Chapter 48

The Marquis of Changle didn’t even have time to react before he was submerged by a swarm of chickens and ducks, an endless chorus of clucking and quacking filling the air.

Rong Mo: “…”

Cheng Ruyi was dumbfounded; these birds were ferocious.

However, she and Rong Mo reacted quickly. With a surge of mental power, the chickens and ducks were forced off the Marquis. Rong Mo moved like a flash to pull him to safety.

At this moment, the Marquis was in complete disarray. His clothes were torn, he was covered from head to toe in feathers and droppings, and a tuft of chicken feathers sat mockingly atop his head. He looked as pathetic as one could possibly be.

Ignoring the filth, a distressed Rong Susu stepped forward, using her handkerchief to wipe the feathers from his face. “A-Yuan, why were you in such a hurry? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Uncle Li, who arrived a step too late, turned pale with fright. Heavens, since when did these chickens and ducks become so vicious?

Having just escaped the suffocation of being surrounded by hundreds of birds, the Marquis didn’t even have time to process the near-death experience before hearing his wife’s tender concern. He immediately clutched his chest with a look of grievance and replied, “My heart is wounded.”

Rong Susu: “…”

Still in the mood to joke? It seems he’s fine.

Once her mind was at ease, her anger flared up. “Look at you! Why did you run so fast? The eggs weren’t going to sprout legs and run away!”

The Marquis rubbed his nose sheepishly, offering a flattering smile. “Wasn’t I just excited?” Still, those birds were incredibly fierce—tougher than his prize fighting cocks.

Rong Susu was speechless. She was excited too, but she wouldn’t have charged headlong into the fray to scavenge for eggs.

Standing to the side, Cheng Ruyi felt the most guilty. A large part of why these birds were so aggressive was because the zither music she played was infused with her mental power.

“Dad, you’ve had a shock. Tonight, I’ll have the kitchen stew a chicken for you to recover.”

“I definitely need to recover! Those birds are terrifying. Daughter, why did you have the manor people send such vicious ones? What if they hurt you later?” The Marquis grumbled huffily, casting a glared at the now-docile birds nesting on the ground.

Guilty, Cheng Ruyi nodded repeatedly. “Dad is right!”

“And don’t forget those eggs! Get people to pick them up quickly.” The Marquis fumed at the thought of getting into such a mess just for a few eggs. After that, unable to stand the stench of manure, he hurriedly left with his dear wife.

Cheng Ruyi and Rong Mo shared a glance and breathed a secret sigh of relief. Luckily, they reacted fast enough to prevent her father from getting hurt. But reflecting on his disheveled state, Cheng Ruyi was at a loss for words. Her father was just too impulsive.

The spectating servants were all scared stiff. They looked at the majestic birds in the distance with a hint of dread. Simultaneously, they cast looks of deep pity toward Uncle Li and the two servants responsible for the feeding.

“Alright, these birds won’t be fierce anymore. Uncle Li, go have your people collect the eggs.”

Hearing this, Uncle Li called over several pale-faced servants. Carrying small baskets lined with hay, they entered the flock trembling with fear. To their surprise, the birds were now incredibly tame and did not attack.

They glanced cautiously at the Eldest Miss, their hearts racing with shock. The Eldest Miss was amazing—just by releasing her aura, she had suppressed those ferocious birds. Relieved, they finally began gathering the eggs.

“Ruyi, you’re truly incredible. You really made the chickens and ducks lay eggs.” Rong Mo was not stingy with his praise; he was still reeling from the sight of synchronized egg-laying. This wasn’t an ability just anyone possessed.

Cheng Ruyi waved her hand with a bit of pride, a wide smile breaking out on her glamorous face. “Of course! Look who I am. Making them lay eggs with a zither is too easy—it wasn’t even a challenge.”

Rong Mo gave a low chuckle, a playful glint in his eyes. “Since it wasn’t a challenge, how about trying to ‘play the lute to a cow’?”

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, there was also a proverb about playing music to an unappreciative cow.

Cheng Ruyi curled her lip, disinterested. “What’s the benefit of playing to a cow? You can’t just slaughter a cow whenever you want. Boring. Playing for chickens and ducks means we get delicious meat and eggs to eat.”

Rong Mo’s mouth twitched. “…” He actually felt that his little fiancée made a terrifying amount of sense. It’s over, I’ve been influenced by her.

The servants eavesdropping nearby let out a secret sigh of relief. The Eldest Miss’s music was “poisonous”—not only did the birds lay eggs, but they became combat-ready. If she played for a cow and it went mad, what would they do? Not everyone had her freakish strength.

Once the birds turned docile, the servants carefully began cleaning up the feathers and manure. By then, Cheng Ruyi and Rong Mo had already left together.

Moxiang, who had been deeply shaken, had the zither sent back to the courtyard before leaving while clutching her still-pounding heart. This day was simply too much excitement.

The story of the Eldest Miss Cheng playing the zither to make birds lay eggs and the Marquis of Changle being swarmed while egg-hunting quickly spread, becoming the talk of the town in the capital.

“Have you heard? The reason Miss Cheng learned the zither is so bizarre—it was to make poultry lay eggs! Poor Master Gongsun Yi, his lifelong reputation has been ruined by her.”

“Yes, yes, Master Gongsun is so pitiful!”

“I heard Master Gongsun’s music can attract birds and butterflies. I didn’t expect the student he taught could make chickens lay eggs. He’s truly powerful!”

“Miss Cheng has gone too far; her actions have defiled the elegant art of the zither.”

“What elegant art? You pedantic scholar, how can you say that? I think Miss Cheng did well! Playing music to get eggs is practical. You lot just play to groan about imaginary sickness and romance—completely useless!”

“You… you are simply unreasonable!”

“With this ‘egg-laying music’ incident, the art of the zither has become unrefined. One bad apple has spoiled the whole barrel!”

“You’re all talking about Miss Cheng, but why is no one mentioning the Marquis being buried by chickens?”

“The Marquis does plenty of weird things; one more doesn’t make a difference. Miss Cheng’s story is much more interesting.”

“True, but the Marquis was too impulsive. For a Marquis to be drowned in a sea of poultry… it’s just too funny.”

A group of scholars who had just finished the imperial examinations and were waiting for the results joined the debate. There was no helping it; whatever Miss Cheng did was always simultaneously hilarious and ripe for gossip.

From the Emperor down to the commoners, everyone was discussing it. There were those laughing at them, those admiring them, and those who were utterly disdainful. In short, it was a full spectrum of human reactions.

When Cheng Qingyao heard about it, she felt disdain mixed with a surge of jealousy. Her “unskilled” cousin had studied with Master Gongsun for less than ten days and could already play a tune—and a damn good-sounding one at that. That talent was both enviable and intimidating.

Fortunately, Cheng Ruyi always seeks her own death. Making chickens lay eggs makes her a laughingstock, Cheng Qingyao thought, feeling lucky.

The Emperor roared with laughter when he heard the news. “Playing music to make chickens lay eggs was just a legend, yet she actually turned it into reality. This Eldest Daughter of the Marquis of Changle is truly interesting.”

“Poor Gongsun Yi. I really want to know what he’s feeling right now, haha!”

The eunuch attending him also smiled. “Master Gongsun must be having a hard time.”

“Why would he? I think he should be happy! He only taught her for ten days, and the student has already surpassed the master. Her music can make birds lay eggs!” The Emperor was feeling mischievous, wanting to see Gongsun Yi’s reaction. “This has never happened in history. Gongsun Yi’s name will surely be passed down for thousands of years!”

The eunuch almost choked. Being remembered for thousands of years for ‘egg-laying music’? I’d rather not!

The rumors reached Gongsun Yi in the palace soon enough. Usually calm and unshakeable even if Mt. Tai collapsed before him, he was now thoroughly rattled by Cheng Ruyi’s stunt. He wasn’t pedantic, but he never expected her reason for learning to be so… fierce.

“Xiao Lizi, is what you’re saying true?”

“Every word is true, Master. It’s spread all over the city.” Xiao Lizi bowed his head, not daring to look at the Master’s face.

Thinking of Cheng Ruyi’s quirky personality, Gongsun Yi gave a wry smile. “It really does sound like something she would do.” The Marquis of Changle’s family truly could not be judged by normal standards.

Setting aside her eccentricities, one thing that greatly comforted Gongsun Yi was that she had sent him ten pills of “divine medicine” as a teacher’s gift. Ten pills—that gift hit him right in the heart.

“Master, you aren’t angry?” Xiao Lizi asked cautiously.

Gongsun Yi gave a magnanimous smile. “Why be angry? Miss Cheng applied what she learned; isn’t that something to be happy about?”

Xiao Lizi stammered, “But… people outside are saying she defiled the art, making it vulgar.”

“Doesn’t the coexistence of the elegant and the vulgar make it more approachable?” Gongsun Yi raised an eyebrow. To him, music was just one of the four arts; there was no inherent hierarchy. Secretly, however, he wondered if he could use this incident to ask the Marquis for another dose of medicine as “reputation damage fees.”

Well, because of the divine medicine, even a grandmaster of the zither had “fallen.”

Gongsun Yi’s strange (calm) reaction reached the Emperor, leaving him speechless. As the rumors grew, Gongsun Yi’s fame among the commoners actually increased because he had taught the “Egg-Laying Miss.” Even the Gongsun family of musicians became more famous, and many poor scholars flocked to them to study.

The Gongsun family members felt a mix of love and hate for Cheng Ruyi. Unfortunately, they all tried it in secret and found they lacked the ability to make birds lay eggs. Miss Cheng’s move was truly one of a kind.

In the Prince Rong Estate, the Consort of Prince Rong, who was praying to Buddha, heard the news from her confidante Dingxiang. Her complexion worsened. She remembered Master Huiyuan saying she shouldn’t oppose someone with “golden light of merit,” or she would face bad luck.

She was indeed down on her luck now, with no hope of a comeback. Her only support was her son. As long as Prince Rong didn’t divorce her, she was still the Consort.

Yet, that “vixen” Yirou in the estate kept provoking and seducing her pride and joy—her son. Thinking of how she had recently managed to get the Prince to visit so she could tell him about Yirou’s alleged affair to get rid of her…

The Prince’s reaction had nearly made her eyes burst. He had simply said, “I already knew about that,” and left it at that.

Since that day, the Consort had lived in fear and unease, not daring to act rashly lest the Prince discover something even worse. But her hatred for Rong Mo only grew deeper. Whenever she thought of him, a pair of eyes full of despair and hatred surfaced in her mind.

Sansukini: She had the nerve to hate Rong Mo when she was the one who annihilated a whole clan.

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