ebookland Chapter 316 I can still go up and howl
Chapter 316 I can still go up and howl
In Nazhe Garden, Xing'er stood absent-mindedly at the railing on the second floor. Xiangyu patted her from behind and then ran to Xing'er's left.
"What's wrong? You seem distracted."
Xing Er came back to her senses and finally murmured,
"Have it?"
Xiangyu nodded heavily, then her face became a little hesitant.
"Xing'er, are you upset because we mentioned your family's affairs before?"
Xing'er shook her head, but her face was still full of worry.
"Then what's wrong with you? The Hundred Flowers Festival is coming, and among the several sisters in the garden, your skills are among the best. You must seize this opportunity."
Xing'er turned around dejectedly, leaned against a pillar beside her and spoke slowly,
"I know. I will definitely work hard. Thank you, Sister Xiangyu."
Xiangyu patted Xing'er's shoulder encouragingly. Although she didn't know what was wrong with Xing'er, she just wanted Xing'er to cheer up.
"Oh, by the way, Sister Xiangyu, I want to go to the street to buy some things later. Can you tell Sister Qiuniang for me?"
Xiangyu subconsciously wanted to persuade Xing'er to leave.
"But I heard that the streets are very chaotic recently. Is it dangerous..."
The next moment Xiangyu saw Xing'er's sad face and changed her mind immediately.
"Go ahead, go ahead, it's good to go out and relax. Try to go to the main street. There are patrol officers there, it's a little safer."
Xing'er nodded, and Xiangyu added,
"Be alone and calm down. I'll let Qiu Niang know for you later. Remember to come back before the show starts tonight."
After thanking Xiangyu again, Xing'er took small steps out of Nazhe Garden. However, she did not follow Xiangyu's advice to take the main street. Instead, she turned into a remote alley and finally stopped in front of an exquisite courtyard.
She first straightened the wrinkles of her clothes, then carefully pulled the secret button behind the door knocker. With a "click", the door slowly opened.
Xing'er walked into the gate. Standing in the middle of the yard was a young man with a high ponytail. He had protective gear on his face and was concentrating on fiddling with the mechanism in his hand.
With a "thump", Xing'er knelt straight down behind the young man.
"Second Young Master."
The young man heard the movement behind him, but did not stop what he was doing.
"Xing'er, you're here."
Xing Er's eyes soon filled with tears, and she spoke in a sad tone,
"Second Young Master, please punish me. It was because I failed to protect Miss Xue'er that Miss Xue'er and Master Hu Liang got separated."
The young man then stopped what he was doing and turned around slowly. The protective gear on his face covered his features, so his expression could not be seen.
"Second Young Master...this servant deserves death!"
Xing'er lowered her head, waiting for the final decision of the person in front of her.
"Xing'er, you said Xue'er got separated from you? Does that mean no one knows whether Xue'er is alive or dead now?"
After hearing Yun Qianxing's words, Xing'er raised her head belatedly, and Jiang Tunan's face flashed through her mind.
"I don't know."
Yun Qianxing sighed lightly.
"Forget it. There is still a glimmer of hope. As long as Xue'er is still alive, I will find her, no matter what the cost."
Yun Qianxing's eyes were firm, and Xing'er hesitated and said,
"Second Young Master is in Kyoto. Have you met Miss Jiang Tunan, the cousin of the Minister of Rites?"
.......
At the girls' school, Jiang Tunan and Madam Ji arrived at the class at the same time. Everyone looked at the Ruan in Jiang Tunan's hand with different expressions.
"Xiao Nan, sit here."
Shangguan Ruoyi waved to Jiang Tunan. Although the class was held in the square and there were no fixed seats, there was also a Hundred Flowers Festival competition in the Imperial College, and the competition was divided according to each branch, so everyone spontaneously sat together with people from their own branch.
Jiang Tunan naturally sat down next to Shangguan Ruoyi. Shangguan Ruoyi glanced at the Ruanqin in Jiang Tunan's hand and said with some surprise,
"You chose the Ruan? I couldn't tell."
Jiang Tunan replied,
"Didn't see anything?"
Shangguan Ruoyi answered honestly,
"I didn't realize you can play the Ruanqin?"
"Then you are right, I really can't do that."
Shangguan Ruoyi:?
Shangguan Ruoyi wanted to say something, but seeing that Madam Ji had already walked into the crowd, she had to straighten her manners and start listening carefully.
"Before class starts today, each branch will send one person to draw lots to decide the category of the first round of music for the Hundred Flowers Festival competition."
As soon as Mrs. Ji said this, the students around her began to get agitated.
Jiang Tunan looked at Shangguan Ruoyi beside him in confusion. Seeing Jiang Tunan's eyes, Shangguan Ruoyi understood and explained,
"In the first round of the Hundred Flowers Festival competition, each branch plays a different type of music, which is then scored by the relevant performance masters. The branch with the highest score in each round will be the first place in the first round and can score three points. The second place will score two points, and so on. The last place will not score any points."
"Finally, the ranking will be determined by the total score of each branch."
Jiang Tunan nodded, but then he thought of something and quietly said,
"Since these are different types of songs, the people who rate them will also be different. If you encounter a judge with a bad temper and strict requirements, won't you be at a disadvantage?"
Shangguan Ruoyi cast an approving look towards Jiang Tunan.
"Yes, one of the four music genres is military music, and most of the judges are veterans from the military camps. They always give the lowest scores."
Therefore, as long as any branch draws the military music, it will be directly at the bottom of the first round.
"You said four track categories, what are the other three?"
Shangguan Ruoyi answered casually,
"Local folk songs, court music, and opera music."
"Opera music?"
To be honest, Jiang Tunan was a little surprised. She remembered that in ancient times, the status of opera singers was very low. How come opera was included as a competition event here?
It seems that the dynasty in this book is indeed somewhat different from some dynasties she has known in reality.
"Yes, let me tell you, the Empress Dowager loves to listen to operas. In all likelihood, the judge of the opera music competition is the Empress Dowager. The people from the two branches in front of us all hope to be selected for this category so that they can show their faces in front of the Empress Dowager."
Jiang Tunan scratched her head. She was already thinking about how she should fish in troubled waters in group performances of different categories of music.
If it was court music, she would play the chimes, usually just a few hits at the beginning and nothing else; if it was opera music, she would play the gong, this kind of work that did not require any skills but only a sense of rhythm was most suitable for her; if it was a local tune, she could sing along with interjections such as "hey eh", "ho ho", "ho ha" and so on.
If it's Jun Zhongle who's in the end, it'll be easier to deal with. You'll be the last one anyway, so just give up and there's no point in trying.
"Master, but aren't we competing with the men's college this year? Is it okay for us to draw lots unilaterally like this?"
Someone in the crowd raised a question, but Mrs. Ji did not answer immediately. Instead, she looked to the other side of the square.
Everyone followed Mrs. Ji's gaze and looked over there, only to find that the students from the boys' college were walking towards them under the leadership of Gu Wenfang.
After the men from the men's quarters sat down, Gu Wenfang nodded to Madam Ji, and then Madam Ji spoke,
"Now we can start drawing lots."
The people in the women's college only realized at this time that this morning's class had been changed so that the men's and women's colleges could attend together.
The men's courtyard people sat behind the women's courtyard people according to their respective team combinations. The Zhuyuan where Xiao Mingxu was located happened to be in the same team as Jiang Tunan's Xiyunyuan, so Xiao Mingxu took the lead and sat behind Jiang Tunan.
"Xiao Nan Nan!"
Jiang Tunan's mind was empty, but when he heard Xiao Mingxu's shout, he turned around and looked.
"Hey, where's cousin Mingrui?"
Jiang Tunan looked around but couldn't find Xiao Mingrui. Xiao Mingxu also noticed this and spoke with doubt in his heart.
"It seems that I haven't seen him since I got off the carriage today."
Ji Yichen on the side interrupted and said,
"I know, I know. Brother Mingrui seems to be feeling a little uncomfortable. He is going to rest first."
"what?"
Jiang Tunan didn't quite believe this reason. When he saw Xiao Mingrui this morning, he seemed to be full of energy. How could he be sick in less than an hour?
"Don't worry about him. He's too old to die."
Xiao Mingxu was too lazy to dwell on this question. He was only focused on the drawing of lots.
"Xiao Nannan, what do you think our team will draw? I'm a little excited. Are you ready to do something big?"
After Jiang Tunan's previous suggestions to Nazhe Garden, Xiao Mingxu first added a lot of guards to Nazhe Garden to prevent some guests from touching the girls in Nazhe Garden, and then paid high prices to those famous composers and powerful writers to create music based on current popular topics.
I have to say that Jiang Tunan’s idea is really good. Although the daily turnover of Nazheyuan still cannot be compared with Changgefang, it is a significant improvement compared with the past.
As the quality of music scores improved, the customers of Nazheyuan were no longer limited to ordinary people. Many scholars were also attracted by the lyrics written by literati who were hired at high prices. The diverse styles of the music attracted more diverse customers. The wider the audience, the faster the money could be made.
So Xiao Mingxu naturally thought that Jiang Tunan, who had such ability, would also want to make a name for himself in the Hundred Flowers Festival competition.
It's a pity that he overestimated Jiang Tunan. He only heard the girl in front of him respond lazily,
"What do you mean by a big fight? I'll just have a good sleep."
Jiang Tunan didn't know what Xiao Mingxu had misunderstood that made him think that he would want to show his skills in this competition.
Of course, even if she wanted to, she wouldn't. If she dared to go up with the erhu, Mrs. Ji would assassinate her on the spot.
"Why are you so lacking in fighting spirit? Cheer up and guess which one we will be?"
I don't know why Xiao Mingxu is so concerned about the Hundred Flowers Festival competition. Jiang Tunan guessed that the reason was that by participating in the Hundred Flowers Festival competition, he could skip a few days of classes, especially Mr. Luo's literature class, as he had missed several classes.
"But please don't let it be military music."
Ji Yichen spoke worriedly from the side, and Jiang Tunan wondered if the "reputation" of Junzhongle had penetrated into the hearts of everyone in the Imperial Academy.
"I don't think it's the military music."
Jiang Tunan had a hunch that no one had ever successfully challenged such a difficult copy before, so it must be left for the protagonist group to complete.
If Su Xiaoxiao's branch gets high scores thanks to Military Music, it will be another highlight moment for the heroine.
"Yuehhuain and Kikuin drew the Palace Music."
The first person to go up has finished drawing lots, and the second person starts drawing lots immediately.
"Xinglan Court and Mei Court are the music of the army."
When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned. After a few moments, except for the people from Xinglan Academy and Mei Academy, the other branches that did not draw lots all breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Tunan: What did I say?
The people in Xinglan Academy were obviously in a depressed atmosphere. Su Xiaoxiao, who was sitting among them, saw that the faces of the people around her were heavy, so she mustered up the courage to speak.
"Don't give up yet, the game hasn't started yet, we still have a chance."
"That's easy for you to say. The team that won the military music lottery every year always came in last."
Someone in Xinglan Courtyard responded coldly.
Although the Hundred Flowers Festival has more than one round of competition, if you get fourth place in the first round, you won't get any points. Unless you get first place in the next two rounds, Xinglan Academy will only be ranked at the bottom this time.
"What if...what if this year is different..."
Su Xiaoxiao's voice became a little softer. In fact, she was also very unconvinced. The students from Yuehua Academy drew the palace music. The most studied subject in this girls' school was palace music. There was no doubt that Yuehua Academy was directly selected as the first in the first round.
The criteria for dividing the women's colleges are somewhat different from those for the men's colleges. The men's colleges are divided into Orchid College, Bamboo College and Plum College and Chrysanthemum College based on whether the students are children of officials, and then they are divided into two more colleges based on their academic performance.
The women's courtyard was divided more carefully than the men's courtyard. All those who were not of official family were assigned to Yuhua Courtyard. Those whose fathers or brothers were officials of the fifth rank or below went to Xiyun Courtyard. Those whose fathers or brothers were officials of the fifth rank or above were divided into Yuehua Courtyard and Xinglan Courtyard according to their grades.
When Su Lanlan first entered the girls' school, she was assigned to Yuehua College, while Su Xiaoxiao's score in the entrance examination was just barely passing, so she was assigned to Xinglan College.
Although Su Youheng did not show it very obviously, Su Xiaoxiao still felt his disappointment in her, so she was eager to prove herself. She wanted to prove that she was no worse than Su Lanlan. Su Lanlan just had the halo of being the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion. If she were a legitimate daughter and enjoyed the resources that Su Lanlan had, she might not be inferior to her.
But now, the Xinglan Academy where Su Xiaoxiao is located has won the military music. How can she compare with the palace music of the Yuehua Academy?
On the other side, Shangguan Ruoyi nervously walked forward to draw lots, while Xiao Mingxu below held his chin in his hand and thought.
"Xiao Nannan, do you think local folk songs are better or opera music is better?"
Jiang Tunan answered without hesitation,
"Local folk songs, maybe. If they choose folk songs, I can even sing along."
As soon as the voice fell, Mrs. Ji in front of him announced loudly,
"The winners of Xiyunyuan and Zhuyuan are——"
"Local tune!"
Jiang Tunan: Damn, my mouth must have been blessed!