klisemfg Chapter 204: Slap Qiao Yueru
Chapter 204: Slap Qiao Yueru
"I bet ten taels, the little girl wins."
Li Xiaoxiao looked in the direction of the voice in confusion, and saw a little girl sitting right next to the censor's wife. She was pretty, with bright eyes and white teeth, and was sitting up lazily.
She was none other than Zhou Lingfei, the heroine of this banquet. She had been drowsy in her seat since the beginning of the banquet and didn't care much about other people's compliments. It was obvious that she had no interest in this banquet, but because she was the protagonist, she couldn't leave at will.
At this moment her eyes just met Li Xiaoxiao's and she smiled with interest. Li Xiaoxiao nodded slightly as a response, but she was secretly complaining in her heart, wondering why Miss Zhou wanted to bet on her side.
Those who had bet on Qiao Yueru before felt a little embarrassed and regretted secretly when they saw Zhou Lingfei betting on Li Xiaoxiao. They should have decided not to bet so early. However, it was already recorded and they couldn't change it back. Their purpose of coming here was to establish a good relationship with the Zhou family, but doing this seemed like they were going against the Zhou family.
Seeing their concerns, Madam Yushi smiled and said, "They are just children playing around, just be casual."
The young ladies then put aside their anxieties and focused their attention on the competition between the two.
The housekeeper had prepared everything the two needed. The first thing to compete was the zither. There was a zither and a chair placed in the middle of the pavilion. Qiao Yueru looked up at Li Xiaoxiao with disdain and sat on the chair first. It was self-evident that she would go first.
Li Xiaoxiao stood straight without saying anything. The result would be the same no matter who came first. In the 21st century, she had a period of time when she was particularly interested in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, so she paid a high price to sign up for classes. It turned out that she was very talented in this area.
The teachers all praised her, saying that if she was willing to work hard in this area, she would be able to achieve something in time. However, at that time, she was determined to become a doctor, so she only studied for about a year, but learned a lot. She couldn't say anything else, but she was still confident in dealing with Qiao Yueru.
Seeing that Li Xiaoxiao didn't say a word, Qiao Yueru looked arrogant. Was she so scared that she dared not speak? She sat down gracefully and stretched her hands out from her sleeves. Her fingers were small and short. Even if they were well maintained, they looked a bit out of harmony with the finely crafted guqin.
But no one cared about this at the moment. The short little hands gently plucked the strings, producing pleasant sounds with a good timbre. It was a different zither than the one used by the young ladies in their performance just now. Qiao Yueru was even more proud of it. She thought it must be specially prepared for her by the wife of the Censor.
While she was feeling proud, Wang Qiuhuo was a little worried. Qiao Yueru was too arrogant and looked down on Li Xiaoxiao, but this competition was proposed by Li Xiaoxiao. If she really didn't know anything and she could make this request, wouldn't that be a slap in the face? She couldn't figure it out.
She really disliked Qiao Yueru's love of showing off, but now she couldn't stop her. She just hoped that even if Qiao Yueru didn't win, she wouldn't lose too badly, after all, she was the one who brought her here.
While everyone was thinking about their own things, Qiao Yueru's fingers were flying, her fingering was skillful and natural, and the sound of the piano was crisp and pleasant, like the sound of nature, echoing in the plum garden after the snow, intoxicating people.
When the song ended, Qiao Yueru raised her head proudly, like a victorious rooster, with her head held high and her chest puffed out, looking down on Li Xiaoxiao, as if she had definitely won. This piece of music was the one she had been playing since she started learning the piano at the age of five, and it could be said to be the best one she had played, so she was confident.
Not only her, but all the young ladies and ladies watching had the same idea. Qiao Yueru usually kept a low profile, but no one expected that she could play such a good piece of music.
"Fortunately, I bet on Miss Qiao, otherwise it would be embarrassing."
"Who said it wasn't true? Miss Zhou must not have heard us talking just now, otherwise she wouldn't have bet on the one called Xiaoxiao, whose name sounds so tacky. This time Miss Qiao is sure to win."
The two young ladies next to them were whispering to each other. Qiao Yueru overheard everything and said smugly, "Li Xiaoxiao, I think you should stop humiliating yourself. You are just a country girl from the countryside. Have you ever seen a zither? Do you know how to play it? Don't break such a good zither again. If you can't afford to pay for it later, don't blame me for not reminding you."
"Are you so sure that you can beat me?" Li Xiaoxiao's face remained calm. She asked back, as if she didn't notice their mocking looks.
"The facts are in front of us. Maybe you want to struggle a little longer. But since you are shameless when I give you face, then start your performance." Qiao Yueru finally got the chance, so naturally she would not let Li Xiaoxiao off easily. She had not yet avenged what happened at the door.
"Then I also want to tell you something, to show you what it means that there are always people better than you." Li Xiaoxiao didn't take Qiao Yueru's words to heart. She was just a jumping clown, so she let her jump around for a while.
Despite everyone's pessimism, Li Xiaoxiao sat down naturally, her fingers were slender, smooth and white.
Li Xiaoxiao had a beautiful and refined face, with confidence revealed between her eyebrows and eyes, as if she didn't notice their eyes watching the show. Her slender fingers and the guqin were in harmony with each other, so beautiful, and the sound of the guqin was gentle and melodious under her hands.
Everyone present listened carefully. At the beginning, the timbre was average. Although it was not unpleasant, it was not good either. Compared with Qiao Yueru's, it was far worse.
"I really don't know what she was thinking. She has the nerve to show her piano skills to compete with Miss Qiao. I can only say that she has never seen the world."
"Haha, you are overestimating yourself. You are crazy trying to show off."
At this moment, Li Xiaoxiao was completely immersed in the piano, as if the person and the piano became one. His black eyes closed gently, and his fingers kept dancing on the piano based on his feeling. Gradually, the sound of the piano changed.
From the dullness at the beginning, to the joy later, to the deep affection between you and me, and finally to the final separation of life and death, the ladies surrounding Li Xiaoxiao seemed to have a picture appearing before their eyes. The picture was of a hungry little girl who was slowly growing up.
When she was a teenager, she married a man. They loved each other very much and soon gave birth to a lovely child. Later, the imperial court recruited soldiers and the girl's husband went with the army, leaving her and her young child at home. The girl waited at the door every day for her husband to come back.