Yan Liqiang remained silent for the whole time as he listened from the side. He waited until Lu Beixin was done playing the song, then clapped his hands.
“Beixin, I didn’t expect you would be able to play a zither this well…!”
Lu Beixin pouted, then turned her head to the side and ignored Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang chuckled at the sight of Lu Beixin huffing in anger. He walked over but said nothing. Instead, he moved his hands over the zither.
Dring… Dring… Dring…
At first, Yan Liqiang was merely making noises. Slowly, the noises turned into a melody. In actuality, Yan Liqiang didn’t know how to play the zither but he played guitar in his previous life. Since both of them were quite similar, he was able to make some disjointed melody after watching Lu Beixin play just now.
Lu Beixin was unperturbed at first, but a moment later, her ears pricked up involuntarily. When Yan Liqiang was halfway into his song, she couldn’t help but turn around to gape at him. “What song is this? How come I’ve never heard of it?”
“This is a song I made for you. It has never existed in this world, so naturally you wouldn’t have heard it!” Yan Liqiang smiled.
“Liar!” Lu Beixin continued pouting, but her eyes followed Yan Liqiang’s every hand movement. The way she tried to secretly remember the melody of the song was extremely adorable.
“Why would I lie to you?” Yan Liqiang continued gliding his hands over the zither. Although it was only a simple melody made by playing with two fingers, it was undeniably beautiful. “The style of this song is different than the Song of Pear Blossom you were playing just now. Listen to it carefully…”
“Did you really make a song for me?” Lu Beixin’s expression wavered.
“Of course!”
“What is it called?”
“The Dream of Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies…” [1]
“Can you write it down?” Lu Beixin’s great interest in this song made her temporarily forget her anger toward Yan Liqiang. She just wanted Yan Liqiang to write down the music score for her.
“There’s no need for music scores because I’m here. I’ll just hum and you’ll play. You’ll surely memorize it after playing twice…” Yan Liqiang went behind Lu Beixin, then placed his hands on her delicate shoulders and turned her around without even waiting for her response. “Come, give it a try…”
“Then you’ll have to slow down a little in case I get left behind…” Lu Beixin took a deep breath and placed her hands on the zither.
“Sure!” After saying that, Yan Liqiang started humming gently. Lu Beixin listened, then moved her fingers to copy the melody. Her rendition was much more powerful than the one Yan Liqiang played with only two fingers.
Yan Liqiang only had to hum once and Lu Beixin managed to catch up. By the second hum, she already managed to memorize the song and could play it all by herself. By the third time, Yan Liqiang suddenly placed his hand on Lu Beixin’s. “I’ll teach you a skill. Once you master it, you will be able to play ten times better than before. It will surely make you an unparalleled zither player in the Great Han Empire…”
“Liar. No such thing exists in the world…!” Lu Beixin didn’t believe Yan Liqiang as she thought he was merely trying to pacify her. Even so, her heart was dripping in honey and half of the jealousy she felt earlier had dissipated.
“I’m not lying to you. You press here and I’ll press here. We’ll play it together. You can listen to it and tell me what you think…”
Two strings vibrated one after another. Driiingg… The lingering note caused Lu Beixin to lift her eyebrows. “This is…”
“Another one. Put your hand here this time and I’ll put mine here. We’ll play together and you can listen to it again…”
Driiiiiiiingggggg… The note lingered even longer this time. After trying a few more times, Lu Beixin’s eyes started to shine as she finally understood the marvel in the sounds. She spun her head around to look at Yan Liqiang. “What… What is this called?”
“This zither technique is known as the art of harmony. I have created this for you, Beixin…” An extremely godlike expression suddenly appeared on Yan Liqiang’s face.
Yan Liqiang had heard various musical performances in the Great Han Empire. It was sad to say that he realized the musicians in this world seemed to be oblivious about chords and harmony. Every instrument was basically played in unison.
To Lu Beixin who loved playing the zither, Yan Liqiang’s words were like a force which pushed open the doors to a whole new world.
Lu Beixin looked at Yan Liqiang, her eyes filled with emotions.
It had been a long while since Lu Beixin and Yan Liqiang had left. Neither of them came back. Old Master Lu was starting to get worried and sent a servant to check on the situation. He knew Lu Beixin was upset after hearing some rumors about Yan Liqiang. A short while later, the servant returned with news, “Lord Yan and the Lady are playing the zither by the pond in the rear courtyard!”
“Both of them are playing the zither?” Old Master Lu was slightly taken aback.
“Yes, I saw Lord Yan and the Lady playing the zither together in the pavilion by the pond from afar. The sounds were extremely pleasant to my ears!” The servant looked like he was still enjoying the music from his memory.
Old Master Lu and Lu Peien exchanged looks, then burst out laughing. They knew why Lu Beixin was upset, but things like that were probably nothing to a man of Yan Liqiang’s caliber. Both of them didn’t think it was a big deal either. The main cause was still because of Lu Beixin’s status to Yan Liqiang. Besides, Yan Liqiang could be considered amazing for only getting involved in a bit of a scandal by now. If he hadn’t gotten involved in any, Old Master Lu was going to start wondering if Yan Liqiang had some problems himself and he would be worried about leaving his daughter in his hands.
“Alright, you are dismissed. Tell the others not to disturb them…” Old Master Lu ordered with a smile.
Of course, Yan Liqiang knew why Lu Beixin was throwing a tantrum today but an explanation wasn’t necessary. Lu Beixin had grown up in an influential clan. Her elders, brothers, and even Old Master Lu had several wives. Her elder sisters were also married and all her brother-in-laws had at least a wife and a mistress. This was an unwritten rule of this world — a capable man was allowed to marry as many women as he pleased.
Lu Beixin was exposed to this culture since young, so she should’ve been mentally prepared since long ago to readily accept it. This was the benefit of marrying a lady from an influential clan; they had seen a lot of things. Although she had some temper, it wasn’t really a big problem for Yan Liqiang.
With such a beauty playing a zither in front of him, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but be enchanted by every movement she made. He stood closely behind her as he taught her how to play the chords. From a higher view, Yan Liqiang could see her long silky hair, ample chest, slim waist, and round rear. Her long sleeves fluttered in the gentle breeze that carried the soothing fragrance of her body. As Yan Liqiang admired the sight before him, he eventually found his own hands sliding down from the collar of her dress, starting to misbehave…
Lu Beixin, who was learning how to play the chords, gritted her teeth as she tried to stop herself from making any sounds. Her body trembled and her hands faltered. Yan Liqiang’s actions slowly grew bolder. Lu Beixin could feel her ears, neck, and cheeks starting to burn up. By now, her tempo was completely disrupted and she couldn’t carry on playing. She snapped her hand around and bit Yan Liqiang’s arm. “You meanie!”
“They’ve grown larger compared to last time!” Yan Liqiang whispered to her.
“You’re still saying that…?!” Lu Beixin clenched her jaw in embarrassment. “Knock it off…! S-Someone will see us!”
Yan Liqiang pulled out one of his hands to pick up the plectrum Lu Beixin used to play the zither and sent it flying. The plectrum hit the peg of the bamboo curtain at the side of the pavilion, then changed its course from the impact and hit the peg of another bamboo curtain before returning to its original position on the table. This swiftly lowered both bamboo curtains with a loud noise. If there was a martial expert around, he would surely be gasping in amazement at Yan Liqiang’s skills in handling hidden weapons.
“No one will be able to see now…” Yan Liqiang’s wolf-like voice rang out from the pavilion. “Here, let me teach you another way to fiddle with an instrument…”
Thirty minutes later, hurried footsteps were heard rushing toward the pavilion. Instead of coming into the pavilion, the person stopped about twenty meters away and spoke.
“Lord Yan, the Law Enforcement Office from the Qiyun Protectorate’s Office sent someone to the Lu Residence. They have urgent news!”
A few seconds later, Yan Liqiang feigned a calm voice. “Alright, you are dismissed!”
The messenger quickly left…
A few minutes later, Yan Liqiang parted the bamboo curtains and came out from the pavilion with a devilish smile on his face, then strode quickly to the front courtyard…
A few moments after Yan Liqiang left, Lu Beixin came out from the pavilion too with a flushed face and slightly disheveled hair. She straightened clothes and hair, threw a glance in the direction where Yan Liqiang went then stomped back to her own courtyard…
The Law Enforcement Office indeed had an important agenda with Yan Liqiang — they finally found clues regarding Xue Cao’s missing case…