The shadow of the country

The meaning of the imperial list is that on the eve of this year's New Year's Eve, the palace will select [-] folk flute players who are proficient in music theory to enter the palace to play for the royal relatives and nobles.Those lucky enough to be selected by the folks will be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold.

After Mu Yan read the imperial list, he was stunned for a moment, thinking that those royal relatives and nobles thought that the rituals and music played by the musicians in the palace were too old-fashioned and boring, so they specially posted the imperial list to solicit flute players among the people.He froze in place at the moment, not knowing how he was feeling right now.

After a while, Mu Yan walked out from the crowd, returned to the tea stand, and sat back in his original seat, silent.There is a thoughtful expression on his face.

Seeing this, Wen Cheng immediately asked him what happened with concern.Mu Yan told the truth about the content on the imperial list, and Wen Cheng fell into deep thought after listening.But not long after, he raised his head again and said softly: "Mu Yan, if you really want to go, I won't stop you. But, you must be careful everywhere in the palace."

Mu Yan was a little surprised, he didn't expect Wen Cheng to agree to him so readily.After a while, he whispered, "Thank you."

A few days later, Wen Cheng accompanied Mu Yan to the place where the flute player should be selected.There were not a few people who came to apply for the election. It seemed that there were two to three thousand people, probably all of whom were attracted by the attractive bounty.Although there are some of these thousands of people who have come here to make up for it and know nothing about music theory, there are also quite a few people who are proficient in rhythm, which can be called Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.It is not easy to come out on top among these thousands of people.

Mu Yan was a little nervous today. Although the timbre of Ling Yun's flute was soft and warm, it was priceless and had been missing for many years.He really didn't want to attract attention, so today he just took the bamboo flute that he has brought with him since he was a child. Although the sound quality is not excellent, it is the one he is most familiar with.

After a while, it was Mu Yan's turn.He stepped forward and bowed deeply to those examiners.Suppressing the tension in his heart, he pulled out a bamboo stick from the table.The song written on the bamboo stick is "Partridge Flying".

After Mu Yan looked at it, he lowered his head and took out the bamboo flute, and played it by himself.He is not very good at this song, but the sound of "Partridge Flying" is still thick and long, and several slides are performed well.The timbre is melodious, clear and mellow.The light and erratic notes rise and fall, and before you know it, the song is over.

Only then did Mu Yan look up at the examiners, but they just nodded expressionlessly.This made Mu Yan unable to figure out whether his performance was good or bad.Although he was at a loss in his heart, he had no choice but to turn around and step off the stage.

Three days later, a new imperial notice was posted in front of the city gate, which was the result of the preliminary election of flute players, and only 3000 of the original 300 people remained.Even though Mu Yan didn't perform to the extreme last time because of his lack of proficiency in the repertoire, he was still on the list.

In a few days, it will be the last round of selection. The last 300 people will be selected from the 30 people, and they will enter the palace on New Year's Eve to play for the emperor and his relatives.In this last round, the repertoire is chosen by oneself, and there is no need to draw lots like the last time.But Mu Yan still didn't know which song to choose.He simply played all the repertoires he is good at for Wen Cheng to listen to.

Wen Cheng listened to them one by one, and after a moment of silent contemplation, he smiled and said: "In my opinion, the fourth song "Journey to Gusu" is the best. I don't know the melody very well, but I just feel that there seems to be a small song in front of me when I listen to this song. Bridges, flowing water, morning mist. I didn’t expect that your flute skills are so proficient.”

Mu Yan was a little shy at the moment, "I'm really overwhelmed, I still can't afford to say 'proficient'...Then, when the time comes, I will play this song?"

Wen Cheng chuckled and nodded, then poured him a cup of tea to moisten his throat.

On the last day of the election, Wen Cheng still accompanied Mu Yan.Mu Yan stood in the line blankly, feeling completely at a loss.But at this time, there was a melodious flute sound from the front, and it was unknown which candidate played it.As soon as Mu Yan heard the song, he couldn't help but startled, and his face turned pale in an instant.

This song... was exactly the one he played in the main hall that winter, when he first entered the palace and met Yi Lan for the first time.But since he was forced to leave the palace, he never played it again.I haven't played that song again for a few months, but when I listen to this flute song now, I feel a sense of trance, as if in a trance.

Wen Cheng also noticed Mu Yan's abnormality at this time, but before he could speak to him, he heard a voice from ahead: "Liu Muyan."

Hearing that it was his turn, Mu Yan came back to his senses, and walked forward holding the bamboo flute, but his heart was numb.He picked up the bamboo flute and played it lightly against his lips.The sound of the flute is long, with a little bit of feeling that things are right and people are wrong.Listening carefully, this song is not the song "Journey to Gusu" that I have practiced for a long time, it is actually a song "Remembering the Old".

The sound of the flute flows in the air, soft and graceful.Although the sound quality of the bamboo flute is not as crisp and soft as that of the jade flute, the song "Recalling the Past" is full of tenderness and sadness, which can be considered to make up for the small deficiency of the bamboo flute.

Amidst the melodious sound of the flute, the mood was actually a little heavy, and a discordant tone suddenly appeared in the sound of the flute.Mu Yan soon realized his mistake. He could have continued playing, but he was really at a loss at the moment. Although he knew the occasion was formal, he still stopped playing.The hand holding the flute slowly lowered, and after bowing to the examiners in front of him, he said dumbly: "Sorry, I can't play anymore..." After finishing speaking, he turned around and left, leaving a room full of people. The examiner froze in the room.

Among them, the deputy examiner looked at the chief examiner on the left, and drew a circle under the name "Liu Muyan" with a ink brush in his hand.It means that he has been chosen as one of the thirty flute players.

When the examiner saw it, he panicked and said: "Qixuan, although the first half of "Remembering the Past" that this person played just now is perfect, there is no fault. But after all, he made a mistake in playing the last scale, and the song was over before the end of the song. He ran out. The flute player who played for the emperor on New Year's Eve, how could he be such a candidate?!"

The examiner ignored his words, didn't even raise his eyes to look at him, but said coldly: "If you can find a few more people who can blend emotions and flute music just right like this, naturally I won't choose him. "

Just this one sentence made the examiner feel chills, and had no choice but to swallow the words of advice.Those who can stay in the primary election will not be too bad at playing the flute. Which one should you choose?But if Qixuan is offended, I'm afraid life will not be easy in the future...

The chief examiner, Lin Qixuan, had already entered the Yuefu of the court.Now he is only 23 years old, and he has already sat at the head of the musicians.He is proficient in music theory, comparable to the old musicians used by the late emperor.Dizi, pipa, guqin, Xiao... all of them are proficient, and they are all proficient.Qixuan has worked on the strings of various musical instruments for [-] years.Although others are a bit colder and indifferent, they are still highly valued and appreciated by the emperor and have a bright future.He is the first arranger of any programs performed in Fan Palace.

A few days later, when Mu Yan knew that he had been selected again, he was shocked.I thought I would lose the election this time, after all, I played the wrong scale and failed to control my emotions, so I left on my own initiative.Unexpectedly, there is still a chance to enter the palace again.This time, he has already understood his intentions, so no matter what the price is, he must try his best to stay by his side.

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☆, Thirteen. New Year's Eve