Wenji Judges the Zither

You're joking, Zhou Yi's reputation is excellent now. 

He is regarded as the "model child" in the eyes of the noble young masters of Luoyang's great families. 

How could he possibly go drinking and having fun with "the fierce ghost on the road," Yuan Gonglu? 

If he were to be seen mixing with Yuan Shu, and his father Zhou Jing found out, he would surely get punished. 

Yuan Shu thought to himself, "This little junior brother is quite tsundere." 

No worries, anything this young master sets his sights on—whether beauty or talent—has never escaped my grasp. We have plenty of time. 

Wait, why did that thought just now sound so much like a villain's? Yuan Shu couldn't help but conduct a deep self-reflection. 

After entering the mansion, the two headed toward Cai Yong's study. The servants of the Cai residence knew these two were their master's disciples, so no one stopped them for questioning. 

As they approached the study, they heard the sound of a zither coming from inside. 

The melody was graceful and pleasing, like flowing water over high mountains, bringing a sense of tranquility to the soul. 

Seeing Zhou Yi and Yuan Shu enter the study one after the other, appearing quite familiar with each other, 

Cai Yong, who was playing the zither, was momentarily stunned. 

Zhou Yi was a well-known genius throughout Luoyang, humble and courteous, excelling in all the arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. 

Yuan Shu was also famous, but his reputation was better off nonexistent. 

How could these two possibly be so familiar with each other? 

Although Cai Yong himself considered Yuan Shu a genius, the outside world was unaware of this. 

As if reading his mentor's thoughts, Zhou Yi spoke softly: 

"My senior brother Gonglu and I met once at the Yue Dan Commentary, so we are acquainted." 

Cai Yong nodded. So that was how they knew each other. 

He casually addressed the two of them, 

"Since you're here, take a seat." 

After they both sat down, Yuan Shu noticed a young girl dressed in a blue and white dress sitting before them. 

She looked to be around nine or ten years old, with rosy lips and pearly white teeth, her features as delicate as a porcelain doll. 

Moreover, she exuded a gentle and sweet temperament, showing signs of future beauty despite her young age. 

Yuan Shu thought to himself, "This must be Cai Wenji. Her reputation is indeed well deserved." 

"At such a young age, she already possesses a charm that could enchant the world." 

Cai Yong, completely unaware of Yuan Shu's inappropriate thoughts, introduced her: 

"This is my daughter, Cai Yan. You may simply call her 'junior sister.'" 

Then he turned to Cai Wenji and said: 

"Your two senior brothers interrupted earlier. Let's continue." 

Cai Wenji nodded and focused intently on Cai Yong. 

Cai Yong resumed plucking the zither strings, and the elegant melody filled the room once again. 

Zhou Yi closed his eyes and listened, displaying an expression of deep enjoyment. 

Yuan Shu, on the other hand, was clearly more interested in Cai Wenji. 

He tilted his head, recalling her past experiences. 

This little junior sister, though a talented woman, had a tragic fate. 

She was first married to Wei Zhongdao, but unfortunately, he was frail and sickly. Not long after their marriage, he passed away. 

Later, during the Southern Xiongnu rebellion, she was captured by the Left Sage King of the Xiongnu and bore him two children in the desert—a fate of extreme humiliation. 

It was only after Cao Cao unified the north that he paid a heavy ransom to bring her back. 

Thinking about how the Xiongnu had abducted Cai Wenji, a nameless fury surged within Yuan Shu's heart. 

"Such a sweet and lovely junior sister—how could she be defiled by the Xiongnu?" 

"Now that I am here, no one will lay a finger on her!" 

"When I grow strong, I will flatten the Xiongnu!" 

"I will crush every barbarian who has brought suffering to the people of the Central Plains!" 

Cai Yong was deeply immersed in playing the zither when he unintentionally glanced at the people below. 

He noticed that Yuan Shu was staring at his daughter, Cai Yan, with an intense and somewhat ferocious expression, faintly exuding a murderous aura. 

Cai Yong was startled, and with a sharp "zheng!" the zither string snapped. 

The sudden sound startled all three listeners. 

It wasn't just surprising—it was utterly unexpected. 

After all, Cai Yong was one of the most skilled zither masters in the Han Dynasty. How could he break a zither string while playing? 

Cai Wenji was the first to speak, her crisp, childlike voice ringing out: 

"Father, your second zither string has snapped."

Hearing his little junior sister say this, Zhou Yi asked Cai Yong,

"Master, was it really the second string?"

To be honest, with his unparalleled musical talent among the younger generation, even he couldn't tell which string had snapped.

His little junior sister was so young—there was no way she could have guessed it correctly, right?

At this moment, Cai Yong also came back to his senses. He looked at the broken string and realized that Cai Wenji was right—it really was the second string.

However, he had the same thoughts as Zhou Yi. Wenji was still so young, her musical skills were still very immature—it must have just been a lucky guess.

For once, Cai Yong showed the affectionate side of a father. He smiled gently at Cai Wenji and said,

"My little Yan'er is really lucky—she guessed it right with just a casual remark."

But to his surprise, Cai Wenji did not accept this reasoning. She looked at Cai Yong seriously and said,

"Yan'er didn't guess. I really heard it. Father broke the second string."

Seeing his daughter's serious expression, Cai Yong was at a loss for words.

Even I couldn't tell—which means you could?

Since when did my daughter start lying so confidently?

Cai Yong felt that he couldn't let this slide—this was a good opportunity to educate Cai Wenji.

So, instead of exposing her "lie" right away, he smiled kindly and said,

"It seems I was mistaken. Yan'er's musical skills are truly amazing—you really heard it this time."

Then, he casually snapped another string and continued smiling as he asked,

"Yan'er, which string broke this time?"

Sitting below, Yuan Shu watched Cai Yong's actions and couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

This old man is pretty devious. Who could possibly tell which string broke just from the sound?

To Yuan Shu's ears, the sound of a snapped string had no discernible difference. Was it really okay to put a little girl on the spot like this?

Zhou Yi's brows furrowed slightly. He wondered if his master would end up making his little junior sister cry.

However, Cai Yan remained calm. Without any hesitation, she answered,

"Father, this time it was the fourth string!"

Hearing this, Cai Yong looked down at his instrument, and sure enough, the fourth string was broken!

At this moment, Cai Yong felt utterly bewildered.

What's with these kids?

Just yesterday, Yuan Shu had recited "Climbing High" at only twenty years old, bringing him to tears.

That was one thing—after all, Yuan Shu was in his twenties. His age and genius combined made such an achievement reasonable.

But today, even his own daughter had taught him a lesson.

When it came to musical skill, though Cai Yong never said it aloud, he had always believed he was the best in Luoyang, with Zhou Yi ranking second.

Yet today, both of them had been bested by a nine-year-old girl.

Cai Yong felt deeply hurt, but he couldn't find any fault in Cai Wenji's performance.

Forcing a smile, he praised,

"Not bad, not bad. Yan'er's music skills have improved again—Father is very pleased.

But now is not the time to become complacent. You must continue to work hard, understood?"

Cai Yan obediently nodded and said,

"I understand, Father!"

[Author's Note]:

Note 1: "Biography of Young Children": Cai Yong played the qin at night, and a string snapped. Wenji said, "The second string."

Cai Yong replied, "That was just a lucky guess." So he broke another string and asked again. Wenji said, "The fourth string."

She was not mistaken.

From The Three Character Classic:

"Cai Wenji, could distinguish the qin. Xie Daoyun, could recite poetry.

Those were women, yet they were intelligent. You men should take heed."