If His Highness agrees, he can ask his cousin, Tao Sheng to come over and help select a few suitable songs to help His Highness stand out on Halloween.

Luo Taosheng? Is she the little girl who is said to be so miraculous that carp can leap over the dragon gate after hearing her piano playing? 

The King of Chu’s eyes were a little red. Ji Yanming was so loyal to him that not only did he surrender himself and serve him, but he even pulled his cousin out to help and joined his army.

Do I really have such great charisma that this newly crowned champion would fall in love with me and bring my family to live with me?

The always confident King of Chu fell into deep self-doubt.

_

Ji Yanming was called upon to take up the post before he was even appointed to the position. He always encountered some emergencies from time to time. It wasn’t long before he had to bring back two sets of stomach medicine.

From then on, the whole yard of the house was filled with the rich smell of Chinese medicine. Tao Sheng heard about Ji Yanming’s stomachache but did not say much that day. She just took Sister Liu out early the next morning and bought a lot of ingredients and herbs for making stomach-nourishing herbal porridge^[1]is a warm dish made from grains and herbs believed to be good for digestion.. 

The carriage stopped in front of Su’s house. Tao Sheng slowly got out of the car and met Ji Yanming and another handsome young man with picturesque features.

Tao Sheng walked forward and greeted Ji Yanming lightly first, then turned her gaze to the young man in blue clothes beside him: “I wonder who this young man is…”

“This is the new top scholar, Mr. Xie,” Ji Yanming said. “Xie Huaian.”

It turns out that this person is the new top scholar Xie Huaian.

After seeing Xie Huaian in person, Tao Sheng finally understood why people in the capital talked about Xie Huaian more than Ji Yanming when discussing appearance.

Although Ji Yanming’s facial features are more regular and attractive than Xie Huaian’s, compared with the cold and arrogant top scholar, it is obvious that Xie Huaian is more in line with the aesthetic taste of the people in the capital.

The moment Tao Sheng saw Xie Huaian, she felt a warm breeze blowing on her face, as if spring was in full swing.

Xie Huaian’s voice was also gentle and pleasant: “I think this must be Miss Luo, the cousin of Ji Zhuangyuan. I often hear people talk about her name, but after all, hearing about her is not as good as meeting her in person. I went to Liuye Hutong to visit my aunt just now, but I didn’t know that my aunt had left early in the morning and was not in the city today. I remembered that Ji Zhuangyuan’s home was nearby, so I came to visit. I wonder if it’s okay to disturb you?”

Who would refuse to have the new top scholar, who is both a genius in studies and a handsome man, come to visit their home?

Tao Sheng blurted out: “Of course not.”

Ji Yanming looked at Xie Huaian with a warm smile on his face. Tao Sheng also stared at him for a long time without moving her eyes away and frowned unconsciously.

It’s not like Tao Sheng hasn’t smiled at herself before, but she has rarely smiled as brightly as she did at Xie Huaian.

In daily life, Ji Yanming didn’t think there was any problem with the way they got along, but compared to her reaction when she saw Xie Huaian at this moment, it was obviously a bit bland.

After Xie Huaian entered the room and sat down, he told Ji Yanming about a task they had discussed in the Hanlin Academy yesterday. He felt that the third section of the chapter on planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms was a little unreasonable.

Seeing that they were talking about serious matters, Tao Sheng left Liu Mian to serve tea and then closed the door and left.

Just as she was about to leave, Ji Yanming suddenly stood up and blocked her way: “Ah Sheng, are you free tomorrow?”

Tao Sheng nodded: “I’ll be fine tomorrow.”

It’s okay, but there is something wrong.

After being rejected twice when they invited her to play the piano for them, the Lu family of General Dingguo’s mansion invited her to teach two young men and a young lady how to play the piano in the name of teaching them the art of playing the piano, and the tuition fee they offered was very considerable.

Tao Sheng knew that her specialty was music, her piano skills were not top-notch, and her teaching was not professional either, so she felt a little guilty about accepting the price.

Originally, she was still struggling over whether to go to the Lu family tomorrow, but now thinking that it was probably fate that Ji Yanming was looking for her for something, she immediately decided to reject the Lu family’s invitation.

After Ji Yanming received a positive answer, he told Tao Sheng what he had agreed with the King of Chu during the day.

The idea was to ask her to help the King of Chu pick out some suitable music scores, and preferably to make some translations and annotations.

Tao Sheng has been wondering what the King of Chu is like ever since they parted ways with Ji Yanming that day. If he is really confused, as Ji Yanming said, she wonders if there will be any problems.

When she heard that there was a chance to visit the Prince Chu’s Palace this time, she readily agreed.

Ji Yanming and Tao Sheng spoke quietly, and Xie Huaian couldn’t hear them clearly while holding a teacup. He thought he faintly heard the words “King of Chu.”

During the imperial examination, Xie Huaian sat next to Ji Yanming, and since they were of similar age, they quickly became friends. They had been working on editing books together, which brought them closer than with the other candidates.

It was well-known in the Hanlin Academy that Ji Yanming was sent to the Prince of Chu’s Palace by the Emperor. Everyone had high hopes for this young scholar, who had won six awards in a row, believing his future was bright.

Unexpectedly, Ji Yanming caught the Emperor’s attention due to his high status, and he was appointed to the King of Chu ahead of time. This situation was more than just unfortunate.

When the news first broke, several editors in the Hanlin Academy congratulated Ji Yanming but secretly felt jealous and wanted to see what would happen to him. This reflects how scholars often look down on each other.

_ 

The next day, Tao Sheng followed Ji Yanming to the Prince of Chu’s mansion as planned. 

Regarding what Ji Yanming mentioned yesterday, Tao Sheng originally thought she would just need to review some music scores, mark suitable parts for the King of Chu, and possibly adjust some notes to make it easier for him to perform independently.

However, when Tao Sheng saw the butler open the piano room door, she was completely shocked. 

The Qin Room ^[2]which is a room designed for playing the guqin, a traditional Chinese string instrument. in the King of Chu’s house was vast. The three high walls were lined with shelves filled with various music scores collected by the King of Chu’s servants.

Some of these scores were rare and hard to find, while others were songs mentioned by Mr. Qianwei but never brought out from the Taiyue Bureau. Now they were neatly displayed, waiting for someone worthy to discover them.

For someone at her level, this wall of music scores was as valuable as a mountain of gold.

Ji Yanming noticed Tao Sheng smiling and felt happier than when he spoke with Xie Huaian. He thought, “Do you like it?”

At that moment, Tao Sheng realized Ji Yanming’s story about selecting songs for the King of Chu was just an excuse to have her read the book.

She remembered that in the original novel, the male protagonist’s friend mentioned Ji Yanming had always been single and was probably too cold and indifferent to women to know how to love.

Choosing gifts that match someone’s interests can be heartwarming!

Tao Sheng suddenly felt that those who talked negatively about Ji Yanming were short-sighted.

Tao Sheng spent nearly two hours in the zither room reviewing the music scores.

The King of Chu came in looking for a book and saw the girl brought by Ji Zhuangyuan sitting happily, focused on copying the music score, with smiles on her face.

Ji Yanming invited her to help him, but she was so engrossed that she looked genuinely joyful.

The King of Chu inferred that this girl must have a good relationship with her cousin and felt happy thinking about the sacrifices she made for him.

Seeing such a pretty and well-mannered young girl sincerely giving her heart to someone at her age moved the King of Chu.

Although he admired Ji Yanming and chose him, the King of Chu thought Tao Sheng was a good girl and felt it was important to give her some advice.

“Miss Luo,” the King of Chu called out as he was about to leave.

Seeing his serious expression, Tao Sheng asked curiously, “What is it, Your Highness?”

The King of Chu sighed and said earnestly, “Girl, please be careful.”

Even after being betrayed, he still helped others count their money^[3]implies that despite his past experiences with betrayal, he remains generous or willing to assist others, showing a contrast between his past hurt and his current kindness..