The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

A few days later, a long winding queue had formed outside Zuiyuexuan.

Women of all kinds, holding guzhengs, stood or sat, waiting quietly in the morning light.

Some of them gently stroked the strings of the piano and tuned it secretly, some closed their eyes and concentrated on reciting the music score, and some looked into the pavilion from time to time, their eyes full of anticipation.

The river breeze blew past, carrying the sound to the flower boat on the other side.

A merchant in a brocade robe leaned against the side of the boat, gazing at the marvelous sight on the other side. He couldn't help but ask, "What's going on over there? Why are there so many people queuing?"

A storyteller wearing a square hat immediately approached, beaming with joy, "Sir, don't you know? A mysterious nobleman has been visiting Zuiyuexuan these past few days. He loves to listen to guzheng music. He's spreading the word that anyone who can play a piece to his liking will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver on the spot!"

The merchant's teacup wobbled, nearly spilling the tea. "Ten thousand taels of silver? Which rich young master is so generous?"

The storyteller lowered his voice and said, "I heard he came from the capital."

He pointed at the river in the distance and said, "See? Everyone in Suzhou who can play the guzheng is here!"

As he was speaking, a clear and melodious sound of a piano suddenly emanated from Zuiyuexuan, like pearls falling on a jade plate, causing a commotion among the people queuing.

The storyteller narrowed his eyes. "This is already the seventh person to go in and try out the music today. If you ask me, Suzhou City is going to be bustling!"

In Zuiyuexuan.

Shen Yunfei huddled in a corner, his hands clasped around his knees, his forehead resting on them, wishing he could bury himself in the cracks of the wall. His ears were red, his eyes tightly shut, afraid he'd get stye if he looked any further.

An Lingrong was reclining on the soft couch, her long gown half-open, revealing her plain white lingerie, and she was lazily resting her head on the lap of a beauty.

The beauty was massaging her forehead gently with her slender fingers, while the other two women were sitting beside her, one massaging her legs and the other fanning her, with skillful techniques and just the right amount of strength.

"Young Master, try this." Another woman in a pink gauze dress picked up a crystal grape, peeled it lightly with her fingertips, and handed it to An Lingrong's lips.

An Lingrong ate it from her hand and gave her a wink.

Although she was still dressed in men's clothing, how perceptive were these ladies in the entertainment industry? They had already noticed something from her slender wrists, her clear voice, and..., but they kept it to themselves and served her even more skillfully.

Elsewhere, Liu Zhu also completely relaxed, lying carefree on the low couch, letting the two beauties massage her shoulders and legs. While eating candied fruit, she didn't forget to pass the fruit to An Lingrong: "This one is sweet, try it!"

Shen Yunfei squatted in the corner, the veins on his forehead throbbing violently.

——Three days! Three whole days!

An Lingrong kept saying that she was looking for someone, but she had almost checked every girl in Suzhou who could play the guzheng. She spent a lot of money, but she couldn't find even a shadow of her.

He glared at the "cousin" on the couch with gritted teeth.

She was seen with her eyes half closed, her fingertips gently tapping the rhythm with the sound of the guzheng. The beauty beside her would feed her a candied fruit or hand her a cup of tea from time to time, and she accepted everything. She would even pinch the beauty's fingertips and hook her chin occasionally, making her smile softly.

The dancer opposite was dancing freely to the music, occasionally throwing her long sleeves in her face.

She grabbed the sleeves, took a deep breath, and looked very enjoyable.

How could this be a search for someone? It's clearly an opportunity to have some fun!

Shen Yunfei became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. Finally, he could no longer bear it. He peeked half an eye out from between his fingers and said weakly, "Can you guys... restrain yourself a little?!"

An Lingrong raised her eyes lazily, a teasing smile playing at the corner of her lips: "Why, Third Young Master, aren't you used to it?"

Liu Zhu smiled and said, "He's shy!"

An Lingrong raised her index finger and said, "Girls, play with him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several beautiful women came towards him with smiles on their faces.

Shen Yunfei: "——Help!"

He was wrong, he shouldn't have followed these two people in!

In the center of the flower boat, a gilded incense burner was placed on the sandalwood table. Green smoke rose from it, making the figure of the woman playing the guzheng even more hazy.

The song ended and the sound faded away.

An Lingrong leaned against the soft pillow, tapping the armrest lightly with her fingertips, her expression indifferent, no emotion visible.

Mother Zhao, who was standing by, immediately understood what was going on. She took out a silver ingot from her sleeve and handed it to the woman with a smile: "Young lady, you have excellent skills. Thank you for your hard work."

The woman took the silver and bowed, "Thank you, sir."

There was no disappointment on his face, but rather a hint of satisfaction - earning ten taels of silver for playing a song was already a very generous reward.

"Next!" Mother Zhao said loudly.

……

"Next!"

……

"Next!"

The bead curtain rustled softly, and another woman walked in slowly.

She was slender, dressed in a plain white gauze dress, her face covered with a veil, revealing only a pair of cold, frosty eyes. The guzheng in her arms had an ebony base and a few plum blossoms carved on the end, making it look particularly elegant.

An Lingrong was originally half-leaning on the soft couch, closing her eyes and sipping the osmanthus wine handed to her by the beauty beside her.

Zheng——

A clear sound of piano was like an ice spring suddenly breaking.

An Lingrong suddenly opened her eyes and paused slightly for a moment with the wine cup in her hand.

Liu Zhu keenly noticed her abnormality and immediately locked his eyes on the woman playing the guzheng.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately stood up and said to the girls on the boat with a smile, "Thank you all for your hard work, sisters. My young master wants to listen to music alone. Please follow me to the outside to rest."

Although the women were reluctant to leave, seeing An Lingrong's solemn expression, they did not dare to say much and bowed and retreated.

Shen Yunfei also knew that he had found the person he was looking for, so he followed him outside.

The masked woman flicked her fingertips and a sound suddenly rang out—

At first it was like a clear spring gurgling over rocks, then it became faster, like a silver bottle suddenly breaking, or like an iron horse galloping across an icy river.

The last overtone vibrated and dissipated in the air. The woman pressed the strings with her bare hands, and the lingering sound came to an abrupt end.

She stood up and walked towards An Lingrong, her steps as light as walking on the moon.

The moment she raised her hand to take off the veil, the candlelight illuminated a beautiful face - her eyebrows were like distant mountains with dark shadows, her eyes were like rippling autumn water, and there was a faint smile at the corners of her lips.

An Lingrong stared at her and smiled: "Is your injury healed?"

"Of course, otherwise how could I play the music?"

Their eyes met and they both laughed out loud at the same time.