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S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Azurixa] [Celeste S.] [Christine G.-L.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[J Jean] [K.Rom] [Lily J.] [Mel Melz] [Tori D.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Leticia P.] [Maria P.] [Nicole] [Passerby] [Smurfinbatik]
G O L D S T A R
[Cindy] [Fav Akira] [Nanashi D. Y.] [Reece P.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Amanda] [Book W.] [Britnae M] [Caroline] [Christigale M.] [DetectiveGeek421] [Haruka N.]
[Hlau V.] [Ine O.] [Kiiayame] [kuroneko_chan] [Liznel M.] [Michelle K.] [onepiece] [Oushna]
[Quae] [Ray] [Scorpion Princess] [Victoria]
Of course, Rui Wangfei didn't think it was Gu Jiao who coveted her guqin and secretly switched the two guqins. It must be the young eunuch who had made a mistake.
"Aiyo! Are you people of the State of Zhao so poor to actually use a burnt guqin?"
One of the State of Liang’s generals spoke. The status of the State of Liang was above that of the State of Zhao, so naturally these envoys did not put the State of Zhao in their eyes, and uttering a few words of mockery was considered nothing.
A civil official beside the general echoed, "If the State of Zhao lacks guqin, we at the State of Liang can give you some free ones!"
The envoys, without exception, all laughed with guffaw.
Rui Wangfei was so angry that she wanted to blow their dog heads off!
Imperial Consort Zhuang's expression turned a little ugly.
It was actually her who recommended this performance to the Crown Princess, and even did so in front of Empress Xiao and several imperial concubines of the harem in order not to give the Crown Princess a chance to refuse.
She started with good intentions, hoping that Rui Wangfei would shine at the banquet and win their side some honor.
But before she could win any honor, she lost face first.
"What is this third daughter-in-law thinking? Can't she even get a good guqin?"
Imperial Consort Zhuang was truly furious.
Empress Xiao was also displeased. Even though it was true that she and Ning Wang were fighting each other to the death, it had always been an internal conflict behind closed doors. How could they just let themselves lose face in front of other countries?
The Emperor's face also sank.
Using a damaged guqin to entertain the State of Liang’s envoys didn’t only make them into a joke, but it also gave the other party an excuse to easily put pressure on them. The State of Liang originally came here to cut the fat of the State of Zhao, and now, they had a reason to cut their fat more violently.
"This servant… shall go and change the guqin!" Court Lady Xu said.
"It's too late." Rui Wangfei shook her head. The face was already lost, changing it now would only make them look even more abject and humiliated.
Rui Wangfei closed her eyes, and regardless of whether Lord Yue Ying’s disciple was still willing to play with her as an ensemble or not, she took the lead to play the first note.
And this one note made everyone present greatly stunned.
The one who had the fastest response was Wu Ming. When he saw Rui Wangfei playing, he turned the flute in his hand and placed it before his lips to keep up with Rui Wangfei's rhythm.
This piece of music was created by Wu Ming’s master. He had practiced it for who knew how many times, not to mention that he still had the advantage in musical instruments. In any case, this performance would be dominated by him.
Rui Wangfei couldn’t get into the mood at first because of her unfamiliarity with the guqin as well as the disturbance in her thoughts.
But gradually, she was greatly attracted by the sound of the guqin.
How could there be such an amazing guqin? How could there be such beautiful guqin sounds?
The sound of the Fuxi guqin suddenly overshadowed the sound of the flute.
Everyone's expression became different.
Empress Xiao murmured, "What, what kind of guqin is that… Did the Fuxi guqin you heard in the State of Liang also sound so good like this one?”
The Crown Princess was among those who had been sent on a diplomatic mission to the State of Liang when she was young.
The Crown Princess looked at Rui Wangfei in the middle of the hall with a complicated look, "This daughter-in-law has merely seen it and didn’t have the pleasure of hearing it."
As soon as the song was finished, there was a deathly silence in the entire hall. Apparently, the performance was too astounding and people were still immersed in the sound of Rui Wangfei's guqin.
Suddenly, the imperial prince of the State of Liang stood up and took the lead in applauding Rui Wangfei, "Brilliant! Wonderful!"
The two successive compliments were for Rui Wangfei. It truly was an amazing song, unfortunately the flute didn't account for much. All their attention was attracted by the melodious sound of the guqin.
Those who just laughed at Rui Wangfei didn't dare to open their mouths.
If this was a broken guqin, then there wasn’t anything under the sky that could be considered a guqin.
Wu Ming looked at Rui Wangfei, and then looked at the guqin in front of her, "My master's Yue Ying Fuxi guqin is not as good as this one. Dare I ask Rui Wangfei, where did this guqin come from?”
Yue Ying Fuxi guqin was the most perfect imitation of the real Fuxi guqin in the six states, and yet this guqin before him was even better than it. What guqin was this one? Could it be the real Fuxi guqin?
If it was other people who said such words, it might not carry any weight, but Wu Ming was the direct disciple of Lord Yue Ying.
The Emperor suddenly laughed out loud.
Once again, third daughter-in-law gave him a lot of face.
Rui Wangfei couldn’t say that it was something she took by mistake.
She thought for a moment before saying in a solemn voice, "It was borrowed from a friend."
Wu Ming: "That friend is——"
Rui Wangfei: "Apologies, this Wangfei can't tell you."
Wu Ming cupped his hands and then returned to his seat.
With the wonderful performance of Rui Wangfei and the Fuxi guqin, all the following acts carefully arranged by the Crown Princess became dull.
Everyone only remembered the amazing guqin, and Rui Wangfei who played it beautifully.
Rui Wangfei’s astounding performance also gave Rui Wang a lot of face. The Emperor called Old Third over and gave him a few words of praise.
Rui Wang was overjoyed.
Of all the imperial princes, Rui Wang was actually the most unremarkable one. In terms of specialness, he couldn’t compare to his eldest brother, Ning Wang; in terms of value, he was inferior to his second brother, the Crown Prince; in terms of intelligence, he wasn’t as smart as the fourth prince; and in terms of appearance, his looks was far behind that of the Fifth Prince.
From childhood, he had always been a prince who was easily overlooked.
However, this year, starting from the New Year’s day, he seemed to be getting lucky, didn’t he?
"Go back and spend a good deal of time with your wife. Pregnancy is not an easy thing." The Emperor said to Rui Wang then asked, "Who arranged for her to play the guqin? She’s carrying a child in her belly, what if she gets tired?"
Imperial Consort Zhuang smiled, "It's this imperial consort’s fault. This imperial consort will never do it again."
Although the Emperor didn’t approve of allowing the third daughter-in-law to play the guqin while she was pregnant, he had to say that if it were not for her performance today, the State of Zhao couldn’t have increased their face.
Imperial Consort Zhuang also understood this, so she admitted it decisively. As for the Crown Princess's contribution, she didn't mention a single word.
For the Crown Princess, it was also an unexpected positive outcome.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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