Chapter 88: Rocking Ancient Melody (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks!)

  Liu Bian was indecisive and hesitant.

  Literature has no first, martial arts have no second. Bragging is not exclusive to scholars, warriors can brag even more. Lü Bu had little culture, his greatest pride was his martial arts skills, always boasting "Among men, I am Lü Bu", and couldn't tolerate anyone being stronger than him. Zhang Liao coincidentally fought him to a draw, which was the greatest regret of his life. If he hadn't decreed that Lü Bu wasn't allowed to kill, perhaps Zhang Liao would have been defeated long ago.

  For such masters, there is some restraint when fighting, and martial arts naturally suffer greatly. Lü Bu may be strong, but he's not at the level of playing Zhang Liao in the palm of his hand. To win beautifully without hurting Zhang Liao is really not an easy task.

  No matter what, Zhang Liao was exhausted and fainted, and it's unclear if he can make it to the battlefield tomorrow. It's likely that Lü Bu will have to face Guan Yu alone. At this moment, Liu Bei didn't want to put pressure on Lü Bu either, so he told him to rest and prepare for battle tomorrow. Lü Bu agreed and left in high spirits.

  After dinner, Liu Bian followed his usual habit and studied the war with Huang Fu, learned some common sense of using troops, returned to his own palace, and summoned Cai Yan to teach him how to play the qin. Cai Yan played for a while, and Liu Bian suddenly frowned, gesturing for Cai Yan to stop.

  "Your Majesty, is it that I, your subject, played poorly?"

  "No, the tune is good, it's just... a bit dull." Liu Bian scratched his temples and carefully chose his words. The little girl had a strong sense of self-respect, he didn't want to stimulate her. However, no matter how well she played, listening every day was also a bit annoying. Not only couldn't calm the mind, but it made people feel anxious and irritable. "Can... can you play some light and lively tunes for me?"

  "Light-hearted?" Cai Yan knew why Liu Bian was impatient. However, she understood the reason more clearly than Liu Bian, and for a moment felt a little guilty, so she deliberately put on a playful expression, smiling coyly: "Then what would Your Majesty like to hear?"

  Liu Bian knew very little about the guqin, this kind of elegant and classical music, what would he understand?

  "Just do it, just don't be so boring." Liu Bian twisted his neck and shook his shoulders: "Every day listening to this 'Guangling Stop', I'm almost suffocated. Give me something lively and exciting."

  Cai Yan was somewhat embarrassed. Most of the tunes she knew were ancient ones, and even if there were some lively ones, they couldn't be considered exciting. She did know of one tune that Liu Bian needed, but her father had strictly forbidden her from playing it for Liu Bian, leaving her at a loss for what to do. Seeing the young girl's embarrassed expression, Liu Bian burst out laughing and said with a smile: "How about this? You're able to compose music, aren't you? I'll give you a beat, and you can improvise a piece on the spot, how's that?"

  Cai Yan had no choice but to nod and say: "I will try my best."

  Liu Bian searched his mind and suddenly found that the memories of his past life had faded a lot. He couldn't remember many of those popular songs he used to know. After thinking for half a day, he finally remembered one song by rock king Michael Jackson, "Beat It". He took a look at the delicate and weak Cai Yan, and when he thought of this little girl singing rock with her waist and hips swaying, he almost burst out laughing.

  "Hmm, cough." Liu Bian pretended to cough: "I've been dreaming of a tune these past few days, it sounds wonderful. Listen and see if you can compose a new piece for me."

  Cai Yan didn't expect that, and nodded in response. Liu Bian hummed a tune with a serious expression, tapping his hand on the table to keep the beat, humming through the rock song once. Cai Yan listened, sat in front of the piano case, closed her eyes and thought for a moment, shook her head: "Your Majesty, I can't do it."

  "Why?" Liu Bian had known all along that she couldn't do it. Cai Yan was a genius, but it was impossible to adapt this kind of rhythmic piece into a guqin piece. These were two completely different styles. Nevertheless, he still looked at Cai Yan with a disappointed expression.

  "The artistic conception of this piece cannot be expressed by the guqin." Cai Yan's eyes lit up: "However, if there is a small drum, I can try to compose a drum piece."

  Liu Bian smiled. There was nothing else in the military camp, but there were plenty of drums. He immediately had someone bring a small cowhide drum used for transmitting orders. Cai Yan took the drum in hand, one hand recalling the rhythm that Liu Bian hummed, and the other tapping on the cowhide drum.

  Watching Cai Yan's small hands rise and fall on the cowhide drum, that familiar melody gradually took shape. Liu Bian was stunned. This little girl is too against the sky, isn't she? Having listened to it once, being able to remember the beat is one thing, but relying on her own simple humming and beating, she can actually restore a drum song on the small drum to about 70-80%, is this something ordinary people can do?

  This girl... has probably also enlightened her fate and entered the realm of a demigod?

  Liu Bian stared at Cai Yan, looking left and right, but Cai Yan was immersed in the musical realm and didn't notice him. Tang Xing, who was standing beside them, saw this and couldn't help but stretch out her hand to pinch Liu Bian, scolding: "Your Majesty, if you like her, just bring her into the palace, why be so impatient?"

  "Ah?" Liu Bian was startled, meeting Tang Ying's disapproving gaze. He suddenly came to his senses and hastily explained: "Yingzi, you misunderstood. I just think... she's too clever. I only hummed it once, but she actually managed to reproduce it."

  "Hum, the daughter of a great Confucian scholar, she's naturally clever."

  "Hmm..." Liu Bian was speechless, knowing that Tang Ying had gotten jealous again. "That... Ah Yuan, don't be in a hurry, whenever it's ready, just let me know. I need to talk to Consort Tang about something now, you can withdraw for the time being."

  Cai Yan's face turned red, and she took the cowhide drum and went out. Her bedroom was just in the side corridor, not far away. Liu Bian's hearing was extremely good, even with the door closed, he could still hear Cai Yan adjusting the drum tune. As he listened, he suddenly became distracted, and a string in his heart seemed to be plucked.

  Tang Ying felt Liu Bian's distraction and was very dissatisfied: "Your Majesty..."

  "Yingzi, listen." Liu Bian stretched out his finger and covered her lips: "Do you hear the drum sound, is there a kind of knocking on the heart feeling?"

  "Is it not that the drum is beating in my heart, but rather that the hand that beats the drum is touching my heart?" Tang Ying was furious, pushed Liu Bian away, wrapped up her clothes and lay down beside him. Liu Bian laughed, stretched out his hand to pull her into his arms, his fingers tapping lightly on her smooth shoulders to the rhythm of the drum. Tang Ying endured for a moment, turned around, glared at Liu Bian: "Not finished yet? Want to go then go, I don't dare stop you, otherwise I'll get a reputation for being jealous, which I can't bear."

  "Yingzi, you're too impatient." Liu Bian furrowed his brow: "You didn't notice anything unusual?"

  "The tune is strange, but people are even stranger." Tang Ying pushed away Liu Bian and pulled the quilt over her head, no longer paying attention to Liu Bian. Liu Bian was speechless, originally wanting to coax Tang Ying, but couldn't put down this drumbeat. Unlike Tang Ying's indifference, he felt that this drum sound was somewhat strange, specifically what was strange about it, he couldn't say.

  After listening for half the night, Liu Bian still couldn't figure out what was special about the drum tune, and he fell asleep with Tang Ying in his arms. Just as he had closed his eyes for a while, a palace maid suddenly rushed in to report that Zhang Huan had appeared with an abnormal expression.

  Liu Bian had just sat up when a low, muffled roar suddenly came from beside his ear. Before he could react, Tang Ying beside him suddenly sat up with a start, her eyes wide with terror and cold sweat dripping down her face.

  Update 2! Seeking recommendations! Seeking collections!