Mountains and rivers pray for peace

Chapter 132 The first beating of the war drum
In the Longshui Pavilion of the Nie Mansion, Mrs. Liu was lying on the imperial concubine's couch and dozed off, while Nie Ying was fiddled with a high-quality jiaoweiqin, the sound of which was pouring out like flowing water.

After listening for a full quarter of an hour, Liu opened his eyes, and his eyes seemed to hate iron and steel: "If you talk about piano art, your skills are already at the peak, but if you talk about piano skills, you are still not good enough."

Although Mrs. Liu is the daughter of a general, she has a good command of qin music, and she can play a Jiaowei qin superbly.Therefore, she deliberately trained Nie Ying's piano skills since she was a child, trying to train her to become a master so that she could inherit her mantle.It's a pity that although Nie Ying's fingering skills are good, the sound of the piano can't always reach the realm of the stream of water and the wind she wanted.

Nie Ying was not annoyed, she pressed the strings with her palms, then took Mrs. Liu's hand and said coquettishly: "Mother, the piano skills you mentioned are not achieved by many people in this world. What's more, my daughter's piano skills are in the capital. Among the noble ladies, who can be considered as one of the best? Who can be my daughter’s opponent? Moreover, my daughter performed extremely well in these three disciplines today.”

The coldness on Liu's face loosened a bit, but what Nie Ying said was correct. She said that Nie Ying was not good enough because she had extremely strict standards for "good".But if you look around, there is indeed no one in the capital who can compete with Nie Ying among the young girls of the same age.

But she still insisted on persuading: "What is that place in the palace? It's not so easy to get in. Be careful, and you must not relax."

"What are you afraid of? Even if they enter the palace, they will only rush to curry favor with Concubine Shu." Nie Ying peeled an orange easily, with undisguised pride in her eyes and eyebrows.

The corners of Liu's eyes also revealed a hint of a smile, which was the joy of playing with everyone and looking down on everything.

In her eyes, those who rush to climb the branches of Changle Palace are foolish and short-sighted.The battle for the crown prince is turbulent, and the situation is not yet clear.Now these people are rushing to place all their bets on the fifth prince. If they win, they will feel proud, but if they lose, it will be a mistake and the whole bet will be lost.Moreover, the Nie family is a natural member of the Four Princes faction.

It was different to please Queen Mother Pei.Empress Dowager Pei sat firmly in this position, even Emperor Xiaowen couldn't help giving her some face.Moreover, the Empress Dowager Pei has held the power for so many years, so a few random pointers will be of great benefit to Nie Ying.After all, if you want to be the ultimate dealer and send Nie Ying to the throne of the future queen, you have to develop the ability to strategize.

Seeing that Mrs. Liu was silent, Nie Ying smiled again: "Mother, if you saw Liu Yiyi's face today, you would definitely not be able to help laughing. But seeing Huo Qi being summoned by Concubine Shu, she couldn't sit still."

"Oh? Concubine Shu wants to take Huo Qi for her own use?" Mrs. Liu came to her senses, propping herself up on the couch.

Nie Ying peeled off her orange skin and her smile gradually faded: "Who knows? However, Liu Yiyi is now obsessed with Huo Qi as a thorn in his side. I'm afraid there will be another quarrel and let's see if they bite each other."

But Mrs. Liu patted Nie Ying's head in relief: "It's good if you know how to measure. By the way, tomorrow the four princes will also come to the test field in person. I heard that there will be many royal relatives and relatives who will come to watch the ceremony. He is one of the best figures in the capital. If you are sensible, you should have a mental performance of 12 points. The more outstanding your demeanor is, the more attention you can get from the empress dowager."

Nie Ying subconsciously pursed her lips unhappily when she heard Liu's cliché to please the Fourth Prince again.Suddenly he thought of something, and two beams of excitement burst out in his eyes: "Mother, do you think the Seventh Prince will go?"

Mrs. Liu glanced at her helplessly: "My aunt, women are promoted every year in the palace, have you ever seen the Seventh Prince take care of these things? He will be the devil when he comes. In my opinion, you Instead of thinking about it, it's better to practice the song just a few more times."

The smile on Nie Ying's face disappeared in the blink of an eye, and she reluctantly sat back to where she was practicing the piano.In an instant, the flowing sound of the piano flowed along the strings again.

*
On the second day, the second half of the competition for female officer selection kicked off in full swing in the martial arts arena in the palace, which was even more exciting than the first half.After all, the first half was a muffled exam in the Tiyuan Hall, but in the second half, he was able to shine in front of everyone and show his strength.

The huge martial arts arena is divided into three parts: "Plating Qin Pool", "Archery Pavilion" and "Racing Racecourse".In the past, this land was the place where Habayashi guards practiced, but now it is requisitioned as a venue for the selection of female officials, which shows how much the royal family attaches importance to this selection.Some people even vaguely speculated that the next court lady would be born in it. After all, both Emperor Xiaowen and Empress Dowager Pei intended to promote her.

Today, the competitions will be held in the order of playing the piano, archery and equestrian.When Huo Qi arrived, the Piqin Pool was already filled with black people, and it was very lively.Many noble ladies waiting for the competition are all gracefully dressed, with indescribable clothes and temples.

Luo Rou's eyes were sharp, and she saw Huo Qi at a glance. She got out of the crowd and ran to Huo Qi's side in two or three steps. Why are you dressed like this today?"

Huo Qi lowered his head and checked his attire again. He was wearing a pair of blue satin pleated skirts and a moon-white cloud-pattern skirt.This is the suit she specially let Lefeng choose. It is light and simple, which is convenient for her to try riding a horse today.

Seeing Luo Rou's question, she was puzzled and said, "Is there anything wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that many relatives of the royal family came to watch the ceremony today, and everyone tried their best to dress themselves up. In comparison, you are dressed too casually." Luo Rou's eyes signaled her to go Look behind.

Huo Qi followed Luo Rou's gaze and glanced at the place where Nie Ying and Liu Yiyi were standing.

Nie Ying wore a rose-colored floor-length peach blossom dress today, with a graceful lily bun, making her look even more delicate than the peach blossoms on the dress.Liu Yiyi is wearing a goose yellow brocade embroidered phoenix tail skirt. Although her facial features are not as eye-catching as Nie Ying's, her lively eyes make her more beautiful than Nie Ying's.

It can be seen that these two people put a lot of effort into their clothes today.

Just as Huo Qi was thinking, Luo Rou moved her head a little closer: "Look carefully at who are those people in the auditorium."

Huo Qi turned around and looked towards the auditorium, but saw a few familiar clan children, all of whom she had met several times in her previous life, and these people were all powerful figures in today's Daqi.However, from her point of view, most of them are a group of second-generation ancestors who rely on the shade of their ancestors.

Of course, the most eye-catching among them are the fourth and fifth princes sitting in the middle. One is wearing a bright yellow four-clawed python robe, and the other is wearing a narrow-sleeved riding suit. The cuffs of the black clothes are trimmed with bright yellow satin.The two of them were holding wine glasses, their legs crossed on the gold-woven cushions, and they looked at ease, chatting together.Occasionally, his eyes glanced at the ladies waiting near the plectrum pool, which caused another excitement commotion.

"What are they doing here? Isn't it boring?" Huo Qi was puzzled.Although it is still early spring in the capital, the hot and humid weather makes people sweat profusely and feel uncomfortable.Besides, they have long been accustomed to such romantic things as horseback riding, archery and playing the piano. Why do they need to come to the martial arts arena?
Luo Rou saw that Huo Qi was still confused, and said urgently in a low voice: "You usually have a clear eye when you look at it, why did you get confused at a critical moment? Today, the princes and princes who came to watch the ceremony, among them But there are many people who come to see you, don't you understand their thoughts?"

Huo Qi then turned around and said rather wickedly: "Isn't that better? Their minds are elsewhere, and our chances of winning are even greater."

Luo Rou: "..."

(End of this chapter)