Donghua looked back at her with a "Are you out of your mind?" look, "I'm just giving you a heads-up so you don't make a mistake."
"What mistake could I possibly make?" Feng Jiu asked, puzzled.
"You've cheated on me," he said coldly.
Oblivious to the danger, Feng Jiu looked around with a grin, asking, "Where's the wall?"
"Here." The tall emperor stood up, looking down at her, and unceremoniously left a "Donghua Emperor's exclusive" mark on her lips.
The righteous and awe-inspiring young girl from Wenchang appeared at Yaotai on time the next day. She said she wouldn't go, but that was just an act of stubbornness. Her reason for coming was to see how her emperor would defend his wife's rights from being violated.
She hesitated at the palace gate, wondering whether to go in openly and say she was looking for someone, or to climb over the wall. A woman's voice came from not far away: "Today's banquet, those who should have come are not here, but they invited us to join in the fun."
"Auntie, if you think about it this way, we're not here to join in the fun, we're here to watch the fun."
She turned around and saw Feng Jiu and another woman in white standing at the door. The woman looked somewhat like Feng Jiu, but had a more open-minded air than Feng Jiu. She was standing there fanning herself with a fan and sighed with some impatience, "What's the show? Didn't you say you weren't coming?"
Feng Jiu stared at Wen Chang, who was grinning sheepishly not far away, and said with a grin, "What's meant to come will come."
Wen Chang clearly heard everything, but was too embarrassed to refute it, so he went over to greet her. Feng Jiu pointed to the woman beside her and said, "This is my aunt, the Crown Princess Bai Qian, the High Goddess of Heaven, who has also come to the banquet today."
"Greetings, Aunt." Wenchang bowed respectfully.
Bai Qian nodded with satisfaction. Since she married into the Heavenly Court, most of the gods and immortals there addressed her respectfully as "Your Highness" or "Crown Princess" according to the Heavenly Court's rules. Although it was a respectful title, she felt it was a demotion in terms of seniority, given her age. "Your Highness" was indeed a respectful title, but looking around, most of the gods who were originally her equals were called Emperors. Her title of "Crown Princess" sounded somewhat like she was trying to appear younger, far less prestigious than the title "Aunt" that the gods of the Four Seas and Eight Desolations used to call her before she married. Therefore, she was quite dissatisfied. However, since the Heavenly Emperor showed no intention of abdicating, she couldn't incite Ye Hua to rebel and overthrow the Heavenly Emperor, so she could only endure it. Today, hearing the long-lost "Aunt" filled her with a sense of warmth and familiarity.
"Since you're here, come in with us," Bai Qian said kindly.
Feng Jiu winked. "You're still worried, aren't you?"
"No, I just came to check on things, so that if the Heavenly Lord makes things difficult for Muyan, I can help him out."
"So how do you plan to take care of them?" Feng Jiu pressed.
She thought about it for a moment, but hadn't considered how to respond, so she replied with a very serious but absolutely correct answer—"Act according to the situation."
The three of them, along with a large retinue of fairy maidens, entered the Jade Terrace and headed straight for the Guangbi Hall, where the banquet was to be held. Since it was a banquet hosted by the Heavenly Emperor, Bai Qian was considered the hostess, so she arrived early. She first went to inspect the arrangements and preparations of the ceremonial music on behalf of the Heavenly Emperor. When she returned to the Guangbi Hall, she saw Shuang Cheng, who was in charge of the banquet music, approaching with a troubled expression. Bai Qian stopped her, asking, "What is it?"
"Your Highness, everything was arranged perfectly, but for some reason, Wang Shu, who plays the zither, has disappeared."
Bai Qian nodded dismissively, "Let's go look for it. If we can't find it in a short time, we'll find someone to replace it."
"yes."
"Wait a minute." Feng Jiu suddenly called out to Shuang Cheng, who was about to leave. "I have someone here who is good at playing the zither. If you can't find Wang Shu, just ask her to play in your place."
As she spoke, she pushed the unprepared Wen Chang forward. Wen Chang stared at her with wide eyes, about to speak, when Feng Jiu interrupted, "I went to your place the other day to listen to your zither playing. I saw that your fingering was superb and your zither playing was outstanding. You must help me with this favor."
After saying that, she whispered in Wenchang's ear, "Aren't you going to play it by ear? When the jade cup is dancing, you can—" She then laughed triumphantly.
Wen Chang looked at Feng Jiu with a dark face, about to say something to decline, when Bai Qian interjected, "It's inconvenient for you to come with us." When she said "inconvenient," she deliberately winked at Wen Chang, and then said gracefully, "That's fine, then you go and help with this."
Wen Chang glanced at Feng Jiu, who had a serious expression, and then at Bai Qian, who nodded in agreement. The two aunt and niece had identical expressions of anticipation and excitement. He smiled helplessly, thinking to himself that those who wait to watch the show are really suffering. So he obediently followed Shuang Cheng to the back hall.
"This fairy looks unfamiliar. May I ask her name?"
"My name is—A-Fu. Just call me A-Fu." Wen Chang thought that this was definitely not the right time to reveal his real name, so he took out his old name instead.
Shuangcheng had no doubts. She led her into the back hall, took out the prepared clothes and told her to change. She then gave her a handkerchief. Seeing her confused look, she explained, "The rules have changed today, so all the Fairy of Banquet must wear masks. We are just following orders."
Wen Chang took the handkerchief and breathed a sigh of relief. With this light veil covering her face, she wouldn't be afraid even if some of the immortals at the banquet recognized her, so as to avoid the embarrassment of being recognized.
After she was dressed up, Shuangcheng led her to the musicians' area on one side of the banquet to wait. This premeditated banquet was indeed meticulously prepared. Even the musical instruments used were the best set in the Nine Heavens, such as the carved pipes of Cenhua, the carved bells of Fuze, the quiet zither of Yuanshan, and the feather chimes of Fuying. They were all treasures of the Nine Heavens, showing that no expense had been spared in order to impress Emperor Taihao. Wen Chang pursed her lips, sat down by the zither, and tested the sound. It was indeed extraordinary; the open strings were rich and full, the stopped strings gentle, and the harmonics clear and bright—far superior to her own. This only fueled her resentment. She thought that if Mu Yan could refuse without hesitation, that would be fine. But if he showed even the slightest hesitation, she would definitely follow the example of Liu the blacksmith's wife from Qingyanzong Mountain, chasing him down the streets with a shovel to teach him a lesson. However, she then considered that Mu Yan would most likely not allow her to ruin his image like this. Even if she ordered him to kneel on a washboard, he would only glance at her indifferently and say nonchalantly, "You think I'll kneel just because you tell me to?"
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com