The square outside the hall had been covered with a thick layer of snow at some unknown time. At this very moment, there was a girl in red clothes dancing barefoot in the snow.
The girl's red clothes were very thin, and they were even more transparent than the gauze of the Summer. In addition to this, she was barefoot. That feeling caused people to feel a chill in their hearts.
But while it was cold, it was also very beautiful. The white snow paired with the red clothes was like a wintersweet that had come to life. Every movement and leap was very frightening.
Kang Yi could not be bothered with returning to her seat. She simply found a chair next to Feng Yu Heng and sat down. Looking at the person dancing outside the hall, she was very surprised.
Feng Yu Heng was also surprised. Pulling Xiang Rong a little closer, she quietly said: "Fen Dai really put in a bit of effort to learn this dance!" Although her figure was much worse than a professional dancer's, the visual impact was very strong. Just being able to wear this on such a cold day without shivering was enough to cause people to praise her. But to dare perform this dance in front of the Emperor in the Imperial Palace, Feng Fen Dai was truly capable of winning the grand prize in the competition.
Xiang Rong told her: "Before second sister returned to the manor, she had already begun learning. Also, when she was learning, she did not allow anyone to get close to watch. This is also the first time that I have seen her dance."
Although the girl in red had only revealed her back and had not completely turned around, how could this be hidden from the sisters that had grown up with her. Feng Yu Heng and Xiang Rong were practically able to recognize Fen Dai at a glance.
She looked away and quietly looked in the direction of the fifth prince. She saw that he was very emotional and had already stood up from his seat. Staggering, he left his seat and rushed down the hall.
His actions caused many people to become puzzled; however, there were some old officials and family members that knew the reason. They could not help but secretly curse the girl that was dancing for being a brainless idiot.
Feng Yu Heng no longer looked at the dazed fifth prince. Instead, she observed Emperor Tianwu. The Emperor's face didn't reveal much, but the fury in his eyes couldn't be ignored.
The Empress, who was sitting next to him, was also shocked. She carefully paid attention to the Emperor who could get angry at any time, and also became angry. She really couldn't understand who had the guts to dance this snow dance.
Feng Yu Heng also felt a little strange. She frowned slightly and thought to herself.
Feng Fen Dai was nothing more than the daughter of a concubine from an official's family. She definitely did not have the ability to order a eunuch from the palace to move snow and decorate the place. There was definitely some sort of arrangement involved. Either she had already informed them beforehand, or someone else had done it for her. Either way, for Fen Dai to perform this snow dance, it was definitely not that simple.
The flute player was in red. Feng Yu Heng recognized her. Although today, red was dressed very normally and looked like a normal servant, her face still exuded an air of arrogance. It was actually Fen Dai's dance that attracted the gazes of quite a few men.
Today, the Feng family's young misses all sat in their own carriages. She did not even have time to look at which servants the others had brought. Instead, she allowed red to sneak into the imperial palace. Feng Yu Heng had always been curious as to where Fen Dai had managed to find a dance teacher like red. She was nothing more than the daughter of a concubine. She was not like Chen Yu, who had the help of her maternal family. How could someone like red be so easily found by her?
Her mind was filled with question marks. At this time, Feng Jin Yuan's face had already turned green with fear from his daughter of a concubine's actions.
He quickly stood up and knelt before the Emperor without another word. Kowtowing to the ground, everyone could see his horror.
Eldest princess Kang Yi was originally enjoying the dance. To her, this was the first time she had seen someone dance in the snow wearing so little. She originally thought that it was one of Dashun's dancers; however, she did not think that it would cause the current prime minister to be so panicked.
Seeing the confusion on Kang Yi's face, Feng Yu Heng kindly told her: "The girl dancing is my fourth sister, Feng Fen Dai."
"The Feng family's daughter?" Kang Yi was slightly stunned; however, she still did not understand why Feng Jin Yuan would be so frightened, "Today is the first day of the new year. This official's daughter dancing to liven things up is a common thing. Why is Lord Feng …" She did not finish speaking because she had already turned her gaze to Emperor Tianwu.
Feng Yu Heng knew that there was no need for her to reply. Eldest princess Kang Yi's thoughts were clear. How could she not see the anger in Emperor Tianwu's eyes. Although she still did not understand why the Emperor was angry, anger was anger. Thinking about it, this dance most likely had some sort of story behind it.
Xuan Tian Ge leaned over to Feng Yu Heng's side and said: "Has your family's daughter of a concubine stopped going crazy?"
Feng Yu Heng shrugged, "There is not a day where Feng Fen Dai does not go crazy. She even dares to seduce Xuan Tianming in front of me. Is there anything that she does not dare do?"
"Tsk tsk." Xuan Tian Ge said, "Heng Heng, you are still too softhearted. If it was me, if she dared to seduce my fiancé, I would definitely have her drowned in a pig cage."
Feng Yu Heng laughed. It was not that she was softhearted. If she wanted to secretly kill Feng Fen Dai, she could easily come up with over 100 plans. Killing someone was easy. It was something that could be done in a matter of minutes. It was just that it would be hard to avoid suspicion if she went on a killing spree in the Feng manor. Even if they could not find any evidence, people's hearts were alive. They would still have to guess. That was not something that would benefit her. She would not do it.
"Prime minister Feng!" At this time, her Highness the Empress spoke up. Feeling Emperor Tianwu become angrier and angrier, the Empress also understood that it was time for her to speak up, thus she called Feng Jin Yuan and said: "That girl dancing is your family's daughter, right?"
Feng Jin Yuan quickly replied: "Replying to your Highness, she is this official's daughter of a concubine."
Once these words were said, some of the people that did not recognize Fen Dai also understood. It turned out that the girl in red was the prime minister's manor's young miss of a concubine.
After all, the events of that year were considered obscure. There were still many people that did not know about it. Now that they heard that it was Feng Jin Yuan's daughter, they actually began to praise her without knowing the difference between life and death: "So it was the Feng family's daughter! Who knew that she would have this sort of ability. She really is a wonderful person! "
"That's right! Who knew that lord Feng's family's daughters would all hide their abilities so well. Earlier, there was county princess Ji An, who cut iron essence with a single blade. Now, there is this barefoot dance in the snow. I really am looking forward to what sort of skills the Feng family's daughters have. "
The more Feng Jin Yuan heard, the more panicked he became. He thought to himself that these people were truly adding fuel to the fire. But what could he say? They did not understand what had happened, so they naturally thought that it was a good thing. But he understood at heart how happy the Emperor was when the deceased imperial concubine performed this snow dance for the first time.
At this moment, Feng Jin Yuan deeply regretted it. When he returned to the manor, he had heard that Fen Dai was learning this snow dance. He originally thought that at most, she would use this to win over the fifth prince's heart. Dancing in private was fine, but he never thought that this girl would actually be so bold as to dare dance in the imperial palace. Feng Jin Yuan felt that he had made a big mistake when it came to Fen Dai.
Speaking of, for a daughter of an official of his rank, when she got married, she would need to find a good son-in-law. There was no need to talk about the daughter of the first wife. That was related to the family's glory. Even if it was the daughter of a concubine, she would need to be used to pave the way for the daughter of the first wife or to prepare for the family.
In the Feng family, Chen Yu already had her own plans. Feng Yu Heng had also been engaged to the Ninth Prince. As for Fen Dai and Xiang Rong, they were prepared by Feng Jin Yuan to be sent into the princes' palaces. As for which prince's palace they would be sent to, he still had not thought it through, but since the fifth prince had expressed himself first, he did not have any intention of refuting. Either way, Fen Dai was still young. There would still be a chance to take a look over the next few years.
But today, this girl was so bold that she had invited trouble. Whether or not she could keep her life was another matter altogether.
Feng Jin Yuan was both angry and afraid. Kneeling on the ground, he did not even dare raise his head. If he had to give up on Fen Dai, he would not feel any heartache, but whether or not he felt heartache was one matter. The Feng family's face was another matter. If something happened on the first day of the new year, how would the Feng family spend the entire year?
Seeing Feng Jin Yuan kneel with a terrified expression, the Empress could not help but glance at Emperor Tianwu's face. After all, this was the family of a standard first rank official. She had to figure out the Emperor's intentions before making a decision.
However, the anger in Emperor Tianwu's eyes did not decrease in the slightest. In fact, it seemed to be growing more and more intense. If this continued, perhaps he would explode!
The Empress' heart trembled. She could not allow the Emperor to get angry because of this sort of thing. After all, there were not just officials and family members present. There were also special envoys from the two countries. The so-called dirty linen of the family should not be aired in public. What sort of situation would it be if others saw it?
Thus she quickly spoke up, saying: "Prime minister Feng, your daughter's dance is very dexterous. This one sees it very well. How about we have her remain in the palace from this day forward. That way, it will be easier for her to dance for the Emperor and this one at any time."
Feng Jin Yuan was given a start. She would remain in the palace from this day forward? Was that not the same as putting Fen Dai under house arrest? What was the difference between that and death? And she could dance at any time. Even the Emperor would get angry once he saw it. How could he possibly watch her at any time. Feng Jin Yuan felt an urge. He wanted to just choke Fen Dai to death. She was unable to accomplish anything and was good at ruining things. He had finally managed to get some merit from suppressing the disaster. In addition to Feng Yu Heng's earlier performance, he was originally very happy. He even planned to praise Feng Yu Heng a bit after returning. This second daughter had this sort of ability, so he had to soften his attitude and take the initiative to ask for peace. But with Fen Dai causing such a ruckus, he was no longer in a good mood.
"Imperial concubine." Although he had already given up on that daughter, as a father, he could not appear too unreasonable in front of others. Thus he could only grit his teeth and say: "My lowly daughter is still young. She is completely ignorant. Would imperial concubine please forgive her!"
The Empress began to feign ignorance, "This one wants to keep her in the palace. This is a good thing. Why does prime minister Feng say such a thing?"
"Imperial concubine!" Feng Jin Yuan kowtowed once more, "My lowly daughter is completely ignorant!"
These words were very clear. Anyone could tell that there was something going on.
Outside the hall, the flute music and dance continued. The fifth prince, Xuan Tian Yan, was completely immersed in the scene. Watching in a daze, he did not pay any attention to what was happening inside the hall.
As for the people sitting in the hall, they managed to react. The Feng family's young miss' dance had caused a problem.
"Prime minister Feng." The Empress put on a stern expression, "This one has already shown mercy. What other request do you have?"
Feng Jin Yuan was rendered speechless. Indeed, this was already showing mercy. If it was not for the Empress speaking up and the Emperor personally punishing her, Fen Dai would have been spilled with blood.
Thus he kowtowed once more and did not say anything else. It could be considered an admission.
But at this time, eldest princess Kang Yi, who was sitting next to Feng Yu Heng, suddenly stood up and walked to the middle of the hall. Standing next to Feng Jin Yuan, she said: "Your Highness the Empress, the Feng family's fourth young miss is very clever. Kang Yi is truly grateful."
Once these words came out, everyone was shocked.
Grateful? What are you grateful for?
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
