Sharing a Pavilion With You
Chapter 116: A Dance as Graceful as a Gentle Breeze

Chapter 116: A Dance as Graceful as a Gentle Breeze

"The Crown Prince requests an audience," announced Feng Bao.

The Emperor scowled. "He’s very well-informed isn’t he," he muttered, more to himself than to Feng Bao.

The Emperor was seated in his garden pavilion awaiting Meili’s dance performance after a long hard day arguing with his officials in court.

"Show him through," he waved his hand with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

The Crown Prince appeared in the pavilion and bowed before his Father. "Emperor Father, I’ve come to pay my respects," he said innocently.

"Is that so?" drawled his Father, not fooled for a minute. "Though I’m always pleased to see you son, didn’t we just spend all day together in court?"

"That was in court Father," the Crown Prince said earnestly. "I must pay my respects in private on a daily basis, as my Imperial Grandmother is always reminding me."

"Hm," his Father grunted noncommittally.

"Emperor Father," the Crown Prince sat on a chair alongside his father, "you seem to be awaiting something, perched up here in your pavilion?"

The Emperor turned to stare implacably at his son. So this was the game, was it?

"My Court Lady, Miss Mei, is about to perform a dance for me, to divert me after a long day in court. You may join me for the performance if you wish," he said ungraciously, clearly not pleased to make the offer. "So long as you keep in mind our earlier conversation about Miss Mei. Do I need to remind you specifically of it?"

"No, no, Father, I recall it perfectly well, and I shall definitely abide by your wishes. I thank you for the invitation, that sounds like a perfectly lovely way to spend an afternoon with you."

"I’ll bet it does," muttered the Emperor.

"Sorry Father, I didn’t catch that?"

The Emperor didn’t reply, looking vaguely into the distance. "Serve the tea and send in Miss Mei," he ordered.

Meili entered the performance area with her head down and her long sleeves hiding her face, lying on her back in the centre of the paved circle.

"Oh, very mysterious," chuckled the Emperor, his mood much improved already.

The musicians started to play, and Meili rolled from her back to her side, still lying on the ground but now perched up on one elbow with her back to her audience, her long hair mostly unbound and gently flowing to touch the paving stones.

As the music increased her arms flowed gracefully, her toes posed and pointed. She wore thin stockings on her feet that were designed to look like she wore no shoes, allowing the feet to be used as graceful additions to her dance.

The dance was a slow tease, where the dancer only now turned to face her audience from this slow beginning, such that the full force of her beauty and costume were only gradually revealed to them.

There was a slightly shocked silence between the two men as she stood and faced them with one arm raised and the other under her chin framing her beautiful face.

She wore a long-sleeved red dress that was fitted in the top and the sleeves and had a full skirt, showing her figure to best effect, though she had argued against it, disliking the way it hugged her curves where she preferred to have elegant angles.

The palace Dance Mistress was not a woman to be trifled with and of course had her way in the end.

Her long hair was worn out with just a small section pinned up at the back, with a single matching red silk flower as the only ornament. Her make-up was pale with matching red lipstick and her eyebrows and eyes highlighted.

She thought it far too showy, but the effect it had on the Emperor and the Crown Prince was exactly as the Dance Mistress had intended it to be.

It was a jaw-dropping appearance, half a great beauty of the Empire, half an exotic beauty from the plains. A small mysterious smile played on her full red lips as she danced.

The pace of the music picked up and she spun, letting the full skirt ripple like water.

She looked, for all the world, like a fresh flower unfurling in the morning light, thought the Emperor admiringly.

Graceful poses were interspersed at the end of each spin, culminating in her delicate fingers walking under her beautiful face in a gesture that was both playful and cute.

The Emperor looked over at his son. "Close your mouth, child," he said witheringly, and the Crown Prince slowly brought his lips together, his eyes still fixed unerringly on Mei Meili who was now spinning again, her skirt rippling and her long hair flowing behind her as she spun.

She was all natural grace and danced as lightly as a fairy descended from heaven, the Crown Prince thought. He had heard an account of the dance she had performed in his Empress Mother’s garden, but he didn’t really believe it until now, thinking it must be an exaggeration.

She would be the crowning jewel in any harem. He must ensure she didn’t leave the palace. So long as she remained by his Father’s side, he could work on changing his mind.

Even if his father took her for himself, there was still a path to her. So long as she wasn’t gifted to Commander Bai or his second brother...

The dance finished with a graceful pose and the Emperor and his son clapped loudly.

The Emperor was regretting allowing his eldest to stay for the performance. He could see the machinery grinding in the boy’s head, trying to puzzle out a means to have her.

"Lovely! Lovely, Miss Mei," clapped the Emperor. "You dance very beautifully. You have a natural grace which reminds me of my wife, the former Empress," he spoke with nostalgia.

It was as though he could see her in front of him now, dancing for him in their bed chamber. For a moment he was wistful as he remembered those happy days.

He had a sudden realisation that this girl made him feel the same way as his Liying. She made him light-hearted and soft in ways he had not felt for years.

He hoped he could do what he had to with her when the time came. It really wouldn’t do for him to become selfish at this stage of his reign.

He couldn’t allow anything to compromise the protection of the northern borders. And that meant using every asset he had at his disposal; of which she was one.

Although it wasn’t time for him to go soft, he did hope he could enjoy having her by his side for as long as possible... before he had to let her go.

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