Stand out
At the banquet held at the Eastern Palace, several old acquaintances arrived one after another.
Once everyone had arrived, several dancers dressed in long red sleeves began to warm up the crowd, and then the music of zithers, flutes, and other stringed instruments began to play.
Jiang Yi sat next to He Lin, enjoying the dance and sipping the wine served by the palace maids. After taking a final sip, she remarked that it was surprisingly delicious.
So she craned her neck and whispered to Shangguan Muya, wanting her to try it too, but He Lin grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.
"Jiang Yi, behave yourself."
"This wine is delicious, sweet and sour, and not spicy."
He Lin glanced down at the white jade wine bottle on her table and said, "This is tribute wine. Although it tastes good, it's easy to get drunk on it."
"It's okay, I'm just drunk. You're not going to abandon me."
He Lin smiled and shook his head. He couldn't argue with her, so he had no choice but to let her have her way.
After the dance was over, Qi Junxu arrived late.
He seemed to be in good spirits, and the scorpion bite on his leg must have healed almost completely. I was worried that he might be poisoned again, since he left a few words and left without a word back in southern Xinjiang, causing everyone to worry. He was really heartless.
After bowing to His Highness the Crown Prince, he went straight to sit down in the seat next to He Lin and raised his wine cup to toast him.
"Young Master Lin."
He Lin's hand had just touched the cup when Jiang Yi snatched it away halfway.
"Wait a minute! Your wound hasn't healed yet, you can't drink alcohol. I'll drink it for you. Your Highness won't mind, will he?"
Qi Junxu raised an eyebrow, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.
"please."
After drinking, Jiang Yi picked up a few pieces of food and ate.
"Young Master Lin, I heard that you were the one who suggested holding this palace banquet at the East Palace?"
"yes."
Qi Junxu nodded and said nothing more.
As soon as the banquet began, Wu Wenping, as if he had drunk fake alcohol, raised his wine cup and shouted, "Your Highness, you invited us to your palace for a gathering and entertainment, but isn't it rather boring to just listen to music and watch dances?"
Qi Junyuan asked with a smile, "That's true. So, what suggestions does Young Master Wu have?"
"I think the moonlight is quite lovely tonight, it's hazy and beautiful. How about we hold the banquet outside?"
Qi Junyuan smiled and said, "Then we'll do as Young Master Wu says. Men, prepare a new banquet."
Jiang Yi scoffed, "When did Wu Wenpin become so refined? Wasn't he always just a womanizer?"
He Lin: "..."
Qi Junxu undoubtedly heard Jiang Yi's words as well, and couldn't help but lower his head and chuckle softly.
Sure enough, there was nothing she wouldn't dare to say.
After the table was set in the courtyard, everyone took their seats.
At this point, someone else chimed in, "Isn't just moon-gazing nights a bit boring? What do you think, Young Master Wu?"
"Who says otherwise? Gambling is forbidden in the palace, so how about we play musical chairs instead? Whoever the drumbeat lands on has to perform a talent for everyone. It's just for fun, what do you all think?"
"I think it's a good idea!"
"I agree!"
"..."
Seeing the unanimous agreement from below, Qi Junyuan ordered his men to prepare the necessary items.
Soon, a young eunuch presented a colorful ball, and a large drum was also brought over. A person stood beside it, his eyes blindfolded with a black cloth.
With everything ready, the colored ball was passed down from Qi Junyuan's hands.
The drums beat one after another, and everyone who received the colorful ball quickly passed it around, afraid that the drumming would stop with them.
Jiang Yi's turn was approaching, and her heart was pounding. She had a bad feeling about it.
"Knock knock knock—"
The drumbeats stopped abruptly, and Jiang Yi's hand froze in mid-air.
The colorful ball was firmly in He Lin's palm. This wasn't because she was lucky, but because He Lin had sensed the change in the drumbeat beforehand and moved the ball a little closer to him, preventing Jiang Yi from touching it. Otherwise, it would probably have ended up in her hands.
Jiang Yi was taken aback, then turned and glared angrily at Wu Wenpin.
This guy did it on purpose. He arranged for someone beforehand to get revenge on her and embarrass her in public!
Wu Wenpin smiled triumphantly: "Second Madam He, why are you glaring at me? The ball is in He Lin's hands now. Don't tell me you want to put on a show for us all? Considering you're husband and wife, it's not impossible. What do you all think?"
The spoiled brats behind him started jeering until He Yu slammed his hand on the table and swept his sharp, piercing gaze over them. They all fell silent, not daring to utter a single word.
He got too arrogant and forgot that He Yu, who was protecting his younger brother, was present at the banquet.
Jiang Yi scoffed inwardly, "Serves them right! They'll only know how powerful they are when He Yu teaches them a lesson!"
The key point is that He Yu can't stand others talking about his brother like that, and Qi Junyuan and Qi Junxu's expressions are also not very good, obviously they are bothered by Wu Wenpin's words.
Wu Wenping is such a blockhead, not very bright and has poor eyesight. He's always grinning and has no idea who he's offended. If the Minister has a son like that, letting him out would probably make him live in constant fear.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Now the Crown Prince and Qi Junxu know about He Lin's background. If they put aside the grudges of the previous generation, He Lin is simply a beloved figure!
He was the youngest, and his three older brothers were all fiercely protective of him! Each of them held a higher position than the last!
"Young Master Lin, please."
He Lin handed the colorful ball to the palace servant and said loudly, "I am not very talented, but I will play a tune to entertain you all. Go and fetch the zither."
Before long, several palace servants carried a wooden table and stools, and a guqin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument) and placed them not far in front of him.
He Lin calmly stood up after putting down his cup. Jiang Yi tugged at his clothes and asked in a low voice, "Can you play?"
He Lin remained silent, a faint smile playing on his lips, before patting her hand.
Jiang Yi felt uneasy, but seeing how confident he was, he must be able to play, right? How come she didn't know He Lin could play the piano?
“Pfft, pfft, Brother Zhaobai~” Jiang Yi called out to him in a low voice with a long trailing tone.
He Lin had already gone over to test the sound. He plucked the strings with his ten fingers from top to bottom and then from bottom to bottom, and then tightened the strings.
Yin Zhaobo moved forward and closer to Jiang Yi.
"What's wrong?"
"He Lin can play the piano?"
So that's what it was about. Yin Zhaobai's lips curled up: "Yes."
"How come I didn't know?"
"He knows a lot more than you think; you'll discover that as time goes on."
That sounds so familiar! It seems like she said the same thing to He Lin yesterday.
Jiang Yi nodded: "Okay."
After He Lin adjusted the pitch, he gradually began to get the hang of it.
Two large, well-defined hands could be vaguely seen plucking the strings of the instrument. The music unfolded slowly like silk, then surged like a sudden storm, making the listener's heart tighten, as if the music was telling a silent story...
Jiang Yi doesn't understand the zither, nor does she really appreciate this kind of music. Her artistic talent is quite limited, but she can tell from other people's faces that He Lin plays it extremely well.
Shangguan Muya held a wine cup in one hand and couldn't help but smile.
"Muya, what's wrong? Did he play it wrong?"
Shangguan Muya shook her head: "No."
"Then what are you laughing at?"
"You really don't know what Young Master Lin is playing?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Yin Zhaobai also smiled.
Qi Junxu looked at Jiang Yi and said, "He Lin played 'Phoenix Seeking Phoenix,' which was probably for you."
Jiang Yi was taken aback.
Phoenix Seeking Its Mate?
Even though she knew nothing about zither music, she still knew a little about Sima Xiangru's "Phoenix Seeking Its Mate," which is said to have been written to woo Zhuo Wenjun and is a true timeless masterpiece.
He Lin played it especially for her? Just thinking about it made Jiang Yi's smile practically reach the sky.
Tsk, never again will I say he's clueless about romance. Isn't he quite good at it? What's the difference between playing "Phoenix Seeking its Mate" in front of everyone and confessing your love to her in public?!
However, if Qi Junxu hadn't told her what He Lin was playing, she probably would have been the one who didn't understand romance at all...
The music gradually subsided, eventually fading into silence...
Qi Junyuan took the lead, raising his hand and clapping his hands first, followed closely by the rest of the group.
He Lin got up from behind the guqin and sat back down. Jiang Yi asked impatiently, "Hey, He Lin, they said you played Phoenix Seeking Phoenix, is that true?"
"I had no idea that there was a distinction between genuine and fake music?"
"No! What I mean is... you played it for me, right? Otherwise, why would you choose this one out of so many pieces?"
He Lin shook his head slightly, seemingly helpless, then reached out and took her hand, sighing softly, "Who else could it be but you?"
Jiang Yi chuckled and said, "Wow, this straight man has finally figured it out! That's quite an achievement!"
He Yu stood up and offered a toast: "Second brother, let me toast you! Seeing how well you and your wife get along, I'm relieved."
Jiang Yi quickly picked up her glass, stood up, and replied, "Thank you, brother! He Lin can't drink for a while, so I'll drink for him!"
After saying that, Jiang Yi tilted her head back and drank it all down.
"Good! Sister-in-law is straightforward! You truly live up to the reputation of being from our General's Mansion!"
The two toasted each other from a distance, and after downing a cup, they were both hearty and straightforward people.
Even at this moment, Wu Wenping still couldn't resist courting disaster. He chuckled and mocked, "I had only heard that Young Master Lin's painting skills were unparalleled in the capital. Seeing them today, I didn't expect his zither skills to be so amazing as well. Hey, how come Young Master Lin knows so many things?"
"...We've heard the music today, but none of us have seen the painting yet. How about we have Young Master Lin paint one for everyone to see? I've heard that the erotic paintings of the girls in 'Mirror Flower, Water Moon' are quite good, but I don't know if Young Master Lin can paint them?"
Now He Yu was truly enraged: "You, surnamed Wu, are you looking for death?"
He jumped up and was about to smash Wu Wenpin's stinking mouth, and Wu Yuan next to him could barely hold him back.
Jiang Yi was bewildered: "Mu Ya, what is this erotic painting he's talking about?"
Shangguan Muya seemed to find it difficult to speak. After hesitating for a moment, she leaned close to her ear and whispered something. Jiang Yi's reaction was exactly the same as He Yu's.
"Damn it! Wu Wenpin, you son of a bitch! Shut your stinking mouth! If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"
As she stood there, she nearly bumped into Shangguan Muya's chin, and Yin Zhaobai quickly came over to check on her.
He Lin himself didn't care about what he said, and pulled Jiang Yi's hand to make her sit back down.
"Young Master Wu, if I were to paint this, I wonder if you would dare to look at it?"
"Hey, everyone heard that, right? He Lin himself said he could draw erotic pictures! He must have looked at quite a few in private! Jiang Yi, what are you complaining about for him? You should pity yourself instead! The dignified second young master of the General's Mansion, who would have thought he would be so despicable—"
Wu Wenping suddenly stopped mid-sentence, frozen in his seat with a look of terror on his face, his face trembling uncontrollably, and cold sweat dripping down his face.
Upon closer inspection, a dagger was found stuck between his legs, nearly destroying his manhood.
Nobody knows where that dagger came from.
Everyone's first reaction was to look at He Yu, but He Yu himself was stunned, while Wu Yuan was still pulling him along.
Who else could it be but He Yu?
"If you dare utter another word, I'll make sure you can never have sex again!"
Qi Junxu narrowed his eyes, staring dangerously at the person opposite him, and said coldly, "Since you can't speak human language, what's the point of doing that kind of work?"
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