Ziqing’s hands rested limply on the strings, her head lowered, a faint smile tugging at her lips, seemingly unbothered by the astonishment of the entire crowd.
Yet even though everyone was baffled by such an amateurish move, quite a few were still waiting to see what would happen.
After all, to have received a qin as a gift from Xuanyuan Lige—and not just any qin, but the famously renowned demonic qin, Wuzheng—this woman’s skill must have something extraordinary about it. Perhaps this very motion was precisely what set her apart from everyone else!
Chu Feiyan stared fixedly at Ziqing’s fingers, her heart, only just settling down from her earlier excitement, unconsciously beginning to race with tension again. What trick was Han Ziqing planning to pull this time—could it be that, once again, she was about to deliver some unexpected performance?
Thinking of this, Chu Feiyan grew even more nervous, forced to admit that this woman always seemed to spring surprises at the crucial moment—no matter how confident Chu Feiyan felt, she still had to wait with her heart in her throat.
Xuanyuan Zhaoxi watched coldly, her gaze also fixed on Ziqing’s delicate hands. She was truly baffled—what could possibly be so special about this woman’s fingering technique, to make her brother value her so highly?
That motion just now hadn’t even matched a complete novice’s. Could she really possess some extraordinary talent?
Consort Qin, too, watched without blinking. Chu Feiyan had already earned three smiling faces—if Han Ziqing pulled off something equally astonishing now, would there even be any point to her own performance, the very last one?
“Situ, is Han Ziqing really that skilled?”
Yelu Qianqian couldn’t help but whisper. She’d hated things like qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting since childhood—music, to her, was purely something to listen to for fun. As far as she was concerned, Ziqing’s very first note had sounded impressive already, even more impressive than the opening notes of Chu Feiyan and Xuanyuan Zhaoxi!
In an instant, everyone had frozen, and no one was applauding for Chu Feiyan anymore!
The corner of Situ Haonan’s mouth twitched, and he glanced instinctively toward Consort Qin and the King of Nanzhao, feeling a sudden chill run down his spine, and nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, very impressive indeed!”
Yelu Qianqian immediately grew even more excited, clasping her hands together in front of her chest, her eyes shining as she stared at Ziqing. “Situ, do you think she’ll play two songs at once, like Chu Feiyan did?”
“No,” Situ Haonan answered with certainty.
“Doesn’t she know how?” Yelu Qianqian asked at once.
“She knows—how could she not know? She has… a better way of playing!” Situ Haonan’s expression had gone stiff, and he couldn’t help but turn to glance at Chu Feiyan, who was also waiting with tension at that very moment. Han Ziqing’s earlier words immediately surfaced in his mind—she’d said she would torment this woman for the rest of her life!
What did those words really mean?
They didn’t simply mean Han Ziqing had that much free time on her hands to spend a lifetime tormenting Chu Feiyan.
The true meaning of those words was that Han Ziqing intended to ruin Chu Feiyan’s entire life!
Thinking of this, Situ Haonan couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath. Thank goodness, thank goodness he hadn’t provoked Han Ziqing before—or else the consequences really would have been unthinkable.
“So why hasn’t she played yet?” Yelu Qianqian asked again, her impatient temperament unable to bear the wait any longer. Even Chu Feiyan had gone through a build-up with gestures and expressions—but Ziqing had done nothing at all, sitting with her head lowered, hands utterly still!
In truth… she really was thinking, wondering exactly how to play… that damaged, broken problem—this issue had genuinely stumped even this master.
Suddenly, an idea struck her. She abruptly raised her left hand, and immediately everyone’s gaze followed it up—then, as it rose, it slowly lowered again, coming to rest on the strings!
Seeing this motion, the crowd finally let out a breath of relief. Good, good, that was the standard proper motion.
At this point, Ziqing finally lifted her head, gave the crowd a faint smile, and slowly began playing with her right hand—a light hook, a flick, a pluck—and music began to flow forth. At once, everyone held their breath and listened intently.
In truth, the biggest draw of this whole contest had always been this woman, hadn’t it?
Young Master Xuanyuan had traveled all across the Longyuan continent, making friends through music, having met countless qin masters, yet he had given Wuzheng to Han Ziqing—that alone proved that Han Ziqing was, at present, the second-greatest qin master on the Longyuan continent, next only to Xuanyuan Lige himself!
Never having had the fortune to hear Young Master Xuanyuan’s music in person, to witness Han Ziqing’s brilliance today would still count as an incredible stroke of luck!
How could anyone not be filled with anticipation?
But as the flowing, melodious music played on and on, why did it still show nothing special about it?
This must be the prelude, surely—just wait a little longer, surely something dazzling and brilliant was about to emerge!
But wait as they might, and Chu Feiyan grew more and more tense, clenching her jaw tight, Han Ziqing’s piece remained unchanged, flat—just a melody, with no emotion, no soul, plain and unremarkable, utterly ordinary.
Anyone with even a modest understanding of music could tell that the piece had already reached its climax—yet even at its climax, it still seemed somewhat flat!
It didn’t seem to be a problem with the piece itself, but with the player—she simply hadn’t brought out the climax properly.
How could this be!
Only now did the crowd begin to grow astonished, one after another—surely not, could this really be her level?
Forget winning—if Han Ziqing had really entered the preliminary rounds, she probably wouldn’t even have advanced!
This was the person Xuanyuan Lige valued so highly? This was the owner of Wuzheng? What a disappointment!
Gradually, the murmuring grew louder and more frequent. The King of Nanzhao’s face showed open disappointment as he lifted his teacup to drink, no longer patient enough to keep listening—if he could, he would have called a halt right then.
But just at that moment, Clan Head Yao suddenly raised the crying-face fan high!
“Chink!” In an instant, the music stopped abruptly. This gesture from the judge was clearly a call to stop—a judge had that authority!
The impatience on the King of Nanzhao’s face finally eased. He glanced at Consort Qin, brows furrowed, shaking his head repeatedly. In her heart, Consort Qin could sum up her feelings about Han Ziqing’s performance in exactly four words: “Extremely satisfying indeed!”
A matching, satisfied smile curved at the corner of Ziqing’s lips. She finally lifted her head, staring straight at Chu Feiyan, and suddenly raised both hands high!
The crowd, having already dismissed her, immediately grew tense again—Chu Feiyan’s heart, which had only just settled, leaped up again!
What was this woman planning now, what other trick did she have?
Seeing Chu Feiyan’s ashen expression, Ziqing couldn’t help but curve her lips slightly. She wasn’t planning anything—she just wanted to stand up, that was all.
At this point, the other two judges finally gave their verdicts as well, both crying faces without mercy. Three crying faces—unmistakably declaring Han Ziqing’s ranking to be dead last.
Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s face showed open displeasure. She’d known it—this woman had nothing genuine to offer beyond her skill at seducing men. Her brother’s reputation had been squandered on her for nothing!
Yet she had no idea that her brother, at that very moment, was watching Ziqing from afar, an indulgent smile spreading across his lips, thick and impossible to conceal.
And only now did Chu Feiyan truly, finally breathe a sigh of relief, a delighted smile gradually spreading across her small face. She had won! She had definitely won!
Now it was time for Consort Qin to take the stage…