Marriage of the Di Daughter

She spoke very confidently, as if she was the examiner.

Jiang Li smiled faintly: “That may not be necessarily so.” She glanced at the stage.

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On the examination stage, Mian Ju was directly facing Shi Yan as he said: “Small Yan Yan, what do you think of the song from the Jiang family’s daughter just now?” 

“Small Yan Yan”, the music official Shi Yan, with a straight face and declined to comment on the name Mian Ju called him, said: “Pretty good.”

Everyone knew that the music official Shi Yan was the most arrogant and picky. His evaluation for the majority of the people was nothing else but “too unpleasant to listen to”, “awful”, “not good”. That single “pretty good”indicated that Shi Yan acknowledged this person.   

Mian Ju obviously understood Shi Yan’s personality very well and at once clapped his hands. He said: “I know that small Yan Yan has the same opinion as I do. Experts like us, both think like this!” Then he looked towards Jinghong fairy and Xiao Deyin to ask: “Fairy and teacher Xiao, how do you see it?”

Jinghong fairy felt somewhat awkward.

She took Ji Shuran’s silver. “Bribing an examiner”, this matter, never occured in Ming Yi Hall before. Jinghong fairy did this due to originally thinking that inside the current Ming Yi Hall, there’s nobody who could compete against Jiang You Yao in guqin. Even if Jiang You Yao just relied on herself, she could obtain the first place. Ji Shuran giving her those silver was as a thank you gift for giving directions to Jiang You Yao. But that gift was somewhat a bit too generous.

Jinghong fairy also immediately accepted it, thinking this was just a matter of pushing the boat with the current. In any case, it went without saying that Jiang You Yao could get first place, not weakly giving personal affections towards the Ji family. Not only that, in the end Jiang You Yao could be considered half her disciple. Whether public or personal, she had to be a bit more partial towards Jiang You Yao.

It was originally a definite matter, who would have imagined a Jiang Li came out attacking halfway. To be honest, Jiang Li’s skill was above Jiang You Yao’s . Especially since Jiang Li could comprehend “the heart of guqin” at the age of 15. It was actually very rare. 

Jinghong fairy admired talented people and was also aloof from politics and material pursuits, but all year round, she was mixed in Fengyue place. Even though she was just a hired hand, she understood the ways of the world. Jiang Li was admittedly very good, but she took Ji Shuran’s silver. Between the two di daughters of Jiang Yuan Bai, Jiang Li was sent off at seven years old while Jiang You Yao grew up beside Jiang Yuan Bai. Jiang You Yao was more favored, Jiang You Yao still had Ji Shuran and the Ji family, but Jiang Li had nothing. 

“Jiang Li is pretty good, equally matched with You Yao.” Jinghong fairy deliberated for a long time before finally speaking.

When these words came out, she didn’t think that Mian Ju would immediately laugh and said: “Perhaps fairy is biased because Jiang You Yao is your disciple? The way I look at it, Jiang Li, this little girl’s skill level is much higher than Jiang You Yao. Leaving aside the fact that《Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute》 is more difficult to play than 《Wild Geese on the Shoal》, in regards to understanding the artistic mood, Jiang You Yao was just outside the door while Jiang Li, this little girl, has already entered the door. Fairy, why are you becoming more worldly now? In a few years, afraid including your “heart of qin” will be lost!” 

These words were extremely rude, practically not giving Jinghong fairy any face at all. In Wang Xian Lou, Jinghong fairy started as a clear and pure hired hand. She was even constantly flattered by scholars and literati. When had she ever been reprimanded this rudely by anyone? Her face at once turned beet red from endless anger and humiliation. 

“Never mind, how does teacher Xiao look at it?” Mian Ju also asked Xiao Deyin.

Xiao Deyin pondered for a while and unexpectedly opened her mouth to say: “I also think Jiang Li is equally matched with Jiang You Yao.”

This was the same as not admitting that Jiang Li was better than Jiang You Yao.

Mian Ju sneered, his gaze as he looked at Xiao Deyin also changed. He asked: “Is it possible that teacher Xiao also accepted Jiang You Yao as a disciple? How did one and two both talk while concealing their conscience.” 

Xiao Deyin said: “That’s not true. Although admittedly Jiang Li played very well, the bleakness in 《Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute》 was too heavy, not as good as 《Wild Geese on the Shoal》’s open concept. 《Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute》 ‘s hand movements are not the same as 《Wild Geese on the Shoal》, the difficulty lies in the artistic mood. After all, it’s hard for ordinary people to feel the mournful heart of the person playing the song. But still it’s just Deyin that is not fond of mournful tones. The heart of the qin is like the human heart, I am actually more fond of the thought of vastness.”