The mont Gu Xian stepped into the academy, an inexplicable chill ran down his spine.
Was it nerves?
Gu Xian assud so. After all, this wasn’t a small occasion. Over the past few months, he had carefully cultivated his reputation and even managed to invite (trick) Master Tongxin, a renowned scholar, to his lecture. Even more astonishingly, Master Quan Yizhang had co as well.
This lecture would be a turning point. If it went well, he could claim the two great scholars held him in high regard. If it didn’t, he could simply assert they didn’t appreciate his theories.
Either way, he would win!
Everything hinged on this mont.
Gu Xian straightened his robes, wore a confident smile, and strode in. His eyes scanned the venue:
“!!!”
The Emperor?!
Gu Xian instantly spotted the familiar face in the crowd and froze montarily before a surge of ecstasy washed over him.
This lecture, in addition to impressing the two scholars, now had the potential to win imperial favor! If all three figures acknowledged him, what was a re Ji Sui in comparison?
Imdiately, Gu Xian revised his plan.
Initially, he had intended to begin directly with his lecture. Now, he decided to open with an elegant display to win favor from these influential figures.
As luck would have it, he recently acquired the sheet music for a long-lost zither piece.
“Although I’m not fully proficient in it, a rough performance should suffice. Neither of the scholars has heard the original lody, and the Emperor, being a peasant-born bumpkin, likely couldn’t tell the difference as long as it makes a sound.”
“Before I begin today’s lecture, allow to play a piece for everyone.”
The paragon of virtue seated himself under the blooming locust tree with a zither in his lap. Nodding courteously to the gathered audience, he exuded refinent and grace.
His fingers brushed the strings, releasing a crystalline lody. The sunlight cascading over him, the soft curve of his lips, and the gentle sweep of his lashes painted a flawless image.
The audience was entranced by the music. Even the Emperor, despite his disdain for the so-called virtuous scholar, begrudgingly admitted that the man possessed genuine talent.
Quan Yizhang sat cross-legged at the front, eyes closed, tapping the rhythm lightly on his thigh.
Beside him, Tongxin also nodded faintly, his mind imrsed in the lody.
The serene atmosphere was punctuated only by the sound of the zither, the soft rustle of trees, and the steady breathing of the onlookers.
anwhile, Xu Yanmiao, growing bored, opened his system interface to pass the ti during the performance.
Since the paragon of virtue was clearly putting on a show, Xu casually decided to look into his gossip section.
The first thing that caught his attention was—
[Huh? He played it wrong?]
The system’s blunt notification jolted Quan Yizhang from his dazed enjoynt.
[Ah! He made another mistake!]
[And here too! Is he filling in with random notes?]
Each error the system flagged made the music feel increasingly disjointed and clumsy to Quan. Being a skilled zither player himself, he hadn’t initially noticed the mistakes due to his unfamiliarity with the piece. Additionally, Gu Xian’s playing was polished enough to obscure the errors. But now, with Xu Yanmiao’s prompts, he could distinctly hear the dissonance and subtle awkwardness in the transitions.
Quan Yizhang: “…”
Wonderful. So he’s being fooled, huh?
Gu Xian continued playing, his hands never faltering on the strings. Raising his eyes slightly, his lips curved into a asured smile.
“Let’s see how these people are completely captivated by …”
Gu Xian noticed Quan Yizhang frowning at him.
His heart skipped a beat.
“Plink—”
A sharp, abrupt note broke through the tranquil lody, completely disconnecting from the serene flow of the previous tune. It wasn’t a transition—it was a jarring mistake.
Gu Xian then saw Scholar Tongxin’s expression sour as well.
Panicking, he quickly tried to regain his composure. Improvising on the spot, he shifted into an impassioned lody as if the abrupt note had been intentional—a representation of a mountain stream breaking free from a narrow valley to cascade into a roaring waterfall.
When Scholar Tongxin appeared only slightly puzzled, Gu Xian exhaled in relief, gritting his teeth and continuing his performance.
—From that mont, however, the piece beca pure fabrication. There was no way to return to the original lody.
anwhile, Quan Yizhang… was listening to Xu Yanmiao’s inner thoughts while fighting to keep a straight face, lest he burst out laughing.
[Ha! An impassioned tune! I know how to match that!]
Xu Yanmiao began entertaining himself.
Clearing his ntal “throat,” he internally began to sing—
[The great river flows east! The stars in the sky… point to the Big Dipper!]
The KTV-style screeching was comically jarring.
The court officials of Daxia collectively tensed up.
What was that?!
Yet…
The old emperor perked up.
To be honest, while he could recognize that the zither playing was skillful, it didn’t exactly suit his taste. Earlier, he had been forcing himself to stay awake.
But Xu Yanmiao’s sudden “performance”? He loved it!
So bold! So invigorating!
Several military officials internally nodded in agreent.
After playing a section, Gu Xian couldn’t resist glancing at Quan Yizhang again.
“?!”
Why did he look so stern?
Could it be… he realized I’ve been improvising nonsense?
His anxiety caused yet another mistake, striking a discordant note. This ti, Gu Xian failed to notice Tongxin’s deepening frown. Distraught, he made a terrible decision—
[Huh? Another shift in tone? This sounds like a love song.]
[Love song? Oh, I can do that too!]
Xu Yanmiao mockingly adjusted his ntal “voice.”
[Ah~ Ah~ Ah~]
[Gently… gently… I ask the venerable monk~]
[Is the maiden… beautiful or not~?]
[Is~ the maiden~ beautiful or not—?]
The sudden switch to a feminine tone nearly caused the gathered officials to strain their backs in shock.
However, the civil officials’ eyes lit up.
Aside from solemn and elegant singing styles, they also appreciated this softer, romantic tone. In fact, the whole scholar and maiden vibe struck a chord with them.
—Even if the “scholar” was bald.
Even though the lody and style were unfamiliar, the charm of it lingered.
The civil officials unanimously felt that Xu Yanmiao’s impromptu singing was far more enjoyable than Gu Xian’s increasingly error-ridden playing.
Gu Xian glanced at Quan Yizhang again, and this ti, he completely lost his composure.
Quan Yizhang was trying to suppress laughter!
Was his performance actually amusing to Master Quan?!
His playing grew even more chaotic, to the point where even the gathered students began noticing sothing was off, exchanging uncertain glances.
“Hmph!” Scholar Tongxin finally lost his patience. Standing abruptly, he prepared to leave with a dramatic sweep of his sleeves.
Turning, he spotted Quan Yizhang listening with great interest and froze in confusion.
“Xiangpu?” he asked incredulously—referring to Quan Yizhang’s courtesy na.
Scholar Tongxin hesitated, clearly bewildered, and couldn’t hold back his astonishnt:
“You’re not leaving?”
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