Chapter 261 Accepting the Challenge
261 Accepting the Challenge
Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
“That song ‘Mountains, Rivers, Suns, and Moons’ shook the world.”
Upon hearing the story of the Eldest Princess Feng Yang, Wei Jiaoniang’s eyes couldn’t help but sparkle. She raised her head and praised, “Eldest Princess is brave and courageous. She’s fearless in the face of millions of enemy soldiers. She pointed to the Heaven Alliance and swore to fight to the death with her soldiers. Before the battle, she wrote: Life and death are meaningless. Victory and defeat are nothing to be afraid of!”
“What a great victory and defeat! What’s there to be afraid of!” Miss Zeng’s eyes shifted as she clapped her hands and sighed softly. “Miss Wei, you admire the Eldest Princess Feng Yang so much. I think you’re not afraid of victory or defeat. You dare to compete with us on the zither, right?
Miss Ceng stared unblinkingly at Wei Jiaoniang. As she stood, she was taller than the seated Wei Jiaoniang. Every move she made exuded a sense of condescension.
He was just short of saying that if Wei Jiaoniang didn’t dare to compete with them in the zither, she would be afraid of defeat!
“Fine, let’s fight.” Wei Jiaoniang slammed her palm heavily on the table. Her mind was filled with blood as she raised her chin and agreed. Her eyes burned with two blazing flames.
The zither competition wasn’t only about zither skills. They might not lose!
Lu Qin wasn’t surprised by this development at all.
Wei Jiaoniang had been like this since she was young. Whenever the Eldest Princess Feng Yang was mentioned, she would flare up. She didn’t feel bored even after talking for 10 minutes. Even when she was young, she learned the zither to imitate the Eldest Princess Feng Yang.
“It’s a deal.” Miss Zeng’s eyes were sparkling as she said courteously, “Then please set the question, Miss Wei.”
There were rules in the zither competition. Anyone could issue a challenge, but the right to set the questions would be given to the opponent.
This was a rule and a form of fairness.
Miss Zeng got what she wanted. She and Miss Zhao returned the way they came and walked towards Yu Chaoyun and the others.
The surroundings were quiet. The carp outside the window jumped up from the water from time to time.
Lu Qin threw a handful of fish food out the window and whispered into Gu Yanfei’s ear, “Yanfei, do you know how to play the zither?”
Playing the zither… Gu Yanfei had a sweet and sour preserved fruit in her mouth and held her cheek with one hand. Her thoughts drifted away accidentally and drifted to the Bright Spirit Realm.
A familiar zither sound rang in her ears. It was refreshing and soothing, as ethereal and fresh as the cool breeze in the valley, as crystal clear as the morning dew, and as slow as a trickling spring. It lingered leisurely in her ears, seemingly close yet far.
Her master was good at the zither. No, it should be said that her master was omnipotent. There was nothing her master wasn’t good at.
She had been working for her master for 200 years, and she often felt that she had only seen the tip of the iceberg.
The lake in Gu Yanfei’s heart rippled with the distant music. Her heart ached slightly.
She missed her master.
Counting the days, her master should have come out of seclusion.
Gu Yanfei was only in a daze for a moment, but when Wei Jiaoniang saw that she didn’t answer, she thought that she didn’t know how to do it. She quickly gave Lu Qin a meaningful look to stop her from asking.
Lu Qin was troubled. She rubbed her temples and mumbled, “Jiaoniang, you know my skills…”
Her mother had forced her to learn the zither back then. Later on, her grandmother’s heart ached for the blood blisters on her hands caused by the zither strings. She said that the girls of the Lu family should imitate the Eldest Princess Feng Yang. They only needed to know how to ride and shoot swords. As for zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, if they didn’t want to learn, they shouldn’t.
But fortunately…
“Jiaoniang, you know how to do it!” Lu Qin smiled and narrowed her eyes. She looked at Wei Jiaoniang with a cheeky smile and patted her shoulder. Her eyes said, “I’m counting on you.”
” Wei Jiaoniang pursed her cherry lips and coughed dryly.
Anyone could tell that she wasn’t that confident about winning this time.
She had always been confident and had never felt that she was inferior to others. It was just that every ruler had its shortcomings and every inch had its strengths. She still knew how capable she was when it came to music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Wei Jiaoniang poured herself another cup of wine. As she pondered how to deal with the enemy, she drank the wine and muttered, “Since we can’t fight them head-on, we’ll use our wits!”
‘We’ll use our wits to work on the questions.”
Lu Qin gave a light high-five. “If you come up with a question, you should take our strengths and the other party’s weaknesses!”
The other girls were also deep in thought as their eyes lit up.
The few gusts of cold wind outside the window messed up their bangs and hair, but the girls didn’t feel the cold at all. They looked at each other and vaguely felt that they had grasped something.
‘Jiaoniang!” Several people excitedly tugged at Wei Jiaoniang’s sleeve and leaned over to whisper in her ear.
They conveniently pulled Gu Yanfei over. The girls hugged each other intimately, their scent mixing with the fragrance, giggling non-stop. The laughter attracted the attention of Yu Chaoyun and the others not far away.
Gu Yanfei smiled and summoned Eunuch He. “Bring us brush and ink.”
Eunuch He immediately ordered someone to prepare the Four Treasures of the Study. Wei Jiaoniang wrote down the topic they had discussed on a piece of silk paper.
After a while, the piece of paper was sent to Yu Chaoyun and the others.
There was only one word written on the silk paper:
War.
A palace maid lit an incense stick in the open space in the middle of the water pavilion. Yu Chaoyun and the others had time to prepare for the zither competition.
Lu Qin knew nothing about repertoires, so she casually said, “Who do you think will go first? Miss Zeng? Miss Zhao, or...
Gu Yanfei smiled faintly and said, ‘Yu Chaoyun.”
Yu Chaoyun had specially brought a famous zither today. She must have a motive.
The incense stick in the middle of the water pavilion was burning. When it was halfway done, the women from the aristocratic families opposite finally moved. Yu Chaoyun sat behind the zither table.
A melancholic zither sound broke the silence. It was like a cry, and the melody was mellow but deep.
The sound of the zither flowed out from Yu Chaoyun’s fingers. Her 10 fingers danced skillfully, and the tune was mournful. It was as if one could hear a woman crying.
She turned her face slightly to the side and focused on playing the piano. She poured all her skills and emotions into this song.
She knew that the Eldest Prince loved playing the zither, and she also knew that he would definitely come.
She also knew that although the Empress Dowager had mobilized so many people to come to the palace today, she was the best candidate.
Because her surname was Yu..