The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

After saying that, Chang'an went to the kitchen to fetch a basin of hot water, and with a slightly uneasy heart, went up to the third floor and gently knocked on Lianxue's door.

"Please come in." Lianxue's cold and beautiful voice came from inside the house.

Chang'an carried the hot water into the room. As soon as she entered, a faint floral fragrance wafted into her nose, and she noticed that the furnishings here were much more elegant and high-end than those in ordinary rooms.

"Is this... the courtesan's room?"

He turned his head and saw Lianxue standing in front of the cabinet, carefully arranging clothes.

Hearing Chang'an enter, she turned around, holding a blue silk robe in her hand, and said softly, "Thank you, but... I'll have to trouble you to fetch a few more basins of hot water."

Chang'an was taken aback, then noticed the bathtub behind the screen, and said, "Sister Lianxue... are you planning to take a bath?"

Lianxue nodded gently and said, "Mm..."

Chang'an's expression shifted slightly. "Okay, I'll be back soon." He poured the hot water into a bucket, then immediately went downstairs and went back and forth several times to fetch more hot water.

When he brought the last basin of water upstairs, he saw that there were two more young ladies in Lianxue's room.

When they saw Chang'an arrive, they all greeted her warmly with smiles: "Oh, Xiao Mei is here!"

Chang'an smiled and replied, "Hello, both of you sisters." After saying that, he saw the two girls walk up to him with smiles and gently pat his head.

They each held a porcelain bowl, one filled with rose petals and the other with red spheres, emitting a rich, pleasant fragrance.

Just as he was about to ask, he caught sight of Lianxue standing in front of the wooden tub waiting for him, so he hurried over and poured the last basin of hot water into the tub.

As soon as the bucket was full of hot water, the white steam at the mouth gradually thickened.

Lianxue looked at Chang'an, her face cold but her eyes filled with tenderness, and whispered, "Thank you..."

At this moment, the two girls walked to the bucket and scattered all the rose petals, leaving only two red balls.

As soon as the two balls went in, the bathwater immediately became fragrant.

Holding the basin, Chang'an couldn't help but ask, "What are these red dumplings...?"

The girl said with a smile, "It's food. Here, let me get you one." As she spoke, she took a red pill from the bowl and brought it to Chang'an's mouth.

Smelling the wonderful fragrance, Chang'an couldn't help but ask a childlike question, "Does it taste good too?"

"What? You really want to eat it?" The two girls burst into laughter, and Lianxue couldn't help but smile as well.

After laughing, the girl tapped Chang'an's forehead. "You, this is a bath bean. It can cleanse and moisturize the skin, and it also makes the fragrance linger for a long time. It's very precious, not something you can eat."

Chang'an nodded gently, "I see."

He was so captivated by the wonderful fragrance of the bath beans that he stared blankly into space. When he looked up again, he saw two young women helping Miss Lianxue undress.

Under the cover of rising steam, in the hazy light, Lianxue's white clothes were removed, revealing her beautiful back, which was even whiter than the white clothes. Her fair skin and jade-like bones were fully visible to Chang'an.

Chang'an tried to remain calm, but her face didn't cooperate, turning bright red all the way to her ears.

Seeing him like this, the two girls couldn't help but laugh out loud and made a face at him, "You little pervert, hee hee."

Lianxue also turned half of her beautiful face to look at Chang'an, her eyes flickered slightly, and she pursed her lips as if she wanted to say something, but Chang'an was too weak and turned her head and left the house.

Chang'an calmed down outside for a while, and after a long time, the two girls finally pushed open the door and came out.

Chang'an looked flustered. "Sister Lianxue...her...her clothes..."

The girl pinched Chang'an's nose and laughed, "Clearly, Sister Lianxue didn't say anything, but you, you're so embarrassed, yet you're pretending to be calm."

Chang'an looked slightly embarrassed, and the two girls said again, "Go in quickly, Sister Lianxue is waiting for you inside."

Chang'an said goodbye to his two older sisters, knocked on the door, and went in only after confirming it was safe.

Upon entering the room, one sees Lianxue sitting on a stool, holding a pipa. She is dressed in a blue robe, exuding a fragrant aroma, and her hair is damp with dew. Her eyebrows are like crescent moons, and her eyes are like bright stars, making her radiant with every glance.

In a daze, Chang'an seemed to see a fairy, and he was unwilling to go forward, for fear of disturbing this wonderful sight.

After a long while, Lianxue gently raised her beautiful eyes and said softly, "You are so far away from me, how can I teach you?"

Upon hearing this, Chang'an seemed to awaken from a dream, and carefully sat down beside Lianxue.

Now, with her soft, fragrant body beside me and her beautiful profile, I felt as if I had fallen into a fairyland.

Lianxue, holding her pipa, turned gently and sat down facing Chang'an.

Chang'an blushed and dared not meet his gaze; her eyes darted around.

Lianxue lowered her eyes and continued, "You don't need to look at me, just look at the pipa."

When Chang'an looked up again, she saw that the pipa had covered half of her face, and only a gentle gaze was directed at her.

The head of this pipa is carved with a phoenix head, and below the head are four cylindrical heads. Lianxue touched them with her jade fingers: "These are the four tuning pegs, used for tuning."

Then she moved her jade-like fingers down, saying, "Correspondingly, the four tuning pegs correspond to the four strings, and each string produces a different timbre." As she spoke, she made a tiger's mouth shape with her right hand, and plucked the string with her index finger, producing a crisp "thump."

“If you pluck it like this, it is called Pi.” After saying this, he plucked it again, and with a clear “clang,” it became Pa.

When Chang'an saw that Lianxue had finished playing the piano and Roubo had turned to him, he nodded gently in response.

Lianxue then gently stroked the surface of the zither with her slender fingers, down to the area below the headstock. "The area below the headstock is called the 'xiang' (相), while the area on the surface is called the 'pin' (fret).

"The pipa consists of six frets and twenty-four frets. All frets and frets are used to press the notes, ————."

Chang'an listened attentively to her explanation, but for some reason, he would occasionally drift off into a daze when faced with her stunningly beautiful face.

Seeing his reaction, Lianxue sighed and said, "I do not have the talent to teach. Why don't I demonstrate it for you directly?"

As she spoke, I saw her gently adjust the tuning pegs, pinch the strings with her right hand, press the frets with her left, and play with a light, slow strumming, her brows lowered.

The sound of the pipa was clear and crisp like flowing water, and the lively melody unfolded slowly, like a cheerful oriole soaring among the flowers, the birdsong and fragrance of flowers refreshing the soul.

As she played, Lianxue's brows furrowed slightly, and the rhythm suddenly quickened, as if a silver bottle had suddenly burst open, or as if a thousand troops had trampled through. The melody gradually became more stirring, and later, it even seemed as if the east wind was sweeping across the sky.

Gradually, the melody sank, then turned into a whisper, the sound gradually becoming faint, until finally it was barely audible. Only when Lianxue finished the last verse did she slowly raise her eyes, and the song "Dongfeng Po" was finally finished.

Seeing that Chang'an was still engrossed in it, Lianxue said softly, "Why don't you give it a try?"

Chang'an suddenly woke up and carefully took the pipa that Lianxue handed to him.

He held the pipa in his arms, looking completely bewildered, utterly unsure where to begin playing.

Lianxue frowned slightly. "Tune the strings first."

"Oh." Chang'an searched for a long time, finally adjusted the strings haphazardly at the headstock, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What? How should I hold it?" Chang'an thought anxiously. He picked up the pipa haphazardly by feeling, and realized that he had made a huge mistake. He was so ashamed that he looked rather embarrassed.

Just as I was feeling troubled, I suddenly felt a delicate fragrance coming from behind me, and at the same time, I felt a warmth in my hand. It turned out that a jade hand, as exquisite as if it were carved, was holding mine.

Lianxue leaned over Chang'an and guided him to adjust his posture while playing the zither. "How could you forget so quickly?"

Hearing Lianxue's fragrant breath whisper in his ear, Chang'an's heart fluttered, and he began to feel uneasy.

He dared not move his hands any further, letting her caress him as she did, until a drop of cool bathwater from Lianxue's hair fell onto his cheek, which brought him back to his senses.

And so, Lianxue held his hand, plucked each string and listened to the notes, and explained them one by one. Chang'an dared not slack off any longer, listened attentively, gradually corrected his posture, and slowly found some feeling.

Lianxue finally nodded in satisfaction and gently let go. Chang'an was still able to play quite well, but he was still far from being able to play a complete piece.

Chang'an gradually realized the pattern within it and practiced for a long time.

Lianxue added from the side, "The pipa is very important in song and dance. If it is taken out and played as a solo, it is called a broken piece."

As Chang'an was listening, he suddenly put his finger to his lips and whispered, "Shh, there seems to be another sound in this room!"