The eldest sister was reborn and the younger sister traveled through time. I just want to survive.

The Queen Mother was the first to applaud, "Great! The Hua family is worthy of being the largest family in Jiangnan. Even their daughters are so talented!"

The superior was not at all stingy in praising Hua Wanying, which showed that he really liked her.

Among the noble ladies who came on stage to display their talents next, only Xue Wanhe, the eldest daughter of the Xue family, could compete with the girl from the Hua family.

Xue Wanhe has been extremely talented in playing the zither since she was a child. At the age of six, she was accepted as an apprentice by the number one zither player in Dafeng. Now, she is only in her prime years, but her exquisite zither skills have reached perfection.

After the song ended, everyone in the hall was so excited that they couldn't calm down for a long time.

After the Queen Mother and the Empress praised her, Concubine Li, who had always been at odds with Empress Xue, also started to praise her.

"I have long heard that Miss Xue is an excellent zither player. It is true that hearing is believing! Miss Hua is the most talented woman in Jiangnan, and Miss Xue can be called the most talented woman in Luodu. The girls in Dafeng are as talented as boys!"

Li Chaner stood up and waited for permission to reply, "Your Highness, you may not know that Miss Yan Muqing of the Yan family is the most talented woman in our Luodu City. At the poetry meeting that year, Miss Yan casually wrote a poem 'Ripples', and even everyone in the room praised it!"

"Oh? I didn't know about this! Miss Yan's poems can be praised by Chief Fangshan, so her literary talent must be outstanding. I wonder if Miss Yan can compose a poem for the Queen Mother today?" Concubine Li looked at Yan Muqing.

Good poetry cannot be created just by saying it. It requires the right time, place and everything else to spark some inspiration.

Empress Xue, thinking of Xue's face, rushed to excuse Yan Muqing before she could, "Miss Yan didn't prepare anything, and she was suddenly asked to write a poem. If she can't do it, won't the little girl be so nervous that she will cry!"

Concubine Li disagreed, "Eh? All the talents presented by the ladies today are just to entertain the Queen Mother. It doesn't matter if Miss Yan's poems are not good, just for fun!"

Having said that, Yan Muqing didn't want to offend the noble ladies, so even if he had no inspiration, he had to compose a poem to get the job done.

But who could have imagined that Yan Muching was eager to offend the Queen Mother and the Empress so as to block her way to the Eastern Palace.

She stood up calmly and saluted, "I was ill for some time not long ago, and my brain is as if it is blocked by paste. So I'd better not make a fool of myself today, so as not to pollute everyone's ears. I hope the Queen Mother will not blame me!"

No matter how tactful her words were, it could not change the fact that she rejected the imperial concubine and the empress dowager on the spot.

The Imperial Concubine was fine, as she had asked Yan Muqing to compose the poem just to provoke others. Empress Xue and the Queen Mother then looked unhappy.

Everyone knew that the palace was selecting concubines for the princes, and Yan Muqing's refusal was equivalent to telling everyone clearly that she, Yan Muqing, was not interested in being a royal wife.

Even though she was unhappy, it was not easy for her to punish him on the spot. Just as Queen Xue was about to ask Yan Muqing to sit down, the prince walked in quickly from outside the hall.

"My grandson is late, please don't blame me, Grandmother!"

Before he finished speaking, the eldest prince also walked into the hall, stood still and saluted, "Jin Cheng greets the Empress Dowager. I wish her good fortune and a long life!" After that, he asked the palace servants to present the birthday gift prepared for the Empress Dowager, which was a several-meter-long painting of good fortune and longevity.

The prince presented the gift before the crown prince, which was a violation of the rules if you look closely, but the eldest prince was so arrogant that he didn't realize it at all.

The Queen Mother always attached great importance to rules. She only smiled and praised, "Jin Cheng is thoughtful!" Then she turned her eyes to the Crown Prince, "I wonder what birthday gift Jin Tang has prepared for Grandmother? If it is not to my liking, I will not recognize it."

The prince smiled brightly, "Don't worry, grandma. The birthday gift is a surprise that I have been preparing for a long time. I guarantee that it will make the royal grandmother smile."

As he said this, he actually looked at Yan Muqing who was standing beside him, "I have something I would like to ask Sister Muqing for help with, I wonder if Sister Muqing is willing to help?"

When their eyes met, Yan Muqing almost pierced her palms to suppress her surging emotions, "Your servant, your servant, I wonder what Your Highness the Crown Prince wants?"

The scene of the prince's last breath in his previous life seemed to be right in front of him. He asked her, "If there is an afterlife, would you still be willing to be my princess?"

Whenever she thought of the prince's eyes at that time, she felt as if her heart was being torn apart and she wished she were dying.

Even though she now knew that her father's official career had nothing to do with the crown prince, she still didn't want to continue her relationship with him.

She was afraid that she could not change her destiny. She did not want to experience that kind of excruciating torture again, and she did not want to let the prince experience it again.

Even though he was politely rejected, the prince still had a warm smile on his face, "I have prepared a leaf song for the Royal Grandmother. Sister Mu Qing is good at playing the flute. Could you trouble Sister Mu Qing to accompany me a little?"

Few people can smile so brightly, and the joy radiating from their eyes seems to be able to heal the haze in people's hearts.

Yan Muqing didn't want to give the prince any hope, so she tried her best to suppress her reluctance and refused, "I have just recovered from my illness and I am not strong enough to help Your Highness play the music. Your Highness should find someone else!"

Yan Muqing's repeated refusal to perform was a slap in the face of the royal family.

The hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone held their breath, wondering if the crown prince would be angry? How would the queens deal with the Yan family girl?

Empress Xue had long known that the Crown Prince loved Yan Muqing. It was a little bit of a stretch for her, the eldest daughter of a third-rank official, to be the Crown Prince's principal wife, but Yan Muqing was the granddaughter of Imperial Tutor Su and was also known as the most talented woman in Luodu City.

Considering how much her son liked her, she nodded in agreement. She had planned to go through the formalities during the palace banquet on New Year's Eve and then ask the emperor to grant the marriage decree.

Unexpectedly, when the time came, the Yan family actually started discussing marriage with the Su family. The failure of the discussion resulted in one person getting sick and the other getting injured, which was enough to prove that both parties had feelings for each other.

Whether as a mother or the mother of a country, Queen Xue could never allow the prince to marry a princess who already had someone she loved.

However, when the prince learned about this, he was only depressed for a few days, and afterwards he insisted on welcoming Yan Muqing as the crown princess.

The mother and son had different opinions, and the marriage, which should have been arranged years ago, has been delayed until now and has not yet been concluded.

Yan Muching's actions today clearly showed that he did not want to join the royal family, yet the prince was still trying to please him. Where was his pride as a crown prince?

Empress Xue suppressed her anger and looked at her niece Xue Wanhe. Just as she was about to ask her to help the prince, the prince said, "Sister Mu Qing only needs to play the flute to accompany a few harmonies. It doesn't require much effort. Don't refuse it anymore!"

After saying this, he winked and ordered the palace servant to bring the brocade box containing the flute to Yan Muqing.

The hall seemed even quieter than before. Everyone held their breath nervously, fearing that the slightest sound would implicate them.

I am also even more curious, whether Yan Muqing will insist on not playing with the prince?

Yan Muqing is not stupid. Under the current circumstances, if he insists on refusing, it will not be as simple as angering the royal family.

She might be kicked out of the hall, which didn't matter to her, but she was afraid that the women of the Su family would be implicated as well.

Helplessly, she could only calm herself down and picked up the flute with trembling fingers, "Since Your Highness trusts me, I can only respectfully obey your command!"

The prince's smile became even brighter, "Then I'll have to trouble Sister Mu Qing!"

Maybe he was numb, but when their eyes met again, Yan Muqing's heart didn't hurt as much as before. Upon closer inspection, he even felt an inexplicable itch.

Only she knew that the prince had pride engraved in his bones. Even though he knew she refused, he was still willing to lower his proud head again and again.

At this moment, the young man must care about her very much in his heart, right?