Shu Hua, immersed in joy, did not notice anything unusual about him.
"Does Zihui play the piano?" he asked gently.
Shu Hua didn't know why he suddenly asked this, but just smiled slightly and said, "I'm not proficient in this skill, I've only dabbled in it a little."
Shangguan Jingci smiled and took out a jade flute from somewhere, then ordered someone to bring over an ancient zither and place it on the stone table.
They even thoughtfully put nail guards on her.
Shu Hua watched as he suddenly conjured up these things like a magician, feeling both angry and amused. It turned out he was waiting for her here.
But looking at his innocent eyes, Shu Hua couldn't say a word. As if bewitched, she placed her hands on the strings.
Beautiful zither music drifted over, accompanied by the melodious sound of the flute. The listless Qin Qi jolted awake, all her drowsiness vanishing. She turned and looked towards the Sunset Pavilion, letting out a sigh of relief.
The presence of the qin and xiao in the imperial court is truly enviable.
...
...
For the next few days, Shangguan Jingci met with the noble lady at the Sunset Pavilion. And each time, it was the same person.
That's Shu Hua.
Sometimes, if Shu Hua arrived late and other noble ladies got there first, she would viciously throw a few insects at them. After scaring them away, she would burst into laughter at Shangguan Jingci, who would just look at her with doting eyes and a helpless smile on his lips.
...
...
Over the course of a few days, more than half of the noble ladies in the capital had been tricked by Shu Hua.
Many people harbored resentment towards Shu Hua, but none of them did anything to her. They simply mentioned the matter "inadvertently" when talking to others. As the story spread, Shu Hua became known as a promiscuous woman in folk tales, who seduced all the refined scholars.
In an instant, Shu Ji's reputation plummeted.
No one knows what they talked about. All that everyone knows is that the Crown Prince of Qing Kingdom and Shu Hua, the daughter of the top merchant, talked for a long time every day. They chatted and laughed, acted intimately, and even played the zither and flute together, which aroused the envy of many noble ladies who were still in line.
However, no one held a grudge against Shu Hua.
Why?
The reason was simply because her father was a merchant, the lowest of the social classes of "scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants." Even if the crown prince of the Qing Kingdom married a peasant woman, he would never marry Shu Hua.
Therefore, Shu Hua became a joke in everyone's eyes, while the praise for Shangguan Jingci was endless.
Because Shu Hua was so unconcerned about her image every time she chased away other women, Shangguan Jingci could only watch helplessly, his eyes clearly conveying a message—
He had the will but not the ability.
Everyone immediately understood: the Kingdom of Qing came to seek peace, so how could they possibly offend someone from the territory of the Kingdom of Yu? Even if she was just the daughter of a merchant, she was still a very influential merchant in the capital.
So everyone quickly imagined a good show.
Prince Shangguan Jingci of the Kingdom of Qing was a handsome and refined man with a graceful demeanor. He was especially charming to women, even if the woman was just the daughter of an ordinary merchant.
Shu Hua, the daughter of the owner of the Shu family business, took advantage of this and made unreasonable demands and disturbances towards the Crown Prince. Many noble ladies despised her for her terrible behavior. Even the daughter of Grand Tutor An personally testified to this, and it is said that the Empress's niece and the granddaughter of Minister Cai were driven away by her.
Although unconfirmed, these rumors spread like wildfire, becoming the talk of the town.
As the story spread, so too did the gossip. Those who enjoyed the spectacle often disregarded the underlying logic and only cared about spreading the tale. Thus, one story after another about the Crown Prince of Qing Kingdom and the daughter of the top merchant began to circulate.
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