A moment later, soft piano music came from outside.
Jiang Shuyue and Du Yutong listened quietly in perfect unison.
After a gentle prelude, the melody gradually builds in intensity, like a clear spring cascading down a mountaintop, melodious and graceful, like heavenly music, captivating the listener.
As the piece ended, Du Yutong said with lingering enjoyment, "What did I just say? Your Highness is truly omnipotent. Your skillful piano playing surpasses that self-proclaimed talented Cui Yudie by far."
As the two were talking, the sound of a zither rang out again outside. Before they could figure out what the tune was, they heard the sound of a xiao (vertical flute) joining in.
"Sister Yue'er, listen, doesn't this tune sound familiar?"
Jiang Shuyue smiled faintly, "I didn't expect that Hongfu has already played the music I wrote for her so well that everyone knows it. It's just that the intro and the middle notes have been completely changed."
Du Yutong pursed her lips. "I've heard this piece in the restaurant before. I wonder who's playing it now. It's nowhere near as good as Hongfu's playing."
Jiang Shuyue nodded, "Learning half of it is pretty good."
Hongfu comes from the Red Mansion, so her zither skills are professional; she has learned about 50% of the skills that young ladies from noble families learn when they go to restaurants.
To be fair, that shows a pretty good foundation.
In the hall, after Cui Yudie finished singing "Bamboo Branch Song", she slowly rose and gave a graceful bow to everyone.
"I haven't played music in a long time, so I'm a bit rusty. Please excuse my poor skills."
The daughter of the Right Chancellor is not without those who want to curry favor with her.
A young woman stood up and said, "Miss Cui's musical skills are exceptional; we've heard about them for a long time."
"Miss Cui truly lives up to her reputation as a talented woman of the capital; her music is unique and refreshing."
"Thank you all for your kind words."
Cui Yudie once again bowed to the women who praised her, treating them as equals.
My gaze fell upon a row of screens across the hall.
At this moment, someone whispered, "I wonder who was playing the flute with Miss Cui just now. They're like a dragon, appearing and disappearing without a trace. Could it be the Emperor?"
Someone was playing their piano on the other side, and Cui Yudie was annoyed but couldn't show it.
Hearing people talking, she was secretly delighted, thinking to herself that she might have caught the emperor's eye.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she walked over and bowed through the screen.
"Thank you for your accompaniment. Please accept my bow, Cui Yudie." Her voice was as melodious as a nightingale's song, enough to move any man's heart.
Little did they know that a group of men were peering through the screen onto the other side.
A man holding a flute said through the screen, "Please don't be offended, young lady. The tune you are playing sounds very familiar, so I couldn't help but want to play along with you."
Upon hearing the person behind the screen refer to themselves as "this humble one," Cui Yudie's face instantly darkened.
The Emperor is of the highest rank and would never refer to himself as "this humble one".
She turned and went back to her seat without saying a word.
A perceptive person noticed that her expression was off, and the girl closest to her guessed that she was angry with the man playing the zither.
The girl leaned over and kindly comforted her, "Miss Cui's zither playing is superb. It's not a bad thing that it has attracted others to play together. I think that person also plays the xiao quite well."
Cui Yudie cursed him inwardly as a lecherous scoundrel.
She responded with a slight smile, "Thank you for the compliment. It was just a coincidence; that person happened to be familiar with the score as well."
"Hey! Miss Cui, where did I hear that piece you just played?"
The speaker was Zhan Shuzhen, General Zhan's youngest daughter.
After a moment of contemplation, Zhan Shuzhen said, "Oh, I remember now, this piece was played by the mysterious musician in Juxian Pavilion."
Cui Yudie readily admitted, "That's right. I've heard this tune several times at the restaurant. I feel a connection with this tune, so I memorized it and wrote down the score when I got home. Please forgive any mistakes."
As the daughter of the Right Prime Minister, her humble and polite demeanor and graceful bearing further increased everyone's goodwill towards her.
You Xian'er scanned the hall several times but couldn't find Jiang Shuyue.
When Cui Yudie and Zhan Shuzhen mentioned Juxian Pavilion.
She stood up without missing a beat. "If Miss Cui wants to know if there are any errors in the score, that's not difficult."
Cui Yudie's words, which were originally just humble and polite, were forced to freeze her smile on her face by You Xian'er's words.
The girls were all so engrossed in the beautiful melody that they had no time to notice Cui Yudie's expression.
They all chimed in, "That's right, I heard about it at Juxian Pavilion too."
"Miss Cui's tune sounds similar at first glance, but the charm is different from that of the musicians in the restaurant."
Following in the footsteps of General Zhan, Zhan Shuzhen spoke frankly and was not afraid of offending people.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to You Xian'er, Wu Shiyin quickly took over the conversation and asked:
"Miss You, do you have any way of finding the real musical score of Juxian Pavilion to locate the differences?"
You Xian'er looked at Wu Shiyin and said seriously, "Have you forgotten who the owner of Juxian Pavilion is? She's here today too."
A young woman looked around and said, "Wait a minute, they were following us when we came out of the plum garden, but now they've disappeared."
“That’s right. Miss Jiang is the owner of Juxian Pavilion, so she must know the score.”
You Xian'er successfully steered the conversation towards Jiang Shuyue.
Someone suggested, "Why don't we invite Miss Jiang to play a tune so that we can enjoy it again?"
You Xian'er shrugged. "I think Miss Cui's piano skills are a notch above. If Miss Jiang is willing to show up and play, the difference in skill will be immediately apparent, and we can learn a thing or two from her."
Cui Yudie was quite confident in her talent; she knew perfectly well that the Qin Niang of Juxian Pavilion was more skilled than her.
Jiang Shuyue was, after all, the boss who gave orders, and she was certain that her piano skills were nothing special.
Cui Yudie has always enjoyed being the center of attention, and on this occasion, she is even less likely to hide her talents.
“If Miss Jiang is willing, it wouldn’t be a problem for me to ask her for some advice,” Cui Yudie said, glancing at the row of screens in the distance.
She spoke modestly, but everyone could hear a hint of arrogance in her words.
"I saw the palace maids leading them in that direction."
At that moment, a maidservant from who-knows-who pointed in the direction of the dressing room.
You Xian'er's eyes lit up, and she turned to the palace maid serving her and said, "Please go and invite Miss Jiang over. Tell her that everyone wants to see her playing the zither."
The palace maid had no idea that You Xian'er was up to no good; she only thought that You Xian'er admired Jiang Shuyue's musical skills.
The palace maid curtsied and walked toward the dressing room.
"What? You want to see me play the piano!"
Jiang Shuyue thought to herself that she had heard a rather unfunny joke.
The palace maid nodded earnestly, "That's what all the young ladies in the hall are saying. Your musical skills must be extraordinary."
The palace maid who delivered the message was not familiar with Jiang Shuyue, and had no idea that someone wanted to dig a pit to bury Jiang Shuyue.
Jiang Shuyue nodded slightly to the palace maid, "Go and report back first, I'll go over in a bit."
Seeing that Jiang Shuyue nodded, the palace maid smiled and curtsied, "This servant will take her leave now. I'll have the pleasure of hearing about it soon."
Watching the palace maid leave, Du Yutong and Qiuju asked in unison, "Are you really going?"
“They’ve already come to our doorstep. If I don’t fight back, I’ll be a coward. Do I look like someone who would back down?” Jiang Shuyue stood up and straightened her slightly wrinkled skirt.
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