282 Picked On and Humiliated

Just as Miss Du indulged in her confidence and thought about how she was going to win effortlessly, Zhao Chuchu raised her arm and plucked the strings on the Guzheng.

The melody from the Guzheng sounded like the rallying horns of an attacking army. The audience could almost hear the roars and yells of powerful warriors, the clings and clangs of swords and shields. Then, suddenly, the music became even more agitated.

The hearts of the audience were hung in the air by the music, and they even started to feel the tension in the air.

The audience felt like they could see two armies engaged in a fierce battle. It was grand, shocking, solemn, and tragic. The heroic sadness was expressed to perfection. It sounded like the roars of soldiers who were ambushed and trapped, fighting the final battle of their lives. Just then, the music stopped.

The garden was so quiet that the audience could probably hear a pin drop.

Everyone was engrossed in the piece that had just ended, its echoes still circling around their ears.

Miss Du’s hands were hovering on top of her Guzheng. She was still in shock from hearing Zhao Chuchu’s performance.

Yuan Hui was the first person to react.

She immediately started clapping.

Her applause snapped everyone out of their dazed state. They all looked toward Zhao Chuchu and started applauding and cheering for her.

“Sister Lin, you’re amazing!” Yuan Hui exclaimed as she ran toward Zhao Chuchu. “How come I’ve never heard you perform this piece before? When did you learn it?”

“I knew it a long time ago. I just didn’t have the chance to play it for you. I’m a little rusty, to be honest. I played a few wrong notes. I hope it didn’t bother anyone.” Zhao Chuchu looked toward Miss Du and said, “Miss Du, it’s your turn!”

Miss Du raised her head and looked toward Zhao Chuchu. The resentment in her eyes was obvious at that point.

Zhao Chuchu had clearly pretended to be inferior. She was setting a trap for Miss Du!

Regardless of how good she was at playing the Guzheng, all of the pieces she knew didn’t have any significant meaning or story behind them. She would be beaten by Zhao Chuchu just based on the meaning of the piece alone. She didn’t dare to perform after Chuchu’s stunning performance. That would be humiliating.

Those girls who mocked and laughed at Zhao Chuchu just now didn’t dare speak.

The “bumpkin” that they looked down on not only destroyed the men in horse riding and archery, but she also managed to beat Miss Du, who was the best Guzheng player among them.

Zhao Chuchu really didn’t come from a well-established, noble family?

Doubt started to form in everyone’s heart.

“Miss Du, I’ve completed my performance. It’s your turn now,” Zhao Chuchu reminded Miss Du once again.

Miss Du began trembling a little. Fear started growing in her heart, just like when she saw Zhao Chuchu hit all ten arrows earlier.

“I, I…” Miss Du stuttered. She just couldn’t bring herself to say that she didn’t want to play anymore.

The other people all lowered their heads. They were afraid that Zhao Chuchu would pick on them and humiliate them as well.

They had never heard the piece that Zhao Chuchu played just now, but they could feel the solemn, chilling emotions that had easily overwhelmed them.

Playing the Guzheng is all about creating atmosphere and conveying emotions.

Very few Guzheng players could do this, not even Miss Du.

“Miss Du, it’s your turn!” Zhao Chuchu said, increasing her volume.

This woman was the one who tried to provoke her first.

Now that it was her turn, there was no way Zhao Chuchu would let her off the hook.

Miss Du’s mind was completely jumbled up by Zhao Chuchu’s performance. How could she possibly calm down and perform now?

“I’m sorry, my hand suddenly started hurting just now. I don’t think I can play the Guzheng for now. Miss Lin, your performance today was absolutely wonderful and impressive. I had no idea that a girl with such incredible talent and beauty existed in Guangqing Province. It’s my pleasure to meet you today.”

Miss Du stood up. A friendly smile appeared on her face as she tried to befriend Zhao Chuchu.

The only way to wipe away what just happened was to become friends with her.

That way, she could tell the others that she was allowing her good friend to show off to the crowd. Not only would she be able to save herself from embarrassment, but she would also gain a reputation from the incident.

Zhao Chuchu could instantly tell what Miss Du was trying to do. She said, “That’s fine. I have a bit of medical knowledge. Maybe I can check it for you? If you injure your hand and don’t receive treatment as soon as possible, it could hinder your playing in the future.”

“You’re a doctor?” Miss Du was shocked again.

“Mhm, did you see the maid following Yuan Hui around? I heard that people often laughed at the maids in the Yuan clan for being ugly, especially Chunxiang. I think her face, full of red bumps, has been quite infamous among you. Now, look at her.”

Zhao Chuchu pulled Chunxiang out from behind Yuan Hui as she spoke.

Everyone looked toward Chunxiang; their gazes focused on her face.

The two girls from the Xia clan beside Kang Xiuwan knew the Yuan clan best.

They had mocked the little maid from the Yuan clan, who had red bumps all over her face, on numerous occasions. So Chunxiang was the best material for them to use to attack the Yuan clan verbally.

“How did Chunxiang’s face recover? Is this one of those magical disguise techniques? So many doctors said that there was no way to save her face. Not only is it much better now, but there is also absolutely no sign of the bumps on her face!”

“Miss Lin, are you a master of disguise? You helped her to put on a disguise and look pretty so you can come here and deceive us?”

The two girls from the Xia clan were the first to speak. They immediately started to question Zhao Chuchu.

“If disguise techniques like this really existed, with your family’s wealth and status, shouldn’t you have acquired such techniques a long time ago?” Zhao Chuchu said impassively. “If you don’t believe me, you can choose someone, and I’ll prove it to you right now.”

“Aren’t you afraid of injuring your tongue with such big talk? You’ve already made your name today and shown off enough. Are you so desperate to let the entire Guangqing Province know of your existence? I know you want to be famous and glamorous, but I don’t think there’s a need to try so hard, right? Be careful. You might achieve the opposite effect if you keep this up.” Xia Jiahui sneered in disdain.

Kang Xiuwan tugged on her and said, “Jiahui, keep your voice down. What if Miss Lin really is a doctor? Won’t you be the one who gets embarrassed?”

“I don’t believe that she knows everything! If she’s really so amazing, she would’ve been famous across Guangqing Province long ago. There was no need for Yuan Hui to bring her to the poetry and literature gathering to get famous! Some people will go to any length to become famous!”

Zhao Chuchu looked at her and said, “Miss, do you want me to tell everyone about your recent condition and what medicine and supplements you’ve been eating?”

When Xia Jiahui heard that, her expression changed dramatically.

She had been eating some medication because her menstrual cycle had been abnormal recently.

But the only person who knew about this was her mother. She was going to start searching for a partner now. If people knew about her condition, they would probably suspect that she was infertile. She wouldn’t be able to find a husband from a good family that way, which was why she had been keeping it a secret.

But Zhao Chuchu seemed to have guessed everything by just looking at her.

“That’s absolute nonsense.” Xia Jiahui was so embarrassed that she was livid. She said, “You must be an absolutely horrible doctor if you’re accusing people of having diseases after just looking at them. How have people not beaten you to death yet?”

“No one dares beat me because they are begging me to treat them. Miss, I don’t think there was any grudge between us, but you are treating me like I’ve killed your father. May I ask what I did to offend you?”

“You, you…”

“Jiahui!”

Kang Xiuwan saw that things were about to get out of control, so she hurriedly stopped Xia Jiahui from doing anything impulsive.

Otherwise, with Xia Jiahui’s personality, she would definitely start to get violent. If Xia Jiahui really tried anything like that, she would be the one who got hurt.

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