Early next morning, Ah Luo woke up and heard the faint xiao melody coming from the direction of the bamboo forest. She thought of Zi Li. In truth, she hadn’t been angry with him. Thinking of how someone had tried to kill him, it was natural that he would be careful. The reason why she didn’t want to have any sort of relationship with him was because Ah Luo found Zi Li to be too mysterious and was afraid she would run into trouble again. Apart from Seventh Mistress and Xiao Yu, she was unsure who else could be trusted.
By the time Ah Luo walked into the bamboo forest, she wondered why the xiao sound hadn’t stopped yet. Then she saw Zi Li leaning against a bamboo tree and playing the xiao. Catching sight of someone approaching, Zi Li stopped and looked over. Ah Luo was stunned. Instinctively, she turned to leave.
Zi Li asked, “Who taught you how to play the flute?”
Ah Luo was startled and replied, “My mother.”
Zi Li felt a little doubtful, “Who comes to the bamboo forest every day to play the flute?”
Ah Luo braced herself and said, “My mother.”
Zi Li stared at Ah Luo with a slight smile on the corner of his mouth, “You’re not surprised to see me at all. You’re the one who plays the flute, right?”
At this, Ah Luo was surprised and said, “This is the residence of a Minister. Aren’t you afraid of being sent to the government officials for breaking in?”
Zi Li smiled and said, “With my skills, I will have left before anyone comes. I have been playing the xiao here for a long time already and I couldn’t help but find out who the flutist is. Turns out it’s the Third Miss of the Li Family.”
Outside the bamboo forest, Xiao Yu played a few notes on the flute to signal to Ah Luo that something was happening. Ah Luo’s face stiffened and she said, “Now that you’ve seen, are you still not leaving?”
Zi Li didn’t move and said with a smile, “Why won’t you play a song with me? Tell me.”
Ah Luo was a little anxious as she didn’t know what was happening at home. She left him with a sentence, “I have something at home to tend to so I’m not going to continue talking to you.” She hurried away.
Zi Li felt slightly melancholy and also a bit confused. He had recently met a little brother who had become angry at him and then he had finally discovered who the flutist was, yet she left in a hurry. Zi Li sighed and climbed over the courtyard wall.
Ah Luo hastily returned to the courtyard and Seventh Mistress quickly pulled her into the room, saying as they walked, “The imperial decree is here and the whole family must receive it together.”
When they reached the main hall, they saw that the whole family had arrived. The eunuch carrying the imperial decree opened it and began to read aloud.
Ah Luo knelt beside Seventh Mistress with her head bowed low. She listened to the eunuch reading, “Li Family’s eldest daughter, Qing Lei, has both beauty and a good personality… to be the Crown Prince’s first concubine.” Stunned, she didn’t understand the rest of it. Crown Prince’s concubine? Crown Prince’s mistress? She stole a glance at Qing Lei whose face was pale and she was already holding back her tears.
When the eunuch left, Qing Lei cried, “Why? Why is it her and not me? The one that His Highness likes is obviously me!”
Yet, Li Xiang said with a smile, “It’s the will of heaven, who knew that the Empress Dowager and the Empress would join forces and manipulate your identity to be that of a concubine. Ah Lei, you mustn’t be depressed. Although you can’t be the Crown Princess, it’s not too bad to be his favourite person. Even if you can’t be the Empress in the future, the Crown Prince will not treat you badly.”
Qng Lei just cried. Li Xiang spoke again, “When you see the Crown Prince again, you mustn’t be resentful. Wang Yan Hui is incredibly astute and it won’t be easy to get along with her. You can only protect your status as well as the Li Family’s glory and wealth by firmly grasping the Crown Prince’s heart. Also, everything in the Li Family will be the power behind you and your external assistance, understand?” Li Xiang’s voice became strict.
Qing Lei nodded and leaned weakly against Third Mistress.
Ah Luo shuddered with fear when she heard this. It was so troublesome to marry someone here, with the scheming having already started before the marriage.
Back at Begonia Garden, she heard Seventh Mistress sigh and say, “San’er, the Crown Prince has it good. Marrying two, it’s a pity that Qing Lei is the concubine. Girls who become concubines have no status.”
Ah Luo just asked, “What about Gu Tian Lin? Why isn’t she a part of it?”
Seventh Mistress said, “I heard that an imperial decree had been sent to the Gu Family’s residence today. She’s promised to the Fourth Highness as his primary consort.”
Ah Luo went ‘oh’. Of Feng City’s five noble sons, she had yet to see the Fourth Prince and Gu Tian Xiang. It seemed like Gu Tian Lin had a much more fortunate life than Qing Lei. At the very least, the Fourth Prince would own a prince’s palace and would not be marrying several concubines whilst marrying Gu Tian Lin at the same time. Ah Luo shivered at the thought of marrying someone and having to face his many wives. She wouldn’t be able to accept this no matter what. It was best to save up money as soon as possible before Li Xiang sold her off.
Ah Luo slowly walked into the bamboo forest and looked up at the sun’s position. At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to meet Liu Jue by the river at noon on time. Despite this, she really didn’t want to stay inside the residence so she spoke to Seventh Mistress and Xiao Yu. Then she put on her disguise and left the residence.
What should she do? More than half of her money had been spent on the two houses and the rest needed to be put aside for expenses for the houses. Ah Luo slowly walked towards the river and sat, thinking about where to earn money. The river breeze was very comfortable and she slowly fell asleep against the willow tree.
When Zi Li came to the riverside, he saw Ah Luo fast asleep. Feeling a little happy, he walked over quietly so as not to wake her up. When he neared, he squatted down to look at Ah Luo in front of the tree. The more he looked at her, the more he realised how similar her eyebrows were to the Third Miss of the Minister’s family. Zi Li frowned and dipped a finger in the river, then quickly swiped it across Ah Luo’s neck.
Ah Luo woke up and opened her eyes, “Zi Li? Why are you here?”
Zi Li’s eyes smiled, “Brother Shan, why are you here?”
Ah Luo smiled, “I was bored at home so came out for a walk. It was very peaceful here and I didn’t expect to fall asleep here while sitting down.” Ah Luo thought of how she missed the appointment with Liu Jue and felt that trouble would come after. Looking at the time, she estimated that it was around 1-3pm. It was impossible for Liu Jue to have waited by the river for three hours. She didn’t know how angry Liu Jue would be because she missed the appointment, and how he would deal with her. She couldn’t help but sigh.
Zi Li was slightly anxious, “Do you still hate Elder Brother?”
Ah Luo smiled, “How could I? Someone asked me to meet them at noon, but something happened at home and I wasn’t able to make it so I was concerned about it. I’m afraid they will be angry. By the way, why is Elder Brother here?”
Zi Li jokingly said, “It’s quiet here, good for thinking things over.”
Ah Luo went ‘oh’ and didn’t say anything else.
Zi Li curiously asked, “Why didn’t you ask what’s on my mind?”
Ah Luo glanced at him and said, “I respect personal privacy. If you want to speak, then you would naturally say it. If you don’t, then it’s useless for me to ask.”
Zi Li said, “If you ask me, I’ll tell you.”
Ah Luo was helpless, “Alright then, what’s on your mind?”
A smile appeared on the corner of Zi Li’s mouth, “I met a girl who can play the flute and I often harmonise with her flute on my xiao. I can always hear her emotions through the sounds of her flute. Sometimes she is happy, but most of the time she seems to have many thoughts on her mind. She is very clever and learnt the flute very quickly. But one day, she suddenly stopped playing the flute. No matter how I used the xiao melody to complain, she would ignore me. Brother Shan, tell me, what happened to her?”
Ah Luo was silent for a long while before she replied, “You heard her having a lot of thoughts on her mind, so clearly she has great problems. Since she has problems, she naturally can’t play the flute with you.”
Zi Li pondered for a while and his mood lightened, “Brother Shan, you like eating food right? How about I take you to another restaurant?”
Ah Luo glanced at him weirdly, “There won’t be someone who’ll bring a knife to attack you, right? I’m afraid of dying.”
Zi Li laughed loudly, “With Elder Brother here, I’ll make sure you’re not hurt in the slightest.”
Ah Luo said seriously, “I’m the kind of person who is very afraid of trouble because I don’t have the ability to deal with trouble. Can you guarantee that I won’t get into trouble?”
Zi Li smiled and said, “Of course.”
Ah Luo spoke again, “You’re not a bad person right? I’m sure I’m a good person!”
Zi Li was amused by her, “I’m definitely not a bad person. Brother Shan, why have you become so suspicious after a few months?”
Ah Luo lowered her head and sighed, “It’s because you suspected me first and someone wanted to kill you. Also, your background is not simple. Anyway, I dare not provoke this kind of trouble.”
Zi Li suddenly asked, “Brother Shan, what are you afraid of?”
Ah Luo thought, I’m afraid of everything, I’m afraid of too many things. Thinking about the things in the Li residence, she felt unhappy.
Zi Li looked at Ah Luo’s somewhat unhappy face and sighed in his heart, then smiled slightly and said to Ah Luo, “Brother Shan, if you keep frowning, you won’t be a pretty young master anymore. Be a little happier, Elder Brother will help you if something happens. Now, let’s go eat good food.”
Ah Luo thought that it was useless to worry, let’s just eat free food first and think about what she could do on the way.
The two of them rode together to the Commercial District. They went to a different restaurant this time and according to Zi Li, this Zui Feng Lou was the best restaurant in Feng City. Ah Luo asked him, “Elder Brother, is the food here expensive too? Does one meal cost an ordinary person’s expenses for a year?”
Zi Li smiled and said, “No, as long as you don’t order their most expensive dishes. Why, want to help save Elder Brother’s money?”
Ah Luo shook her head, “I just wanted to say if it’s so expensive, don’t treat me, just hand me the money.”
Zi Li laughed out loud, “Why do you love money so much?”
Ah Luo replied straightforwardly, “It’s hard to live without money and with money, you can go anywhere in the world! Money is a good thing and loving money is the same as loving life.”
Zi Li looked at her and simply smiled.
The two of them entered the restaurant and the young waiter led them to the second floor. Ah Luo curiously looked around the top restaurant of Feng City. Her gaze wandered over and fell on Liu Jue sitting by the window. Her hands and feet turned cold in fright. She turned around immediately and fled downstairs.
Zi Li looked at Liu Jue by the window, then at Ah Luo who had turned and went downstairs, then followed her down.
Ah Luo forced a smile and said, “Elder Brother, I want to go home. Let’s eat another day?”
Zi Li sent Ah Luo back to the riverside by horseback, then steered the horse away. He rode back to Zui Feng Lou. Liu Jue had already left. Zi Li asked for a pot of wine and stretched out his left index finger which was still stained with brown paint. Zi Li couldn’t help but laugh.
He drank cup after cup, a trace of depression in his eyes.
