Madame Xian suppressed her surprise and nodded slightly to Jiang Si, “Miss Jiang, that was thoughtful of you.”
She desperately wanted to ask how the other had accomplished this feat, but her status required restraint.
Moreover, if she inquired too much, it might leave the impression that she was interested in the young lady from the Earl of Dongping’s household, which wouldn’t be appropriate.
Perhaps Madame Zhuang would ask?
Madame Xian discreetly glanced at Madame Zhuang.
Madame Zhuang offered a faint smile to Jiang Si, “Miss Jiang’s tribute is indeed ingenious. Witnessing such a marvel today has truly broadened our horizons.”
She had indeed underestimated this Miss Jiang.
With Miss Kou from the Marquis of Shouchun’s household setting the bar high with her dance, subsequent performances by other young ladies would likely pale in comparison. Yet, Miss Jiang managed to make plum blossoms bloom, not only fitting the theme of the plum blossom viewing banquet but also surprising everyone. It could be considered a rare display of refinement.
How did she accomplish it?
Though curious, Madame Zhuang refrained from asking too much.
In such a setting, excessive questioning would suggest an interest in Miss Jiang.
In truth, she was interested in this young lady, but certainly not as a potential daughter-in-law.
Especially— Madame Zhuang cast a fleeting glance at the Prince of Shu, recalling his involuntary rise earlier, and felt inwardly cautious.
Her son wasn’t one to lose his composure at the sight of beauty, yet he had acted so out of character. It spoke volumes about this young lady’s capabilities.
Observing the young woman’s composed smile, Madame Zhuang sighed inwardly: What’s there to be surprised about? Young love is impulsive. Any young man would be captivated by a beautiful girl performing such a miraculous feat.
She glanced at Yu Jin, only to find him lowering his gaze, his fingers lightly tapping on the jade cup, his expression unreadable.
Madame Zhuang was astonished.
Could the Prince of Yan be unmoved?
Yu Jin, whom Madame Zhuang believed to be unmoved, was gripping his teacup tightly, struggling to control the urge to rush onto the stage and carry the girl away.
He knew Ah Si was full of surprises, whether it was in matters of life and death or making plum blossoms bloom.
This was his girl… Yu Jin thought with a mix of admiration, bitterness, and a flutter of emotion.
He wanted to gouge out the Sixth Prince’s eyeballs.
“This humble servant has embarrassed herself,” Jiang Si bowed again to Madame Xian and Madame Zhuang, gracefully retreating, drawing countless gazes in her wake.
After a brief silence, the noble ladies began to discuss among themselves. Those nearby even directly asked, “Miss Jiang, how did you do that?”
Jiang Si responded with a smile, “It’s just a trivial trick.”
On the Taiping tree, there was a parasite called Chungui, as small as dust, capable of controlling various miraculous events, such as animating corpses or forcing flower petals to bloom.
The miraculous scene just now was, in essence, merely using an external force to forcibly open the layered petals. Once explained, it was nothing extraordinary, but to those unaware of the truth, it appeared to be a divine technique.
Such is the nature of all things: if not sufficiently extraordinary, people view it as a mundane trick, but if mystifying, it becomes divine magic.
These two are naturally incomparable.
Jiang Si walked to Chen Huifu’s side, paused, and said with a smile, “Isn’t it Miss Chen’s turn to perform now?”
Countless gazes immediately fell upon Chen Huifu.
With Kou Lingbo’s dance and Jiang Si’s divine feat of making plum blossoms bloom, whatever Chen Huifu presented would likely be overshadowed.
Chen Huifu had realized this as well, her pretty face turning an unsightly shade of pale green.
Under the weight of various gazes, she walked out with a stiff upper lip, bowing to the two Imperial Consorts from afar, “This humble servant begs your pardon, and will play a piece on the flute for the two Madames.”
She was skilled in the six arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and dance, but playing the zither or dancing would only invite ridicule now. In comparison, playing a flute piece seemed at least mediocre and less likely to go wrong.
Madame Xian nodded.
Among the many noble ladies, she recognized Chen Huifu.
The daughter of Princess Ning Luo, though she held no particular fondness for her.
Of course, regardless of her thoughts, Madame Xian wouldn’t let even a hint show on her face, merely waiting for Chen Huifu’s performance to pass the time.
A palace maid in green brought forward a tray bearing a lustrous Xiaoxiang flute.
Chen Huifu picked up the flute and tested it with a couple of notes.
The flute’s sound was melodious, and its quality was excellent.
Her heart eased slightly, and she silently encouraged herself: There’s nothing to fear, just play through this piece smoothly, after all, flute playing is far different from dancing or performing magic tricks, it won’t be compared too harshly.
Steadying herself, Chen Huifu brought the flute to her lips and began to play.
The flute’s melody rose, lively and clear, a familiar tune known as “Partridge in Flight.”
For such an occasion, the cheerful style of “Partridge in Flight” was quite fitting, with its implications of soaring high, subtly alluding to the matter of selecting imperial consorts.
Neither praiseworthy nor blameworthy, Madame Xian listened with a slight nod.
As the melody progressed, Chen Huifu became increasingly relaxed, and the flute’s tones flowing from the finger holes became even more rounded and melodious.
Chen Huifu was even surprised at herself: This was her best performance yet.
A hint of pride arose in her heart.
At that moment, an intense itch suddenly struck.
The itch came so suddenly and so intensely that she couldn’t control it, her mouth twitching violently.
The flute’s sound instantly broke, turning into a sharp, grating noise, as unpleasant as a blade scraping across skin.
Although the audience had been listening casually, the cheerful flute melody had provided a pleasant backdrop for conversation. When the discordant sound rang out, everyone frowned in unison and looked towards the performer.
Chen Huifu was greatly alarmed but struggled to maintain her composure.
As the sharp notes continued amidst whispers, her face quickly turned bright red.
What’s happening? Why is it so itchy?
It seemed that the more she tried not to think about it, the itchier it became. Eventually, she could barely control the twitching of her mouth. She threw down the flute and scratched her cheek fiercely.
Five red marks appeared on her delicate cheek, and the itching seemed to stop instantly.
But what rang in her ears were waves of gasps, followed by surges of discussion, crashing over her like a tidal wave, making her dizzy.
“Heavens, even if she couldn’t play well, there was no need to go to such extremes. Scratching her face like that, won’t it leave scars?”
“It might not scar, but she certainly won’t be able to show her face in public for a week or two.”
“Tsk, tsk, I wonder if Miss Chen has some issues up here?” A noble lady discreetly pointed to her head.
“Who knows? Either way, her behavior is too frightening. If she can do this to herself, we’d better keep our distance in the future.”
“Indeed.”
Chen Huifu stood dumbfounded in the center, momentarily forgetting how to react.
What had she done? Where was she? Who was she?
The pain belatedly struck her, accompanied by an unbearable sense of humiliation and shame.
“Withdraw at once!” Madame Xian found those blood marks particularly inauspicious and spoke coldly with a frown.
Chen Huifu covered her face and let out a shriek, stumbling back to her place. Hearing the piercing discussions, she completely broke down and burst into loud sobs.
The scene fell into an awkward and strange silence.