I, living in the Qin Dynasty, never intended to advance.

"That's all, ha. Let's go back and have some sleep first." Yan Lingji stretched and walked towards the bedroom. She would still have to practice after waking up. Yang Chong had a lot of things to do, and she had to help. Martial arts was Yan Lingji's best asset now.

"I will definitely succeed. A woman like her has too many weaknesses." Tian Mi looked at Yan Lingji's lazy back with fire flashing in her eyes. If the previous Yan Lingji made her feel heavy pressure, then the current Yan Lingji seemed to her to be full of flaws.

Yan Lingji was really too relaxed.

When Yan Lingji was already sleeping on the bed, Yang Chong also came to King Han's palace. After verifying his identity, Yang Chong also saw his future "position".

This Sima Gate Commander is really standing guard! Yang Chong looked at the palace gate and the guards in front of him and complained secretly. It seems that he can only pursue progress as soon as possible. Whoever likes to do the guarding can do it. Anyway, Yang Chong will never let himself do it for too long.

Yang Chong, standing on the watchtower of the palace wall, leaned on the railing and looked at Xinzheng in front of him, wondering how his plan in Xinzheng would unfold.

It was calculated that the ghost soldiers were about to rob the money, so he should start with the 100,000 taels of gold, and take advantage of the situation. After all, it was necessary to spend money for future things, and money was also a man's waist. Yang Chong thought about it and decided to get the money first.

By the way, there is also the boss of Zilanxuan. Although there are many smart people in Xinzheng City, people like Han Fei and Zhang Liang are even famous in history, but no matter how powerful they are, they can never be used by Yang Chong.

But Zi Nu is different. She is a woman and smart enough. Of course, she is also very rich. Most importantly, Yang Chong can take advantage of her.

There is also the matter of cultivation, but to practice Fuxi Shentianxiang one must first be proficient in music, which is a bit troublesome. One also needs to practice music in advance, and a teacher is indispensable. Who can one ask for advice on music?

A lot of noisy thoughts flashed through Yang Chong's mind.

"That's Yang Chong, Ji Wuye's lackey?" While Yang Chong was planning his own affairs while on official business, a girl in pink palace clothes was observing him inside the palace wall.

"Princess, he is Yang Chong. I have already asked him." A little palace maid said mysteriously.

"Well, he looks like a decent human being, but why did he join that ugly guy Ji Wuye." Honglian put her hand on her forehead. She heard from her brother Han Fei that doing so would help her see further.

Honglian had heard about Ji Wuye and Yang Chong from her father before. Honglian, who could obviously feel the anger from her father, naturally thought that Ji Wuye and Yang Chong had offended her father. Honglian felt that she could not deal with a man like Ji Wuye, but she felt that she could still deal with a small commander of the Sima Sect.

Honglian, the princess of Korea and the apple of the eye of King Han An, has grown up and it is time for her to share the worries of her father.

"Princess, that's not how things work." The palace maid listened to Honglian mumbling and reminded her in a low voice.

"How could I not know?" Honglian, who was thinking about her revenge plan, was interrupted. She was angry and looked at the palace maid viciously. "You are so smart, aren't you? You interrupted my good thoughts. I had almost thought of it just now."

"Princess." The maid felt a little aggrieved, but there was nothing she could do. After all, she was a maid and she was the princess.

"Shut up and don't disturb me." Honglian scolded. Where is her dignity as a princess?

"Yes, yes, yes." Seeing that Honglian was really angry, the palace maid hurriedly smiled and said.

As Han Wangan's favorite daughter, Honglian's personality is not very good. Her willful nature makes her like a little devil in the palace. In the eyes of people like Han Wangan, Honglian may be cute, but palace maids like them suffer greatly from her. How dare she offend Princess Honglian?

"What should I do?" Honglian muttered. She was smart, but she didn't have much wisdom. She had an intuition about what was going on in the court, but there were many other things that she couldn't analyze.

Honglian scratched his head and felt his scalp itchy. He had some ideas but couldn't grasp the key.

……

When the moon was high in the sky, Yang Chong finally waited until the time came to get off duty. After completing the handover with a deputy commander of Sima Gate, Yang Chong changed into casual clothes and left Han Wangan. As for who the deputy commander was, Yang Chong did not know the details, but only vaguely heard that he was a member of the Zhang family.

There are so many wealthy and powerful families in Xinzheng that any one of them has a great background, but that's all.

Yang Chong walked on the street, slowly heading towards Zilanxuan, which was a good place.

All Yang Chong can rely on now is his own martial arts, and Fuxi Shentian Xiang is the most advanced martial arts in the world, so how could Yang Chong waste it? However, to practice Fuxi Shentian Xiang, one must first learn the art of playing the zither, which Yang Chong knows nothing about, so he needs to find a teacher. In the whole Xinzheng, is there any zither player who has the attainments of Zi Lan Xuan Nong Yu in playing the zither?

Alas, I didn’t expect that one day I would have to study, study, study... Yang Chong thought aimlessly, and soon Zi Lan Xuan appeared in front of him.

"Sister, I suspect that guy came just for you." In the corridor on the top floor, Caidie looked at Yang Chong who was walking through the lobby. He came here yesterday and came again today. Wasn't he here to have fun? Didn't he think that he had too much money and had no place to spend it?

"Don't talk nonsense. He is Ji Wuye's man now. It is hard to say whether he is an enemy or a friend. Don't act rashly and don't expose our background." Zi Nu stopped Cai Die who wanted to say something.

Caidie only thought of Yang Chong as the country youth she met by the river that day, but Zinu knew more. She was not sure about the true character of a man who had surrendered to Ji Wuye and whose purpose was unclear, especially since such a person was regarded as an opponent by Wei Zhuang.

"Him?" Caidie was stunned. Was it really that complicated? She just regarded Yang Chong as an interesting person, but Sister Zinu was telling her that Yang Chong was a dangerous person.

"Don't do anything rash because of your curiosity." Zi Nu warned. She found that Cai Die seemed to be particularly curious about Yang Chong because of her. This was not a good thing, especially for the women of Zi Lan Xuan.

"Sister, I remember." Seeing that Sister Zinu was serious, Caidie quickly put away her intention of watching the fun.

It is not easy for Sister Zi Nu to maintain and run Zi Lan Xuan. Cai Die knows that what she should do is to help Sister Zi Nu instead of hindering her.

Chapter 96: People who learn from a master in the land of romance

On the third floor of Zi Lan Xuan, Nong Yu opened the door holding her zither. There was no unruly sound in the room that Nong Yu was familiar with, nor was there the smell of alcohol filling her sense of smell. There was only silence.

In other places, such a room would not make people have any thoughts, but in Zi Lan Xuan, such a box made Nong Yu secretly alert. Zi Lan Xuan welcomed and sent off too many people, and some things could not be solved by her saying that she would only sell her art but not her body. Even with Zi Nu's protection, Nong Yu often encountered difficulties in such a place.

Zi Lan Xuan was a place of romance and pleasure. In such a place, which woman could say that she could stay away from trouble? Moreover, Nong Yu was not an ordinary woman. Although she was the youngest among all the women in Zi Lan Xuan, her appearance was among the best. She was also good at music, so she was very famous in Zi Lan Xuan at a young age.

Today, she was pointed at again. Although she didn't like this kind of life, she also knew that it was extremely difficult for Sister Zi Nu to provide a place to live for the sisters. How could she ignore Sister Zi Nu's hard work just because of her own ideas?

Nong Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Today's guests were a bit strange, and there might be trouble again.

Taking a few steps forward, Nanyue saw the guests from the past few days.

"Miss Nanyue is here?" Before Nanyue could say anything, the guest had already spoken. There was no politeness, no flattery, and no condescending scrutiny. There was only a sense of calmness. Nanyue had met all kinds of guests and heard all kinds of ways of greeting, but today's guest surprised her a little. This kind of calmness carried a kind of incomprehensible familiar greeting.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time." Nanyue bowed slightly while holding the zither and walked towards the table beside her. However, she couldn't help but glance at the guest sitting at the upper seat out of the corner of her eye.

This was a very young guest, not much older than her, a very quiet and clean young man. Nongyu didn't feel that she disliked such a person.

After kneeling down, Nongyu adjusted the strings of the zither and then asked the guest, "What song would you like to listen to today, sir?"

"I'm not here to listen to the music today." Yang Chong looked at Nong Yu in front of him. She was still dressed the same as last time, and she exuded a very clean and quiet aura. She didn't give people a stunning feeling, but she was very attractive. She was the kind of girl who became more beautiful the more you looked at her. Her beauty was not a visual experience, but a kind of beauty that could be felt in the soul.

Yang Chong thought about it and found it difficult to find the right words to describe the beauty of Nong Yu due to his lack of knowledge about this world. If he had to find a word to describe the charm of Nong Yu, Yang Chong could only use the description from his previous life: This was a boy in middle school. He was impatient with his teacher's long lecture, and his sight turned to the window as his mind wandered. He happened to see a very quiet girl passing by the window. Although he did not know her, she decorated his boring teenage years.

"Master, I'm just the zither player of Zi Lan Xuan. I'm not responsible for other things. If you have any other requests, I can call other sisters." Nanyue replied with a faint smile, but there was more vigilance in her eyes. Was she really coming with bad intentions?

"Miss Nongyu, you have misunderstood. My name is Yang Chong. I currently live in Xinzheng and work as the commander of the Sima Gate." Yang Chong took the initiative to introduce himself. The last time he came, he used the same appearance he used when he approached Madam Hu, but Nongyu did not recognize him.

"Commander of the Sima Gate, Yang Chong?" Hearing Yang Chong's self-introduction, Nanyue was a little surprised. She had heard the name Yang Chong from Caidie. Was he the weirdo that Sister Caidie mentioned, the one who had expressed his love to Sister Zinu?

Nanyue then looked at Yang Chong seriously. He did not look like those noble sons of Xinzheng, but he did not look like a country boy either. There was no air of nobility or roughness about him. Instead, he had a natural aura that was neither overbearing nor overly enthusiastic. He gave people a very comfortable feeling.

“Although Sima Mentong’s official rank is not high, his position is extremely important. Yet he described him as a servant. This is almost how the waiters in Zi Lan Xuan introduced themselves. So, he is not as serious as he looks.” Nong Yu analyzed quickly from Yang Chong’s limited words. In a place like Zi Lan Xuan, observing people’s words and expressions is the most basic survival skill.

"Recently, Nong Yu heard in Zi Lan Xuan that General Ji Wuye recommended a talented person to the king. I never thought it was you, sir." Nong Yu said with a smile, showing the style of Zi Lan Xuan.

"I'm not a talented person at all. I'm just a lackey. I think many people in Xinzheng would say the same thing. I'm not showing off my official position to Miss Nongyu. I just want her to know my background so that she doesn't have to be too wary of me." Yang Chong waved his hand. He would show off to Yan Lingji even the smallest things, but in front of outsiders, no matter how important the matter was, Yang Chong would not want to show off because there was no need.

"Everyone who enters Zi Lan Xuan is a guest. How could Nong Yu be wary of a guest?" Nong Yu responded. Zi Lan Xuan is supposed to make guests feel at home, and their vigilance must not and would not be shown openly.

"In Zi Lan Xuan, girls like Nong Yu must learn to protect themselves. Well, let's not talk about this. I came here today to learn from a master." Yang Chong was too lazy to talk more and directly stated his purpose.

"Become a disciple and learn skills?" Nanyue was slightly stunned when she heard this. Even with her calmness, she could not control her surprise at this moment. Things like becoming a disciple and learning skills can happen in many places, but happening in Zi Lan Xuan?

A grown man like Yang Chong came to Zilanxuan to learn from a master? What kind of master did he learn from, and what kind of skills did he learn? How could the two be connected?

"Yes, I am very interested in the art of music. I heard that Miss Nanyue's piano skills are extraordinary, so I hope Miss Nanyue can teach me the way of music." Yang Chong said. Fuxi Shentianxiang entered the Tao through music. If Yang Chong wants to practice, he must master the basic music skills, otherwise he can't even get started.

There may be many musicians who are good at music in Xinzheng, but with Nongyu already in the open, Yang Chong was too lazy to look for anyone else. What's more, asking a little beauty for advice on music is much better than facing a so-called master with white hair and a dry face. Moreover, Nongyu's own attainments in music are enough to surpass those so-called masters.

So Yang Chong came to Zilanxuan.

“This…” Nanyue looked at Yang Chong hesitantly. Yang Chong’s request, no, it should be a request. This request was really too outrageous. For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether Yang Chong was sincere or just had more sophisticated means and just wanted to get close to her in this way.

"Master Yang, I'm just a zither player in Zi Lan Xuan, and I'm not responsible for teaching." After a little consideration, Nong Yu decided to reject Yang Chong. Yang Chong might be sincere in wanting to be his disciple, but Nong Yu didn't want to take the risk because it was unnecessary and she didn't want to cause trouble.

"Miss Nanyue, don't be in a hurry to refuse. I will still pay the money that should be paid, and it won't take up too much of your time every day. Only one hour a day will be enough." Yang Chong said.

"Lord Yang, I'm really sorry, this matter is not something I can decide." Nanyue still shook her head and refused. Although Yang Chong said it was harmless, she was still instinctively alert.

"How about this, I won't talk about becoming your apprentice and learning skills. I'm still Miss Nongyu's guest. Can I just ask Miss Nongyu to explain some knowledge about the art of playing the zither to me?" Yang Chong changed his words. Nongyu seemed gentle, but she was completely different from her mother, Madam Hu. She was truly gentle on the outside but strong on the inside. Once she made up her mind about something, it would be really difficult to change it.

"If that's the case, Nongyu can agree to Lord Yang's request." Nongyu nodded. Her previous refusal was out of self-protection, but her current agreement was for the operation of Zilanxuan.

"Please invite Miss Nanyue to come." Yang Chong said.

"The zither has seven strings, and it is said to have been made by Fuxi in ancient times..." Nong Yu stroked the strings on the zither table and told Yang Chong about the knowledge of the zither.

Nongyu was indeed a very good teacher. She had profound attainments in the art of playing the zither and had the patience and delicacy of a woman. Yang Chong listened carefully to her story. When Nongyu talked about the fingering, Yang Chong combined it with the method of wielding the five strings like waving the hands in the Nine Yin Scriptures, and unconsciously started to play the zither on the table according to the introductory fingering of Fuxi Shentian Xiang.

"Did Lord Yang take note of it?" It was not until half an hour later that Nong Yu finished telling what she needed to say.

"I have memorized most of this, but I need to go back and review it." Yang Chong scratched his head. It was true that different trades mean different mountains. In his eyes, the piano was just a piece of wood and a few strings, but it had so many intricacies and tricks. It was definitely not something that could be learned by just plucking it a few times with fingers.

"Some things do not need to be remembered, just understanding is enough. I will play a piece of 'Zhou Feng' for Lord Yang now, and please watch my fingering." Nanyue said.

Just now, she deliberately talked about the origin of the zither and its structure at great length and without getting tired of it. In fact, for a beginner like Yang Chong, she didn't need to be so detailed. Her purpose was just to test Yang Chong's true attitude through this tedious explanation. If Yang Chong showed the slightest impatience in the process, she would be suspicious of Yang Chong's intentions.

Fortunately, Yang Chong really listened attentively from beginning to end, which made Nongyu feel relieved. She loved the zither and liked music even more. In her opinion, someone like Yang Chong who also loved the zither and music should not be too bad.

A piece of poetry bloomed between Nanyue's fingers.

Chapter 97 The Man Zi Nu Fears Most

Yang Chong was listening to Nong Yu's playing. The Book of Songs had been selected by Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. The chapters that had been passed down not only had artistic value, but also had another characteristic, which was that they were easy to spread. Therefore, the subjects adapted from the Book of Songs were not difficult, at least in Yang Chong's opinion.

Moreover, Yang Chong already knew some fingering techniques, and by analogy, he had already developed his own understanding of the fingering techniques in the zither technique. When the song of Nongyu ended, although Yang Chong did not remember most of the fingering changes, he had already mastered the basic fingering techniques in the zither technique. The next thing he had to do was to adjust the use of fingering according to the music.

"Has Lord Yang taken note of this?" Nongyu asked, withdrawing her hand from the strings and placing it in front of her.

"I remembered roughly half of it, but I did remember the basic fingering changes." Yang Chong replied.

Nanyue looked at Yang Chong and saw that he did not seem to be lying. She also wanted to test Yang Chong, so she said, "Knowing is only the first step, and applying is the second step. Sir Yang might as well try it with my zither, and maybe you can master it better."

"Thank you very much, Miss Nongyu." Yang Chong walked forward and sat opposite Nongyu across the table.

When Yang Chong sat down, Nongyu realized her mistake. The zither table wasn't very big, and the two of them were too close. Seeing this, Nongyu could only tense up, because her calves, which were folded under her buttocks while kneeling, were already secretly tense. If Yang Chong made any excessive move, Nongyu would jump away immediately. The women of Zilan Pavilion had all been taught some martial arts by Zi Nu, and Nongyu was one of the best among them.

Yang Chong adjusted the seven-stringed zither in front of him towards himself and stretched out his hand. As his fingers plucked the zither, intermittent notes flowed from between his fingers. The music was very rough and not pleasant to listen to, but it made Nong Yu let down her guard a little.

Now Nanyue is certain that Yang Chong’s previous words were not a lie.

However, Nanyue soon discovered that what Yang Chong said was not entirely true. Yang Chong said that he only remembered half of it, but in fact, Yang Chong had already remembered two-thirds of it, and only the last part of the recording was not mastered.

Nanyue looked at Yang Chong's hand caressing the strings. Could he still play? Probably not. He had already been very reluctant just now. It was impossible for him to play any more.

But the next moment, Yang Chong's action was beyond Nongyu's expectations. Yang Chong was really able to continue playing, but this time he had changed the tune, a tune that Nongyu had never even heard of.

Of course, Nong Yu had never heard of it. Not only Nong Yu, but no one in the world had ever heard the music that Yang Chong was playing at that time, because it was called "Fuxi Divine Heavenly Sound", which was the pinnacle of the art of playing the music from another world.

After mastering the fingering, Yang Chong began to try to practice Fuxi Shentian Xiang. Different from the Book of Songs played by Nong Yu, the complete music of Fuxi Shentian Xiang was in Yang Chong's memory, so there was no major problem in playing it except for some intermittent performances.

But this intermittent sound became something else in Nanyue's ears.

Nong Yu was the best zither player in Zi Lan Xuan, and even in the whole of Korea. The Fuxi Shen Tian Xiang played by Yang Chong at this time might be just a new piece of music that others had never heard of before, but in Nong Yu's ears, she could hear something else.

This is a true sound of heaven and earth.

As the notes of Fuxi's divine music echoed in the room, Nongyu's face changed. Shock replaced vigilance, and gradually the shock disappeared, leaving only intoxication.