Chapter 15 Ethereal Grace Dance
Zephyr didn’t respond to him.
A bright, colorful silk ball was tossed high into the air.
Six lion dancers jumped up, flipping and leaping with full energy.
The young performers were already very skilled, and their lion dance was even more impressive than usual. The difficult moves they showed off brought loud cheers from the whole crowd. Even the wise and experienced Talulla couldn’t stop praising them again and again.
The sound of the gongs and drums slowly built up to a loud climax.
As they danced, the lion dancers chanted in unison, “The drums and gongs ring out loudly with joy, filling the air to celebrate the person of honor. Ever since the green lion’s performance, spring has spread everywhere and blessings fill the home. The lion’s dance is like a blooming flower, symbolizing a house full of children and grandchildren!
At the peak of the music, the gongs and druins suddenly stopped.
Some of the lion dancers lay down on the ground as if sleeping, their big paws holding silk balls, leaving an empty space in the center.
In the silence, the quick rhythm of a clapperboard suddenly echoed.
Zephyr watched the familiar pink lion from earlier move gracefully into the open space left by the others.
She placed the wine jug on the ground, then leaned in, sniffing the wine gently. She seemed to enjoy the smell so much that her big eyes opened and closed slowly. Her front paws rested on the floor while her tail swayed playfully in the air.
The air was filled with the sweet scent of peach blossoms, and even the mighty lion seemed intoxicated by the joy.
Her cute actions made the guests laugh softly.
Then, she picked up the wine jug, pretending to love the drink. Zephyr noticed a peach blossom fall from the lion’s head.
It was the same blossom he had tucked into Sadie’s hairpin.
At the thought of something, he raised an eyebrow slightly.
The pink lion, acting drunk, staggered across the stage in an adorable way. The wine jug rolled over to a green lion nearby, which woke up the other lion dancers. As the gongs and drums started up again, they all began to leap and spin once more.
The wine jug was smashed in mid–air, and both the pink and green lions jumped up at the same time, landing on their backs and catching a bright red silk that had fallen from the jug.
They opened the red silk together.
Written on it boldly was a special message: May your joy be boundless and your years many.
The crowd erupted in loud applause and cheers.
To cutercal Grace Dance
Talulla stood up excitedly, leaning on her dragon walking stick, and walked forward: Who might
It turned out Sadie and Alexander were the pink and green lions.
They removed their lion masks, bowed, and said, “May joy be boundless and your years many,
Grandmother.”
Talulla’s eyes welled up with tears as she held them lovingly. “Thank you.”
Sadie glanced at Alexander and shared a knowing smile with him.
At first, Sadie had planned to give Talulla a screen as a birthday gift. But Alexander had kept asking her to do a lion dance instead, offering to help her learn a few simple moves.
And so, they practiced in secret every night in the garden, which eventually led to the performance they delivered that day..
Adding to that, the screen from yesterday had been touched by Adonis and Neville, and Sadie thought it was no longer clean. That was why she had chosen to do the lion dance with Alexander instead.
Talulla chuckled and asked Nicolas, “What do you think? Are they good dancers?”
Stroking his beard, Nicolas praised them warmly. “They were great!”
Talulla then turned to Zephyr with a smile. “What do you think?”
Zephyr took a sip of wine, his eyes resting on Sadie.
In the spring sunlight, her hair was a little messy, and the silver butterfly pin in her bun sparkled. Her round. face was flushed pink. At that moment, she was using a peach–colored handkerchief to gently wipe the sweat behind her ears.
He looked away, picturing the pink lion sipping from the wine jug.
Then he said. “They were good.”
Sadie glanced at him in surprise, clearly not expecting him to praise them.
Zephyr thought the way she looked at him with her big eyes made her seem just like the naive pink lion.
At the nearby table, Daisy bit her lip.
Seeing Talulla invite Sadie to sit beside her and even planning to introduce her to the noble ladies at the banquet, she secretly clenched her handkerchief.
Neville gritted his teeth and said, “I can’t believe she didn’t present the screen! She’s getting bold, always of tricks! Daisy, we can’t let her steal your spotlight. Lion dancing is rough and uncultured. It’s not suited lo nobles! Daisy, why don’t you perform the Ethereal Grace Dance for Lady Talulla right now? Show her what a real noble lady looks like!”
Daisy was surprised.
Sadie had just finished performing. If she were to take the stage, people would think she was trying to steal the attention from her own sister.
Moreover, the Ethereal Grace Dance wasn’t right for this kind of event.
Grace Dance
Neville might be strong, but he wasn’t the sharpest. He was utterly foolish.
Finished
If not for the fact that he would later achieve fame in the military and become the crown prince’s right- hand man, Daisy wouldn’t even want to be around him.
She was about to turn him down when Madison suddenly laughed and said, “Grandmother, I just heard that the eldest daughter of the Francis family wants to perform a dance for you.”
Daisy felt a chill run through her entire body.
That voice…
She looked at Madison in fear.
The young man, dressed in white, stood tall and elegant. He had a calm and gentle look on his face. A small red mark on his forehead made him stand out.
In her previous life, when Madison briefly stayed at the estate, she had mistaken him for a noble’s son. She shyly tried to get close to him, but before she could even make her move to get intimate with him, she was drugged.
When she woke up, she found that he had sewn a large piece of black dog skin onto her thigh.
Later, she married a low–ranked government official and was looked down upon and tortured.
She later learned that Madison had been kicked out of The Duke’s household for having dark and twisted. tendencies. At fifteen, he had once treated a dying man, keeping him alive for three more days. But afterward, it was found that the man’s organs had been removed. No one knew how he kept him alive.
People called him strange and mysterious.
Since then, Nicolas had sent him away. Now, he lived in a coffin home, spending his days handling corpses.
Daisy couldn’t help but touch her skin, relieved that she had avoided that fate in this life.
Perhaps Sadie will end up suffering instead.
She was lost in thought when Neville nudged her excitedly. “Daisy, what are you waiting for? Go on and dance for Lady Talulla! Everyone’s looking forward to it.”
Daisy had no other choice. She got up and started dancing-
However, the dance moves didn’t suit a birthday banquet. The noble ladies in the crowd were unimpressed, but she did catch the eye of a few men with questionable manners who kept glancing her way.
Even from a distance, she was aware of those disturbing looks.
When the dance finally ended, the garden was silent. No one clapped. Only a few soft giggles remained in
the air.
Daisy’s face turned bright red with embarrassment. Feeling humiliated, she slowly returned to her seat.
Neville didn’t notice her distress and cheered, “Daisy, your dance was amazing! I was completely mesmerized!”
Adonis chimed in. “Yeah, after today, I bet lots of noble sons will be crazy about you.”
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Chapter 15 Ethereal Grace Dance
Daisy lowered her head, her eyes filling with tears,
They’re so clueless! F
Can’t they see the kind of men who showed interest in me are nothing but lazy good–for–nothings?
Unable to bear the humiliation any longer, she burst into tears and ran out.
The fuss drew the attention of Talulla and the others,
While peeling a crab, Madison chuckled and said, “She’s the one who wanted to dance, and now she’s the one crying. Isn’t that a bit too much to just show up and cry at Grandmother’s sixtieth birthday banquet?”
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