Xue Baochai thought that it would be awkward if she was chosen by this courtesan. But if she didn't help, would she let Baoyu and her brother lose face?
Just as she was hesitating, the others began to echo Hua Yuyan. After all, what she said was reasonable and everyone wanted to see Jia Baoyu make a fool of himself, so they began to shout.
Song Qingshu gently patted Xue Baochai's hand, indicating that he would handle the situation. Xue Baochai blushed. She thought that Baoyu was used to fooling around with the servant girls and always lacked the guard between men and women. How could she touch my hand so casually!
But now that she was dressed as a man and had skin-to-skin contact with him, she didn't have to worry about being seen by others.
Song Qingshu cleared his throat and slowly said, "As the saying goes, skills should not be taught easily. I am not a performer, so why should I perform in front of everyone?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the room was instantly filled with boos.
"Pfft, you don't know how?"
"If you really know, why don't you show a few moves?"
"Yes, let everyone broaden their horizons."
"Playing the zither has always been an elegant thing. Brother Jia does not have to mind."
…
These people were all talking at once, but Song Qingshu was indifferent. He only looked at the courtesan and said, "I can play, but there must be some stakes."
"What stakes?" Hua Yuyan asked with a smile.
Song Qingshu smiled slightly. "If you think my playing is pleasing to the ears, how about choosing me as your guest tonight?" He wanted to see what this woman was planning, so he decided to end this farce as soon as possible.
As soon as he said this, everyone was in an uproar. Xue Baochai glared at him hatefully, the yellow-robed woman's eyes were full of disdain, and the others all spoke up to stop him.
"Young master, you are making things difficult for me." Hua Yuyan had an awkward expression. "There are so many young masters here. How can I favor one and discriminate against another?"
"I also know how to play the zither. It is not so easy to win a beauty just by playing one song."
"Brother Jia's request is too rash."
"How can a fairy like Master Hua be used as a stake?"
…
Seeing the excitement of the crowd, Hua Yuyan raised the corner of her mouth slightly. She gestured for everyone to calm down and then said, "Young Master Jia, it is indeed inconvenient for me to be the wager today, but it is indeed not suitable for you to return empty-handed … How about this, if you are good at the zither, I will give you this painting."
The servant girl at the side had already taken out a painting scroll and spread it out in front of everyone. The painting was filled with a myriad of mountains and valleys, rivers crisscrossing each other, and a vast expanse of mist. It was an extremely majestic and magnificent sight. In the mountains, there were rocks and springs, tile-roofed houses and thatched cottages, pine trees and tall bamboos, green willows and red flowers. Mountains and streams, rivers and lakes, fishing villages, wild ferries, waterside pavilions, and long bridges were all there, and it was a feast for the eyes.
"The Thousand Li River and Mountains Painting!" Xue Baochai stood up in excitement.
Song Qingshu was also a bit surprised. He did not expect to come across a masterpiece here. The painter of this painting was not famous. His name was Wang Ximeng, and not many people in later generations had heard of his name. However, this painting was extremely famous. It was publicly recognized as one of the ten most famous paintings in China.
This painting was painted by Wang Ximeng when he was eighteen years old. Not long after, Wang Ximeng died. This painting became a masterpiece, and Emperor Hui Zong bestowed this painting to Cai Jing. During the Jingkang Disaster, Bianjing was invaded by the Jin, and the painting went missing. No one expected it to fall into the hands of a courtesan.
"People of this era really put in a lot of effort to woo girls." Song Qingshu sighed inwardly. He did not need to ask to guess how a prostitute like her had obtained this painting.
Everyone present was full of praise, but their expressions were relatively calm. It was as if they were just admiring a rare painting, and not a masterpiece that had been passed down through the ages.
Song Qingshu was startled, but he quickly reacted. This painting had not been made for a long time, and it was painted by an unknown painter of this era. It was the same no matter what era it was. They did not expect that this painting would become one of the ten most famous paintings after a thousand years, so they were not as shocked as he was when they saw it.
"Do you like this painting?" Song Qingshu noticed the excited Xue Baochai next to him.
"Yes." Xue Baochai nodded instinctively. "I have seen a copy of this painting once. I have admired Wang Ximeng, who died young, for a long time. It has always been a pity that I did not see the original painting."
"Since you like it, I will win it and give it to you." Song Qingshu was originally interested in this painting, and attacking Xue Baochai and dividing the aristocratic families was one of his plans.
Xue Baochai was shocked and said hurriedly, "Baoyu, don't be ridiculous." Although she had not seen Jia Baoyu too many times since she grew up, she was still very clear about her capabilities.
"I know what I am doing." After saying that, Song Qingshu stood up and said to Hua Yuyan, "I happen to like this painting very much. I will let you broaden your horizons."
The group of people secretly curled their lips. Hua Yuyan could not help but say, "Ah, let me say this first. If Young Master's zither skills cannot convince everyone, then I will not give this to Young Master."
"Of course." Song Qingshu said lightly.
Xue Baochai frowned. Even if she went on stage, it would not be easy to convince everyone. After all, he could deliberately lie and refuse to admit it. She could not do anything about it.
The yellow-robed woman was also looking at him with interest. She did not know where his confidence came from. Was he an arrogant person or did he really have the ability?
Song Qingshu sat cross-legged in front of the zither. Seeing his solemn expression, the group of people could not help but quiet down.
Originally, he did not know anything about music at all. After coming to this world, Dongfang Muxue took him in. Later, he was taught by zither masters like Zhao Min and Ren Yingying for a long time. He also had Shen Bijun, a lady who was proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as his training partner. Although his zither skills could not be said to be the top master, it was not a big problem for him to beat a Top Courtesan in a remote town.
However, when it came to zither skills, everyone's judgment was very subjective. It was not so easy to convince everyone. The reason why he was confident was that he was inspired by what the Top Courtesan had done just now. Infusing the sound of the zither with his internal strength!
Hua Yuyan had done that just now without anyone noticing. His martial arts skills were far better than hers, so it was easier for him to do it silently. Unless there was a Great Master of the same level present, no one would notice what he had done.
Having made up his mind, Song QingShu's hands immediately turned into afterimages, and an extremely passionate and demonic melody rang out. The expressions of everyone present immediately changed, and their bodies began to tremble, as if they were unable to restrain the excitement in their bodies and were about to dance with the music.
Song Qingshu smiled slightly. With the divine square dance song "The Hottest Ethnic Style," coupled with his own internal strength, they could not not dance even if they wanted to. Originally, it was difficult to use the zither to compose some of the tunes of "The Hottest Ethnic Style," but with the help of internal strength, it did not have much of an impact.
The group of young masters all turned red from holding back.
"Decadent music, decadent music!"
"What a disgrace, what a disgrace!"
Even so, they could not resist the instinctive reaction of their bodies. One by one, they began to shake along with the music.
Song QingShu smiled faintly. "You say no, but your body is quite honest."
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