Chapter 46

After being earnestly lectured by Master Gongsun Yi, Cheng Ruyi felt even more guilty. She was only learning the zither for the sake of earning “mountains of eggs”; she had zero interest in becoming a master zither player.

Furthermore, her so-called “talent” was entirely a result of cheating with her mental powers. One can deceive for a moment, but not for a lifetime.

Cheng Ruyi also didn’t want to keep tricking this master, who bore a striking resemblance to her father from her past life in the apocalypse. To prevent the misunderstanding from deepening, she had a heart-to-heart talk with him. Ultimately, Gongsun Yi compromised, played a few upbeat melodies for her, and departed.

As he left, the Master carried an exquisite small box—a grand gift from Cheng Ruyi: ten pills of the Divine Medicine .

Cheng Ruyi thought gleefully that he would surely be pleasantly surprised when he saw them!

However, because Master Gongsun Yi left after less than ten days of teaching, rumors began to swirl almost immediately. No sooner had his front foot stepped out of the Marquis of Changle’s estate than the gossip spread: “Cheng Ruyi is rotten wood that cannot be carved,” and “Master Gongsun Yi was driven away in a fit of rage by her utter stupidity.”

It was a blatant attempt to smear her and make her a laughingstock. Cheng Ruyi and Rong Mo both knew exactly who was behind it. Cheng Qingyao didn’t dare show her face at their door anymore, so she resorted to having people keep watch and spreading messy rumors to annoy Ruyi. Yet, neither Ruyi nor Rong Mo cared. To them, the jumping-and-shouting Cheng Qingyao was merely a clown—they treated her antics like a theater performance.

“Miss! The chickens in the main kitchen were so strange this afternoon,” Moxiang said excitedly as she brought snacks. “The roosters were jumping around their cages like they’d gone mad, and the hens actually started laying eggs! Everyone was terrified.”

“Really?” Cheng Ruyi’s eyes lit up with startling intensity.

“Yes! Uncle Li, who feeds the poultry, saw a dozen hens laying eggs all at once and nearly died of joy,” Moxiang giggled, placing the snacks on the table. The kitchen’s poultry arrived live from the country villa every half-month, and Uncle Li was in charge of them. “Oh, I almost forgot—the ducks started laying too!”

Cheng Ruyi smirked triumphantly. Her luck was incredible. It turned out the legend of “playing music to make hens lay eggs” wasn’t a myth; it was just that other people didn’t play as well as she did. She had only been thinking of the hens, but the ducks had followed suit. Salted duck eggs are delicious, she thought.

She decided right then to raise a batch of chickens and ducks in the estate’s livestock pens. That way, they’d never run out of eggs and could make various kinds of pickled eggs. She now realized her zither music had a “weird” effect because she was unconsciously infusing it with a sliver of her mental power. It was a startling discovery—though it wasn’t great that it affected humans too. Still, she figured that minor side effect could be ignored.

After dinner, the family gathered in the side hall. While young Cheng Yu dozed off, Cheng Ruyi enthusiastically proposed raising poultry in the estate.

“Daughter,” the Marquis of Changle asked, feeling a bit odd about the idea, “we already have plenty at the villa. Why raise them here?”

“Father, there will be a great drought next year,” Cheng Ruyi lied smoothly, her eyes darting around as she improvised. “We need to be prepared. To ensure we have fresh meat, we should raise them here.”

The Marquis nodded, convinced. “A drought means water will be scarce. Chickens are fine, but ducks might be difficult.”

“No rush, Father. We’ll raise them now, and if the water runs out next year, we’ll just slaughter and eat them. Plus, our estate’s vegetables are so delicious; we can feed them the leftover leaves. Their meat will be exquisite.”

The Marquis’s mouth watered at the thought. The estate was a blessed piece of land nourished by an ancient tree, and the vegetables there were indeed superior. Between his wife, Rong Susu, who pampered her daughter, and the wealth brought in by the Divine Medicine, the matter was settled.

“Ahem, daughter,” the Marquis rubbed his hands together sheepishly. “Do you have any more Divine Medicine for your father?”

“I do, but I gave you thirty pills already. Is that not enough?” Ruyi asked.

Rong Susu gave her husband a sharp, suspicious glare. “Ruyi is right. A’Yuan, what do you need more for? Do you have too much money now? Are you looking for some ‘little vixen’ outside?”

The Marquis panicked. “Susu, I only love you! There’s no vixen. I’m asking because someone privately offered me 20,000 taels of white silver per pill .”

Ruyi’s interest was piqued. “Who offered that much?”

The Marquis grinned mysteriously. “You’ll never guess. It’s the Fourth Prince. He tried to buy them from me through a middleman, but I found out.”

Cheng Ruyi laughed internally. The “male lead” of the original story was secretly trying to buy her medicine! Everyone was speechless; it seemed the Fourth Prince’s family wealth was quite substantial.

“Father, we aren’t short on money,” Ruyi reminded him. “Don’t sell too many at once.”

“I know. I refused the others. But since the Fourth Prince is high-ranking and has an upcoming wedding, I figured we could send two pills as a wedding gift.”

The Marquis was proud. Nowadays, officials whispered that the best gift one could give was the Divine Medicine. He was now treated with unprecedented warmth by his colleagues, all thanks to his daughter’s “treasure.” Ruyi agreed, calling the idea “high-end, atmospheric, and classy,” and handed him a bottle of thirty pills.

Later that night, Rong Mo and Cheng Ruyi walked hand-in-hand toward her courtyard.

“A’Mo, do you have something on your mind?” Ruyi asked.

Rong Mo paused. “I’ve been tracing the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on us. It was the Consort of Prince Rong. She hired the ‘Blood Hall’ assassins.”

“Her again?” Ruyi fumed. “That woman is a mad dog!”

Rong Mo narrowed his eyes. “She isn’t simple. I suspect the massacre of the Rong family is linked to her. I need to find evidence before I take her life.”

After seeing Ruyi to her room and sharing a lingering kiss, Rong Mo returned to his quarters to meet his subordinate, An Yi.

“An Yi, are you saying that Luo Fei and Lady Yirou (the Prince’s favorite concubine) are siblings?” Rong Mo was stunned.

“Yes, Master. And the Lady’s trusted wet nurse is actually her biological mother.”

The situation was getting murkier. Rong Mo had suspected Luo Fei because he resembled his aunt, but now a deeper web was appearing. He found Prince Rong’s behavior bizarre as well: the Consort had faced “divine punishment,” yet the Prince kept her title and merely confined her to a prayer hall. They were clearly estranged, yet he protected her status. Furthermore, the Prince seemed indifferent to the fact that his favorite concubine was having an affair with his own legitimate son.

Rong Mo frowned. Everything about the Prince Rong estate was eerie. While he was certain the Consort was the murderer of his clan, proving it was difficult since Blood Hall never left paper trails.

“Monitor them closely,” Rong Mo ordered. He knew the Consort wouldn’t stop until he was dead; he just had to wait for her to make the next move.

Sansukini: You might have guessed it right, Rong Mo and Luo Fei had a switcheroo when they were babies.

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