Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

Inside the Sijun Pavilion, Consort Rong sat on a rose chair, picked up a grape and put it in her mouth, her gaze lingering on Consort Liu, the corners of her mouth curving slightly.

After an incense stick has burned.

Feng Chun, carrying a sandalwood pipa in her arms, strode into the pavilion and carefully placed it on the table. "Your Majesty, this servant has brought the zither."

"This zither has been sitting here for years. Did you clean it properly when you took it out?" Consort Rong glanced at Feng Chun.

Feng Chun stood with his hands at his sides and said, "Your Majesty, this servant wiped it carefully many times."

Jiang Shuo Ning stood beside Consort Rong, glancing up at the pipa. As she examined it closely, Qing'er beside her seemed to notice something amiss. Her eyes widened suddenly, and she leaned close to her and whispered:

"Sister Shuoning, there are needles on the strings of that zither."

Jiang Shuoning glanced at her sideways and glared at her.

Qing'er shrank her neck and lowered her eyes, but she still couldn't help but look at Consort Liu with a hint of worry in her eyes.

Consort Rong smiled slightly: "Shuoning, go and give the zither to Consort Liu."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Jiang Shuoning's hands, clasped together on her lower abdomen, tightened involuntarily. She bent slightly forward, picked up the pipa, and walked towards Consort Liu, smiling slightly: "Consort Liu, this is our Lady's most cherished zither. It was personally ordered by the Emperor to be made by the Imperial Music Workshop. It is the only one of its kind in the palace. Your Majesty, please be careful."

As she spoke, she glanced at the strings a few times before handing them over.

Consort Liu accepted the zither with a smug look on her face. Today, she heard from Feng Xi that the Emperor would come to the Imperial Garden after the morning court session, which would allow the Emperor to catch Consort Rong bullying her in the pavilion.

The Emperor will surely make the decision for himself.

Consort Rong, you've walked right into this trap yourself. Don't blame me for being unkind.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Consort Liu's lips. She lowered her eyes to examine the pipa in her arms; it was indeed made of excellent material.

The headstock of the zither is inlaid with a piece of white jade, and the body is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. It is said that the tone of this zither is clear and melodious, like heavenly music.

She eagerly sat down on the stool behind her, raised her hand, and plucked the strings with her slender, white fingers.

The moment my fingertip touched the string, a sharp, needle-like pain shot through me instantly.

She hissed and gasped, abruptly pulling her hand back. Looking down, she saw fine beads of blood seeping from her fingertips.

She was both in pain and shocked. When she looked closely at the strings, she discovered that they were densely packed with fine needles, their tips pointing upwards and gleaming coldly.

If you don't look closely, you can't see it at all; it looks like it's embedded in the string.

Consort Liu's face turned deathly pale.

Miaozhu hurriedly grasped her hand, gasped, and anxiously looked up at Consort Rong: "Consort Rong, your zither..."

Consort Rong held her teacup, blew away the foam, and without even raising her eyelids, said in a calm and unhurried voice, "Let's begin, Consort Liu."

The pain in her fingertip was instantly overwhelmed by anger. Consort Liu threw the zither into Miaozhu's arms, stood up abruptly, pointed at Consort Rong, and said through gritted teeth, "Your Majesty has such a vicious mind."

Before she could finish speaking, Consort Rong suddenly raised her eyes, her phoenix eyes instantly filled with murderous intent, and the air seemed to freeze. The palace maids and eunuchs in the pavilion were so frightened that they all knelt down and said in unison, "Consort Rong, please calm your anger."

Miaozhu's face turned pale. She knelt on the ground, reached out and tugged at her master's sleeve, and hurriedly said, "Master, quickly, quickly put your hand down."

Consort Liu finally snapped out of her daze, realizing her hand was pointing at Consort Rong, and her mind went blank. She hurriedly withdrew her hand, knelt on the ground, her voice trembling uncontrollably:

"Your Majesty, I was just acting like I was possessed. I offended you. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I will never do it again."

Jiang Shuoning glanced quickly at Consort Rong. Before she could speak, she was staring at Consort Liu with a gaze like a hanging knife. He glanced at Consort Liu again, and Consort Liu trembled like a leaf.

This idiot, besides being good-looking, has a brain full of swill.

(under)

Consort Rong suddenly smiled disdainfully, withdrew her gaze, picked up a grape and placed it on her fingertip, saying leisurely:

"I'll just assume Consort Liu has gone mad. Consort Liu is usually very proper and disciplined. Today she just got carried away and forgot her limits. I won't hold it against you."

Upon hearing this, Consort Liu breathed a sigh of relief, her forehead already beaded with cold sweat, and trembled as she said:

"Thank you, Consort Rong, for forgiving me. I will certainly be more careful with my words and actions from now on."

"Alright. My mood is still good. You may continue singing Kunqu opera and playing the pipa. Don't spoil my enjoyment," said Consort Rong.

Consort Liu's heart leaped into her throat once more. She hurriedly looked at Consort Rong, only to meet her eyes, which held an undeniable air of authority.

She knew in her heart that although Consort Rong said she would spare her, what lay beneath that word of "spare" was that she was to finish the play on her knees.

If she didn't sing, the suffering she endured today would be far more than just the pain of a needle prick; if she sang, and swallowed this humiliation, would she ever have the face to hold her head high in the palace again? But she had no other choice.

For a concubine to point fingers at a high-ranking imperial consort is inherently wrong. Even if the matter were taken to the Emperor, he wouldn't side with her. At that point, she would lose far more than just a few fingers.

She slowly rose and took the pipa from Miaozhu's hands. The sandalwood body of the instrument was heavy, pressing against her like a stone.

She raised her hand, and the moment her fingertips touched the strings, the pressure on her pricking wound caused her fingertips to tremble with pain. She gritted her teeth and plucked the first note.

The voice was still clear and melodious, but the tune it sang was intermittent, as if something was stuck in it, occasionally mixed with a suppressed gasp.

Consort Rong leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and tapped her fingertips lightly on the armrest, as if listening to some fine music.

The sky gradually darkened, and the deep blue of the sky slowly faded.

Inside the pavilion, Consort Liu was still singing. Her voice was so hoarse that she could no longer sing a complete Kunqu opera tune, and her lips were dry, cracked, and pale, with fine, broken lines.

The strings of the pipa in her arms were stained red with blood, and a dark red stain spread across her legs. Her fingers plucked the strings stiffly, her eyes were bloodshot, and her fair face was covered with crisscrossing tear tracks.

Miaozhu knelt on the ground, sobbing as she looked at Jiang Shuoning: "Sister Shuoning, our mistress is already frail, and it's chilly at night. Please, please tell our mistress to stop singing."

Jiang Shuoning remained standing beside the plum blossom chair where Consort Rong had sat.

Consort Rong left at noon, leaving behind the words: "Let Consort Liu go back after she has sung a hundred Kunqu operas. Listen for me and tell me which ones she sang when you return."

There are a hundred Kunqu opera pieces, and even the musicians of Shengping Department might not be able to sing them all. Consort Liu only knows three or four, and she sings them over and over again.

Jiang Shuoning counted, and sang it sixty times.

She didn't respond, turning her face away to look outside the pavilion. The wind blew in from outside, making her dress flutter loudly.

In the distance, she could faintly hear footsteps and hear the dim light of several lanterns on a winding path. The light grew closer, and under the illumination of the palace lanterns, she saw a man dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe.

Upon closer inspection, it was the Emperor.

Jiang Shuoning immediately withdrew her gaze and looked at Consort Liu, her voice cold: "I would be grateful if Your Highness could sing it aloud, otherwise I would not be able to report back to Consort Rong."

Upon hearing this, Miaozhu glared at Jiang Shuoning with a mixture of resentment and anger. Noticing that Jiang Shuoning kept glancing towards the outside of the pavilion, she followed her gaze and saw the Emperor walking towards them.

She immediately cried out as if she had seen a savior, "Your Majesty, please stop singing! If you keep going like this, your voice will definitely be ruined!"

Upon hearing the crying, the Emperor immediately looked up and saw Consort Liu's figure in the pavilion ahead, so he walked over there.

Feng Xi glanced at Bao Zhong and said in a very low voice, "You're getting bolder and bolder."

After saying that, he quickly chased after the emperor.

Bao Zhong lowered his eyes, concealing all emotion, and raised his hand to adjust the brim of his hat, looking at Jiang Shuoning inside the pavilion. He knew her knees weren't good and was worried she wouldn't be able to stand for long.

If he hadn't been worried about her, he wouldn't have deliberately led the Emperor here to relax.