But putting everything else aside, the Crown Prince of Qing Kingdom is incredibly handsome, no less so than Lu Dusi, whom she has long admired. If she could be liked by him, it wouldn't be such a bad thing.
With a look of lingering fear and shyness, Anzhuoyi's thumb trembled unconsciously, causing her to play a wrong note.
She was stunned for a moment, then forgot to continue and looked at Shangguan Jingci beside her.
"Hiss." Shangguan Jingci was listening intently when her pause startled him, and he subconsciously took a light breath.
What he learned most from childhood was the art of rulership. Music, chess, calligraphy, and painting were considered women's domain, so he didn't know much about the zither and hadn't listened to it much. He noticed when Anzhuoyi slowed down the melody, but being a complete novice, he didn't see much difference, and he believed many men present felt the same way.
She played a wrong note, which Shangguan Jingci didn't notice at first, but she stopped abruptly, which made a difference. If the piece stopped halfway through, it clearly wasn't finished, meaning there must be a problem with the player.
I glanced around and saw that they were indeed whispering and talking amongst themselves.
"The Spirit Spring?" The Empress frowned, calling out to her with some displeasure.
Anzhuoyi finally came to her senses and saw Shangguan Jingci looking at her with a half-smile. Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly stood up to admit her mistake: "Your Majesty, I am not skilled enough and have made a fool of myself."
Seeing her staring blankly at Shangguan Jingci, the Empress was somewhat displeased, but she couldn't embarrass her in front of everyone, so she simply hummed in agreement: "Please take a seat."
The first person to step onto the field made a mistake, and everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
Hearing the chatter below, Emperor Yuming frowned in annoyance, and the Empress then asked at the opportune moment, "Whose daughter is next?"
"Your Majesty, it is I, your humble servant," a soft voice rang out as a young woman in the hall spoke meekly with her head bowed.
It turned out to be Gongsun Rao, the youngest daughter of Deputy General Gongsun. Gongsun Rao was a gentle and charming woman, and also a talented one.
Upon seeing her, the Empress breathed a sigh of relief, her smile becoming much more genuine, finally putting her mind at ease. Gongsun Rao also said she wanted to play the zither, and the Empress nodded in approval.
However, for some reason, she, who was always famous for her playing the zither, played several wrong notes, which made even General Qin, a layman, frown.
Not only him, but Emperor Yuming was also somewhat displeased. However, the delicate young girl bowed down, but couldn't utter a single harsh word, and could only wave her hand, giving up.
The next few young ladies from noble families all played the wrong note here and jumped the wrong step there; none of them were perfect, which made Emperor Yuming's expression gradually darken.
Lu Huai leaned close to Qin Xi's ear, touched his nose, and said somewhat awkwardly, "...They played really badly, and their dancing wasn't as good as those dancers. You're the most talented."
Qin Xi watched calmly; she could guess what they were thinking. They simply wanted to conceal their brilliance and prevent the Crown Prince of Qing Kingdom from choosing them for a marriage alliance.
She tilted her head: "You certainly have a good opinion of the dancers."
Lu Huai choked up: "I..."
He didn't know how to answer. Qin Xi didn't look at the person next to him, but lowered his eyelids again, as if he was "ignoring everything else".
Shangguan Jingci raised an eyebrow. These girls were clearly doing it on purpose; it was obvious they didn't want to marry him. Even though several of them were giving him coquettish winks, they still didn't want to be chosen by him.
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