40 minutes earlier at the banquet,
"Haha, now let's continue with the performance. This banquet should be accompanied by beautiful poems and performances!" The king of the palace drank a glass of wine with an eager face as he was waiting for his subject to entertain him.
"That's right, as His Majesty suggest, this celebration night should fill with performances. I'll give a big reward to the ones that entertain us and enliven the banquet the most." Her Majesty The Queen made a decision which uproars the guest's spirits to participate. Even though she did not tell what reward it was, it was from royalty. It was obviously worth everyone's attention.
Her Majesty the queen looks excited, perhaps it was because the celebration was meant for her nephew. Words travel, saying she adores her nephew more than other princes. That night, people notice it was true, including me. Though, it's not important, I only care when the banquet will end.
'I hope this will end soon.' I turned my head away and focused on eating the fruits on my table.'
The banquet became merry. The sounds of people chatting with each other about the performance and rewards fill the hall.
After a moment, someone stood, "Your majesty, please allow me to recite a short poem."
"Sure." His Majesty waved his hand as a sign of approval.
Mang Na Hao, the second prince started his poem. He is known as the best scholar who not only has a gentle voice but also a gentle face.
Upon hearing his voice, I lifted my eyes. Those who look at him certainly will feel their heart calm as the water flow through the river – What a blessing face and voice he has there.
"Yèwăn visit with Míngyuè,
Though has many stops, Yuèliàng was their destination,
Fill the hall with brightness,
Just to celebrate the success of Dì sān,
Ah, Míngyuè flatters,
Yīnyǐng comes to hide her embarrassment,
Xīngxīng took her place, add sparkles to Yèwăn,
Making it more glamorous, to congratulate Dì sān."
He ended it with a smile and light nod toward the third prince, Mang We Jing.
Soon after the second prince, Mang Na Hao finished reciting the poem, people were clapping their hands except me.
My mouth was left open a bit – I was shocked by the second prince's performance. It sounds beautiful, and his body language fits the poem well, but the reason I was shocked was not the beautifulness but because his performance was long.
'You said it was a short poem… 2 lines is enough!' I mumbled grimly, feeling annoyed. Truthfully, I knew, the reason for his long performance is because of the way he recited the poems, not because of the lines. Eventually, I acknowledge his poem was good.
"Hmm...good, good." His Majesty gave the second prince high praise. He showed a delighted smile.
"Anyone else wants to challenge the second prince?" Asked Her Majesty.
The hall is silent, it seems no one dares to challenge the number one scholar in the country.
"You don't need to recite a poem. Any performance will count. You can perform..."
Right at that moment, one person attracted my attention. I could not hear Her Majesty mumbling because my eyes were too focused on him.
He sat near the warrior prince. He wore a set of jade green wide sleeves Lanshan and his face is also pretty, rivalling the second prince or maybe above him in terms of looks.
I waited for him to stand up, to see if he was going to recite a poem too. However, after a few seconds observed, his behaviour tells him he did not seem interested to challenge the second prince.
Maybe I have mistaken him for a scholar. I looked back at Her Majesty. She was still talking about the performance.
The silence finally breaks down when one person opens her mouth, "Your Majesty, subject think no one dares to challenge his highness the second prince. However, how about I dance to lift the banquet spirit and everyone's mood?"
"Dance? What dance can you do?"
"Your Majesty, this subject can dance anything as long as I am accompanied by an instrument. My father, Weng Ning and my mother, Ning Jie, taught me since I was a child. I will present a good performance."
"Ho, you're Weng Xi, the talented dancer from the noble Weng family. Fine, you can perform. We will count this as a challenge too as Her Majesty mentioned earlier, 'Any performance will count.' Don't be reserved, do your best performance."
The lady looked lightened up. "Yes, the subject will do my best, Your Majesty." she bowed and thanked His Majesty. Then, she started dancing when the musicians from the palace agree to play for her.
I was in awe; her dancing was worth more than thousands of gold. The light steps and stable moves she had was the ones that make her dance worth it. Such movements acquire both talents and a ton of practice.
"Haha. It seems you are the one who will get the reward, lady Weng Xi." Said Her Majesty when she heard the applause louder than before.
Then, she looked at the second prince, "What do you think, the second prince?"
He smiled, "I agree with Her Majesty."
Weng Xi looked happy and I was the same. Even though I maintain a straight face, I was truly happy because the banquet seems almost reached its end.
I drink a glass of water and am ready to left. Unfortunately, my happy moment crashed when I heard a familiar voice, my sister.
"Your majesty, this subject, Mu Ra Huo also wants to perform. Please allow me to perform Guqin."
"The seven-string zither? Hmm, sure...talent should not be wasted." His Majesty looked neutral—not too interested nor too displeased.
'Is His Majesty like me?' Seeing His Majesty's reaction, a thought crosses my mind thinking that His Majesty also wants to retire early.
While my sister made a preparation, many men looked excited. They are excited to listen to the performance performed by the well-known beauty of Mu Mercenary, Mu Ra Huo.
She sat and started her performance and yes, listening to the music she plays, she performed the piece well.
'Zuìgāo de Shānfēng (Highest Mountain), is a piece about the struggle of a warrior who encounters hurdles in his life and overcomes the war until to his success. The piece fits the warrior prince who just return from the war.'
'She's not as stupid as I think. But… it's still not enough. She did not fully relay the piece perfectly. It seems she was lacking in her fingers' strength.'
My eyes lingered around Weng Xi who was dancing earlier, I was confident she was the one going to win the reward. With that thought, my lips curved a bit, 'a talent should not be wasted.'