"Miss Yuanbao truly has great courage." Even though the Crown Prince had come today just to watch the show, he couldn't help but give his praise. After thinking for a moment, he picked up a peanut from the fruit plate on the table and shot it at the zither on the zither table.
The peanut grazed the strings, producing a clear sound. This was the first musical note set by the Crown Prince.
Su Yuanyuan then looked at Xiao Zisheng.
Meeting Su Yuanyuan's calm and confident eyes, that feeling of familiarity once again filled Xiao Zisheng's heart. He took a deep look at Su Yuanyuan, picked up a fallen leaf from the table, and blew a note on it.
Next was the Prince of Xuan. After some thought, the Prince of Xuan picked up a jade chopstick and gently tapped on the wine - filled cup in front of him. The cup made a "ding" sound.
Finally, it was Bai Jun's turn.
Bai Jun looked down at Su Yuanyuan, took out a silver whistle from her bosom, and gently blew it.
Hearing this whistle, the others all showed expressions of horror on their faces. It was because there was a hidden mystery in the musical note set by Bai Jun. It seemed to have only one syllable, but it actually changed three tones.
Once this note was out, everyone instinctively thought that Su Yuanyuan was bound to lose.
Among the male guests, the three brothers of the Su family, Su Huaichen, looked at each other, their faces showing worried expressions.
Su Huaiyuan even said anxiously, "Why didn't Yuanbao use the zither given to her by her sworn brother? Instead, she borrowed the zither from that sickly girl. She could have won most of the competition with that zither!"
Why were the people in Shengjing City so malicious? First, they mocked their Yuanbao as a fool. Now, they set such a tricky test to embarrass her. This was clearly bullying them!
Su Huaiyuan even gritted his teeth and said, "This so - called zither - appreciation banquet is not worth attending. Big brother, third brother, let's take Yuanbao and sister - in - law and leave!"
Su Huaisheng thought for a moment, then looked at Jiang Lanyi, who was looking extremely proud, and suddenly laughed. "Second brother, don't worry. Yuanbao, that little rascal, won't do anything without a sure - fire plan. Have you forgotten how she made a stunning appearance on the arena between you and the Yan family?"
"She wants everyone to know that even if she borrowed someone else's zither, she is still the best among them!"
Su Huaichen also patted Su Huaiyuan on the shoulder and said, "Calm down. Yuanbao will definitely win. Look, she already has an idea."
They saw Su Yuanyuan sitting steadily behind the zither table. After hearing the musical notes set by the Crown Prince, the Prince of Jin, the Prince of Xuan, and Bai Jun respectively, she closed her eyes, raised her hand, and gently stroked the strings with her fingertips, then began to play.
Bai Jun had given the time limit of one incense stick, but Su Yuanyuan only tilted her head and thought for a while. In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, she moved her fingers and restored the musical notes set by the Crown Prince, the Prince of Jin and the others one by one.
Even the note with the tone change set by Bai Jun was played on the strings without the slightest difference!
Su Yuanyuan's performance immediately amazed everyone present and showed her outstanding talent.
"How is that possible? She restored those notes without any difference!"
"She's so amazing. Miss Su, the fourth daughter of the Su family, really has some skills."
Hearing the praises for Su Yuanyuan from around, Jiang Lanyi said unconvincingly, "So what if she just restored the musical notes? Mr. Shanyin said that she has to compose a zither piece on the spot with these notes, and the melody segments can't be repeated. Can she do it?"
"Cough, cough, cough." Qin Wanrong opened her mouth to speak but couldn't help coughing. Jiang Lanyi, who was sitting two seats away, immediately showed a look of disgust. She pulled Su Qingyu aside and said to Qin Wanrong,
"Sickly wretch, stay away from us!"
Qin Wanrong covered her lips with a handkerchief. Her cold eyes swept across Jiang Lanyi's face, and she said weakly, "Miss Jiang, I advise you not to speak too confidently. Be careful of getting slapped in the face later."
Jiang Lanyi said angrily, "You—"
Noticing that the Prince of Xuan was looking over here unhappily, Jiang Lanyi had to close her mouth resentfully.
Why? Why was this little girl from Mobei so talented?
It was tolerable that there was a Su Yuanyuan in Shengjing City who had always outshone them before. It was finally good that she was dead. But now, why was there another Su Yuanbao? Their names even sounded so similar. It was really bad luck!
Su Yuanyuan on the stage didn't know what was happening below. At this moment, she was plucking the strings and, based on the musical notes set by the Crown Prince, the Prince of Jin and the others, composed a lively and light zither piece on the spot.
Qin Wanrong's zither was not particularly outstanding. Its timbre was not as clear and resonant as the "Wangchuan" zither, which sounded like the roar of a dragon. Instead, it had a gentle tone. The gentle timbre combined with Su Yuanyuan's zither - playing skills made the zither piece seem like the spring wind blowing across the mountains and the earth, full of vitality. The people listening to the zither seemed to see all things growing and the mountains thawing.
When hearing the first part of the zither piece, the Prince of Xuan was attracted by the ethereal zither sound, and even Bai Jun couldn't help but be slightly stunned and sat up straight.
Although there were only four short musical notes, as Su Yuanyuan's fingers fluttered, the beautiful zither piece poured out from her fingertips like gurgling water. The sunlight also seemed to be guided and danced lightly through the bamboo branches on her fingertips.
Before long, an even more amazing scene happened. A butterfly flapped its wings, flew out of the forest, and headed towards Su Yuanyuan. It landed on the cassia branch made of amber in her hair.
But how could there be butterflies in winter?
After much thought, there was only one explanation, that is, her zither sound had awakened the butterflies in the cocoons and made them think that the warm spring had arrived.
This was just the first one. After that, one, two, three... several colorful butterflies surrounded her and fluttered up and down around her. The sight was so shocking that everyone was speechless.
The girl's cheeks were fair and round. Her almond eyes were extremely lively. Her delicate and small red lips were slightly upturned, showing a pair of shallow dimples when she smiled. She was truly a peerless beauty.
The Crown Prince sat there in a daze. He didn't even notice that the wine cup in his hand had toppled over and the wine had wet his sleeve.
Bai Jun's expression changed from shock, to deep thought, and then to understanding. As the strings were plucked, her gaze towards Su Yuanyuan had become extremely gentle, hiding emotions that only she could perceive.
Because through the figure below, she seemed to see her beloved disciple, Su Yuanyuan.
I don't know if it was Bai Jun's illusion, but she felt that the figure of her former beloved disciple seemed to merge with the figure of the little girl below at this moment.
The grand and unrestrained posture of the girl when playing the zither, as well as the fingering and habits of twisting, rubbing, rolling, and stroking, were almost exactly the same as those of Su Yuanyuan.
But how could two people with completely different looks be so similar?
At this moment, Bai Jun suddenly had a startling thought—
What if she was Su Yuanyuan?