GTB Chapter 139

Chapter 141: Listening to the Zither

Chapter 141: Listening to the Zither

Jiang Jiuchu took out the pink sapphire ring and tried it on her hand.

Mu Qing stood beside her and praised, “Your Highness, this ring is so beautiful. It looks even more beautiful on you. The Prince has such good taste.”

Jiang Jiuchu smiled. “If you’re going to compliment, shouldn’t it be that it makes me look good? How did I make it look good?”

“Because Your Highness’s hand is beautiful, it looks good with or without it. But this ring is different. Although it looks good on its own, when it’s on Your Highness’s hand, this servant thinks it looks even better.”

After Mu Qing finished speaking, she looked at her own hand and suddenly felt that she wasn’t even a woman in front of Jiang Jiuchu.

“Aren’t shadow guards supposed to be clumsy with words? I didn’t expect you to be so good at praising people. Here, pick a piece of jewelry you like, I’ll give it to you.”

“This servant is indeed clumsy with words, but everything this servant says is the truth. Besides, these were all given to you by the Prince, this servant can’t accept them.”

“Isn’t what the Prince gave me right here?” Jiang Jiuchu patted the small wooden box in front of her, then took a relatively simple hairpin and handed it to Mu Qing.

“This style is simple and beautiful. You wear it. If there’s danger, and you’re too far away to come to my aid in time, you can use it to protect me. Besides, there are always people better than you out there, so it’s never wrong to carry some inconspicuous hidden weapons for self-defense.”

Hearing this, Mu Qing felt that what Jiang Jiuchu said made sense, so she had to reach out and accept it. “Thank you for Your Highness’s gift.”

“Okay, go on,” Jiang Jiuchu said, closing the small wooden box and putting it aside. She opened the dressing table, found an exquisite wooden box, and picked out a set from the many jewelry pieces, then added a few pieces of jewelry that she hadn’t worn before, planning to give them to Ji Shutíng as an addition to her dowry after her engagement.

At the gate of the Prince’s mansion, Shí Yan jumped off the carriage and directly ordered the coachman, “Take the Eighth Prince back to his residence.”

When Shí Yuanchen heard this, he quickly jumped out of the carriage. “Seventh Brother, I’m not drunk, really. I’m not going back to the residence, I have something to tell you.”

Shí Yan turned his head to look at Shí Yuanchen, who had jumped out of the carriage. “Something else?”

“It’s not about Seventh Sister-in-law, but… but it’s also a very important matter. Let’s go, there are too many people around, let’s talk in your study.”

Shí Yuanchen said, quickly raising his foot and walking towards the mansion, afraid that Shí Yan would drive him away.

Shí Yan’s eyes paused, and he could probably guess what Shí Yuanchen wanted to say.

In the Green Bamboo Courtyard, Green Lo was holding a zither and hadn’t yet walked out of the courtyard when she ran into Shí Yan and Shí Yuanchen, who were stepping into the courtyard. She quickly stepped forward and bowed.

Shí Yan looked at Green Lo holding the zither, as if she was about to go out. “Where are you going? Where’s the Princess?”

“Your Highness, the Princess has gone to the Viewing Platform and instructed this servant to come back and get the zither.”

Shí Yan nodded, then raised his foot and walked towards the study, thinking that she had never played the zither for him to listen to. He had only heard it once at the Hundred Flowers Banquet.

“Speak. What is it?” As soon as Shí Yan entered the study, he immediately asked Shí Yuanchen.

Shí Yuanchen, on the other hand, sat unhurriedly at the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and said in a serious manner, “Does Seventh Brother know that Father has recently acquired a new beauty? That beauty is very favored, so much so that Father Emperor stays with her every night.”

“Get to the point.” Shí Yan naturally knew about this, as it wasn’t a secret.

“The point is that Father is already so old, yet he can still be intimate every night, as if he’s rejuvenated. Doesn’t Seventh Brother find it strange?”

Shí Yan sat down and opened the folding fan in his hand. “Isn’t this a good thing? Or are you saying that besides this, you’ve discovered something else that’s not right?”

“Not really, I just find it strange. Father, no matter how much he favored a concubine in the past, has never been like this. How is it that the older he gets, the more… that sort of thing he becomes!”

“I’m worried that the beauty has used some means on Father, harming his health, but I can’t find out anything about what happens in the bedroom!”

Shí Yan sneered in his heart, but didn’t show it on his face. “You yourself said that it’s a matter for the bedroom, how can we possibly interfere?”

“Moreover, Father knows his own body best. Perhaps he’s just been taking good care of himself recently.”

After he finished speaking, he stood up directly. “If there’s nothing else, then leave. I’m still busy!”

Shí Yuanchen felt that his Seventh Brother didn’t treat him as one of his own, so he stood up and said, “Seventh Brother, aren’t you worried that the beauty was presented by someone with ulterior motives?”

“Even if I knew, so what? What they presented was a beauty, what can you do about it?” Shí Yan said, and then walked towards the outside.

Shí Yuanchen curled his lips, seeing his Seventh Brother like this, he must have known about it long ago. He just didn’t understand why, since beauties have always been known to bewitch hearts, Seventh Brother didn’t seem anxious at all?

He didn’t know if Seventh Brother really didn’t care about that position, or if he already had a plan?

Forget it, there’s no use thinking too much, anyway, he didn’t have the ability to compete for it.

He quickly got up and followed Shí Yan out the door. “Seventh Brother, let’s go listen to Seventh Sister-in-law play the zither! I heard it once last time, and it sounded even better than it did at the palace banquet.”

“Last time?” Shí Yan paused in his step across the threshold, looked at Shí Yuanchen, and thought, he hasn’t even heard it, where did this kid hear it from?

“It was… it was when I came to get the painting last time. I came just as Seventh Sister-in-law was playing the zither in the courtyard.”

Hearing this, Shí Yan felt a little unhappy. It seemed that this woman really liked playing the zither, but she just never played it in front of him.

“Send the Eighth Prince back,” Shí Yan ordered Mu Feng, then strode out of the courtyard, heading towards the Viewing Platform.

“Seventh Brother, you don’t have to be like this! Why do you keep chasing me away!” Shí Yuanchen angrily followed behind Shí Yan, saying with a displeased expression, “If you’re like this, I definitely won’t tell you anything Seventh Sister-in-law tells me in the future.”

“Mu Feng, when you send him out of the mansion, tell the gatekeepers that when I’m not here, the Eighth Prince is not allowed to step into the mansion.”

“Yes.”

Shí Yuanchen regretfully patted his own mouth. How was he going to steal paintings in the future? He quickly admitted his mistake, “Don’t, I’ll be your messenger from now on. I’ll secretly tell you everything Seventh Sister-in-law tells me.”

“Eighth Prince, the direction of the mansion gate is over here, it’s time to turn around.” Mu Feng was a little speechless, thinking that this Eighth Prince really spoke without thinking.

Did their Princess really need him to curry favor? Did he really not think of himself as a man?

Shí Yuanchen paused in his steps, looked at Shí Yan, who was ignoring him and walking straight ahead, and reluctantly turned around.

The Viewing Platform was located at the northernmost part of the Prince’s mansion. With artificial hills, lotus ponds, and lush flowers and trees, it offered a panoramic view of the entire Prince’s mansion.

Jiang Jiuchu was gently stroking the zither, the melodious music flowing from her fingertips, her gaze looking into the distance, her thoughts drifting away with the music.

She liked playing the zither. She liked to play it when she was in a good mood, she liked to play it when she was in a bad mood, and she liked to play it even more when she had worries and no one to confide in.

On the side of the Viewing Platform, Shí Yan listened to Jiang Jiuchu’s music while slowly walking up the steps of the Viewing Platform, his eyes slightly lowered, as if he was exploring the state of mind behind the music.

Mu Qing, Green Lo, and Green Meaning beside her were all listening intently, especially Mu Qing, who was listening to Jiang Jiuchu play the zither for the first time. She finally understood why her master liked the Princess.

The Princess was not only pure and kind, but also talented and beautiful. Even she, as a woman, felt joy in her heart when she looked at her.

After a piece ended, she quickly exclaimed, “Your Highness, you play so well, even better than the girls who specialize in playing the zither in the singing houses.”

Hearing this, Green Meaning quickly reminded Mu Qing, “Mu Qing, it’s not appropriate to compare like that, how can you compare our Princess to the girls in the singing houses?”