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墨書 Inktalez
"This is unfair! Che Chengyun!" Princess Piao Xue stepped forward, scrutinizing Che Chengyun. "You didn’t inform Jiang Han about these circumstances before inviting him to a duel! You’re clearly taking advantage of the situation; this isn’t right, and it shouldn’t be done this way!"
In truth, I could have chosen not to mention any of those important details, Che Chengyun retorted with a smirk, inciting an angry glare from Princess Piao Xue.
Among those present, Princess Piao Xue, as a royal, would have no reason to concern herself with the selection of Dancers. Yan Dong, as a Female Guard, had even less interest in such matters. The other elders were unlikely to be aware of these details either! It was obvious that the intention was to catch Jiang Han off guard!
"Refuse him!" Princess Piao Xue looked at Jiang Han earnestly. "It’s reasonable to decline when you’re completely unaware of the conditions beforehand. If you refuse, Langya Wangfu won’t force you to leave; justice will prevail."
"Hey, hey, hey! You can’t do this!" Shopkeeper Jiang interjected. "You promised to duel! You still want the honor that my Wangfu's Bing Ge Chi Jie earned through three generations of bloodshed! If you back out now, I might just turn hostile and send someone to smash your shop!" Che Chengyun said half-threateningly.
Noticing that Princess Piao Xue and Yan Dong were continuously persuading Jiang Han not to gamble, he continued, " Shopkeeper Jiang! You’ve beaten me a few times before; now if you’re afraid to duel—then in my eyes, you’re not even a man. If you crawl out of here on your knees to the city gate, then this bet will be null and void!"
"How can you be so domineering?" Cen Ya stepped forward, placing herself between Jiang Han and Che Chengyun to separate them. Her beautiful face was filled with anger as she glared at Che Chengyun and said clearly, "You’re trying to trap my Shopkeeper; this is unreasonable."
The Three Women knew that every time Jiang Han collected supplies, it took some time. Therefore, there must be a powerful force behind him providing assistance. Those supplies and weapons couldn’t just appear out of thin air. And no matter how strong that force was, they couldn’t possibly prepare Dancers in advance for such a duel or fabricate their origins from the capital without being discovered by Langya Wangfu and Che Chengyun.
In essence, it meant that Jiang Han might not be able to utilize the Dancers from that powerful backing.
This is clearly a losing situation!
Yan Dong and Cen Ya instinctively protected Jiang Han, continuously reasoning with Che Chengyun, who paid no attention to the two.
Piao Xue Princess, however, looked at Jiang Han seriously and said, "Just say the word. If you do not wish to continue gambling, I will do my utmost to help you resolve this matter without causing too much damage to your reputation! If you are willing to gamble, I can find you a few dancers from the capital, but I cannot guarantee their abilities."
"That's kind of you, thank you!" Jiang Han smiled, not looking at the Three Women but instead at Che Chengyun. "So, the conditions for the gambling duel are that the dancers must be from the capital, and we will hold auditions in three days. They need to prepare a dance, and on that day, the best will be chosen, right?"
"That's the entire process," Che Chengyun nodded, still wearing that mocking expression.
"I wonder if this lady counts as being from the capital?" Jiang Han gestured towards Piao Xue Princess.
"She definitely does," Che Chengyun replied with a nod.
"If a princess from Da Zhou isn't considered from the capital, then there might not be anyone who qualifies."
"Piao Xue, can you help me out?" Jiang Han looked earnestly at Piao Xue Princess.
After thinking for a moment, she sincerely said, "If you help me this time, I will owe you a favor. As long as it’s within reason, I will help you once!"
"Great!" Piao Xue Princess nodded.
"You little girl! You didn’t even ask how I need help or what I want you to do before agreeing!" Jiang Han teased as he playfully pinched Piao Xue Princess's nose and laughed. "I want you to be the dancer and perform the dance; I’ll personally compose the music!"
"What?" Che Chengyun was taken aback, staring at Piao Xue Princess and then back at Jiang Han. "How much trust does the Empress have in Jiang Han?"
It was one thing for a princess to appear in this establishment. Now Jiang Han wanted her to perform a song and dance?
"Well, it has been some years since I've seen a princess perform," he thought. "But can Piao Xue Princess agree to this?"
"I believe that if you personally perform for Xia Guo Shi's Ninth Princess, it wouldn’t be considered lowering your status," Jiang Han gently inquired.
"It wouldn’t," Piao Xue Princess replied. "Xia Kingdom is an upper nation; we Da Zhou are a lower nation. Many years ago, when envoys from Xia Kingdom came, they were all princesses or county princesses from Da Zhou who personally led the dance for Xia Guo Shi. However, due to years of warfare, they haven’t come in recent times."
"So that situation hasn’t occurred lately! But if you want me to practice dancing, you must teach me wholeheartedly. For these past few years, I've only been learning archery and horseback riding."
The Piao Xue Princess expressed that the years of warfare had caused her to forgo the dances she was supposed to learn, replacing them instead with horseback riding.
Jiang Han gently pinched the tip of the Piao Xue Princess's nose and smiled, saying, "Don't worry, three days is more than enough!"
"You two, make your decision!" Che Chengyun declared. "If you win, I'll give you the Weapon and Token! But if you lose, Jiang Han, you must leave the capital and never set foot in the Great Zhou Capital again for the rest of your life."
After solemnly concluding the wager, Che Chengyun led his companions away. Jiang Han then took the Three Women back to their shop and inquired about Yan Dong's knowledge of the singing and dancing scene in Great Zhou. He wanted to gather information first to determine what kind of dance would be suitable for the Piao Xue Princess to practice.
There were explosive K-pop dances, soft J-pop melodies, elegant classical Chinese dances that exuded sophistication, as well as modern street dance styles. After Yan Dong described the state of singing and dancing from seven years ago, Jiang Han murmured to himself, "It’s akin to a simple classical dance, leaning towards a softer style."
He reflected on how Great Zhou's dance style resembled that of the Warring States period—lacking any distinct genre. The primary pattern involved dancing while walking and singing. The songs typically featured slow rhythms with lyrics like "gentle melodies bring peace" and "the sound of the zither flows gracefully," reminiscent of Chu Ci poetry and evoking a sense of early classical dance.
Overall, it conveyed an air of elegant classicism! "Then let's go with something from the Sui Tang era," Jiang Han thought as he envisioned the music and dance range along with the lyrics he would need to compose. He quickly declared, "I'll create something! I’ll be back tonight, so wait for me!"
With that, he swiftly exited the shop and headed out to gather relevant information, jotting down notes as he went.
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