"Good!" The Emperor took the lead in clapping and couldn't help but praise," As expected of Zhen's beloved concubine!”
Concubine Ning heard the emperor's praise and her heart was filled with joy. For today's outstanding performance, she had used a year of hard practice. It seemed that her efforts were worth it!
"Thank you, Emperor!"
"Concubine Ning is indeed the best dancer in the capital. This dance is very appreciated by bengong!”The Empress was not stingy with her praise and bluntly expressed her inner thoughts.
"Thank you for your appreciation, Empress." Concubine Ning saw that she had been praised by the Empress who had high standards and was very happy. Since the Empress liked it, she could use it to get closer to the Empress. This way, the Empress could help her put in a good word to the Emperor and she could get more love from the Emperor!
"Li Tian!" The emperor spoke.
"This servant is here!"
"Concubine Ning will be rewarded with three bolts of snow silk satin, two strings of Eastern Sea pearls, a jade phoenix hairpin, twenty taels of gold, and a hundred taels of silver.”
"This servant understands."
When Concubine Ning heard the Emperor's reward, she couldn't help but feel excited.
He had only gotten one bolt of rare snow silk in the four years he had been in the palace. Today, the Emperor had given him three bolts in one go. The East Sea's Splendid Pearls were the king of pearls, and he had actually gotten two strings. There was also the jadeite golden phoenix hairpin, which was ranked eighth in the most famous jewelry shop in the capital, Rui Tianxiang. One of them cost 1,900 taels of silver.
Concubine Ning bowed happily and returned to her seat, looking very proud. The other concubines saw that Concubine Ning had been rewarded so much in one go and were all jealous. They all made up their minds to perform well later.
Xia Wan took a sip of wine. The emperor was really generous, but Concubine Ning's dance was really outstanding.
"There are many young ladies at the banquet today. Why don't we let them show off their talents?”The Emperor laughed happily as he swept his gaze across the crowd, as if he was watching a good show.
Everyone expressed their agreement. Some of the young ladies were also looking forward to this opportunity to showcase themselves. Perhaps they would be chosen by the unmarried man with the surname Mo and be able to enter the royal family!
Xia Wan stared at the wine in the glass, her eyes filled with unknown emotions. Her smooth nails tapped the glass lightly, as if she was immersed in thought.
"Emperor, this subject has a suggestion." An elderly minister stood up respectfully. His words attracted everyone's attention. Xia Wan looked up at him with her head lowered, waiting for him to continue.
The corners of Mo Lingyun's lips curled up imperceptibly. This old man was his teacher, Li Cun. He was knowledgeable and had a sharp mind. He was his father's capable minister. However, his teacher would always come up with ideas in such a lively occasion. He often made people not know whether to laugh or cry. What tricks was he up to today?
"Minister Li, please speak."
"I passed by Langxie Town half a year ago and met a wandering old man. I felt pity for him and gave him some silver. In return, this old man gave me a strange musical instrument. Up until now, I have not found anyone to play with. Today is an auspicious day and I want to see if there are gods here.”Li Cun lowered his head and said coherently. It was obvious that he had made arrangements beforehand.
"Yes, I will have to trouble Minister Li to take out this instrument.”
"Yes, Your Majesty." Li Cun turned around and instructed his attendant,
"Bring me the rosewood lotus box.”
"Yes, my lord."
His follower moved very quickly, and it didn't take long for him to reach Li Cun's side with a wooden box. This wooden box was about two and a half feet long. Its surface was smooth and flat, and the patterns were clear. At a glance, it was obvious that it was the best of the best. Everyone craned their necks curiously to see what was going on. The Emperor and Empress were also particularly interested in this item. Xia Wan looked at the box with a smile, not knowing if she had guessed correctly.
"Your Highness, what do you think?" Xia Wan turned her head and smiled sweetly at his highness.
"This king has never seen a musical instrument placed in such a slender box, but it should be similar to a flute.”Mo Lingyun narrowed his eyes, his gaze still fixed on the lotus box.
Xia Wan didn't speak, but her eyes were full of praise. His Highness was thinking the same thing as her.
Li Cun took the lotus box. His careful appearance made people feel that he cared about this instrument.
Li Cun's left hand held the box, and his right hand covered the lid. He tapped it three times, and the sound of gears rubbing against each other rang out.
"Crack." The lid of the box gently popped up, and everyone's eyes widened.
Li Cun was very satisfied with the current situation. He smiled slightly and slowly opened it.
When the candlelight shone on the item in the box, the beautiful light made everyone gasp.
This was a translucent jade instrument that was much longer than an ordinary flute. The jade green color showed the quality of the material. It was about one foot and seven inches long, and there was a red pendant at the end. It presented itself perfectly in front of everyone, reflecting an extraordinary light.
When Xia Wan saw what was in the box, she could not help but widen her eyes. This…wasn't this a flute? Could it be that this dynasty didn't have one?
Mo Lingyun looked at it carefully with interest. This instrument had never appeared in the Ziqiu Kingdom before. Although it looked very similar to a flute, Mo Lingyun's sharp eyes still noticed that there were no holes on the side of this instrument like a flute. Moreover, it had six holes. The flutes in his country only had eight holes. Based on this, this instrument was not from his country. To be honest, with his experience, he had never seen such a long " flute ".
When everyone saw this " flute ", they all started discussing it, but they all shook their heads. No one present seemed to recognize such an instrument.
Li Cun carried the lotus box and walked in front of the Emperor.
"Your Majesty."
"So this is the strange instrument that Minister Li mentioned. It was indeed an eye-opener today. I really don't know either."
Mo Zhiqi looked at Qin Ya, but Qin Ya shook her head helplessly. Mo Zhiqi looked at the crowd.
Mo Ze retracted his gaze meaningfully, while Mo Yuhao, who was beside him, looked like a curious baby. Lu Minxi's eyes were filled with envy, but there was also some helplessness that she couldn't play.
"Since Lord Li has set the question, there should be someone who can solve it. I wonder which daughter here can give it a try?”Mo Zhiqi's gaze swept across everyone.
"Emperor, can you let this little girl try?”A familiar voice made Xia Wan look over. When she saw the light blue figure, she couldn't help but sneer. As expected, this woman had entered the palace.
"Oh? Isn't she Lord Yan's daughter?" Mo Zhiqi smiled.
"Shouldn't you be here with wangye?”A woman dressed in pink palace dress said mockingly.
"Who is this?" Xia Wan looked at the woman. She was also a beautiful person.
"This Prince's cousin, Princess Ganyang.”
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