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"Just to show off your skills, show them off!" she muttered. "But why dress it up in such grandiose terms!"

Guo Mei, who was holding an apple to feed her, secretly grimaced. In the entire Capital city, probably only this little tyrant dared to say Su Qiuyu was showing off!

Since Su Qiuyu had made the suggestion, naturally no one objected.

Lin Yuan removed her finger from the wine glass, thinking to herself that Tian Hui really was clever, and she indeed hit the nail on the head. However, from the current situation, it seemed that Su Qiuyu wasn’t only targeting her, but perhaps, Yao Hanai and Yan Ruchun as well!

But there was someone who just wouldn’t play along.

Amidst the chorus of agreement, Yan Ruchun suddenly said icily, "Whoever wants to perform can perform, but don’t drag me into it."

Seeing her reluctance, instead of being offended, everyone smiled good-naturedly.

Lin Yuan blinked, not quite understanding.

Over there, Yao Hanai had already agreed with a smile, "Don’t worry, I’m planning to keep the banquet going. If you performed, we would all have to wrap up early today."

Yan Ruchun rolled her eyes, astonishingly, without any retort.

While Lin Yuan was still puzzled, she heard Xiao Linshuang already asking Guo Mei and Cheng Yuexiu.

Cheng Yuexiu, who had only arrived in the Capital city two years ago, naturally didn’t know about these matters. Guo Mei, on the other hand, was different. Although her father’s position wasn’t high, he had been in the Capital city for many years and was quite well-informed.

As it turned out, during the year of Consort Liu’s birthday, the Emperor had specially held a banquet to celebrate, inviting some of Consort Liu’s close friends into the palace. As Consort Liu’s niece, Yan Ruchun naturally had to attend.

During the banquet, the Emperor praised Consort Liu’s graceful dancing and wanted to see if Yan Ruchun had inherited her aunt’s graceful dancing skills.

Yan Ruchun had always been like a tomboy since she was young. If it weren’t for her strict father, she might have sneaked out like Xia Zheng and roamed the Martial World. She was totally clueless about dancing or singing.

However, the Emperor was unaware and insisted on her performing.

Who could defy the Emperor’s decree? Yan Ruchun had no choice but to perform as if she was being pushed onto the stage.

Bizarrely, her performance indeed left a very deep impression on the Emperor and all the families of the ministers present, still vivid in memory even after three or four years.

Why?

Because Yan Ruchun simply couldn’t dance, she knew no movements, and even though her father had a maid perform alongside her to follow, she couldn’t keep up. In the end, she just kept spinning in circles, and she spun for about seven or eight rounds.

At first, everyone cheered, saying she was amazing. But as she spun, her body tilted more and more, her steps became increasingly unsteady, until she spun right up to the neighboring guests’ table.

Instantly, the banquet was in disarray, the wine was no longer wine, and a dizzy Yan Ruchun collapsed, toppling over a hefty Madam.

Luckily, it was Consort Liu’s birthday banquet, and she was Consort Liu’s most cherished child, so the Emperor did not blame her, considering Consort Liu’s face.

However, when the Emperor was leaving, he saw Yan Ruchun, who was so pale and nearly vomiting, and still very "kindly" reminded her father: don’t let her dance ever again!

And so, Yan Ruchun, who was forbidden to dance by imperial decree, became the most carefree person at every banquet, living an even more comfortable and leisurely life.

Upon hearing Guo Mei’s words, Lin Yuan’s first reaction was: could that plump Madam who fell to the ground be Xu Muqing’s mother?

As she pondered, Xu Muqing very cooperatively sprang from her seat. With that spring, several young misses nearby suffered, with quite a few apples being shaken to the ground.

Quivering with her ample flesh, Xu Muqing excitedly widened her eyes and said eagerly, "Alright, alright, a performance, I’ll do it! I’ll show everyone a..."

"Stop!"

Before Xu Muqing could finish, Yan Ruchun decisively interrupted her, speaking very sternly, "Put away your sword dance! That’s not dancing; it’s just your body fat shaking back and forth!"

Xu Muqing, having been stopped so bluntly by Yan Ruchun, pouted her little mouth, her chubby cheeks turning rosy and looking incredibly cute.

Seeing her aggrieved expression, Yan Ruchun closed her eyes, turned her face away, and muttered to herself: "I’m doing this for your own good, to save you from being laughed at by these people!"

Yan Ruchun didn’t perform, and Xu Muqing, though she wanted to, wasn’t allowed to. The rest fell silent.

Though they hadn’t discussed it beforehand, at this moment they all tacitly understood that today’s protagonist was not them. One sitting at the top was the Prime Minister’s daughter; the other was the Capital city’s number one talented lady. Of course, today’s highlight belonged to them.

Besides...

Everyone’s gaze involuntarily turned towards Lin Yuan who was sitting leisurely, shaking their heads; she was a silly girl indeed, still looking at the food at this time. Wait until later to see how she will embarrass herself!

Having wiped Xiao Linshuang’s mouth with a handkerchief, Cheng Yuexiu looked towards Su Qiuyu with eager eyes, her gaze shifting as she suddenly said with a smile, "Among the ladies of the Capital city, it’s Miss Su and Miss Yao who have the best skills on the zither.

Both misses are present today; I wonder who is the superior one? "

Lin Yuan glanced sideways, moving her body subtly. Today Cheng Yuexiu seemed to be Su Qiuyu’s spokesperson. She must have had some indication from Su Qiuyu to say that. Could it be that Su Qiuyu was determined to compete with the Capital city’s number one talented lady?

When no one took up the conversation, Cheng Yuexiu was about to suggest a comparison between the two ladies but was preemptively cut off by Xiao Linshuang.

The young girl snorted indifferently at Cheng Yuexiu, "Miss Cheng, your mouth really never rests. Look at Miss Guo! Never mind, since you so dislike staying by my side, why don’t you go listen to Miss Su play the zither!"

Cheng Yuexiu choked and was actually about to nod in agreement to go to Su Qiuyu’s side, but seeing Xiao Linshuang’s smug raised eyebrows, her heart jumped, and she closed her mouth with an embarrassed smile.

Guo Mei gave a cold smile and said nothing. Now she realized she had been played for a fool by Su Qiuyu and Cheng Yuexiu today. The earlier matter where they pressured her to take all the blame by leveraging her father’s official status—she remembered it painfully well!

Although Cheng Yuexiu fell silent, Su Qiuyu’s purpose had been achieved.

Glancing sideways at Yao Hanai, Su Qiuyu awaited her nod of agreement.

Although her target for today was Lin Yuan, she had no qualms about seizing the opportunity to snatch the title of Capital city’s number one talented lady for herself.

Yao Hanai, how could she fail to see through Su Qiuyu’s intentions?

So confident was she, naturally unafraid.

Yao Hanai elegantly adjusted her hair, still with that composed demeanor, "Miss Cheng praises me too highly. Miss Su is widely known for her beauty, Han Yan does not dare to compare with Miss Su."