Chapter 34 - Sword Dance

 Ye Chuyan bowed her head and remained silent. It is not impossible for a minister to dance, but this is a palace banquet to entertain foreign envoys, and everything should be decided by Pei Ye.

Pei Ye played with the wine cup in his hand, pursed his lips, and said nothing; the tassels blocked his face so that people could not see his emotions. He was not the Queen Mother's biological son. In order to maintain the status of the Ye family, the Queen Mother repeatedly expressed her desire to make Ye Chuyan the queen when he first ascended the throne. She also took him to the Ye Mansion to see Ye Chuyan. He was still young when he ascended the throne, and the Queen Mother had controlled the government for many years on the pretext of assisting the government. He hated the people of the Ye family, so how could he let the Queen Mother do what she wanted?

On the day he went to the Ye Mansion, he brought Pei Xiuyan with him, asked Pei Xiuyan to wear Ye Chuyan's favourite red dress, and taught her to practice swords in the snow. Ye Chuyan really fell in love with Pei Xiuyan at first sight. From then on, Ye Chuyan loved Pei Xiuyan wholeheartedly. After she came of age, she said she would never enter the palace to be the queen, and she rarely entered the palace to avoid taboos. Later, the Queen Mother could not persuade Ye Chuyan and agreed to let her marry Pei Xiuyan. After the Queen Mother passed away, Ye Chuyan rarely entered the palace. He had not seen this cousin for a long time.

Today, she was dressed like a fairy in the moon, which really amazed him. He suddenly wanted to see the fairy dancing with a sword.

"I've heard that Princess Qing's sword dance is the best in Kyoto. Let Emperor Tianwu see the elegance of our Dafeng women." Pei Ye put down the wine cup in his hand and said.

Once the emperor opened his mouth, how could he not obey?

Ye Chuyan slowly stood up.

Pei Xiuyan had no expression on his face; his jaw was tight, and his eyes were dark.

Na Sheng glanced at Ye Chuyan and smiled evilly: "I heard that the ancient moon god danced with swords barefoot on the drum, which made people crazy. Can Princess Qing imitate it?"

The hall was quiet again, and there was a storm in this silence. It is said that a thousand years ago, the moon god came to the world to survive the catastrophe and reincarnated as a female doctor. She was born with ice-like skin and jade-like bones, and her fragrance was cultivated with jade seals. She has superb medical skills and saves people. In troubled times, she can save one person, but not ten thousand people. In order to quell the war between the two countries, she danced with swords barefoot on the giant drum on the battlefield. After the dance, everyone was crazy. The soldiers were finally moved and put down their weapons.

Na Sheng's proposal is quite intriguing. Rumours are just rumours, after all. Dafeng is a place of courtesy and justice. If ordinary women's snow-white feet are seen, they should cut off their feet to prove their innocence. Otherwise, they will be despised by the world. Only prostitutes would be so mean as to expose their feet. Did Na Sheng really want Ye Chuyan to learn from the Moon Goddess and ask for friendship between the two countries, or did he deliberately insult her?

Pei Xiuyan's eyebrows turned cold. "Emperor Tianwu, what do you mean by this?"

Na Sheng ignored Pei Xiuyan and said to Pei Ye, "Of course, this emperor is intentional about making friends. After Princess Qing finishes her sword dance, this emperor is willing to cede Licheng to Dafeng to show his sincerity."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone was in an uproar.

Licheng is a small city at the junction of Dafeng and Beirong. Because it connects the two countries, trade is developed, and the economy is prosperous. Although it is a small city, its geographical location is extremely important. It is a must-go place for people travelling from south to north, and it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Na Sheng meant to make a sincere friend.

Pei Ye, who had been sitting on the high platform, suddenly chuckled and said, "Princess Qing is the wife of King Qing. Although I am the emperor, I cannot force anyone to do anything. I should ask King Qing for his opinion on this matter."

In theory, in order to maintain the reputation of Dafeng, he should reject this proposal. However, he did not want to give up something that was within his reach. Therefore, he gave the choice of this matter to Pei Xiuyan. It would be reasonable for Pei Xiuyan not to agree. No husband wants to see his wife barefoot in front of outsiders. If he agreed, it would only represent Pei Xiuyan's personal wishes and would not affect his reputation as the emperor of Dafeng. Afterwards, he could get Licheng for free.

Ye Chuyan turned her head and looked at Pei Xiuyan, her whole body tense, with pleading and expectation in her eyes. As long as Pei Xiuyan agreed to it tonight, after dinner, the literati would repeatedly mention her barefoot in front of everyone, and she would hear all kinds of unbearable rumors. After the charge of treason, the Ye family will have another shame.

Ye Chuyan and Pei Xiuyan, standing beside him, instantly became the focus of the hall.

Pei Xiuyan looked around. He found that there were expectations, ridicule, contempt, and gloating in the eyes cast. He understood that Pei Ye wanted Licheng and wanted him to be the villain. His political opponents were waiting to see him laugh and see if he would refuse Pei Ye's request for the sake of his reputation as a princess. He could object. But he didn't want his political opponents to succeed, and he didn't want to reject Pei Ye's intentions for Ye Chuyan.

Pei Xiuyan stood up and bowed to Na Sheng, saying, "Emperor Tianwu is so sincere; how can I be unwilling?"

After that, he smiled and said to Ye Chuyan, "Go..."

Ye Chuyan's tense shoulders collapsed. She thought that Pei Xiuyan would not agree to such a shameful thing for her because they had known each other for so many years.

She was wrong. For a cold and selfish person, power and status are more important than anything else.

Ye Chuyan smiled sweetly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty." There was only despair in her eyes.

She took off her socks in the side room of the palace and walked slowly to the centre of Hanyuan Palace. Pei Ye had already ordered people to prepare a giant drum and a silver-snow iron sword.

Ye Chuyan's feet were extremely small and delicate, like jade carvings. With today's dress, she was like a moon goddess on earth, holding a silver sword and stepping on the giant drum step by step. She glanced in the direction of Wu Mu. The only thing to be thankful for today was that Wu Mu was drunk and taken away not long after the palace banquet began, so he didn't have to watch her being humiliated here.

The sound of stringed instruments and wind instruments started, and Ye Chuyan danced with a sword. Her sword dance combined internal strength. Every time she flew into the air and fell, the "dong dong" sound on the giant drum, accompanied by silk music, was shocking. Her dance was elegant and powerful, as graceful as a startled swan and as graceful as a swimming dragon. Some people were shocked by her figure, some drooled over her jade feet, and some marvelled at her beauty.

Pei Xiuyan caught the eyes of all these people. He lowered his head to drink, his eyes full of coldness. Nan Gongli saw the veins on the back of Pei Xiuyan's hand bulging when he drank and smiled meaningfully.

Na Sheng stared at the red mole on Ye Chuyan's right ankle with a strange look. It's her; it's her!

The drumbeats and music stopped at the highest point. It took a long time for everyone's hearts to come back. Seeing this dance in this life, they would die without regrets. Nan Gongli took the lead in applauding, and applause broke out in the hall for a while. Pei Ye was very happy and ordered a big reward for Ye Chuyan on the spot. Pei Xiuyan refused the reward in the name of his job.

After Ye Chuyan put on her socks, she sat next to Pei Xiuyan again, but the two of them kept quiet tacitly.

The atmosphere of the banquet reached its climax, and for a moment, the atmosphere was lively and bustling. Several royal nobles on the opposite side looked at Ye Chuyan, intentionally or unintentionally, and glanced at Ye Chuyan's feet with ill intentions and dirty looks on their faces.

Pei Xiuyan looked up, and his body was full of a murderous aura, and the eyes on the opposite side were immediately retracted.

Ye Chuyan was beside Pei Xiuyan, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Since the prince asked me to perform barefoot, he should have thought of such a result, so why pretend to be angry?"

Pei Xiuyan froze for a moment, lowered his head, and said, "I..."

"The prince is helpless; I understand."

The sarcasm and sadness in Ye Chuyan's tone made people feel distressed.

Pei Xiuyan felt a huge regret in his heart. He shouldn't have been so obsessed as to let Ye Chuyan perform. If he refused, it would only make Pei Ye unhappy for a while, which would not be a big deal. Now, everyone present saw something that belonged only to him. He wanted to dig out the eyes of these people. All the good things about Ye Chuyan should belong only to him.

"Ah Yan, you don't have to be sad. I will definitely protect you in the future."

Ye Chuyan whispered: "Pei Xiuyan, you don't deserve to call me Ah Yan."

People who are qualified to call her Ah Yan will never let her be humiliated.

"Don't worry, my heart is already broken, and the humiliation you brought me has already made me numb. I won't be sad."