Qin Room.
In a rare occurrence, Wei Ying was not kneeling at the qin table. Instead, her mind was elsewhere as she paced back and forth across the floor with her long legs.
Xia Jingui, on the other hand, sat before the qin table with great interest, fiddling with the newly replaced Seven-Stringed Qin.
"The Phoenix Arriving with Ceremony was already of the highest quality in terms of tone. Who would have thought Sister had such a fine treasure hidden in her residence?"
As she spoke, several fingers as pale as scallion stalks plucked at the strings, gradually quickening from slow to fast. The delicate, moving notes rose little by little until they filled the entire Qin Room.
Though Wei Ying was agitated, she could not help stopping when Xia Jingui appraised the qin. Shaking her head, she said, "Among the many treasures in my residence, this qin is undoubtedly the finest in delicacy of tone. But in terms of range, Phoenix Arriving with Ceremony is still more to my liking."
Xia Jingui knew a little about playing the qin as well, but she could not bear kneeling before it for long. She leaned her increasingly voluptuous body to one side, stretched out her legs beneath her skirt like a pair of compasses, and lightly patted them again and again.
At the same time, her eyes darted about. Suddenly recalling something, she burst into laughter. "As expected, Sister still prefers something more bold and unrestrained. You have no taste for this sort of affected refinement."
"Of course I..."
Wei Ying nodded instinctively, then caught sight of Xia Jingui's teasing expression and abruptly realized what she meant. She snapped, "What nonsense are you talking about?! When has the Prince ever been affected?!"
"Sister, do not wrong me. When did I ever