Chapter 35 Sachet
Xiao Min and Lin Chuanxu were also a little nervous. On the one hand, they knew that Xiao Yuxuan probably couldn't play the zither, but on the other hand, they didn't want Xiao Yuxuan to be ridiculed by everyone because of this. They were caught in a dilemma.
Xiao Yuxuan sat on the piano bench, her delicate fingers gently plucking the strings a couple of times to test the sound.
During the sound check, everyone was taken aback.
She can play the piano.
For a moment, Xiahou Yin and Qi Jun both breathed a sigh of relief. Qi Wenyue looked at Xiao Yuyao in disbelief, but saw surprise and uncertainty in her eyes.
Xiao Min and Lin Chuanxu had complicated expressions.
"Second cousin, did Yuxuan learn to play the piano before?"
Xiao Min remained silent. He tried to find memories of Xiao Yuxuan learning the zither in his mind, but after searching around, he sadly discovered that he really knew very little about this younger sister.
There is no knowledge of when she learned the piano or how well she learned it.
Yuyao, on the other hand, left a deep impression on me. She had been learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting since she was a child, and she never stopped practicing despite wind, frost, rain, and snow. She would always bring her musical scores and poems to ask him for advice, softly calling him Second Brother, and sticking by his side, wanting him to teach her personally...
Did Yu-hsuan ever complain about the hardship of learning the piano, with calluses on her fingers? Did she ever hope to have an older brother to teach her carefully?
He neglected Yu Xuan too much. In the past month, he has only been thinking about making up for Yu Yao. Look at what he has done.
"Second cousin?"
Lin Chuanxu leaned to one side and called out twice more, but received no response, so he sat up straight listlessly.
"Sigh, this is such a difficult choice. One is my childhood sweetheart, my cousin Yuyao, and the other is my stunningly beautiful and pitiful cousin Yuxuan..."
The boys who had heard clearly rolled their eyes.
The clear, resonant notes of the zither flowed from the fingertips of the young girl playing it in front of them. The first few melodies were the well-known "Spring Dawn Chant".
This piece is not difficult, but it is not easy to play well. It requires a long period of practice to become proficient.
Most people who are just starting out on learning the piano will only get a basic understanding of this piece before eagerly moving on to more difficult pieces. Few people are willing to sit down at the piano and play this simple piece day after day.
"Qi Wenyue, do I need to ask you to compose a poem?"
The music stopped at some point. Qi Jun was holding a flower slip with the character "征" (meaning "conquest") written on it. A maid had already picked up the same flower slip and handed it to Qi Wenyue, who had a blank expression.
Qi Wenyue would never admit that she was so engrossed in listening that she forgot to count which note she was on. Upon hearing this, she picked up the flower stick with a face full of shame and indignation.
But she had no clue what to do at the moment, and only composed a plain five-character poem.
She made an excuse for herself:
"This zither playing is so bad that I can't even write poetry anymore."
Qi Jun stared at her and warned:
"If you cause any more trouble, you'll be sent back to the Prince's Palace ahead of schedule."
"I……"
Qi Wenyue was pulled back by Xiao Yuyao and didn't dare to say anything more.
The music continued, occasionally pausing to have someone compose poems using musical scales and flower-shaped divination sticks. This went on intermittently for about half an hour. Qi Jun glanced at Xiao Yuxuan's fingers, interrupting the enthusiastic Qi Wenyue, and made the decision:
"I'm bored. You guys can do something else on your own."
Xiao Yuxuan looked over and thought that even if Qi Jun hadn't said anything, she would have had to return to her seat because she was too tired to play for a while longer. She didn't expect that Qi Jun was not as good as her in terms of physical strength.
After the banquet ended, Xiahou Yin approached.
"Miss Xiao, I didn't expect you to play so well. I heard several people praising you. Sigh, this poetry gathering is really boring. I wish I hadn't come."
As he spoke, Xiao Yuxuan's gaze drifted towards Qi Huan.
Sure enough, Qi Huan and Xiao Yuyao were already together, and they seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.
However, whether it was her imagination or not, Qi Huan and Xiao Yuyao distanced themselves slightly after noticing Xiao Yuxuan's gaze.
"Your Highness, I have made a copy of this book. The original book will now be returned to its rightful owner. Thank you for lending it to me..."
Seeing that Qi Huan did not respond for a long time, Xiao Yuyao paused and looked in the direction of Qi Huan's gaze—it was Xiao Yuxuan.
She instinctively bit her cheek, her expression contorting for a moment.
"Your Highness?"
Qi Huan was brought back to his senses:
"Oh, it's nothing. Good books should be given to book lovers to avoid disappointment. It's just a small favor, Miss Yuyao, you don't need to be so polite."
However, Xiao Yuyao could tell that Qi Huan was clearly distracted, his mind wandering off somewhere else!
She gritted her teeth.
What, is Xiao Yuxuan now trying to steal even the Fourth Prince from her?
She took two steps closer to Qi Huan and whispered a few words in his ear.
The two walked hand in hand toward the waterside pavilion at the back.
I saw an old friend and went to say hello.
Xiao Yuxuan gave Xiahou Yin a few perfunctory words and headed in the direction where the Fourth Prince and Xiao Yuyao had left.
She had a feeling that something was going to happen when the two of them went there.
However, the further she went in, the fewer people there were. Finally, at a corner, she bumped into Xiao Yuyao, who was standing alone.
She lied to her.
"Fifth Sister, were you following me and the Fourth Prince?"
Seeing that Xiao Yuxuan remained silent, she questioned:
"Why?"
Xiao Yuxuan lowered her eyes: "Fourth Sister, don't you know?"
A hint of suspicion flashed in Xiao Yuyao's eyes. What kind of trouble was she up to now?
But she quickly composed herself and said:
"I don't know what you're talking about. The Fourth Prince and I are upright and honest, so don't try to sow discord between us."
"If that's the case, why is Fourth Sister carrying this sachet shaped like a man's?"
Xiao Yuxuan innocently pointed to the sachet embroidered with bamboo leaves at Xiao Yuyao's waist. This gesture, however, successfully changed Xiao Yuyao's expression:
"What nonsense are you spouting? What does this have to do with the Fourth Prince?"
Xiao Yuxuan continued, "Fourth sister, I'm doing this for your own good. If you two are seen by someone, it might be hard to explain. With me here as a witness, it will quiet down those gossipy people."
"Of course I know that Fourth Sister is upright and honest, but it's best not to let others see this sachet again."
Xiao Yuyao's thoughts were drawn to the sachet. She clutched it nervously, then suddenly ripped it off and threw it into the bushes beside her.
"You think you can use this against me? You're too naive!"
"Even if you climb in to look for it, no one will recognize that it belongs to the Fourth Prince."
Xiao Yuxuan found it somewhat amusing to see her looking so alarmed.
It turns out that Xiao Yuyao, whom she thought was invincible in her past life, could also show such an expression.
She stared into Xiao Yuyao's already unfocused eyes and calmly uttered words that filled the other with despair:
"Fourth sister, of course no one would recognize that this belongs to the Fourth Prince, because that sachet belongs to the eldest brother."
Xiao Yuyao's pupils dilated. She shook her head in disbelief, then glared fiercely at Xiao Yuxuan and said harshly:
"Who told you that? Who was it? Caihe? Or Mujin?"
She relayed the information to her several personal maids one by one, but their expressions remained unchanged.
After a long silence, she chuckled softly, "Xiao Yuxuan, you've really become smarter."
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