Chapter 27: Provocation

  The hall was filled with lavish spending, but the three men in the private room upstairs were lightly sipping on a few cups of weak wine. The King of Jin sat at the head, flanked by two princes, while a pipa player sat to the side playing softly.

  The King of Jin didn't show any impatience, but Su Yun had a face full of annoyance, "Just a mere qin player, yet she's putting on quite an act"

  The King of Jin shook his head with a hint of helpless smile. Su Ou had always been temperamental, and it was already a miracle that he had waited this long.

  Qī Yáo and Páng Luò Xuě walked together, just reaching the door, and naturally heard the conversation inside. Qī Yáo clenched her fists tightly, took a deep breath to suppress her anger, and thought: If I didn't mind Snow suffering, you'd be the one I'd come for, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to hold back from killing you with one sword.

  Pang Luoxue gently grasped Qi Ya's hand, and Qi Ya smiled at Pang Luoxue before knocking on the door to enter.

  As expected, the King of Jin still had a warm and gentle smile, elegant as a jade tree in the wind. Su Ou scrunched up his face, while Lin Qing was comfortably admiring a painting in the room.

  Qī Yāo deliberately pretended to be silly and smiled: Young master has waited for a long time, I wonder which young master wants to listen to our Rúyān girl's zither?

  Su Yu's face turned even darker, and he thought to himself: The money for listening to the qin was paid by the King of Jin, so shouldn't they be allowed to listen? So he asked: "Miss Ruo Yan's qin skills are exceptional, my friend and I have also benefited from the King of Jin's patronage, we'd like to hear Miss Ruo Yan play another piece."

  Qī Yāo smiled coldly in her heart, and with a wave of her fan, she said with a smile: "I've seen people who sponge off others for food and drink before, but it's my first time seeing someone who sponges off others to listen. I suppose it's something new."

  Su Yu's face suddenly turned bright red, thinking that the dignified son of the prime minister would actually eavesdrop in someone else's Cuimiao Building, and it wouldn't be embarrassing to spread the word.

  The King of Jin sat on the side and saw that Su Ou's face was not right, Su Ou still had use for him, so he couldn't embarrass him at this time. So he said to Qi Yao: "Yao Zhuangzhu, it's more fun with a group than alone. Today, the king invited both princes to listen together, I suppose Xiang Gongzhu won't mind either?" After speaking, he looked towards Pang Luo Xue

  Pang Luoxue is a person who can't wait to peel off the hypocritical skin of King Jin, so how could she ruin her own sister's reputation?

  Pang Luoxue curtsied and said: "Thank you, King Jin, for your appreciation. However, our young lady has rules, she only plays once a month. Today is also an exception made in consideration of the master of Yao Lou's face. As I've already said, if Your Majesty wants to listen, the two princes can sit in the main hall for a while. Or, today, give King Jin a face and triple this price. You are all young masters from noble families, so you shouldn't mind these small amounts of money. Let's just consider it as supporting our Cuimiao Building's reputation. What does Your Majesty think?"

  The King of Jin's face turned gloomy, thinking to himself: "A small woman, one or two are formidable, really think I'm a vegetarian?" He wanted to see, so he smiled and said: "Miss Yu's piano sound is exquisite, even if the price is multiplied by five times, it's worth it. Presumably Miss's appearance is as beautiful as her piano sound, but Miss covering her face with a veil adds mystery, but it's indeed a pity. I think so, Miss might as well remove her veil, and King Wang will multiply the price to five times."

  The King of Jin thought to himself, "I'd like to see what kind of person you are," and suddenly appeared in the capital city, unexpectedly buying it out. He wanted to know that his next step was to buy this place, and if he could make friends with them, today's grand occasion would be a good chess piece for these two women.

  Qī Yāo and Páng Luò Xue detested each other, Páng Luò Xue said: Little girl Qín Jī is mediocre, it's hard to get the recognition of the master. Since King Jin bought the lower veil for five times the price, little girl naturally obeyed, but King Jin's reputation for recognizing talent would be damaged, and little girl didn't dare to take on that responsibility at all.

  What did he say? Duke of Jin asked

  "The King of Jin wins people over with his charm, this reputation..." Pang Luoxue said dejectedly.

  Qī Yáo also said: "The king's appointment of people is based on their talents, and Yáo Ji has heard of it even in the dusty world. Because of the matter of listening to the qin, I'm afraid it's not suitable. How about this? Since the price of the Jin Wang has already been opened, the king's words are like jade, once spoken, they cannot be taken back. The king also said that it is better for everyone to enjoy together than for one person to enjoy alone. Why don't we let Rú Yān play in the main hall, so that everyone can listen, and also save Su Gongzi's face?"

  The King of Jin's face was already as black as it could get, while Su Yun and Lin Qing were intimidated by Qi Yao and Pang Luo Xue's words. These two ladies were surprisingly in sync, not only did they not ask for compensation, but they also didn't even mention a solo performance. The King of Jin agreed, which was good, if he hadn't, his reputation would have suffered greatly from then on.

  The King of Jin was indeed a prince who had been indulged in the royal palace for a long time, and his expression changed as usual with just a slight nod: Thank you, both ladies, for taking the trouble to plan for me. Since both ladies have said so, if I don't agree, it would seem that I am not magnanimous enough. In that case, please ask Yanyan to play a piece for us.

  Qī Yáo and Páng Luòxuè exchanged a glance, seeing the cunning in each other's eyes, and Fu Shēn bid farewell.

  The King of Jin was feeling depressed at this time, and hearing that the white piano had cost 25,000 taels of silver, he himself didn't enjoy listening to it, his face was a wonderful sight.

  Su Yu and Lin Qing exchanged a glance, seeing the surprise in each other's eyes. The King of Jin was usually a cautious and magnanimous gentleman. At this moment, the King of Jin's veins bulged, although he tried to cover it up, but one hand grasped the cup as if it were Pang Luoxue and Qi Yaoyao's necks, with tightly clenched joints that had turned white.

  The King of Jin noticed the gaze of the two and thought to himself that he had been trying his best to conceal his true nature, how could he let it be ruined by two little girls, so he smiled and said: "This owner of the Emerald Mist Pavilion is really interesting, this Miss Like Smoke's piano skills are truly not bad."

  Both of them nodded in agreement, but they felt uncomfortable in their hearts, as if the person who had just appeared was not him. At this time, the living room fell silent, and the three people looked out like a building.

  At this time, Qi Yao stood on the second floor, clapped her hands twice, and signaled everyone to be quiet: Today, King Jin used 25,000 taels of silver to let Ruyan Niang play a song for everyone, which shows King Jin's affirmation of our Ruyan Niang. Today is also a blessing from King Jin, it's better to share the joy with others than to enjoy alone. Today, Ruyan will play a song in the main hall for all of you.

  After speaking, Pang Luoxue picked up the guqin and walked towards the guqin platform, casually playing a piece of "Hanjianyue". The simple melody, under Pang Luoxue's fingers, seemed to carry a heavier emotional weight. Everyone present was somewhat lost in their own thoughts.

  The King of Jin was no exception, when he heard Qi Yao say that she had spent over 20,000 taels to listen to the zither, he couldn't help but want to cover her mouth, this time he would definitely be scolded by his father. The sound of Pang Luo Xue's zither seemed to have a magical power, the King of Jin thought of how his mother, although just a palace maid, was killed by his father when he was five years old, and he was adopted under the name of Wu Xian Fei, becoming her son, every day he had to endure the teachings of that old woman, he hated it so much that he wanted to kill her with one knife.

  The gradual loss of the King of Jin made Lin Qing and Su Ou see clearly that their good friend was not so simple, and their affection for the King of Jin also cooled down a bit.

  The music ended, and the King of Jin seemed to have had a dream, his whole body drenched. He hastily apologized and left some silver behind before hurrying back to his mansion.