Chapter 100 Cloud Nine: Gathering
Liu Shang followed her gaze and saw a girl dressed in plain colors, standing by the side of the river. Her features were delicate but not outstanding, her expression calm and collected. There isn"t anything special about her at all! How did she manage to attract the Duke of Anping?
“What"s that woman doing here by the river?” Chu Xiaoxiao looked in annoyance at Feng Luodi, who smiled and exchanged greetings with the people onboard the neighboring boat. A young man of about 16 or 17 stepped out from the hold, a package in his arms. He quickly approached Feng Luodi.
“Shang"er! I"ll sort her out for you!” Chu Xiaoxiao comforted Liu Shang and quickly turned to Chu Huaicai. “Elder brother, I don"t like the look of that boat beside us. Can you knock the package in his arms into the river? I"m sure Shang"er will like to see that as well.”
“Of course; that"s no problem at all.” Chu Huaicai laughed lightly and picked up a teacup in his hand. Channeling his Qi and tossing it into the air, the teacup whistled as it flew forward.
Feng Luodi smiled as saw the package in Fei"s arms. Just as Fei was getting on the sh.o.r.e, a teacup flew out of nowhere and struck him on his wrist. The package flew out of his hands, striking hard against the bank as it landed into the river with a splash. It all happened before the Feng Luodi and Fei could react, and they could only watch as the precious Guqin plopped into the water.
“Don"t worry young miss; I"ll bring it back immediately!” Without hesitation, Fei dived headfirst into the river.
“Be careful!” Feng Luodi warned. She turned her head in the direction of the teacup. Judging by the impact it made against Fei"s wrist, it must have been thrown by someone with Qi. Her eyes found the trio on the deck of the luxurious s.h.i.+p next to the boat.
Chu Huaicai and Chu Xiaoxiao glared at her, but she was surprised upon seeing the third person. Why is Princess Shangrong staring at me with such hatred in her eyes? What have I ever done to her?
Feng Luodi took a deep breath and calmed herself down. They look like they"re out to make things difficult for me, but there"s nothing I can do against that. The Princess will definitely make things ugly for my parents if she was to say anything against me.
Feng Luodi looked away from them and stared at the surface of the river, instructing the sailors from the boat to help Fei back up on the bank.
“Cough! Cough!” Fei was dripping from the chilly waters of spring.
“Let"s return quickly and get you a bowl of warm ginger soup. It"ll be bad if you were to catch a cold out here.” Feng Luodi turned to the other attendants. “Return to Autumnal Ombre and come back with a carriage for us.”
“Yes, young miss.”
“Young miss, I"m afraid that we"ll have to send the Guqin for maintenance before you"ll be able to play it like the rest.” Fei frowned as he inspected Cloud Nine. He spun around, intending to demand an explanation from the neighboring vessel.
Feng Luodi quickly stopped him. “Don"t let them see your face.” Feng Luodi warned in hushed tones. “We"ll wait for the carriage over there instead; don"t pay them any attention.”
Fei looked at Feng Luodi"s serious expression and nodded. “I understand, young miss.” The carriage arrived shortly afterward and the two of them disappeared from the view of Liu Shang as the carriage returned to the Feng household.
“Hmph! She should thank her lucky stars that she did not cause any further trouble today, or Shang"er would"ve shown her what it means to disrespect a member of the royal family.” Chu Xiaoxiao grinned smugly.
Chu Huaicai smiled. “My apologies for the upsetting event, Princess. Will you let me invite you to tomorrow"s music gathering to make up for today?”
“What gathering is that?” Liu Shang was confused. “I"ve never heard of such an event before.”
Chu Xiaoxiao leaned in. “It"s a gathering hosted by one of the zither maestros in Chang"an, and all of the zither enthusiasts in the capital are invited. Many distinguished members of the younger generation will be there as well! You"ll definitely be warmly welcomed if you were to attend tomorrow.”
“But…I"m not exactly good at music.” Liu Shang frowned. Will Situ be there tomorrow? I heard that he"s been visiting zither parlors often ever since he"s returned to the capital.
“Your very presence would be enough of an honour for them. If you were indeed chosen to play a song, I can do so on your behalf instead. I can play the zither quite well, if I do say so myself.” Chu Huaicai jumped at the chance to showcase his talents.
“If you say so then, Brother Huaicai. Let"s attend the gathering tomorrow.” Liu Shang nodded slowly.
“Young miss, I"ll get the ginger soup immediately!” Jet rushed off as soon as she saw Fei and Feng Luodi.
Worry was apparent in Scarlet"s eyes as she quickly examined Fei. “What happened just now, young miss? What happened to Fei?”
“Don"t" worry, it"s nothing much. Fei just entered the river to retrieve the Guqin. Just let him rest for a couple of days and he"ll be fine.” Feng Luodi patted Scarlet"s hand. “If you"re worried, just go on and take care of him for the next few days.”
“What about you, young miss?” Scarlet"s face brightened for a second but she quickly hesitated.
“Jet will be here with me, no worries.” Feng Luodi rea.s.sured her. Ever since Fei and Scarlet started working together in Autumnal Ombre, Feng Luodi had sensed the beginning of a special relations.h.i.+p between the two of them. Is there really something between the two of them?
As soon as the two of them disappeared from view, Feng Luodi quickly brought out the Guqin, peeling the wrapping away from Cloud Nine. Placing it on the stone table in the courtyard, she carefully inspected the Guqin. The Guqin was well built, but that did not help the fact that it was dumped into the river. With a piece of dry cloth, Feng Luodi examined the Guqin as she wiped it down. The place where the strings met the body of the Guqin was chipped and several strings were severed, a result of the impact against the rocks on the bank as it fell.
With a heavy sigh, Feng Luodi quickly wrapped the Guqin up in a piece of dry cloth and got to her feet. Cloud Nine has to be quickly restored and refurbished before the moisture in the wood can do any further damage to the Guqin. Where can I find an artisan skilled enough to do this? She quickly headed out of the household.
As she approached the door, she was stopped by an attendant waiting outside for her. “Young miss Feng.”
Feng Luodi stopped and looked at the man, confused. “Yes?”
“I am an attendant from Gentleman Fang"s household, Miss Feng. Gentleman Fang is inviting you to Lin Xi tomorrow to partake in the LiuChang Zither Gathering. This is the invitation.”
Feng Luodi was puzzled and took the invitation from the man. “Gentleman Fang?”
“Gentleman Fang of the Fang household, young miss. He was once the teacher of his Majesty in the arts and music but has since retired from his position. He now spends his days befriending the zither enthusiasts of Chang"an.”
Now Feng Luodi knew who he was talking about, a respected figure in the capital. “To what do I owe this honor? I will definitely attend the gathering tomorrow.” Feng Luodi was a zither lover at heart, and it was an opportunity she could not give up. “Thank you for delivering the invitation.”
“It"s my duty to do so.” The attendant bowed. “I will be returning to my master, then.”
“Please do.”
Putting the matter of the invitation in a corner of her mind, Feng Luodi quickly set off to find a zither artisan to repair the Guqin.
With the invitation in hand, Feng Luodi and Qi Jianqiu arrived at LinXi the Next day without any problems. The entire estate was surrounded by flowers and plants, a stream snaking around the middle of the estate. Low tables and cus.h.i.+ons were placed on the gra.s.s beside the stream, with refreshments and a zither placed on each table. Many of the tables were already occupied.
Qi Jianqiu pointed out a few figures in the crowd to Feng Luodi enthusiastically. “Look, Luodi! That"s Gentleman Cen, the maestro who"d composed many of the popular songs in Chang"an! And that"s Scholar Gao from the most famous scholarly inst.i.tute in Chang"an! That"s…”
With the helpful introduction from Qi Jianqiu, Feng Luodi was able to get a better grasp of the music scene of Chang"an.
“Miss Feng, Miss Qi. You have arrived at your designated seats for the gathering.” The attendant leading them stopped by the stream.
“Thank you.” The two girls sat down and quickly recognized the men sitting at the table next to them.
“I never expected to see you here today, elder brother!” Feng Luodi was surprised.
“It"s a rare opportunity to interact with Gentleman Fang, after all.” Jiang Moyin smiled. “I knew you"d be here as well. There wouldn"t be much of a point to this gathering if you weren"t invited.”
“You flatter me too much, elder brother; your skills are much better than mine” Feng Luodi smiled in return and nodded at Xue Yiqi and Gan Qingjia sitting beside Jiang Moyin. Why are the two of them here today?
Qi Jianqiu voiced her doubts for her. “Why are the two of you here today? As far as I know, neither of you can play the zither, can you?”
Xue Yiqi smiled bashfully, but Gan Qingjia was unfazed. “Well, neither can you. And yet you"re here with Miss Feng today.”
“Hmph!” Qi Jianqiu turned away from them and two girls seated a few tables away quickly caught her eye. She waved enthusiastically. “Miss Crystal! What a coincidence it is to see you here today!”
“Indeed it is, Miss Qi.” Crystal nodded in return. Linglong smiled at Qi Jianqiu as well. However, Qi Jianqiu was much colder to Linglong, opting for a simple nod in return.
At the same time, voices called out to Feng Luodi from across the stream.
“What an honour to see you here today, Miss Feng. I sure hope that the goblet will stop in front of you for as many times as possible today; we"ll get to hear much more of your enchanting music if that was to happen.”
Feng Luodi was a little taken aback by the compliment. Ever since her transmigration, all she"d received from the public were malicious comments. The sudden change in att.i.tude quickly threw her off balance.
“The one on the left is Gentleman Yun, and the one beside you is Master Zhou.” Quickly catching on to her dilemma, Jiang Moyin reminded her under his breath.