end

In the sweltering heat of midsummer, the viewing tower of Prince Qing's Mansion, built on a small hill surrounded by lush flowers and trees, offers a tranquility that sets it apart from other places.

Lu Qingxue played a tune on her zither in the building. Looking out the window, she saw half of the city's scenery: a vast sky, wide clouds, distant mountains, and clear waters.

Playing the piano here, though evocative, feels somewhat incomplete without an audience.

Zixiao carried the food box upstairs, placed it on the coffee table, opened the carved lacquer box lid, and took out the melons and fruits that were emitting white steam.

Lu Qingxue glanced at it and asked, "What is Your Highness doing?"

Zixiao said, "The prince was entertaining guests. He took the ginseng soup and drank it, saying thank you, Princess. Then he had someone bring out honeydew melons and grapes from the Western Regions for the princess to try. He said they were chilled, but the princess can't eat anything too cold right now, so he asked us to let them sit for a while before giving them to her."

Lu Qingxue remained silent.

A month or so after their marriage, the prince treated her fairly well. He accepted all her gifts and returned them in kind, showing her all the care and concern she deserved. He treated her like an honored guest, but he refused to get close to her.

Aunt Man, who was waiting to the side, asked, "What kind of guests is the Prince entertaining?"

“A young gentleman, it seems, came to visit His Highness on behalf of Prime Minister Lu. When I went to deliver the soup, I overheard him talking about painting, and His Highness said that the view from the viewing tower in the mansion is absolutely stunning.” Zi Xiao smiled faintly, “Your Highness, His Highness might come here.”

Upon hearing this, Aunt Man turned to her and advised, "This is a good opportunity; it's perfect for expressing your feelings through the zither."

Lu Qingxue frowned. "The prince doesn't listen to the zither at all now. He always walks away as soon as he hears the sound of the zither."

Aunt Man said, "A person's preferences don't change so easily, and besides, there are guests present, so they will definitely give us some face."

Inside the viewing tower, the sound of a zither rose again.

Ascending the stone steps to the top of the hill and stepping upstairs, the music becomes increasingly clear, prompting visitors to sigh in admiration.

"The music is joyful, but alas, it contains a touch of sorrow." Then, a sharp, clanging sound was heard, as if a string had snapped. "Your Highness, this..."

"Brother Lu, there's no need to worry about it."

Xiao Yu paused briefly at the entrance of the corridor, letting his servant go in first. Only after the servant came out did he lead the guests into the outer corridor.

A gentle breeze blows, causing the white veil to flutter softly, vaguely revealing human figures.

Lu Qingxue stroked the broken string of the zither, looking at the two figures outside, one in white and one in blue. The one in front was the prince, and the one behind... Because of the voices just now, she and Aunt Man exchanged glances and saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

Lu Jiu followed the young prince to this place and saw a gauze curtain hanging inside the open door. Inside, there was a beautiful woman in palace attire, sitting behind a zither table with a maid standing beside her.

He had thought he was here to enjoy the view and perhaps sit for a while, but this didn't seem to be the case. He looked at the figures inside the pavilion and then at the young prince, his face showing confusion.

Xiao Yu seemed oblivious, and invited him to look out over the railing at the distant view, then said, "Brother Lu seems to know a lot about the zither."

Lu Jiu replied without hesitation, "I wouldn't say, but I know a musician, and after listening to her play many times, I've gained some insights."

"Brother Lu lives in Wutong Lane, so you must be referring to the musician Lu who lives next door."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiu realized that the young prince also had dealings with Lu Qinshi, and discussing this topic was probably not a good idea.

He composed himself. "Yes. But we're not close. Lu Qinshi has already left Weizhou, and I don't know where she went. She didn't even tell me before she left."

When did you two meet?

"I met her when she moved into Wutong Lane."

"Then you've known her for longer than I have."

Lu Jiu's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "We've known each other for a long time, yet our friendship is as deep as if we'd never met before. Perhaps we've known each other for a short time, but our friendship is already very strong."

Xiao Yu remained noncommittal, asking, "Did she know your father was the Prime Minister?"

"Of course I don't know. I ran away from home because I didn't want to rely on my father's fame. I only hoped that when I made friends, the other person would recognize me as me, not as the prime minister's son."

"That was foresight. If Lu Qinshi had known your identity earlier, it would probably have been a different story."

Sensing the regret in her voice, Lu Jiu couldn't help but think, "Master Lu is definitely not someone who covets wealth and glory. I didn't tell her because I was afraid of being presumptuous."

Xiao Yu chuckled and said, "How will you know what she's thinking if you don't tell her?"

"I can tell just by listening to her playing the piano."

"Brother Lu, talent and character should be considered separately."

Lu Jiu was displeased, but dared not object directly, and said, "I heard that Your Highness and Lu Qinshi have also been in contact. If Lu Qinshi were greedy for wealth and glory, she should have tried every means to stay by Your Highness's side, instead of leaving Weizhou. The reason she doesn't get along well with me is not because I didn't tell her my identity, but because..."

"And what?"

“I was recognized by Miss Zhen before. In order to prevent her from telling her family about my time in Weizhou, I spent more time with her, going shopping and sightseeing. Although I was actually helping her win over her sweetheart, it was inconvenient to explain to others. When Master Lu saw me outside, he must have misunderstood me.”

"Brother Lu's protectiveness towards Lu Qinshi shows his deep affection. It's a real pity she missed out on you."

Lu Jiu opened his mouth, but before he could utter a sound, he saw the young prince suddenly turn around and ask a question through the gauze curtain.

"Your Highness, what do you think?"

After a few breaths, a young woman's voice came from inside, "...Perhaps."

The voice sounded familiar. Lu Jiu bowed and greeted him. When he heard the voice again, it still sounded familiar, and he couldn't help but feel a little dazed. Even when he left, he was still a little confused.

When the figure disappeared, the curtain was drawn back, and the sound of footsteps descending the stairs gradually faded away.

Lu Qingxue looked at the empty doorway and said in a sorrowful voice, "Godmother, he humiliated me."

Aunt Man recovered from her surprise and patted her shoulder, saying, "Don't worry about it. We used some methods to get the prince to retaliate, it's nothing."

Lu Qingxue's lips trembled as she said, "But I..."

It's hard to say how much of her agreement to do that was genuine affection, and how much was motivated by a desire to compete with that fake lady. But to say she was greedy for wealth and status would be an exaggeration.

When you're feeling down, making decisions without careful consideration is rarely wise. Someone should have advised her to think things through and take the right path instead of resorting to unscrupulous means to get what she wanted, but no one did.

She whispered, "Godmother, you've ruined me!"

"Your godmother wouldn't harm you," Aunt Man sighed. "Don't you truly love the Prince? Your sadness now is only because things aren't perfect right now. Life is long; who knows what the future holds?"

“If the prince were to completely worship you, then there would be no way to deal with him. The fact that he brought people here to make you suffer shows that he still harbors resentment, and that you can still stir his emotions. No matter what kind of emotion it is, it is useful; love and hate can transform into each other.”

Lu Qingxue said softly, "Is that so?"

Aunt Man patted her shoulder in response, "I heard from Doctor Hua a while ago that the Prince has expelled the remaining toxins from his body and is feeling better. As long as he's alive, there's always a chance to win his heart. Even if he's gone, it doesn't matter. You have a zither, and you're pregnant. Your life isn't just about men."

Lu Qingxue stroked the body of the zither and finally nodded.

*

That year, a general amnesty was granted at the beginning of the year, and people from all over the world came to pay tribute, with foreigners and foreign visitors flocking to the capital.

When Lu Tongxue went out as the wife of a military officer, she often saw people of all skin colors, hair colors, and eyes, and heard all kinds of chattering birdsong, which she had grown tired of. However, she was happy when she was invited to a banquet at the Mu residence.

The Mu family had produced a traitorous general with mixed Hu (non-Han) blood. Although they had severed ties before the incident, they were still implicated and their household fell into decline for many years. In their attitude towards foreign tribes, they were much more conservative than other families.

Upon entering the banquet hall, Lu Tongxue was surrounded by Han Chinese attire and food prepared in a Han Chinese style. With no unfamiliar language around her, she felt quite relaxed and had plenty of time to gossip with others.

"I heard that another young lady from the Mu family is going to be a princess."

"It's just that one, why is there another one?"

"There was another one many years ago. I remember she married the Prince of Qing back then and even received some kind of title."

"Princess Duanjing?"

Lu Tongxue had heard about it when she was in Weizhou. Now that she mentioned it, everyone agreed that it was true, and they chatted about the old story for a while.

When Weizhou was mentioned, Lu Tongxue recalled the time she spent living there, and also her cousin from her third uncle's family, whom she remembered marrying into the Prince Qing's mansion.

She wrote a few letters after the marriage, wanting to talk about her feelings as a young lady and her experience as a married woman, but the replies she received were always polite but somewhat distant. She was very disappointed and felt that the woman had become a princess and was putting on airs. So she stopped contacting her afterward.

Looking back, Lu Tongxue was somewhat disappointed. She turned to look at the other tables and noticed a woman's profile in the corner. Her features didn't resemble those of a Han Chinese, yet they seemed familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before.

Lu Tongxue couldn't help but take a few more glances. When the woman turned her face, she immediately covered her mouth to suppress her gasp.

Because her husband was an official in the court, she was familiar with court affairs and knew that at this time, the princes from various regions had not yet entered the capital, and it was impossible for her cousin, who was a princess, to enter the capital either.

Sitting in a corner, she wasn't treated like a princess, and her womanly attire was so understated that she was hardly noticeable.

But it was clearly her.

Lu Tongxue immediately stood up, only to see that the other person had noticed her, glanced back, and quickly left the seat with a surprised expression.

She chased after him out the door, but he was nowhere to be seen. When she returned to the banquet area, she asked whose seat it was, but the person vaguely replied that it might be a distant relative of the Mu family, without mentioning his name.

Spring snow is falling outside, drifting gently and bringing a touch of coolness.

Mu Qing ran back to her room through the snowflakes. As soon as she entered, she was pulled into a familiar and warm embrace.

She hugged her back and asked with a smile, "When did you return to the capital?"

"Just now." Zhong Linlan kissed her. "The banquet wasn't over yet, why did you rush back?"

"Oh dear, Lu Tongxue saw us. She's a bit difficult to deal with. I wonder if she'll cause trouble for my aunt. After the festival, I'll go with you to your post in the local area."

"Go everywhere?"

"I'll go anywhere."