Wei Dongling didn't dare to dodge. Stumbling backward, her back slammed hard into the rockery. The pain made her suck in a sharp breath. But she still protected the guqin with both hands, bowed, and said, "Your Highness, please calm your anger. This guqin has a special timbre and is by no means an ordinary item. I was afraid that if it were broken, it would cause discord between Your Highness and the young master, so I stepped in. I definitely meant no disrespect to Your Highness."
"Humph! Sounds good!"
"Who are you? How did you get into my Brother Yun's courtyard?" Murong Yunxi's eyes were almost spitting fire. She stepped forward and grabbed Wei Dongling's lapel, shouting.
Her Brother Yun was a man of strict moral principles. There had always been only Pin Hao, a bodyguard, in his courtyard. Even the servants who did the cleaning were all men.
"Your Highness, please calm your anger." Wei Dongling didn't dare to mention the Qi General's Mansion. She quickly made up a story to cover it up. "I'm a singer and dancer. The young master invited me here with the intention of having me perform at the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration. But today, he thought my guqin skills were not good enough, so Young Master Yun was kindly teaching me. It's definitely not what Your Highness has misunderstood." Wei Dongling made a long face and pleaded pitifully.
Who cares? The Empress Dowager's birthday was still more than a month away.
Pin Hao, standing beside them, was stunned: Who is this person? She's just making things up!
Murong Yunxi looked displeased. She stared at Shangguan Yun's incredibly handsome profile and asked, "Is what she said true?"
Murong Yunxi was full of suspicion. Did the young master really need to teach the guqin hand - in - hand? His hands were even untouched by her, a princess!
"Absolutely true." Wei Dongling winked hard at Shangguan Yun.
You peacock! Say something quickly. Don't drag me into trouble!
Shangguan Yun was silent for a while. Finally, he said coldly, "It's true."
Pin Hao was shocked: Young master, you've changed. You can even lie now?
"Then why did you sit and drink with Brother Yun yesterday?" Murong Yunxi frowned and continued to question. Her beautiful eyes stared intently into Wei Dongling's, afraid of missing the slightest clue.
"Your Highness has wronged me," seeing Murong Yunxi's intense gaze, Wei Dongling forced herself to explain. "I was brought there by Young Master Yu Zixi." When mentioning Yu Zixi, Wei Dongling deliberately showed a hint of tenderness in her eyes to clear herself and reduce the princess's jealousy.
Sure enough, Murong Yunxi asked suspiciously, "What's your relationship with that philanderer?" She was furious just thinking about Yu Zixi, that playboy. It was bad enough that he was always entangled with all kinds of women on a daily basis, but yesterday he even dared to look at her with such lecherous eyes. If she hadn't dodged quickly, he would have touched her!
What taste does this woman have? How could she fall for such a sly man?
Wei Dongling lowered her head and rubbed the ground with her front foot. Blushing shyly, she said, "Your Highness, Young Master Yu Zixi is my fiancé and the love of my life."
Fiancé? The love of her life?
Murong Yunxi's eyes widened. This woman really had a strange taste. It was disgusting.
This proud princess couldn't bear it anymore. She waved her hand in disgust and said, "You can leave."
"Yes." Wei Dongling was relieved. She quickly bowed and took her leave. Gently putting down the guqin, she turned around and walked away quickly.
Just as she reached the corner of the corridor, she heard Shangguan Yun say coolly,
"Come earlier tomorrow to practice the guqin."
Wei Dongling left with a heart full of despair.
At the Qi General's Mansion.
"What? Young Master Yun taught you to play the guqin? And he invited you to go again tomorrow?" Qi Jinxuan was so jealous that her eyes were red.
Wei Dongling didn't care about her feelings. Her back still ached faintly from the princess's push. Making a long face, she said, "I don't want to go. That Seventh Princess is so scary." Murong Yunxi's eyes were like knives. She wished she could skin and tendon her!
Sure enough, serving the royal family was as dangerous as serving a tiger! Are all the emperor's daughters so cruel?
"You must go." Qi Jinxuan pulled Wei Dongling's hand and sat her down beside her guqin. She said softly to her, "You must perform well. What tune did Young Master Yun teach you? Come, I'll help you review it a few times."
Wei Dongling stood up and ran away, shouting, "Please spare me!"
Qi Jinxuan's face darkened: "Wei Dongling, come back!"
At the same time, Pin Hao in the Prince's Mansion was also very depressed.
His young master not only ordered snacks and fragrant tea to be prepared, but also asked the kitchen to prepare perch and lamb legs. Could it be that the young master had taken a fancy to that girl who always told lies?
Pin Hao looked at Shangguan Yun's perfect profile and asked nervously, "Young master, are you going to invite that woman to have lunch again tomorrow?"
Shangguan Yun gave him a cold look and said, "She's quite interesting."
Pin Hao exclaimed excitedly, "That woman clearly has ulterior motives! She tells lies so easily. Young master, don't be deceived by her!"
Shangguan Yun flipped through the book in his hand casually and asked, "In the past, whenever Yunxi saw other women beside me, what was their final outcome?"
Pin Hao trembled.
The Seventh Princess, Murong Yunxi, was always domineering and cruel. Whenever she knew that another woman had feelings for Young Master Yun, she would surely get rid of her.
In the past few years, all the maids and servants around the young master had been driven away by her one way or another, and she even secretly persecuted them.
This had made the young master quite unhappy. But due to the princess's status, he had to let the matter go. He could only secretly give a large sum of silver to those families.
Counting it up, that girl today was the only woman who had escaped from Princess Yunxi's clutches unscathed.
"That girl is sensible. She resolved the crisis with just a few words. She's very smart. Although she doesn't understand music, she can recognize that this guqin has an excellent timbre. It seems that Zixi has good taste."
Pin Hao thought to himself: I can also tell that this guqin has an excellent timbre!
Pin Hao was not convinced and said, "But she's very glib and tells lies so easily..."
"It's of no great consequence." Shangguan Yun concentrated on reading the book and ignored him.
Pin Hao felt embarrassed and didn't say anything more.
The next day, Wei Dongling left home early and wandered around for several times. The Prince's Mansion was located on the bustling Zhuque Street. It was quiet amidst the noise and imposing.
Wei Dongling was wandering around boredly when she saw a thin - looking beggar in the crowd not far away. The hunched back slowly turned into a street corner.
Wei Dongling's eyes welled up with tears. She quickened her steps, followed into the alley in a few strides, and grabbed the dirty corner of the beggar's clothes.
The old beggar had to stop when his tattered clothes were grabbed. He looked at her blankly.
It wasn't him!
Wei Dongling awkwardly withdrew her hand. She took out a few copper coins from the money bag in her sleeve and gave them to him. Then she turned around embarrassedly and left.
Who on earth was that old beggar that day? And where was he now?
"Miss Wei, please wait."
Wei Dongling was in a daze with her head down. When she heard someone calling her, she stopped and turned around.
A young man in black in his early twenties bowed respectfully to her when he saw her turn around and said, "I'm a secret guard of the Prince's Mansion. My Young Master Yun invites you." Then he bent down and made a gesture of invitation.
This person was a stranger to her. She had never seen him before.
Looking up at the nearby Prince's Mansion, Wei Dongling didn't suspect him. She curtsied slightly in return and then followed him. She casually asked, "Are you taking me through the side door, sir?"