With her delicate face and slender waist, the royal uncle lost control.

"Brother, look at her! She promised to dance with me, but I've been looking for her for ages. What time is it? If she delays my performance and the Empress scolds me, what will we do?"

Qin Senyao's voice rang out immediately, coaxing softly, "Xue'er, don't worry, I'll go and bring her over to you right away, and have her dance properly for you. If she dares to be careless, I won't let her off easily."

Yun Nian paused slightly. Through the half-open courtyard gate, she saw Qin Jiaxue clutching Qin Senyao's sleeve with both hands, her face upturned with red eyes, looking pitiful.

Qin Senyao gently placed one hand on her shoulder and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with the other.

To outsiders, the scene might have seemed like a loving sibling relationship, but Yun Nian only felt nauseous.

How could she have been so blind in her past life, unable to see the ambiguous relationship between the brother and sister?

Just then, Qin Senyao suddenly turned his head and happened to see Yun Nian standing at the door.

The gentleness on his face vanished instantly.

"Yun Nian, how dare you come here?" His voice was cold and hard.

Yun Nian calmly walked into the courtyard, her face equally aggrieved: "Your Highness is so unreasonable! Nian'er didn't want to come, but you insisted I agree. Now that I'm here, Your Highness is blaming me. What kind of logic is this?"

Qin Senyao's face darkened even more after being rebuffed by her: "Xue'er is my sister, which means she'll be your sister in the future. Why are you unwilling to do something for your sister? With all this shirking and making excuses, do you even have the demeanor of an older sister?"

Yun Nian: "How about I find a better backup dancer for my sister?"

Seeing this, Qin Jiaxue's eyes reddened even more: "Sister Yun Nian, so you're really reluctant... I thought your superb dancing skills would help me. If you really don't want to, then so be it, Xue'er wouldn't dare to force you..."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face like beads from a broken string, a sight that would evoke pity in anyone who saw her.

Yun Nian watched her performance and said, "Aren't you afraid that my dancing skills will surpass yours, Xue'er? After all, if the backup dancers are too outstanding, they might steal the spotlight from the main dancer, which would be bad."

Yun Nian is a renowned dancer in the capital.

Qin Jiaxue gritted her teeth secretly, but her face remained gentle. "How could that be? I'd love for you to shine, sister. We're all from the Ningxiang Prince's Mansion. If you do well, I'll be happy too."

Qin Senyao was deeply moved upon hearing this, and his gaze towards Qin Jiaxue softened even more: "Xue'er, you are so sensible."

Then she turned to Yun Nian and said, "Yun Nian, look at Xue'er's heart. It's like comparing heaven and earth to yours."

Yun Nian was neither annoyed nor angry. Instead, she smiled slightly and said, "Since that's the case, why don't you give me the lead dance position, Xue'er, and you dance with me? That way, I can shine, and you can also show your magnanimity. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Jiaxue's face instantly stiffened.

After all, he has placed himself on a moral high ground, and now he is in a dilemma.

Qin Jiaxue could only look to Qin Senyao for help, tears welling up again, "Brother, I meant well, but sister misunderstood me like this..."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

Qin Senyao was indeed furious. Pointing at Yun Nian, he scolded, "Yun Nian, why are you bullying Xue'er! Xue'er kindly asked you to be her backup dancer, and you, instead of taking advantage, want to steal the lead dancer's position? Enough nonsense, come and practice your dance!"

Yun Nian watched the brother and sister's back-and-forth banter and sneered inwardly.

She walked slowly to the center of the courtyard, her gaze sweeping over her surroundings.

"Since we're going to practice, let's begin."

Yun Nian asked calmly, "I wonder what dance Xue'er is going to perform? Is the music, choreography, and costume all ready?"

Qin Jiaxue wiped away her tears and forced a smile: "It's a dance called 'Lotus Under the Moon.' I've commissioned the best musicians in the capital to compose the music, and the costumes are all ready. I specially had a dress made to your size for your sister's backup dancer; it's right over there."

She pointed to a light blue dance dress hanging on the shelf next to her, the skirt embroidered with silver hibiscus flowers, which was indeed exquisite.

Yun Nian walked over and reached out to touch the fabric.

It is made of the finest silk, with a smooth and silky feel.

"It's beautiful," Yun Nian commented casually, but she wasn't in a hurry to change. "Let's watch the dance moves first."

Suppressing her displeasure, Qin Jiaxue walked to the center of the courtyard and made a few opening gestures: "This dance is mainly about gentleness, with slow and elegant movements. As a backup dancer, you mainly need to support me, so your movements should be light and soft."

She demonstrated a few movements, which were indeed elegant and moving, but the accompanying dance was designed to be extremely simple and lacked any technical skill.

Yun Nian saw it all and understood.

Qin Jiaxue wanted her to be a backup dancer, but was also afraid that she would stand out.

Afterwards, Yun Nian practiced dancing with Qin Jiaxue for half an hour. Her movements were proper and disciplined, neither deliberately trying to be outstanding nor showing any perfunctoriness. She grasped the right balance perfectly.

Until Qi Luo quietly entered the courtyard, and nodded slightly in acknowledgment as Yun Nian turned around.

Yun Nian understood, and after the piece ended, he said to Qin Jiaxue, "Sister, we've practiced enough for today. I'm a little tired, so I'd like to go back and rest first, and we can come again tomorrow, okay?"

Qin Jiaxue couldn't wait for her to leave, so she readily agreed: "Sister, you've worked hard. Go back and get some rest. We'll continue tomorrow."

Yun Nian curtsied and took his leave, departing the courtyard with Qi Luo.

Walking along the corridor, seeing that no one was around, Qiluo lowered her voice and said, "Miss, Yuexing has sent a message."

"explain."