“Miss, are you all right?”
You damn well know the answer! Xiao Qianyin cursed angrily in her heart. The incense burner wasn’t large, but you used plenty of force. If she hadn’t reacted quickly, a physician would probably have been summoned by now.
“I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.” She answered with a smile that did not reach her eyes. He looked so refined and gentle—who would have thought such a filthy heart was hidden beneath that handsome exterior?
“Judging by your appearance, miss, you seem to be a student of the academy. Why are you not attending class?”
“Young Master Qin, this is the prized disciple of the Mohist Juzi. How could she be compared to people like us?”
At Nangong Wei’s signal, the richly dressed girl closest to them spoke coldly.
“The Mohist Juzi? These past few days, I heard that the Mohist Juzi, who never takes disciples, accepted one. So it was you, miss.”
“You jest. Qianyin was fortunate that Master did not disdain her and was willing to accept her as a disciple. It is Qianyin’s good fortune.”
Feigning courtesy? Who didn’t know how to do that? She liked these half-truths and false pleasantries best of all.
“I noticed you had been listening to the qin for quite some time. Could it be that you also enjoy playing? Why not attend class with us?”
“Ah? Young Master Qin, you must be joking! There’s a saying: rivers and mountains may change, but one’s nature is hard to alter. Even if she has become the Mohist Juzi’s disciple, she is still ignorant and incompetent. Her title as a good-for-nothing young miss wasn’t earned for nothing!”
The richly dressed girl from before continued, her words overflowing with mockery. Xiao Qianqian sneered from the side. Idiotic fool! Just like that mother of hers—big chest, no brains. She was truly an embarrassment to the Xiao family! She was being used as someone else’s weapon and still felt smug about it. Had what happened to Xiao Qianyin a few days ago not been enough to teach her restraint?
Xiao Qianyin did not get angry. Did they really think she didn’t know who had put her up to this? So stupid—she had clearly been used and still didn’t realize it. Though they were both born into the Xiao family, Xiao Qianqian was obviously far more sensible and far cleverer.
“Hearing is not believing; seeing is truth. How can the rumors of the world be trusted? At least in my eyes, Miss Xiao is very different from what the gossip claims.”
This Young Master Qin truly understood the Doctrine of the Mean. Smooth and socially adept, he easily brought the atmosphere under control. He could not be underestimated! Could he be from one of the Hundred Schools of Thought? If so, which one?
“Qianyin truly does not have much interest in playing the qin. Listening is fine, but as for playing, forget it.”
Anyone forced to play the guqin from childhood to adulthood would develop a rebellious streak. Shushan disciples had to play the qin in order to cultivate the body and calm the mind, so that their swordsmanship could advance through quiet contemplation. After playing for more than ten years, she had long since grown utterly sick of it.
“How would you know without trying? If Miss Xiao does not play well, I can offer you some guidance. The qin is the gentleman among musical instruments, the elegant music of noble men. That is why Lushan Academy invited me here to teach.”
Damn it! Are you finished or not? She instantly wanted to curse out loud. This man was definitely talented at debate. Was he from the School of Diplomacy? How was his eloquence this good? By comparison, she was the one who seemed lacking.
“Playing the qin won’t make you lose a piece of flesh. Why not give it a try?”
A clear, mellow male voice came over. Xiao Qianyin looked toward it. With a noble and elegant bearing, he stood there calm and unruffled, like a luan bird from the ninth heaven, graceful and magnificent. His moon-white robe fluttered in the wind. His hair was not loosely scattered as it had been that day, but casually pinned up with a jade hairpin, his bearing peerless.
She swore this was the second time she had stared blankly at him. As a man, how could he be so beautiful that both gods and men would resent it?
“Since Crown Prince Qin is of the same mind, then I shall have someone to keep me company.”
The two echoed each other perfectly. Xiao Qianyin suspected that if she kept refusing, she would probably become the public enemy of all the noble young ladies present—because they were already glaring at her as if they wanted to kill her.