ye Ying was kowtowing on the ground, begging for mercy, while Ye Ying's face turned pale as she covered her left arm with her hand. Her left sleeve was already wet. Apparently, when the maid had served tea earlier, she had accidentally spilled it all over Ye Ying's body.

  "Ying'er..." Mo Jing Lei stood up and jumped down from the stage, embracing Ye Ying in his arms. With one kick, he sent the kneeling maid tumbling away. "Scram!"

  The princess's face suddenly turned iron-green, and Mo Jinglei kicked the maid of the Princess's mansion, "Someone, please call a doctor to treat Miss Ye."

  The ladies present looked at this sudden situation and were somewhat stunned. Although each one tried their best to maintain the demeanor of a lady, it did not prevent them from exchanging opinions in various ways behind the scenes.

  "Tsk, Ah Lian, you'd better be careful, this sister of yours is quite ruthless." After several hours of sitting dryly, Mu Rong Ting's way of addressing Ye Lian had evolved from "Miss Ye" and "Ye Lian" to the more intimate "Ah Lian". To say that it was really just an accident that the maid spilled water on Ye Ying, Mu Rong Ting wouldn't believe it even if she bet her own not-so-book-loving brain. What a coincidence that Princess Qi Xiang had just issued a challenge, and then Ye Ying got scalded?

  Hu Tianxiang furrowed her brow, "I don't know why, but I have a bad premonition."

  Ye Li raised an eyebrow, and before she could speak, she heard Ye Ying's weak and regretful voice say to Princess Qi Xiang: "Princess, I'm really sorry. I'm afraid I won't be able to compete with you. Since you're not convinced... why don't you ask my sister to take my place? My sister is the eldest daughter of the Shangshu Mansion, and she certainly won't disappoint you. Sister, what do you say?"

  Upon hearing this, Ye Li's normally calm face fell. How could Ye Ying not know that she couldn't dance? If she lost, it would naturally be Ye Li who was useless and had lost face for the Shangshu Mansion, not Ye Ying being inferior to Princess Qixia. She had successfully avoided the possibility of losing to Princess Qixia while also making Ye Li lose face at her first social gathering. Indeed, a good calculation.

  "Do as Yinger said!" Mo Jingli ordered impatiently. Without waiting for the imperial physician to arrive, he directly picked up Ye Ying and prepared to leave the scene.

  Watching Mo Jing Lei leave without hesitation, the eyes of the princess sank, and after a while, she said in a low voice: "Since that's the case, let Miss Ye San replace Miss Ye Si."

  Ye Li speechless: Hasn't anyone ever thought of asking her if she can dance?

  Almost everyone's eyes fell on Ye Li, and Qin Zheng and the others also looked at her nervously. Although they had previously urged Ye Li to take a place, they didn't really mean to force her to do so. Not only were they new friends, but also considering Qin Zheng's future relationship with Ye Li, they couldn't harm her.

  Qī Xiá gōng zhǔ yīn wèi Mò Jǐng Lí hǎo Yè Yīng de lí qù xīn zhōng zhèng nù huǒ zhòng shāo, zhèng hǎo bèi Mò Jǐng Lí tuī chū lái dǐng tì de Yè Lí hái shì Mò Jǐng Lí de qián wèi hūn qī. yú shì Qī Xiá gōng zhǔ mǎn jiàng de nù huǒ jiù zhí jiē duì dùn le Yè Lí, tiāo le tiāo jìng zhì de liǔ méi, "Yè xiǎo jiě, nǐ xiān qǐng ba."

  Ye Li stood up helplessly and met the resentful gaze of Princess Xue Xia, thinking for a moment before saying, "I admit defeat."

  Everyone, including Xiāo Xiá Princess, was stunned. After a while, Xiāo Xiá Princess came back to her senses and glared at Ye Lǐ: "Do you look down on me? I don't need your permission!"

  Ye Li shook her head helplessly, "I didn't let the princess win, I truly admit defeat."

  "It's not worth winning if you don't put up a fight, even if I, the princess, emerge victorious."

  Forcing someone who can't dance to do so is even more unwise, right? Ye Li let out a light sigh and looked sincerely at the angrily staring Xiaya Princess above her. "Princess, I won't be able to dance." So, you were played by Ye Ying.

  "Hehe, to have someone who can't dance take over, Prince Lei and the future Princess Lei are really creative." Feng Zhiyao's voice was lazy and nostalgic, with a tone of schadenfreude.

  Qixia Princess was also stunned, "Why can't you dance!"

  "Because dancing is not a compulsory course for the young ladies of the Great Chu. I believe many of you present here cannot dance." Ye Li replied with confidence. Not knowing how to dance was not something shameful, in fact, there were very few young ladies from noble families who specialized in learning dance, unless they personally loved it or their family had plans to send them into the palace.

  Since Ye Li has already made it clear that she doesn't know how to dance, forcing her to do so would be unreasonable. Princess Qixia also understands that she was played by Ye Ying and can only temporarily suppress the anger in her heart. Staring at the calm and serene expression of the blue-clothed girl below the stage, with a faint smile, her eyes flashed slightly: "Just now, I didn't see Miss Ye take the stage to try it out either. Since Fourth Young Miss Ye has so much confidence in her sister, then please let Miss Ye show off her skills in other areas instead. Or... " With a hint of a smile, she looked at Ye Li and paused for a moment before speaking loudly: "Or is Miss Ye not good at anything?"

  Ye Li lowered her head in silence for a moment, then raised it and looked at Qiu Xia Gongzhu with a faint gaze: "So, Ye Li has made a fool of herself."

  Digression

  I feel like I'm being too verbose, my thoughts are already running far ahead, but when I type, I find that some parts aren't finished here and there. Is it because the plot isn't tight enough? I really like the structure of Taiwanese dramas. One chapter for meeting, two to three chapters for falling in love, four to seven chapters for emotional entanglements, eight to nine chapters for reconciliation, and ten chapters for a grand finale~