Northern and Southern Masters
Before raising his head, A-Qiu carefully considered his expression.
She usually wore a smiling face, but based on experience, this tactic didn't seem to work well on older, more mature women. But she couldn't very well cry, could she? After much thought, she carefully adopted the most harmless expression possible—the kind often described as "naive and innocent."
She blinked her beautiful eyes, looking like an innocent little deer, with an expression that seemed to be waiting for instructions.
Then, the moment she looked up, she saw Xue Hongbi's expression froze for a moment, and then her eyes flashed with extreme amazement.
Since Xue Hongbi gave the order last time, everyone stopped practicing martial arts while wearing makeup. A Qiu was no exception. Surrounded by her companions who were naturally beautiful and unadorned, A Qiu felt much more refreshed.
It must be said that Madam Xue is quite capable.
Then, Madam Xue's earth-shattering scream was heard again: "Sun Ci! Sun Ci, come quick!"
The next shout was: "The dance club is saved!"
Sun Neiren was practically pushed and shoved by Xue Hongbi into the Xiangxie Corridor.
Since the dance troupe took on the task of teaching the "White Silk Dance," Xue Hongbi has practically monopolized all the instruction on it, including movements, expressions, and even the "body and mind."
She had previously said that she was only responsible for teaching "body and mind," but later she felt that Sun Neiren was too slow in teaching anything and didn't teach the right things, so she simply took over and taught everything herself.
But this wasn't without its advantages; at least with Madam Xue on duty here, the dance troupe could get whatever they wanted.
For example, they changed musicians three times in just one morning.
First, a huqin player was transferred from the Ministry of Justice. After playing for a while, he was criticized by Madam Xue for playing "Midnight Song" like he was selling himself into servitude to bury his father. After being ridiculed, he was sent back to the Ministry of Justice.
Then the court sent a pipa player from Jiangnan, who immediately began playing rapid and complex melodies, his five fingers producing extremely smooth tremolos. Madam Xue listened for a long time with her arms crossed, and finally said, "His technique is skillful, but the feeling—it's like he came from a brothel."
She meant it was all technique, devoid of emotion.
Upon hearing this, A Qiu couldn't help but stick out her tongue inwardly. She thought to herself that although Xue Hongbi had a sharp tongue, she truly deserved to be called a famous dancer from the previous dynasty.
She felt that these two musicians were no match for even a tenth of Gu Yi's skill.
The last one remaining was a harp player. This harp player had a high nose and deep-set eyes, with bright blue eyes, and was from Kucha. In fact, she was not very skilled at playing, but Madam Xue said that her awkwardness revealed her earnestness and sincerity, which complemented the simple and unpretentious imagery of the white silk dance.
In addition, the timbre of the konghou is like flowing water, clear and pleasant, which Xue Hongbi believes is also very harmonious with the feeling of white silk dance in the moonlight.
Sun's wife interjected, "In the past, the main music for the White Silk Dance was the Jiangnan-style xiao (vertical bamboo flute)."
Xue Hongbi's eyes almost shot up to her eyebrows: "Who used to accompany Bai Zhu's dance on the xiao? I don't believe you don't remember!"
Sun's wife immediately fell silent, even faster than blowing out a lamp.
Xue Hongbi said angrily, "Shi Changqing's 'Golden Sound and Jade Vibration, Phoenix Melody' is unmatched in the Northern and Southern Dynasties for the next twenty years. Go to the Ministry of Personnel and ask any flute player to come and try to play it to death. You'll laugh your head off!"
A Qiu's admiration for Madam Xue grew even stronger. Knowing that the heights of predecessors were insurmountable, she took a different approach and innovated in the way the music was arranged. At least she avoided the pitfalls of a direct confrontation and concealed her shortcomings. Madam Xue's talent was undeniable.
This is probably why, in the end, Lady Sun simply handed over the entire dance troupe to Xue Hongbi—a last resort. If Xue Hongbi couldn't come up with anything interesting, she herself would be at a loss.
Therefore, when Xue Hongbi brought Sun Neiren to Xiangxie Corridor, Sun Neiren's first thought was that A Qiu had gotten into trouble again, and without thinking, she said, "This is—Shi Changqing's daughter."
Xue Hongbi blinked and asked, "What?"
In fact, when Xue Hongbi picked out A Qiu from the troupe on the first day because her movements were not accurate enough, Sun Neiren immediately told her that A Qiu was Shi Changqing's daughter.
However, A Qiu was wearing heavy makeup at the time, and Xue Hongbi did not examine her closely. Moreover, she had more important matters on her mind, so she simply raised her hand and let her go without paying much attention. After that, she completely forgot about the matter.
Therefore, it's clear that Xue Hongbi's assessment that Sun Neiren was the most foolish member of the dance troupe back then wasn't without reason. Only Sun Neiren would be willing to risk her life for A Qiu, who was Shi Changqing's daughter.
Although she had once been attracted to Shi Changqing, Xue Hongbi was able to completely forget about it.
Sun's wife raised her voice, which was unusual for her, "She is Shi Changqing's daughter! Hongbi, what has she done to offend you?!"
Xue Hongbi then looked A Qiu up and down with the eyes of someone discovering a new world, and asked bluntly, "Is your father dead? He must be—otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to send his daughter to the palace. What kind of wonderful place is the palace? And your mother? She must have been very beautiful, otherwise she wouldn't have given birth to you. Sun Ci, speaking of which, did any of us actually see Shi Changqing's true face back then? To be honest, no one really saw him, whether he was really handsome or not."
Sun's wife blushed deeply and said awkwardly, "Don't covet her father in front of her daughter, okay?"
Xue Hongbi said dismissively, "I am now the lady of the Pei family. Shi Changqing is just a court musician. Even if he were still alive, what's wrong with me commenting on him?"
Sun's wife: ……
After a series of interruptions, Xue Hongbi didn't forget the important matter. She pushed A Qiu in front of Sun Neiren and said with a delighted expression, "Our dance troupe's hope for salvation rests entirely on this girl. Shi Changqing is still capable of giving birth!"
Sun's wife looked at A-Qiu with a puzzled expression, not understanding what she meant. A-Qiu herself stuck out her tongue, making a confused look as well.
Compared to the dancers in the dance troupe who had trained since childhood, A-Qiu felt that her current skills were only good enough to make her a decent part of the troupe, and she wouldn't even dare to dream of the dance troupe being saved by her.
If even Lady Sun and Lady Xue, who have served in the arts of music and dance since the previous dynasty, couldn't come up with a way to handle the Mid-Autumn Festival dance performance, then she certainly couldn't possibly have a solution.
One reason she made this judgment is that dancers cannot see their own dance moves in their entirety.
Although there is a whole wall of bronze mirror screen in the Xiangxie Corridor, the dancers cannot constantly watch their own movements and expressions, because they need to concentrate on the performance. Moreover, there are also movements such as spinning and jumping, which make it impossible to keep an eye on the mirror at all times.
There are also expressions such as looking down from behind a mirror or glancing with longing eyes. These expressions are usually not looking directly into the mirror, but rather looking diagonally forward or diagonally downward.
Moreover, Ah Qiu's seat was in the last row, with layers upon layers of other people in front of him, making it impossible to see clearly even if he wanted to check his posture in the mirror.
Therefore, when practicing, A-Chiu would immerse herself completely in the evolution of the dance moves, having no time to pay attention to her own performance or to look at others. The other geishas were in the same situation.
Madam Xue, who was outside the group, was the only one who could see the expressions and movements of everyone present.
Xue Hongbi said no more, and shouted to the harp player, "Play the music!" Then she said to A Qiu, "You should dance it again, just like before."
The gentle, flowing sound of the konghou (a type of Chinese harp) echoed slowly through the Xiangxie Corridor, carrying an exotic and strange atmosphere.
A-Qiu first closed her eyes to calm her mind, and then, following the flowing music, raised her sleeves and stepped forward, making a "drooping hands" dance gesture.
Wherever the music played, her movements followed naturally.
Every single one of them is exquisitely perfect, with no detail overlooked.
The music was tender and lingering, and her body language was soft, tender, and graceful.
The music was lively, and her body language was simple yet energetic, with a clear rhythm.
When Ah Qiu struck her first pose, Sun's wife opened her mouth wide and couldn't close it for a long time.
A true expert can tell a lot just by looking at a single gesture. Ah Qiu's natural and expressive starting hand gesture is a level that only a performer with many years of practice experience and a deep understanding of dance can reach.
Even the most peripheral joints in the body have precise control and expressive power.
Sun's wife admitted that even in her prime, she probably couldn't have achieved such a performance.
It exudes both the youthful and vibrant energy of a young girl and a profound and sophisticated artistic conception.
Even in the dance troupe, which was full of talented people back then, such a performance was one in a million.
She began to understand why Xue Hongbi had screamed and lost her voice.
Huang Chaoan's decision to send A Qiu to the dance troupe was actually a lucky accident.
The dance club is truly saved.
As the song ended, Sun's wife murmured as if waking from a dream, "Ah Qiu, when did you become able to dance so well?" She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, wanting to make sure she was not daydreaming.
After all, she knew that A-Qiu had only been at the dance club for a short time.
Xue Hongbi's shouts were right next to her, their high pitch enough to hurt her ears: "Of course it's because I taught her well! What else could it be?"
Among the dancers who were already stunned, Zhang Exu and Cui Luzhu were the first to show expressions of disapproval.
What they wanted to say was that they felt they had also contributed, and quite a bit. After all, before Madam Xue came here, A Qiu had always been their sparring partner in a two-on-one match.
A Qiu looked at Madam Xue, then at Lady Sun, and then at her fellow dancers, feeling somewhat bewildered.
What, did she dance very well?
Since she began practicing the White Silk Dance, the only audience she had ever had was Gu Yi, but Gu Yi not only refused to watch her, he also never praised her. Therefore, she always believed that her performance was mediocre, and that it was already quite remarkable if she didn't make any mistakes.
After all, the standard she used as a reference was the posture of the goddess in the white silk painting of her dancing in Qiwu Palace, and Gu Yi's zither music, which had reached a state of perfection. She was only worried that her clumsy dancing was not worthy of such a beautiful painting and Gu Yi's zither music.
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