Chapter 59 Pipa Tribulation 2
Just at this moment, people from the musical instrument shop came in a hurry.
The palace maid held a yellow pear wood tray in her hands, covered with a dark blue velvet cloth.
After presenting the things to Xiao Jingheng, he lifted the velvet cloth.
"Your Majesty, the Phoenix Pipa has been brought here."
The eyes of all the women in the hall were fixed on the pipa at almost the same time.
It was a phoenix-headed pipa made of red sandalwood that was gleaming with light.
The product is made of orchid bamboo, and the portrait is carved from pure white ivory.
The strings of the zither are black and red in color, made from tough silk from aged rosewood, and one inch of them is worth a thousand gold coins.
The luxury of this pipa was so great that even the Concubine Chen, who was used to living a luxurious life, was astonished.
She whispered to the Queen, "The Emperor really thinks highly of her. The Phoenix-head Pipa that the late Emperor bestowed upon the Holy Mother Queen Mother has been brought out?"
The Queen smiled and said, "As long as the Emperor likes it, what's wrong with that?"
Song Zhao didn't know the origin of the pipa, but he knew it was an ordinary instrument just by looking at its appearance and workmanship. "Your Majesty, this is..."
Xiao Jingheng explained, "This is the phoenix-head pipa that the late emperor gave to the Holy Mother Empress Dowager. It is the best pipa in the world. I originally thought that you would play the pipa today, so I brought it here to add some color to your performance."
He kept paying attention to Song Zhao's expression while he was talking. Seeing that she looked a little disappointed, he quickly changed the subject and said:
"It's okay. Play it for me when you're healed."
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, signaling the palace maid to take the pipa away.
At this moment, Xiao Changzai, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
"Your Majesty... Actually, the program I prepared today is also playing the pipa..."
As soon as she said this, the Concubine Chen immediately started to insult her.
"Who was I thinking was speaking? The voice was so hoarse that I thought it was some prince. It turned out to be Concubine Xiao?"
She sneered and glanced at Xiao Changzai.
"Why, isn't singing Kunqu opera your best skill? You can even play the pipa?"
Xiao Changzai had seen how powerful Concubine Chen was, so she didn't even dare to look at her eyes. However, she really wanted to seize this opportunity, so she could only lower her head and nod silently.
The Concubine Chen snorted coldly, "Haha~ Xiao Changzai is really knowledgeable."
The Queen saw that Concubine Chen was about to burst out with jealousy, and Xiao Changzai would not be able to end the situation in a stalemate, so she said:
"Since Xiao Changzai is also preparing a pipa piece, why not let her play one to cheer up the emperor?"
Concubine Chen said, "I cannot agree with what the Empress said. This phoenix-head pipa is a relic of the Holy Mother Empress Dowager. How can anyone use it? The Emperor originally only intended to give it to Concubine Song, but she can't use it because of her injured hand. The pipa should be returned to her."
The Queen ignored her and looked at Xiao Jingheng and said, "What does the Emperor think?"
Song Zhao watched this round of fighting between the Queen and the Concubine. On the surface, it seemed that the Concubine had the upper hand, but little did he know that the Queen's tactics of using little force to achieve a great result were much more clever than those of the Concubine.
Let the concubine be proud and proud.
The Queen simply threw the question to Xiao Jingheng.
There are three princes present today. The Concubine Chen suggested that Xiao Changzai not be allowed to play, while the Queen suggested that everyone just have fun.
In such a situation, Xiao Jingheng must consider the Queen's face.
So he said as expected, "Since Xiao Changzai can play the piano and the piano has been delivered, let her play it."
When Concubine Chen heard this, her face immediately darkened, but the smile on the Queen's face became even brighter.
"Xiao Changzai, are you still standing there? Get ready quickly."
Xiao Changzai thanked him hurriedly, then started to get ready while holding the pipa.
In fact, Xiao Changzai is also a thoughtful person.
Her voice had been hurting before, so she thought about performing something else at Jamel Xiao's birthday party to make Jamel Xiao look at her sideways.
But there are only a few instruments suitable for women to play, and almost all of them have been played by the concubines in the palace.
She performed what others had performed before. If she performed well, she would offend others; if she performed poorly, she would make a fool of herself. She was always in a dilemma.
Later, when she learned that Song Zhao was going to perform the pipa and was still a novice,
She knew her 'chance' had come again.
She had some basic skills in pipa, and Song Zhao was also a concubine like her, so she was not afraid of offending him.
When the time comes, the two of them will perform together. She will be able to outshine Song Zhao and will not be afraid of offending other concubines. Why not do it?
After the preparations were completed, a chair was moved to the center right of the hall.
Xiao Changzai sat upright on the chair, still holding the pipa, and rolled up her sleeves, revealing her fair wrists, and said shyly:
"At the beginning of this year, the Qi Dynasty defeated the Western Rong, all thanks to the emperor's wisdom and strategy. Today, I will present a song "Ten Sides of Ambush" to congratulate our dynasty on its victory."
After she finished speaking, she began to pick up the string and twist it slowly.
Xiao Changzai is skilled in playing the zither. His music sounds like jade beads rolling on a plate, smooth and with clear distinction between light and heavy notes.
First, use the alternating strokes of "row, row, shot, row" to simulate the sound of thousands of troops running together or weapons colliding.
Later, techniques such as double strings, push and pull are used to gradually push the song to a climax.
At the most exciting part, Xiao Chang's finger movement was so fast that he almost left afterimages on the strings, making the piece not only pleasant to listen to but also beautiful to look at.
Xiao Jingheng just listened casually at first and didn't expect Xiao Changzai to play anything famous.
But as the music reached new climaxes, there was a little more appreciation of Xiao Changzai in his eyes.
Among the front and rear harems, Concubine Chen is proficient in all kinds of musical instruments, and is particularly good at playing the pipa and the zither.
The Queen looked at her sideways, frowning and turning away impatiently, as if she wanted to plug her ears, so she smiled and said:
"Mrs. Xiao's zither skills are comparable to your sister's. It seems that if the emperor wants to listen to the pipa again in the future, he doesn't have to go to your sister's palace."
Concubine Chen narrowed her eyes and looked at the Queen, then said coldly:
"Yes, when His Majesty wants to listen to the pipa, he will think of me, but if he wants to nourish himself, he can only think of the Empress. After all, in the harem, except for the Empress's Fengluan Palace, there is no other place that smells like medicine all day long."
The song was played just right, as if it was providing the soundtrack for the verbal battle between the Empress and the Concubine Chen.
The Queen was about to say something to the Concubine Chen, but suddenly she heard a sharp sound from the pipa in the hall.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Changzai exclaimed and dropped the pipa to the ground.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xiao Chang covering his cheek with his left hand.
There was a trace of bright red blood coming out from between her fingers.
Then I looked at the pipa lying on the ground with two broken strings.
The broken string just happened to rub Xiao Changzai's left cheek.
A long bloody wound was drawn on her smooth and delicate skin.
It's shocking, and it sends chills down one's spine...
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