The voices that were cursing him gradually quietened down. Some of them began to realize that his words weren’t entirely without reason.
Market themselves? Pei Mianman was still leaning against the windowsill, but she wore a strange expression. Even though the words this fellow used were crude, they were quite interesting. But now, not only did he end up offending Qiu Honglei, he had also offended all courtesan queens.
As expected, when she heard his evaluation, Qiu Honglei’s face became completely pale, and her chest trembled.
Zu An immediately added, “Of course, strictly speaking, this isn’t Lady Qiu’s mistake. Rather, this is just how things are. There’s no need to be too bothered.”
Qiu Honglei rolled her eyes with hidden resentment. “How can I not be bothered? After hearing the young master’s remarks, I might never play the guqin again.”
Anguished wails greeted this pronouncement.
“Please, Lady Qiu! Your playing is really beautiful!”
“That brat is speaking nonsense! He doesn’t know anything!”
“Exactly! If you don’t play the zither again, then it would be a loss for all of Brightmoon City! No, the entire Great Zhou Dynasty!”
…
These people continued to howl in grief, all the while glaring at Zu An with hate-filled eyes.
As he watched his Rage points rocket up another couple of thousand points, Zu An immediately became full of disdain. Simps and white knights everywhere. Keep licking boots until you find out there is actually nothing left for you.
Of course, without all of you lovely bootlickers, where would I go to farm so many Rage points?
At this moment, Xie Siu tilted his head slightly, as if he was listening to someone nearby. Sudden shock flashed across his face, and he said loudly, “Brother Zu, even though what you say makes a bit of sense, Lady Qiu has already masterfully played her piece, and her emotions were perfectly blended into her music! The things you have pointed out are too vague, and there is nothing concrete.”
After saying this, he smiled apologetically to Zu An. It was clear that tearing him down like this left him slightly embarrassed as well.
When he noticed this expression, Zu An guessed that he was merely the mouthpiece, and that these were probably Xie Daoyun’s words.
Xie Xiu’s objections encouraged the rest of the crowd.
“That’s right! Everyone can speak about vague and broad principles. However, only specific pointers of improvement are truly worthwhile!”
Zu An said in a calm and unhurried manner, “The main reason why the zither is not suitable for a brothel environment is because the melodies it produced can be slightly too bland. Its sound color is also concentrated in the middle register. If it can be paired with another instrument that can complement it, the soundscape will become much richer, with more layers, and the tempo and rhythm will become clearer. This will naturally make the music more appropriate to this setting.”
Xie Daoyun snorted, and passed her comments to Xie Xiu to convey.
Xie Xiu’s wore an expression of helplessness, but he still spoke in her place. “You make it sound easy, but different instruments have different sound colors and different qualities. The zither’s sound is small and intimate to begin with. If other instruments are added to it, it could be overpowered, and the effect may be jarring.”
Qiu Honglei nodded in agreement. “Indeed. In fact, such ideas have been tried by many musicians before, but all of their efforts ended in failure. There is no practical way to implement what the young master says.”
Hisses of glee could be heard from all directions. The crowd were ecstatic to see him embarrassed.
“With the right approach, all this can be easily solved. You all just haven’t found it yet.” Zu An was slightly surprised. Was the level of musical understanding in this world really so shallow that they couldn’t even figure out such a simple issue?
Up on the second floor, Xie Daoyun snorted. Arguing with this fool was surely a waste of her time.
This guy wants to brush over something no zither player from past to present has ever achieved? If only it was that easy!
She had a clear enough idea of what was going on. This fella was most likely a nobody, possessing only the slightest understanding of the zither. To think that she had actually engaged in such a passionate discussion with him just a second ago! The humiliation was almost overwhelming.
By this time, Chen Xuan had also finalized his plans. Knowing that there was no way Zu An could feel good after being put down like this, he took the opportunity to twist the knife further. “It’s always easy to talk—talking is something anyone can do! If you have the skills, why don’t you do it, then?”