Shen Lixue disliked being disturbed while reading, so Qiuhe and Yanyue served tea and pastries, and stood at a distance, whispering to each other:
"Are you telling the truth..."
"It's all over the news in the capital... You stay in the bamboo garden every day, never leaving the house, of course you don't know..."
A gentle breeze blew by, carrying murmurs that drifted into her ears. Shen Lixue turned a page of a medical book and casually asked, "What are you talking about?"
The chatter stopped abruptly. Yan Yue turned around and smiled apologetically, "Sorry to disturb you, Miss. We were just talking about Jiao Wei Qin Workshop."
"What happened at Jiaowei Qin Workshop?" Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow, her cool gaze shifting from the medical book to Yan Yue.
Jiaowei Qinfang is the largest qin shop in Qingyan. The qins they make have an elegant and beautiful sound. The qin bodies and strings are finely crafted, which is incomparable to ordinary shops. Literati, scholars and noble ladies all like to go there to choose their favorite qins. Shen Yingxue bought her Duyouqin from there. Shen Lixue heard her play it a few times and the sound quality was indeed like heavenly music.
"The day before yesterday, Jiaowei Qin Workshop put up a sign saying that they would be holding a qin playing competition, and the winner would receive a superb guqin!" Yan Yue said urgently, her eyes shining. A fine guqin, you can't buy it for less than ten thousand taels of gold, and Jiaowei Qin Workshop is actually giving it away as a prize, what a generous gesture.
"Are there many people signing up?" Shen Lixue raised her lips, surprised that such competitions existed among the common people in ancient times.
"I heard that many noble ladies have signed up!" Yan Yue was full of excitement. The noble ladies are almost all good at playing the zither, chess, calligraphy and painting. They especially love the elegant zither. The zither is a rare treasure that is usually impossible to buy. Now, as long as your zither skills surpass everyone else, you can win a zither that you love. Few people would not be tempted.
"Is there really such a good thing?" Shen Lixue looked at Yan Yue, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
Yan Yue scratched her braid: "I heard the news from the servant and I don't know the specifics. I only heard that this competition seems to have many benefits."
Shen Lixue nodded in understanding, her cool gaze piercing through the swaying leaves and looking up at the azure sky.
"When I went to the kitchen to get plum blossom cakes just now, I passed by Xueyuan and overheard the maids talking. They said that the Second Miss's arm hasn't recovered yet and she can't participate in the competition. She's throwing a tantrum in her room!" Yan Yue lowered her voice and whispered the report, a hint of schadenfreude in her eyes.
Shen Lixue smiled. Shen Yingxue's arm was completely useless; she could never play the zither again in this lifetime.
"Miss, would you like to sign up for the guqin competition?" Yan Yue asked abruptly.
Qiuhe also realized what was happening and echoed Yan Yue's words: "That's right, Miss, you should participate too! The prize for winning is a guqin!"
She had never heard Shen Lixue play the zither, but she knew that Shen Lixue had an exceptionally talented mother. If the mother was so outstanding, the daughter must be just as good. She had a very high chance of winning the competition.
Looking at Qiu He and Yan Yue's expectant gaze, Shen Lixue smiled faintly: "If you want to go to Jiao Wei Qin Fang to watch the excitement, just say so. There's no need to beat around the bush!"
Qiuhe and Yanyue exchanged a glance and smiled awkwardly, realizing that their little scheme had been seen through by their young lady.
"Since you're so interested, let's go take a look!" Shen Lixue said calmly, put down her medical book, got up and walked out of the courtyard. With nothing to do in the bamboo garden, she also wanted to see what Jiaowei Qin Workshop was doing.
Qiu He and Yan Yue were taken aback at first, then their faces lit up with smiles. They were so happy to be able to go and watch the excitement! They hurriedly followed behind Shen Lixue and headed to Jiao Wei Qin Fang.
The area in front of Jiaowei Qin Workshop was bustling with people. Many young ladies, supported by their maids, came to the workshop and wrote their names on white Xuan paper with the three characters for "participant" drawn on it. They were full of confidence and had bright smiles.
Shen Lixue walked into the main hall of Jiaowei Qin Workshop. Her cool gaze swept over the noble ladies who were gathered together, chatting and laughing, and landed on a wooden plaque. The plaque was hanging high on the wall, facing the entrance, and carefully wrote down the various requirements for this competition!
Shen Lixue stepped forward and read the rules carefully. She then learned that there were many rules for this competition. One of them was that the participants must be unmarried young women, because the prize was the Ice String Zither, which is associated with elegance and purity, and only a woman of pure and virtuous character could be worthy of it.
The champion of the competition received a prize of ten thousand taels of gold in addition to the Ice String Guqin, which was indeed a generous offer.
After listing all the requirements, there is a note at the bottom: the champion will receive a special surprise. This surprise is specially proposed by the organizer and is definitely a good thing for the person. The champion must accept it. Those who do not wish to accept it need not participate in this competition.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. The last note was strange. Since it was a nice surprise, people would definitely accept it. Why did they write it so forcefully, as if they were imposing it on people?
"Young Miss, Fourth Miss is here!" Qiu He exclaimed. Shen Lixue turned around and looked in the direction she was pointing. Shen Caiyun, dressed in a light red silk dress, walked gracefully through the crowd. Her beautiful face was filled with a charming smile, and her elegant and refined temperament attracted the attention of many people.
Holding a wolf-hair brush, she drew circles and dots, and the three elegant characters "Shen Caiyun" appeared on the registration book. Looking at her graceful and elegant handwriting, which showed the style of a master, both the noble lady and the shopkeeper in charge of registration nodded in appreciation. The handwriting was really beautiful!
"Who is that young lady? She has such a unique air about her!"
"You have no idea about her. The fourth young lady of the Prime Minister's mansion, Shen Caiyun, is incredibly talented. She can compose poems on the spot and instantly match a couplet with Prince Zhan!"
Listening to the discussions among the young ladies, Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow and looked at Shen Caiyun, who was slightly proud. She had decided to be high-profile and was unwilling to be inferior to others any longer. The talent she displayed was indeed remarkable, with outstanding literary skills and exquisite calligraphy. Presumably, she would be able to reveal many more talents in the future that would surprise people.
"Sister Lixue is here to participate in the piano competition too?" Accompanied by a gentle female voice, Su Yuting walked in from outside the door. Her beautiful face and elegant, scholarly demeanor were breathtaking.
Shen Caiyun also saw Shen Lixue, and the smile on her face froze slightly before returning to normal. She smiled and said, "Sister is here too!"
"I heard that Jiaowei Qin Workshop is holding a qin playing competition, so I came to see what's going on!" Shen Lixue smiled. Although the Ice String Qin was precious and rare, she had no interest in it.
"Sister, you are exceptionally talented and your piano skills are amazing. Why don't you participate in the competition?" Su Yuting was somewhat surprised to hear Shen Lixue's answer, but Shen Caiyun seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the worry on her face instantly disappeared.
Shen Lixue smiled faintly: "Qingyan Capital is full of talented women. My zither skills are just average, so I won't embarrass myself by showing off!"
"That's such a pity, I can't hear my sister's beautiful music!" Su Yuting's beautiful voice lowered, and her gaze towards Chen Lixue was filled with regret, but she did not try to persuade her any further.
Shen Lixue smiled slightly, not taking it to heart. She really had no interest in playing the zither and vying for a pair of ice-stringed zithers.
"Shopkeeper, shopkeeper!" Su Yuting walked up to the shopkeeper and was about to write her name on the registration form when a young man rushed over and placed a celadon bottle in front of the shopkeeper. The bottle was about seven or eight centimeters tall, with a smooth surface and a light blue color, faintly gleaming with a warm luster. The bottle mouth was plugged with a red stopper. At first glance, it looked extremely elegant and was particularly attractive.
"What is this?" the shopkeeper asked, puzzled. The young ladies' curious gazes also focused on the young man.
"A miracle cure for all diseases." The young man lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously, a faint glint in his eyes.
His voice was very soft, but the hall was silent. The noble ladies could vaguely hear what he said. Everyone was puzzled. Why would he bring a bottle of magic medicine when they were having a musical competition?
A moment later, one of the clever young ladies' eyes lit up: "Could this be the surprise in the last note?"
"Oh, it's a miracle drug! That's wonderful! My mother gets chest pains every summer, and we've seen so many doctors without success. If this really is a miracle drug, it should cure her..."
“My father is the same; he developed a chronic abdominal pain a few years ago…”
The noble ladies were overjoyed and gathered together, discussing it animatedly.
The young man whispered something to the shopkeeper, who nodded repeatedly and ordered someone to bring over an exquisite box. The shopkeeper carefully placed the porcelain bottle inside and locked it with several locks.
Organizing a musical skills competition for noble ladies, with wooden plaques on the wall detailing various requirements, and a final note stating that the surprise one must accept is a bottle of divine medicine, this Jiaowei Qin Workshop is truly extraordinary.