Note: [...] is a flashback scene.
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[Her ninth birthday was right at the Lantern Festival this year, and as usual, there would be a celebration in the palace where all the royal family and officials who lived in the palace could attend.
As happened in the previous celebration of the Lantern Festival in the palace, the Emperor also invited many performers to entertain everyone in the palace, but there was one thing that made this year's celebration feel different from previous celebrations, and that was because the Emperor decided to invite a group of children to perform in the palace.
Normally, only adults would perform in the palace because most of the people who came to the festival were also adults. However, this year was quite special because the celebration also celebrated the Princess's birthday, so the Emperor decided to invite some children to perform at the palace.
The children were unusual, and they were all talented children who could dance very well despite their young age. Even if the people who came to the celebration were surprised by the appearance of the children in the palace, they still watched the performance seriously because the children were the first performers at the festival.
The celebration of the festival was held on the vast palace grounds, and children dressed in white got ready to perform as they gathered in the center of the palace grounds.
There was a pattern that looked like a circle on the ground, and from above, it could be seen that the pattern was actually a dragon that looked like it was about to eat its own tail, so the shape created by it was a circle.
And the children dressed in white were now standing in the center of the circle, and after the music began to play, the children began to move their little feet following the melody.
Eight children were dancing in the middle of the circle, even their movements looked very simple because most only needed to move their little feet.
And the Princess who was celebrating her ninth birthday frowned upon seeing the simple moves. She and her parents also watched the dancers while sitting in their chairs on the balcony. From that position, they could clearly see how the children were dancing on the ground below them, and it could also be seen that those children only performed a simple dance.
"Why do the children only move their feet to dance, Mother?" The little Princess who was wearing a beautiful green dress immediately asked her mother who was sitting on her right.
Hearing that innocent question, the Empress smiled before replying, "What do you mean they only move their feet? Can't you see that they move their hands and heads too? And even their bodies move too, Yueyue."
The Princess who was called 'Yueyue' had received an answer from her mother, but she still felt dissatisfied with it. Thus, she once again spoke, "I can see that the children are moving their bodies too, but I think they are too focused on their feet, Mother. Is it because they only know how to move their feet?"
As the Princess continued to ask her mother, her voice sounded a little impatient, but instead of getting an answer from her mother, she received an answer from her father, "That's because their dance is mainly about feet, Yueyue. The dance is called 'Little Feet Under the Rain,' so it's only natural that they move their feet a lot."]
Xia Qiao and Yi Xue stood in the middle of the area covered by the hard pavement. The two servants had finished clearing all the moss from the area, and now Xia Qiao's vision of the area was much clearer.
It turned out that the platform had a shape of a circle, and there was a pattern that resembled the shape of a lotus flower in the middle.
The area was quite large, and Xiao Qiao could imagine how Yi Xue danced there with her aunt and Duan Shuchun all those years ago.
It was indeed spacious, and it would be more than enough for seven people to dance in this place instead of practicing together with the other girls in the hall, so Xia Qiao started to wonder why Duan Shuchun didn't use this place as a training ground for the dancers.
After pondering for a while, Xia Qiao decided to ask the older girl, "Now that this place is once again clean, do you think our boss will use it for the dance team to practice here, master?"
Xia Qiao might sound selfish, but after the place was clean, she didn't want to share the place with others because she knew it would be perfect if she could practice alone there.
It was quiet, and she was sure she would be able to focus her mind better if she could practice in this place.
Therefore, she was worried that Duan Shuchun would end up instructing the other girls to start training in this area after the servants cleaned the place, and she patiently waited for Yi Xue to answer her question.
However, she ended up frowning when she saw the change in expression on Yi Xue's face after hearing her question.
"You don't have to worry because Duan Shuchun will never use this place as a training ground for the dancers," the older girl finally replied, but her voice sounded too soft that it was barely audible to Xia Qiao's ears. Xia Qiao was confused, but then the older girl continued, "My aunt died here ten years ago when she danced with Duan Shuchun, and that's why Duan Shuchun never wanted to go to this place again."