The Double-Chapter 83 - 73 Love of Beauty_3

"Jiang Li is quite remarkable, matching Youyao in every way," Immortal Jing Hong said after some consideration.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Mian Ju couldn’t help but laugh and said, "Could it be that the Immortal is biased towards her own disciple, Youyao? In my opinion, little lass Jiang Li exceeds Youyao by much, not to mention ’Hu Jia Eighteen Beats’ is more challenging than ’Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank.’ When it comes to understanding the artistic conception, Youyao is still on the outside, while little lass Jiang Li has already entered the door. Immortal, how come you are becoming more worldly as time goes by? In a few more years, I’m afraid you will lose your own ’Musical Heart’ too!"

This was said quite rudely, nearly leaving Immortal Jing Hong with no face. Since the beginning of her time at Wangxian Tower, when she was a qingguan, she was always adored by scholars and literati; when had anyone ever reprimanded her so discourteously? Her face immediately turned bright red with shame and indignation.

"Enough, what does Mr. Xiao think?" Mr. Mian Ju turned to ask Xiao Deyin.

Xiao Deyin pondered for a moment, then unexpectedly said, "I too believe that Jiang Li and Jiang Youyao are on par with each other."

This was tantamount to not admitting that Jiang Li was better than Jiang Youyao.

Mr. Mian Ju immediately let out a cold laugh, and his gaze towards Xiao Deyin changed as he asked, "Could it be that Mr. Xiao has also taken Youyao as his disciple? Why is everyone speaking against their conscience?"

Xiao Deyin said, "Not at all, Jiang Li certainly plays the zither very well, but the piece ’Hu Jia Eighteen Beats’ carries too much desolation, not as broad as the artistic conception of ’Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank.’ The finger techniques of ’Hu Jia Eighteen Beats’ match those of ’Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank,’ but the challenge lies in the artistic conception. After all, the musician’s sorrowful heart is hard for common people to truly empathize with. But speaking for myself, I don’t favor music filled with desolation; just as the heart of the zither mirrors the human heart, I prefer the sense of vastness and openness." freewebnøvel.com

"What nonsense," Mr. Mian Ju said with a laugh tinged with irony, "Today I learned that the heart of the zither ranks high and low. Forgive my bluntness, Mr. Xiao, but your fame-seeking heart of the zither, I’m afraid, no longer holds up to the title of Yanjing’s number one female zither master. Not to mention Immortal Jing Hong, the late Madam of the Top Scholar Xue Fangfei was also better than you, and in a few years, likely that little lass of the Jiang Family, Jiang Li, will surpass you by far!"

These unceremonious words caused Xiao Deyin to abruptly change color.

She said, "Mr. Mian Ju, watch your words! Xue Fangfei’s private virtue was corrupt, yet you actually compare me with her?"

"It’s as if you’re saying Mr. Xiao’s character is very good," Mr. Mian Ju said sarcastically.

"You!"

The examination had not even finished, yet the two judges were about to argue on the stage. Although Mr. Mian Ju seemed amiable, he was a very stubborn old man. Immortal Jing Hong quickly intervened to mediate, smiling and saying, "Why be angry, gentlemen? There are still other students who have not yet performed. It’s not too late to wait for them to come on stage together. If there are those with even superior zither skills in the meantime, then there won’t be a need to make a difficult choice."

Mr. Mian Ju snorted coldly, and thus the matter was settled, for now. However, everyone knew all too well, there was likely no student who could surpass Jiang Li and Jiang Youyao.

The dispute was inevitable in the end.

Jiang Li saw the quarrel between Mr. Mian Ju and Xiao Deyin from the stage, and although she couldn’t hear exactly what was being said, she could guess it was about her and Jiang Youyao’s zither skills. Presumably, Mr. Mian Ju was in her favor, since before he entered the palace, he was simply a common folk musician, and Jiang Li’s rustic tune before playing the zither must have been very much to his liking.

As for Xiao Deyin, if it had been before, Jiang Li would have believed she would definitely be on her side, but now... it was uncertain.

Zhou Yanbang watched Jiang Li, who was by Liu Xu’s side, intently. Jiang Li’s zither performance had once again amazed the audience, which only strengthened his resolve to break off the engagement with Jiang Youyao and be with Jiang Li instead. Jiang Li was his fiancée to begin with. If not for some mishap, they might have already been married by now.

A woman like her was supposed to be his!

Zhou Yanbang thought that now, Jiang Li had likely risen above the name of a "useless bundle," and with this, his parents’ objection would surely not be as vehement. Despite the accusation of poisoning her stepmother, the Marquis of Ningyuan had always cherished him and would probably compromise. Only, by doing this, he would be unfair to Youyao, and he felt somewhat guilty at the thought, resolving to compensate her in other ways.

While Zhou Yanbang pondered over Jiang Li, not far from him, Shen Yurong too had a glazed look in his eyes.

Seeing Miss Jiang the Second play the zither on stage inexplicably reminded him of his deceased wife. After all, Xue Fangfei’s zither skills were unmatched, and back in the days at Tongxiang of Xiangyang, she often played the zither. At that time, he would often stand outside the Xue Family’s gate, beneath the wall, listening to the laughter and zither music of the beauty inside.