latelenovela Chapter 149 The song ends
Chapter 149 The song ends
Chapter 149 The Song Ends
Many people turned pale when they heard Ye Ru accept the exam question.
The ranking of the four arts (music, chess, calligraphy, and painting) is based on the fact that the qin (a stringed instrument) is ranked first because it is formless and without image; chess is ranked second because it is based on the Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate) and Yin-Yang symbol; calligraphy is ranked third because it is based on the Three Powers and Eight Trigrams; and painting is ranked fourth because it encompasses all things. The more abstract the art, the more difficult it is. As the name suggests, the formless and without image is the most difficult.
Now, the teachers at Yuzhang Academy are asking him to compose a piece of music in just five minutes, which is harder than climbing to heaven.
"I never expected the Left Prime Minister to be so vicious, coming up with a problem that even those at the third level of the Dao of Qin (a type of Chinese zither) would find impossible to solve!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Tianjian's expression also changed. Although he knew that Ye Ru's poetry was renowned throughout the world, and even ordinary scholars or Jinshi might not be able to beat him in a poetry contest.
However, the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting are only for the children of wealthy or aristocratic families. Ye Ru was young and impetuous, and was easily angered by Xu Zhou's few words. This was undoubtedly digging his own grave.
“Ye Tongsheng, it is understandable if you cannot compose this piece of music. This is simply too difficult. I, Yingtian Academy, will make an exception and admit you.”
Upon hearing Zhang Shuling's words, Ye Ru was taken aback, then nodded. The Left Prime Minister's methods had already begun one after another. Among these four academies, Yuzhang Academy was the Left Prime Minister's backyard. The remaining three academies must also have the Left Prime Minister's henchmen, all hiding in the shadows, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to his literary reputation.
Taking a deep breath, Ye Ru straightened his body. Although the Left Prime Minister was cunning, he knew that he was not eager for wealth and honor, nor saddened by poverty and lowliness, and he also had his own pride.
Ye Ru sat down cross-legged, and with a wave of his hand, the Taihe Qin appeared in front of him.
"A second-grade literary treasure? Could it be that Ye Tongsheng has practiced the zither?"
Kong Hexuan was taken aback, then exclaimed in surprise that he had never seen this zither before.
"No, look at his playing technique; it's not like what a master would do. I've never seen anything like it before."
A descendant of Sima Xiangru frowned and said in a deep voice.
Sima Xiangru and his wife Zhuo Wenjun once played the zither in harmony and killed many demons. Moreover, the former's fu (a type of classical Chinese poetry) was unique and he was known as the fu sage. Therefore, the Sima family's mastery of the zither was much stronger than that of other sage families.
"His fingers were bent, and although there were calluses, they were not noticeable and seemed to be fading. I observed that Ye Ru had only been practicing the art of the zither for three or four days. This was undoubtedly walking into a trap. If this continued, Xuzhou would inevitably find a pretext to use against him."
Li Baiyuan stared at Ye Ru's hand and blurted out.
"If Ye Ru can't go to the four great academies, then let him come to the Martial Arts Academy I established. All the students there have been investigated, and none of them are the Left Prime Minister's men. It would actually be better for him to go there."
Chen Tianjian said slowly.
"The historian said: King Wen was imprisoned and then wrote the *Zhouyi* (Book of Changes); Confucius was in distress and then wrote the *Spring and Autumn Annals*; Qu Yuan was exiled and then composed the *Li Sao* (Encountering Sorrow); Zuo Qiuming lost his sight and then wrote the *Guoyu* (Discourses of the States); Sun Bin had his kneecaps removed and then compiled the *Art of War*; Lü Buwei was exiled to Shu and then the *Lüshi Chunqiu* (Annals of Lü Buwei) was passed down through generations; Han Fei was imprisoned in Qin and then wrote *Shuonan* (On the Difficulty of Persuasion) and *Gufen* (Solitary Indignation); the three hundred poems of the *Shijing* (Book of Poetry) were mostly written by sages and worthies in times of hardship. Born in adversity, dying in comfort, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, it's not something that happens overnight. If Ye Ru were placed in your martial arts academy, perhaps he would be safe for a while, but without trials and tribulations, he would remain nothing more than an unpolished gem."
Li Baiyuan shook his head, disagreeing with Chen Tianjian's opinion, and then said again:
"Don't worry, if Ye Ru is eliminated this time, I will use my identity to make a trip to Yingtian Academy."
"Alright then, I hope Ye Tongsheng can succeed quickly. I think this is Yingtian Academy's last chance."
Chen Tianjian fell silent, his gaze fixed on Ye Ru, yet he remained somewhat worried.
Yingtian Academy is an academy belonging to the Wenxiang faction, but it is now being suppressed severely.
Surrounded by onlookers, Ye Ru slightly moved his hand and began to play the zither piece "Xiangfei's Lament," which he had been learning in the past few days.
Perhaps due to the pressure of this performance, Ye Ru discovered that his fingering technique, which had been stagnant, had improved, and his playing was exceptionally smooth.
All musical pieces share the same artistic conception as poems and lyrics. The musical theme of "Xiangfei's Lament" is "lament." According to the book, there was a widower named Yao who married two daughters, the elder named Ehuang and the younger named Nüying. After Shun became emperor, they became his two consorts.
When Emperor Shun went on a southern hunt, he died in the wilderness of Cangwu. His two consorts wept for him, sprinkling their tears on the bamboo, which all withered and died. Later generations set this scene on string and wind instruments, and it became known as the Lament of the Xiang Consorts.
"This playing technique feels both familiar and strangely unfamiliar."
Sima Boqian of the Sima family changed his expression and carefully savored the playing techniques of the lyrics and music. He saw Ye Ru's fingers sometimes pushing and sometimes pulling, and sometimes stroking the strings, which was mysterious and unpredictable.
"Hmph, they are truly ignorant of their own limitations. They are not skilled enough to show off their clumsy work here. They are utterly unworthy of the title of the first student."
Xu Zhou listened carefully to Ye Ru's music, then suddenly chuckled.
"How much stronger are you? If you were Ye Tongsheng, you would probably be a hundred times more embarrassed than him."
Zhang Shuling glanced at Xu Zhou and said sarcastically.
"Unfortunately, that's not possible."
Xu Zhou sneered.
Ye Ru naturally couldn't hear these words. Unconsciously, Ye Ru was immersed in the music of Xiangfei's Lament, and his whole being entered a serene state.
The music shifted from disorder to harmony as Ye Ru played the third section, which added a sense of desolation and bleakness to the overall atmosphere.
Upon hearing the music, the mockery and worry in everyone's eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by a look of rapture, as if their hearts had also sunk into this desolate atmosphere.
"His technique just now was chaotic and disorderly, with no discernible pattern. But now I seem to see a remarkable woman standing on the banks of the Xiang River, weeping and lamenting. Is this the state of perfect harmony between music and the realm of music?"
Li Baiyuan, the Minister of Literature, was the first to wake up from the music and looked at Ye Ru with a shocked expression.
"His studies of the zither are just beginning. Although he hasn't yet reached the true realm of the zither, he's showing signs of achieving it. It seems our worries were unfounded."
Chen Tianjian's face was solemn; he could feel the sorrow and resentment contained in the sound.
Ye Ru continued playing, moving from the third section to the fourth. His slender fingers plucked the strings repeatedly, as if he were pouring out all the resentment in his heart. Waves of resentment spread outwards with the sound of the zither.
"Jiji."
Suddenly, countless azaleas flew in from the sky. These azaleas were all composed of talent energy. They swirled in the sky like tornadoes, surrounding Ye Ru.
This scene not only shocked Wen Xiang and the others, but even Zhang Shuling and Xu Zhou were stunned.
After a moment, a labored voice escaped from Zhang Shuling's mouth:
"Using sound to create a realm, the music of the zither transforming into illusion?"
As Ye Ru played the sixth section, the cuckoos began to cry, their voices plaintive and deep, filling everyone with resentment and anger at the country's misrule and the people's suffering.
"We must storm into the Left Chancellor's treacherous faction!"
One person clenched their fist and blurted out the words involuntarily.
The music gradually shifted from high-pitched to low-pitched, and the hearts of the crowd gradually calmed down. By the time they recovered, they were unaware that Ye Ru had already finished playing.
Xu Zhou and the others were completely stunned. In just fifteen minutes, Ye Ru had actually created a musical score and even made the sound of the zither come to life!
This is simply a miracle, and a miracle that has never been seen before!
A moment later, a soft voice came, slowly bringing them back to their senses, though a hint of seriousness remained in their eyes:
"Now that the music has ended, I wonder if it has met the standards of you gentlemen?"