Since she had already decided to join the Heiress’ Gala, she would definitely have to perform either tea-brewing, the four arts, singing or wine-serving. Although Wen Xinya had only learned those skills for a short period of time, she was full of wisdom and talent which many couldn’t compare to. At the same time, she had also received guidance from Old Mr. Mo and Si Yiyan. Hence, she definitely wouldn’t be worse than those people.
Old Mr. Mo had known right from the start that she had a weak foundation and thus, paid more attention when teaching her. Hence, she was rather confident about it. However, even then, she still had to prepare herself adequately.
Wen Xinya flipped through the scores and asked, “Grampy, what do you think I should perform during the Heiress’ Gala?”
Since Lin Yingxin had invited her to the Heiress’ Gala, it was likely that she would compete with Wen Xinya in the zither. Hence, she had no choice but to keep her guard up.
While fiddling with the chessboard, Old Mr. Mo exclaimed, “You may decide on your own!”
Wen Xinya was proficient in the four arts and, even if she could not get a good ranking during the Heiress’ Gala, she would at least not embarrass him. Hence, there was nothing for him to worry about. Besides… he had also heard that the standards of the Heiress’ Gala had greatly plunged in recent years. He was certain that Wen Xinya would be able to manage.
Wen Xinya bit her finger indecisively and said, “Grampy, I’m best at performing ‘Ping Sha Luo Ya’ and ‘Yun Shui Yao’. Shall I perform one of those two?”
She preferred “Yun Shui Yao” to “Ping Sha Luo Ya”, but she would seem dull if she were to use it to showcase her talent.
Old Mr. Mo put his chess piece down and stared at her. Noticing that she seemed to be in a dilemma, he said calmly, “Since you’ve already decided to join the Heiress’ Gala, perform well and strive to be ranked as a talented girl.”
Although there was always bound to be someone stronger, it was not impossible for Wen Xinya to attain that rank. Besides, Wen Xinya had been receiving compliments lately. Hence, she ought to take the chance to showcase her abilities.
Wen Xinya’s eyes widened in shock and she took a while to calm herself down. “Grampy, you’ve got such great faith in me!”
There were hundreds of girls who had been invited to the Heiress’ Gala and they were all extremely talented. Hence, she was shocked to hear Old Mr. Mo’s request.
Old Mr. Mo glanced at her coldly and exclaimed, “Good for nothing!”
Extremely displeased, Wen Xinya leaned closer to Old Mr. Mo and said coquettishly, “Grampy, how am I useless? Didn’t you teach me not to be conceited because there’ll always be someone better than me?”
Old Mr. Mo said, “You just can’t take criticism. I taught you not to be arrogant and self-conceited, but you’ve already lost all confidence before the event even began. Aren’t you useless?”
Old Mr. Mo knew that she had Si Yiyan to guide her along and hence, had a head start. She would also have more knowledge and overestimate others.
Wen Xinya pouted indignantly and said, “How am I not confident? I’m just worried because those joining the Heiress’ Gala are all heiresses of scholarly families. Since they’ve been taught these arts since a young age, they definitely have an advantage over me.”
Although she was confident, she was not complacent because she knew that she had a weaker foundation.
After hearing her words, Old Mr. Mo sipped on some tea calmly and said, “In that case, there’s no point in brooding over it. Just do your best.”
He felt that it was right to let her take part in more of such events so that she would know where she stood. At the same time, she would also discover how lucky she was to have the guidance of Old Mr. Mo and Si Yiyan. Otherwise, she would never know how much better she was compared to them.
The four arts, wisdom, talent, good teachers and hard work were the most important factors.
Wen Xinya shook Old Mr. Mo’s arm and exclaimed, “Grampy, you must be joking!”
She felt extremely pressured.
Old Mr. Mo questioned calmly, “What do you think?”
He threw the question back to Wen Xinya, who answered, “You’re joking, you must be joking. Grampy… you’ve never allowed me to do anything that I’m not confident of.”
Old Mr. Mo said vaguely, “Since you think I’m joking, you may take it that I’m joking!”
She knew that he would never let her do anything that she was not confident of, but she did not know how capable she was. Although she was bright, she could sometimes be very silly too.
Extremely confused, Wen Xinya said dejectedly, “I’ll di my best. But if I don’t achieve that title, you’re not to blame me.”
Since Old Mr. Mo hoped for her to achieve the title, she would definitely do her best so as to not disappoint him.
Staring at her, Old Mr. Mo smiled.
Wen Xinya then opened the score sheets again and asked, “Grampy, why don’t I perform ‘Ten-sided Ambush’? It may be a song that’s meant to be played on the Pipa, but there have been several Zither versions ever since history. Different instruments will create different music. This song is emotional, rhythmic and has variations in tempo. Not only is it a test of skills, but it is also a test of familiarity with the instrument. Hence, it’s a great song choice.”
Ten-sided Ambush was a song that she loved and had practiced painstakingly before too. Since she had received compliments from Si Yiyan for it, she decided to go with it.
Old Mr. Mo said calmly, “Not bad.”
Si Yiyan was the one who liked to perform Ten-sided Ambush on the zither, though the pipa was the best instrument for this song because of the crisp and clear sounds that it produced.
However, Si Yiyan chose to be different and he was good at performing Ten-sided Ambush on the zither, which made the song sound much less agitating and terrorizing. He never failed to make it sound murderous too.
She would definitely stand out if she were to perform that song during the Heiress’ Gala.
