Chapter 75 Listening to Music

"I will now display my meager skills."

Su Baiwei gently raised her hand, her porcelain-white, slender fingers caressing the strings of the zither.

Clang!

Su Baiwei lightly tested the zither before her, her eyes brightening slightly.

"Truly a fine zither; the tone is like high mountains and flowing water. Miss Su, you have yet to play, and yet I am already somewhat intoxicated," Li Shizhi exclaimed.

Jiang Chen merely sipped the tea on the table calmly, saying nothing.

Su Baiwei did not speak, simply brushing her jade-like fingers across the strings, and began to play.

Twang!

The sound of the zither rang out abruptly, like a startled swan.

Immediately following, the melody flowed like a babbling brook, neither hurried nor slow, calm and undisturbed.

Yet it made one unconsciously sink into it, body and mind tranquil and content.

The zither music was graceful and expressive, as if it had brushed away even the sweltering heat of this summer day.

Jiang Chen could not help but put down his teacup, turning his gaze toward the screen depicting a hundred birds.

In the past, he had heard of people using zither music to attract the magnificent scene of a hundred birds paying homage to the Phoenix, but he had dismissed it; hearing this melody today, he felt a sense of shared experience!

Within the music were high mountains, flowing water, the mundane, and the soaring; everyone could find a reflection of themselves within it.

Even Bo Ya playing his zither in the past could likely not have surpassed this.

Before anyone realized it, the music had quietly ceased.

But Li Shizhi remained immersed in the Concept of the zither music, silent for a long time.

Clap, clap, clap!

After a long while, he gently clapped his hands and shook his head with a sigh.

"What fine music, truly graceful and moving, with a lingering aftertaste. It is like listening to the sounds of heaven. I have only been able to hear such heavenly sounds today; the past twenty-plus years seem to have been spent in vain."

"This melody contains Zen intent; it should only exist in heaven, not be allowed to descend to the mortal world!" Master Chengjue also praised.

For a moment, there was silence, and everyone turned to look at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen's tea-drinking motion paused; you are engaging in commercial flattery, why does it involve me?

He pondered for a moment and said sincerely, "It sounds good."

As soon as his words fell, the atmosphere in the entire hall stalled.

Jiang Chen finished the tea in his cup as if nothing had happened.

The tea Princess Yuzhen gave him last time was indeed of inferior quality; this time, the tea had candied fruits and dried nuts added, and it tasted quite good.

Soon, the atmosphere in the hall gradually livened up again.

Li Shizhi kept chatting with Princess Yuzhen and Su Baiwei, occasionally exchanging a few words with Master Chengjue.

He was even able to steer the conversation toward Jiang Chen, but each time Jiang Chen would just brush it off with a few indifferent words.

Over time, Li Shizhi stopped seeking to embarrass himself and focused on chatting with the others.

This gathering was truly as Princess Yuzhen had said: just drinking and listening to music, discussing nothing else.

Jiang Chen had to admire these people for being able to sit like this for an entire day.

After drinking some tea, he began to close his eyes and meditate, absorbing the Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence.

Letting them chat.

However, after a while, he was suddenly awakened by a noisy sound from outside.

It turned out that Princess Yuzhen had clapped her hands, and a line of Huqiang dancers slowly walked in from outside.

They were dressed coolly, with only a chest binder covering their breasts, and skirts covering their vital areas.

Exposing slender waists and strong, powerful long legs.

Wheat-colored skin and exotic faces added to their charm.

The Huqiang dancers began to dance as soon as they entered, somewhat similar to the Flying Apsaras dances Jiang Chen had seen online in the past.

The skirts and scarves of these dancers would occasionally drift over to where they were sitting.

Jiang Chen remained expressionless, like an ancient well without ripples.

Li Shizhi, on the other hand, smiled playfully without any pretense, even reaching out to grab the scarves at times.

The old monk, Master Chengjue, kept his eyes tightly closed, palms pressed together, constantly chanting "sin, sin" in his mouth, though he would occasionally squint through a slit in his eyes to peek toward the center.

Perhaps he wanted to see if the people had left.

Princess Yuzhen sat in the head seat, resting her chin on her hand, taking in the expressions and actions of everyone below, her expression unreadable.

After a while, the dancers finished their performance, bowed, and retreated in an orderly fashion.

Li Shizhi appeared unsatisfied.

Princess Yuzhen said playfully, "If the Right Guard General likes them, you may choose a few from these Hu dancers and take them back to your residence."

Li Shizhi was startled, remembering his real business.

He had not come to Yuzhen Taoist Temple to show his lustful nature, but to befriend Princess Yuzhen and other high-ranking officials to pave the way for his official career.

Although Princess Yuzhen politely called him cousin, he would not be so arrogant as to truly believe he was the princess's cousin.

Although he was also a member of the royal clan, their Bloodline was quite distant, and his ancestors had been demoted to commoners; what qualifications did he have to claim kinship with the princess?

Being able to obtain the position of Right Guard General based on this connection was already the result of his ancestors' shade.

At this moment, he must not offend Princess Yuzhen.

He hurriedly gulped down two mouthfuls of wine.

This was his habit; whenever he was nervous, he wanted to drink a couple of cups.

"Not so. The reason I sighed was because I was lamenting that this land of Huqiang is indeed blessed with outstanding people; even these women have such strong and healthy figures. I only wish that our Great Tang could recover Huqiang soon!"

By the end, a look of determination appeared on his face, as if he wished he could personally don armor and go into battle to recover Huqiang.

"Hahaha, the Right Guard General is truly concerned about the country and the people. If every official in the Great Tang were like this, why would there be any worry about peace in the world? My Imperial Brother would have nothing to worry about."

"Your Highness, you flatter me, you flatter me!" Li Shizhi said, pleasantly surprised. If these words of Princess Yuzhen could reach the ears of the Saint today.

Then his, Li Shizhi's, future would be bright!

The hall was once again filled with laughter.

Su Baiwei saw Jiang Chen sitting alone with his eyes closed and couldn't help but ask curiously in a soft voice, "Daoist, on your way from Run Prefecture to Chang'an, did you feel the customs and culture of this prosperous Great Tang?"

Jiang Chen opened his eyes and looked at Su Baiwei with a slightly scrutinizing gaze.

Su Baiwei smiled like a flower, without any shyness or evasion, instead meeting Jiang Chen's gaze openly.

"Naturally. Under the rule of the Great Tang, the folk customs are simple, the common people live and work in peace, there are no bandits in the mountains, and doors are not locked at night. It can be called a prosperous age."

"Is this truly what is in your heart, Daoist?" Su Baiwei's eyes shimmered as she stared at Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen also looked deeply at Su Baiwei: "Whether it is or not, does Miss Su not know?"

Su Baiwei covered her smile with her sleeve, also hiding the emotions in her eyes.

"I wonder if you passed through Cao Prefecture on your journey, Daoist?"

Cao Prefecture?

Jiang Chen was puzzled; why would she suddenly ask about a certain place? Could she be from Cao Prefecture?

Without waiting for Jiang Chen to speak, she continued, "I once traveled through Cao Prefecture. Cao Prefecture is blessed with outstanding people and beautiful landscapes; it is indeed a good place suitable for someone like you, Daoist, to cultivate."

"If I have the leisure, I will go to see it in the future," Jiang Chen said.

Su Baiwei was certainly not as simple as she appeared on the surface, otherwise, she would not have been invited by Princess Yuzhen.

She specifically mentioned the place Cao Prefecture; there must be a deeper meaning.

After saying this, Su Baiwei turned back to chat and laugh with Princess Yuzhen.

About another hour or so later, this small banquet finally ended.

Jiang Chen was the first to stand up, bid farewell to Princess Yuzhen, and strode out of Yuzhen Taoist Temple under the gaze of everyone.

"Your Highness, this Daoist is truly rude." Li Shizhi frowned; he was a student of Confucian etiquette and could not stand people who did not strictly adhere to the etiquette between ruler and subject.

"It does not matter. Today, there is no high or low, noble or base among those present; all living beings are equal," Princess Yuzhen joked.