Chapter 45

While Cheng Ruyi remained in the manor, full of enthusiasm for learning the zither to prove the truth of folk legends and secure “mountains of eggs,” rumors about her continued to multiply outside.

At the Prince Rong Manor, the Prince’s favored concubine, Lady Yirou, finally managed to contact her younger brother, Luo Fei, who had arrived in the capital for the imperial examinations.

Luo Fei was a young man in his early twenties—tall, handsome, and with slightly delicate features. He possessed a pair of narrow, upturned phoenix eyes. Had Cheng Ruyi been there, she would have found his face and eyes strikingly familiar.

He looked remarkably like Rong Susu.

Rong Susu also possessed those distinct, upturned phoenix eyes.

After Rong Mo had happened to save Luo Fei, he was astonished by the youth’s seventy-percent resemblance to his aunt. He suspected that this young scholar might be a survivor of the Rong clan. However, suspicion was one thing; confirming whether Luo Fei was a Rong family member required a deep investigation. Rong Mo had been busy lately precisely to uncover Luo Fei’s true identity.

Luo Fei’s background appeared simple and unpromising at first glance. What startled Rong Mo, however, was that Luo Fei’s parents seemed to be connected to Lady Yirou.

Within the Prince Rong Manor, aside from the Princess Consort who was currently confined to a small Buddhist hall to pray, Lady Yirou was the most powerful figure in the inner court. She had quietly purged most of the Princess Consort’s people. Prince Rong said nothing, allowing Lady Yirou to do as she pleased.

Meanwhile, Chu Ran, the Heir Apparent of Prince Rong, had been acting mysteriously lately. Aside from his scheduled visits to his mother in the Buddhist hall, his whereabouts were unknown. Both Yirou and her mother were extremely wary of him.

Even knowing that her brother Luo Fei had arrived in the capital, Yirou didn’t dare meet him openly. Today, she finally found an excuse to leave the manor. Accompanied by her trusted wet nurse, the two were overcome with emotion.

“Mother, Xiao Fei is finally here. It’s been over three years; I’ve missed him so much,” Lady Yirou said excitedly inside the lavish carriage.

Nanny Luo—who was actually the mother of the two siblings—listened to her daughter, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Yes, it’s been so long. I heard Xiao Fei ran into danger in the outskirts. Thank goodness someone saved him, otherwise…”

Lady Yirou nodded, looking relieved. “Yes. We don’t know who saved him yet, but we must thank them properly.” If anything had happened to her brother, the whole family would have been at fault.

The carriage wove through the busy market. Lady Yirou and Nanny Luo went to an embroidery shop, shook off their guards, and donned disguises. They slipped out the back and made their way to a quiet alley lined with residences. They stopped at a modest but peaceful courtyard and knocked on the copper door ring.

The door opened quickly, and the two women hurried inside.

“Mother, Sister! What are you doing here?” Luo Fei asked with a look of pleasant surprise. His page boy respectfully served tea and then withdrew.

“Three years and Xiao Fei has grown even handsomer. I wonder which young lady will be lucky enough to get you,” Lady Yirou teased, her face glowing with a sisterly smile. Nanny Luo also looked at him with maternal affection.

Luo Fei’s face reddened. “Sister, let’s wait until I pass the exams first.”

“Xiao Fei, I heard you were in danger. What happened?” Nanny Luo asked worriedly.

“It was nothing much. Just a few petty thieves looking to rob scholars heading for the exams. I just had bad luck,” Luo Fei said dismissively, not wanting them to worry.

“I see. And the person who saved you? I’ll have to find a way to thank them,” Lady Yirou said. Seeing that her brother looked well and uninjured, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“It was Young Master Rong Mo, the future son-in-law of the Marquis of Changle. He even helped me find this residence,” Luo Fei smiled, his face showing genuine gratitude when mentioning Rong Mo. The situation back then had been dire; without Rong Mo’s timely intervention, he would likely be a ghost by now.

The expressions of Nanny Luo and Lady Yirou shifted slightly. Young Master Rong Mo?

Mother and daughter shared a bitter internal smile. They hadn’t expected their paths to cross like this. In truth, one could say the “Little Master” owed this to Luo Fei. If their grandmother hadn’t been driven to desperation and sought refuge with Madam Rong while carrying the Little Master, the Rong family would never have been massacred by the ruthless Princess Consort of Prince Rong.

“So it was Young Master Rong Mo. I will remember that,” Lady Yirou said with a smile.

The three spent an hour chatting about family matters. The small courtyard was filled with laughter, but Yirou couldn’t stay long. Before leaving, she left her brother a large sum of money. After they departed, a figure in black slipped out of the courtyard, changed their appearance, and sped toward the Marquis of Changle’s Manor.

The Marquis of Changle’s Manor

Cheng Ruyi was practicing the zither with great focus. This time, she wasn’t playing the original piece but a different, cheerful melody she had pestered Master Gongsun Yi into teaching her. Cheerful music made for a pleasant mood. Cheng Ruyi much preferred this over the mournful stuff.

Perhaps because she was so happy, she unconsciously infused a trace of her mental strength into the music. Without her realizing it, the “area of effect” of the zither’s sound began to expand.

The servants throughout the manor began to feel… strange.

“Shun-zi, I suddenly feel like I really need to go to the latrine. But I just went… Did I eat something bad?” a servant in green said, clutching his stomach with a look of distress.

Shun-zi’s face was also pale. “A-Fa, I feel like I need to go too…”

“Ah? You too?” A-Fa’s eyes widened.

Just then, other servants gathered around with pained expressions. “We also need to go to the latrine!”

“What is happening? Did we all get food poisoning?” one servant cried out in alarm.

“That can’t be. Our food is very clean,” another said hesitantly.

A weak voice suddenly chimed in: “I think it might be the zither music.”

“No way! The music sounds quite nice. Don’t talk nonsense.”

“But… I only started feeling this way when the music started,” the weak voice argued.

“Well… how about we try covering our ears and see if the feeling goes away?”

“Agreed!”

They all covered their ears tightly. Without the music entering their ears, the urge to visit the latrine slowly vanished. Everyone was stunned. It really was the music! How bizarre.

“I heard the Eldest Miss is the one playing,” a servant said, sounding like he wanted to cry.

“Heavens! What are we going to do? Eldest Miss’s music is too powerful…” It was literally making them have bowel movements.

“Our Miss is a genius; she can play so beautifully after just a few days. It’s just… the side effects aren’t great.”

“Exactly! If she plays every day, we’ll have to walk around with our ears plugged.”

The news spread through the manor. It wasn’t just the servants; the guards and even the men Prince Pingnan sent to guard the ancient tree felt the same. Everyone soon realized the music was the culprit. Their expressions were extremely subtle. As expected of our Miss—she has a ‘unique’ talent for the zither, but the results are terrifying.

Those further away were less affected, but those listening up close were miserable.

The young Cheng Yu only listened to half the song before he had to bolt for the latrine. Then it was Rong Susu, followed by the Marquis of Changle.

Cheng Ruyi was so engrossed in her playing that she didn’t notice her parents and brother taking turns running away. Finally, even Master Gongsun Yi—who had been trying to hold it in—turned bright red and couldn’t resist the urge to dash for the latrine as well.

Only Rong Mo, who had the best discipline and strong internal power, noticed something was wrong early on. He used his inner energy to suppress the sensation and was not significantly affected. Thus, he was the only one who didn’t run.

When they returned, the Marquis and the others were in a dilemma. Should they plug their ears? If they didn’t, they’d have to keep running; if they did, it would break their daughter’s heart. Life was so hard.

Ultimately, they chose to endure.

When the piece finally ended, Cheng Ruyi reluctantly stopped. Everyone present let out a collective sigh of relief. Finally, it’s over.

Dark, resentful glances kept flying toward Master Gongsun Yi. If he hadn’t told her to “infuse her emotions,” how could she have produced such a bizarre sound? They were the ones suffering for it.

“Ahem… Daughter, that song you played… Father felt a bit ‘strange’ listening to it,” the Marquis said cautiously, watching his daughter’s lingering excitement.

Cheng Ruyi snapped out of her trance and blinked in confusion. “Father, I infused my emotions just like the Master said. Why was it strange?”

As a master, Gongsun Yi was most sensitive to the emotions in the music. Having just visited the latrine once, he felt the sensation returning. He suppressed his reaction and took a deep breath. “…What were you thinking about while you played?”

Cheng Ruyi gave him a sheepish look, her eyes darting around. Should she tell the truth? If she did, would the Master be offended? After all, she was a “good child” who respected her teachers.

She decided she had to lie. Avoiding his gaze, she replied guiltily, “I… I was thinking about lots of delicious food.”

Rong Mo knew his fiancée too well. Seeing her shifting eyes, he knew she was lying. He was amused, but then a realization hit him.

Ruyi… this girl… she must have been thinking about making the hens lay eggs.

No wonder the music felt so “motivational” to the digestive system. At the thought of this, Rong Mo suddenly felt a bit unwell himself.

His little fiancée’s zither music was poisonous!

Sansukini: It’s a stimulating music.

Speaking of music, may I recommend my readers to checkout the filipino ppop band, SB19. They have a new album out. They got lots of bops, pop, ballads, etc, and just a few days ago, they had an MV out with Jolin Cai called EMOJI. Listening to them now while I’m proofreading. #ShamelessPlug

P.S.

HAPPY EASTER! 🐤 🐰 🐥 🎁 🌈 🦋 🥚

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