The show must go on.
Meili had been drilled to carry on under any manner of circumstances that had been thrown at her by her dance instructor, so she didn't miss a beat.
Her veil fluttered prettily in the breeze, coming to rest at the top of a plum blossom tree.
It was as though that very moment had been planned as part of the whole ethereal performance.
Tan Bowen, who was very susceptible to aesthetics, groaned in delicious agony. This must be his fate, so he would not try to fight it.
The girl's face, now on display, drew audible gasps from across the audience.
She was a hidden beauty! It seemed that the Mei family had been raising a beauty in their inner courtyards.
Li Fengfeng narrowed her eyes in anger. This little chit better not think she could get in the way of her plans to marry the second prince!
Now that you could see Meili's face, the deliciously uncomfortable position for the three men in the audience became infinitely worse.
Meili danced on, with a gentle and naive grace, combined with a confidence and joy in her performance that mesmerised her audience. Her face bore a delicate small smile that was reflected in her eyes.
The smooth leaps, arabesques and high leg kicks showcased her grace, strength, flexibility and acrobatic ability.
Tan Bowen had never seen a dance performed so perfectly, and with so much emotion; she was like one of the great opera performers. It was astonishing, and he'd seen some very good performances.
Sweat had started to drip into his eyes, and he wiped them in annoyance, scared to blink and miss any of the beautiful spectacle.
The princess looked very concerned now. She hoped the three old friends would not fall out over a woman.
Even she was seduced by Mei Meili's delicate beauty and innocence, so she couldn't fathom how the young men would be faring.
Actually, as she looked across at Tan Bowen, it was clear from the man's face that the answer was 'not very well'.
Thankfully, the dance drew to a close, with a delicate game of peekaboo from behind the fan.
Tan Bowen swallowed hard and blinked, like he was awakening from a dream.
That was the most perfect innocent seduction he had ever seen performed.
He didn't dare look at the prince or Bai Li for fear of what he would see reflected in their eyes. If they weren't in trouble before, they were in so deep now, there was no wading out of this mess.
The audience were startled by what they'd just seen, and for too many seconds after she finished, no one said a word, no one clapped, no one moved.
Meili didn't know how to take this silence. She thought she had done well, and she had loved every minute of the performance. Her hand touched her face absently, and she suddenly remembered that her veil had fluttered off.
Tears sprang unbidden to Meili's eyes. Her face! That would be the cause of this muteness... Well, the secret was out now, she thought sorrowfully.
This was why her mother told her to keep her veil on! Her lip quivered, was she really so unpleasant to look at that her dance didn't even warrant a polite round of applause?
She dropped her belongings and fled from the stage into the garden, running fast and searching blindly for the exit, her vision blurred by tears.
Manni called after her, but she neither heard nor stopped. The little maid ran as fast as she could after her mistress. Meili's palace eunuch was also on her tail.
"Miss Mei, Miss Mei, slow down please," he shouted, but she ran without stopping, heedless of their cries.
Li Fengfeng smirked and joined a group of gossiping girls nearby.
"Oh my goodness, did you all see her face?" said Su Yan.
"She's not that special," said Li Fengfeng. "Very short. A graceless figure."
The others looked at her, incredulous.
"Li Fengfeng!" they chorused.
"Men like small women," Su Yan commented.
She herself was tiny, so she had a vested interest in that being true.
"She'll definitely be chosen at the concubine selections," said another girl. "If the emperor doesn't take her for himself, he'll give her to one of his sons as a reward."
That was what Li Fengfeng was concerned about. So long as it wasn't to the second prince as his wife or concubine, she didn't care at all.
She would speak to her father about Mei Meili. She wondered if he would agree to her becoming the Crown Prince's concubine? Definitely not, she realised with annoyance. The last thing he would want was a Mei powerbase established with the future emperor...
"What's going on? Why did she run off?" the princess asked the men anxiously, wringing her hands.
"She thinks she's ugly, and that everyone was shocked by her face when her veil blew off," said Bai Li, for whom the penny had finally dropped.
It had taken him awhile, but he had belatedly worked out that the ugly story was not just a ploy, but a deep-seated misguided belief that her family had deliberately brought her up with to protect her.
"When no one clapped or thanked her for her performance, she misread the reason for the lack of response," the commander tapped his fingers glumly on the table, that would have been very hurtful; his heart ached as he replayed her eyes filling with tears.