Various lights were lit all around, interweaving together to create a dazzling glow, lighting up half the sky and at the same time illuminating Chen Yan's gloomy face.
The Princess of Yuexiu was unaware of the envoy's arrangement. To put it bluntly, she held no real power. She had spent the past few days accompanying the Queen Mother in the palace, and hadn't leaked the details of the flower viewing banquet. Having the spotlight stolen by someone else wasn't a particularly glorious thing. When she heard the envoy mention a strength contest, she felt a sense of unease.
She privately winked at the messenger, who remained unmoved. Compared to the princess's anxiety, he was noticeably calmer. Winning or losing the first round of strength wasn't the key; the most important thing was to force Chen Yan to reveal some of his true strength.
As the focal point of everyone's attention, Chen Yan immediately looked at Fang Shan, his whole body filled with murderous intent, and mouthed, "What did you do?"
Fang Shan lowered her head shyly, as if she was completely unaware.
Chen Yan took a quick look around and said seriously, "Your Majesty, there are no stones around."
Emperor Chengyuan said to the eunuch beside him, "Find someone to move a piece here."
Chen Yan didn't argue, standing still, his clothes rustling in the wind. To most people, he appeared calm and composed, as if a mere stone was no problem.
The guards moved quickly, and soon several of them were carrying a huge rock. When they landed on the ground, the ground seemed to sink slightly.
"My dear," Emperor Chengyuan said with anticipation, "it's your turn to show off your skills."
Chen Yan didn't show it on his face, but he had already executed Fang Shan countless times in his heart.
"How can such a small piece of stone prove your brother's strength?" A gentle voice interrupted, but the tone was particularly harsh to the ears of the Princess of Yuexiu Kingdom nearby. Turning her head, she saw a fair and delicate face. Even if she didn't like it, she had to admit that this little bitch had a face that could be described as absolutely beautiful.
The most attractive thing is the little movements that are done unconsciously.
Fang Shan stood up, the faint scent of his powdered body lingering in the breeze, pleasant and not pungent. After bowing, he smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the stone is too small for my brother to even see, let alone break."
Emperor Chengyuan's smile deepened: "Oh?"
Throw out a monosyllabic character and then stop talking.
The envoy looked at the woman who had suddenly appeared and disrupted the arrangements with a stern expression on his face and a somewhat cold tone: "Isn't it a little disrespectful for a young lady to openly stand out in such an occasion?"
Fang Shan's expression remained unchanged: "Please call me Miss Chen."
I emphasized the last name, as if to say, "If you dare to confront me again, I will ask my brother to beat you up."
The messenger's face darkened, while Chen Yan's expression softened considerably. The Yuexiu Kingdom had always been unscrupulous, and they had lost many soldiers in the past. To Chen Yan, Yuexiu's happiness was his unhappiness, and Yuexiu's frustration was a cause for celebration.
Fang Shan walked to the boulder, found a precise spot, raised his palm and chopped it hard, splitting the boulder into two. Emperor Chengyuan on the throne had seen the same method more than once, but it did not reduce the thrill at all.
Chen Yan was the closest, and his eyelids twitched when he saw this scene with his own eyes: "Did you give it an injection?"
Fang Shan said expressionlessly, "You're so humorous."
The voices of their communication were so low that even if they were louder, no one would be able to hear them. Everyone's attention was focused on the cracked stone.
What is this... a miracle of great strength?
Fang Shan took out a handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose, coughing non-stop, as if he was choking on the dust that was flying up. He was already thin, and the coughing was very violent. He leaned slightly towards Chen Yan and said, "Brother, it's too choking. I feel a little uncomfortable."
Chen Yan supported his frail sister and walked her back to her seat. He looked at the Princess of Yuexiu and said, "I'm sorry you frightened me. I'll probably have to trouble you to take care of me for a while."
The Princess of Yuexiu Kingdom smiled stiffly: "General Chen may have some misunderstanding about his sister."
Chen Yan ignored her suspicion and said to himself, "She has been in poor health since she was a child and was raised outside. The princess is Liu Liu's first friend, so she might be a little relaxed when she's around you."
After saying this, he returned to his original position. The broken stones had already been sorted and carried away by the palace servants. Chen Yan looked at the envoy from Yuexiu State and said, "Even a little girl can break the stone. If I do it again, it will be suspected of humiliating her."
The young man who had pulled out the tree earlier wanted to compete again, but was stopped by the messenger: "We admit defeat in the first round."
Emperor Chengyuan waved his hand, continuing his good-natured attitude: "It's just an exchange at best, not a question of winning or losing." Then he changed the subject, his eyes becoming sharp: "What's the second round?"
The messenger was stunned, not expecting him to suddenly attack.
The smile on Emperor Chengyuan's lips had faded, and his expression showed no emotion. "Since we're going to compete, we should at least have three rounds to make it more interesting."
While the envoy was still thinking about how to respond, Wei Sushen suddenly said, "To be fair, shouldn't we come up with the questions the second time?"
The moment Wei Sushen spoke, Emperor Chengyuan's gaze softened considerably. Women are incredibly observant, and even the subtlest changes didn't escape the attention of Concubine Li, who was not far away. She rubbed her belly, then glanced at Wei Sushen, who sat in an awkward position, her eyes lowered, unsure of what to think.
After three rounds, the right to set questions twice was in the hands of Yuexiu. Since they had the upper hand, the envoys of Yuexiu had no reason to refuse in order to save face: "It's reasonable."
Emperor Chengyuan observed Wei Sushen's movements from the corner of his eye and said in a gentle tone, "Since you fought for this, you will set the questions for this round."
After careful consideration, Wei Sushen said to the eunuch beside him, "Go and get my Mingyue."
The voice wasn't loud, but as a high-ranking figure under constant scrutiny, Wei Sushen's words were clearly heard by everyone. The first to lose their smile was Emperor Chengyuan, followed by Fang Shan.
The others had only vaguely heard that the Crown Prince was skilled in music, but had never actually witnessed it. However, the noble ladies who had attended the flower viewing banquet that day all had somewhat grim expressions on their faces.
The envoy immediately agreed to compete in music.
Emperor Chengyuan's eyes were gloomy and uncertain: "Don't you want to reconsider it?"
The envoy smiled and said, "I just happened to have some knowledge of this."
Emperor Chengyuan said nothing more, his gaze shifted to the other side, his eyes full of sneer... I gave you a chance to live, but unfortunately you didn't cherish it.
He winked at the palace maid beside him, who immediately understood and found a cotton ball and secretly gave it to Emperor Chengyuan.
When Wei Sushen came down in person, the envoy was a little surprised: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is coming in person?"
"Why not?"
The messenger chewed on these two words over and over again, and he always felt that he heard the confidence of winning in them, which made him feel uneasy.
The palace maid had already brought the guqin and placed it carefully on the table.
Wei Sushen: "Messenger, please."
"Your Highness, please come in first." The envoy said modestly.
Prejudice does not apply to musical competitions. The latter performer has more initiative and can infer from the expressions of the audience whether they prefer soft and soothing tunes or exciting and passionate ones.
Wei Sushen didn't refuse anymore. He suddenly looked at Fang Shan, who was about to cover her ears. He curved his lips and said, "Could you please cooperate with me, Miss Chen?"
This time, it was Fang Shan's turn to have a bad feeling: "How can I cooperate?"
"If I could have Miss Chen's heavenly voice, I'm sure this piece would be even more perfect."
Those who don't know the situation think it's the youthful nature of the young man. This is the prince's expression of goodwill towards General Chen's sister. Many different eyes wander between the two of them, but judging from their appearance alone, they can be described as a talented man and a beautiful woman.
Fang Shan walked up to him, gritted his teeth and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "In ancient times, people sacrificed their lives to accompany gentlemen. Today, I will sacrifice my life to accompany a beauty."
Wei Sushen raised his eyebrows, not caring at all that the other party described him as a beauty in this sentence.
Mingyue has been repaired and two of its strings have been replaced, making it lose some of its original rustic texture.
With a rare smile that came from the heart, Wei Sushen gently plucked the strings of the zither and saw Fang Shan pursed his lips with satisfaction.
The expressions of those present were no better, as they felt the wine they had drunk during the dinner churn and boil in their stomachs. If they hadn't considered the status of Crown Prince Wei Sushen, they would have hurriedly left the moment the zither music started, using the excuse of using the restroom.
Just a prelude was already painful enough. Wei Sushen maintained a calm expression, and when he accidentally met Fang Shan's calm gaze, a ridiculous thought suddenly arose in his heart -
According to existing knowledge, the system is very good at all aspects, and it may even be able to save this mess of piano sound with a mermaid-like voice.
Fang Shan's lips moved slightly, and he still found his own rhythm in such a mess of music: "The tit on the branch——"
As soon as the shout came out, Wei Sushen's hand trembled, and the sharpness of the shout was so sharp that the yellow dead leaves that were originally clinging to the branches and unwilling to leave fell down.
His mind was not on playing the piano at all. When he looked up, he saw Emperor Chengyuan's forced smile, which looked like a stiff and low-quality painting.
Wei Sushen sighed inwardly, he had overestimated himself after all. Compared with the singing of the same system, his piano playing skills were really... weak!
Fang Shan had hummed little tunes unconsciously before, and it sounded fine, but who could have expected that when the sound was amplified, it would have this effect.
"The mountain sparrow has flown away, bringing new sorrows with it." After singing the last word, Fang Shan blushed a little: "Excuse me for the performance."
Silence fell on the stage. In the silence, Emperor Chengyuan managed to find his voice again: "It's a very distinctive singing voice."
Doing something poorly can lead to ridicule, but if it's truly awful, it's hard for others to say anything. Especially since Fang Shan had always been shameless: "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty. I'm deeply ashamed to accept it."
Emperor Chengyuan didn't even want to look at him, as if his spirit was extremely broken. He turned his gaze to the envoy from Yuexiu State and asked: "What musical instrument do you need?"
The envoy felt as if a thousand mosquitoes were flying around his ears. All he needed now was a hammer to kill the source of the noise.
Fortunately, he is essentially a thoughtful person. He quickly judged what to do and what not to do, and his reason prevented a bloody disaster.
He casually picked a leaf and put it between his lips. The melody that came out of his lips was neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but compared with the song that Fang Shan and Wei Sushen had played together before, it was like heavenly music.
Emperor Chengyuan ordered someone to fetch a jade flute, which was obviously not an ordinary item. Giving the jade flute to the envoy of Yuexiu State was an implicit acknowledgement of his defeat.
"Yuexiu Kingdom is now also full of talented people." Emperor Chengyuan said with a smile.
The envoy held the jade flute he had just received in both hands and said, "Your Majesty, thank you for your compliments. We are not as good as you."
“…”
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