Chapter 166: Green Waist Dance

In the banquet hall, cups clinked together, and the glazed lantern bathed the Han White Jade Steps in a celestial‑palace glow.

Chu Yunzheng and Xiao Mingshu sat high upon the Phoenix‑Luan Platform, the civil and military officials arrayed on either side, their gazes occasionally flicking toward the side hall.

There the pearl curtains hung low, yet the day's protagonist was nowhere to be seen.

"Why hasn't Wan Tang arrived yet?" Chu Yunzheng looked toward the side hall, his fingertip unconsciously rubbing his wine cup. "Today is a joyous day for Minghui and her."

Xiao Mingshu smiled as she poured wine for him: "My sister just sent word that a surprise dance is being prepared to entertain the Emperor."

The phoenix eyes swept over the empty gilded dance carpet below the stage, "She must be dressing and fixing her hair."

At that moment a court troupe dancer had just finished performing "Spring River Flower Moon Night," and the strings and flutes fell silent.

The Emperor suddenly laughed, "I watched Tangtang dance the 'Rainbow Garment' last night; it was truly flawless."

"I wonder what surprise Tangtang has for us today; it is indeed something to look forward to."

"I fear a single dance could topple a city, and thereafter no one could match it. When people speak of the Rainbow Garment dance, they will have to compare it to Tangtang's choreography as a benchmark."

Before the words finished, the Empress gave a light cough, her fingertips trembling slightly as she adjusted her phoenix crown.

Chu Yunzheng immediately leaned forward with concern: "Is the Empress feeling unwell?"

"No trouble," Xiao Mingshu forced a smile onto her pallid face, "I only recalled how Consort Mei once dazzled the world with her dance during the Late Emperor's reign."

"Do you think little sister can surpass the predecessors today?"

She lowered her voice, "I heard she specifically requested a set of dance robes."

"Such a fine dance naturally deserves a fine costume," Chu Yunzheng said, his eyes full of anticipation.

The sound of strings and flutes rippled like water, and eight dancers slowly unfurled like lotus petals.

As water‑sleeves fluttered, a figure emerged from the depths of the crowd.

The shark‑silk gauze shimmered under the palace lanterns like moonlight, and the phoenix pattern embroidered with golden thread flickered in and out with each step.

The skirt's hem trailed more than three zhang, and wherever it passed a spray of starlight glimmered.

"Heavenly Lord! Could this be the lost 'Moonlight Shark Silk'?" the old Hanlin scholar exclaimed, his beard and hair trembling.

"They say weaving a foot of it costs a hundred gold pieces; how much gold and silver thread would be needed for this sea of light?"

Minister of Works sprang to his feet: "The golden thread is mixed with luminous powder from the Western Regions! That material is priceless!"

He was pulled back to his seat by a colleague before he could finish speaking.

Chu Yunzheng had already leaned forward unconsciously, and the Dragon Throne let out a soft creak.

He stared intensely at the dancer's veil‑shrouded, hazy outline; the wine cup tipped, soaking his dragon robe, and he did not notice.

Was it her?

Is this how she looks in this costume?

Xiao Mingshu's lips curled into a cold arc.

Xiao Mingshu watched the Emperor's lapse with satisfaction, her fingertips lightly grazing.

The dancers withdrew like a tide, leaving only that lone figure standing in the center of the stage.

Chu Yunzheng suddenly crushed the walnut in his hand.

His eyes fixed unblinkingly on the stage.

No!

Not her!

Onstage the dancers' water‑sleeves fluttered, the green‑waist swaying like a serpent; each turn of the head carried a soul‑capturing charm.

The assembled officials were dazzled, while Su Yanci and Zhou Su wore expressions as hard as iron.

Xu Yanchuan leaned against the desk, lazily twirling his wine cup with his fingertip, a mocking smile playing at his lips.

When the dance ended, applause thundered through the hall.

Xu Yanchuan suddenly tossed his cup and laughed loudly: "Exquisite! When I was in Bei Mo, I once saw such moves inside a red curtain."

"I never imagined the palace feast could be no different from a brothel."

The hall fell dead silent.

Xiao Mingshu forced a laugh: "General Xu is drunk; this is merely for amusement."

"For amusement?"

Zhou Su rose abruptly, tablet pointed at the stage, "The Book of Rites, Music Chapter says, 'Music is the flower of virtue!' Today is both the Princess's full‑moon celebration and the Princess Sealing Ceremony, yet you profane the rites with lewd music!"

He turned to scan the ministers, "Do you intend to have the histories record that the Imperial Heir's full‑moon banquet was held alongside brothel wine?"

Minister of War lifted his chin and retorted, "Lord Zhou, why spoil the mood?"

"This banquet was personally organized by the Emperor; can you not think of the Emperor's sake?"

"It is precisely for the Emperor's holy reputation!"

Zhou Su's voice boomed like a great bell, "In ancient times King Zhou of Shang favored Daji's Rainbow Garment dance, and King You of Zhou lit beacon fires for Bao Si's amusement."

"With today's Green Waist Dance, are you urging the Emperor to emulate the fallen kings?"

The ministers fell silent as if chilled by a cold cicada.

Su Yanci finally rose slowly: "Lord Zhou, you speak too heavily."

He gently pressed Zhou Su's tablet down, "It is merely a festive interlude; now that the dance is over, the proper sealing rites should proceed."

His gaze lingered briefly when it turned to Chu Yunzheng.

Chu Yunzheng's finger joints had turned white from gripping, and fine cracks had appeared on the Dragon Throne's armrest.

All eyes were fixed on the Emperor, yet Chu Yunzheng stared intently at the figure still preening on the stage.

The drums and music had ceased at an unknown moment, leaving only the night wind stirring the lingering scent of wine, making the palace lanterns sway erratically.

Wan Tang hid in the shadows, her heavy ceremonial robes like a gilded cocoon enveloping her.

She watched the person onstage with cold eyes; though the veil hid the face, the deliberately painted vermilion mole between the brows resembled her by eight or nine parts.

Heh…

Chu Yunzheng suddenly let out a chilling, faint laugh.

He rose slowly, his dragon boots stepping over shards of crystal lanterns, each step causing the officials to hold their breath.

The person on the stage bowed demurely, her head lowered, but her kneeling posture deliberately exposed a strip of snow‑white neck, as if awaiting the emperor's hand to lift her.

Shei would have thought Chu Yunzheng would suddenly seize her chin, the force so great that the veil instantly bled through: "Shei permits you to wear this outfit?"

His voice, tempered with ice shards, said, "What do you think you are!"

"Her thing—what right do you have to touch it?"

Lin Wanyi was terrified, trembling all over, the imagined favor never arriving.

Yet the chilling, gripping aura made her shiver like a sieve, crouching on the ground like a quail.

"Undress!" Chu Yunzheng roared suddenly, "Take this outfit off me right now!"

Xiao Mingshu hurried to her feet: "Emperor, calm your anger! This is Wan Tang!"

Chu Yunzheng's face still bore no expression.

Only an undeniable aura of authority.

What he has already decided allows no room for doubt.

In the dead silence, Lin Wanyi trembled as she stripped off her clothes.

Glow powder mixed with tears smeared her chest.

Li Defu stepped forward slowly, carefully lifting the Moonlight Shark Silk scattered on the ground.

It seemed he was holding not a dance garment but some sacred, untouchable relic.

His mouth turned downwards, his eyes showing a contempt as if looking at ants.

He elongated his thin voice, the tone low: "Hmph, you know what this is, yet dare to drape it on yourself?"

He shook off the dance garment that shimmered with moonlight, and the glow powder fell like fragments of stars.

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly! Every inch of this shark silk, every golden thread, is a treasure selected one in ten thousand miles, worth a fortune!"

He deliberately paused, his cold gaze sweeping over the trembling figure on the ground, his tone growing even more chilling: "This was specially made by the Grandfather, especially for …"

At that point, as if he had touched a great taboo, he abruptly fell silent.

"We specially commissioned eighteen top embroideresses from Jiangnan, spending a full six years, day and night without rest, to rush this into being."

"Across the world, except for 'that' Master, no one has this blessing, no one has the right to touch it!"

"What are you, and are you even worthy?"

On the stage, Lin Wanyi had long since collapsed onto the ground.

Her whimper was choked by fear, turning into a broken, desperate wail, her body curling into a ball from the violent tremor.

Yet Chu Yunzheng turned a deaf ear to it.

He simply turned coldly, clutching the dance garment that Li Defu had handed over tightly to his chest.

His knuckles whitened from the strain, sinking deep into the soft shark silk.

His face no longer bore any imperial majesty, only a crushing, almost overwhelming sorrow.

Those eyes that once gazed over the world now lowered, their gaze fixed firmly on the moonlit sheen in his arms.

Everything around had ceased to exist.

It seemed he was holding not a garment but a fragile illusion, an unattainable obsession.

Wan Tang stood behind, watching Chu Yunzheng's expression, and her heart ached slightly.

That loving, cherishing look was still Wan Tang's first time seeing it.

Even if it's just a set, it's enough to make every woman in the Imperial harem lose.

Chu Yunzheng faced away from the gilded dance carpet, his silhouette casting a solitary, icy outline under the crystal lanterns.

Below the stage lay a death‑like silence, even breaths barely audible.

His voice was not loud, yet each word struck like chilled ice, clearly pounding into everyone's hearts:

"The Dance of the Rainbow Garment, elegant and lofty, how could it tolerate… how could it tolerate such lewd verses, flamboyant songs, and seductive green‑waist dances to defile it?"

His Adam's apple rolled slightly, as if that name were a thorn lodged in his throat, unable to be spat out or swallowed, finally turning into a vague "she".

Immediately after, he suddenly lifted his head, his gaze not on anyone but hollowly cast toward the heavy night sky beyond the hall.

With no room for negotiation: "Attendants! Take down the column on this stage for me!"

The words caused the entire audience to gasp.

Even Xiao Mingshu, who had been calmly seated on the phoenix‑luan, turned pale with shock, instinctively covering her mouth with her hand, a flash of disbelief flashing through her eyes.

But that astonishment lasted only a moment; the next second, a nearly uncontainable surge of rapture and exhilaration rose from deep within her eyes.

She quickly rose, her face piled with just‑right panic and worry,

her voice raised, tinged with desperation: "Emperor, think it over!"

"On the stage… the one kneeling there is Sister Wan Tang! Are you about to …"

Yet Chu Yunzheng seemed not to hear her words.

His back remained unmoving, like a rock, cutting off all pleas and astonishment.

Beside him, Li Defu had already grasped the holy intent, his sharp chin lifting slightly as he gave a signal.

A young eunuch, as swift as a phantom, scurried onto the stage, mercilessly stuffing a piece of silk cloth into Lin Wanyi's mouth.

Then he quickly bound her with a ready rope.

Xiao Mingshu, seeing this, stepped forward two paces, her voice trembling: "Emperor! If the column is taken down, this stage will collapse instantly, causing deaths!"

"Emperor …"

Chu Yunzheng finally reacted.

They did not turn back, but simply held the dance costume and walked step by step toward the outside.

Their eyes were empty and pained.

They did not answer the Empress, nor did they glance again at the stage that was about to collapse, and thus, under the dead‑silent gazes of the officials, they left with a sigh of melancholy.