Ren Yaoqi walked over to Madam Xu and sat down. Seeing this, the other ladies all smiled at Ren Yaoqi in a friendly manner and no one gave her a cold look.
The people below were surprised to see Ren Yaoqi sitting with Madam Xu and the others. They began to whisper among themselves. The old princess and Concubine Dowager Yun also looked over.
However, Concubine Yun took a look and turned away without saying anything. The old princess didn't care much about the Qianjin Banquet and didn't say much at this moment.
Madam Xu presided over the banquet again, explaining the details of today's competition in detail. In fact, all the ladies in Yanbei were familiar with this, and Madam Xu mainly explained it to the ten ladies who had come from afar.
Ren Yaoqi glanced down casually and immediately spotted Yan Ningshuang, sitting in the first seat on the right. Although Yan Ningshuang had been terrified by Silly Girl yesterday, she still showed up today. Her magenta blouse and meticulously decorated appearance gave no sign of discomfort, but rather a strong presence.
Yan Ningshuang's gaze seemed to have been on Ren Yaoqi all along, so Ren Yaoqi's casual glance happened to meet hers. Ren Yaoqi nodded politely at her and then looked away again.
After Madam Xu finished explaining the rules and asked the young ladies if they had any questions, someone said, "When we arrived, we heard that the gentlemen at the banquet were all respected elders with both talent and virtue."
The speaker was a young lady named Lu from the court. Although her words were very tactful, her eyes swept over Ren Yaoqi who was sitting among the gentlemen, and her meaning was self-evident.
Madam Xu smiled. "I wouldn't say they're both virtuous and talented, but they all have their strengths. As for 'respected elders,' I don't think age is the most important thing. You're competing in talent, not seniority. Those who can be teachers should be taught by them. That's the true way to learn."
"What Mr. Xu said makes sense, but I wonder what Miss Ren is good at?" Miss Lu was the first to speak out today and asked relentlessly.
Mrs. Xu did not give a direct answer after hearing this, but just smiled and said, "Don't worry, everyone will soon know what she is good at." After saying this, Mrs. Xu sat back down. Seeing that Mrs. Xu had left, Miss Lu had no choice but to give up, thinking that Mrs. Xu must have been making excuses to fool them.
Ren Yaoqi sighed. She had a feeling that sitting on it would not be any easier than sitting on the bottom.
Sure enough, as soon as the competition started, the field was filled with the smell of gunpowder, and most of the people were targeting Ren Yaoqi.
The ladies from the imperial court and those from Yanbei took turns to come on stage. In accordance with the courtesy of giving priority to guests, the ladies from the imperial court came first. The first to come on stage was Miss Lu, who had been the first to come forward.
Miss Lu was good-looking. She stood up gracefully, bowed to everyone, and then walked to the center of the stage. Her performance today was the zither. The maids had already set up the zither table and the zither, waiting for her to perform.
Miss Lu burned incense and washed her hands, then sat down upright. Then, she raised her hand and played the piano, which surprised everyone.
It must be said that Miss Lu's qin skills were exceptional, her form graceful. Her melodious and gentle notes were impeccable, both in terms of technique and emotion. Even the gentlemen on the stage clapped along and nodded. When she finished, everyone felt a sense of wanting more.
Miss Lu stood up and, without waiting for the gentlemen on the stage to speak or give her advice, she said, "I am a humble student, but I would like to ask Mr. Ren for some guidance."
Although her voice was not loud, it was clearly heard by everyone on and off the stage. The word "Mr. Ren" had a certain provocative tone to it. The scene fell silent, and almost everyone's eyes turned to Ren Yaoqi.
Ren Yaoqi glanced at Miss Lu, who was looking at her modestly, and smiled, "Mr. Xu and Mr. Li are both masters in zither skills. Miss Lu, please give them some guidance."
Miss Lu also smiled, but she looked at Ren Yaoqi without saying a word or moving.
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