The Untamed Princess

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Suspenseful Evening

Zhao Weisheng sat down and immediately started shifting uncomfortably in his chair.  He looked around the room.  He hated formal occasions, and this one had only just started.  Still, he admitted to himself, tonight was different.  He was confident that Ming Yue and Eunuch Wang would put on an impressive display for the king and queen and, knowing his mother's tastes well, he was sure that she would enjoy it immensely.  Consequently, he was happy to endure the formality of the evening this one time, for his parents' sake.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when King Xuanming signalled for the feast to begin, and the music started to play.  Weisheng watched as two rows of dancers entered the hall and took up their positions in the large central space.  He held his breath, waiting for the principal dancer to descend from the ceiling.  This was by far the riskiest part of the evening, and it would set the stage for everything to come.

The large golden ring lowered slowly, revealing a slender woman standing inside the circle.  It started to gently rotate as she began to move gracefully, twisting her body around the metal, her actions as fluid as water.  As the movements became wider, the ring began to swing in a large arc, taking it out over the heads of the watching guests, eliciting gasps of amazement as the dancer reached down towards them, at times holding on to the ring with only her feet, without any kind of support or safety net below.

The eldest prince had been wearing a remarkably smug expression at the beginning of the banquet, but now it was turning into a look of incredulity.  Chuanli had definitely reported to him that the drug had been successfully administered by his new maidservant, Bu Hong, and he was looking forward to seeing his younger brother completely humiliated when the spectacle he had organised so painstakingly turned into a shambles because it was lacking its main attraction.

Instead, the woman spinning above him was putting on a mesmerising performance, her every move delighting the crowd.  Accepting defeat for the moment, Li Jun turned his attention back to the show, as the golden ring had now begun its final descent.  The young woman stepped out onto the floor and began the second half of the dance.

Now that he could see her more closely, Weisheng was even more certain that it was definitely not the same dancer he had seen at the original performance.  She was taller and, whilst her movements were still acrobatic, they had a little more gracefulness about them.  Also, she had not originally worn a veil, so he was surprised that this addition to the costume had been made now.

As the woman travelled lightly around the floor, she passed in front of where Weisheng was sitting.  She was moving at speed, so it was only a brief glimpse, but he knew it in an instant.  The dancer was Ming Yue.  Immediately his mouth fell open.  He had no idea at all why she would be there.  He turned to look behind him, only to see from Luo Jian's expression that he, too, had recognised the woman.

In fact, Weisheng and Luo Jian were not the only two.  One other person had recognised the talented dancer.  The only other person who could boast of having seen her face from very close up.

Li Jun's mouth was also open in shock.  His spies had told him that Ming Yue had survived their encounter in the forest, but this was the first time he had seen her himself.  As she leapt and spun gracefully around the room, he had to admit to himself that even though the events of that day had sent him spinning into a temporary madness, he still felt an almost painful attraction to the woman.  Now, however, he was also a little bit fearful of her.

Across the room, Weisheng saw the expression on his brother's face, and his eyes narrowed.

Ming Yue herself was oblivious to everything.  She was completely caught up in the dance.

At first, she had been a little nervous as she waited, high up in the eaves of the hall, but, as soon as the music had started, she had let the routine take over.