Chapter 48-Part 1

Feng Liwu naturally glanced at Jiang Xiurun when he set down his brush.

Jiang Xiurun immediately plastered a fawning smile on her face, looking utterly grateful.

However, Feng Liwu could now see through the hypocrisy of her subordinates, feeling that there was a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes.

Humph, really hypocritical!

Feng Liwu coldly sneered in his heart and glared at her. This made Jiang Xiurun nervous, unsure of what she had done wrong.

As a result, when the drum was struck again, Tian Ying used the excuse of a headache and went back to the hall to sit down. The future Crown Princess’s depressed mood would really explode if she didn’t stay alone and quiet.

After the drum was struck for several rounds and roughly passed on, the next step was to “music”.

Everyone thought Master Mufeng would play the guqin himself and prepared to listen attentively.

But to everyone’s surprise, after Master Mufeng’s book boy brought out his treasured Fengwei Jiaoqin, he didn’t sit at the desk but instead signaled for his student Jiang Herun to play.

This left everyone astonished.

Master Mufeng didn’t explain and simply nodded at the young master Jiang.

Although Jiang Xiurun’s mind was blank when it came to poetry, she was most proficient in music.

Back in the day, her father had spared no effort in cultivating her skills in singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments.

At that time, she thought her father cared for her. Now, she realizes it was merely to make her more enticing as a future tribute.

However, thanks to her father’s efforts, she had profound achievements in music.

In the academy, she had not made much progress in other areas and couldn’t increase her favor with Master Mufeng.

In the past, Madam Xiurun had been good at dancing and flattering, and these skills often unconsciously surfaced.

She noticed Master Mufeng’s passion for ancient music and catered to it, presenting him with ancient songs she helped restore, even thoughtfully crediting him.

The Bo state was remote and more influenced by the previous dynasty’s music, so although ancient music had been lost in the Central Plains, it still survived in Bo state. Many ancient music fragments still existed, and it wasn’t difficult to continue the music by following the melodies.

Thus, Master Mufeng found that the pieces restored by this student were genuinely ancient in flavor, surpassing the ancient music he had re-composed.

But Master Mufeng was a man of integrity and wouldn’t take credit for his student’s work. He even scolded young master Jiang harshly for writing his name without permission, telling him never to use such sycophantic tactics again and to always be upright and honorable.

Though scolded, Jiang Xiurun was deeply taught and admired Master Mufeng even more.

Despite the scolding, Master Mufeng was truly fond of the piece. This was why he invited young master Jiang, a student from Dingyuan, to the tea gathering.

Since the piece was composed by young master Jiang, it was only natural for him to play it for everyone.

When Jiang Xiurun plucked the strings, ancient sounds emerged, and the sandalwood incense blurred the youth’s features, making everyone focus more on his skilled fingers.

The elegant music flowing from the strings cleansed the audience’s hearts, making them feel as if they were in towering mountains and flowing rivers.

The profound skill and superb technique of the guqin were comparable to those of a seasoned master, and the ancient music moved those with a strong sense of music to tears.

Feng Liwu had never known his aide had such a captivating talent. Despite having been in the residence for so long, she had never played for him, only playing chess and chatting about food and drink.

This made Feng Liwu feel displeased, thinking that his treasure had been shown to others instead of himself…

This cunning thing is indeed untrustworthy!

Feng Liwu’s displeasure went unnoticed by Jiang Xiurun, who was fully immersed in the music, giving her whole heart to it.

When the last note was played, she stretched her fingers to still the strings, letting the music fade away like sandalwood incense, and slowly came back from the ancient charm.

However, while she regained clarity, the audience was still lost in the music, some dazed, some excited.

Of course, the crown prince she served reacted in the most unusual way, with a stinky face, as if suddenly discovering someone owed him money.

The crown prince seemed to dislike music in both his past and present lives.

In her past life, she had played the guqin at a banquet, and the crown prince had also looked displeased, as if the music annoyed him.

Yet, every time she hosted a guqin event, he insisted on attending.

In her past life, although she was good at flattering, she had no way to please such a stinky-stone crown prince.

Sharing the crown prince’s sour expression was Tian Ying.

If it were just Jiang Herun stealing her poems, she could tolerate it; but seeing this youth excel again by restoring such mesmerizing guqin music made her unbearably jealous.

Poems could be secretly ghostwritten, but such guqin skills were displayed openly. How could anyone master the guqin without at least ten years of practice?