The Guqin

Miss Han's skill with the guqin was superb, and she was approachable as well. Nearly everyone present regarded her as a goddess.

But now, their goddess had been slandered so harshly, naturally igniting their anger.

"Where did this arrogant brat come from? Is Miss Han someone you can judge?" a young man angrily cursed at Hong Luan.

At this time, both Feng Ruoxue and Hong Luan were dressed as men. Feng Ruoxue even had a pair of mustaches pasted above her lip. Their disguises were quite skillful, and no one could tell they were women dressed as men.

"Some wild brat who popped up out of nowhere dares to claim his guqin skills are better than Miss Han's. He truly doesn't know his place."

"He's only trying to get Miss Han's attention. Using such a lowly trick is truly despicable."

"Pah, pah, pah! My Young Master is far too refined to resort to such methods. Besides, she really isn't as good as my Young Master." Hong Luan retorted.

Yet the more Hong Luan spoke, the angrier everyone became.

These people seemed to pursue Miss Han with near-fanatical devotion, so naturally they would not allow anyone to bully her. Thus, everyone gathered around, talking over one another.

The tea house was filled with denunciations of Feng Ruoxue. These cultured gentlemen were all masters with their tongues, the sort who could curse someone to death without batting an eye.

Hong Luan was only a palace maid. How could she compete with these professionals in a war of words? Before long, she was left red-faced and speechless by their rebukes.

Miss Han did not want matters to escalate, either. That would be far too damaging to her reputation. Seeing the situation, she wanted to stop them, but she was merely a weak young woman. Amid the crowd's outrage, her words were drowned out, leaving her utterly powerless. In the end, she could only sit back down in a huff and let things develop as they would.

Besides, these people were defending her reputation in the first place. Why would she bother stopping them?

As for the proprietor, he was getting quite the headache from this scene.

Anyone who ran a business hoped to avoid disputes breaking out in their establishment. But there were only a few servers in the shop—there was no way they could stop it.

In truth, the proprietor rather liked having Miss Han visit. Whenever she was around, she attracted young scholars and talented gentlemen, bringing the tea house a considerable amount of business.

The shopkeeper had no idea what madness had struck these two new customers today, making them provoke Miss Han. Now that things had turned out like this, his head hurt even more.

"Shopkeeper, what should we do? If they keep making such a fuss, who knows when it'll end?" one of the servers asked miserably.

"What else can we do? Hurry up and report it to the authorities!" the shopkeeper snapped.

"Yes, yes, yes." The server replied with an ingratiating grin, then hurriedly ran out of the tea house.

The noise from the crowd left Feng Ruoxue irritated and unsettled. This scene truly made her feel as though she stood accused by a thousand people.

Feng Ruoxue had never experienced anything like this before. Back in the imperial city, whenever she encountered trouble, her Imperial Father or imperial brothers would always handle it for her. But after coming to Anyang City, she had no relatives or friends and knew no one. She only had one maid to depend on.

"Enough!"

In her agitation, Feng Ruoxue shouted. To everyone's surprise, her sudden cry brought a brief halt to the heated crowd.

After all, Feng Ruoxue possessed Dou Zhi Li Rank 8 cultivation. No matter what, she carried a little more of a martial artist's presence than these literary types.

"Brothers and sisters, my attendant spoke improperly and offended you all. I have failed to discipline my Steward properly. Feng offers his apologies to everyone here."

Feng Ruoxue put on a male voice, cupped her hands, and bowed slightly as she apologized sincerely.

She was not someone who bullied others with power, and in Anyang City, she had no power to rely on anyway.

Since her side was in the wrong, she dared to admit it.

The crowd had been intimidated by Feng Ruoxue's aura just now and had fallen silent for a moment. Seeing her apologize so sincerely, they found it difficult to say anything further.

"Young fellow, if you'd said that earlier, none of this would have happened. Still, your attendant was truly unreasonable. You should discipline him properly in the future," said a sensible young master in a more pleasant tone.

"You—"

Hearing someone say she lacked manners, Hong Luan had been about to flare up, but Feng Ruoxue stopped her in time.

Hong Luan listened to no one but her princess.

At that moment, Miss Han saw that the farce had ended. Deep down, she was quite pleased.

Miss Han walked over. When she saw Feng Ruoxue's appearance, she was greatly satisfied.

Feng Ruoxue's male attire was exceptionally clean and neat. Her features had always been exquisite, and with the mustache on, she looked somewhat feminine, yet fair and handsome—entirely in line with Miss Han's tastes.

"Greetings, Young Master. This humble girl is Han Jingya. It is a pleasure to meet you, Young Master." Miss Han carried herself elegantly, shedding her earlier vanity. She appeared soft and delicate, like a shy young maiden.

Women who loved the guqin naturally possessed a certain classical elegance. Displaying it now did not seem out of place.

"You are too polite, Miss Han. This one is Feng Xu." Feng Ruoxue returned the greeting courteously.

Such etiquette had been a required lesson for someone from a wealthy and noble household like her. Even when using men's formalities, there was not the slightest flaw to be found.

"So you are Young Master Feng. I heard your attendant say earlier that you are also skilled in the guqin. Might you offer this humble girl some guidance?" Han Jingya's voice was soft and sweet. If a real man heard her speak in such a tone, he truly might be captivated.

Just like now, the people around them looked utterly entranced upon hearing Han Jingya's voice, as if she were speaking to them instead.

Han Jingya spoke to Feng Ruoxue in this manner because she believed that looks were everything. Feng Ruoxue's appearance in male attire was enough to make her heart stir.

Feng Ruoxue remained silent. Even faced with Han Jingya's intensely yearning gaze, she was not swayed into giving an answer.

Feng Ruoxue was a woman herself. How could she be attracted to another woman?

Feng Ruoxue had learned the guqin simply because she liked it, but she would not perform for anyone. Her guqin was only meant to soothe her restless heart, not to be displayed for outsiders.

Feng Ruoxue closed her eyes in thought, but a scene suddenly flashed through her mind. Gradually, it transformed into a melody.

She had been born into nobility, cherished and adored since childhood. Yet fate had brought her to this unfamiliar place.

She had met the husband destined for her, yet she had not entered his home. Their first meeting had ended on bad terms.

Yet that image had etched itself deeply into her mind.

Feng Ruoxue was certain that it was not love.

As a princess, she could not have love.

Her meeting Chen Cheng had merely been an arrangement of fate. From this day on, her destiny was bound to his.

As the princess of a weak dynasty, she had no power to change anything. She could only accept it.

And Chen Cheng had become her only solace.

As Feng Ruoxue thought this, a mist had already gathered in her eyes. After a while, she cast aside her stray thoughts and opened them.

She said to Han Jingya, "I have a melody in mind. Please offer your critique."

Feng Ruoxue's voice was very soft, carrying a choked, speechless sorrow.