Yun Li leisurely set down her teacup.
She lifted her delicate face slightly, her beautiful phoenix eyes shimmering with a clear, proud light. “This Princess Consort accepts the challenge.”
The banquet hall erupted in astonished murmurs.
Wei Chunxi spoke solemnly, “Very well.”
Hearing this, Ning Yuewei’s face lit up with delight as she raised her chin triumphantly. “Then, which of the four arts does Your Highness choose to compete in with my sister?”
Ning Xin’er hadn’t expected Yun Li to accept the challenge either.
She was still thinking about how to make Yun Li lose face when this fool actually delivered herself to their doorstep!
Ning Xin’er smiled gently, “Among the four arts, Changning excels most at the qin. Perhaps Your Highness should choose from chess, calligraphy, or painting instead, so Changning won’t win through unfair advantage.”
The young noblewomen were immediately impressed by her magnanimity.
Just look! How generous the Changning County Princess is! Even when being provoked by the Princess Consort, she remains kind-hearted! Willing to voluntarily step back and choose a category she’s less skilled in…
But Yun Li raised the corner of her eye slightly.
She curved her lips with interest, propping her snow-white cheek with one hand. “Then let’s compete in qin.”
Hearing this, Ning Xin’er’s gaze froze.
She nearly thought she was hallucinating, momentarily unable to process the words. “C-compete in qin?”
How dare this Yun Li!
Yun Li looked languid as she picked up the green plum soup she had been craving. Lowering her eyes, she slowly took small sips, continuing until everyone had watched her finish the entire bowl…
Only then did she lightly lick the sweet juice from her lips, then flicked her cloud-like sleeve and stood up. “Yes, the qin.”
The banquet hall couldn’t help but break into discussion again.
“The Princess Consort dares to choose the qin? Does she not know that Changning County Princess’s qin skills are considered the best in the capital…”
“Is this the confidence of an ignoramus? Since she can’t do anything anyway, she might as well go all out!”
“Probably she’s already used to losing face after doing it so many times.”
“Tsk, she’s really bold. This is clearly begging the County Princess to humiliate her. We’re in for a good show!”
The smile on Ning Xin’er’s lips also stiffened slightly.
Defeating someone with what you’re good at isn’t as satisfying as easily winning with your weaknesses!
But then she reconsidered…
What could be more ultimate victory than complete domination?
Her qin skills could make Yun Li suffer a crushing defeat! And completely turn her into the laughingstock of the capital!
“The County Princess may go first.” Yun Li smiled faintly.
Ning Xin’er naturally wouldn’t refuse. She ordered her qin to be brought over. “Then, Changning will show her humble skills.”
The maid carefully placed her Fuxi Qin.
Ning Xin’er lightly flicked her wide sleeves and sat down gracefully and properly. Closing her eyes, she placed her slender fingers on the qin. Amid everyone’s anticipation, the qin music slowly began to play…
…
Meanwhile, at the Regent’s Mansion.
The Hall of Radiance was filled with the faint scent of cool sandalwood. Before the vermilion lacquered carved desk, Rong Zhou slightly lowered his eyes, his pale long fingers holding a small piece of crystal-clear jade.
He meticulously carved the nearly completed jade bell. “Has anyone dared to bully the Princess Consort?”
Wen Nan had just returned from sending people to investigate at the palace.
He immediately reported, “Your Highness, the Ning family’s second daughter spoke disrespectfully, mocking that the Princess Consort grew up in the wild borderlands and has been mingling with military men since childhood, calling her rough, bulky, and extremely ugly!”
Slap—
Rong Zhou suddenly slammed the carving tool onto the desk.
His narrow eyes abruptly narrowed, dark, sinister light spreading within them. Just as he was about to erupt…
“Then,” Wen Nan’s tone suddenly shifted, “we heard the Princess Consort slap her with a resounding smack!”The gloom in Rong Zhou’s dark pupils gradually dissipated, giving way to a brighter expression.
Wen Nan continued to gesture animatedly, “The Empress Dowager was displeased and supported the Ning sisters, but the Princess Consort was so eloquent that she left the Empress Dowager speechless! She even insinuated that the Empress Dowager was an old hag—withered, fat-headed, and no better than a pig or dog!”
Hearing this, the hostility in Rong Zhou’s eyes faded.
The man, who had moments earlier radiated murderous intent like the King of Hell, now gradually reined in his sharp edges. Even the aura around him softened considerably.
As he listened to Wen Nan’s description…
The image of Yun Li—ferocious and unforgiving, swift to retaliate—flooded his mind. She appeared soft and adorable on the surface, but when peeled open, her heart was as dark as black sesame paste.
A faint smile glimmered in Rong Zhou’s eyes. “Truly a little black sesame tangyuan.”
“What?” Wen Nan didn’t grasp his meaning.
But Rong Zhou seemed uninterested in explaining. He lowered his gaze and meticulously wiped the jade bell before gently setting it down. “Let’s go.”
“Huh?” Wen Nan was baffled. “Go… go where?”
Rong Zhou abruptly rose, his wide sleeves swirling as he strode swiftly toward the palace exit without a word.
Where to?
Naturally, to back up his little Princess Consort.
…
In the imperial garden, the melody of the guqin lingered in the air.
Ning Xin’er’s guqin skills were indeed unparalleled, her exquisite music enchanting all the listeners. Praise flowed continuously among the banquet attendees.
The Princess’s skill is truly divine!”
“As expected of the capital’s top talented lady—she’s improved even more since last year’s Spring Banquet, hasn’t she?”
“Not just the capital—I doubt anyone in all of Dayu can compare! Unless Empress Xiyun were still alive…”
Empress Xiyun was the birth mother of Rong Zhou and the late emperor. She had once captivated the capital with her guqin mastery, and the then-emperor Rong Heng fell for her at first sight during a Spring Banquet, taking her as his empress. It was this legendary romance that gave rise to the current pursuit of the Four Arts.
Whenever she was mentioned, people would sigh with regret—
“If only Empress Xiyun’s handmade Zhaoyun Guqin and her composition ‘Phoenix’s Arrival’ could reappear in this world.”
In present-day Dayu, anyone whose guqin skills could rival Empress Xiyun’s would be granted immense honor!
Yun Li listened to the praises for Ning Xin’er.
Her expression remained leisurely and unruffled as she sipped her tea, then beckoned to Lian Qiao beside her.
“Your Highness.” Lian Qiao bowed attentively.
Drawing on memories from her time-travel to the modern era, Yun Li vaguely recalled historical records stating that in the early 21st century, Empress Xiyun’s Zhaoyun Guqin and her music score had resurfaced…
Archaeologists, while excavating the Fengyi Palace where she once resided, unexpectedly unearthed the famed guqin buried under an old locust tree. Beside it was a bamboo slip bearing the music score—the long-lost “Phoenix’s Arrival,” which she had composed herself!
And as it happened, Yun Li had practiced this very masterpiece.
She whispered a couple of instructions.
Lian Qiao nodded and hurriedly left the banquet with a few attendants, heading to Fengyi Palace to retrieve the Zhaoyun Guqin.
Ning Xin’er finally concluded her performance. As the last note faded, wave-like applause erupted from the banquet.
She rose gracefully and bowed. “My humble skills have amused Mother Empress and all my sisters.”
“Superb,” Wei Chunxi praised. “Reward her!”
Ning Xin’er curtsied. “Thank you, Mother Empress.”
With her elder sister, the county princess, stealing the spotlight at the Spring Banquet, Ning Yuewei was also immensely proud, even straightening her back more proudly.
She looked smugly at Yun Li. “Then… shouldn’t it be the Princess Consort’s turn now?”
This wretched woman who stole her brother-in-law…
How dare she slap her earlier!She was determined to see how Yun Li could still act so arrogantly with her elder cousin, the princess, showcasing such exquisite zither skills as a brilliant precedent!
Wei Chunxi also spoke up—