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Qiu Honglei’s wronged expression made all of the men in the hall glare furiously at Zu An. This little bastard actually dared to hurt young miss Qiu!
You have successfully trolled the onlookers for +44 +44 +44…
Zu An was overjoyed!
This visit to Immortal Abode really was worth my while! These adorable perverts have brought me so many Rage points… I’ll have to properly tally them all up later.
Sigh, seems like my previous suspicions were right on. Trying to earn Rage points alone really is too slow, but with a pretty girl at my side, it’s just too easy.
Even now, he still cherished that night with Chu Chuyan. When he brought her out for a stroll that night, wherever he went, Rage points were sure to follow.
It really was a pity that Chu Chuyan isn’t thick-skinned at all. After going out once, she never agreed to go for a walk with him again.
But now, doesn’t Qiu Honglei seem like quite the excellent candidate? With her background, showing herself in public wasn’t a big deal at all. Together with her soul hooking charm, the effects might even be better than if he brought out Chu Chuyan.
As such, he began to think about what to say. He seized advantage of the situation to say, “Young miss’ guqin skills have already been talked about enough just now...”[1]
Tsk!
Scoffs immediately sounded from all around.
Qiu Honglei’s eyes also seemed to carry a bit of disappointment. Even though I already decided to help you, you have to at least put in some effort!
Otherwise, how are we going to convince everyone?
After carefully taking note of everyone’s reactions, Zu An then said casually, “Though, in my opinion, not a single one of them has commented on the most important point.”
When these words sounded, this entire place rose in uproar. After all, this hall wasn’t completely filled with the unlearned and ignorant, there were still some genuine talents.
They also understood the guqin, so their commentary on Qiu Honglei were appropriate.
Among them, there was even a great talent like Xie Xiu. Don’t tell me that he didn’t pick up on this important point, yet you did?
At this time, Xie Daoyun lightly waved her fist from the second floor. “What is this guy playing at? Don’t tell me even someone like him understands the guqin?”
The others thought that this was only Xie Xiu’s evaluation just now, but they were actually her analysis after listening carefully. Yet in the end, Zu An still felt like these words missed the most important point?
She enjoyed the arts since she was a child, so her achievements in this field were quite profound. All those who established themselves within their specialized field had a bit of pride, so Zu An’s words left her feeling quite irritated.
Xie Xiu shook his head. “I don’t think so either.”
Xie Daoyun scoffed. “Seems like he’s no different from the other fella, deliberately spouting some provocative words. He is just teasing that girl, and then he’ll move on after.”
You have successfully trolled Xie Daoyun for +233 Rage!
It was to the extent where she didn’t even remember Chu Hongcai’s name. As the daughter of the city lord, she would never bother with the secular affairs, let alone remember the name of a child from a concubine.
Zu An looked towards the second floor with surprise. Turns out Xie Xiu’s big sis was upstairs! Didn’t that guy say he was gonna introduce me to his big sis? Where is the follow-up on that?
“Why does young master Zu say such things?” Even though she felt a bit of disappointment, Qiu Honglei still did her best to give Zu An another chance, see if he could turn things around.
Zu An continued off of his previous words. “There are no issues with this young lady’s guqin skills, the blending of emotions into the notes was also exquisite. However, I can’t help but notice that there are two flaws.”
The surrounding people were all so angry they instead began to laugh. This little shit was getting too cocky!
Xie Daoyun’s brows also furrowed. Even with all of her knowledge regarding the guqin, she could still only barely pick out a single problem, and that problem couldn’t even be considered a big one. However, this brat actually said that her guqin playing had major flaws, moreover two of them?
Pei Mianman facepalmed, as if she was feeling embarrassment for him. Good thing Chuyan wasn’t here, or else with her personality, she might have immediately dug a hole to hide in.
“Is that so? Then I must ask young master Zu for your advice.” Qiu Honglei’s expression also became a bit colder. What is wrong with this guy? How are others supposed to even help you out if you are like this?
You have successfully trolled Qiu Honglei for +250 Rage!
When he received these Rage points, Zu An couldn’t help but think that this woman really was stingy. “The young lady’s composition was too monotonous and bland. It lacks a bright rhythm. The tempo is also unclear. That is why when it can’t help but sound a bit tedious.”
Xie Daoyun upstairs said in discontent, “This fella really only knows how to spout a bunch of nonsense. The guqin’s notes are moderate and gentle to begin with, it’s not an instrument that needs a clear tempo or rhythm.”
Qiu Honglei’s brows also furrowed, clearly sharing similar thoughts. However, even without her speaking up, there were quite a few guqin enthusiasts who began to mock Zu An for being full of shit.
Zu An didn’t seem to mind at all. He continued to look calmly at Qiu Honglei.
When she saw that he wasn’t flustered at all, Qiu Honglei also began to feel some misgivings. This guy doesn’t look like an idiot, so why does he insist on saying these things? Don’t tell me there really is something more to this?
As such, she pursed her bright red lips and replied, “Perhaps the young master has misunderstood something. The guqin soothes the self, soothes the people. Since ancient times, the guqin’s music has never excelled in rhythm or tempo, but rather an artistic mood.”
Zu An smiled. “It really is interesting that you say the guqin soothes the self. When the lady played for everyone just now, was it to please yourself or please others?”
Qiu Honglei was stunned. She became speechless for quite some time.
The beautiful brows of Xie Daoyun upstairs furrowed. Suddenly, she had a vague understanding of what this fella was trying to say.
Pei Mianman leaned against the railing, an ambiguous expression appearing on her face. “This fella really has some strange talents.”
Perhaps because standing up was too tiring, she fetched a stool. After supporting her breasts on the railing and sitting down, she immediately felt much more relaxed. She stretched comfortably, revealing truly wondrous curves.
Fortunately, each room had excellent privacy. Otherwise, who knew how many pairs of eyes this would attract.
Zu An continued, “The notes of a guqin is moderate and gentle, it reaches deeply into the soul. The songs played on a guqin often represent ‘long-lasting peace’, or perhaps ‘transcendent hope’, these types of meanings. These songs are usually played in beautiful and peaceful settings of mountains and flowing rivers, or within a quiet private inner residence. However, the lady insists on playing it in a noisy brothel! The environment here clearly clashes with the traits of a guqin, so the music can’t help but carry a natural sense of discord. I believe that this might also be why the lady feels a bottleneck recently.”
Xie Daoyun released a voice of surprise from the second floor. She began to carefully think over his words.
Qiu Honglei felt disapproval in the beginning as well, but as she continued to listen, her courteous fake smile gradually disappeared, instead entering a deep state of thought.
When everyone around them saw her smile disappear, they thought that she became angry. They immediately seized the chance to butter her up:
“Nothing but nonsense! There are plenty of girls who play the guqin in brothels! Who says that it has to be played in a quiet setting?”
Zu An replied, “Isn’t the reason why there are so many guqins in brothels for the sake of pleasing all of you so-called enlightened scholars?”
“Few ordinary girls from brothels play the guqin. More of them are proficient in instruments like the guzheng or pipa to please ordinary people. Those who choose guqins are often the queen courtesans in their respective brothels. They need to set themselves apart from the others. Because the guqin is refined and elegant, they used the guqin to raise their own statuses, market themselves differently, as if this could add a bit more of an otherworldly aura to their presence. However, they did not consider that a guqin is completely inharmonious with a brothel setting.”
The voices that were cursing him before gradually quieted down, because some of them began to realize that his words weren’t entirely without reason.
“Market themselves?” Pei Mianman was still leaning against the railing, a strange expression appearing on her face. Even though the words this fella used were crude, they were quite interesting. But now, not only did he end up offending Qiu Honglei, he also offended all courtesan queens.
As expected, when she heard his evaluation, Qiu Honglei’s face became completely pale, her chest also quickly moving up and down.
Zu An immediately added, “Of course, strictly speaking, this isn’t lady Qiu’s mistake, but rather that this is just how things are. The lady doesn’t need to be too bothered.”
Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes with hidden resentment. “How can I not be bothered? After hearing the young master’s remarks, Honglei might never play the guqin again.”
When they heard her say this, anguished wails immediately sounded.
“Please, lady Qiu! Your guqin playing is really beautiful!”
“That brat is speaking nonsense! He doesn’t know anything!”
“Exactly! If you don’t play the guqin again, then it would be a loss for all of Brightmoon City! No, the entire Great Zhou Dynasty!”
…
These people continued to howl in grief, all of them glaring at Zu An with eyes filled with hatred.
As he watched his Rage points fill up by another couple thousand points, Zu An immediately became full of disdain. Simps and white knights everywhere, keep licking boots until you find out there is actually nothing left for you.
But without all of you lovely bootlickers, where would I go to farm so many Rage points?
Right at this time, Xie Siu suddenly turned his head slightly, as if he was listening to someone nearby. He immediately became shocked. However, he still spoke up loudly shortly after, “Brother Zu, even though what you say makes a bit of sense, lady Qiu has already masterfully played her piece, her emotions perfectly blended into the guqin! The things you have said are too vague, there isn’t anything concrete.”
After saying this, he smiled apologetically to Zu An. It was clear that tearing him down like this left him a bit embarrassed as well.
When he noticed his expression, Zu An guessed that it was probably Xie Daoyun’s words spoken through his mouth.
When they heard Xie Xiu speak, the others also became encouraged.
“Right! Who doesn’t know how to talk about vague and broad principles? Only specific pointers of improvement are important!”
Zu An said in a calm and unhurried manner, “The main reason why the guqin is not suitable for a brothel environment is because its melody is a bit too bland. Its sound color is also gathered around the middle range. If it can be paired with another instrument, the two complementing each other, then the entire rhythm and tempo will become much richer. The layers will also become much clearer. This way, the incompatibility with the environment will naturally disappear.”
Xie Daoyun snorted inwardly, immediately telling Xie Daoyun to convey her words.
Xie Xiu’s face was covered in helplessness, but he still spoke in her place. “You make it sound easy, but different instruments have different sound color, different tones. The guqin’s sound is small to begin with. If other instruments are added to the mix, it will easily produce unwanted noise.”
Qiu Honglei also nodded. “Indeed. In fact, many predecessors have also tested out similar things, but all of their efforts ended in failure. There is no practical way to implement what the young master says.”
There were immediately hissing noises that sounded everywhere. All of them were ecstatic to see him look bad.
“You all probably just haven’t found the right method yet. All of this is easily solved with the right approach.” Zu An was a bit surprised. Was the level of music in this world really that low? They couldn’t even figure out such a simple issue?
Xie Daoyun released a snort from the second floor. She already didn’t feel like wasting her time arguing with him.
This guy wants to brush over something no zither players have ever achieved from the past until now?
If only it was that easy!
She already had a rough idea. This fella was most likely a nobody who understood a bit of zither theory at most. When she thought about how she was discussing passionately with him a second ago, she immediately felt humiliated.
At this time, Chen Xuan also completed his plans. Seeing how there was no way Zu An would be feeling good after being put down like this, he took the opportunity to hit him while he was down. “It’s always easy to talk, talking is something anyone can do! If you have the skills, why don’t you do it then?”
1. I changed my earlier translations of zither to guqin because other types of zithers were introduced to the story. Guqin is a long zither with 5 or 7 strings.