No one noticed the joy in Chǔ Huáfēng's words. He raised his eyes, a smile blooming on his lips, spreading round and round until it sweetly touched Jiāng Yuè's heart.
She couldn't help but sigh, if this Chǔ Huáfēng were as good on the inside as he appeared on the outside, even with crippled legs, he'd be adored by countless men and women!!! What a pity, what a pity!!! His core was utterly rotten.
"Jiāng-Yuè..." Chǔ Nánxiāo's deep, gloomy voice startlingly pulled Jiāng Yuè back from her thoughts. She blinked her eyes, looking at the man's sulky, handsome face with a sense of bafflement.
"Hm?"
Chǔ Nánxiāo's anger flared upon seeing her oblivious expression. To flirt with another man right in front of him! Even if he didn't love Jiāng Yuè, she was still his Princess Consort, and others had no right to touch her.
A resonant zither melody, accompanied by the sound of flowing water, broke the indescribable tension between the two. Jiāng Yuè quickly forgot about Chǔ Nánxiāo and focused on completing her task.
The moment the zither music began, her steps had already moved before the three of them. With a sweep and flick of her wide sleeves, she made a slow bowing motion typical of opera.
"Excellent, excellent!" The Emperor laughed heartily, instructing his maids to serve dishes and beckoning Chǔ Nánxiāo. The two brothers began to drink.
Unlike the clinking of cups here, Chǔ Huáfēng and Jiāng Yuè were a world unto themselves, one playing the zither, the other dancing, quiet and beautiful.
Jiāng Yuè didn't really know how to dance. She merely swung her sleeves, swayed her hips, and cast coquettish glances. However, paired with her alluring face, she wasn't unappealing.She and the Second Prince, Chǔ Huáfēng, exchanged glances from time to time, their coordination surprisingly tacit understanding. Little did they know, it was Chǔ Huáfēng's long-held wish to accompany her with music.
He concealed his feelings exceptionally well, so much so that no one knew the Second Prince, with his crippled legs, had placed the Tianchu Kingdom Princess in the very center of his heart the moment he laid eyes on her – love at first sight, captivated at the second.
After a few cups of wine, Chǔ Nánxiāo's face grew darker and darker, until he finally lost control. He reprimanded in a low voice, "Enough! What kind of dance is that you're doing?"
The air suddenly fell silent. The zither music stopped, but Jiāng Yuè's movements did not. She continued to flutter like a colorful butterfly while earnestly replying, "The Beautiful Butterfly Fluttering Dance!!!"
Chǔ Nánxiāo clearly hadn't expected Jiāng Yuè's response. A blockage formed in his throat, making him unable to inhale or exhale, his face turning red with suppressed emotion. He flicked his sleeve, snorted coldly, and fell silent.
"Amusing, truly amusing!" The Emperor clapped his hands, his eyes full of delight, looking at Jiāng Yuè as if he had discovered something novel.
Only Chǔ Huáfēng let out a low chuckle, his long, fair hands returning to the zither strings before him.
'Who the hell knows what dance this is,' Jiāng Yuè thought frantically, spinning around. 'If this nonsensical System hasn't said the mission is complete, do you think I dare stop? Dare I?'
'If I fail the mission and have to stand still for an entire hour, an hour! That's two hours! What if I can't stand it? What if I move? Heaven knows how this god-forsaken system would punish me.'
So, for her own safety and for the so-called mission reward, Jiāng Yuè had to grit her teeth and continue dancing this "Beautiful Butterfly Fluttering Dance"!!!
"Third Brother, the Tianchu Kingdom Princess is quite a character!" Although the Emperor's words were praise, Chǔ Nánxiāo heard a different meaning, his gaze on Jiāng Yuè growing deeper.
"Mission completion: ninety-nine percent!" The System's omnipresent voice exploded in her mind again. Jiāng Yuè ignored her rapidly pounding heart and asked speechlessly,
"What about the remaining one percent?" 'Is the System here to make fun of me? Is there even a percentage breakdown for this?'
The System replied, "If the host circles around the Second Prince Chǔ Huáfēng once and blows a flying kiss, the mission completion will reach one hundred percent!"
Jiāng Yuè, "???" 'Am I sure I heard that right? Didn't you see Chǔ Nánxiāo's face is already terrifying? I might get killed by his gaze before the mission is even completed!!!'
However, she thought again, 'Could these chaotic missions be intended to deepen my bond with Chǔ Huáfēng? After all, he's my devoted CP in this world!'
She stealthily glanced at Chǔ Nánxiāo from the corner of her eye, constantly giving herself mental reassurance, "Everything is for the mission, everything is to go home and get rich!!!"
And so, she lifted her skirt and "joyfully" rushed towards the Second Prince Chǔ Huáfēng. Like a flower, she circled him once, and as her flowing skirt settled, she cupped her face and blew a flying kiss.
Chǔ Huáfēng's fair cheeks turned red, the blush even spreading to his ears.
*Bang*
Chǔ Nánxiāo's wine cup shattered!
Jiāng Yuè, as she wished, heard the System announce the mission's completion and received her long-awaited mission reward.
Actually, she was quite afraid of pain. Having the opportunity to heal would make pain disappear, how wonderful would that be.