Chapter 504: Birdhouse
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Two more thick stacks of cheques were thrown onto the table. "Smack smack." The sounds were soft, but they were still heard by everyone around.
Fang Zhengzhi knew who these two people were.
However...
He didn"t understand why Ping Yang and Yan Xiu would place bets! Something was wrong! He was the only one of the three to bet over the past few days.
Fang Zhengzhi stared at the two other stacks of cheques at the "All Seven" spot. He was rendered speechless.
Fang Zhengzhi was not alone. The entire crowd who had been mocking Fang Zhengzhi moments ago couldn"t believe their eyes either. Their eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets.
"They bet on... all seven?"
"What is happening?"
"50,000 silvers each! That"s 100,000 in total!"
"They"re mad... they"re insane!"
No one understood what was happening. They could accept Fang Zhengzhi going crazy, but why would Ping Yang and Yan Xiu join in?
Were they really influenced by Fang Zhengzhi after prolonged interaction with him?
"Your Highness, Young Master Fang, Young Master Yan, is... is that really what you"re betting on? This has only happened once over the past year..." Wen Dabao stammered when he saw this.
He realized that Fang Zhengzhi"s expression was rather contorted and his body was shaking.
Could it be...
That he placed it on the wrong spot?
"Yan Xiu, are you really going to bet on that?" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Wen Dabao and turned to smile at Yan Xiu. However, his smile was rather unnatural.
"Yes." Yan Xiu replied.
"Why?" Fang Zhengzhi couldn"t understand.
"We are friends. I believe you." Yan Xiu replied.
"Oh..." Fang Zhengzhi didn"t know what to say when he saw Yan Xiu"s expression. Then, he shook his head and turned to look at Ping Yang, "Princess, I"m sure you won"t follow my silly decision to place that bet right?"
"I do have my own views, but we are friends as well. It"s just 50,000 silvers. It"s a small thing. I have plenty more to spend so this is a small amount! Don"t worry about it!" Ping Yang replied arrogantly, smirking as she did so.
"Actually, we don"t know each other that well. You can place a different bet." Fang Zhengzhi advised.
"Don"t worry about it!" Ping Yang said dismissively.
"..." Fang Zhengzhi was quite speechless as he turned to look at the betting table. Then, his eyes brightened, "Then I"ll change my bet!"
"Sure sure, I"ll change my bet too! Yan Xiu, are you going to change as well?" Ping Yang asked Yan Xiu.
"I can change my bet too." Yan Xiu nodded.
"..." Fang Zhengzhi glared at Ping Yang, unable to find words to express his feelings. He grit his teeth, "Forget it then... I"m too lazy to change!"
"So am I." Ping Yang replied.
"Mm, then I won"t be changing either." Yan Xiu nodded.
"..."
The crowd was speechless when they saw what had just transpired. This was ridiculously willful! Even if they were rich, they shouldn"t be throwing away money like that.
100,000 silvers!
They bet that much on an impossible outcome! They had to be crazy to do something so dumb!
"It"s about to start!"
"I would like to see how Fang Zhengzhi will cry this time!"
"Hahaha... exactly! All seven? Does he really think that he is the boss of the Seven Star Lane? Will whatever he says come true? What a joke!"
Everyone began walking into the Seven Star Lane as opening time drew closer. They ignored Fang Zhengzhi and company.
...
The Seven Star Lane has been renovated and refurbished last year. It was posh and exquisite. It awed every guest that walked through those doors.
There was a screen five meters in the sky which housed a huge tree. The tree had seven fruits on it that formed the Big Dipper Constellation.
There were seven platforms suspended above this one. Seven rays of light shone down from the ceiling and went through a hole in the middle of each of this platforms. The light landed squarely on each fruit. Each ray of light shone onto the screen.
This was the most famous sight...
"The Illumination of the Seven Stars!"
Everyone was led to their seats by waitresses. However, the seat in the middle was left empty.
Because...
That was Ping Yang"s favorite spot.
No one was stupid enough to try and contest for that spot, especially after Ping Yang had set fire to the Minister of Law"s house.
That being said, there were still a few people who didn"t know any better. Right now, there was a man dressed in white sitting there. He looked like he was from a well to do family.
That being said, he was rather pasty. This was compounded by his white clothes. It made him look slightly weak.
The people looked at this youth when they entered the Seven Star Lane. They were all shocked to see this man.
"It"s him?"
"Why is he here?"
The crowd was surprised to see this man here. However, none of them bothered to greet him or talk to him. They simply glanced at him disdainfully, chuckled, then moved to the side.
At that moment, a figure wearing a fiery red dress walked through the doors. She looked up and blinked as she surveyed the room. She had an aura of arrogance about her.
Then, her gaze fell on the youth sitting at the table in the middle.
"Ninth Brother? What are you doing here?" Ping Yang never expected that Ninth Prince Lin Yun would be here and sitting at her table.
"Oh, you"re here too?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun seemed slightly surprised to see Ping Yang.
"Mm, I came with Yan Xiu and the shameless fella." Ping Yang nodded and pointed to Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu.
Naturally...
Wen Dabao was ignored.
Wen Dabao wasn"t too bothered by it. He sighed under his breath. However, when he saw that it was the Ninth Prince, he didn"t really seem to be particularly sad about it.
Over the past year, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong had been gaining traction in the courts. His strongest opponent, King Duan, was now no match for him.
Most of the officials were now in the Crown Prince"s camp.
They were virtually all under one alliance.
Over the past year, King Duan"s residence had become colder and more isolated. Ninth Prince Lin Yun had not been very popular before this, and his popularity had only decreased with the Crown Prince"s grip on power.
At the very least, King Duan still had some visitors. The only visitors Ninth Prince Lin Yun had were sparrows chirping at his gate.
Over the past year, the number of sparrows had only increased. He would scatter seeds all over his yard every day to attract the birds.
Legend had it that Emperor Lin Mubai happened to pa.s.s by the residence one day. Feeling thirsty, he decided to go inside for a drink.
However...
He was "chased out" by the flock of birds inside.
He didn"t even get to drink the tea.
Since then, there was no one who stepped foot inside this "birdhouse". Other than Ping Yang, who discussed horse racing with him when she was bored, no one talked to him.
"Young Master Fang, Young Master Yan, how are you?" Ninth Prince Lin Yun stood up to say h.e.l.lo.
The others shook their head when they saw this.
"Why is he greeting them first? He is a prince!"
"Haish... forget it. It"s a good thing that he isn"t contesting for the throne. He may still be able to be a Lord in the future."
"That"s true. He is of royal blood. He can just laze around for the rest of his life."
The crowd continued to discuss their views openly. They didn"t even try to keep their volume down. After all, a Prince with no allies didn"t concern them.
Even if he was of royal blood!
So what?
There were more than a hundred people with royal blood.
To put it bluntly, the Ninth Prince probably met with the Emperor less than a rank three or even rank four official.
"h.e.l.lo, Ninth Prince." Fang Zhengzhi smiled and ignored the opinions of those around him. After all, he had interacted with the Ninth Prince and even raced him before.
"h.e.l.lo." Yan Xiu nodded.
Wen Dabao was a little stunned when Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu replied. However, he recovered quickly and greeted the Ninth Prince as well.
Then, they took their seats.
At that moment, music began to fill the air. Everyone turned their attention to the seven white jade floating platforms.
This was what they were here for.
The music continued to play as the lights in the Seven Star Lane were dimmed. Eventually, only the seven days of light s.h.i.+ning on the platforms were left.
"It"s about to start!"
There was fire in the eyes of the crowd as they waited excitedly for the show to start. They loved having this sense of mystery.
Fang Zhengzhi and Yan Xiu also looked at the platforms and waited for people to appear.
The music became clearer and crisper.
Then, the ray of green light began to spread to the entire platform, staining the white jade a pale green.
Then, a figure dressed in green floated down. Her eyebrows were picturesque and she held a pipa in her arms. Her dress danced lightly in the breeze.
"Ding!"
The sound of the pipa cut through the air and the music stopped.
The air seemed to freeze as the sounds of the pipa reverberated through the room.
"On the frontiers!"
"Oh my! Bihua us performing "On the frontiers" tonight! What a great choice to come tonight!"
"Yes! She is renowned for her rendition of "On the Frontiers"! She rarely performs it... I never expected her to perform it tonight."
"I bet that she would be performing today!"
Many of the people in the crowd began to clap and sing praises of the lady in green.
At that moment, the sounds of the pipa began to die down and a second light became brighter, lighting up yet another platform. This was a blue light.
"Youxue is going to perform!"
"Bihua and Youxue rarely appear together. Bihua performed "On the frontiers". I wonder what Youxue would perform to complement that."
"I can"t wait!"
The crowd looked on in antic.i.p.ation at the lady in blue. They watched the Erhu she held in her hands excitedly.
After the lady in the blue dress landed, she bowed to the crowd below and smiled sweetly.
The crowd was electrified by her smile. All of them shuddered couldn"t sit still in their seats.
After Youxue smiled, she began to play the Erhu. The music was slow and calming and it filled the room within moments.
"It"s "Autumn Moon over the Han Palace"!"
""On the frontiers" is an emotional piece that elicits sadness in the audience. "Autumn Moon over the Han Palace" is a piece for emotional release! This is a great combination!"
"I made the right choice to come today!"
All of them were intoxicated by the sadness in "On the frontiers". When they heard "Autumn Moon over the Han Palace", it was almost as though they found an outlet for release.
The crowd was satisfied after the two performances.
And then...
The third ray of light lit up yet another platform. This was a pale purple light.
"Wa! This is the first time I"m seeing three of them!"
"What a rare treat! Three in a night is something that only happens once every fortnight!"
"Hahaha... I am bound to win my bet tonight! I bet that Youxue, Bihua, and Yuzi would be the main act tonight!"