Just then, a mournful sound of a flute slowly rose up, but compared to the sound of the zither, Qiu Honglei's flute playing sounded somewhat awkward.
Xie Xiu was puzzled: "That's not right. Logically speaking, Qiu Honglei is skilled in both beauty and art. Her flute skills should not be much inferior to her zither skills. Why does she play it so... so ordinary?"
He was actually being quite polite with his word, but the whole performance was far from smooth, with several instances of his voice cracking, which even he noticed. If it had been someone else, they would have been kicked off the stage long ago.
Xie Daoyun frowned and said, "Perhaps it's because she's not very familiar with the piece..."
As she spoke, her voice involuntarily weakened. For a master in this field, even with a completely new piece of music, it shouldn't have caused such a decline.
"Shh~"
Another sharp, cracking note followed. Qiu Honglei finally couldn't hold on any longer. She put down her flute, her face flushed. It was so embarrassing that she couldn't play a single note.
The others didn't doubt her abilities; instead, they all tried to defend her:
"Even someone like Miss Lianqiu can't play this tune, so this piece must be made up randomly."
"Not bad, kid. If you can't do it yourself, don't drag Miss Qiu down with you."
...
However, there were also many discerning people in the audience, after all, Zuan's piano playing was smooth and flowing, and it didn't seem like he was just making things up.
Wang Yuanlong couldn't help but nudge Chu Yucheng beside him and exclaimed, "I was also misled by the rumors before, and I thought your son-in-law was a good-for-nothing. I never expected him to be so capable. No wonder Miss Chu took a liking to him."
Chu Yucheng also had a strange expression, and nudged Chu Hongcai beside him: "Could you have imagined this scene before?"
Chu Hongcai shook his head, looking at Qiu Honglei and Zu An intimately huddled together, a hint of bitterness appearing on his face.
Chu Yucheng seemed to have guessed what he was thinking and quickly comforted him, "Don't be too discouraged. They're just discussing music together, it doesn't mean they're going to do anything. Even if they are going to do something later, it's better for Azu to benefit than for others. It's better to keep the benefits within the family."
Chu Hongcai: "..."
God the hell, I'll keep the good stuff in the family! Thanks for the comfort!
At this moment, Zu An also stopped and comforted Qiu Honglei, saying, "This piece is indeed a bit obscure. In some places, the transitions between notes are too abrupt, and the jumps are very large. If you are not familiar with it, it is easy to not be able to play it in one breath."
Qiu Honglei looked grateful. Although she usually appeared to be a stunning beauty, she was still a young girl at heart and had never encountered such an embarrassing situation before, which made her a little flustered.
As he spoke, he explained to her the most common areas where problems could occur, as well as some points to note.
Qiu Honglei gradually calmed down, closed her eyes slightly, and went through the entire score from beginning to end. She finally understood where the problem was.
"Let's do it again." Qiu Honglei looked expectant. Firstly, she had just embarrassed herself and wanted to save face; secondly, the score was so magical that she really wanted to hear what it would sound like to play it perfectly.
"Alright!" Zu An smiled slightly, and seeing that she was ready, he gently plucked the strings.
Qiu Honglei parted her red lips slightly, her slender fingers resting on the flute, like a dancing sprite.
The zither music was peaceful and balanced, and the melody of the xiao flute was even more moving. The zither and xiao music seemed to be asking and answering each other, making the men around them envious. They wished they could have a time like that with Miss Qiu.
Xie Daoyun was already standing by the window, staring intently at the two people playing the qin and xiao together downstairs. As she listened, she commented, "The melody is indeed well-matched, but it doesn't have the obvious effect he claimed before."
As soon as she finished speaking, the zither music gradually rose higher, while the flute music slowly fell back. However, the flute music was low and continuous, like a wisp of silk drifting in the wind, yet it was unbroken and added to the poignant feeling.
"This..." Xie Daoyun's expression changed slightly, and she murmured to herself, "So this is how the qin and xiao can be combined. It's simply seamless."
Just then, a clanging sound suddenly came from the zither, seemingly with a murderous intent, but the sound of the flute remained gentle and melodious.
After a while, the music became softer, and the two notes rose and fell. Suddenly, the music of the zither and the flute changed abruptly, as if seven or eight zithers and seven or eight flutes were playing music at the same time.
Although the sounds of the qin and xiao are extremely complex and varied, each sound has its own ups and downs, making them pleasing to the ear and touching to the heart.
Xie Daoyun sighed inwardly. No wonder Qiu Honglei had failed several times here. Just listening to it made her feel the complexity of the music, let alone the performer.
The crowd initially looked disdainful, but as they listened, they felt their blood boil and couldn't help but stand up. They felt as if they were on a battlefield, trying to save their families, their country, and the world.
After listening for a while, the sounds of the qin and xiao changed again. The xiao changed its main tone, and the qin was just a tinkling accompaniment, but the xiao sound became higher and higher.
A sudden pang of sorrow gripped everyone, and tears welled up in their eyes without them even realizing it.
Suddenly, with a sharp clang, the zither music stopped abruptly, and the flute music ceased immediately as well.
In an instant, the entire Shenxianju fell silent, and no one spoke for a long time.
Qiu Honglei was also shocked, never expecting that she was the one who had played that moving piece of music.
He put down his flute and looked at the man in front of the zither table with a complicated expression.
She had originally planned to use connections to help him advance, but he surprised her with this unexpected turn of events.
"Young Master Zu, does this piece have a name?"
Zu An slowly stood up: "This song is called 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.' I give this song to you, young lady, hoping that you can let go of your worries and, like this song, laugh and roam the world freely."
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