Zhao Changhe suppressed the ripples of emotion at that moment, lowered his head and drank the lotus seed soup: "Master, I won't worship you... Why do I remember that you seemed to avoid this matter before, why don't you care about it now?"
"Martial arts are different from music, chess, calligraphy and painting..." Tang Wanzhuang whispered, "As for martial arts, it would be presumptuous for me to accept you as my disciple, and I don't have the qualifications... But music, chess, calligraphy and painting are no problem. Why don't you want to?"
"I used to call Tang Buqi my nephew, but now I'm on the same generation as him. I'm not happy."
Seeing Tang Wanzhuang's eyes suddenly widen, Zhao Changhe suddenly realized and hurriedly made amends: "No, I was just taking advantage of him verbally, not wanting to be his uncle... After becoming his disciple, I no longer have the verbal advantage. I'm younger than him, so I have to call him brother, I... Oh..."
Baoqin turned his head away.
Isn't this a child? Even more childish than holding a zither.
Zhao Changhe's face turned red at Baoqin's strange gaze, and he said awkwardly, "Master, you all started from the fact that I was a prince, and now you are becoming less and less willing to hide it. But when you find out that I am not a prince, how will you feel?"
Tang Wanzhuang smiled and said, "That's not a big deal. I just don't want to see a younger generation in the martial arts world getting more and more impatient and following in my footsteps... Besides, you have done a favor to the Tang family, so why not help me?"
"Following your footsteps... Doesn't that mean that music, chess, calligraphy and painting are actually useless? If you rush to break through, you will hurt your lung meridian."
"But have you ever thought that if this weren't the case, my injury wouldn't just be in my lung meridian?"
"Well… "
Tang Wanzhuang looked a little disappointed: "Perhaps music, chess, calligraphy and painting are really useless... But I have already said that they can only calm your mind and make you no longer so impetuous. Or you can recite Buddhist scriptures? That is also a method."
"… Then let's learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting." Zhao Changhe hesitated for a moment, and for a moment he didn't know what he should call her.
It was really strange. Yue Hongling was two months younger than me, but she could say "Sister Yue" without any psychological barriers. Tang Wanzhuang was eight years older, but she couldn't say "Sister" at all, which should be very natural. I don't know why.
Perhaps it was because my interactions with her were always official, and there was no personal friendship. Even teaching her music, chess, calligraphy, and painting was considered “official business” in her eyes. She said that she was doing it for the “younger generation” and “the benefactor of the Tang family”, but everyone knew that this was an excuse. She was just cultivating the prince in her heart.
Zhao Changhe still has no sense of belonging to Daxia, and even feels quite disgusted because of what he has seen along the way. He doesn't know how Tang Wanzhuang will feel if he chooses to overthrow this country in the future.
In fact, we have never been the same kind of people, and the meaning of knowing and joining hands with Yue Hongling is completely different.
Or maybe it's because... Seeing her pale face, which looks like she could fall down at any time, makes people forget that she is a very powerful warrior. Instead, the pity in their hearts is stronger than respect, and they feel that she is the younger sister who should be taken care of.
This feeling is very complex and contradictory.
Tang Wanzhuang stared at him for a long while, as if she had guessed what he was thinking, but she did not ask. She turned to Baoqin and said, "Give me the zither."
He bowed slightly and placed the zither on the table in front of Tang Wanzhuang.
Tang Wanzhuang gently stroked the strings of the zither and whispered, "It is said that Wanzhuang is too worried and has a lot of thoughts, which is not good for the Tao. But your mind is in a mess, and it seems that you have more thoughts than Wanzhuang... This is not the way to practice. Let me play this song to calm your mind."
A ray of piano music sounded slowly, soft and soothing.
Just like this hot afternoon, a breeze blows across the pool, bringing fragrance.
It seemed as if a dragonfly flitted across the water and quietly left behind a tiny ripple that gradually spread and expanded, swaying rhythmically amid the sounds of insects and cicadas chirping around it.
The lotus leaf tilted slightly, and a drop of water fell slowly, landing in the water with a dripping sound.
Then the silence became lively, and the vision stretched. The refreshing water splashed on my face, and the green shade above me gradually blocked the scorching sun. The beautiful woman stood under the vines and smiled sweetly. In the distance, a little girl giggled and ran to catch the dragonfly. Then I saw the sky was high and the air was clear, the white clouds were floating, and the laughter seemed to come from a very far place, like a distant view, and like a melodious dream.
A man was leaning on a recliner in the yard, dozing off. Listening to the clear laughter in the distance, a smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of his mouth.
The rivers and lakes gradually faded away, and the bloody noise and the whistling of swords all drifted away with the laughter of the children, and with the kites in the distance rising into the sky, and could no longer be seen clearly.
The piano music stopped quietly.
Zhao Changhe found himself leaning back in his chair, almost falling asleep.
He rubbed his eyes dazedly, his mind was blank for a moment, and he was so completely relaxed that he couldn't even concentrate for a while.
Tang Wanzhuang looked at him with a bit of pity in her eyes: "You... are too tired. I noticed that you were thinking about things even when you were sleeping, at least last night."
Zhao Changhe: “Uh…” Last night was really… Speaking of the kind of communication like a blind man entering a dream, was I actually asleep or not
Tang Wanzhuang continued, "Not only do you rest every day, but you have also been practicing too hard, and your Qi and blood have been squeezed to the limit. A few days ago at the Sword Emperor's Mausoleum, did you activate the state where the evil spirit filled your brain? It is still boiling and corroding your flesh and blood, but you are usually unaware of it... If this continues... it will be like overdrawing your body when you are young, and it will be useless before middle age."
Zhao Changhe twitched his lips: "What you said is a bit ambiguous, like something."
"Isn't it the same?" Tang Wanzhuang said calmly: "The human body is the same in the final analysis... You need to strengthen your foundation now, and stop blindly pursuing breakthroughs."
Zhao Changhe looked inward for a moment and indeed could feel the evil spirit in his flesh and blood receding. He had been lurking in his skin, tendons and bones, and he had no idea how it was being eroded day by day. But after this song, the evil spirit completely disappeared, just like the magic of immortals.
Tang Wanzhuang could see what he was thinking, and sighed, "This is not a method of immortals. Of course, zither music is also a kind of martial arts, and it has special effects... But I suggest you don't learn this aspect."
Zhao Changhe nodded: "Got it."
"Are you calm?"
"yes."
"Do you want to learn?"
Zhao Changhe stood up and bowed sincerely: "Please give me some advice, Miss Tang."
Miss Tang...
Is this the answer you finally received after struggling with the name for so long
Tang Wanzhuang chewed for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Come here, I'll teach you the basics first, the sound of each string, and the basic fingering."
Baoqin widened her eyes: "Miss..."
Tang Wanzhuang glared at her and said, "What's with that expression on your face? Young Master Zhao is a natural talent. He can learn the sword skills of others just by watching them. Playing the piano is nothing more than a matter of finger coordination. Does he need to be taught by hand? He will learn it naturally after a few demonstrations."
Baoqin: "Oh..."
She carefully watched Zhao Changhe sitting next to Tang Wanzhuang, the two of them were shoulder to shoulder, and thought to herself, I don't think it's appropriate to sit side by side like this, it looks too intimate, my mind hasn't yet turned to things like holding hands and twisting fingers, Miss, you must have been entangled in this...
In fact, at this moment, Zhao Changhe was sitting next to Tang Wanzhuang, surrounded by the fragrance, but he was not at all moved.
The piano music just now was so calming, it was completely a sage state, without any distracting thoughts in his mind. At this moment, he only wanted to learn the piano. He knew that this was really very good for him.
Along the way, Zhao Changhe was full of evil spirits and blood on his hands. He had been worried for a long time whether he would be affected by this and become a bloodthirsty devil in the future. However, he used to despise music, chess, calligraphy and painting and thought they were useless, but today he found that they were really useful.
It can make the gleam of swords and shadows fade away gradually, and make the bloody madness seem like it’s from another dimension, leaving only the beauty of Jiangnan and the quiet summer.
In this kind of world, music is actually a kind of martial art. Even if Tang Wanzhuang doesn't want to learn that aspect, the principles are the same.
Tang Wanzhuang's delicate hands were demonstrating finger techniques in front of him. It looked simple... just body movements, and compared to her difficult Spring Water Sword Intent, it was really simple.
It was also very beautiful. It was the first time that Zhao Changhe knew what it meant to feel beauty just by looking at the hands.
It is also very elegant, which makes Zhao Changhe involuntarily imagine the effect of Linghu Chong when he plays the piano in the future. If he plays another song "A Laugh in the Sea", it will be so cool.
"It does look easy. Let me give it a try?" Zhao Changhe applied.
Tang Wanzhuang made way with great expectation: "Mr. Zhao's understanding is trustworthy..."
Before he finished his words, Zhao Changhe stretched out his two claws like a zombie and broke the strings of the guitar with a "bang".
Tang Wanzhuang: “…”
She squatted down with her face covered, holding the zither: "Wuwuwu, I spent three hours tuning the strings yesterday... Wuwuwu, is this the genius you mentioned... Why do you have to let a bear embroider it..."
——
PS: The reading background of this book is now online. It is quite nice. You can find it in the reading background~
(End of this chapter)