Chapter 4: His Majesty's Love Brain
"Miss Song, great joy!"
Chan Zhenzhen was having dinner in the house when she heard the steward shouting in the yard. Puzzled, she put down her bowl and chopsticks, exchanged a glance with Qiuyue, who was serving her, and they both went out to see what was going on.
"Hoo-hoo!" The steward's face was covered in sweat, and he had barely caught his breath. He looked like he had been running all the way here. He stopped in front of Chan Zhen, bowed to her, and said with a smile, "Miss Song, congratulations!"
He recovered his breath a little and continued, "Please clean up quickly. His Majesty just asked you to serve him at the banquet tonight!"
"What?" Qiuyue's previous depression was swept away when she heard this. She turned to Chanzhen in surprise and said, "This is really great news. I have always said that you are a blessed person!"
Unlike the other two's joy, Chan Zhen froze, her mind blank. Wasn't her service needed tonight? Why had His Majesty suddenly called on her? She had just been secretly delighted that she could postpone it for a few more days, but she had never expected the change to happen so quickly. Her heart was in turmoil.
She stood there nervously, her face pale, looking at the steward at a loss as a frightened rabbit, and asked in a low voice:
"Didn't the governor say I didn't have to serve tonight?"
The steward took her reaction as a surprise and said with a smile, "That was originally the case, but His Majesty was not satisfied with the girls arranged for tonight and instead wanted to hear pipa music. The governor knew you were the best at this skill, so it was only natural that he recommended you."
I shouldn’t have learned the pipa earlier, Zen Zhen muttered to himself with his head down.
The steward continued, "And after His Majesty learns of this, he has specifically requested that you serve him alone in his room at night after the banquet. No other girl has this opportunity, so you better seize it."
"Am I the only one here?" Upon hearing this, Zen Zhen raised his head in surprise, his almond-shaped eyes widening.
"That's right. The banquet is about to end. You should hurry up and wash up."
Hearing the urgency in his words, Chan Zhen's brow furrowed. This was worse than before. Leaving her alone to face His Majesty, if she accidentally angered him, wouldn't that be a disaster? And since His Majesty hadn't chosen any of the beauties at the banquet, he must have very high standards. Could His Majesty even be interested in her?
Qiuyue happily agreed, "I'll dress the girl right away, please wait a moment."
"Okay, I'll be waiting outside."
After saying that, Qiuyue hurriedly pushed Chanzhen back to the house. The prefect valued her daughter and had given her a lot of silks, satins, gold, silver and jewelry. She excitedly picked them out and asked her daughter for her opinion while choosing.
"Girl, what do you think of this blue dress?" She picked out a dress made of moon brocade. "This one glitters brilliantly in the moonlight. It suits you best."
Zenshin was mentally trying to recall the court etiquette he had learned earlier, how to greet His Majesty without making any mistakes, and he didn't notice the look up and casually responded, "Well, this one will do."
"Okay, this one then." Qiuyue put the dress aside with a smile, then opened the jewelry box and selected matching accessories. "I'll comb your hair into a bun again."
Then, like a puppet, Chan Zhen sat at the dressing table, letting her manipulate him. Qiu Yue, who had previously worked for the governor's wife, was a skilled dresser. When she finished, a fresh, refined, and peerless beauty appeared in the mirror. Her hair was a cloud of black, her face a delicate rosy complexion, and a slight frown on her brow added a touch of allure, making it impossible to look away.
"Girl, you are so beautiful." Qiuyue stared at the person in the mirror and couldn't help blushing.
Chan Zhen gently smoothed her hair, then glanced at herself in the mirror, bewildered. She bore some resemblance to her mother, but even a beauty like her mother couldn't hold her father's heart for long. She never saw him again before her death. "Those who seduce with beauty lose their love as their beauty fades," she'd learned from her mother since childhood. If her father, a businessman, was known for his promiscuity, how much less so was His Majesty, the ruler of the country? How could she possibly count on His Majesty's favor?
"Qiuyue, I'm scared."
She said with a trembling voice.
She was only fifteen years old, and she was about to follow her mother's path again, and perhaps her fate would be even more tragic than her mother's.
"Girl?" Qiuyue didn't understand where her fear came from. In her opinion, the girl was extremely beautiful and any man would be obsessed with her.
Zen Zhen saw her puzzled expression and knew that she couldn't understand him. She bit her lip, suppressing her inner fear and trying to act calm. "Nothing, I should go now."
When she walked out, the steward looked up, his eyes suddenly lit up, his astonished gaze lingering on her for a long time, and then reluctantly turned away. What a beauty! Such a beauty can only be possessed by His Majesty, right? For someone of his status to even see her was a great honor.
"Miss Song, please follow me."
Your Majesty's courtyard is located to the north of the prefectural mansion, a long distance away from Chan Zhen's residence. Chan Zhen followed the steward and walked around several long corridors before arriving.
His Majesty brought a number of guards with him on this tour, who were stationed outside the courtyard, completely surrounding it. As the steward and Chan Zhen arrived at the gate, they were stopped.
Chan Zhen held the pipa in her arms, her eyes fixed on the ground and she didn't dare to look around. These guards had actually killed people and had seen blood on their hands. Their aura was incomparable to that of ordinary guards. She had never seen such a scene before and suddenly felt a little breathless.
If His Majesty's guards were so imposing, wouldn't His Majesty be even more frightening? She had originally thought she had prepared herself mentally, but now her heart began to pound again.
"Commander Fang, this is Miss Song. I brought her here to serve Your Majesty." The steward asked with a flattering smile.
Fang Wen's cold expression softened a little. He turned behind him and saw that although the woman had her head down and his face could not be seen clearly, her figure was very slim. Even he couldn't help but admire her. No wonder Ye Wenyuan was so confident. Just looking at her figure, he knew that she was a rare beauty.
"Your Majesty has just instructed that only Miss Song is allowed in."
Zen Zhen's breathing stopped and his heart almost jumped out.
Fang Wen stepped aside to let her pass, "Young lady, please go in directly. Your Majesty has just had some wine and is a little tipsy. Please, young lady, serve him well."
There is really no way to understand Zen, so you can only grit your teeth and move forward.
She didn't see any maids along the way, which felt a bit strange. She had heard that His Majesty was always served by beautiful palace maids, so why didn't she see any?
Finally reaching the door, the candles were bright inside and there was silence. She took a deep breath and tried to make her voice sound less trembling.
"I, your servant, have come to serve Your Majesty at the order of the governor."
Zenzhen felt like a long time had passed before a voice finally came out from inside, which was deeper than she had imagined.
"Come in."
Chan Zhen mentally encouraged herself and finally mustered the courage to push the door open. She didn't dare look up, only vaguely catching sight of a tall figure seated at the desk in front of her. She assumed it was His Majesty. She slowly stepped forward, kneeling and saluting as she had been trained to do.
"This servant pays homage to His Majesty."
Although she didn't look up, she could feel that His Majesty seemed to be looking at her. The gaze was very intense and oppressive, like a surging black tide covering her.
Zen Zhen closed his eyes nervously, feeling that his body must be shaking.
After a long time, she heard His Majesty seem to sigh, and the aura that frightened her suddenly disappeared.
"Get up, sit down and talk to me."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Chan Zhen originally thought she would have to kneel down to play for His Majesty, but after hearing His Majesty's words, she realized there was a chair nearby. She stood up carefully, but she didn't dare sit down with her whole body, so she just rested her buttocks on the edge.
"I would like to ask Your Majesty what song you would like to hear." She thought anxiously that she only knew some Jiangnan folk songs, and what would she do if she could not play the song Your Majesty wanted to hear.
"What song do you want to play?" His Majesty asked her, and before she could reply, he added, "As long as it's you who plays it, it's fine."
Zenzhen's head was swirling. Did His Majesty mean to let her do whatever she wanted? Despite this, she subconsciously played the piece she was most familiar with.
"Song of the White-haired Lady" was one of the first pieces of music she learned. Its lingering, poignant melody was like a love confession to her lover. Her father had trained her from a young age to please the powerful, and the folk art masters he hired naturally followed his father's wishes, striving to maximize her beauty and charm to win the favor of the powerful.
Compared to the singing, dancing and music that she was forced to learn, Chanzhen actually liked studying more. Unfortunately, her father believed that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent, so he only taught her to learn to read and refused to let her learn more. This made Chanzhen feel very regretful.
Lingering music drifted through the room, adding a touch of ambiguity to the silent night. Zen Zhen regained consciousness, and a growing sense of shame crept into her heart. Was she being too bold and shameless to play such a piece for His Majesty? It was as if she couldn't wait to offer herself. At the same time, she felt His Majesty's gaze on her grow increasingly intense, the air seeming to heat up. Tiny beads of sweat formed on her forehead, trickling down her cheeks like a beautiful woman weeping.
"Your Majesty, why do you keep looking at me?" Chan Zhen's heart was so nervous that it almost jumped out of his chest. The "thump thump" sound even drowned out the sound of the pipa. Suddenly, there was a "clang" sound, and Chan Zhen's hand trembled. A discordant tone instantly broke the hot atmosphere in the room.
Chan Zhen's face turned pale in an instant, and his whole body suddenly became cold. Before his brain could react, his body subconsciously knelt down heavily.
"I know I was wrong, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
She knelt on the ground and stared at the ground, as if she had lost all consciousness in an instant. Her mind was blank, and fear made her whole body tremble. Tears flowed unconsciously from her eyes.
After an unknown amount of time, a tall figure came in front of her and covered her from head to toe.
"What's the name of the piece you played?"
Zenzhen blinked dazedly, tears falling to the ground. She opened her mouth and heard herself answer dryly:
"Your Majesty, it's 'Song of the White-haired Girl'."
"'Song of the White-haired Man'?" She heard the emperor's voice, half laughing, and then a hand pinched her chin, forcing her to look up. "So, Chanzhen, you played this song for me because you want to grow old with me?"
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