Her last words moved the hearts of the girls from the noble families.

They were supposed to show off in front of the eldest prince today, and their piano skills would only stand out if they had someone to set them off against.

Yu Chaoyun took in the changes in everyone's expressions and said with some emotion: "My Great Jing Dynasty has just been established for 51 years, just like a flower in bloom, it is thriving."

"Since ancient times, founding a country has relied on military generals, and governing a country has relied on civil officials."

"So, martial arts were emphasized first and culture was emphasized later. This has been the case in every dynasty."

If emperors of every dynasty want their country to prosper, they must ultimately rely on civil servants to govern the country. Every emperor knows this very well, so the previous emperor went against all odds and supported the aristocratic families again. After the current emperor ascended the throne, he also tried to win over those civil officials from humble backgrounds.

The emperor's will is bound to affect the entire Dajing's ethos. These nobles are still martial now, but they will soon move closer to their aristocratic families, learn the six arts of a gentleman, and advocate elegance.

Looking back at history, every dynasty has followed this rule.

After hearing what Yu Chaoyun said, Miss Zeng, Miss Zhao and other girls from wealthy families were very pleased. The depressed feeling in their hearts disappeared immediately. Their eyes lit up and their backs straightened.

There is a sense of superiority and pride in his gaze.

A century-old family, even if the country changes dynasties, only their family remains standing! Their family is a flower, while these so-called nobles, their ancestors either farmed or herded sheep, or slaughtered pigs and sold meat, and there are even merchants and blacksmiths, who are not up to the standard at all, and are just green leaves to set off their family.

"Sister Yu said it well." Miss Zeng clapped her hands excitedly.

The corners of Yu Chaoyun's lips were slightly raised, with a dignified and gentle smile, and it seemed that even the curvature of the corners of his lips had been carefully calculated and practiced countless times.

She continued meaningfully: "Now the Grand Princess Fengyang is still here, when she..."

She said nothing more, and it was obvious that she had left something to say.

No matter how glorious Princess Fengyang had been, she could not defeat the passage of time. She was now over sixty years old and weak, and she probably didn't have many years left...

Miss Zeng curled her lips slightly and said with a bit of contempt: "These noble ladies usually wield swords and swords, and they all talk about the Grand Princess Fengyang, saying that they take her as a role model. Ha, they are simply using chicken feathers as a token of authority."

As she spoke, Miss Zeng deliberately glanced at Wei Jiaoniang, almost mentioning her name.

The ladies from the noble families exchanged glances again, and after carefully pondering over Yu Chaoyun's words, they felt that what she said made more and more sense.

Dajing governs the country with culture, and their aristocratic family is the backbone of the court. In the near future, the role models of women in Dajing will only be girls from their aristocratic family.

Green leaves are green leaves, and these vulgar noble ladies should be exposed in front of the Grand Prince, so that the Grand Prince can see clearly that people like Wei Jiaoniang and Gu Yanfei are not worthy of being in the elegant hall, let alone being the Grand Prince's consort! Miss Zeng stroked her sleeves with her orchid fingers, stood up calmly, and said with a smile: "Today, let me throw out some ideas to inspire others."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips, full of confidence and meaningful.

"I'll go with you." Miss Zhao also stood up hurriedly.

Under the gaze of everyone, the two men walked slowly to the east side of the water pavilion and came to Wei Jiaoniang.

Wei Jiaoniang, who was sitting by the window, leisurely drank wine, fed the fish, and occasionally talked to Gu Yanfei, pretending not to see anything.

Miss Zeng looked around at everyone with grace and said in a clear voice: "Miss Wei, Miss Lu, Miss Gu... It's a rare occasion for all of you to sit together today, and Miss Yu brought her famous qin 'Spring Thunder', why don't we play the qins to liven up the atmosphere."

"..."Wei Jiaoniang raised her head and drank the wine in the glass, not bothering to pay any attention to her.

It was so strange, who would want to compete with them in playing the qin! Miss Zeng seemed to have guessed Wei Jiaoniang's reaction a long time ago, and she continued with a smile: "Just now in Shou'an Palace, I heard Miss Wei mention the Grand Princess Fengyang. Her demeanor really makes us younger generations admire her."

"I heard that Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess is not only a martial arts expert, but also an extraordinary zither player. When she was young, she once took the head of a general from the midst of thousands of troops in Beishen City as easily as taking something out of a bag. Then, she played a piece of music that shook the mountains and rivers, causing the enemy to be defeated without a fight."

“The song ‘Mountains, Rivers, Sun and Moon’ became famous all over the world.”

Upon hearing about the deeds of the Grand Princess Fengyang, Wei Jiaoniang's eyes sparkled and she raised her head in praise, "Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess was brave and courageous. She was fearless in the face of millions of enemy troops. She swore an oath to the heavens to live and die with her soldiers. Before the battle, she wrote her last words: Life and death are meaningless, and victory or defeat is nothing to fear!"

"What's so great about winning or losing?" Miss Zeng's eyes turned, she clapped her hands and sighed, "Miss Wei praises the Grand Princess Fengyang so much, I think she is not afraid of winning or losing, and dares to compete with us in the piano, right?

Miss Zeng stared at Wei Jiaoniang without blinking. She was standing, a head taller than the sitting Wei Jiaoniang, and her every move and gesture revealed a sense of superiority.

It’s almost like saying it directly, if Wei Jiaoniang doesn’t dare to compete with them in playing the piano, it means she is afraid of defeat!

"Let's fight." Wei Jiaoniang slammed her hand heavily on the table. Blood rushed to her head. She agreed with her chin raised, and two burning flames burned in her eyes.

The piano competition is not just about the skills, and they may not lose!

As a close friend, Lu Qin was not at all surprised by this development.

Wei Jiaoniang has been like this since she was a child. She would get excited when talking about Princess Fengyang, and she wouldn't feel bored even if she talked about it for a whole cup of tea. Even when she was a child, she learned to play the piano in order to imitate Princess Fengyang.

"It's a deal." Miss Zeng's eyes sparkled as she said politely, "Then please ask Miss Wei to give the questions."

There are rules for piano-playing competitions. Anyone can issue a challenge, but the right to set questions lies with the challenger.

This is the rule and also a kind of fairness.

Miss Zeng got what she wanted, and she and Miss Zhao returned slowly along the same route, walking towards Yu Chaoyun and the others.

Lu Qin casually threw a handful of fish food out of the window and whispered to Gu Yanfei who was sitting next to her: "Yanfei, can you play the piano?"

Playing the piano. Gu Yanfei held a sweet and sour candied fruit in his mouth, one hand supporting his cheek, and his mind drifted away inadvertently, drifting to the Yaoling Realm.

A familiar piece of piano music sounded faintly in her ears, fresh and soothing, as ethereal as the breeze in the valley, as crystal clear as the morning dew, and like a trickle of clear spring water, lingering in her ears, seemingly near and far away.

Her master is good at playing the piano. No, it should be said that the master is omnipotent. There is nothing that the master is not good at.

She had been a disciple of her master for two hundred years, yet she often felt that she had only seen the tip of the iceberg.

Gu Yanfei's heart was rippling with the distant music, and a slight sour feeling arose in his heart.

She missed her Master.

Counting the days, it’s time for Master to come out of seclusion.

Gu Yanfei was distracted for only a moment, but when Wei Jiaoniang saw that she didn't answer, she thought she didn't know the answer, so she quickly winked at Lu Qin, asking her to stop asking.

Lu Qin was troubled. He rubbed his temple and muttered, "Jiao Niang, you also know my piano..."

Her mother forced her to learn to play the zither. Later, her grandmother felt sorry for her hands that were rubbed by the strings and had blisters on them, so she said that girls in the Lu family should emulate the eldest princess Fengyang and only need to learn riding, shooting, and swordsmanship. As for playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, if they don't want to learn them, they don't have to.

But, fortunately...

"Jiao Niang, you will!" Lu Qin narrowed his eyes and looked at Wei Jiao Niang with a playful smile. He raised his hand and patted her shoulder, with his eyes saying, "Everything depends on you."

"..." Wei Jiaoniang pursed her cherry lips and coughed twice.

Anyone could see that she was not so confident about the outcome of this victory.

She has always been confident and never felt that she was inferior to others. However, every inch has its own strengths and weaknesses. In terms of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, she still knows her own strengths.

Wei Jiaoniang poured herself another glass of wine, thinking about how to deal with the enemy while drinking, muttering: "Since I can't defeat him with force, I'll use my wits to defeat him!"

"You have to use your brain when it comes to questions."

“So…” Lu Qin clapped his hands lightly, “When setting questions, we should take advantage of our strengths and the opponent’s weaknesses!”

The other girls also seemed to be thinking about something, and their eyes gradually brightened up.

A few gusts of cold wind blowing in from the window messed up their bangs and hair, but the girls didn't feel the cold at all. They looked at each other, vaguely feeling that they had grasped something.

"Jiao Niang!" Several people excitedly pulled Wei Jiao Niang's sleeves and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

They easily pulled Gu Yanfei over as well, and the girls hugged each other intimately, their scent and fragrance mixed together, and they giggled non-stop.

The laughter and chattering attracted the attention of Yu Chaoyun and others not far away.

Gu Yanfei smiled lightly, and called over Eunuch He, saying, "Prepare the writing brush and ink."

Eunuch He immediately had the four treasures of the study prepared, and Wei Jiaoniang personally wrote the topic they had agreed upon on a piece of silk paper.

After a while, the paper was sent to Yu Chaoyun and the others.

There were only two words written on the silk paper: WAR.

A palace maid lit a stick of incense in the open space in the center of the water pavilion. Yu Chaoyun and the others had one stick of incense to prepare the music for the piano competition.

Lu Qin knew nothing about the repertoire, so she casually said, "Who do you think will go on first? Miss Zeng? Miss Zhao, or..."

Gu Yanfei smiled faintly and said, "Yu Chaoyun."

Yu Chaoyun specially brought a famous musical instrument today, he must have some intention.

The incense stick in the center of the water pavilion was burning. When it was half burned, the girls from the noble families opposite finally made a move, and Yu Chaoyun sat behind the piano table.

A lingering and sad piano sound broke the silent air, like a complaint or a cry, the melody was gentle yet profound.

The sound of the piano flowed out from Yu Chaoyun's fingers. His ten fingers danced skillfully, and the melody was mournful, making people feel as if they could hear a woman crying.

She tilted her face slightly and played the piano with full concentration, pouring all her skills and emotions into this piece of music.

She knew that the eldest prince liked Qin, and she also knew that he would definitely come.

She also knew that although the Queen Mother had summoned so many people into the palace today, the person she had her eyes on the most was her.

Because her last name is Yu.

(End of this chapter)