Chapter 248 Flying for Blessing

Aunt Bai tried her utmost to sew those dancing dresses, and Lin Mengya liked them very much when she saw them for the first time.

“Mengya, the Empress won’t recognize me, will she? My maid is impersonating me, so that I can get out.”

Shangguan Hui grabbed her hands and looked worried.

“Of course she won’t. You’re the lead dancer, covered with a veil from start to end. And after undergoing training for a few days, you’re now much thinner than before. No one else, other than your maid, will recognize you.”

Lin Mengya tried to soothe her, and Shangguan Hui nodded. Lin Mengya had explained it to her patiently. Shangguan Hui acted in a low key manner, and what happened at the imperial banquet, made everyone believe that she and Lin Mengya were rivals in love.

But no one knew that she was Lin Mengya’s closest ally.

“Alright, thank you. I’ll leave first to get everything ready. Relax, it’s like a rehearsal at home.”

The other day, Lin Mengya secretly asked ten real dancers to teach them.

Luckily, ladies in Dajin were good at singing and dancing. It might not be perfect, but she still believed that they would stun everyone by their performance.

After checking, Lin Mengya returned to the hall with Baiji and Baizhi. Baishao and Baisu stood by outside, in case someone tried to create any trouble.

“Your Highness, we can start now. All of them are ready.”

Lin Mengya said this lightly. Long Tianyu nodded, and asked someone to start the performance.

Everyone’s focus was on the center of the magnificent hall. But to their surprise, a maid took out a bottle of powder and poured it on the ground.

Everyone was wondering what Lin Mengya had planned.

“Master, why—”

Baiji and Baizhi’s eyes were wide open. They did not know either.

“Hush, be quiet, just look.”

The guests were as confused as the two maids. Nobody knew what Lin Mengya really wanted to do.

The melodious sound of traditional stringed and woodwind instruments came from far away, as well as the sound the chanting scriptures of a monk.

The soothing tune sounded very ethereal. Some devout believers in the hall put down their bowls, and listened quietly to the music.

The sound of chanting scriptures and music became one. And then, a couple of flying dancers in light dresses, silently walked to the center of the stage.

Ten dancers wore pale golden dresses. Their clothes were light and flowy, but nothing could be seen from the outside. There is a saying that says “clothes make the man”. That described them exactly.

Their faces were covered with veils. Only a rough outline of their faces could be seen from outside.

Even though someone found their wife or daughter dancing, it was still difficult to make out the right one, as all the dancers looked nearly alike.

Among those dancers, one was holding a Chinese lute, one a basket full of flowers, one a flute, and one was holding a full wine pot. Their sleeves were flying up and down, their lithe bodies and slender waists were swaying, but nobody showed any disrespect.

The moves of the lead dancer sitting in the center, was particularly light and gentle. Her eyes were clear as if she was the most devout disciple, and was looking down at Buddha.

She was dancing to the sound of the reciting scriptures. It added more evidence that she was the flying goddess, born of the blossoming lotus up in the ninth heaven. No obscene thoughts emerged from the hearts of the guests, because they were afraid it would desecrate the dancing goddess.

When they were dancing, a refreshing fragrance slowly pervaded the hall. It was light and cold, and did not give guests the feeling that it was too sweet and seductive. Instead, it brought peace to their minds.

All the guests felt peace in their minds with no disturbances. What they could see was only the image of the dancers swaying to the music. Everything felt like a dream. The truth mingled with the false. They felt as if they themselves were in a long dream.

They also found their bodies straightening up.

Looking at their reactions, Lin Mengya was secretly pleased.

That powder had been specially made by her teacher and herself. It was a type of powder that could calm people down, and contained ten types of valuable medicines, and a kind of drug called A Pipe Dream.

The dancers stepped on the powder and the temperature increased. As time went by, the medicines would be integrated thoroughly.

The fragrance would be enough to detoxify and beautify them. Besides, A Pipe Dream could cause hallucinations. So all of them would feel as if they themselves were in a good dream. Their ailments would be cured in varying degrees.

That was the real purpose of the blessing dance.

Lin Mengya tilted her head, and like a naughty girl, winked at Long Tianyu, as if she was saying “See? I did not waste your money!”

A wisp of pride flickered over her pretty face. Long Tianyu saw it, while astonishment rose in his heart.

He had seen many types of shows, luxurious or magnificent. But a show in such an ingenious way, startled him. Even his father might not have seen this kind of a show..

No wonder she was so busy the other day, that she did not even have time to talk to him. She managed to put together such an amazing show in only a few days.

A faint smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his mouth. “This little girl, why does she always give me such a big surprise?”

Looking at his smile, Lin Mengya lowered her head shyly.

She was silently complaining about Long Tianyu. He always gave her a smile as a reward, every time she did something helpful.

But she had to lower her head to still her fast-beating heart, whenever she saw a genuine smile appearing on his handsome face.

“God! If I get a heart disease, it would be all his fault!”

The ambiguous contact between them had been witnessed by the Crown Prince.

In fact, he had lost himself in the illusion that Lin Mengya made.

But the Empress’s old maid pinched him violently. He came to his senses, awakened from the false dream. However, when he saw the contact between Lin Mengya and Long Tianyu, he instantly felt downcast.

“It’s supposed to be her idea.”

Jealousy was growing like wild grass in his heart.

“Why are those women around me, either common or ugly? Even though there are some beauties, but when they enter my house, they would become either too quiet or too arrogant.”

“They try to please me just because they want to be the honorable Crown Princess.”

“Even if I can rule over the whole country, so what? That unique beauty belongs to Long Tianyu.”

Immediately, the Crown Prince felt more hatred against his younger brother, Long Tianyu.

“Hey, lost your cool already?”

The Empress asked him coldly. It made him feel discouraged at once. He dared not look in her eyes. He was afraid that his mother, who was disappointed at him, might see something.

If the Empress knew that he was interested in his brother’s wife, she would consider him as a good for nothing.

“Mother, I did not. I was just thinking that if I was the one planning the dance, I would make it even more amazing. Brother still missed something.”

The Empress’s face was expressionless. Nobody knew whether she was angry or admiring the show.

“The dance doesn’t matter. What surprises me is that, he managed to come up with such a good idea in only a few days. You should learn from him, and do better next time.”

From the day Lin Mengya escaped her clutches, the Empress came to believe that any of her plans would run into difficulties, as long as Long Tianyu and Lin Mengya showed up.

Both of them were very clever, and Lin Muzhi was leading the troops. She could not afford to let her son make things hard for them.

They might win instead of lose, or even make a hit. Who knows?

“Thanks, mother, I see.”

The Crown Prince was not convinced, and hated Long Tianyu even more.

As a child, he had always been compared to Long Tianyu, by his father. His father was strict with all of them, but treated those princes of concubines well. He was friendlier and indulged them more.

Once he showed signs of jealousy, his father would rebuke him for not loving his brothers, and would get angry with him again.

If he was not the only son of the Empress, he would not be the Crown Prince.

So he had to seize the opportunity to remove Long Tianyu.

The dance was over. Everyone seemed to be waking up from a dream. But when they turned to find the clues, they only found slight footprints left on the powder. There were no flying dancers and no other prints.

“It’s weird. Why are those footprints left on the powder, not on the ground?”

One of guests raised a question. Lin Mengya did not answer and just smiled. She had done a lot of things for the banquet.

Lots of small gears had been sewn into the dancing dresses and shoes, so that they believed those dancers were truly flying goddesses from Heaven.

Everyone was amazed. In the dream, they all seem to have different experiences. That was A Pipe Dream’s effect. In their dreams, people could see what they wanted most.