Xie Daoyun breathed a sigh of relief, then returned her attention to the musical score, showering it with praise.
Zuan nodded secretly, thinking to himself that a talented woman is indeed a talented woman. Where did she come up with so many flowery adjectives? If it were him, he would only shout "666" or "Old bro, you're awesome" and the like.
The group returned to the waterside pavilion. Xie Xiu asked curiously, "Sister, you are usually so quiet and gentle. Why do you like such sounds of violence today?"
Zu An laughed and said, "Although Dao Yun is gentle and quiet, it's largely because she has to be. She is the daughter of the city lord and has been raised as a lady of a prominent family since childhood, so naturally she has to behave in a quiet manner. Although I haven't spent much time with Dao Yun, I can feel the love and longing for life in her eyes. I felt that she would like these stories about heroes and chivalrous people, so I specially thought of this piece of music. I didn't expect that Dao Yun would like it."
Xie Daoyun's delicate body trembled, and she stared at the other person in disbelief. In fact, even she herself was not quite sure of her own feelings. Now, after the other person reminded her, she realized that this was the case, and she immediately felt a sense of understanding.
But why does the other person know so much about her, even though they've only met a few times in their daily lives?
Could this be the legendary soulmate?
Brother Zu really understands me!
Thinking of the romantic stories about young women she had read before, her heart began to pound again.
Xie Xiu was about to laugh, thinking, "How could my sister be the kind of person you're talking about?" But when she saw her expression, she immediately understood everything and couldn't help but look at Zu An in shock. "Does this guy have mind-reading abilities?"
Zu An secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had only guessed based on Xie Daoyun's personality in his previous life, but he hadn't expected to guess correctly. For a moment, he was in a daze.
Coming to his senses, he said, "Actually, there's another story behind this piece of music."
The Xie siblings immediately looked at him, and Xie Xiu hurriedly urged, "Brother, don't keep us in suspense."
Zu An said, “In ancient times, there were several hermits known as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove… One of them was named Ji Kang, who advocated ‘transcending the established doctrines and following nature.’ He would play the zither and compose poetry in the bamboo grove in his daily life… Unfortunately, his wife in his early years was a princess of the current imperial family. Later, a powerful minister usurped the throne and, fearing his prestige, repeatedly summoned him to court to serve as an official, hoping to use this to weaken the resistance of the previous dynasty’s imperial family and make the people of the world more accepting of the new regime.”
"Ji Kang naturally refused, which the powerful minister hated to the bone, but because of his reputation, it was difficult to find a way to deal with him for a while. Until one day, the older brother of one of Ji Kang's friends took a fancy to his sister-in-law and got her drunk and raped her. In order to prevent the matter from being exposed, the older brother took the initiative to accuse his younger brother of being unfilial. Because the older brother was a court official, he had the influence of his connections and put his younger brother in jail."
"Ji Kang was furious about this and spoke out for his friend. Because it involved court officials, the powerful minister suspected him of having ulterior motives and used the case to have him and his brother executed together."
"Upon hearing of this, three thousand students from the Imperial Academy petitioned on his behalf. As a result, the powerful minister, seeing his high reputation, became even more determined to kill him."
"When he was about to leave, he asked for a guqin and calmly played the piece 'Guangling San'. Everyone present was impressed by his demeanor, and from then on, 'Guangling San' became a timeless masterpiece."
...
After listening, Xie Xiu said indignantly, "What a refined gentleman! It's a pity he fell into the hands of a powerful minister. That shameless scoundrel who raped his sister-in-law and then falsely accused his brother is even more hateful. If I see him, I will definitely chop off his dog's head!"
Xie Daoyun remarked with emotion, "Ji Kang's feelings at that time must have been very similar to those of the chivalrous knight in the previous story. He longed to be like that knight, charging straight in and assassinating the powerful minister."
"Daoyun truly deserves to be called a master of the zither. She can even understand his feelings at the time from the artistic conception of the music." Zu An clicked his tongue in amazement. Although many people knew the story of Ji Kang in his previous life, few knew why he played Guangling San. Xie Daoyun could understand it just from the sound of the zither, which was truly admirable.
Just then, Xie Daoyun suddenly thought of something, her expression changed, and she lowered her voice to say, "Brother Zu, where did you hear this story?"
Zu An's heart skipped a beat, puzzled as to why she asked such a question: "I saw it in an ancient book, what's wrong with it?"
Xie Daoyun did not answer directly. Instead, she waved her hand to dismiss the servants not far away before saying, "I just remembered something. When this dynasty was founded, the way we ascended the throne was not exactly honorable, somewhat like the powerful minister in your story."
Zuan: "???"
"And the Ji Kang you mentioned reminds me of someone." Xie Daoyun's expression was solemn.
"Who?" Zu'an asked hurriedly.
Xie Daoyun opened her mouth, but didn't say anything. Instead, she dipped her slender finger in the tea and slowly wrote two characters on the table.
When Zuan saw those two characters, his pupils contracted slightly, because they read "Sacrificial Wine"!
Xie Xiu, standing to the side, also opened her mouth wide, wanting to say something, but felt that her mind couldn't process it at all.
After wiping away the water stains, Xie Daoyun said, "I only heard about it by chance when a teacher was telling anecdotes about the academy. It seems that he had a deep connection with the royal family of the previous dynasty. So, in order to avoid suspicion, he basically stayed out of worldly affairs, and even the teachers and students in the academy had to maintain a neutral attitude."
Xie Xiu felt a dryness in her throat: "Did the founding emperor of this dynasty usurp the throne of the previous dynasty? How come I didn't know that?"
Xie Daoyun rolled her eyes: "You spend all your time hanging out with women, so you don't know any of this. Even if you did study, you might not know, since it's not a respectable thing. The court is very secretive about it, and they've destroyed a lot of books that are unfavorable to it. There are even powerful figures who have put down a seal to make those in the know forget this past event."
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