When Jiang Jingxian lived in Shangqing Village with Shen Danru, Shen Danru told her stories from "Dream of the Red Chamber" when they had nothing to do. In the end, Jiang Jingxian cried her eyes out.

She also wrote out the score for "Wang Ningmei" for Jiang Jingxian.

Jiang Jingxian then fell in love with this piece of music.

Despite not being a very skilled pianist, she practiced this piece diligently for many days.

The mournful and plaintive sound of the zither evoked deep emotions in the listener.

As the song ended, it was as if everyone had heard a poignant love story.

Even Qingtan, who had never known what tears were, couldn't help but have reddened eyes.

Everyone was still engrossed in the music and hadn't yet come out of it.

A young lady broke the silence and couldn't help but ask Jiang Jingxian, "Third Miss Jiang, I've never heard this piece before. Did you compose it yourself?"

Crown Prince Qi Jingcheng couldn't help but look at Jiang Jingxian, never expecting that the third daughter of the Jiang family would have such talent.

Jiang Jingxian smirked; she certainly didn't have that kind of ability.

"It's the sheet music that my sister gave me."

Only then did everyone look at Shen Danru.

Everyone had long heard that she was a talented woman, but she had never shown it to the public. It was indeed true that the rumors were true.

Shen Danru smiled slightly: "It's because Jingxian played it so well, perfectly integrating the artistic conception of the piece into it."

She only has a rudimentary understanding of music; how could she possibly write lyrics and music like that?

Seeing that everyone had misunderstood, she decided to let them misunderstand. She just disliked Shen Yingxue and wanted to upset her.

Everyone agreed with Shen Danru's words; the lyrics and music were beautiful, and Jiang San Guniang's playing was even more melodious.

With Shen Danru's piece, Shen Yingxue's playing was immediately overshadowed.

Although there were no stakes between them, Shen Yingxue's face was still extremely ugly, and she squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "Miss Jiang is still the better one, I admit defeat."

Even the two people who were close to Shen Yingxue stopped speaking up for her.

They knew that even if they stood up and said anything, it would only make Shen Yuxue feel more embarrassed.

Prince Rui, Qi Jingrui, stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Both young ladies are exceptionally skilled at playing the zither, each with their own unique characteristics. It's truly difficult to determine a winner."

He sounded a little guilty about what he said.

But there was nothing he could do; his mother had taken a liking to Shen Yingxue.

They wanted him to marry into the Shen family, but unfortunately Shen Shi had no heirs, so they could only choose from the descendants of Shen Kuo.

Prince Chen, Qi Jingchen, said, "Third Brother, if you really don't understand the art of playing the zither, then don't come out and embarrass yourself. Anyone except a deaf person can tell that Miss Jiang played better. How come you can't tell?"

These words not only made Qi Jingrui's face darken, but also made Shen Yingxue's face turn pale and then red.

However, she still dared not offend Prince Chen, whose mother was Consort Lan, the emperor's most beloved concubine. This had fostered in Prince Chen a fearless and daring personality.

"Don't you think so, Miss Shen?"

When Prince Chen asked her, Shen Yingxue had no choice but to nod and say, "Yes."

She felt that Prince Chen was definitely trying to embarrass her on purpose.

It's all Shen Danru's fault.

Shen Danru, you just wait.

She failed to kill Shen Danru last time, which resulted in her being retaliated against by the Wuzong Sect. It took her two thousand taels of silver to resolve the Wuzong Sect issue.

Don't expect her to let that bitch off the hook again today.

At this moment, the servants of the Jiang family had finished setting out the banquet and came over to invite everyone to take their seats.

The banquet was held in the back garden of the Jiang residence, where there were sunshade nets and two ice basins at each seat, so it didn't feel hot.

Everyone enjoyed their meal while admiring the flowers, and was very satisfied with the arrangements made by the Jiang family.

After everyone took their seats, someone suggested playing a game of "Flying Flowers" (a type of Chinese poetry game).

Crown Prince Qi Jingcheng also thought this idea was excellent.

He ordered his men to prepare the prizes.

A short while later, a servant from the Crown Prince's residence came up with a tray and placed it on the table.

"Today's rules for the Flying Flower Game are as follows: anyone who signs up but cannot answer will be penalized with a cup of wine. Of course, the best answer will be selected in the end, and the prize in this tray will belong to him."

"Flying Flower Order" is a popular and elegant game that is very popular among young people.

As soon as Qi Jingcheng finished speaking, he received everyone's approval, and everyone eagerly signed up.

However, everyone was curious about the Crown Prince's cryptic answer; he wouldn't reveal what was inside the tray.

However, the things the Crown Prince took out must be extremely valuable.

Shen Danru was sitting there discussing with Jiang Jingxian which dish was the best when she heard someone call her from the side.

"I've heard that Miss Shen is exceptionally talented; why don't you join us?"

"No, you guys play, I'm not interested in these games."

Seeing that Shen Danru refused without hesitation and showed her no respect, the man felt a little embarrassed: "Shen Danru, is your reputation as a talented woman self-proclaimed? No wonder the Marquis's mansion doesn't recognize you."

Her words made Shen Danru glance at her a few more times.

She looked the other person over carefully and realized that she did not recognize them.

I don't know why this person is so hostile towards her.

Shen Danru's face was covered with a thin layer of frost: "Whatever you think, then it is."

It was like punching cotton; the woman's face turned pale and then red.

"Hey, are you ever going to stop? The reason I, your older sister, am not participating is because I'm afraid that if my poems are too good, you'll feel ashamed and it will leave a shadow on your young minds. Don't you have any self-awareness?"

"Jiang Jingxian, you..."

Jiang Jingxian put her hands on her hips and said, "What? What? This is our Jiang residence. Believe me or not, I'll kick you out right now."

Hearing the commotion, Madam Yin came over from among the ladies and scolded Jiang Jingxian a few times before she shut up.

The people around were discussing the game of "Flying Flowers" and didn't see the commotion.

Jiang Jingxian advised Shen Danru: "Sister Ru, don't pay attention to her. I don't know this person either. I'll ask who hired her later. But if she dares to bully you, see if I can let her off the hook."

Touched, Shen Danru picked up a piece of food for her and said with a smile, "Do you think your sister Ru is made of clay?"

At this moment, they heard Crown Prince Qi Jingcheng say, "Today's flower appreciation banquet is a perfect occasion for us to each compose a poem on the theme of flowers."

"In the scorching summer, the flowers are like fire, braving the blazing sun. Red flowers and green leaves dance in the sunlight, blooming and exuding the fragrance of summer."

"Good poem, next one."

"Lotus leaves dance in the gentle breeze, lotus hearts glow red in the sunlight. Emerging from the mud, they remain pure as jade, standing tall and graceful in the water."

...

One of the men couldn't answer, so he had to drink a glass of wine as punishment.

"This is truly fine wine." He clasped his hands in a fist and asked Jiang Shuyou, "Brother Jiang, where is this wine sold? Could you please tell me?"

"Brother Yu, I got this wine from a friend. It's called Baili Zui. It's not sold in Shengjing yet. If you like it, I can give you a jar after the banquet."

"I will remember Brother Jiang's favor."

Yu Qiao wanted to give the wine to his grandfather, who loved wine the most. He was sure his grandfather would be happy to drink it.