As the Crown Prince took his seat, the scene returned to calm. The Prince of Xuan once again presided over this musical appreciation banquet.
The Prince of Xuan clapped his hands, and then a troupe of dancers and musicians walked out gracefully, dancing and playing music on the stage in the middle of the garden. This musical appreciation banquet officially kicked off.
The music filled the air. The dancers on the stage danced gracefully to the rhythm, their postures so charming that it was a feast for the eyes.
The Crown Prince held a wine cup in his hand, his head swaying gently to the music, looking quite enjoying himself.
However, Xiao Zisheng beside him kept a straight face all the time. Although his eyes were on the dancers below, his fists under the table were clenched tightly.
As for the Prince of Xuan on the other side, needless to say, he seemed absent - minded and had lost all interest in appreciating the music.
Bai Jun remained indifferent from beginning to end, as if everything had nothing to do with her.
People in Shengjing City were fond of elegance. Besides enjoying flowers and scenery on weekdays, they also liked to appreciate music and play musical instruments. And the musical appreciation banquet had its own procedures.
After the banquet started, everyone first enjoyed a song and dance performance. Then the host of the banquet or a more respected person would set a question on - site to test everyone's musical proficiency. People would exchange their musical skills on - site, which was quite interesting.
Actually, to be precise, the musical appreciation banquet was not much different from a poetry - reciting gathering where people composed poems on the spot. Both tested a person's talent and knowledge.
Su Yuanyuan had attended one or two musical appreciation banquets in her previous life and almost always won the first place. She was quite confident about this one too, but...
She glanced at the Crown Prince reclining on his seat on the high platform and Su Qingyu sitting with Jiang Lanyi, then frowned tightly.
She always felt that something was wrong.
As the last drumbeat sounded, the dancers froze in a beautiful pose on the stage. The Crown Prince said "Good" and led the applause. Seeing this, the people below had no choice but to follow.
After the applause died down, the Crown Prince said to Bai Jun, "Today, this banquet was originally set up by the Fourth Prince to welcome Mr. Shanyin. But since I'm here, I also want to participate. How about I set the first question for this musical appreciation banquet, Mr. Bai?"
Bai Jun had no objection and replied, "Your Highness, please go ahead."
Then the Crown Prince looked at the Prince of Xuan and asked with a smile, "Since it's a competition, there should be some stakes to make it more interesting. Fourth Prince, I wonder what rewards will be given to the winner of today's musical appreciation banquet?"
The Prince of Xuan said, "The winner of today's musical appreciation banquet will receive a box of rare musical scores I've collected. And Mr. Shanyin will recommend him or her to become a music teacher in the Imperial College."
"I'll add another stake. The winner of today's musical appreciation banquet, I will recommend him or her to become the chief court musician and play music for the Heaven - Worshiping Ceremony."
As soon as the Crown Prince finished speaking, there were gasps from below.
Playing music for the Heaven - Worshiping Ceremony as the chief court musician? This was an even greater honor than becoming a music teacher in the Imperial College! You know, the Heaven - Worshiping Ceremony was an important occasion for the emperor to communicate with heaven and earth and pray for good weather in the coming year. If one could play music at the Heaven - Worshiping Ceremony, it was equivalent to being recognized by heaven.
So far, in the Great Chu, only Mr. Shanyin and his deceased disciple Su Yuanyuan had ever had such an opportunity.
The Crown Prince propped his chin with one hand. His evil and somewhat lascivious eyes scanned the guests below one by one, taking in their excited expressions.
But when he passed by Su Yuanyuan, he paused for a moment again, his eyes full of interest.
"That little girl over there," he suddenly pointed at Su Yuanyuan. "You don't seem happy? What, do you look down on the stake I've offered? Or do you have other ideas in mind?"
The Crown Prince didn't name her directly, but for a moment, several pairs of eyes were cast on Su Yuanyuan.
Seeing that his younger sister had caught the Crown Prince's attention, in the men's seating area across a stream, Su Huaichen, Su Huayuan, and Su Huaisheng all looked worried on their faces. Su Zeqian on the other side was also worried about Su Yuanyuan.
Even Xiao Zisheng on the stage couldn't help but breathe a little heavier.
Facing everyone's scrutiny and probing, Su Yuanyuan stood up, curtsied to the Crown Prince, and said, "Your Highness, you've misunderstood. My family and I used to live in Mobei. There are many rules in Shengjing City that I don't fully understand yet. I've never heard of the Heaven - Worshiping Ceremony you mentioned, let alone know its importance. That's why my reaction is different from others'."
The Crown Prince had noticed Su Yuanyuan as soon as she entered the garden of the Prince of Xuan's Mansion.
As the crown prince of the Great Chu, he had seen many famous ladies, and there were more than a dozen beautiful women in his Eastern Palace. However, when he saw her for the first time, he was still amazed by her beauty.
This little girl had a different kind of aura from the famous ladies in Shengjing. She was like a bright and dazzling pearl, and one would be instantly attracted by the brilliance she emitted.
If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, he would have walked up to her and pulled her into his arms for a kiss.
At this moment, she stood among the crowd neither over - awed nor humble. The hair ornaments on her head sparkled as she moved. The appreciation and scrutiny in the Crown Prince's eyes became more obvious. His eyes even moved blatantly down from her face as he asked,
"Are you the beloved daughter of the Duke of Yong? What's your name? Hurry up and tell me."
The Crown Prince's gaze made Su Yuanyuan extremely uncomfortable. In her previous life, when she was the second legitimate daughter of the Pingyang Marquis Mansion, she knew that the crown prince of the Great Chu was extremely lustful. Apart from a crown princess and two concubines who were officially married, the rest in his Eastern Palace were all maids or dancers he had favored on a whim.
She thought that Su Qingyu must have seen this weakness of the Crown Prince and used her body to gain benefits in order to get the Crown Prince as her backer.
Before Su Qingyu disappeared, her eyes had been ruined by Su Yuanyuan. The fact that she could regain her eyesight in such a short time meant that there was a highly skilled doctor beside the Crown Prince. Maybe the tendons in Su Qingyu's hands that had been severed had also been reconnected.
But that wasn't the point. The Crown Prince's sudden interest in her wasn't a good thing.
Moreover, now the Crown Prince was asking her to tell her name. What should she do?
Although she had been prepared to be recognized by Bai Jun when she came to the Prince of Xuan's Mansion for the banquet this time, her plan didn't include the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jin. She could let Bai Jun recognize that she was Su Yuanyuan, but she didn't want Xiao Zisheng or others to find out that she was Su Yuanyuan now.
Especially when Su Qingyu was still on the scene.
To avoid complications, Su Yuanyuan replied, "Your Highness, my surname is Su. My family members all call me Yuanbao."