The answer to Yan Xijun's question was not him, but two old men who rushed over here.

  "Third prince, how could you suddenly slip away from the banquet? Do you know this is disrespect to the Emperor of Xi Lin country? Hurry up and follow us back."

  "Yes, Third Prince, even if you don't like this banquet, you can't leave halfway through. The people of our Xia Kingdom have always been very polite."

  Yan Xijun smiled as she watched the two old men, one on either side of the handsome young man, carrying him towards the Qiankun Hall. As soon as they came up, they started muttering to themselves, completely ignoring the few people around them. These two old men were really interesting.

  "Hey, what's your name?" Xia Sa was held down by two old ministers from her own country, unable to move her body, but he still didn't know her name, so he turned his head and shouted at her.

  Yan Xijun smiled and looked at the young man with a mixture of amusement and helplessness.

  Xia Sa saw that she didn't respond to his words, and he felt very helpless. He could only anxiously say: "I am the third prince of Xia Zhi Guo, my name is Xia Sa, remember it."

  "Third Prince, have you taken a liking to that little woman?" one of the elderly men couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

  "Nonsense!" Xia Sa said: "You two old things, let me go quickly!"

  Another old man said: "Third prince, I advise you, don't think about attacking the Western Border Country, and even less so their women. You should know that this emperor is not easy to provoke."

  "What's there to be afraid of? Others may fear him, but I, the Crown Prince, am not afraid."

  "Alas, you're still young, you don't know what happened that year."

  "What's wrong?"

  Two old men reminisced and recounted the events of that year, successfully restoring their master, the Third Prince, to his position in the Qiankun Hall.

  Yan Xijun shook her head and watched them leave, just about to walk away when she was called back.

  "Beautiful girl." Luo Zhong had just walked out the door and was gazing at that faint figure in the distance, when he hastily called out to her and rushed over.

  "Old Master Luo." Yan Xijun supported the panting Luo Zhong and said.

  "Yan Mei Ren, you've finally arrived! Quickly follow the servant in!" Luo Zhong didn't even bother to wipe away the sweat on his forehead, and upon seeing her, he felt like he had seen a lifesaver.

  Yan Xikun's heart was filled with doubts, and he asked: "Lord Luo, what's going on? Why the urgency?"

  "Alas, it's hard to say! You'd better follow the miscellaneous family quickly!" Luo Zhong dusted off his clothes and hurried forward in a rush.

  Luo Zhong led them towards a side door of the Qiankun Hall instead of its main entrance.

  Xue Lian and Wen Qin followed behind, looking at each other in dismay. Isn't this the passage where the performers are supposed to walk? What does Lord Luo mean by this?

  "Miss Yan, His Majesty knows you're a renowned talent from our neighboring country of Xi Lin. There's a performance tonight that requires your participation, please don't mind."

  "What's going on, Lord Luo?" As he followed Lord Luo into the side gate, he could hear the sound of music from a distance.

  "You'll know right away."

  Old Mr. Luo led them anxiously across the passageway and into a small compartment, where the sweet sound of musical instruments clearly entered everyone's ears.

  Luo Zhong lifted the wooden board on the left, and through the thin white gauze, his line of sight was just aligned with the spacious stage in the main hall. Several people heard the sound and looked over, only to see a woman dancing on the stage.

  The woman's body was dressed in extremely little clothing, a thin layer of purple gauze only wrapped around a few important parts, her body was very soft, soft like a slender snake that had just shed its skin, she was dancing on the stage, anyway, visually it looked great.

  "It's a good thing, I finally made it." Luo Zhong said to Yan Xijun: "Yan Mei Ren, please wait here for a moment, I'll go and report to the Emperor first."

  Luo Zhong finished speaking and then walked out of another hidden door.

  Yan Xijun watched him walk to Chu Yixuan's side, whispered a few words in his ear, and then Chu Yixuan nodded. He and the Empress Dowager looked over at her place.

  Luo Zhong came back soon.

  Lu Zhongdao said, "Yan Meiren, at this moment on the stage is performing a dancer brought by the Western Regions envoy. Her dance skills are astonishing and the dance she performs is unprecedented. The Western Regions envoy uses this dance to bet with the Emperor for three city pools."

  "They said that if no one in our country can surpass this dancer's skills, then the three cities on the border will belong to them."

  "What? Isn't this blatant provocation?" Yan Xijun exclaimed.

  "It's true, the Western envoy came prepared this time. They had already conducted a small test earlier and brought another mysterious woman who produced a pair of couplets that no one in our country can solve."

  "What's the pair coming out?"

  "Flowers and leaves are lush and green, with vibrant red colors. Only the gentle breeze caresses them, not letting the rain or wind disturb them, keeping them cool and refreshing."

  "Flowers and leaves, green and red, only the fragrance of the incense burner is carefully supported, not allowing the rain and wind to be clear and cold." Yan Xijun muttered to herself, fell silent for a moment, her mind searching through the books she had read before, it seemed like she had read something about this before.

  "Can you imagine how beautiful she is?"

  "Wait, it should work."

  "Damn it," Luo Zhong slapped his forehead, "I completely forgot to tell you the important thing."

  "What's wrong?" Yan Xijun asked. At this time, the music on the stage had just stopped, and the dancer had already finished her last move.

  A thunderous applause erupted from under the stage.

  She smiled triumphantly, bowed to the audience and said: "I'm not talented, I've made a fool of myself, please let the dancer from Xizheng country also present a dance, I'd like to have a competition."

  The Western Regions envoy chimed in: "Yes, please have Your Majesty quickly dispatch someone to present a dance!"

  Chu Yixuan didn't speak, he just silently pinched the wine cup in his hand.

  The Western envoy saw him reveal that expression, and even more loudly said: "If the Emperor does not send anyone else to the stage for a trial, then those three cities previously mentioned will belong to my country."

  "Haha, you think it's too early to take my territory!" Chu Yixuan domineeringly finished the wine in his hand, "This time, I'll let you lose thoroughly!"

  "Don't forget, you lost three cities as well."

  "Haha, no problem, our national leader's words count, just as you people from the Central Plains say: A great man's word is his bond, and four horses cannot overtake what has been spoken."

  "Haha," Chu Yixuan waved his hand to the left.

  Luo Zhong, hiding in the small attic, saw his master wave his hand and hastily made a gesture to Yan Xijun: "Yan Mei Ren, I'm counting on you."

  "Lord Luo, what do you mean by this? Are you asking me to go on stage?"

  Luo Zhongdao said: "Exactly, this is the emperor's decree!"

  Yan Xijun hastily waved her hand: "No way, how can I jump over her? The talents of the Western Border are numerous, let His Majesty find someone else."

  "Yan Mei Ren, don't be modest, in the Western Border Country, who else can surpass that dancing girl? You have been skilled in music, chess, calligraphy and painting since childhood, this competition is tailor-made for you."

  "It won't work, I don't have confidence!" Just now, after watching the dance of that Western dancer, Yan Xikun really didn't have any assurance.

  Yan Xijun and Luo Zhong were whispering to each other on this side, while the other side of the stage couldn't wait any longer.

  The Western Region dancer looked left and right, but didn't see anyone coming up, thinking that others didn't dare to come on stage to compete with her. She loudly said: "What? The dancer from the Western Border Country still hasn't entered the scene, making me wait so long!"

  "Hahaha, Your Majesty, could it be that the dancers from your country are afraid and retreated at the last minute?" The several envoys from the Western Regions burst into loud laughter.

  Chu Yixuan was not annoyed or angry, nor did he argue back. He simply had his hands clenched tightly in the wide sleeves of his robe. The small Western envoy actually dared to be so arrogant and deceive people too much.

  If it weren't for concerns about the safety of the imperial uncle as a hostage, he would have long since sent troops to attack the Western Regions. Alas, he has been tolerating and enduring until now, only to find that they are making gradual encroachments.

  Lu Zhong, what are you doing? Why haven't you let Yan Xijun come on stage yet? Chu Yixuan's handsome face turned gloomy as he looked over there.

  Yan Wu Xin also looked in that direction, his heart was also very anxious, how could that dead girl not appear to offer a dance, if she delayed any longer, the three cities would be lost just like that.

  "Beautiful Yan, miscellaneous households are asking for you, for the sake of our Western Border Country, for those three cities, please hurry up and get on stage to perform a dance!"

  "I..."

  "You must have also heard about the cruelty of the Western Regions' people, if those three cities fall into their hands, it will be our country's citizens who suffer, how can you bear to do this!"

  "Alright, I'll go dance, don't blame me if I lose!" Yan Xijun finally compromised and slowly walked towards the stage.

  "Yan Mei Ren, you will definitely win, we all believe in you!" Luo Zhong shouted at her.

  Yan Xijun turned back and smiled gratefully at him before walking onto the stage.