I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

This time, the piece I played was much lighter and more emotional than the one before.

The previous piece of music had been a bit boring for Gao Jinliang and Grandma Yu, but this piece stirred their emotions.

It sounds good.

It's not the kind of pleasant sound that musicians and industry professionals praise, but rather the kind of pleasant sound that the general public can intuitively perceive from a purely emotional perspective.

However, to Li Siqing, a professional, he could discern much more in the piece:

You can tell this is a dance piece. The whole movement keeps looping and pulling, like a young man facing the woman he loves, cautiously trying to get closer, but in the end he backs down...

A phrase came to Li Siqing's mind: "just one step away".

The piece was very short, only five or six minutes long. After it was finished, Li Siqing gasped.

"Mr. Li, what's wrong?"

Li Siqing looked at the two of them and said, "This is an original new piece of music."

"What?" Gao Jinliang asked, puzzled.

“This is a new piece,” Li Siqing said. “I’ve never heard this piece before. A piece of this caliber should be very popular, but I’ve never heard it before.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "I have reason to believe that this piece has never been published before; it is a completely new original composition."

Gao Jinliang asked cautiously, "What do you mean...?"

“It could be an original composition by the performer, or it could be someone else’s work,” Li Siqing said. “You’ve got a real great musician visiting your home!”

The three of them got up together and walked towards the terrace.

Passing through the row of evergreen trees, the three men, none of whom were young, saw only a violin placed diagonally on the table on the terrace; otherwise, there was no one else there.

Chapter 223 I was originally one of your family

Chen Ya felt he was very lucky; he could "find" a Stradivarius just by walking down the street.

"Stradivarius" is not only the name of his violin, but also the name of an Italian man. He was born in 1644 and died in 1737, and was a very famous violin maker.

His skill was so exceptional that his name itself became synonymous with the highest quality; only excellence could describe his instrument.

His violin-making skills have been lost, and people have no way of knowing how his violins were made.

If a violin is named "Stradivarius," it means that the violin is worth at least ten million US dollars.

And it's not something you can just buy if you have money.

Once one of these instruments breaks, it's gone forever; its artistic value is immeasurable. They are typically passed down from one master musician to another, making it extremely difficult for ordinary people to even get a chance to touch one.

Only about 650 Stradivarius sculptures have survived to this day.

One of them was placed on the terrace of the Lu family's Guihe Manor.

It was just left there casually, with no one else around.

I'd be doing such a disservice if I didn't go up and play a couple of songs.

So Chen Ya went up and played two songs.

The first piece was copied by him and included in the "Twenty Classic Music Collections". The piece in his previous life was called "Bach Sonatas for Solo Violin (BWV 1004-5)", a touchstone for violinists and also a touchstone for good violins.

Only this piece can fully demonstrate the strength of this violin, so the first piece is considered a warm-up.

The second piece was much more emotional; it was the famous Spanish tango "Por Una Cabeza," which was used in the films "Scent of a Woman" and "Schindler's List." He personally liked this one, but didn't copy it.

After playing these two pieces, that was enough. They came with high spirits and left when their enthusiasm waned, leaving Gao Jinliang and his two companions standing there, bewildered.

Li Siqing retrieved the violin and held it in her hands, still able to feel the lingering warmth of her body around the neck.

If it weren't for his body temperature as proof, he would almost have thought that what he had just experienced was just a dream.

"Who is playing the violin?" Li Siqing asked, looking up.

Is it an elf, an angel, or the god of the violin, descending to earth for a spontaneous performance?

Li Siqing found it hard to believe that he would hear such a performance at the Lu Family Manor, rather than at the Vienna Golden Hall or the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

Yu Shuning asked, "Mr. Li, you said that the person who played just now was at a world-class level. Is that level enough to qualify him to perform at the Zichen Hall like you?"

Gao Jinliang asked, "Can someone with this level of skill support themselves through concerts?"

Li Siqing gave a wry smile.

"You still don't understand what I mean by 'top level'."

It's difficult for someone who isn't at Li Siqing's level to fully appreciate someone's skill just by listening, especially since Gao Jinliang and Grandma Yu are both laymen in music.

It's perfectly normal that they don't understand what the top level means.

"The top level I'm referring to is among the three greatest violinists of the past 100 years, and he is definitely one of them!"

Grandma Yu and Gao Jinliang exchanged a glance.

They both saw surprise and excitement in each other's eyes.

Grandma Yu pointed to the terrace, then turned to Butler Cheng and asked, "Who was here just now? Who was playing the violin here?"

Butler Cheng looked bewildered. He had just gone to the storeroom and stood there for a short while when he received a summons from his great-grandmother and came over immediately.

He didn't see who was there just now.

"I'll go ask and see if anyone saw it," said Butler Cheng.

Great-Grandma nodded, and Butler Cheng left. But after taking only a few steps, she remembered something else:

"return."

After Mrs. Yu finished speaking, Butler Cheng returned to stand there.

“Ask everyone who was in the manor today, not a single one,” said Mrs. Yu. “Including guests and servants, I need to know the names of everyone.”

Butler Cheng acknowledged and left. Old Mrs. Yu turned to Gao Jinliang and said:

"Today, apart from Teacher Li Siqing, there are no visitors. They are either servants from the manor or members of the family."

After thinking for a moment, Grandma Yu asked Gao Jinliang, "Who do you think it is?"

Gao Jinliang thought for a moment and said, "Qingxuan from Yuanbao's family is possible, but Liangchen from Hongtai's family, I wonder how much he has learned outside."

Are Qingxuan and Liangchen both at the manor?

"They're all here."

Grandma Yu nodded and said, "Either one of the two is skilled but embarrassed to show it off directly, so they used this method, or someone else is taking advantage of us old folks being here to show off to us."

Everyone knows the old guys in the Lu family very well, and it's absolutely impossible that any of them suddenly had a breakthrough and mastered the art of violin. However, among the younger generation, Lu Qingxuan and Lu Liangchen are both music students.

The only one who could possibly receive such high praise from Li Siqing is one of the younger generation.

The entire Lu family was on the verge of a major crisis, and at this critical juncture, the family naturally placed all its resources on Lu Ningna. The other younger members were resentful, but they knew perfectly well what was going on.

But there was nothing that could be done. The family's resources were limited. If Lu Ningna could not grow up quickly and take on the responsibility of maintaining the family's bond, the Lu family would completely collapse.

Grandma Yu tapped the table once, then said:

“If it were Qingxuan, that would be fine, and the Lu family could prosper. But if it were Liangchen, it would be a pity. Liangchen is a talented boy, but it’s a shame that his grandfather is the Second Grandfather.”

Gao Jinliang frowned and said, "If it's Qingxuan, it's not good either. Her father, Yuan Bao, is already fighting tooth and nail with Yuan Hu. If she did it, would you favor Yuan Bao?"

The old lady shook her head and said, "To be honest, my two children, Yuanhu and Yuanbao, are a playful one and a lecherous one. Neither of them is the type to keep the family business. But Qingxuan has been independent since she was a child and is even more outstanding than Ningna. If she develops top-notch violin skills, my Lu family will spare no expense to promote her."

Gao Jinliang added, "But after all, her status is different from Lu Ningna's. Even if we promote her, others may not be convinced by her."

Grandma Yu sneered, "It doesn't matter if others disagree with her, as long as my husband does."

Upon hearing this, Gao Jinliang understood.

Li Siqing stood to the side, eyes downcast and silent, simply drinking his Lu'an Melon Seed tea.

This is all about the Lu family's affairs, and as outsiders, we absolutely should not get involved.

I have to keep everything to myself.

However, he did feel some sympathy for his apprentice, Lu Ningna.

A moment later, Butler Cheng arrived alone, bowed his head, and said:

"Today, apart from the usual people, Xiaojie, Shuying, Shengzhi, and Mingjie are not here. Only Qingxuan and Liangchen are here. In addition, we have guests today. This is today's guest list."

Hearing that Qingxuan and Liangchen were there, Old Madam Yu's heart skipped a beat again. She took the bill, glanced at it, and then pointed to it, saying:

"I know Chen Sheng, I know him. But who is Chen Ya?"

Butler Cheng said, "Chen Ya is Chen Sheng's son, born to him and his first wife."

Grandma Yu said, "Isn't his son named Chen Hai?"

"Chen Hai is his second son, and Chen Ya is the eldest. He only took his second son to Beijing before, while his eldest son stayed in the countryside. Recently, he brought his eldest son back, saying that he was welcoming him home."

Grandma Yu frowned and said, "Doesn't Lu Ruixiang have any objections to him doing this?"

Butler Cheng said, "I'm not sure about that."

Grandma Yu said indignantly, "This is really disrespecting the Lu family. Back then, they were already being incredibly tolerant by accepting Chen Hai. Now they have an older son... sigh."

Gao Jinliang reminded her from the side, "Great-Grandma, think about it. Given Lu Ruixiang's personality, if she doesn't agree, do you think she'll let another person into the house?"

Grandma Yu asked him, "What do you mean?"

Gao Jinliang chuckled and said, "Who knows? But I'm sure this is definitely not Chen Sheng's idea."

Grandma Yu asked Butler Cheng, "How old is this Chen Ya? What kind of person is he? What is his education, and where does he work?"

Butler Cheng recounted everything he had found out to the old lady. After listening, the old lady sighed and said:

"He's not exactly a talent."

Gao Jinliang said, "This person's background is a bit unclear. Could it be him?"

Grandma Yu looked at Li Siqing, who shook his head.

“First, he didn’t study music, and second, his education level is not high enough,” Li Siqing said. “The level of that piece he just played is not something someone who didn’t graduate from junior high school could produce.”

After listening, Grandma Yu sighed again.

Gao Jinliang smiled and said, "Great-grandmother, I understand your eagerness to find talented people, but you can't rush things. In our current situation, relying on outside help is useless. I can only hope that our children and grandchildren can live up to our expectations."

Grandma Yu nodded: "Yes, others hope their sons will become dragons, but I hope my grandsons will become dragons. I've worried about them enough at my age."

She glanced down at the bill again and said:

"Forget it, we can't figure it out by looking at it like this. Here's what I'll do, Steward Cheng, you do as I say."

After a pause, she added, "Isn't it almost lunchtime? Go and tell everyone to gather at Fushou Hall so we can all have lunch together."

Upon hearing her plan, Gao Jinliang immediately gave her a thumbs up: "Great-Grandma, this plan is brilliant!"

He already knew about Old Mrs. Yu's plan.

The old lady took a sip of tea and said, "During the meal, I'll check on these younger folks and see who it was that started playing Mr. Li's violin without asking."

……

……

When Chen Sheng received the invitation to have lunch at Fushoutang, he felt that happiness had come too quickly and was almost overwhelming.

You should know that he only receives an invitation to come to Guihe Manor to have a New Year's Eve dinner with his family during the Spring Festival each year.

Moreover, they could not eat at the main table in the Fushou Hall; they could only eat outside.

After being married to Lu Ruixiang for so many years, he doubted whether Old Master Lu even remembered his face.

Who would have thought that a casual trip with Chen Ya today would lead to such good fortune!

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but find Chen Ya much more pleasing to the eye.

He didn't hold it against Chen Ya for running around without listening to him before, but going to Fushoutang for a meal was no small matter, so he repeatedly told Chen Ya to be careful, which annoyed Chen Ya.

The second great-uncle, on the other hand, was grumbling and cursing. He had no desire to eat with his family.

My great-grandmother has many rules about the dining table; if you're not careful, you'll get glared at. So why doesn't she eat alone in her room, carefree and at ease?

However, the messenger repeatedly emphasized that it was arranged by the Great-Grandmother and that they had no choice but to go. Only then did the Second Great-Grandfather reluctantly comply, and the three of them went to Fushou Hall together.

Fushou Hall refers to the banquet hall in the middle of Guihe Manor. It is surrounded by green water and has a wide view, boasting the best scenery in the entire manor.