Chai Jingjing smiled with her eyes curved, and said, "You're just sweet-talking. No wonder Xiao Ge'er likes you so much. I like you too."

After saying that, he pinched Xu Lanyin's little hand.

At this time, Nanny Ning walked in and said with an exaggerated laugh, "Oh, so it was the little tune played by the eldest lady. The eldest princess thought it was played by Miss Xu. She said it was very beautiful, but she had never heard it before."

After hearing this, Chai Jingjing took Xu Lanyin to the upper room. Inside the room, not only the eldest princess and Madam Chai were there, but also Ma and Chai Zixiao.

Chai Jingjing pulled the eldest princess' sleeve and said with a smile, "Grandma, that piece of music was played by your granddaughter. Does it sound good?"

The eldest princess was surprised and asked, "You played it? What's the name of that tune? I've never heard you play it before."

Chai Jingjing said that Xu Lanyin hummed it for her, and then said, "The 18th of this month is the Emperor's Birthday Festival, and the whole country is celebrating. I will play this tune at the imperial banquet."

Xu Lanyin knew that the Wanshou Festival was the emperor's birthday, a time of national celebration. Princes and ministers presented gifts, and the emperor hosted a banquet, inviting all nobles, civil officials of the third rank and above, and military officials of the second rank and above, along with their families (wives, one son, and one daughter) to the palace for a feast. Not only would the palace musicians and dancers perform, but talented scholars and women would also showcase their talents to congratulate the emperor on his longevity.

At the end of the imperial banquet, the Emperor, Empress Dowager Pu, the Minister of Rites, and the Imperial College's Chief Priest jointly selected the top three. The Imperial College's Chief Priest was the only official below the third rank who could attend the palace banquet, and this was precisely what he did.

To be among the top three was a great honor. However, the top three prizes were mostly awarded in poetry, painting, or calligraphy, and the winners were almost always men, some even officials appointed by the imperial court. In all the years of the Wanshou Festival, only one woman, Hua Shi, who won second place twenty years ago, became Madam Li, a renowned and talented woman.

The princess smiled and said, "This little tune is cheerful and festive, and would be suitable for playing at the Wanshou Festival. However, the tune is simple, so don't let others hear it. If it spreads out, it will lose its joy and freshness."

What this means is that the meaning of playing it first and following others is definitely different.

Chai Jingjing looked at Xu Lanyin nervously. Of the four beauties of the capital, she excelled at chess, Zhou Ziyou at poetry, Huang Qian at painting, and Su Yuan at the guzheng. No matter what kind of banquet it was, chess was never considered a talent show; it was too time-consuming and not very entertaining. And while Chai Jingjing played the flute well, she couldn't compare to Su Yuan's guzheng. She'd never even come in first place at any other banquet, let alone the top three at the Wanshou Festival banquet. This was a constant pain in her heart.

Xu Lanyin chuckled casually, "This little tune was played by a boy of twelve or thirteen in the mountains. I thought it was so beautiful at the time and wanted to use it in my teahouse to attract business. I didn't want the tune to get out, so I found the boy's family and gave his parents fifty taels of silver so they could buy a few acres of land. They were told not to play that little tune again." He glanced at Chai Jingjing admiringly and smiled, "Cousin Jingjing has a great talent for the flute. The tune she played is different from the one I heard that boy play. Not only is it better, but the tune has changed in several places. You could say that the tune my cousin played today is an adaptation of an unknown little tune."

Due to Xu Lanyin's mistake, the song played by Chai Jingjing was indeed slightly different from the original song "Bai Suzhen Under the Qingcheng Mountain", but it still sounded good.

Madam Chai was surprised and said, "Isn't that why Jingjing's adaptation is so beautiful?"

Chai Jingjing smiled, revealing all sixteen of her white teeth, her eyes gleaming. Is she really that amazing? Is she really that amazing?

Xu Lanyin suggested again, "Cousin, please give the piece a nice new name. When you officially perform it, it would be best if you have someone play the guzheng with you. Just a few simple scrapings and glissandos to create the sound of flowing water would be fine."

Chai Jingjing nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

The eldest princess said happily, "I have long seen that Miss Jing is intelligent. Think about it carefully and make the little song more pleasant." She smiled at Xu Lanyin and said, "Children from the mountains are poor. When you return, give that family another two hundred taels of silver to make their lives better."

Xu Lanyin nodded in agreement.

Chai Jingjing didn't want to stay here any longer, so she took her flute and music score back to her yard to think about the song.

At 3 p.m., Prince Consort Chai, Commander Chai, and Chai Jun returned together.

They said that Old Shen had "committed suicide out of fear of punishment," and the Jingzhao Prefecture had already declared her a sworn brother. The Chai family couldn't keep her body, and the Shen family didn't dare take it either, so they had it dumped in a mass grave outside the city. To prevent her children from secretly burying it, they posted a dozen secret guards there. Chai Zhengguan, Old Shen's two legitimate sons, and three grandsons who had entered officialdom had already agreed to resign and return home, citing their inability to care for their families and accepting responsibility for their departure.

Everyone felt relieved after hearing this.

Ma was still a little indignant and said, "Every time I see the injuries on Xiao'er's body and think of the suffering he has endured, my heart breaks. Chai Zhengguan has done so many evil things, but not only has he not been imprisoned, he has also maintained a clean reputation."

Chai Jun said, "Father is kind-hearted and showed mercy for the sake of brotherhood. But they have done many bad things and have harmed more than just us. Some people will not show mercy, and they will suffer in the future."

He didn't say it explicitly, but Xu Lanyin understood. Not only would the Nanyang Princess's Mansion secretly deal with him, but the Beiyang Princess and Wang Yi would not let him go either.

They glanced at Xu Lanyin and then explained that Qin Huiniang's family had come to demand the dowry, and Prince Consort Chai had acted in a just manner, ordering Chai Zhengguan to return it. The Qin family had a dowry list, and they would sort it out over the next few days. However, they had spent quite a bit, so returning half of it would be good enough.

When they were at home, Xu Lanyin, Qin Shi and the others had never thought about getting all the dowry back. As long as they dealt with Chai Zhengguan and Old Shen Shi, they would take as much as they could.

Xu Lanyin asked to leave, saying that she wanted to tell her family about the happy event.

The eldest princess said, "Tell them again that I will set up a few tables for a family recognition banquet in my house on the tenth day of this month, and invite several relatives to be witnesses. You will perform the ceremony on behalf of your mother." She also told Prince Consort Chai and others that she had adopted Xu Lanyin's mother as her adopted daughter.

Prince Chai and the others understood what the princess meant and said with a smile that it was very good.

Chai Jun also laughed and said, "My grandmother always said that she didn't have a daughter. Now, not only do I have a daughter, but I also have a granddaughter and a grandson."

Xu Lanyin kowtowed to Prince Consort Chai and Commander Chai, and knelt down to salute Chai Jun.

Xu Lanyin knew that they still had things to discuss, so she didn't stay for dinner and got up to say goodbye.

Chai Zixiao ran away crying.

Ever since she brought him back, Ma had never dared to let him leave the house, so she naturally refused.