Seeing that they had no chance of winning, many people egged them on, saying, "Sixth Sister, why don't you play? You're the best player."
"Only Sixth Sister can surpass Fourteenth Sister. Every time we go to ask the musicians for advice, they always praise Sixth Sister highly."
An Ruoyan never wanted to lose from the beginning, and with everyone's encouragement, she was even more eager to regain her pride.
How could a princess born to a lowly servant be worthy of being compared to her? Today, she will send her back to the mire where she belongs.
"Then I'll give it a try." An Ruoyan feigned modesty, but as she passed by An Yunyi, she glared at her fiercely. She was determined to make this little bitch lose face. How dare she compete with her in playing the zither? She didn't even know her own limitations.
Seeing the battle between the two women escalating, Xi Xi subconsciously tugged at An Honghan's sleeve, signaling him to stop them quickly.
An Honghan was the one who started the conflict between the two, so why would he lend a helping hand? He wished the conflict would escalate as much as possible, because this scenario was exactly what he had envisioned.
Gently rubbing the fiery red fur on the little sable's forehead, An Honghan said two words, "Stop fooling around," and continued to watch everything coldly.
An Ruoyan sat down...
The next instant, the strings were plucked, and a clear, melodious sound floated out. Just by listening to the smoothness of the sound, one could judge how highly the player had mastered the instrument.
The piece she played demands a very high level of skill. Only a musician of that caliber could produce such a sound.
In other words, she was preparing to show off her skills and defeat Anruoyi with her techniques.
Her piano playing was beautiful, no less so than the pieces played by An Yunyi.
Even Xi Xizhi temporarily set aside his dislike for her and immersed himself in the music.
But... just as Xi Xizhi was about to close her eyes and quietly listen to the beautiful music, a snapping sound broke the complete piece.
Because the piece was extremely difficult, the strings were vibrated too intensely, causing them to snap under the force of the elasticity. The rebounding string cut An Ruoyan's finger, and a drop of bright red blood splattered onto the instrument stand.
An Ruoyan stared at the strings for a long time, unable to come back to her senses...
The other princesses were all extremely shocked when they saw An Ruoyan break a string while playing the zither for the first time.
"W-what happened? Why did the string break..."
"Yes! I was just about to listen when they started playing the intro..."
"How can we even compete like this?"
"Are we just going to let Little Fourteen win like this?"
An Honghan seemed to understand perfectly well, as if he had expected this outcome long ago, and showed no surprise whatsoever.
The bewildered little ferret stared at the string, sharing the same thought as everyone else. Everyone said the Sixth Princess's musical skills were superb, so why did the string break?
An Ruoyan lost face and her cheeks flushed red with anger. How could this happen! She clearly played better than An Yunyi, so why did the string break! Ignoring the blood flowing from her fingertips, An Ruoyan slowly clenched her fist, the veins on the back of her fair hand bulging.
She shouted angrily, "Where are the musicians! What have you done? Hurry up and get me a new instrument! How dare you leave a broken instrument here!"
Her features contorted in disbelief, unable to believe that her dazzling moment of 'showing off her skills' had been ruined. All she could think about was how to make amends and win back her brother's attention.
However, just as she was about to explode with anger, An Honghan stood up, holding the little sable, stared at An Ruoyan without any emotion, and said, "The outcome is decided."
These words struck An Ruoyan like a thunderbolt, making her heart clench. No... she couldn't admit defeat!
How could she possibly lose to a child born to a lowly maid!
She hurriedly stood up, trying to grab An Honghan's shoulder, shouting, "No, Your Majesty, wait for me a moment! Where's the musician? Change the strings immediately!"
His voice betrayed an undisguised panic.
“Brother, Yan’er can play it again. As long as we change the instrument, Yan’er will definitely be able to play an even better piece.” An Ruoyan repeated, somewhat flustered, her words urgent, as if she was afraid that An Honghan would be disappointed in her.
But An Honghan never gave anyone a second chance. He coldly withdrew his gaze and said, "You've already lost."
An Ruoyan's voice almost cracked.
"No, no...no...Yan'er didn't lose, Your Majesty, please give Yan'er another chance..." she said to herself.
An Honghan didn't want to argue with her any longer, and shook his head: "When the string broke, Sixth Sister, you had already lost."
Having said that, he stood up and said, "I have been out for too long today. There are still many memorials waiting for me to review in the Imperial Study. That's all for today."
Xi Xizhi nestled in An Honghan's arms, turned over in confusion, and watched as the waterside pavilion gradually distanced itself from them.
They had barely left when An Ruoyan suddenly stood up and slapped An Yunyi across the face. "The child born of a slut is indeed a little bitch! Tell me! What did you do to my zither!"
How dare she steal her brother's attention and embarrass her in front of everyone! She will exact revenge for this!
An Yunyi raised her eyes with a wronged expression, her innocent gaze suggesting she didn't understand what An Ruoyan was saying.
"Sixth Sister, I...I didn't."
Another slap landed, but this time it was another princess who did it. "Still saying you didn't? Then how could Sixth Sister's zither string have broken!"
Only An Ruoyan and Shisi touched that zither, and everyone else thought that An Ruoyi had done something wrong.
The other princesses all sided with An Ruoyan, speaking with one voice, and more than a dozen of them surrounded An Yunyi, constantly berating her. Some even physically assaulted her.
Throughout, the little girl kept her head down, enduring everything. The only difference from last time was that this time, there was no longer any moisture in her eyes.
When they reached a point where the waterside pavilion was no longer in sight, Xi Xizhi finally raised the question that had been lingering in his mind.
It scratched at An Honghan's dragon robe with its claws, the silk robe making a swishing sound as it rubbed against the robe.
As soon as the little ferret's tail twitched, An Honghan understood what it was thinking and explained, "The strings have limited capacity. As soon as An Yunyi finished playing that piece, the strings were already on the verge of breaking. And the piece that An Ruoyan played next was even more difficult, putting even more pressure on the strings. Of course, the strings couldn't withstand it, so it's normal for them to break."
If An Ruoyan hadn't been so competitive, she wouldn't have lost so badly.
If she chooses a piece of music with a low difficulty level, the strings can support her until she finishes playing the whole piece.
If An Yunyi did all of this intentionally, then this thirteen-year-old girl is truly terrifying.
But at least one thing is true: An Ruoyan disappointed An Honghan.
The palace is full of arrogant and naive good-for-nothings.
The high expectations that were originally placed on An Ruoyan gradually diminished at this moment.
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