However, this sentence caused discomfort among some people present. Concubine Chang was the first to speak coldly:
"As expected of a country boy, you say such shameful things in public. You have no sense of shame. It's really shameful."
"Shame?"
Hearing her questioning, Luo Lan finally found an outlet for the anger that had been pent up for a long time.
The moment she turned her head, her beautiful eyes, which were as gentle as jade when she faced Leng Yu just now, changed and she looked directly at Concubine Chang with cold eyes. She pretended to be polite and bowed:
"I don't know what you mean by shame, Your Majesty. When a man and a woman are together, it's all about love and affection. I was just expressing it with words, but why do you think I'm shameless when it comes to Your Majesty? Could it be that Your Majesty has been married to the Emperor for decades, and yet you don't have any feelings for him? Or do you not understand the emotions between men and women?"
Her words made Concubine Chang a little angry and embarrassed. Nanny Yu behind her hurriedly tugged at her clothes, fearing that she would stir up trouble if she continued. She gritted her teeth and looked at Luo Lan, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
As the Imperial Noble Consort and the head of the harem, she didn't dare to say much here, nor did she dare to have too many words with Luo Lan. She didn't want to anger the emperor on New Year's Day.
So, she calmed down and said with a soft smile:
"The feelings between me and the Emperor don't need to be expressed in words. You young people really love to show off. Since you think what you said is fine, then please do as you please. Just treat it as me saying too much."
She seemed to be not bothering Luo Lan with these words, but Luo Lan felt very unhappy. What was wrong with these people today? Were they all targeting him?
It seems that people really can't be too weak, otherwise they will be bullied to death.
So, she raised her eyebrows again and said with a nonchalant smile:
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. As you all have said, Luo Lan is a country girl, so I don't like to hide my thoughts. If anyone thinks that I, Luo Lan, am too uncouth and unworthy of a noble occasion, you can ask someone to come out and compete with me. But in front of the Emperor, let's be frank. Whoever wins me today can make any demands of me. If you lose to me, please don't target me in the future, no matter what the occasion. Otherwise, I, Shui Luo Lan, am not a soft persimmon that can be easily bullied."
She said this with gritted teeth, and after saying this, she looked directly at the emperor. Although the emperor felt that today's New Year's banquet was a bit absurd, he was powerless to stop it now that he had arrived, especially in front of the foreign kings.
He just hated Princess Yu even more in his heart. She actually dared to make such a boast. She was really ignorant of her own limitations. If she failed miserably in the end, where would he, the emperor, put his face?
However, seeing how these foreign kings were acting with unstoppable force, it would be unnecessary for him to say anything to stop them.
So, he frowned, waved his hand with a sullen expression, and said, "Today is New Year's Day, so it's only right that we all celebrate together. Princess Yu is confident that she can compete with you all, so it's better not to take winning or losing too seriously."
Wu Hong laughed disdainfully, "How can that be? Princess Yu just said that if she loses, she can do whatever she wants, and this general won't make it too difficult for her. If she loses, she just needs to lie on the ground and bark like a dog three times in public, hahahaha..."
As soon as he said this, Leng Yu stood up from his seat in anger, but Luo Lan directly pulled him back, smiled and shook his head at him, then turned around, met Wu Hong's gaze, chuckled and nodded,
"Okay, I, Shui Luolan, will take the challenge, but what if your people lose?"
Wu Hong raised his hand nonchalantly and confidently.
"Whatever you say, it's done."
Hearing this, Luo Lan's eyes suddenly became misty. She nodded slightly and said timidly:
"Okay, then please ask General Wu to take care of me, a girl from the countryside. Please don't ask someone too powerful."
Seeing that her words hinted at submission, Wu Hong was naturally delighted. He raised his hand and laughed generously:
"Of course. Someone, get Zhang Ning up here."
As soon as he finished speaking, a woman in a long red gauze dress appeared in front of everyone. She knelt down as soon as she came in, "Good luck to the emperor, good luck to all the gentlemen."
Wu Hong looked at the woman kneeling on the ground with a proud look on his face, and said loudly:
"Her name is Zhang Ning. She's good at playing the zither. Today, she wants to compete with Princess Yu. I wonder if Princess Yu agrees?"
"agree."
Luo Lan answered directly without saying anything and cutting the Gordian knot.
She was a time traveler from the 25th century. She was not trying to brag about herself, but in her eyes, these little skills of the ancients were nothing but trifles.
At this time, the servants brought up a guqin. The woman named Zhang Ning sat on the guqin stool, gently raised her ten fingers, and struck the strings. A melodious melody slowly flowed out from between her ten fingers, which immediately made everyone present hold their breath and listen carefully.
When the song ended, everyone applauded except the emperor, who had a gloomy face. They all praised the beautiful music. Wu Hong looked at Luo Lan with a smug look on his face, raised his eyebrows and said:
"Princess Yu, please."
In his eyes, this Princess Yu had probably never even touched the zither, let alone played it. He was quietly waiting to see her make a fool of herself.
Luo Lan calmly lifted her skirt and stood up. When she was about to leave her seat, Leng Yu took her hand again and comforted her softly:
"Lan'er, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose. No one dares to do anything to you. Your husband won't let anyone bully you. Don't force yourself."
Luo Lan gave him a big smile, then pursed her lips and nodded, lowering her voice and whispering in his ear:
"Don't worry, my husband. Remember what I said? I come from another world and I can do anything."
After leaving these words, she walked to the guqin with a smile on her face, looked at the woman named Zhang Ning, nodded to her, bowed to the emperor, and sat down directly beside the guqin.
She placed her ten fingers on the strings, narrowed her eyes slightly, and started with silence. Seeing her ten fingers moving lightly, the sound of the piano flowed out slowly like a mosquito. Wu Hong's face became more proud, the emperor's face became even uglier, and Leng Yu kept looking at her worriedly.
After a burst of light music, her ten fingers seemed to be endowed with souls and began to pluck the strings. The clear and beautiful sound of the piano was like the loud calls of birds in spring, waking up the sleeping people.
After a burst of overtones, a brisk rhythm of piano music came out from between her ten fingers...
After a while, the sound of the piano became fainter, gradually coming to an end, and suddenly it slowly ended...
After the song ended, the scene was completely silent, and everyone was immersed in it, unable to extricate themselves.
Luo Lan raised the corner of his mouth slightly, retracted his twitching slender fingers, and slowly said:
"Your Majesty, my Lords, the piece I am playing is called 'Spring Dawn Chant'. Although it is short, it has a profound meaning."
"oh?"
After hearing her words, the emperor finally came out of the mood of her song and asked in surprise:
"What's the meaning of this song?"
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