Ning Xueyan took the stage with two of her maids. It was her privilege as the Crown Princess. No one could criticize her even if she brought twenty maids, let alone two.
Lanning took out the antique zither called Mark of the Moon and carefully put it down.
Immediately, shocked whispers resounded. “Mark of the Moon?” someone said. “It’s really the Mark of the Moon!” another said. Comments and laments abounded.
The women’s stunned whispers alarmed the men as well. When the famous scholars heard that it was the Mark of the Moon, a few couldn’t help standing up and craning their necks for a better look.
The Mark of the Moon was so famous that everyone couldn’t help but focus on it.
“Is this really the Mark of the Moon?” a scholar asked the scholar beside him.
“It must be. The Crown Princess wouldn’t use a fake.” The other scholar nodded while staring at the zither on the stage. However, the stage was so far away that he couldn’t get a proper look.
A maid beside them smiled and interjected, “That’s indeed the genuine Mark of the Moon. The Crown Princess had just gotten it recently.”
The scholars didn’t care that the maid had just interrupted them. They weren’t the kind to be concerned about enforcing the differences between a superior and subordinate. They didn’t think that the maid’s sudden interruption was improper either, so they nodded unconcernedly and went along with her words.
“So, the Crown Princess had just gotten it recently. It seems that she’s determined to impress us.”
“I heard that this zither isn’t that… auspicious,” the maid replied in a low voice. Her voice was soft, but it was enough to enter the two scholars’ ears.
One of them seemed to have thought of something. He frowned and looked at the zither on the stage. Looking worried, he said, “It’s probably not that…”
His counterpart didn’t notice anything wrong until he saw the scholar’s frown. He couldn’t help but recall the maid’s words. His face immediately changed as he muttered, “It’s impossible…”
Both men looked deeply disturbed as they looked at each other. They seemed to have discovered an unbelievable secret. Emotions in their eyes flickered and they turned their heads, forcing themselves to look indifferent. However, one could easily tell that they weren’t as composed as before.
Even their seating postures seemed a little stiffer.
They didn’t notice that the maid who reminded them about the zither had quietly left the banquet area. There was a smug smile on her face as she turned around and took another path.
What she didn’t notice was that Xinmei had been quietly following her.
The maid was so focused on the two scholars that she didn’t notice Xinmei sneaking up behind her. The scholars weren’t paying attention to what the maids were wearing, so they didn’t notice that Xinmei was in different attire. They took a quick look at the maid before returning their attention to the stage. It went without saying that they didn’t notice Xinmei.
Xinmei’s eyes flashed as she watched the maid scurry away. Her steps became lighter and lighter.
The maid took several turns before arriving at the gate of a small courtyard. She stopped walking and looked around. When she didn’t see anyone, she entered the courtyard.
Xinmei stood still under a tree. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that half of the tree branches hung over the courtyard wall. Her body moved quietly as she leaped on top of a branch and swiftly entered the courtyard…
On the stage, Ning Xueyan sat down calmly. Lanning took out the book from before, found the page with the zither piece, and placed it in front of Ning Xueyan.
Under the stage, Wu Yao had a hard time controlling her excitement. She watched Ning Xueyan coldly and couldn’t help but smile smugly. She tightened her fingers around her bracelet. The bracelet had become her only keepsake.
Had she known the outcome, she wouldn’t have let go of her daughter.
That was her only daughter, who could have been the next Empress. Her daughter could have occupied a lofty position and enjoyed glory and respect, only to end up that way instead.
If it wasn’t for her daughter, she wouldn’t have sent away such a young child at Grand Tutor Ya’s suggestion…
When she remembered how her daughter’s beautiful face had turned contorted and cold when she saw her again, she felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart. It hurt so much that she could barely breathe. That was her sweet-tempered, gentle, dainty, lovely daughter. It was all Ning Xueyan’s fault that her daughter had such a miserable end.
She would never spare Ning Xueyan.
She wanted to see Ning Xueyan in an even more miserable state than her daughter. She wanted Ning Xueyan to wish that she was dead…
Her daughter’s death had rendered her many years of plotting useless. All of her perseverance, hard work, and effort had become in vain after her daughter died. Her daughter should have been the Crown Princess, the noblest woman in the world, the Mother of the Nation. Her daughter should have been the ruler of many, second only to the Emperor.
When that time came, she would be able to reunite with her daughter as well. Both she and her daughter would be able to enjoy glory and wealth together…
However, everything was ruined by Ning Xueyan. In return, she would also ruin Ning Xueyan.
The melodious tune of zither rang in the air, carrying the urgent sound of rain with it, and immediately attracted everyone’s attention. The performance had a beautiful piece, a finely-tuned zither, and a skilled player. Everyone was drawn to the stage, including several famous scholars who were just listening absentmindedly before.
They couldn’t help but fall silent. A few of them, who hadn’t paid attention to the performer before, asked around and found out that the zither player was the Crown Princess who was said to have little education and talent. Suddenly, they felt like rumors must not be believed. If the Crown Princess was considered of poor education and talent, few at the banquet could be considered well-learned.
The Crown Princess’ poem had impressed them enough. Hearing her zither performance now made them nod and sigh in admiration even more.
There was a chance that the Crown Princess had asked another person to prepare the poem beforehand, but she was playing the zither right before everyone’s eyes. The scholars were paying attention to the sound. What a graceful sound it was! How could it come out from the hands of a woman with so-called poor education and talent? The rumors of the Crown Princess being uneducated and incompetent were laughable!
Rumors were indeed not trustworthy!
The tune was pleasant in the beginning, with a light and quick pace. Then, a sudden shift took place as the tune turned worried and sorrowful. One couldn’t help but feel a hint of despair from the tune as if there was a long-buried ache piercing one’s heart. Everyone sank into a despairing mood as they listened.
The two scholars who were reminded by the maid earlier began to feel restless. They looked at each other with pale faces.
Noticing their peculiar behavior, another scholar turned his head and whispered, “What happened? Is there something wrong?”
“The Song of the Witch! This is the Song of the Witch!” the scholar couldn’t help but answer. When the answer left his mouth, his forehead became covered with sweat.
“What? The Song of the Witch?” The scholar looked stunned at his counterpart’s expression. When the realization hit him, he stopped up abruptly and imperceptibly raised his voice. “How… How could it be the Song of the Witch?”
The expression of every scholar who heard him sank. They looked at Ning Xueyan on stage in astonishment. Even a few of them who had always conformed to etiquette perfectly was stunned.
A strange silence fell over the men’s area. One could even faintly hear heavy breathing from them.
A scholar finally said, “Even if it’s the same zither, I don’t think… It might not be the case… It might just be a coincidence…”
“But I’ve seen the damaged zither piece before. It’s missing its last few verses. Listen to the tune. Maybe it’s not the same?”
An eerie silence fell over the men again. A few of them suddenly stood up, turned around, and walked out. Two of them reacted so quickly that they pushed aside the table in front of them. In their panic, they accidentally overturned the bowl of fruits on the table. So frightened that they couldn’t be bothered to maintain their usual etiquette, they started leaving as well.
The remaining few responded as well. They went after their counterparts one after another.
There weren’t many male guests to begin with, and the famous scholars were the highlight of the area. Naturally, everyone’s attention was drawn to them. When they saw the scholars getting up and leaving one after another with dark expressions, the women were shocked. They began to whisper among themselves as they looked in the men’s direction.
Wu Yao appeared in the men’s area out of nowhere, just in time to stop a few of the scholars who were making a hasty exit.
“Sir, why are you leaving all of a sudden? The Crown Princess is still performing.” Wu Yao smiled, stopping them with her arm at a safe distance.
The scholar at the very front was forced to stop in their tracks. He wiped the sweat on his forehead and turned to look behind him. He, along with the scholars behind him, didn’t know how to explain.
“What’s wrong? Do you not like the Crown Princess’ performance? But is it all right for you to leave during her performance? You should leave after finishing the performance,” Wu Yao said, smiling.
She looked as if she didn’t see the panic on the men’s faces. She continued to play the role of a welcoming host.
The scholar at the very front finally found an excuse and quickly said, “Madam Wu, I… I have business at home. It’s urgent. I need to leave immediately.”
“Madam Wu, my wife felt unwell today. I need to leave early.”
“I have business at home. My distant relatives are visiting. It’s been a long time since we met, so I have to retire early.”
“I…”
As expected of the scholars, they were able to quickly find an excuse for themselves. All of them expressed that they had to leave the banquet early to attend to their urgent business at home. They made it sound as though their family would be in trouble without them.
In a nutshell, they had to leave no matter what.
But, Wu Yao didn’t give way even after hearing their excuses. She continued to smile and say, “You should still leave after the Crown Princess’ performance. If she finds out that you have left at this time, she’ll be upset.”
Her words were reasonable but at such a time, she sounded like she was adding fuel to a fire. This was especially true when she was standing there, looking like she wasn’t going to give in. She looked determined to keep them here.
The more cowardly one of the scholars couldn’t stop himself from making an outburst…
