I'm reborn, only a fool would spoil you

Fu Xiaotian was deeply favored by Emperor Jingde, and after being rewarded...

However, Concubine Xiang couldn't bear to see her good friend Princess Lehua looking so disappointed, and she felt even more depressed because of her own failure.

She leaned against Emperor Jingde again, smiling unwillingly:

"Marquis Jingyang's performance was truly unique. I laughed so hard that my stomach ached. But Marquis Jingyang's wife's dance was... a little too simple. I didn't appreciate the charm of Jiangnan dance at all."

Is this a subtle accusation against Tao Ying for being too perfunctory?

Not being loyal to Your Majesty?

Empress Gao defended Tao Ying with a smile: "It can be seen that the wife of Marquis Jingyang dances stiffly and is indeed not good at dancing."

They are not good at it anymore, but you still force them to take a long step. Isn't that unfair?

Changing the subject, Empress Gao teased Concubine Xiang again: "If Concubine Xiang is interested in Jiangnan Waizi Dance, I can find a few Waizi Dance masters to teach you tomorrow."

Concubine Xiang rolled her eyes inwardly. Who wants to learn that cheap tile dance?

She was disdainful in her heart, but she did not stop accusing Tao Ying. All she wanted was to make Emperor Jingde dissatisfied with Tao Ying.

It would be best if the crime of "disrespect" could be punished.

At this time, Princess Yuehua also joined the battle. She spoke calmly and launched an attack on Tao Ying:

"Brother, if Jiangnan dance is performed well, it is truly beautiful, and is very different from the dances in our palace. It's a pity that some people don't appreciate it..."

The prince consort Mu Shaoheng tightly grasped the wine glass until his knuckles turned white. He stared coldly at Princess Yuehua, but she didn't care at all and only wanted to trample Tao Ying under her feet.

I will not give up until I achieve my goal.

When the parties were arguing, Fu Yuzheng suddenly stood up and said to Emperor Jingde with a smile, "Your Majesty, my mother is not good at dancing, but I am. I would like to perform the most famous Ming dance in Jiangnan to celebrate your birthday."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingde laughed and said, "Isn't the most famous dance in Suzhou City the tile dance, but the Ming dance?"

Fu Yuzheng glanced at Concubine Xiang meaningfully and said bluntly:

"Your Majesty, Concubine Xiang is far away in the capital, and I'm afraid she doesn't know much about Jiangnan dance."

“Locally, the so-called Wazi dance is something that men enjoy, but it plays only a supporting role.”

"Mingtiao is a dance that is truly enjoyed by both men and women, and by both the elite and the masses. It is now popular throughout the Jiangnan region. Only Mingtiao can interpret the soul of Jiangnan dance."

In other words, only Mingtiao can represent Jiangnan dance.

And Wa Zi Wu is not qualified at all!

When Emperor Jingde heard this, he was stunned. His eyes moved towards Concubine Xiang with an ambiguous look:

"Oh? So my beloved concubine is so obsessed with dancing, but she can also be fooled and made mistakes by the people below her."

Concubine Xiang: ...

Almost choked to death.

She originally wanted to trip up Tao Ying, but ended up being tripped up by her daughter instead, leaving Emperor Jingde with a bad impression of her as "only half-knowledgeable, but fond of showing off".

Concubine Xiang clenched the handkerchief in her hand, her cheeks turning pale and red.

She obviously did not expect Fu Yuzheng to be so bold as to openly accuse her of pretending to know.

However, Fu Yuzheng's courage was not groundless. In her previous life, she had already deeply realized a truth during the social activities at the Zhenguo Mansion.

Once she was related by marriage to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, no matter whether she offended Concubine Xiang or not, Concubine Xiang would regard her and her family as the Queen and the Prince's followers and as political enemies.

Political enemies are political enemies, whether they are enemies or not, and Concubine Xiang will never show mercy.

If that's the case, why should she tolerate Concubine Xiang?

It should be torn when it needs to be torn, and it should be torn openly like firecrackers, so Concubine Xiang might be afraid of it.

This trick really worked. Under Fu Yuzheng's strong counterattack, Concubine Xiang didn't dare to attack Tao Ying easily anymore and could only smile perfunctorily.

Emperor Jingde was indeed very interested in Jiangnan dance, and he could not wait to ask Fu Yuzheng to perform a piece.

Fu Yuzheng, with a mischievous smile, made an additional request to Emperor Jingde.

"Your Majesty, I have a small wish."

Emperor Jingde smiled tolerantly, waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."

Fu Yuzheng glanced at Tao Ying who had returned to her seat, then smiled and said, "My dear mother, she is very good at playing the recorder. I hope you can accompany me."

Of course, there were professional accompaniers for court dances, but Fu Yuzheng was worried that Concubine Xiang was still harboring evil intentions and was whispering in Emperor Jingde's ear at night, slandering her mother for being disrespectful to the emperor, so she danced deliberately to please him.

The consequences could be disastrous.

Just in case, Fu Yuzheng decided to let her mother take action personally and use her unique skills to win the approval of Emperor Jingde.

After listening to Fu Yuzheng's words, Emperor Jingde's eyes flashed with interest. He ordered the eunuch beside him: "Go to the storehouse and take out the celestial jade flute."

This is the permission.

At the seat, Fu Xiaotian shook Tao Ying's hand and encouraged her, "Go ahead." He knew what his wife was good at and had full confidence in her.

Tao Ying stood up gracefully and took the legendary "Jade Flute of the Goddess" from the young eunuch.

When the little daughter changed into her dance dress and walked out, Tao Ying took a deep breath, put the jade flute to her lips and began to play.

The flute sounds melodious, like a spring breeze blowing across the green lake, gentle and moving.

The song "Picking Flowers in Jiangnan" flowed in the sound of the flute, and everyone seemed to be brought into the misty water town of Jiangnan...

Emperor Jingde was good at music and was more empathetic. He seemed to see those girls with beautiful smiles, lightly walking through the fields full of flowers, picking beautiful flowers one by one.

Concubine Xiang caught a glimpse of Emperor Jingde, who was so engrossed in the music that he even tapped his knees involuntarily to the rhythm of the flute, completely immersed in the wonderful sound of the flute.

This made Concubine Xiang very unhappy. She had originally intended to embarrass Tao Ying, but this backfired and gave Tao Ying a chance to shine.

Princess Yuehua exerted more force and crushed another purple grape, and the juice seeped into the cracks between her nails again.

The maid quickly brought a copper basin for her to wash her hands.

The Prince Consort Mu Shaoheng glanced coldly at Princess Yuehua and snorted in displeasure.

At this moment, Fu Yuzheng came on stage in an exquisite white dance dress.

Fu Yuzheng's dance steps are poetic and picturesque, and every turn and jump is full of artistic atmosphere.

She was only fifteen years old, and her fingers gently waved, as if outlining the misty rain and flowing water of the south of the Yangtze River in the air.

And when she looked back and smiled, it seemed as if she brought the audience into the spring of Jiangnan, witnessing a beautiful flower bud blooming.

Every twist of her graceful waist reminds people of willow branches swaying in the spring breeze, adding a bit of vividness to the ink paintings of Jiangnan.

Her dancing posture not only displays the tenderness and grace of Jiangnan women, but also retains strength and tension, which makes people fall in love with her and praise her endlessly.

Emperor Jingde was fascinated by the performance. He was completely immersed in this wonderful dance. He didn't know when it started, but he stopped tapping the beat and instead focused on appreciating Fu Yuzheng's dance.

What Fu Yuzheng didn't know was that she had single-handedly aroused Emperor Jingde's strong interest in the Jiangnan water town and Jiangnan women, laying the groundwork for a large number of Jiangnan concubines to flood into the palace later...

After the dance, Emperor Jingde and the audience fell into a brief trance.

It was not until Gao Ni started to applaud first that everyone woke up from their dream and burst into warm applause.

Emperor Jingde was almost the last one to "wake up". After Fu Yuzheng left the stage, he was still infatuated with his fantasy of the Jiangnan water town, muttering to himself:

"The dancing posture of Jiangnan, with its charming and tender feelings, is truly the most beautiful in the world and makes people yearn for it. I am afraid that in the future, court dancing will no longer arouse my interest."

Concubine Xiang: ...

What the emperor meant was that from now on her dancing...had lost its luster?

No longer fragrant?

The emperor's mixed words of praise and criticism were like a sharp sword, instantly piercing Princess Yuehua's defense.

Princess Yuehua could never have imagined that everything she had carefully planned would eventually help Tao Ying's daughter, allowing Fu Yuzheng to stand at the top of the crowd with her beautiful dance moves, and step on... herself!

With an effort, Princess Yuehua crushed another purple grape, and the purple juice seeped into her fingers.

At this time, Emperor Jingde turned to Fu Xiaotian and laughed loudly:

"Marquis Jingyang, you are so lucky to have married such an outstanding wife and given birth to such an outstanding daughter. Both mother and daughter are truly models of beauty and talent. I can't help but envy you. Come, there are huge rewards!"

Fu Xiaotian was beaming with glory. He stood up from his seat, walked onto the red carpet, and received the award with his wife and daughter.

At this time, Tao Ying returned the "Heavenly Jade Flute" in her hand to the young eunuch.

Seeing this, Empress Gao came up with a plan and said to Emperor Jingde:

"Your Majesty, the wife of Marquis Jingyang is not only beautiful but also talented. She has been stationed in the northwest with the army for more than ten years. She has worked hard and made great contributions. She is truly a model of both virtue and talent. She and the 'Heavenly Jade Flute' complement each other very well."

It turns out that this "Jade Flute of the Heavenly Girl" has a great origin. It is a relic of Empress Rong, the first wife of Emperor Kangning of the previous dynasty.

Because Empress Rong had noble character and was hailed as a role model for women all over the world, her relics were also given special significance.

Empress Gao knew that Tao Ying came from a royal merchant family and was slightly inferior to other dukes' wives and marquis' wives. Today, she deliberately raised Tao Ying's status, and also wanted to bring glory to her in-laws.

As soon as the empress proposed it, Emperor Jingde immediately agreed: "She deserves the title."

Emperor Jingde then walked down the steps himself and presented the "Heavenly Jade Flute" to Tao Ying, wife of Marquis Jingyang, in recognition of her contribution:

"The wife of Marquis Jingyang has been stationed with the army in the bitter cold of the northwest for nearly twenty years. She has worked hard and made great contributions. She is truly a role model for women from noble families all over the world."

The concubines and noble ladies present were envious when they saw this.

Normally, the commendation was done by the eunuchs around the emperor. But at this moment, Emperor Jingde actually did it himself. This was the highest honor!

Tao Ying gracefully took the "Heavenly Jade Flute" and expressed her deep gratitude to Emperor Jingde and Empress Gao.

Emperor Jingde suddenly asked curiously, "Your last name is Tao? Is your father the wealthy man who rivals a country... Lord Tao An?"

Tao Ying smiled and replied, "Your Majesty, you are wise. Tao An is my father. But my father's wealth is far less than what your Majesty said. He only has a few silver coins in his pocket."

After hearing this, Emperor Jingde laughed out loud:

"Madam Jingyang is so modest. Everyone in the world knows that I am the most noble in the world, and your father is the richest in the world. In the future, if Lord Tao An is free, you may come to the palace to have a chat. I will ask him how to manage finances, and let all the ministers in the Ministry of Revenue come to learn from him."

The Ministry of Revenue official who was suddenly named: …

They were so frightened that they sobered up one by one and secretly made up their minds that as soon as they left the palace, they would go to Lord Tao An to ask for advice on financial management.

The emperor's words made Tao Ying more confident. She straightened her back and smiled, "Your Majesty is so kind. My father will come to the capital in a while and will definitely come to the palace to pay his respects to Your Majesty."

"It's settled then. I'm waiting!" Emperor Jingde laughed heartily.

Fu Yuzheng was not surprised to hear all this.

Because in the previous life, Emperor Jingde had also summoned her grandfather.

At that time, the national treasury was empty and the imperial court was in urgent need of funds. My grandfather, with his wisdom, proposed many creative financial management plans for the imperial court to fill the national treasury.

But the difference between the two worlds is...

In the previous life, the summons was secret and no one outside knew about it.

In this life, Emperor Jingde openly mentioned this matter in order to show his appreciation for Tao Ying, making Tao Ying's status even more transcendent.

With the support of Emperor Jingde, Tao Ying can finally stand tall...completely straight for the rest of her life.

After receiving the reward and expressing gratitude, Tao Ying and Fu Xiaotian returned to their seats, and her spirits were obviously more radiant.

In sharp contrast, Princess Yuehua's expression became increasingly cold.

When passing by, Tao Ying did not look at Princess Yuehua's face, but inadvertently glanced at the purple grapes on the table in front of her.

Uh, it's all broken.

The purple juice flowed all over the white porcelain plate.