As a prince, Xianyu naturally received a great many invitations to various events and gatherings. Most of which he declined in favour of far less formal affairs. Such as, for example, staying home to babble to his servants.
In court, many even considered him to quite an unsociable person.
Not in the sense that he was awkward or rude — he wasn't — but simply that he seemed reluctant to make any appearances in any formal aspect. Some even mocked that perhaps he simply though himself too beautiful to show.
It had never been something that bothered Xianyu himself. No matter what others thought, he believed whole-heartedly that those kinds of people were simply not entertaining enough to be bothered with. As long as Jingrui gege approved of his actions, nothing anyone else said could even begin to sway him.
Today though, the little prince was indeed considering attending a gathering he had been invited to. During his visit to Minlian, she had told him plenty of gossip about brothers and sisters alike. One particular rumour had stuck in his.
As it turned out, Lord Feng's son wasn't the only admirer of a certain dancer — a large portion of their brothers were admirers too — a fact that Xianyu thoroughly wished to exploit. And as it happened, today was just the perfect day to do so. It just so happened that a certain brother, who seemed quite a fan of the young lady, was a hosting a little gathering.
Minlian had even brought up that their half-brother had attempted to invite Yuehua to perform at today's gathering. Had she not, Xianyu wouldn't have remembered that he — as Xianyu, not Yuehua — was invited to attend. As for the invitation that had supposedly been extended to the dancer so often compared to the Moon Spirit, Xianyu hadn't been aware of it until just now.
Honestly, he wasn't even sure where those invitations went. Usually, his performances came at either his own suggestion, or Jingrui gege would tell him that father had requested he perform.
Outside, the scenery changed slowly as the carriage veered toward unfamiliar grounds. It wasn't often that Xianyu visited brothers. In fact, of his fifteen siblings, he only spoke regularly with Jingrui gege. This visit would be unusual indeed.
"Is this not a bit sudden, Your Highness?" Jiang was asking him as the carriage drew closer to its destination. And perhaps he was right.
But then again, Xianyu never had been very familiar with the courtly ethics. Was he supposed to bring a gift when he arrived? Should he compliment his half-brother's home upon arrival, or should he simply thank him for the invitation? Of the answers, he was thoroughly unsure. Either way, Xianyu was quite certain that no one was expecting him to do any of them.
The moment the carriage came to a halt, servants rushed to greet the prince, escorting him into the sitting room where many others had already gathered. His arrival seemed to startle many, most of whom had earlier been making bets about whether or not the spoiled little prince would show.
Quite a few were curious about the strange prince.
"Ah, Xianyu," his half-brother greeted him, seemingly to have assumed his invitation had been declined earlier. "I didn't think you'd actually show." He'd mostly made the invitation out of jest, not expecting his younger brother to actually show up. It wasn't that he didn't want him there, quite the opposite; Xianyu was entertaining, everyone knew that.
"Why wouldn't I?" Xianyu remarked, feigning ignorance to his own behaviour.
The other nobles and courtiers around them laughed in response. Many of them had been quietly hoping that the little prince would make a show. They'd heard plenty of the boy's effeminate beauty, and many were curious about the legitimacy of the rumours.
Noticing the stares, Xianyu's smile only grew wider.
"He really is quite a beauty," one noble whispered to someone beside him, not quite quiet enough to not be heard by others. "Small wonder why His Majesty favours him so."
"If you wanted, I bet you'd have a chance with him too," another whispered back. "I heard he's quite a flirt. Strange that someone like that can be such a recluse."
Many similar comments flew around the room, all just quiet enough for Xianyu to ignore. Not that he minded at all. This was part of why he'd shown up! Entertainment was never a bad thing.
"Tea?" Xianyu's half-brother, Leyang, offered.
The performance would not start for another while as guests continued to arrive. Within this time, Xianyu planned to dig out as much information about people. For one, the main reason he had come, he wanted to discover just how big of an admirer of Yuehua the men in this room were; it would be quite useful to him the next time he chose to perform as her. And maybe, he wouldn't mind bumping into Mystery man either.
Not that he truly believed that Leyang, being only a lowly concubine's son, would have the privilege to invite the mysterious man from the palace to attend.
If he really wanted to bump into Mystery Man at a gathering, he'd have to beg his Jingrui gege to host a gathering. And even then, Xianyu highly doubted he'd get anything for his trouble.
"Ge," Xianyu decided to start with his first objective. "What do you think of Miss Yuehua?"
Leyang seemed surprised by this and thought for a few seconds before responding. He didn't find Xianyu's question too unusual. If anything, he thought it was quite normal for this particular brother to ask such things. It was well known that Xianyu was enjoyed mimicking the way women dressed and spoke — he was doing it right now! As far as the older prince figured, Xianyu was likely just fascinated with the way the dancer dressed.
"She's quite a beauty," was the response he chose to give. Then, just to tease, "Have you developed a liking for a certain woman?"
Xianyu flushed in reply. Being asked whether you had a liking toward yourself was rather strange. "No.
"I only heard that you quite fancied her."
"Fancied her?" his half-brother asked in reply. "Not at all. A woman like that is beyond being fancied. Though, you wouldn't get it, would you, Xianyu. Aren't you too busy chasing after men to understand?"
You make it sound weird, Xianyu retorted in his heart.
Hearing the topic of Yuehua being brought up, many other men joined in on the discussion.
"She's the most beautiful dancer in court," one said.
"Some say she rivals the beauty of every concubine combined!"
"Independent too. I heard she slapped a man for getting too close to her."
Everyone added their piece, one after another. It seemed almost as though everyone had something to say about her.
"She sounds fascinating," Xianyu mumbled as some of the other men finally turned their attention toward other topics again and conversation had calmed. "What do you like about her, ge."
"She'd very dignified. No woman could replicate that kind of energy she has."
Xianyu tilted his head in reply. Part of him wanted to laugh at the words. All this, for a woman who didn't even really exist? He was starting to realise how vastly different his brothers were in every aspect. Jingrui ge would never have been this foolish.
Instead, he decided to have his fun with it. Simply laughing in Leyang's face would be a disrespect. and it would bring Xianyu no happiness either. No, Xianyu had a plan for how to make use of the situation. This was almost definitely not was Jingrui gege meant when he told Xianyu to try and be more calculating.
"I think I could replicate her energy."
Half the room turned to look at him. Yuehua was unusually popular, and it showed. No one believed Xianyu could really replicate the dancer's grace, her control, but they certainly wanted to watch him try. Fail or succeed, it would be a fun experience.
"What, you don't believe me?" he pouted. How dare they!
The sheer irony did not escape him as he watched their doubtful gazes. He almost wished to laugh aloud in their faces.
"Why don't you prove it to us?" Leyang challenged.
"But Yuehua dresses quite differently from me," Xianyu made a show of protesting. "It won't be very convincing if I'm dressed like this."
It was true. Yuehua would never appear in a floral pink robe, the likes of which a certain young prince enjoyed wearing. At this, some of the men at the gathering had to suppress the urge to laugh. After all, a woman, known for being one of the most beautiful in court, dressed more maturely than the prince before them! Wasn't that a strange thought?
A few others, curious to see if Xianyu could truly replicate Yuehua's aura, started thinking of solutions to the proposed problem.
"Surely Yuehua has dressed this way for a performance before. The clothes on your back shouldn't affect your ability to emulate her."
"Well he's still a man. Maybe the proper clothes would make the act more believable."
"Very true. How could a prince compare to such a beauty. One is clearly more delicate than the other. Aren't there dancers performing? What if you borrow a costume from them?"
"Mmm, that would work, wouldn't it? I'm sure they wouldn't mind sharing the clothes."
Xianyu was quite sure that the nobles did not really think that he was too 'manly' to act as Yuehua. If anything, many seemed to think him too delicate to play the role. Quickly, he flashed a smile at everyone and nodded in agreement to their suggestion.
"If I succeed, do I get anything as a prize?"
Leyang burst into laughter at the idea. So this is the kind of person Xianyu is, he thought.
Before this, he would have never imagined the little prince to be the type to even consider a prize — he simply didn't seem smart enough. From what he'd heard, the little prince was a spoiled little thing who trailed after the empress's third son like a lost puppy, constantly barking for attention. A politically irrelevant little thing who was at best an entertainment to those around him.
Even when they'd first met, his only impression was that Xianyu was a pretty face he could have attend. Really, he'd only done it to please their Jingrui ge, whose arm Xianyu had been hanging off of at the time.
At first, he hadn't thought Xianyu had even heard the invitation. The little prince had been far too busy watching the fish in the pond at the time. Leyang had almost thought the boy would jump in mid-conversation. He certainly seemed the type.
"What do you want? And what are you willing to lose?" he asked after some consideration.