Time travel, quick transmigration

An Lushan was humiliated by Shi Yan but dared not retaliate. When he first met this high-ranking and elegant imperial concubine, he vaguely felt that she looked down on him, which made him resentful for a long time. He finally managed to please the emperor and even became his godfather. He thought that when he met the high-ranking imperial concubine again, she would think more highly of him, but he did not expect that she would still look down on him.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, you have misunderstood me. What I meant was that I had heard that Your Highness was an exceptional dancer, and that Your Majesty was also very skilled in music and loved dance. So, I found a dancer from the Western Regions and specially prepared a song and dance performance to present to Your Majesty and Your Highness. I only wished that Your Highness would give your opinion on the dancer's skills."

Shi Yan was truly impressed by An Lushan's eloquence. How could she not know that An Lushan was cunning by nature and would immediately change his tune once he lost face, all in an effort to save face?

Li Longji was very pleased and immediately became interested.

"I see. Why don't you have that dancer come forward and perform a song and dance for my imperial concubine?"

An Lushan bowed his head in agreement, and then a woman wearing a veil and a Western-style dress, who was standing at the end of the banquet, came forward.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, this woman is named Aman. She is not only beautiful, but also skilled in all kinds of music and dance."

Shi Yan was taken aback when she heard the name Aman. If she remembered correctly, there was a maid named Aman by Yang Yuhuan's side in her world's history, and she was extremely loyal to Yang Yuhuan.

If this Ah Man is the same Ah Man, then perhaps she could keep her by her side.

Li Longji glanced at Aman, who was dressed in exotic clothing and wore a veil, with an extremely graceful figure and a mysterious charm.

"This woman has a graceful figure; I wonder how she dances. I'd like to have a good look at her. An Lushan, since you found her, her dancing skills must be superb. Let her dance a Hu Xuan."

An Lushan's smile deepened when he saw Li Longji's great interest in Aman.

"Your Majesty is overly complimentary."

"Aman, you shall dance a Hu Xuan dance for His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine."

Aman parted her red lips beneath her veil and said "Yes."

As exotic music began, Aman stretched out her flexible limbs and began to dance.

Shi Yan had never seen anyone dance the Hu Xuan dance so vividly and gracefully before. Every movement of A Man blended with the music, and the music seemed to come alive because of her lively and beautiful dance. A Man was like a light and graceful butterfly, making people feel dazzled and mesmerized.

Li Longji was clearly also very engrossed.

As the music ended, Ah Man finished with a beautiful move, and many people in the audience finally came to their senses and turned their attention away from Ah Man.

Li Longji looked at Aman below with satisfaction, her eyes slightly lowered.

"This woman's Hu Xuan dance is absolutely superb! I will reward her with a box of Persian agate, a box of top-quality South China Sea pearls, and a thousand taels of gold!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi immediately bowed and agreed.

"His Majesty has decreed that the dancer Aman be rewarded with a box of Persian agate, a box of top-quality South China Sea pearls, and a thousand taels of gold."

An Lushan smiled and thanked the imperial decree upon hearing this.

"On behalf of Aman, I thank Your Majesty for your imperial grace."

He said this to the quiet girl.

"Aman, why don't you thank His Majesty and Your Highness?"

Despite receiving the emperor's generous reward, Aman remained neither humble nor arrogant, and simply said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, and the Imperial Concubine for your kindness."

Shi Yan glanced at A Man and couldn't help but think more highly of her, praising her sincerely.

"Miss Aman's dance is graceful and her skills are superb. It would be extremely difficult to find someone in Chang'an who can rival you. I also enjoyed Miss Aman's Hu Xuan dance very much."

Upon hearing Shi Yan's praise and affirmation of Aman, Li Longji said...

"It is the woman's honor and pride to receive praise from Yu Huan. Her Hu Xuan dance is indeed exquisite, but in terms of graceful movements and perfect combination of form and spirit, Yu Huan is still superior."

Upon hearing this, Shi Yan smiled but did not reply.

An Lushan, seeing this, had an idea and seized the opportunity.

"It is this girl's good fortune to satisfy both His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine. Perhaps Your Majesty and the Imperial Concubine could keep Aman in the palace, so that she can entertain the two noble ladies when they have nothing to do."

An Lushan spoke with utmost sincerity, and the look in his eyes was also very genuine.

Shi Siming, who had known An Lushan for a long time and had been his brother for many years, revealed a cryptic smile and tugged at the corner of his mouth in a mocking manner.

Upon hearing this, Li Longji was tempted, but hesitated to speak because Shi Yan was present.

Shi Yan glanced at Li Longji, then looked down at An Lushan's greedy eyes, and understood what the two were thinking.

Li Longji remained silent, and some of the ministers present began to whisper among themselves.

An Lushan looked down on the emperor for acting like a henpecked husband, but he was also surprised by the influence the imperial concubine had on him. Seeing that his plan to plant spies in the palace had failed, he was unwilling to give up. He turned his attention to the noble and aloof Shi Yan at the head of the table.

“Your Highness, Aman was specially found by me from among the common people. I saw that she has some talent and can grasp music and dance very quickly. She is also very hardworking. I cherish her talent, so I had her trained for a period of time. I brought her here specifically to give to Your Highness. I only hope that Your Highness will let her stay by your side to keep you company.”

An Lushan's vivid and engaging narration made it seem as if it were a fact.

Li Longji believed it to be true, and while he breathed a sigh of relief, he was also secretly pleased.

"Yu Huan, since you have such a heart, An Aiqing, you must not let her down."

Shi Yan remained silent, only gazing at A Man. Seeing that although A Man was young, his calm demeanor led her to guess that he must be a person of composure.

"I also have this intention. Even if Lady An does not say it, I intend to take the initiative to ask Lady An for Aman."

"Aman, would you be willing to be my personal maid?"

Aman, who had been like an emotionless puppet the whole time, suddenly looked up at Shi Yan, who was smiling slightly at her, and after a moment of hesitation, knelt down on the ground.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. This servant is willing."

Upon seeing this, Shi Yan smiled sweetly.

"Okay, get up and go change your clothes."

Then she spoke to Xiaodie, who was standing behind her.

"Accompany Aman to Nanxun Palace to change her clothes, and then arrange a place for her to stay, right next to yours. From now on, the two of you should get along well. Come over after Aman is settled."

Xiaodie nodded and smiled in response, looking happy to have a new friend.

After Aman was taken away by Xiaodie, An Lushan returned to his seat.

What followed was the pre-arranged song and dance performance. However, with Ah Man's exquisite Hu Xuan dance preceding them, the emperor, his court officials, and the invited literati and scholars were all uninterested in the songs and dances performed by the palace women in the Pear Garden.

After the banquet ended, Li Longji left with Shi Yan, and once the emperor and empress were gone, everyone else also dispersed.

Yang Guozhong, who had come to the banquet with great joy, was actually very resentful that An Lushan had stolen all the limelight that night. Thinking about how he had been forgotten and neglected by the emperor, he harbored resentment towards An Lushan.

“An Lushan, you are nothing but a barbarian who dares to dream of climbing the imperial ladder and becoming emperor in one step. You run rampant in Chang'an. With me here, you can forget about it. Just wait and see, I, Yang Guozhong, will trample you under my feet…”