Seeing how easily Wang Xiangxiang had defeated those in chess and painting, the calligraphers promptly rose to inspect the characters she had hastily written at the start.
They thought she had written them in haste, but to their surprise, the characters were far from sloppy—a robust and powerful script that could not be achieved without a decade or eight years of practice. They, too, admitted defeat and conceded without contest.
Wang Xiangxiang smiled knowingly and turned to the person who was about to compete with her in playing the qin, "Let’s collaborate on a piece, shall we? Choose whatever you’d like us to play."
By then, the young lady from the affluent family who was prepared for the qin competition dared not speak anymore, intimidated by the manner Wang Xiangxiang had just displayed, convinced that she would surely lose if they competed.
So she said, "We concede. Let’s not play anymore. It’d be better for Shopkeeper Wang to play a piece for us to enjoy."
"Alright, then."
Ever since her parents had died, she had been busy with business and hadn’t touched the qin, chess, calligraphy, or painting much in three years; she had really missed it a lot. Today, she had indulged herself.
She found a qin and sat down to play. Closing her eyes, she emptied her mind and relished the joy the music brought to her.
Her qin music seed to possess a magical quality, leading everyone through a deep forest to an ocean, then up a high mountain, and finally, after the rain cleared, to witness a rainbow.
When the piece was over, the courtyard remained silent as a grave.
Chu Lian too was utterly captivated by Wang Xiangxiang’s performance. He had to admit that she was indeed a talented lady. He extended his hands and started to applaud, cheering for her performance today and her victory in the competitions.
Chu Lian’s applause prompted everyone to follow suit, clapping enthusiastically.
Brought back to reality by the applause, Wang Xiangxiang slowly opened her eyes and smiled gently at everyone.
That smile, ineffable in its beauty, made everyone inwardly exclaim in admiration. They were wholly convinced by their loss; indeed, she possessed both beauty and talent.
With her talent, she had conquered everyone present. Gone was their previous scorn and condescension, replaced by a rush of people eager to make her acquaintance.
"Shopkeeper Wang, I am utterly convinced by my defeat. Rest assured, my family will buy all our clothes from Xiangxiang Cloth Shop from now on."
"Who is your painting master? Could you introduce ?"
"And your calligraphy teacher, where can I learn from them?"
"Who taught you to play chess so well, can we spar again in the future?"
"You play the qin beautifully, could you teach ?"
"..."
"..."
Seeing everyone’s reactions, Wang Xiangxiang laughed. It was an excellent opportunity to expand her network, which would also be hugely beneficial to her business. So of them weren’t bad in character and were worth befriending.
So, smiling, she said, "Of course. You can always co to Xiangxiang Cloth Shop to find , or we can all arrange gatherings like today’s now and then, to often spend ti together."
"That’s a great suggestion, let’s do this more often."
"Yes, I really had a great ti today, eting so many people."
"..."
"..."
Watching how quickly the forrly shrewish girl had beco buddy-buddy with these people, who had just been hostile toward her, Chu Lian was thoroughly impressed. Perhaps he should learn a thing or two from her business-savvy approach.
But why was she so driven for wealth when she seed to lack nothing? Never mind, he’d reluctantly agree to the procurent request she had made earlier.
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