The Emperor handed over the responsibility of selecting the performers who would perform at the Lantern Festival to his youngest son, and for some reason, the young man chose Tiantang House as one of the performers.
Lan Zihao had done some research, and a week ago, he reported to the Emperor that he wanted to invite Tiantang. He also conveyed his reasons for choosing Tiantang, and the Emperor nodded his head to show his approval of his youngest son's idea.
However, even after the Emperor showed his approval, Prime Minister Lan Rong publicly said that he did not agree with the idea. The man kept saying that Tiantang didn't deserve the invitation, and just as Lan Zihao carefully listed the positive aspects of Tiantang, the Prime Minister did the same but instead listed the negative viewpoints.
The two men even argued with each other right in front of the Emperor's throne, and the Emperor needed to step in by saying that they had to observe Tiantang first before they could proceed with their invitation.
It was the Emperor's wise decision to stop the feud between the two men, and to his surprise, Prince Lan Zihao said that he would personally come to Tiantang to observe the people there.
Lan Zihao went to Tiantang last night, and he just reported the results of his observations, and it looked like it would cause another dispute between him and the Prime Minister.
"My apologies, Prime Minister Lan. But I have sent an official invitation to Tiantang this morning, and I have no intention of withdrawing it," Lan Zihao confidently rebuked the Prime Minister's statement, and the older man gasped at that.
"How could you send a formal invitation to Tiantang before you report the results of your observation to His Majesty, Your Highness? And even after witnessing the chaos in Tiantang, you still insist on inviting them to perform in the palace?" Lan Rong asked the question in disbelief and even scowled at the young man who had the title of the Imperial Prince of Si Long.
The Emperor quietly listened to the argument, but he assumed that it was still not the time to intervene.
"I did witness the chaos, but the chaos had nothing to do with the talented people in Tiantang, so I don't want to change my mind, Prime Minister Lan," Lan Zihao replied firmly. "Besides, only one person caused chaos, and I have confirmed that that person will not appear at the festival."
This time, the Emperor frowned before asking, "You directly told Tiantang House not to send that person who caused trouble last night? Don't you think what you have done will put that person in a difficult situation, Prince Lan Zihao?"
The dragon was the ruler of Si Long, they were also the protector of the land and people. They were stronger than humans, but abusing humans using their authority was against the rules of the dragons in the Imperial Palace, and that was why the Emperor looked tense because he was worried that his son would make such a mistake.
"I didn't directly tell Tiantang not to send that person, Your Majesty," Prince Lan Zihao replied. "That person sings and plays the pipa, and I purposely told Tiantang that we only wanted to invite the dancers to the event. That person will definitely not come to the palace to cause trouble."
Lan Zihao still remembered when the person singing while playing her pipa started causing trouble in Tiantang last night. He heard from the other guests that the girl was the songwriter of a song that had become famous in Chang City, and last night was the girl's first time performing at Tiantang.
The Prince couldn't even see the girl's face because she covered her face with a black veil, and even her body was clad in a black hanfu.
When he heard how the girl was singing and playing her pipa, he had to admit that the girl was quite talented, but it seemed that the girl was not very friendly as she immediately left the stage after finishing her performance.
The girl didn't even introduce her name to the guests at Tiantang, and Lan Zihao almost left the hall because he thought that there was nothing worth seeing anymore. He had already made the decision to invite Tiantang at that time, and that was because he had a positive impression of the people in Tiantang.
However, he was putting off his plans to leave Tiantang House when a brown-robed man suddenly stated that he wanted to buy the veiled girl, and he suddenly felt intrigued to see the outcomes.
That was why he ended up witnessing everything at Tiantang last night. He witnessed how the man called Fang Delun insisted on bringing the young girl home to replace his sick wife, and he also saw how the girl firmly refused the request.
Fang Delun went crazy after seeing how that girl dared to insult him in front of the other guests at Tiantang, and he even said that he would take the girl's virginity in front of those guests.
Lan Zihao was quite surprised, and he thought that last night would be a disaster for the girl, but another girl suddenly appeared to save the unlucky girl, and the show ended in an anticlimax.
Because of what happened last night, Lan Zihao had to change his plans, and he ended up coming up with a devious plan before sending a formal invitation to Tiantang.
"I don't think it's bad," the Emperor looked satisfied as he nodded his head. "The dancers aren't bad, but how many of them did you invite to the event, Prince Lan Zihao?"
Gaining approval from his father, Lan Zihao glanced at Prime Master Lan for a moment before answering his father's question, "I invite eight dancers to come to the palace, Your Majesty. That's because eight is a lucky number, and I believe it will bring us good luck."