Chapter 353: Please let Master Di die!

It is no longer the apricot month, but there is a different world in the building.

Thirty-six flowering trees, graceful as jade, embellish the sumptuous banquets and fill the room with fragrance. The guests suddenly thought they were in a wild stream in the spring countryside, unaware that they were actually in a five-story building. People say that the wealth and status of the south of the Yangtze River all go to Ning Mansion, and nothing is better than this.

Prince Ning sat in the chief seat, facing south. On his left was a middle-aged man, on his right sat Di Baiying, and behind him stood Zuo Shiqi. The three of them sat quite close to each other, making it convenient for conversation.

There were eight tables below, all of them were relatives from the two mansions.

Prince Ning smiled and said, "How can a party of apricot blossoms and a banquet of bliss be without dance and music to liven up the atmosphere?"

Zhu Dianshi said loudly: "The king has ordered the performance of dance and music."

As soon as he finished speaking, sixty-four dancers filed in, eight rows and eight columns, wearing white skirts and red sleeves, moving forward and backward in the hall in a neat and uniform manner, like a military formation, magnificent and full of ancient style.

Someone from Lu Mansion whispered, "The ritual of Eight Yi Dancers can only be used by the emperor. Doesn't King Ning know that?"

"Prince Ning has been usurping power for a long time. He is a prince and is favored by the emperor."

"This future throne..."

Prince Ning was dressed in a white dragon robe and a purple gold crown on his head. He took the peeled tangerine segments from the purple-robed maid and looked around casually. Those who wanted to overthrow their superiors all hoped that the world would be in chaos and the original etiquette and laws would lose their binding force.

"What do you two think?"

Di Baiying was originally a man of the world. Although he was familiar with the etiquette of the court, he was not bound by it. More importantly, King Ning had promised him enough benefits, so he could watch the dance with peace of mind.

"Well, the Ning Mansion dance is pleasing to the eyes and just right for this moment."

After receiving the response from Jianghu, Prince Ning looked at his brother from the same clan.

Prince Lu is the fourth among his peers in the family tree. He has an honest appearance and is in his early forties. His eyes linger, as if admiring the specially cultivated apricot trees in the hall. Each tree is the same size, and a few petals occasionally fall when the breeze blows.

"I have heard that the singing and dancing in Thirteenth Brother's mansion are the best in Jiangnan. Today, I am finally able to enjoy a feast for my ears."

Prince Ning chuckled and said, "Brother Prince Lu, Mr. Di, you two are both well versed in music. How dare I boast in front of you? Look, this piece of Shao music requires 64 dancers and 208 musicians to play. The same is true for the affairs of the world and the rivers and lakes. How can one person complete it alone?"

Prince Lu was a humble man. He waved his hand and said, "Mr. Di comes from an aristocratic family and is a refined scholar. I have heard that he is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. I am just a music maker. It is not worth mentioning. It is not worth mentioning."

Di Baiying said, "Prince Lu's zither is worth a fortune. If you don't know music theory, you can never tune a top-quality zither. I am not very knowledgeable, but I understand this principle. Your Highness is too modest!"

The two sides exchanged pleasantries. The fiefdom of Prince Lu was in Henan, and the title had been passed down for nearly a hundred years. Although his power was not as great as that of Prince Ning, it was also deeply rooted.

Prince Lu said that he was just a zither maker and was willing to wait and see. Di Baiying coveted the power of the Divine Religion and was eager to promote a tripartite alliance, so he took the initiative to speak for Prince Ning.

Prince Ning put down the golden cup and chuckled, "It's boring to talk nonsense. Brother Lu, are you interested in playing a song?"

Everyone in Lu Mansion's expression changed slightly.

The position of a prince is not as noble as that of Prince Ning, but he is still the elder brother in the family tree. Ordering him to play music during the banquet was somewhat like coercion and contempt.

Prince Lu smiled calmly, "There is a zither player under my tutelage, waiting outside. His fingering is mysterious and he has the talent of Ji Zhongsan. If Prince Ning is interested in listening to the zither, he can play a piece for you."

Prince Ning nodded and said, "Talent like Ji Zhongsan? Of course I would like to listen to it, but... I want to listen to Brother Lu's performance. I wonder if I have the honor to do so?"

The girl in yellow had angry eyes. Prince Ning was arrogant but not stupid. He forced his father to play the piano and then deliberately spread the news to let the court think that Lu Mansion had completely surrendered to Ning Mansion. This way, he cut off Lu Mansion's retreat. It seemed like a trivial move, but it was an extremely vicious one.

She thought to herself, "Father will definitely refuse once he has figured it out!"

Tang Jingkang had a proud look on his face, seeing that his brother-in-law was extremely powerful. If an ordinary prince came, he would only be reduced to a zither player. The look he gave towards Princess Zhixuan became more and more unscrupulous.

Prince Lu sighed, "Playing music to liven up the mood is an elegant thing in ancient times, but I am not very good at fingering and have not played the zither for a long time, so I will play the drum to liven up Prince Ning's mood."

"That's fine too."

Prince Ning smiled and said that even though he had discovered Prince Lu's secret, he couldn't force him too much.

"Bring the drum!"

Upon hearing the order, the attendant behind Prince Lu bowed and went out to get the drum.

As a result, the people in Prince Lu's mansion looked even more gloomy.

"Humph!"

The girl in yellow was unwilling to stay at the banquet any longer, and even more unwilling to see her father, so she was forced to beat the drum.

She took the opportunity of the attendant leaving the table and followed him out. Except for Tang Jingkang, no one paid attention to it and no one asked too many questions. After all, as a girl, there were too many inconveniences.

At the end of the corridor, Zhang Yu stood alone under an apricot tree, holding a seven-stringed zither in his arms. He had seen Di Baiying and Zuo Shiqi before, but the other party did not recognize him. Ren Yingying had many strange people under her command, and this human skin mask had already reached the point of "taking root". Su Qiqi, known as the Thousand-Faced Fox, was at most at this level.

"Mr. Xian Gao is so absorbed in what is he thinking about?"

"Why did the princess come out?"

"It's too stuffy in here, let's get some fresh air."

The girl in yellow walked slowly under the apricot blossoms, looking depressed.

She looked at Mr. Xian Gao, who had an extraordinary temperament, but could only be driven by others. He was called as a retainer, and could be summoned and dismissed at will. He was only slightly better than a slave, and she felt a little bit reluctant.

"What are you doing standing here, sir?"

"Wait for Prince Lu to summon me, and then go in and perform for the nobles."

She asked softly, "Sir, don't you feel wronged?"

"Grievance? How can you say grievance?"

Footsteps sounded.

The attendant of Lu Mansion came hurriedly, holding the Yan drum in his hand, and walked into the Xinghua Hall.

The yellow-shirted girl retracted her gaze and said helplessly, "The way of music is to please yourself and others. If you are forced to play, wouldn't it be desecrating the instrument and yourself?"

"The princess is right, but for many people... there is nothing we can do!"

In the Xinghua Hall, the sound of drums rang out, and the girl in yellow, who had always been quiet, suddenly became excited.

"There is no other way, so we have to surrender? Gao Jianli was blind, but he still managed to beat the King of Qin with his zhu. He remained a hero and lived up to his true meaning of being happy. Some people, after just a little persecution, would surrender and change their minds. Isn't that a disgrace to the ancients?"

Zhang Yu looked at the princess with a surprised look in his eyes. Could it be that the princess had seen through his identity as an assassin and deliberately used Gao Jianli's attack on the King of Qin to test him? I have to be careful in my reply to avoid unnecessary trouble.

He lowered his head to look at the zither bag and said deliberately, "Gao Jianli is just a brave man. He is obviously a musician, but he acted like an assassin. His hands that beat the zither are stained with blood. He is not worthy of the favor of the King of Qin, and he also made the Shandong musician lose the opportunity to be promoted. Such an ignorant person should be killed!"

The girl in yellow looked at Zhang Yu with great disappointment. Of course, this disappointment was more related to the drum sounds coming from Xinghua Hall.

"Mr. Xian Gao, do you really think so?"

"My Lord, what's wrong?"

"Nothing wrong."

The girl in yellow was in a low mood. She stood under the apricot tree for a while. The two of them had nothing to say, so they returned to the table.

After a while, the drumbeats gradually stopped and the singer left the hall.

When they passed the end of the corridor, next to the apricot tree, the man had his eyes slightly closed, holding a zither bag, like a blind zither player. The man in red sleeves and white skirt gradually walked away. Zhang Yu opened her eyes and saw the attendant of Prince Lu coming out of the hall.

"Mr. Xian Gao, Prince Lu has asked you to perform!"

"understood."

In the Xinghua Hall, the atmosphere became much more harmonious after Prince Lu beat the drum.

Prince Ning took the initiative to ease the tension and said with a smile, "Brother Prince Lu's drum beating is vigorous, majestic, generous and heroic, and it really lives up to the name of Yan drum. Although I am clumsy, I am willing to beat the military drum for you and congratulate you. I would like to borrow your drum."

"It couldn't be better."

As Prince Ning said this, he asked Miss Zizhu to come and get the drum.

However, Prince Lu took the initiative to stand up, walked to Prince Ning's seat, and presented the drum with both hands.

Prince Ning smiled and said, "This... Brother Lu is too polite."

Prince Lu shook his head and said, "No, I heard from someone that musical instruments have spirits. Once they sound, how can they be left to someone who doesn't know how to play them?"

"So there is such a saying. Brother Lu Wang is really a music fanatic." King Ning personally stood up and solemnly took over the Yan drum. According to the military drill, he needed to beat it three times.

Di Baiying was very interested and clapped his hands to the rhythm.

"Master."

Di Baiying looked back and saw a small ball of paper in Zuo Shiqi's hand.

"what is this?"

Zuo Shiqi whispered, "A boy passed by just now and slipped it to me quietly."

"Open!"

Zuo Shiqi unfolded the paper ball, revealing two lines of ink writing inside.

"The Saint Lady has taken over the Vermillion Bird Hall and has set a trap to get rid of the old owl. Leave Nanchang Prefecture immediately. It's dangerous!"

Di Baiying's face suddenly changed. According to the news he received yesterday, the Saint Lady had already returned to Heimu Cliff.

He did not doubt whether the message was true or not. If it was false, it would not cause any harm to him. Why would the other party go to such lengths to pass on the message? If it was true...

"The secret agents in Nanchang Prefecture must have rebelled! Those people in Xiyuan are also in danger. Aren't we deaf and blind?"

"Master, what should we do?"

Zuo Shiqi was secretly shocked that the internal strife within the Divine Cult had reached this point.

The master secretly met with the prince of the imperial court without asking for permission from Heimu Cliff. This is one of them.

The Saint Lady was even more ruthless and wanted to kill the Dharma Protector Hall Master directly!
"It doesn't matter. It's not that easy for the little girl to attack me!"

Di Baiying tried to remain calm and glanced at King Ning, hoping that the apricot blossom party would end soon. He felt anxious and his palms began to itch. He held the bamboo chopsticks and rubbed his palms.

"If that doesn't work...we can also ask Prince Ning for help to completely wipe out the influence of Suzaku Hall in Jiangxi."

As Di Baiying thought about this, his vision suddenly became clear.

As far as the forces in the martial arts world are concerned, the base of the Dharma Protector Hall is at Black Wood Cliff, and Ren Yingying is mainly based in the Suzaku Hall in Jiangyou. But from the perspective of the government, Prince Ning is the most powerful military force in Jiangxi.

"By using Prince Ning's hand, I can break Ren Yingying's wings!"

Di Baiying was secretly proud of himself and felt more and more that he had made the right decision to come to the apricot blossom party.

"Sorry for the embarrassment, sorry for the embarrassment!"

After the three drum beats, all the guests at the banquet praised it. Prince Ning personally returned the Yan drum. When he turned back to the table, he suddenly saw a man standing by the door, carrying a zither bag on his back. He had an elegant temperament and was obviously not a servant of the Ning Mansion.

"Brother Prince Lu, who is that?"

"He is the zither player that I mentioned before, Xian Gao."

King Ning nodded slightly, returned to his seat, and said with a smile: "Brother Wang praised him so much, I believe he must have something extraordinary. Let him play a song so that we, the common people, can also listen to the wonderful music of Ji Zhongsan."

Prince Lu smiled and looked at Zhang Yu: "Mr. Xian Gao, let's begin!"

Zhang Yu looked calm and bowed slightly: "I will obey your command."

The servant brought the piano table.

Zhang Yu knelt on the floor, untied the guitar case and took out the Shuilongyin.

"Nice piano!"

The lyre exudes an ancient charm, and even an unfamiliar person can see its extraordinary qualities.

Tang Jingkang sneered, "Ji Zhongsan is aloof and arrogant, and would rather die than surrender. How can he be compared to other people's servants? I want to see how you deceived the world and deceived His Royal Highness Prince Lu."

The sound was not loud, but the girl in yellow sitting opposite heard it.

Although she hated Tang Jingkang, she felt that what he said was true. Mr. Xian Gao was so self-deprecating. He was completely different from Ji Zhongsan who died heroically in Dongshi. The sound of his piano came from his heart, so how could they be compared?

"Dang~"

Zhang Yu's ten fingers brushed across the seven strings and played the first half of "Swordsman", instantly astonishing everyone in Xinghuatang.

Tang Jingkang was shocked: "How is this possible..."

The girl in yellow was even more absorbed in the music, her eyes fixed on the ten fingers that were playing the strings.

In today's martial arts world, if we were to say who is most like Ji Kang who lived a thousand years ago, it would undoubtedly be Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng. Both of them are people of the utmost integrity and affection. The "Smiling Proud Wanderer" they passed on has injected a breath of fresh air into the world of fame and fortune, Xinghua Tower.

"Okay!"

Di Baiying nodded gently. Listening to this music, he felt peaceful and his palms no longer felt itchy.

Zhang Yu is naturally gifted. After being trained by three famous masters, Qu Yang, Liu Zhengfeng and Miss Ren, he has not practiced for a long time, but with the help of the green jade ring, he has already reached an advanced level.

After the song was over, everyone was still savoring it.

"Come here, give Mr. Xian Gao a fifty-gold reward."

Seeing that Mr. Xian Gao was quite capable and was also a disciple of Prince Lu, Prince Ning naturally gave him rewards generously.

Immediately, servants came and brought gold, which was shining brightly.

"Fifty taels of gold for playing a piece of music. Who else but His Royal Highness Prince Ning can do this?"

"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Ning, for the reward!"

Zhang Yu took the gold, bowed again, and glanced at Prince Lu above him.

"Mr. Di, how do you think of this piano? Is it pleasing to the eye?"

"His Royal Highness Prince Lu plays the zither well, and the music is also great!"

Prince Lu chuckled and said, "The Apricot Blossom Banquet is a place to meet friends through music. Both Prince Ning and I are humble. Mr. Di, are you willing to play a song in Prince Ning's Apricot Blossom Tower, using the Lu State Qin made by Prince Ning, to fulfill the meaning of our gathering today?"

At this point, Di Baiying really couldn't refuse. He cupped his hands and smiled, "Your Highness Prince Lu is so kind. I will do my part to help you."

"Mr. Xiangao, can you lend your zither to Mr. Di?"

"I obey."

Zhang Yu lowered his eyes, holding the Shuilongyin, and walked slowly to the front of the table. When he was three steps away, he stopped, holding the instrument in both hands, with an extremely respectful expression. It was obvious that he was a person who loved, valued and cherished the instrument.

"Mr. Di."

Di Baiying understood what was going on and stopped Zuo Shiqi who was about to take the zither. He stood up, walked around the seat, came to the front, stretched out his hands, opened the doors wide, and was about to take the seven-stringed zither that was "a collection of Lu state family".

"Mr. Di..."

Zhang Yu suddenly raised his head, and at the same time, he pressed the message with his left hand and took the pop-up "Shui Long Yin" with his right hand.

"What did you say?"

Di Baiying only saw the other party's lips moving slightly, and the voice was very low, so he didn't hear clearly what was said.

"Pfft!"

The two were very close, and there was almost no way to avoid them. A cold light flashed in an instant, and the dagger pierced into Di Baiying's heart. At that moment, he only felt a strange itch on the palm of his hand, which instantly intensified a hundred times, making half of his body numb as if it had been electrocuted.

It's poisonous!
Zhang Yu said sternly: "Please, Master Di, go and die!"

He retracted his dagger and thrust out again...

"Please, Master Di, go and die!"

Blood continued to splatter until the white robe was dyed red...

(End of this chapter)

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