Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The phoenix appeared because of the music, which Princess Consort had already mastered when she was unmarried. So Gu Chaoyan eavesdropped on the music and mastered it herself. That was why she was showing it off at the pitch.
Gu Chaoyan had always had a bad reputation, so the Second Lady of the Chu Family did not think that it was surprising when she heard the story.
‘When she thought it through, she looked at Gu Ruxue, wondering whether the Princess Consort was indicating something to her when she talked about this story. So she stood up angrily. “How dare she! Gu Chaoyan is way over the top! She stole the music and took it as her own, and now she takes the
achievement so that everyone says that she is the good omen! She is scamming the civilians, I am going to reveal the truth!”
The Second Lady of the Chu Family got increasingly excited as she talked about this. She had already foreseen how much the Princess Consort would like her if she did it well.
She was wearing a very determined expression on her face.
Gu Ruxue got startled and said timidly, “Second Lady of the Chu Family, I understand that you are a just person, but Gu Chaoyan used to be my sister and we should not push her into a comer. You don’t have to take what I have said too seriously, okay?”
Gu Ruxue said it as an explanation, indicating that the Second Lady of the Chu Family should not take that too seriously. She told the lies because she was unconvinced, but she had no other intention or plan to follow.
She bought the music with money, so they were not on the side of justice!
‘What Gu Ruxue wanted was that people should have a bad impression of Gu Chaoyan, and that was all she needed. When those ladies heard the story, their families would get to know the story too. Gu Ruxue aimed at telling those noble families that she was the real owner of the phoenix. As for the civilians,
she did not care what they were thinking.
Hearing what Gu Ruxue said, the Second Lady of the Chu Family decided not to say anything more. She was probably going to do something in private, not in public.
Seeing that the Second Lady of the Chu Family decided to give up, Gu Ruxue felt assured as well.
She looked at the other ladies and saw their expressions change, then she felt slightly assured. It seemed that what she had said worked.
She sat down, then she smiled and said, “Please, feel free to drink tea and eat the pastries, I will be playing the flute here. You can listen to the music and watch the phoenix. It is going to stay for a long while this time.”
Gu Ruxue planned to play the music for a little bit longer. She took up the jade flute.
The other ladies were watching attentively. Gu Ruxue asked them to drink tea and eat the pastries, but they were not at the same social status as Gu Ruxue, so they did not dare to do anything.
Gu Ruxue nodded in satisfaction, then she started to play the flute.
Gu Ruxue had been trained to play the zither, chess, to write calligraphy and paintings since childhood, so she was okay at playing the flute.
After a long while after she started…
Gu Ruxue had been waiting patiently for the phoenix to arrive, but half of the music had gone by, and yet the phoenix was not there.
Gu Ruxue frowned and got a little distracted. She almost went off track. She tried to stabilize herself and continued to look into the sky, but the phoenix was nowhere to be seen.
The other ladies were all confused too.
‘The other day at the Spring Hunt, they remembered that the phoenix arrived shortly after Gu Chaoyan played the flute…
