Too high to reach

Chapter 248 Utterly Boring
Two dancers took the stage.

She wore a red satin bodice, revealing her snow-white arms and back. Below, she wore a red skirt, which was very narrow, with slits on both sides reaching up to her thighs, revealing red trousers, her ankles, and her bare feet.

Mo Yi had never seen a woman dressed so scantily, especially in public. She was momentarily at a loss for words, her eyes wide and her cheeks slightly flushed.

These two women were a bit chubby, swinging their arms and twisting their waists, constantly kicking, bending over, and doing splits. The movements were all extremely difficult…

Their facial expressions were shy yet charming... and they flirted lightly with each other.

Oh my god! Mo Yi's heart was pounding.

Princess Yu'an glanced at her lightly, thinking with disdain: Look at her helpless state, she's really ignorant!

Mo Yi also secretly watched the others, who were eating, drinking and watching, all looking very content.

The central area wasn't large, and the two dancers circled around it, their hands almost reaching Moy's eyes...

After the dance ended, the two dancers bowed and gracefully withdrew.

"Princess, how many people are in your dance troupe?" Mo Yi asked.

There are eighteen now.

"Where did all of these come from?"

"Some of this batch I trained myself. Girls like them don't have many years left to dance. They can't keep up when they get older. Some of them retired and became instructors, while others found other ways to make a living. The girls I trained myself were all young girls I bought, and then taught by their previous instructors."

"Oh."

Here, the music started again, and the person coming up... was a man!
He had a slender waist and broad shoulders, and stood tall and elegant. His face was lightly made up, making it somewhat androgynous…

Dressed entirely in black, her movements lacked the graceful femininity of the dancer from before. Instead, they were expansive and powerful, brimming with tension, revealing the defined muscles beneath her black attire.

He leaps and spins all over the field, he can jump really high!

Mo Yi could feel the wind stirred by the sleeves...

His smile was radiant and unrestrained. His dark eyes seemed to be staring at everyone.

Apart from Princess Yu'an and her two friends, everyone else at the scene seemed a little embarrassed.

Mo Yi had never even considered watching such a dance, let alone seen it. Her palms were sweating as she held the chopsticks. She began to worry about what would happen if the prince found out she had watched this kind of dance…

She then stole a glance at the person next to her. The widowed princess was staring at the man with a fascination. When she turned to face him, she actually reached out and tugged at his sleeve!

The man rolled up his sleeves, then raised an eyebrow and smiled at the princess...

God!

Mo Yi was shocked. So this is what their private lives are like...

This kind of dance was completely different from what she had seen in the palace and at the Yong'an Prince's place.

Is this what the word "sensual and alluring" refers to?
The concept of etiquette and morality weighs on a woman's head from the moment she is born.

But the princesses and noblewomen could act so recklessly... This was something Mo Yi hadn't anticipated.

I made a silent vow: This is the only time; I'll never come back...

She felt that the dance was so long, it took the man quite a while to finish.

He still had that same energy; he bowed, turned, and left.

"Is this Ling Xiao from the Crown Prince's residence? Did the princess take him with her?" someone asked Princess Yu'an.

"No... How could my Crown Prince release him? I borrowed him from my sister-in-law today while he was away. You know, even if you were in the Crown Prince's residence, you wouldn't be able to see this dance! It's specially performed for my Crown Prince and his friends. How could a woman like me possibly see it!"

"Let him dance one more time..." The blush on the widowed princess's face hadn't faded, and her eyes were still full of allure.

Mo Yi swallowed hard... her inner thoughts: Don't jump.

“I borrowed it by stealing it, so he needs to go back quickly. I’ll show it to you next time I have the chance!” Princess Yu’an said to the man, and winked at Mo Yi.

Mo Yi quickly grabbed a piece of pastry and put it in her mouth...

At that moment, the sound of a flute began to play.

Upon hearing this, Princess Yu'an seemed somewhat surprised and let out a soft "Eh?". However, she didn't say anything.

At this moment, a woman in white appeared, with long eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and a cold expression.

She came up, ignoring everyone else, and danced to the sound of the flute.

Her long black hair flowed down her back, dancing in the air as she spun.

Unlike the previous two performances, Mo Yi breathed a sigh of relief and listened attentively to the ethereal sound of the flute.

The woman's movements seemed to speak, a sorrowful tale being told...

The scene was beautiful... the sky was filled with the woman's graceful figure.

Mo Yi really likes this kind of dance.

Just as she was engrossed in the music, the flute music stopped, and the woman in white stood silently with her head bowed.

"The music is beautiful, and the dance is beautiful too!" Mo Yi exclaimed.

The widowed princess clearly disliked it and asked again, "Has Ling Xiao left? If not, let him come up for a drink?"

Princess Yu'an smiled slyly, raised her chin, and pushed the screen open to the left and right, revealing the person playing the flute inside.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince?!" The widowed princess thought it was Ling Xiao, but upon closer inspection, it was the Crown Prince.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed...

They all stood up quickly.

The crown prince, holding a flute in one hand and gently tapping his other hand, smiled brightly and walked out.

So unrestrained and carefree!

"Sisters, you guys are really enjoying yourselves!"

"Brother Crown Prince, what brings you here?" Princess Yu'an asked hurriedly.

The Crown Prince glared at her. "Come and retrieve the 'Autumn Hunting Scene' you took from my study last time. I already told you that I promised the painting to someone else, but you insisted on taking it. Are you going to make people say that I'm untrustworthy?"

"Who dares to say that?" Princess Yu'an rolled her eyes at him unhappily.

"Hmph!" the Crown Prince snorted. "Furthermore... who gave you permission to bring Ling Xiao here?"

Princess Yu'an playfully made a face, "Let him give his sisters a feast for the eyes..."

"Hmph! Nonsense..." The Crown Prince's face turned cold.

Princess Yu'an quickly changed the subject, "None of you have heard the Crown Prince's flute playing before, have you?"

The princess said softly, "I've never heard it with my own ears! However, I have heard His Highness the Crown Prince's flute playing throughout the capital. I just never imagined that I would have such great fortune..."

Mo Yi thought to herself, "This widow also looked at the Crown Prince with such alluring eyes..."

A person next to me said, "This music should only exist in heaven; how often can one hear it on earth? This experience is enough for me to talk about for the rest of my life."

The crown prince was a little embarrassed. "I came to pick up something, but I ran into you all having fun. I couldn't resist showing off my skills... Please don't blame me for being abrupt, and please don't laugh at me!"

Everyone said they dared not...

“Mo Yi, when we were little, we used to play music for Father Emperor.” Princess Yu’an said to Mo Yi, who was huddled to the side, “Crown Prince is skilled in the qin, xiao, and drum. Fourth Brother’s flute and Ninth Brother’s erhu are also excellent. But Seventh Brother can’t do anything! Father Emperor said that if everyone played music, he would demonstrate his sword, but he refused. He’s really so boring!”

Princess Yu'an and the Crown Prince both looked at her with smiles.

Mo Yi, with an honest and simple demeanor, said, "To be honest, this is the first time I've ever heard the sound of a xiao (vertical bamboo flute) today. When I was still a young woman, my family did hire a qin (a seven-stringed zither) player, but... I'm just not good at it."

It's good that the prince doesn't like these things. If he did, I wouldn't know anything about them.

Several people covered their mouths and laughed, inwardly mocking each other.

The Crown Prince recalled the past… when Princess Zhou first heard him play the flute, her eyes were filled with surprise and admiration. And she hadn't expected that she could actually play several tunes…

The Crown Prince and Princess exchanged a glance, finding Mo Yi utterly boring...