Chapter 243 The last chance
The emperor looked at the crowd below and asked, "Which minister's daughter wants to come out and fight?"
Originally, many young ladies in the audience were eager to try out a dance competition, hoping to stand out. However, when they heard that it was the Hu Xuan dance, they all fell silent.
They have heard of the Hu Xuan dance, but they have never learned it.
Even Zhao Yanran, who was always confident in her dancing skills, sat there without moving.
She did learn the Hu Xuan dance from her master for a few months, but the Hu Xuan dance was not popular in Dayuan, so she did not put in the effort to practice it. She was only good at the folk dance of Dayuan.
The Prime Minister looked at his legitimate daughter and asked in a low voice: "Yanran, didn't you also learn the Huxuan dance from your master? Now is a good opportunity for you to show off, hurry up and accept the challenge."
Zhao Yanran said with an embarrassed look on her face, "Dad, if it was any other dance, I would definitely not be afraid, but for this Hu Xuan dance, I have only learned a little bit from my master, I really don't dare to perform on stage."
The emperor saw that no one stood up, and his face darkened immediately. "Is there no one who dares to come out and fight?"
The people below were still silent, so the Queen quickly spoke up, "Your Majesty, I remember Yanran learned the Huxuan dance. Yanran has always had an excellent talent for dancing. Why don't we send Yanran to compete in the Great Abyss?"
When Zhao Yanran heard her aunt recommending her, she immediately thought to herself that this was not good. If she couldn't win the competition, she would lose her reputation as the most talented woman. Wasn't this intended to make her look bad on stage?
The emperor laughed, "Well, the queen is right. Yanran has always been known as the most talented woman in the capital. It should be right to send her to the stage."
The emperor looked at Zhao Yanran in the audience and asked, "Yanran, are you happy for me to send you to fight?"
Zhao Yanran quickly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to win glory for the Great Yuan Kingdom, but I am not very good at Hu Xuan Dance, so I am still a little worried."
Upon hearing this, the Queen immediately said, "Yanran, I know you are always modest. Today is a cultural exchange between several countries. You don't have to be so low-key. Just go up and compete."
Zhao Yanran bit her lip and had to bite the bullet and said, "I obey your order. Please allow me to go down and change my clothes first."
"Well, let's go."
Zhao Yanran changed into a Hu Xuan dance costume with wide long sleeves and colorful ribbons all over her body.
Because Zhao Yanran had extremely outstanding facial features, when she came on stage, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the young talents in the hall couldn't help but stare at her.
"It's so beautiful."
"As expected of the most talented lady in the capital, she is truly both talented and beautiful."
When Zhao Yanran heard those praises, she felt a little elated for a moment.
At first she was a little worried that she would lose the competition, but now she just felt that although she had not learned the Hu Xuan dance very well, at least she could dance it, while the other women might not even know the basic steps.
Emperor Jingxi looked at the third prince of Canglang Country and asked, "Which dancer will your country send to compete with us?"
"Today, the princess will personally compete with the Oayuki dancer."
A clear female voice sounded. It was Princess Qi Jiaqing of the Canglang Kingdom who stood up. She had a confident expression on her face when she said this.
"Okay, let's start the competition."
The musicians brought by the Canglang Kingdom began to play music. They mainly played percussion instruments, accompanied by string drums, cymbals, flutes and other instruments. The music they played had a clear and fast rhythm and a vigorous style.
As the music started, Qi Jiaqing and Zhao Yanran began to twist their bodies at the same time.
Qianhuan ate while watching the competition in the center of the field with great interest.
After all, the Hu Xuan Dance is the national dance of the Canglang Kingdom, and the level of the Canglang Princess is obviously higher than that of Zhao Yanran.
Without even having to watch the ending, Qianhuan could already guess that the Prime Minister's daughter would definitely lose.
The Hu Xuan dance is famous for its spinning movements and graceful dance postures. It is very technical and challenging. Without a solid foundation, it is difficult to dance the dance completely. Especially when spinning, people with a weak foundation may even fall.
As expected by Qianhuan, when the two entered the spinning stage, the princess of Canglang Kingdom performed very stably and kept spinning rapidly, while Zhao Yanran started to feel dizzy after spinning for about ten circles.
Qi Jiaqing was spinning around with a smug expression on her face.
Zhao Yanran was struggling to turn, and finally she stumbled and fell to the ground.
The music stopped abruptly, and Qi Jiaqing clasped her fists and said, "Miss Zhao, thank you for letting me."
Zhao Yanran felt extremely embarrassed and could only retreat to her seat in embarrassment.
The emperor and empress also had embarrassed expressions on their faces.
Qi Beiming stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, you still have two chances. Who do you want to send to fight next?"
The emperor was in a dilemma. Even Zhao Yanran, the most talented woman in the capital, was no match for the other party. Who else could they send?
"Which other young lady is confident that she can win the competition? Come forward and accept the challenge."
Everyone looked at each other, but no one said anything.
The official in charge of the Royal Dance Troupe stood up and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you go to the Royal Dance Troupe and invite a dancer who has studied Huxuan dance to perform?"
"Okay, go and get the best dancer here."
However, the dancer from the Royal Song and Dance Troupe still lost the competition, but her loss was not as ugly as Zhao Yanran's.
The third prince of Canglang State had a smug expression on his face. He asked, "Your country still has one last chance. Who do you want to send to the field?"
Emperor Jingxi's face turned pale. If they lost the competition, not only would Dayuan lose face, but they would also have to cede three cities to the Canglang Kingdom. This was really not what he wanted to see.
Emperor Jingxi said with a sullen face, "Today in the palace, no matter if it is a noble lady, a palace maid, or a dancer, as long as she can win the competition for the Great Yuan Kingdom, I can agree to her one request."
The people below began to whisper, "Oh my god, if we win the competition, we can get His Majesty's promise. Doesn't that mean we can ask to marry the prince?"
"Your Majesty, your words are real. Since he has agreed, then I can definitely marry the prince. It's a pity that I don't know how to dance the Hu Xuan dance."
"Yes, yes, but unfortunately I can't dance either. If I win the competition, I will definitely ask His Majesty to grant me a marriage with Prince An. I really like the Prince."
……
Zhao Yanran clenched her palms tightly when she heard this. If she had known this day would come, she would have studied the Hu Xuan dance well.
If she wins the competition today, she can ask His Majesty to grant her a marriage with the Crown Prince.
Originally, Qianhuan was gently lifting her veil and eating nuts on the table. When she heard the emperor make such a promise, she immediately put down the handful of hazelnuts in her hand.
She secretly said to the prince, "Zi Yu, I want to go up and compete."
The prince was full of surprise, "Huan'er, can you dance the Huxuan dance?"
Qianhuan nodded, "Yes, I will."
"This is no joke. This is our Dayuan's last chance. If we win, His Majesty will be very happy, but if we lose, it's possible that we will lose our heads. How confident are you that you can win?"
Qianhuan smiled confidently, "100%."
The prince was deeply attracted by her confident smile. He said lovingly, "Okay, since Huan'er is 100% sure, then you go ahead."