Chapter 21: Shall We Dance?

Amidst the sounds of strings and bamboo flutes, the students danced gracefully.

In a corner of the palace, however, Qin Jian had just begun teaching Ning Rongrong the posture for ballroom dancing.

"Right, just rest it lightly on the shoulder, no need to use force..."

"Then give me your right hand, yes, place it on my left hand, come, straighten it out..."

"Good, now just follow my steps and move..."

Qin Jian gently wrapped his right arm around Ning Rongrong's small waist, leading her in a slow turn.

At this moment, the two of them were almost cheek to cheek, to the point where they could even feel each other's breathing.

This was the true essence of ballroom dancing: using a perfectly legitimate excuse to let strangers engage in the most intimate of acts, rapidly closing the distance between them.

"Qin Jian, I... feel so strange..."

Ning Rongrong leaned in close to his ear and whispered: "Even though we usually hug, for some reason, my heart is beating so fast right now..."

Qin Jian also leaned in to whisper back: "This dance creates an ambiguous atmosphere..."

"Oh..."

Dazed and lightheaded, Ning Rongrong was led by Qin Jian, gradually losing all sense of direction...

"Rongrong, Teacher Moon has seen us."

With a single sentence, Qin Jian pulled Ning Rongrong back to reality; in her nervousness, she even stepped on his feet repeatedly: "Ah?! Then what should we do?"

"Don't panic, listen to the technique I'm about to teach you, we can dance even more beautifully..."

Qin Jian said: "This is a contra-body movement; it allows us to turn our bodies while keeping our waists and hips pressed together, increasing the elegance of the dance."

"Next, when your left foot moves forward, push your right shoulder and right hip forward; when your right foot moves forward, push your left shoulder and left hip forward..."

"When your left foot moves backward, pull your right shoulder and right hip back; when your right foot moves backward, pull your left shoulder and left hip back..."

Qin Jian said in a low voice.

Because she was mentally tense, Ning Rongrong immediately committed all his words to memory and put them into practice...

"Eh? This is interesting..."

Having initially seen Qin Jian and his partner dancing in a way completely different from the others, Tang Yuehua had been prepared to criticize them, but as she watched, she stopped; especially after Qin Jian taught the technique, the two of them danced with increasing grace...

She gradually fell into deep thought...

"Hahaha..."

Just at this moment, a burst of loud laughter rang out, drawing everyone's attention and interrupting Tang Yuehua's thoughts.

She looked over in annoyance to see Prince Xue Beng, who had been standing in the corner for punishment, pointing at Qin Jian and his partner while laughing loudly: "Look at them, what kind of dance is this! It's completely wrong, hahaha!"

"Teacher Moon, hurry and make them come stand for punishment too!" he said excitedly.

"This child... he really intends to be a wastrel to the very end..."

Qin Jian stopped his steps helplessly.

Because at this moment, everyone had been interrupted, and no one continued.

Seeing Tang Yuehua slowly pacing over, Ning Rongrong nervously grabbed Qin Jian's sleeve, as if only then could she feel a sense of security.

"Teacher Moon, we just arrived today, so..."

Before Tang Yuehua could speak, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but speak up.

She had heard rumors about this owner of Yuexuan, and her strictness was legendary...

Who would have thought that Tang Yuehua would not stop, but instead walk past them and head straight toward the laughing Xue Beng.

She reached out her hand and pointed directly outside the door: "You, go stand outside!"

"Ah?"

Xue Beng was dumbfounded.

"Teacher Moon, why aren't you punishing them, but instead making me go out?" he said with some dissatisfaction.

"I am the teacher, you are the student; here, you should listen to me," Tang Yuehua said simply.

Xue Beng wanted to retort, but remembering his experience of being punished a few days ago, he had no choice but to admit defeat and walk out.

Only, before leaving, he looked back at Qin Jian; that deliberate cold snort was clearly meant to tell Qin Jian that he had been marked for a grudge.

"This guy probably thinks of me as a supporting actor in his performance of being a wastrel..." Qin Jian thought helplessly to himself.

Tang Yuehua finally turned back under everyone's gaze and came before Qin Jian and his partner once more.

Unlike before, her attitude this time was very gentle: "You are Qin Jian and Ning Rongrong, right? You just arrived today?"

This also surprised the other students, because Teacher Moon's strictness was witnessed by all, and she had never treated a student like this before.

Seeing Qin Jian and Ning Rongrong nod, Tang Yuehua said: "What dance were you two just doing? I see it is completely different from court dance, yet the social aspect is even more pronounced."

Upon hearing this, Qin Jian said: "Teacher Moon, this is also a type of ballroom dance; its name is simply 'ballroom dance'."

"Named after ballroom dance, is it..."

Tang Yuehua nodded and said: "This dance is excellent. Could you continue dancing? I just had a bit of inspiration."

As soon as she said this, everyone was shocked.

After all, Tang Yuehua was the founder of the Court Etiquette Academy, and her attainments in this field were at the pinnacle; that she could actually gain inspiration from a dance by Qin Jian and Ning Rongrong was truly incredible.

"No problem."

Qin Jian naturally would not refuse.

Thus, the sounds of strings and bamboo flutes rose again, and Qin Jian and Ning Rongrong followed the rhythm and began to spin once more.

This time, everyone was watching them, and the longer they watched, the more they could feel that sense of beauty.

"What a beautiful dance!" someone said.

"I think it looks much more sophisticated than our court dances."

"Hey, keep your voice down, don't accidentally make Teacher Moon unhappy..."

"..."

The students inside the palace were discussing it heatedly.

But Tang Yuehua turned a deaf ear to it; in her eyes, there was only the elegant dance of Qin Jian and Ning Rongrong as they continuously spun while advancing and retreating...

Finally, the song ended, and the two stopped.

Ning Rongrong kept fanning herself with her small hand to soothe her flushed face.

It was her first time doing something so intimate with Qin Jian in front of such a large crowd...

Before Tang Yuehua could say anything, a girl of eight or nine years old in palace attire suddenly walked out from the crowd.

She ran straight toward Qin Jian and then said sweetly, "I am Xue Ke. The dance you just performed was so beautiful; could you take me to dance once as well?"

Xue Ke? The imperial princess?

It seems she is... a member of the looks-obsessed society?

Qin Jian's heart stirred, and sure enough, he discovered that this Xue Ke Gongzhu was staring fixedly at his face...

But before he could agree, Ning Rongrong blocked his path, simultaneously shielding him from the burning gaze of Xue Ke Gongzhu: "Qin Jian is my dance partner; he cannot dance with you!"

"Why can't he dance with me?"

Xue Ke did not give an inch: "Anyway, you are just being led by him, I can be too!"

"Don't you have your own dance partner? Let him lead you!" Ning Rongrong said with her hands on her hips.

Xue Ke rolled her eyes and said, "I like the dance Qin Jian does; we can swap partners."

"Who wants to swap partners with you!"

Ning Rongrong was angry: "Qin Jian and I are partners forever!"

"Partners forever?"

Xue Ke glanced at her: "Are you engaged, then?"

Ning Rongrong was stunned: "No... no..."

(End of this chapter)