That very night, after Qiao Xiuyu had settled in, she went to Mingyue Tower, where Shang Shaoyan was staying.
The servant who came with him from the palace was named Eleven. Eleven was a trusted confidant that Qiao Xiuyu brought from Northern Zhou. Although he talked a lot, Qiao Xiuyu thought he was very capable, able to curse in the street and hunt in the wild.
Seeing Qiao Xiuyu carrying the zither and walking out, and noticing that Bai Lu was not in the room, Eleven's eyes lit up: "Your Highness, are we going to assassinate the Duke of Zhenguo?"
Qiao Xiuyu: "..."
He glanced at Eleven with a somewhat complicated expression: "We can't act rashly. We must gather intelligence slowly and deliberately, without alerting the enemy. I'm going to play the zither for Princess Heyang, to numb her with beautiful music."
For a moment, fear flashed across Eleven's face, but in an instant, his face was filled with smiles: "This servant understands! Your Highness is indeed very cunning!"
Qiao Xiuyu: "?"
He frowned slightly, puzzled, but said nothing in the end, and leisurely went to Mingyue Tower with his zither in his arms.
...
Shang Shaoyan sat by the window on the second floor of the small building, holding a book in his hand, reading with great interest.
Bai Shuang massaged her legs from the side, Bai Xue massaged her shoulders from behind, and Bai Feng adjusted the lamp wick for her at the table.
The windows were tightly closed, not a single cold breeze could get in, not to mention the burning charcoal inside, filling the air with warmth.
These days couldn't be more comfortable—Shang Shaoyan lazily turned a page of his book, feeling somewhat drowsy.
Suddenly, a strange, shrill sound came from outside, as if something heavy was being dragged on the ground, making a hoarse and unpleasant grating noise.
The three maids stopped in their tracks, their faces showing surprise, and then looked at Shang Shaoyan.
Shang Shaoyan frowned: "It's probably just a few stray cats fighting. Don't worry about it."
As soon as the last word was uttered, the eerie, unsettling sound outside, seemingly opposing Shang Shaoyan, suddenly became coherent.
Bai Shuang was timid. She was kneeling on the ground when she was so frightened that her legs went weak. She quickly said to Shang Shaoyan, "Princess, this is probably not a wild cat."
Bai Xue and Bai Feng were generally calm, but even so, they were quite frightened: "It seems like there's something evil..."
Shang Shaoyan never believed in ghosts or gods. Even if she had transmigrated, she could explain it with all-purpose theories like "parallel universes" and "quantum mechanics." Therefore, she was more inclined to believe that someone was playing tricks on her.
Shang Shaoyan sneered and sat up from the couch: "I want to see who is so presumptuous in my courtyard. They must be tired of living."
As he spoke, Shang Shaoyan took a cloak from the side and put it on, intending to walk outside.
Bai Xue pursed her lips: "Princess, it's so late at night and cold outside, why don't I go instead?"
Just as Shang Shaoyan was about to say something, the sound outside became increasingly shrill. She was burning with anger and immediately strode down the stairs to the main hall on the first floor.
She opened the window, and the sudden blast of cold wind chilled her to the bone. Her anger intensified, and she raised her voice, shouting, "Who's disturbing my sleep in the middle of the night? Do you want to die?"
The three maids following behind were also less afraid after being influenced by Shang Shaoyan, and they shouted, "Stop disturbing the county princess, are you tired of living!"
The sound indeed stopped.
Not satisfied, Shang Shaoyan pushed open the main gate and went out. It was pitch black outside, with only the cold moon hanging high in the sky. Unlike the brightly lit building, it took her a moment to adjust before she could see the situation inside the courtyard.
He saw a person dressed in white with their back to him. Shang Shaoyan couldn't tell the gender from the figure sitting on the ground, so he frowned and walked over.
Bai Xue and the other two hurriedly followed, fearing that the county princess would be harmed by this thing that was neither human nor ghost.
Suddenly, the figure moved. Shang Shaoyan stood still, staring straight at the person, a cold smile already on his lips.
The figure turned around, revealing an extremely beautiful and gentle face. At this moment, that handsome face was filled with a wronged expression, like a puppy, looking at Shang Shaoyan with wet eyes.
Shang Shaoyan was stunned, as were Bai Xue and the other two.
Shang Shaoyan wanted to walk forward, but Bai Feng stopped him: "Princess, this man is acting suspiciously, be careful, it might be a trap!"
Shang Shaoyan felt a chill run down his spine and forced a dry laugh, "I know him. You... wait here, I'll say a few words to him."
Bai Feng had no choice but to release Shang Shaoyan, watching helplessly as his master walked over.
Then, the three of them saw the usually strong-willed, even somewhat shrewish, county princess soften her voice, take the hand of the "sneaky" man, and say coquettishly, "I didn't even know it was Lu Lang who came."
The three maids: "..."
Qiao Xiuyu looked at Shang Shaoyan with a wronged expression: "Didn't the county princess say she wanted to hear me play the zither? Why are you yelling at me?"
Shang Shaoyan: "...?"
Her face contorted in pain—you fucking call this thing a zither?
However... she had a sudden realization.
Although Qiao Xiuyu is not very bright, he shouldn't be so ignorant as to not know the difference between good and bad music. It seems that he is not unable to play the piano, but is testing me! Well, it seems that I really underestimated him before. He deliberately played the piano in a terrible and jarring way just to make me upset!
She must not let Qiao Xiuyu have his way.
So, she gave Qiao Xiuyu a shy and timid look, and said softly, "It's certainly not allowed for other people to play the zither in my courtyard. But if it's you, Lu Lang... then you can play all night."
The three maids: "...?"
Help! The county princess is a woman who values lust over life!
Qiao Xiuyu felt a surge of joy inside, but her face remained tense: "Really?"
Shang Shaoyan sneered inwardly—keep pretending, let's see who has the thicker skin!
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
