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Chapter 64 Praise
Although Lu Qing didn't say much at the time, he still asked Fu Lu to send several piano scores back to Zhu Yu the next day. They were taught from the simplest to the most complex, from the most basic musical fingering for little kids to all kinds of songs.

Fu Lu was full of admiration, and when he handed the music sheet to Zhu Yu, he sighed: "Madam, you are really amazing! You are truly a master of both literature and martial arts!"

Zhu Yu accepted his admiration with a guilty conscience and when he thought of Lu Qing waiting to see his restless face, he secretly made up his mind.

Isn't it just for fun? I've only ever heard of people losing their ambition due to playing with things, but I've never heard of anyone being suffocated to death by playing with things!

So that day, Zhu Yu sat in front of the guqin, and according to the instructions in the book, he sat upright beside the instrument, got into position, and tried to practice the fingering of plucking the strings.

I thought it was just a few strings, how hard could it be? She could figure out the 206 bones in a human body, so how could she not figure out these mere seven strings?
But she never imagined that there were eight kinds of fingering techniques for plucking the strings with the right hand alone, namely "hook, pick, wipe, pick, split, support, hit, and pick", not to mention the "hook one", "hook two", and "pull and push the dragon eye to become a phoenix eye", which made her feel confused and dizzy.

The piano sound, which should have been heavy and distant, became extremely vague as her fingers plucked it. After struggling for more than half an hour, she gained nothing except the pain from the strings scratching her fingertips.

On the contrary, when touching the thin strings, Zhu Yu couldn't help but think of what would happen if someone used the thin and tough strings of the guqin as a tool to kill people... That would be really useful.

However, if it is used to strangle someone to death, the murderer's hand can be easily cut by the thin string, leaving evidence.

If you tie this string on both sides of the road, and someone is riding towards you on horseback... it will be difficult for people to notice. By the time they come to their senses, they won't be able to stop. In just a moment, not to mention a person's head, even a horse's head can be cut off!

Thinking of this, Zhu Yu suddenly came back to his senses. He was a little annoyed that he could have thought of all those random things when looking at the strings just now. He stood up and walked away, not wanting to touch the piano again.

On the second day, Zhu Yu decided to learn the most common daily leisure activity for women in Jin'an house - embroidery.

She asked Mother Zhao for some patterns and followed them very easily, getting the hang of it quickly. Even Mother Zhao praised her for her quick comprehension. However, when it came to actually embroidering the fabric stitch by stitch, it was a completely different matter.

At first, Zhu Yu was very meticulous and carefully embroidered each stitch, but she was so tired that her eyes were blurry and her fingers were pricked countless times, but she still couldn't embroider even a complete piece, and her patience gradually became thinner.

She really didn't know how other women used this kind of thing to kill time and relieve boredom. Anyway, at the end of the embroidery, the pattern was no longer important. Zhu Yu practiced all the sewing stitches she had learned in the past on that piece of cloth.

On the third day, Zhu Yu chose to paint, but standing at the desk, facing a huge piece of drawing paper, she didn't know where to start.

Asking a person who stays at home all day to paint landscapes, flowers and birds seems very artificial no matter how you think about it.

Zhu Yu put down the paintbrush in his hand dejectedly and sighed.

Although reluctant, it is undeniable that Lu Qing won.

She really didn't like this kind of life where she never left the house, like a bird living in an extremely gorgeous cage.

Although she stayed in the backyard these days and did not go out at all, she was not completely unaware of what was happening outside.

Zhu Yu heard from Mother Zhao that the outside world had been very cheerful these past two days. It was said that Prince Yi Lu Zhang had written a letter of advice to Emperor Jin, advising him that the current taxes on farmers were too heavy, which would easily force them to give up farming and turn to other ways to make a living. If this continued, it would shake the foundation of Dajin. Once a natural disaster occurred, it would inevitably cause civil unrest. Therefore, farmers should be encouraged to return to their own land and work hard by reducing or exempting agricultural taxes.

Although this would cause the court to lose a considerable amount of tax revenue, many people now go to the south to grow flowers and plants for making dyes. These originally non-existent trades are not within the scope of taxation, so simply converting the original farming tax into a flower and plant tax is enough to offset that part of the loss.

Emperor Jin was very satisfied after hearing this and immediately adopted his advice. He ordered the Ministry of Revenue to formulate new regulations to support farming.

The news quickly spread outside the palace, and the people of the capital all applauded and praised Prince Yi as a good prince who cared about the people. However, Zhu Yu frowned when he heard this.

Because of the heavy taxes and levies, farmers in the state abandoned their farmland and ran to the south to grow flowers and plants. This matter was clearly written by Lu Qing in his secret memorial as the Golden-faced Censor. He also mentioned in the secret memorial that flower and plant dyes were not included in the tax items.

Zhu Yu saw this with his own eyes and watched him write it.

Outsiders do not know the true identity of the Golden-faced Censor, but Emperor Jin knows it very clearly.

How come this achievement became King Yi Lu Zhang's credit just a few days later?!

This incident was like a thorn stuck in Zhu Yu's heart, which she couldn't pull out, but was uncomfortable just by being close to it. Her life in the backyard of Xiaoyao Palace became more and more unpleasant.

In her previous life, she was exhausted and felt terrified at the thought of "the more capable, the more work". In this life, she just wanted to live a good life and make herself feel more comfortable.

But this "comfort" does not mean being imprisoned in a gorgeous "prison". You can only hear some rumors circulating outside, but you are powerless to do anything about it.

The current situation put Zhu Yu in an unprecedented dilemma.

If I go forward, I will go against the oath I made the moment I opened my eyes and arrived here, which is to rest well and lie down for the rest of my life.

If you retreat, it will be like lying flat on the cobblestone ground, making you feel uncomfortable all over.

A few days later, Zhu Yu heard that Emperor Jin had issued an edict sentencing Li Wencai, the magistrate of Qingshui County, to be executed immediately at the execution ground in Jingzhao Prefecture.

Because official documents were posted in advance, many brave people in the capital city ran to watch the execution. Afterwards, it was said that there were tea doctors in various wine shops and teahouses who described the execution process vividly to people. Everyone who heard it applauded and felt extremely happy.

But Zhu Yu was quite unhappy.

On the one hand, she was unable to witness Li Wencai's execution with her own eyes, nor did she have the opportunity to hear the vivid description of it by the tea master outside. She could only hear a little bit of it from the conversation of the servants at home, which was really uncomfortable.

On the other hand, Li Wencai was the only one who received such a severe punishment.

The prefect of Congzhou, who was reported by Lu Qing on the same day, was only dismissed from his post and investigated, but was not immediately punished.

The assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel who had some connection with them was only fined for half a year.

As for the Minister of Personnel Luo Yushu, he was not affected at all. He was even ordered by Emperor Jin to supervise the examinations of officials in various prefectures and counties.

Even Luo Yushu was not affected, let alone Yan Guogong Zhao Bi and Yi Wang Lu Zhang who were highly praised for their suggestions.

But these days, Lu Qing goes out early and comes back late, as if nothing happened, as if the person whose credit was snatched away by Lu Zhang was not him at all.

When Zhu Yu saw him like that, he felt doubts in his heart constantly emerging, and he became more and more restless in the backyard of the Xiaoyao Palace.

(End of this chapter)