Chapter 17 Playing the Piano

From that day on, Chen Fu learned even less rules and went to the bamboo forest every day with her zither in her arms, leaving at 3 p.m. and returning at dusk.

The nurses turned a blind eye to this, as if they were certain that Shen Fu would not be able to get in before the election, so they stopped caring about her.

These days, there are concubines who make mistakes every day and are sent out of the palace. Wang Ruer thought that Chen Fu had given up on herself and was very satisfied.

Zhou Shuyun, on the other hand, advised Shen Fu: "It is not difficult for Miss Shen to learn the rules again with her intelligence."

In large families, there will be a nanny to teach before entering the palace. The Shen family was of good family background, so Shen Fu naturally learned it.

Zhou Shuyun said: "Miss Shen, don't worry about anything else. With your appearance, if you are successfully selected, you will definitely be favored by His Majesty."

Shen Fu looked at Zhou Shuyun in front of her.

Beauty lies in the bones, not in the skin. Zhou Shuyun's complexion looks plain, but there is a sense of coldness in her.

Her every move and gesture exudes the air of scholarliness, so it is no wonder that Zhou Shuyun would meet the Emperor by chance a few days later, becoming the first among this batch of beauties to receive his favor.

Shen Fu knew that Zhou Shuyun could not be underestimated in the future, but she did not intend to interfere.

After all, she didn't plan to go the talent show route.

And even if she stopped it this time. With Zhou Shuyun's family background and temperament, she will still be favored by the Emperor when he sees her in the future.

After all, His Majesty is the Supreme Emperor, and she only wants to climb up step by step, but she has never thought of such a stupid thing as being the only favorite.

"Thank you, Miss Zhou." Chen Fu, who had just returned from the bamboo forest, bent her knees and said, "The selection of talents cannot be forced. Chen Fu will just take things as they come."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, Zhou Shuyun ignored her.

Chen Fu would carry her zither and walk into the bamboo forest every day, and no one would block her way.

But no one knew that although she seemed to be wandering around, she was actually looking for the location of the Emperor.

The bamboo forest was huge, and the bamboos were lush and green. Chen Fu searched for half a month before she finally saw a Feng Shui treasure land.

There is a partition building opposite the pavilion, hidden deep in the dense forest. It cannot be seen at all if you don’t have good eyesight.

Chen Fu had seen the guards with swift legs and feet flying through the air several times, and she was sure that this was where His Majesty was, so she felt relieved.

"Girl." Zi Su followed her around these days, and seeing her leisurely and contented appearance, she said babblely,

"You carry the zither here all day long, but you never play it." Zi Su looked at her legs. She was so tired from walking around the bamboo forest every day that her legs were becoming thin.

She said coquettishly: "If you don't play today, I won't come with you tomorrow."

Zi Su's words were meant to be coquettish, but Chen Fu put down the piano in her hand and raised her eyes to look at her.

She was born fair and her whole body seemed to be glowing. The pink dress and green skirt may look tacky, but when she wears it, it cannot hide her brilliance.

Shen Fu's face was covered with a veil, only her eyes were smart and charming, and when she smiled at this moment, she looked bright and flamboyant.

"Play the piano?" With her peach blossom eyes raised, Chen Fu looked into the depths of the bamboo forest. She casually stroked the piano with her slender fingers, and a pleasant sound of the piano came out.

The ethereal sound of the piano flowed through his fingers, but Xiao Yu, who was far away in the other building, paused with his brush in his hand.

He raised his head and looked out the window.

Lin An, who was dozing off beside him, immediately opened his eyes, looked outside with his big eyes, bowed his head and said respectfully: "I will go over and chase the man away."

I'm afraid it's some smart-aleck concubine who somehow found out the location of His Majesty and came here deliberately, pretending to be looking for an opportunity to meet him.

Lin An complained in his heart, and Xiao Yu thought the same thing.

As soon as the sound of the piano came out, his thoughts were immediately interrupted, and he naturally felt unhappy.

He glanced down with a bit of dignity, but said, "No need."

Although the other party was a little more purposeful, fortunately he played the piano well. In the hot summer day, the music was really pleasant to the ears.

The first performance made people feel relaxed and happy: "You play well." The Emperor praised.

Although there was only one sound, it was enough to show this person's skills.

Lin An's tense skin finally relaxed. He felt relieved and was about to speak again when he heard the piano music starting again in the distance.

Not as ethereal and pleasant as before, this time the sound of the piano was dry and tasteless, even like pulling on wood.

Lin An quietly opened his eyes and glanced at the Emperor. After seeing the Emperor's expression suddenly change, he trembled even more with fear.

This... who is this ancestor?

His Majesty became so unpleasant right after he finished praising her. How can His Majesty save his face?

In the pavilion, Shen Fu looked down at the person beside her.

Zi Su's hands were still on the piano, and she asked timidly, "Girl, I still play."

She has been with the girl for a long time, so naturally she knows a little bit. But it's just a little bit.

Playing the piano is boring and even more complicated to practice. Shisu knows a little bit about this and is already the best among the servants.

But compared with the girl, one is in heaven and the other is on earth.

"Play." Chen Fu sat leisurely beside her drinking tea, and glanced at her hand with a bright and charming look and said, "If you don't play, I won't come with you tomorrow."

These were clearly the words she had just used to anger the girl.

Shisu mumbled to herself but had to continue playing. She played her best song, "Xiaoxiang Shuiyun", which is also the one she remembers most.

It's just that she hadn't practiced for a long time, had forgotten the tune, and played it haltingly.

Chen Fu was prepared and frowned as she listened. Xiao Yu, who was far away in the depths, naturally had a gloomy face.

Lin An quietly opened his eyes and glanced at the Emperor, secretly groaning in his heart.

Who on earth is this blind person who has the ability to get here and use all his tricks to make the Emperor rule behind the scenes?

Instead, he kept playing some weird and unpleasant tunes, and look at His Majesty's face, it turned pale.

Lin An felt bitter in his heart and Xiao Yu just felt a headache.

He rubbed his brows with a slightly tired hand and leaned his tall and slender body back.

"Your Majesty." Lin An immediately came forward with a cup of cold tea: "I will chase them away immediately."

Xiao Yu stretched out his hand and waved: "Look who it is."

This song is so unpleasant to listen to that day. As for the concubine mentioned before, I'm afraid it's all nonsense.

Which concubine is so shameless as to have an affair with someone and end up like this?

Lin An looked at the Emperor's expression and immediately asked someone to bring a peep show. This thing was a tribute from foreign countries. You can see it clearly if you stand on a high place.

He looked around for a while before saying, "Your Majesty, these are two palace maids."

It turned out that she was not a concubine. Lin An took back the kaleidoscope. Xiao Yu took it and glanced at it casually.

The woman playing the piano was petite and delicate, but her face... wasn't very pretty either. Xiao Yu glanced casually and then looked at the piano that made such an unpleasant sound.

Although the palace maid's posture was correct, it was obviously unfamiliar to the naked eye, and the music she played was really unpleasant to the ear.

He was losing interest and was about to put down the peep show.

In the distance, Shiso couldn't play anymore. She begged, "Girl, please come."

As she continued to play, she could no longer remember the tune. There is a rule in the Gu family that if you can't remember the song, you can't have dinner.

Shisu looked begging for mercy.

Shen Fu glanced towards the next building obscurely, then smiled and said, "Get up."

Zi Su gave up her seat with excitement.

Just as he was about to put down the peep show, he saw a new person behind the piano table. Also wearing a palace maid's uniform, that person raised her hand slightly, and ethereal music flowed out from between her fingers.

The melody is smooth, ethereal like water, and goes straight to the heart.

It was clearly the same tune that was played just now, but it sounded melodious and lingering.

It's like a burning fire that directly forces its way into people's hearts.

After the song ended, Chen Fu quietly left with the zither in her arms. Only when her shadow disappeared from view did the kaleidoscope on the high place slowly lower itself.

"Long live the Lord."

Lin An called out several times before Xiao Yu gradually responded. He opened his eyes wide, looked back and forth between the distance and His Majesty's face for a few times, and then spoke.

He thought about it and said, "Should I go find that maid?"

Xiao Yu thought of the fleeting glimpse he had just gotten. The woman was wearing a veil and his facial features could not be seen, but... she played the piano very well.

The fingers that played the piano were as slender as jade and as thin as scallions. He coughed and said, "No need."

Lin An listened to the Emperor's voice and couldn't figure out what it meant. As the weather was getting hotter day by day, he, as a servant, naturally knew that the emperor was afraid of heat.

As summer came, His Majesty visited the harem less often. He just went to Rong Zhaoyi's place twice in the past few days. He even visited Shufei's place less often.

He had thought that Chen Wanyi would be in the limelight for a while, but he didn't expect that she would disappear after serving dinner once.

Lin An thought about the day when His Majesty went to Concubine Xiang's place, and he felt a little indifferent afterwards. Although His Majesty never passed on Shen Wanyi again after that, I’m afraid he still has some thoughts in his heart.

Seeing that His Majesty has been in a bad mood these days, Lin An, as a servant, naturally wants to help him solve his problems: “How about I send someone to call Shen Wanyi over?”

Shen Wanyi… Xiao Yu thought of the hand that grabbed his sleeve that night.

Thinking of the fingertips of the person who had just played the zither, he turned the jade ring on his thumb, stood up and said, "Let's go to Changqiu Palace."