Chapter 196: Being Pushed into the Vortex of Power
Yun Wansheng chuckled and didn't care about her words. She knew that it was enough for her to lose.
"Madam Yun, you are so amazing! What is the name of this song? It's so beautiful that everyone who hears it wants to cry." Tang Lian'er said with admiration.
"The song is called Liang Zhu, and it tells the love story of a pair of star-crossed mandarin ducks." Yun Wansheng explained briefly.
"I understand. What a touching song," another woman said with a sad look on her face. It seemed she understood.
"Wan Sheng! I didn't expect your piano skills are so good. I've never heard your brother mention it before." Qiao Xue said with admiration on her face.
"Not long after my elder brother and I met, we separated again. It's understandable that he didn't know that I could play the piano." Yun Wansheng said with a faint smile.
The group of women were chatting and having fun in the pavilion, and the male guests on the shore gradually dispersed without them noticing.
Mu Xingci walked alone on the bamboo forest path, looking ahead with a dazed look in his eyes. He knew that the woman was very talented, but when he heard her extraordinary piano skills again, the pain in his heart, which wanted to cool down but couldn't, deepened.
The sad and beautiful piano music reminded him of everything between them. It was his repeated dominance that forced her away from him, and he was aware of the hurt he had caused her every time.
But he was too proud of his noble status to apologize to a lowly singing girl like her because he felt she was not worthy. This was also the reason why the woman was competing with him.
When he realized that he had fallen in love with her, the damage had already been done. He wanted to go back and keep her, but then he discovered that the woman hated and loathed him so much that he didn't want to give her what she wanted.
Just as he was feeling sad, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind: "Brother Xingci!"
Mu Xingci paused slightly, then his face turned cold. When he turned around, his expression was stern: "What's the matter?"
"Brother Xingci, how are you these days?" Lin Yao took a few steps forward and came closer to him.
They haven't met alone since he returned to the city. One reason is that she is afraid of attracting gossip, and the other is that she feels guilty and dares not face this man.
"Not bad!" Mu Xingci uttered two words lightly.
Lin Yao looked at his indifferent attitude towards her, and felt a little pain in her eyes: "Brother Xingci, do you blame me for agreeing to cancel the engagement?"
"No! Lin Yao, what happened between us in the past is in the past, let's not mention it again. I don't want people to misunderstand me." Mu Xingci said coldly, turned around and left.
"Brother Xingci, what about Yun Wansheng? Do you still like her?" Lin Yao's words were tentative.
Mu Xingci stopped in his tracks when he heard that: "Lin Yao, although I have nothing to do with her anymore, I won't allow anyone to hurt her. If anything happens to her, I will be the first one to not let him go. I hope you won't make things difficult for her in the future." After saying that, he left without looking back.
Lin Yao stared at the man's departing back in a daze: "Yun Wansheng! What have you done to deserve Mu Xingci's favor? Mu Xingci, since you know how to protect her, what about me? Have you also protected me in secret?"
Although she chose to break off the engagement because of his injury, she still loved this man in her heart. Seeing that he still knew how to cherish his ex-woman made her jealous.
If he cared so much about a former mistress, what about me? Does this mean that he also has me in his heart, but his current situation forces him to pretend to be indifferent to others?
On the other side, Shangguan Lan found his younger sister in the pavilion. Seeing that she and Qiao Xue were having fun together, he went to find his colleagues with peace of mind.
Around noon, the guests returned to the flower pavilion for the banquet. Yun Wansheng and Qiao Xue sat in the last row, in an inconspicuous position, so that not many people would notice them during the banquet.
The banquet began, the singing and dancing also started, the guests ate and watched, it was a wonderful experience.
But after the dance, Lin Yao stood up and said with a smile: "Prime Minister, the singing and dancing in your mansion are very good, but today we heard even more moving piano music in the garden. I think everyone here heard it, didn't they?"
When everyone heard this, they immediately thought of the scene in the garden. The beautiful piano music is still unforgettable.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, what Miss Lin said is true. Just now when we were admiring the flowers in the garden, we heard a unique sound of a piano. We followed the sound and saw a woman playing the piano on the long corridor in the water. The sound was like heavenly music, which makes people still linger on it." A young man exclaimed in admiration.
When he said this, the others echoed him one after another, all looking forward to hearing the heavenly music again.
Seeing everyone like this, the Prime Minister couldn't help but ask curiously, "Oh? I wonder which daughter has such talent?"
"I don't recognize that woman, I just know she is very beautiful. Miss Lin must know her." said the young man.
"Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, that woman is none other than Yun Wansheng, the younger sister of the General of Chariots and Cavalry! Her piano skills are obvious to all, and I think everyone is still not satisfied. Why don't you, Your Excellency, ask her to play another song for the guests here?" A dark light flashed in Lin Yao's eyes.
Upon hearing this, Tang Zhongda glanced at the visitors and finally his gaze fell on Shangguan Lan.
"General Shangguan, you've seen how much our colleagues here want to hear your sister play the zither. Can you please ask her to play another piece for us? I, too, would like to hear it."
Shangguan Lan listened to him, seemingly negotiating, but in reality, forcing people to refuse. This made his eyes turn slightly cold. He stood up and bowed, saying, "Prime Minister, my sister's talent is relatively limited. How dare she embarrass herself in front of everyone? Compared with Miss Lin, my sister's talents are not worth mentioning at all."
"General Shangguan, you were not there at the time, but your sister's piano skills are much better than mine.
"What's wrong with asking her to sing a song for everyone? Everyone here is a person of status and position. It's not offensive to ask her to perform. Hasn't this happened before?" Lin Yao said with a slight smile.
She just wanted Yun Wansheng to show her face in front of everyone. Didn't she think that by raising her status, she would no longer be taken seriously? Then she would let her stay here and rely on selling her dignity for entertainment.
The guests present were either high-ranking officials, marquises, or young masters and young ladies from noble families. Even if the General of Chariots and Cavalry was a second-rank general, no one would dare to offend him lightly. If she did not go on stage today, her elder brother would be isolated in the capital.
The young ladies who had performed their talents on stage before were naturally those who had just taken office. In order not to offend the elite circles in Beijing and to gain a foothold in Beijing, they knew that this would hurt their dignity, but they still went on.
Now Yun Wansheng is no exception. Her elder brother has only been in the capital for a few days. If he wants to protect his sister, he has to pay the corresponding price.
Yun Wansheng didn't expect that Lin Yao would always think about how to harm her no matter what the situation was. She was really vicious.
Shangguan Lan couldn't help but glare at Miss Lin when he heard her strong and disdainful tone. Just as he was about to continue to refuse, he saw Yun Wansheng stand up.
"Brother, since Miss Lin has said so, we can't refuse. It's just a song. I can handle it."
At the moment, they cannot afford to offend so many powerful people. Even though Shangguan Lan has the support of the Regent, he has to maintain the interpersonal relationships.
In order to allow Shangguan Lan to gain a firm foothold in the capital and not offend those powerful people, it doesn't matter if he suffers a little grievance.
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