After the mind-reading and gossip-eating incident, officials in the imperial city were demoted one a

As soon as Mu Ningyan finished her dance, cheers and praises came like a tidal wave.

Minister Guo spoke first: "The princess's dance was truly breathtaking, a rare and wonderful sight."

Madam Chen immediately chimed in, "The princess's dance was exquisite, like Chang'e flying to the moon, ethereal and otherworldly. It was truly a feast for our eyes!"

"The princess's dance was like a spring breeze, warming the heart. As a mere military officer, I am at a loss for words to describe even a fraction of its beauty."

Hearing everyone's praise, Mu Ningyan was overjoyed, her eyes filled with pride, and she looked at Mu Youxi provocatively.

Mu Youqi's dancing skills were superb, and no matter how much Mu Ningyan practiced, she always lost to her. Fearing that Mu Youqi would steal her thunder, she plotted to make Mu Ningyan fall into the water.

Madam Mu saw all of this and looked down on her niece even more.

"Clap clap! Yan'er's dancing skills have indeed improved a lot." The Emperor clapped and cheered.

The Empress smiled broadly, her eyes filled with admiration.

"Yan'er's dance is the best I've ever seen. My sister told me long ago that Yan'er had worked very hard, but I thought she was joking!"

"Your Majesty flatters me. I have made a fool of myself." Mu Ningyan gave a slight curtsy.

Mu Ningyan turned her gaze to Prince Jing, only to see that his expression was indifferent and unmoved.

"Ninth Imperial Uncle, what do you think of Yan'er's dance?"

"Barely acceptable." Prince Jing's expression remained indifferent.

Look at Mu Ningyan's disappointed expression. That dance was definitely for Prince Jing's benefit. Could she really have fallen for her uncle?

"I knew everyone was just trying to make Yan'er happy, that's why they praised her. Yan'er will work even harder and dance even better in the future."

Mu Ningyan was used to being flattered and had never been treated so coldly before. She was dissatisfied, but since the other party was an elder, she did not dare to act out.

"Pfft!" Ye Yaoyao covered her mouth and chuckled.

[A princess of such high status, does she aspire to be a dancer?]

Mu Ningyan turned to look at Ye Yaoyao, estimating that the drug's effects were about to kick in, and gave her a provocative smile:

"Miss Ye, this is your first time entering the palace, and everyone is not very familiar with you yet."

Do you have any talents you'd like to showcase? Why not take this opportunity to let everyone get to know you better?

"Show off your talents? Princess, I'm not good at anything!"

Ye Yaoyao spoke with a sincere expression.

Mu Ningyan's lips curled up, and her voice rose a few decibels:

"Miss Ye, don't be modest. You did attend a girls' school, after all. I don't believe you are completely useless."

Seeing this, Liu Yunshu wanted to stand up for her daughter, but Ye Yaoyao gave her a reassuring look.

"Yes! Fourth Miss, I heard from Xue that although you rarely go to the academy, your studies are no worse than hers, so don't be modest."

Madam Tang spoke up in support, saying that a marriage alliance with the Ye family was impossible, and she wanted to put an end to her daughter's idea.

"Princess, my younger sister rarely goes to school, so why don't I go and perform instead?" Ye Xiyao stood up to defuse the situation.

"If Miss Ye wants to go on stage, she'll have to wait a bit. Let's first let all the guests get to know Miss Ye's talents."

Mu Ningyan was determined to embarrass Ye Yaoyao and make her the laughing stock at tonight's palace banquet.

Ye Yaoyao lowered her head, and no one could see the sly glint in her eyes.

"Your Highness has misunderstood. I really don't have any talents, and going on stage would only spoil everyone's fun."

Consort Yu, from the harem, asked with a smile:

"Miss Ye, this is our first meeting. Are you being too modest, or do you look down on this palace banquet and disdain performing?"

At this moment, the surrounding guests stopped talking and all turned their attention to this side, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

[Consort Yu, the Princess's person, is the one who whispered in the Emperor's ear and got me into the palace. Humph! I'll remember her.]

"Master, shall we help Miss Ye?"

Lian Jin watched Ye Yaoyao being forced into this situation and felt worried for her.

"This little girl is not as simple as you think."

Prince Jing looked at Ye Yaoyao with great interest.

"Since that's the case, I'll sing a song. But let me make it clear first, I really don't have any talent, so don't call me vulgar later."

Ye Yaoyao stood up and went onto the stage.

The Ye siblings looked at her with concern, and Ye Yaoyao silently said, "Don't worry."

The deep, pleasant voice of Prince Jing rang out:

"Since Chang Le wants to see Miss Ye perform, there should be both singing and dancing. Why don't the two of you perform together?"

Ye Yaoyao looked at Prince Jing. The two of them were performing together on short notice. If they didn't have any chemistry, one of them could easily become the other's foil. Who was he actually helping?

"Yes, Ninth Imperial Uncle."

Mu Ningyan was naturally happy to oblige. She was more talented than Ye Yaoyao, and she couldn't wait to see her make a fool of herself on stage.

"Miss Ye, what song would you like to sing?"

“My song is a bit special, with a cheerful melody. Princess, you should just dance a cheerful dance.”

Ye Yaoyao instructed the musician in the corner:

"By the way, you guys haven't heard of this, it doesn't need accompaniment."

"Ahem, Princess, I'm about to begin. You must catch me and make sure you don't make any mistakes."

Ye Yaoyao cleared her throat, and Mu Ningyan had already assumed her pose.

"Go ahead and sing your song!" Once the drug takes effect, let's see if you can still laugh then.

"Pig~ Your nose has two holes."

When you have a cold, your nose is still running.

Ye Yaoyao sang two lines, and Mu Ningyan, who had just started her dance, lost her footing and almost tripped over her own skirt.

Those close to the stage spat out their drinks when they heard Ye Yaoyao sing, and the inner hall became even quieter.

Pigs! In the eyes of the upper class of the Tianlin Dynasty, they were vulgar and unclean creatures, and those self-proclaimed refined aristocratic families avoided talking about pigs altogether.

Ye Yaoyao is incredibly bold; some people mentally label her as a vulgar person.

"Ye Yaoyao, what song are you singing?" Mu Ningyan shouted angrily.

"Princess, as I said, the song I'm going to sing is rather unusual. Is it that you can't sing it?"

Ye Yaoyao looked at her with amusement.

"This is disgusting. This is a palace banquet. You are supposed to be a daughter of an official, how can you be so vulgar?"

Snotty cow? Just thinking about it makes me feel disgusted.

"In my opinion, Ye Yaoyao should be trained for a longer period of time." The Empress looked at her with disgust.

The entire palace fell silent instantly. Everyone looked at the audacious Ye Yaoyao with a mixture of worry, curiosity, and a desire to watch the show.

The Crown Prince looked at Ye Yaoyao with a meaningful gaze.

"Your Majesty, where have I been uncouth?"

"How can such a vulgar creature as a pig appear at a palace banquet? Your Majesty, I must impeach Ye Yaoyao."

"Indeed, there wasn't a single dish with pork in the palace banquet," Imperial Censor Liu said indignantly.

"I second the proposal!"

Several adults sided with Imperial Censor Liu.

[Haha, why are you so agitated? It's like I dirtied their house with pig manure.]

[Host, how dare you talk about pigs at a palace banquet! The royal family is very averse to discussing pigs; if you must use a pig, you should use the more elegant term 'Hai Shi'.]

[What's wrong with pigs? They eat pigs, yet they still look down on them. I don't believe there aren't a few people who don't eat pork.]

During the few days she stayed at home and didn't go out, she read through all the historical materials related to the Tianlin Kingdom in her study.

I am familiar with the food culture of Tianlin Kingdom. In the local dialect, people simply refer to pigs as pigs, and pork is a favorite meat among the people.