269 Shame
Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Feng Yang took out the amulet that Gu Yanfei had given her and played with it with interest. She smiled and said, “The girl surnamed Gu is quite interesting.”
“When has Chu Yi’s taste been bad?” The Emperor walked slowly with his hands behind his back, unable to hide his smugness.
Feng Yang’s eyes curved with joy and emotion.
Her heart also ached for Chu Yi. If not for the fact that she wasn’t in the capital back then, she would definitely not have allowed the late Emperor to send Chu Yi to the State of Yue as a hostage… But there was no point in talking about these old matters now.
One had to look forward!
Feng Yang raised her chin and looked ahead. A few strands of gray hair caressed her thin cheeks and firm chin.
“Sigh.” The Emperor suddenly stopped and anxiously summoned the eldest eunuch, Zhao Rang. He instructed, “Go and pass on my oral order. Just say…”
The Emperor reminded Zhao Rang and frowned in frustration. He should have said it just now. How could he have forgotten?
Zhao Rang could only agree.
Actually, there was no need for him to personally take action for such a small matter. He could just send a small eunuch to the water pavilion to pass a message. However, he knew that the Emperor valued this future Eldest Princess Consort, so he personally made a trip and hurriedly turned around to return to the Tinglan Water Pavilion.
In the water pavilion, the girls on the east and west sides were still clearly separated. They were sitting, drinking tea, or whispering amongst themselves. However, the atmosphere was a little awkward.
Eunuch He, who was guarding the door, quickly smiled and cupped his hands. “Eunuch Zhao.”
The others immediately looked at Zhao Rang when they heard this. Standing at the entrance, Zhao Rang gently flicked his horsetail whisk and said in a long voice, “According to the Emperor’s decree, Second Lady Gu won the zither competition. The Emperor has specially allowed Second Lady Gu to be given a whip in the palace in the future.”
This decree attracted the cheers of Wei Jiaoniang and the others, but Yu Chaoyun and the others couldn’t take it anymore.
If the emperor hadn’t said anything, Yu Chaoyun could still barely tell her that the zither competition today was a draw. It was just Gu Yanfei taking advantage of the situation to please the Eldest Princess Feng Yang.
However, with the Emperor’s words, there was no doubt about the outcome of the zither competition—
She had lost!
She had been under Master He’s tutelage since she was young. Even Master had personally praised her zither skills as unparalleled among her peers.
She had actually lost to Gu Yanfei!
The haze in Yu Zhaoyun’s eyes deepened.
To Wei Jiaoniang, if Gu Yanfei won, it was equivalent to her winning.
Wei Jiaoniang smiled until her eyes curved into two crescent moons. She held Gu Yanfei’s arm intimately and leaned her little face against her shoulder, then said coquettishly, “Yanfei, you said that you don’t know how to play the zither.”
She felt that Gu Yanfei was really too humble. If she had this ability, she would definitely talk about it every day.
“I didn’t say that,” Gu Yanfei corrected her seriously. Her black pupils met Wei Jiaoniang’s eyes without any guilt.
Cough, cough. She had just accidentally lost her mind.
Lu Qin leaned over and leaned on Gu Yanfei’s shoulder. After thinking about it, she said firmly, “Indeed, she didn’t say that.”
The two of them silently condemned Gu Yanfei with their gazes. She must have been distracted at that time!
They only glared at Gu Yanfei for three breaths before they couldn’t hold back their expressions. They couldn’t help but laugh and happily hugged each other, filling the air with their wanton and hearty laughters.
It was good that they won!
The others were all minor details, so there was nothing to fuss about.
After being happy for a while, Wei Jiaoniang pulled Gu Yanfei back to the window on the east side and sat down. She excitedly borrowed Gu Yanfei’s new Mystic Flame Whip to play with.
‘Yanfei, let me tell you. This Mystic Flame Whip is extraordinary. I heard it was made by the weapon grandmaster, Master Situ.”
‘Master Situ only loved to forge knives in his life. He made this whip for his wife.”
‘Look at this whip. The end of the whip can extend and shrink. There’s a small knife hidden in the handle.”
Speaking of topics she was interested in, Wei Jiaoniang talked non-stop, as if she knew everything.
Seeing that she was dry-mouthed, Gu Yanfei handed her a cup of tea at the right time. Then, she felt darkness beside her.
A begonia-red figure appeared at the table. It was Yu Chaoyun.
As Yu Chaoyun arrived, there were also the gazes of the girls on the east side of the water pavilion. It was so quiet that there was no sound.
‘Second Lady Gu.” Yu Chaoyun bowed to Gu Yanfei generously. “I lost the zither competition today.’
She looked very magnanimous. This generous and open bearing attracted several admiring gazes.
Victory and defeat were commonplace in war. Yu Chaoyun’s calm admission of defeat meant that she had excellent manners and self-restraint.
This was the integrity of their family.
As expected of a daughter of the Yu family.
Although the others not far away were still a little unconvinced about today’s outcome, they also thought more highly of Yu Chaoyun.
Yu Chaoyun smiled gently and continued, “In the past, the teacher who taught me the zither also gave me pointers. He said that my skills are enough, but I’m lacking in terms of artistic conception. In the end, I’m still young and have too little experience.”
Her words surprised Wei Jiaoniang and Lu Qin. Wei Jiaoniang almost choked on her tea and looked out the window.
Gu Yanfei felt that it was very “interesting”. She stared straight at Yu Chaoyun’s face, and her gaze lingered on the smile on Yu Chaoyun’s lips.
For some reason, she and Yu Chaoyun had actually taken a different path from her previous life.
From the first time they met in this life, Yu Chaoyun’s attitude towards her had been very distant. She was arrogant and dignified, with a high and mighty nobility. She was a completely different person than in her previous life.
In her previous life, Yu Chaoyun had known her from the beginning with the attitude of being on good terms with her. Just like now, Yu Chaoyun had shown her best side at that time.
She was generous, proper, kind, elegant, and gentle, like one of those flawless heiresses in operas.
At that time, Gu Yanfei was both inferior, lonely, and timid. She easily fell into a vortex called ‘friendship” and poured her heart out to Yu Chaoyun. Then, she was betrayed, and it ended with her being covered in injuries.
Huh!
Yu Chaoyun’s smile was really familiar!