Wei Chunxi also spoke up, “Princess Consort, please proceed.”
Yun Li curved her lips into a smile.
With a lazy expression, she set down the teacup in her hand, straightened her sleeves slightly, and gracefully rose to her feet. The delicate tassels on her pear blossom hairpin swayed gently as she moved.
All eyes turned toward her…
They couldn’t help but be stunned by her breathtaking beauty!
It took a moment for them to remember—wait, this wasn’t the time to admire her looks! They were supposed to be waiting to see her make a fool of herself!
Yun Li said in a soft, delicate voice, “A’Li would like to offer my humble skills.”
After speaking, the young girl stood up and walked toward the center, but Ning Xin’er bent down to pick up her own Fuxi Qin.
With a gentle smile on her lips, she said, “Your Highness, please forgive me. This Fuxi Qin was bestowed by my mother. Changning treasures this qin and never lends it to others.”
This good-for-nothing Yun Li…
Probably didn’t even understand the techniques of playing the guqin at all!
If she were to dirty or damage the Fuxi Qin bestowed by her mother, she would be heartbroken.
Whispers spread through the banquet—
“Everyone in the city knows that Changning County Princess treasures her qin.”
“This is perfect. Yun Lanyue doesn’t understand qin techniques at all, and of course she doesn’t have her own familiar qin! At this critical moment, she probably has nowhere to borrow one either!”
“How is she going to play without a qin?”
“I thought she would at least lose due to inferior skill, but I never expected her to suffer a crushing defeat before even starting. It’s utterly ridiculous!”
The young ladies at the banquet covered their mouths, snickering.
But Yun Li had long anticipated Ning Xin’er’s move. She curved her lips, “No need for everyone to worry. This Princess Consort has a qin.”
A flicker of doubt passed through Ning Xin’er’s eyes.
Wei Chunxi was also slightly surprised, “Oh?”
Everyone knew that Yun Li was unskilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and had no proper qin of her own. Moreover, she didn’t even befriend any qin enthusiasts—where could she possibly get a qin?
“Lian Qiao,” Yun Li called out clearly.
Lian Qiao, who had already returned from Fengyi Palace, bowed slightly, holding an object in her arms, “Your servant is here.”
Everyone cast curious glances toward her.
They saw Lian Qiao carefully holding something, covered with silk brocade, and respectfully presenting it to Yun Li.
Yun Li reached out and took the mysterious object.
She turned and placed it on the qin table, making everyone crane their necks in curiosity—
“What is that thing, so mysteriously hidden?”
“It’s even carefully wrapped in silk brocade. If one didn’t know better, they’d think it was some kind of priceless treasure…”
Everyone looked down on this mysterious object.
Wei Chunxi said, “Princess Consort, remove the silk covering.”
Yun Li bowed to the Empress Dowager and acknowledged the command, then under everyone’s watchful eyes, she removed the silk brocade!
Everyone hurriedly focused their eyes to see—
They saw a dust-covered ancient qin placed on the qin platform. Perhaps due to its age and having just been excavated from the earth, it was so dirty that its original appearance was completely unrecognizable.
Ning Yuewei curled her lips in disappointment, “I thought it was some treasure. Isn’t this just a broken qin?”
Ning Xin’er also secretly rejoiced.
She had thought Yun Li might produce something extraordinary, but it turned out she had overestimated this good-for-nothing!
“What is this?” Wei Chunxi frowned deeply.
She had thought it would at least be an ordinary ancient qin that could be played, but she never expected it to be so filthy. She couldn’t even tell if it had rotted beneath the dust. “Princess Consort, are you making a fool of me?”
A hint of anger could be detected in the Empress Dowager’s tone.
But Yun Li remained composed, her gaze clear and bright. She didn’t rush to answer, instead carefully taking out the ancient qin completely and gently wiping it with the silk brocade…
“This good-for-nothing really has no experience with the world.”Ning Yuewei curled her lips disdainfully, “It’s just a shabby old qin. Is it even worth wiping with silk?”
But Yun Li paid no mind to these remarks. With lowered eyes, she devotedly wiped the qin…
This was the most cherished possession of A-Zhou’s late mother.
When she was young and followed the army, Rong Zhou’s father Rong Heng was still on the throne. The borders of Dayu were unstable, with enemy nations invading. The emperor led the expedition personally, and Empress Xiyun, being a general’s daughter, willingly accompanied him, giving birth to Rong Zhou in the military tent.
Her father was away fighting alongside the emperor.
She had received much care from Empress Xiyun in the military camp, which led to her childhood acquaintance with Rong Zhou, growing up together as close friends…
Now that she had taken it upon herself to bring the Zhaoyun Guqin back into the world, she sincerely hoped Empress Xiyun would not blame her.
Some guests were already growing restless—
“How dull. I think she should just give up. Her qin skills were never good to begin with, and now she only has this shabby instrument.”
“Guqin performance is highly dependent on tonal quality. With such a poor-quality qin, she won’t be able to produce any pleasant melodies. I don’t even know why she’s still struggling…”
No one had high expectations for Yun Li.
Many even scoffed at the seemingly worn-out qin.
As the silk gently brushed over the qin’s body and strings, the true appearance of this famous instrument gradually revealed itself…
At first, no one paid attention.
But suddenly, someone in the audience stood up in surprise, “Wait! Is this… the Zhaoyun Guqin?”
“What?” The hall erupted in commotion.
The reputation of the Zhaoyun Guqin was known to all.
The foremost qin of Dayu, it was said to be crafted from premium wood personally selected by Emperor Heng and made by Empress Xiyun’s own hands.
Unfortunately, when the emperor and empress led the expedition, Empress Xiyun, fearing the Zhaoyun Guqin might fall into enemy hands, hid it before leaving the palace. Since then, no one had known its whereabouts…
The last time the Zhaoyun Guqin appeared in public was before the expedition, when Empress Xiyun played the piece she composed herself, “Phoenix’s Arrival,” for all the soldiers—
When the phoenix arrives, peace reigns under heaven.
“How could it possibly be the Zhaoyun Guqin?”
“Isn’t this just a dusty, shabby qin? Yun Lanyue is all talk! Don’t try to deceive us!”
Of course, the crowd wasn’t easily convinced that a long-lost famous qin would appear here.
Sure enough, the Empress Dowager was furious, “How dare you! Yun Lanyue, you have some nerve to disgrace Empress Xiyun’s Zhaoyun Guqin! How dare you tarnish it with some shabby qin?”
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger.” Everyone hurriedly knelt.
Even Ning Xin’er quickly knelt, “Mother, please calm down. Perhaps the Princess Consort had no other choice and resorted to invoking Empress Xiyun’s name. She didn’t mean any harm…”
But inwardly, she was thrilled.
Empress Xiyun had passed away twelve years ago. Though she was young then and had never seen the Zhaoyun Guqin, she knew countless people had searched for this famous instrument to no avail…
Yun Li simply didn’t have the capability.
Her qin was a fake!
Yet she dared to pass off a counterfeit as the real thing for attention, never expecting to violate a royal taboo.
“Yun Lanyue! Kneel before me!” Wei Chunxi commanded angrily.
Terrified by the Empress Dowager’s overwhelming rage, everyone knelt trembling on the ground, fearing they might be implicated…
But Yun Li stood straight-backed, “A-Li has done nothing wrong.”
“You dare to impersonate Empress Xiyun’s famous qin with this shabby instrument! And you still claim you’ve done nothing wrong?” The Empress Dowager grew even angrier.
“This is the Zhaoyun Guqin. It is no impersonation.”
Yun Li slightly raised her delicate face, her phoenix eyes shimmering with clear pride and confidence, “If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may send someone to examine it. On the phoenix forehead of this qin, Empress Xiyun’s phoenix seal is imprinted.”
The phoenix seal…This is something that could never pass for the real thing!
“Xin’er.”
“Your servant is here.”
Wei Chunxi frowned deeply and sneered coldly, saying, “Go and inspect it for me. I want to see what kind of Empress Xiyun’s phoenix seal could be on this fake qin!”