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Editor: Atlas Studios

“It’s me.” The middle-aged eunuch was a little flattered and hurriedly said, “My surname is He.”

Eunuch He was the eunuch who had brought the palanquin to Xihua Gate to pick up Gu Yanfei.

Eunuch He said respectfully, “The Eldest Prince gave this Jade Flower Dew to Second Lady Gu.”

He obediently brought the pot of wine to the table and nimbly poured Gu Yanfei a glass of wine.

“It’s really the Jade Flower Dew. Jiaoniang, your nose is still so sharp,” Lu Qin praised in surprise. She tacitly exchanged a look with Wei Jiaoniang, meaning that the Eldest Prince was really considerate.

“Of course.” Wei Jiaoniang touched her nose smugly and blinked her right eye.

Wei Jiaoniang’s grandfather, Imperial Duke Wei, liked good wine. Although her mother’s alcohol tolerance was average, she had a sharp nose. As long as it was a drink she had drunk before, she would know it with a sniff.

The wine in the white porcelain cup was a faint amber color, crystal clear, and fragrant.

Gu Yanfei narrowed her eyes and tasted the clear wine fragrance. She recalled that she had casually mentioned to Chu Yi once that she wanted to try the Jade Flower Dew. She had forgotten about it, but she didn’t expect him to still remember it.

“Eunuch He, thank the Eldest Prince for me,” Gu Yanfei said to Eunuch He generously with a smile.

Eunuch He smiled and left with the empty tray. He thought to himself, ‘Second Miss Gu seems to like to eat candied plums, especially since she ate a few more carved plum balls than the others. I have to get someone to get more.’

“Want a glass?” Gu Yanfei smiled and poured a glass of wine for Wei Jiaoniang, Lu Qin, and the other three girls at the same table.

As the wine poured down from the mouth of the pot, the fragrance of the wine filled the air. The pleasant fragrance of the wine dispersed the sweet incense around it.

Wei Jiaoniang and Lu Qin were the first to raise their glasses. The other two girls were also nonchalant and held their glasses one after another. Only one girl in pink was a little hesitant, thinking that it was inappropriate to drink in the palace.

Wei Jiaoniang took a sip of wine and savored it carefully. “Lingzhi, honey, wolfberries, and…”

She tilted her face and focused on the taste in her mouth. She couldn’t help but think that there was an indescribable taste in the wine.

“Shaoyao.” A smiling voice sounded in Wei Jiaoniang’s ear.

Wei Jiaoniang’s eyes lit up, and she hurriedly nodded. “It’s Shaoyao.”

“Yanfei, your tongue is better than mine!”

Lu Qin continued, “With this Shaoyao, this Jade Flower Dew will be fragrant but not surfeiting. It will be mellow, elegant, long-lasting, and sweet.”

“Good wine, really good wine!”

The girls praised with exultation.

Crisp and lively laughter floated clearly in the water pavilion, adding some vitality to the cold winter.

“How noisy!”

On the west side of the water pavilion, a yellow-robed girl sitting by the zither table spoke coldly, not hiding the displeasure on her face.

“I can’t even admire the zither properly.” The other girl in blue also frowned and looked at Gu Yanfei, Wei Jiaoniang, and the others. Her red lips pursed tightly as she snorted coldly. “Don’t make a ruckus in the palace!”

The melodious sound of the zither continued. The girl in purple who was playing the zither stroked the zither with her fingers and focused on the strings with a frown.

The other girls from the aristocratic families also nodded in agreement and thought to themselves, ‘These noble ladies are really rude and can’t be elegant.’

The noisy commotion swept away their good mood of listening to the zither and admiring the snow.

Only Yu Chaoyun’s expression didn’t change. She rubbed the fragrant ball in her sleeve with the gesture of stroking her sleeve and reminded her indifferently, ‘They might be planning to do what they did last time in Upper Forest Garden...”

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the others present instantly changed. They couldn’t help but recall that day outside the hunting ground, Wei Jiaoniang and the others had deliberately used gongs and drums to disturb the zither music.

At that time, she had even accidentally caused the string to break when she was playing the zither. It was really despicable! Miss Zeng, who was dressed in yellow, stroked her fingers gently. Her fingertips recalled the pain of the broken string that day.

Miss Zeng repeatedly stroked her trembling fingertips. She bit her lower lip and squeezed out four words. “You’re going too far.”

In the end, didn’t Wei Jiaoniang only dare to be so arrogant because of Imperial Duke Wei’s support?

‘Miss Yu is right. They must have done it on purpose!” The girl in blue lowered her voice and barely maintained the demeanor of a daughter of an aristocratic family.

The girl in purple who was playing the zither naturally heard their conversation. Her fingers trembled, and the zither music became chaotic.

She frowned tightly and simply pressed down on the strings. The music stopped abruptly.

There was a moment’s silence. The laughter from the right seemed to have become more piercing.

“I think...” Yu Chaoyun said again. The two words attracted the gazes of the women from aristocratic families.

Yu Chaoyun continued unhurriedly, “Why don’t we play the zither and compete with them?”

Playing the zither and competing?

The women from the aristocratic families were stunned and looked at each other.

This was a tradition of the Great Jin Dynasty.

It was rumored that during Emperor Taizu’s reign, he often visited the people incognito and observed the situation.

One year, when Emperor Taizu went down to Yangzhou, he happened to encounter a pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River. The two sides quarreled over making way for each other. Two large ships blocked the river, making it difficult for other ships to sail.

Seeing that there was a peerless beauty on the pleasure boat and hearing that the beauty was the number one talent in Yangzhou, Hua Qingrong, and that her zither skills were outstanding, Emperor Taizu suggested playing the zither with her. Whoever lost would have to give in.

Hua Qingrong accepted the challenge. After the song, Emperor Taizu sighed and said, “This song should only exist in the heavens. How many times can we hear it in the mortal world?” He sighed and admitted defeat without even playing it.

Emperor Taizu had the heart to cherish talent and beauty. Unfortunately, King

Xiang is willing, but the Goddess has no desire. Hua Qingrong tactfully rejected Emperor Taizu’s kindness and spent her life studying the zither. Later on, she became famous around the world.

Since then, the women of the Great Jin Dynasty had the tradition of playing the zither.

The zither competition wasn’t about “inspiration”, but “talent’ .

Miss Zeng raised her eyebrows and glanced sideways at Wei Jiaoniang and the others. She said with a hint of mockery, “They know how to play the zither?”

‘How can the light of a firefly compete with the brilliance of the sun and moon!” The purple-robed girl replied with a faint smile. She casually plucked a zither string in an elegant posture, her slender fingers like orchids and jade.

The girls from the other aristocratic families also revealed the same mocking and disdain on their faces.

It was said that these noble ladies could pull a bow on a horse and carry a saber after dismounting. With their thick hands and feet, even if they learned the zither for a few days, they would only be half a bucket of water!

They should beat gongs and drums instead!