Chapter 70: Astonishing Beauty
Zhong Chushan sat not far away, watching Zhou Wangshu play pieces through the curtain.
When the piano music started, the originally noisy hall suddenly quieted down. Whether they understood or not, everyone was listening, entranced by the music.
"Steward, did you change the Piano Master today?" a guest called the steward over and asked.
The steward chuckled, "The original Piano Master was sick today, so we hired a master for a high price temporarily. I wonder how everyone feels about it?"
"Great piece, great skill. But once the piano music started, no one cared about how well the girls danced. I think it’s time to let the girls step down."
The steward looked around, and as the guest said, no one was watching the dance on the stage, each one was lost in the music.
"This master is hard to hire, it was an emergency today, and we had to plead for a long time before he agreed to play a piece. Normally, it’s impossible to invite him." The steward said, "Please enjoy, I won’t disturb you further."
"It’s a pity such wonderful music can’t be heard daily! But someone with such musical talent should indeed have such a temper. If one comes to the dance house to play every day, they can’t be called a master, just someone seeking fame for money."
Zhong Chushan picked up a piece of pastry and bit into it, looking somewhat defeated.
He hadn’t been performing like this in his piano lessons these days. If he had, the Piano Master would have revered him.
"I heard from a servant that you came to see me, waited for a long time but didn’t see you, and now I had to limp over to find you, what kind of brother are you?" Chen Buyu appeared, leaning on a crutch.
Zhong Chushan made a hushing gesture.
Chen Buyu was puzzled, "Since when did you enjoy listening to the piano? We are all rough people; what’s so good about this stuff? Oh, today the piano music does seem quite nice, really pleasant!"
"Do you want to see who is playing?" Zhong Chushan said mysteriously.
Chen Buyu nibbled on the pastry, "I know the Piano Master in the dance house, he doesn’t have this skill, did they change the master? This one must be expensive, huh?"
"You’ll know if you go and take a look."
Zhong Chushan seemed mysterious, making Chen Buyu curious. He hobbled over, leaning on his crutch. When he lifted the curtain, his eyes widened like saucers, almost tripping over.
"He... he... he..." Chen Buyu pointed behind the curtain.
"Shh."
As the piece ended, the steward greeted Zhou Wangshu with a smile and bowed, "Young Master Zhou, could you play one more piece?"
"If I play another piece, the price won’t be the same as before," Zhou Wangshu smiled, "and this will be the last one. No matter how high the offer later, I won’t play again, hope the steward won’t agree to any customer’s conditions either."
"Of course, of course."
The piece Zhou Wangshu played earlier was cheerful and pleasant, matching the style of the dance, making one feel like basking in the sunlight. Now, as the music started again, it was like a passionate couple, first filled with longing, then overwhelming resentment, then murderous intent, and at the very end, a sorrowful conclusion.
This piece was even harder to control than the previous one, changing emotions continuously. Mastery of such emotional depth without decades of practice was almost impossible.
After this piece ended, the entire hall of guests was already in tears. Even the hardy Chen Buyu was crying like a child.
"What’s happening to me? I... I... my eyes must be sick." Chen Buyu wiped away his tears.
The guests in the hall called the steward over. Upon hearing the request for more music, the steward quickly said the master left through the back door after the second piece.
The steward finally calmed the guests and hurried upstairs to find Zhou Wangshu.
He bowed deeply to Zhou Wangshu, "Young Master Zhou, I have an unworthy request."
"I can come play ten times a month, two pieces each time, but these ten times should be at my discretion, not open to the public, and you must ensure my safe return to the academy afterward," Zhou Wangshu didn’t wait for the steward to speak, he already knew what he wanted to say. "And for the price, fifty taels of Silver a month."
"This..."
"If it’s not possible, forget it. I am friends with Buyu, honestly, I am not that eager to earn this money."
"Young Master Zhou, please wait, why don’t you hold on for a moment, and I’ll go consult with the owner."
"No need to consult, I decide to agree." Chen Buyu said, "Where else can you find such a master with my brother’s skill? Besides, now that we’ve put it out there today, just think of how many will come here seeking to hear the legendary master. If they come only to find no such master really exists, do you want our dance house’s reputation to suffer?"
"The Young Master is right, so it’s settled then," the steward said, "If there are no other instructions, I’ll take my leave first."
"What about today’s payment? Also, fifty taels a month, even if not given in full, shouldn’t there be some advance payment?" Chen Buyu reminded.
"The Young Master is right, I’ll have the accountant send it over immediately."
Once the steward left, Zhong Chushan put his arm around Zhou Wangshu’s shoulders, looking at him with amazement, "You play the piano in the academy not much better than me, what happened today? Be honest, or I’ll tell the teacher at the academy."
"My mother was excellent at the piano, and I learned a bit from her when I was young. After she passed away, there were some changes at home, and I was sold, leading me to end up here."
Zhong Chushan put away his previous levity, patting his shoulder, "You must have suffered a lot, right? If your mother had such talent, your family must have been quite well-off."
"We had some modest assets, did some business, but after the incident, I’ve fought stray dogs for food, picked up rotten vegetable leaves from a ditch... let’s not talk about it."
"Right, let’s not talk about these things." Chen Buyu’s eyes turned red.
Zhong Chushan, seeing Chen Buyu’s state, said grumpily, "With your leg like that, you still haven’t gotten rid of your soft-hearted ways?"
"Our place is a dance house, not a brothel, why force the girls to learn to dance? If they don’t want to learn, they don’t have to, staying here as maids could also offset costs!"
"If your parents were as soft-hearted as you, could you still be the Young Master of the dance house?" Zhong Chushan sneered, "Too soft-hearted."
"And what about you? Your family’s Gambling House has cut off so many people’s fingers, driven many to death, do you not feel any guilt?"
"Why should I feel guilty? The Gambling House is opened for fun; no one is forcing them inside; if they can’t control themselves, whom can they blame?"
"It’s getting late, we should head back." Zhou Wangshu reminded.