Reign of the Phoenix

Chapter 9 – The Emperor’s Remorse
Yan Feng found this situation too incredible. His eyes roamed between “Sonorous” and Murong Zhining for a while. Finally, his joyful gaze rested on Murong Zhining’s delicate face. “Miss Murong is truly knowledgeable. If it weren’t for you, a legendary qin would have sunken into oblivion in my hands!”

Flooded with joy, Yan Feng couldn’t help but sit down before the qin. He rolled up his sleeves and played a song. Murong Zhining smiled as she listened with rapt attention. “This is ‘Drifting Smoke in Han Palace.’ Not many are capable of playing it!”

Yan Feng cast her an approving glance as he played, submerging himself in the soothing melody. For the first time since their first meeting, he felt that this girl wasn’t that irritating. He didn’t notice that he had already stopped hating her.

When it was time for the emperor to leave, Yan Feng was reluctant to part with “Sonorous,” which made him feel truly perplexed. Murong Zhining quickly figured out what he was thinking. “Your Majesty, please take ‘Sonorous’ back with you. It is already the fortune of three lives that this servant got to see such a great qin. Using it too much, I’m afraid that my luck would be sapped away. Your Majesty can just bestow upon me a normal qin.”

Yan Feng was still immersed in the joy from earlier. “You and ‘Sonorous’ were brought together by fate. Hadn’t it been for your insight, I’m afraid that this qin would have rotted away in my storage like all the other ordinary ones. You keep it and help me see which places need fixing.”

Murong Zhining respectfully said, “Yes!”

In the Imperial Study, Yan Feng was processing court reports under the lamplight. However, he couldn’t focus on the reports no matter what. Just like that, his mind wandered off course for four hours.

Yan Feng thought of “Sonorous” at one moment then Murong Zhining’s graceful figure as she played the qin in the next. His mind went back and forth, unable to settle down. He could recall her eyes when they were staring back at his. Her eyes were extremely beautiful, unlike the deep, pitch black eyes of Huayan women. Golden sparks would flicker within her chestnut-brown pupils like a starry sky, and Yan Feng felt as if his soul was going to be sucked into it.

Yan Feng placed the report down, his mind beyond restless. He walked to the yard, wanting to use the cold breeze to blow away his distracting thoughts.

Faraway in the night sky, two sky lanterns hovered in the flickering light. One of them actually flew towards Yan Feng’s direction. In the past, a concubine whose name he didn’t remember released a sky lantern that carried a poem about the longing for love to attract his attention. Therefore, he never care about those sorts of things again. He had no interest in mushy love at all.

Carried by the wind, the sky lantern slowly landed not far from Yan Feng. He shook his head with a smile, and out of sheer curiosity, ordered the eunuch to fetch it over. There wasn’t any lovey dovey poem written on the lamp at all. Instead, there was a drawing of a phoenix tree leaf and several lines of tiny, graceful handwriting next to it: Little Big Brother, where are you? How can I find you and return Biwu to you?

Yan Feng smiled and threw the lantern back on the ground. As always, he disdained the little ploys of the harem concubines and palace maids.

This evening, Yan Feng didn’t get anything done. Up until bedtime, it was still impossible to dispel the distracting thoughts from his mind. He lay on the Dragon Bed for a long time, awake, until late into the night when he finally drifted to sleep with great difficulty.

In Yan Feng’s dreams, there was a graceful figure playing the qin. The girl’s gentle posture attracted him. He approached her, wanting a look at her face. The girl shyly turned around slowly; it was his late empress, Xie Shuangying. Yan Feng rubbed his eyes and looked again, the girl now resembled Imperial Noble Consort Chiyun Ping. He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. Now, he could see very clearly that she was actually Murong Zhining.

In his dreams, Murong Zhining was wearing a phoenix coronet and the fine rainbow raiment that only the empress could wear during a grand ceremony. She smiled towards him beatifically, a pair of dimples playing at the corners of her mouth. At this moment, a man suddenly appeared and took Murong Zhining from him. The man pulled her by the hand and walked further away, leaving Yan Feng alone calling out after her in a hoarse voice.

The next day, after attending to the court and taking care of his work, Yan Feng felt a hurry to see Murong Zhining, so he pondered for an excuse to visit her. When he suddenly realized that he, an emperor, had to find an excuse to go see a girl, he grew angry at himself. However, as angry as he might be, Yan Feng still couldn’t suppress the urge to go see her.

From his bookshelves, Yan Feng took out several old qin music books. Now that he had found an excuse, he set off to Qixiang Palace with great delight. He felt lucky that he hadn’t been so stingy to take back “Sonorous” from Murong Zhining. With the qin at her place, he could go find her whenever he wanted without having to come up with an excuse. When Yan Feng thought of this, a rare smile graced his lips.

Yan Feng considered himself an uninteresting, cold-hearted person who rarely talked or smiled. However, after mulling it over the entire yesterday evening, he got to know himself once again. He discovered that Murong Zhining could affect his mood. Being around her, Yan Feng had never before felt more relaxed and happy.

Murong Zhining and Cai Sang bowed to pay their respects, then welcomed Yan Feng into the courtyard. Murong Zhining personally made him a cup of Biluochun , making Yan Feng feel comfortable all over.

Murong Zhining was wearing a palace maid outfit. While she had been sick, Cai Sang changed her clothes and put her old outfit away somewhere. Yan Feng had ordered people to deliver several sets of palace maid outfits for Murong Zhining and Cai Sang’s temporary use.

Murong Zhining was dressed in a green outer garment coupled with a pure white silk dress, fastened by a deep green silk belt that emphasized her slim waist and relaxed shoulders. The girl had randomly tied up her hair in the Butterfly style with a green ribbon and decorated it with a wooden hair fork. The outfit was simple in the extreme, yet Yan Feng couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Afraid that his presence would make Murong Zhining feel restrained, Yan Feng told her, “Miss Murong, you’re not a maid. From now on, there’s no need to act formal in front of me.” He presented the stack of old qin music books. “I have brought some old music books with me. Would you mind helping me see what kind of songs they are, and if they are worth revising?” Yan Feng took Murong Zhining to sit at the table so they could read the books together. Cai Sang and Chun Xing retreated to the doors and stood straight, ready to take orders at any time.

Murong Zhining attentively read through the books, while Yan Feng attentively gazed at her with a burning look. As some strands of hair fell down her rosy cheek, his hand reached out, wanting to sweep them away. Murong Zhining slightly raised her almond eyes and looked at Yan Feng, instantly seeing through his intention. With a smile, she tilted her head a little in order to evade his hand, and feigned inadvertence as she tucked the hair behind her ear. In a blink of an eye, Yan Feng, like a boy who had just known the taste of first love, blushed. He could even hear the sound of his heartbeat at that moment.

Murong Zhining flipped to a nameless damaged song, her face glowing with excitement. “This is ‘Verses of Da Ming Palace.’ Master once mentioned it to me, the current version ‘Verses of Da Ming Palace’ was revised by people of later generations according to their memories, and is far inferior than the original. The real ‘Verses of Da Ming Palace’ is said to have been lost a long time ago. I never thought I would have the fortune to see it. If Master could see it as well, he’d definitely be very happy!”

Yan Feng secretly admired Murong Zhining’s broad knowledge. He once asked several experience qin experts about this song, but no one knew what it was. Yet, Murong Zhining could recognize it at the first glance. Yan Feng actually envied her a little. In this aspect, she was much more knowledgeable than himself, the emperor!

Murong Zhining washed her hands and burned the incense. Then, her slender fingers started to dance on the qin, playing out the original version of ‘Verses of Da Ming Palace.’ Yan Feng closed his eyes to better enjoy the music. His thoughts drifted off, his feelings rose and fell along with the rhythm.

Recalling the past how he had deliberately made it hard on her in all sorts of ways, a sense of remorse pervaded him. Yan Feng feared what had happened would leave a shadow on her heart. He probed, “Previously, I believed in a vile person’s slander and falsely accused you. Do you still resent me for that?”

Murong Zhining wanted to tease him. She mimicked his voice and manner. “As the Son of Heaven, the emperor has the right to decide anyone’s fate, and moreover, without any reason.”

Yan Feng rolled his eyes, acting as if he was about to go into a rage. Murong Zhining covered her smile. “But, we humans are no Saints. Who among us doesn’t make mistakes? Your Majesty only believed in the bad person. Not to mention, you never truly made things difficult for me. This servant still has to thank Your Majesty. Had it not been for you, I wouldn’t have seen ‘Sonorous,’ nor would I have been able to feel the true charm of ‘Verses of Da Ming Palace’!”

Yan Feng gave a pained smile and thought to himself, This girl has quite a big gut. She tugged the tiger’s whiskers, and yet won’t let the tiger get angry! His perception of Murong Zhining was gradually renewed. The girl was not only exceptionally smart, but also extremely stubborn.

Yan Feng wanted to apologize, but he was the emperor. His pride wouldn’t allow him to bow his head to anyone!

In Jinyue Palace, Cai Qin sat alone in the courtyard in a daze. The master of this palace was Consort Lu Chen Lu Xiyu, daughter of Minister of Works Lu Sixue. It had been two years since she entered the palace, but the number of times she got to see Yan Feng was not more than a few.

Cai Qin sighed in vexation. She regretted being too curious. She should never have stayed here to watch the show and then put herself in this dilemma. Because Consort Lu Chen wasn’t favored by the emperor, very few people would come to this palace, resulting in its residents being isolated and uninformed. Even now, Cai Qin still didn’t know what had happened to Murong Zhining. How is she now? What crime did the emperor charge her with? When recalling the fate of her cousin Cai He, Cai Qin prayed the emperor would execute Murong Zhining. She felt greatly comforted by the fact that someone so arrogant like Murong Zhining was now a ruined, pregnant woman about to be severely punished. Cai Qin was anxious to know the result, but she didn’t know where to get the outside news, so she could only fret and wait.

After learning that Consort Lu Chen was unfavored and barely got to see the emperor, Cai Qin didn’t bother to butter her up and even gave her attitude despite the latter being her master. Consort Lu Chen was a gentle and amiable person, so she didn’t raise a fuss about it.

Without getting Consort Lu Chen’s approval, Cai Qin snuck out of Jinyue Palace. For this, she felt that she was a courageous and intelligent person. Because she was sent to Jinyue Palace by the emperor himself, even if Consort Lu Chen had issues with her, she wouldn’t dare to voice it anyway. Everyone had to be considerate of her.

Cai Qin wandered around aimlessly in the Imperial Palace, exclaiming how big and beautiful the palace was in her heart. She walked for a long time without seeing a single soul, and in the end, she got lost.

Zhuang Cheng’s family, her former serving place, could be considered a rich family. However, compared to the Imperial Palace, the Zhuang Estate was more than just inferior. In fact, Zhuang Cheng had accumulated a great deal of money during his many years being a high-ranking court official; it was completely affordable for him to build a palace. Only, his shady money couldn’t be exposed, so no matter how much money he had, Zhuang Cheng didn’t dare to let it see the light.

Cai Qin lamented for the Zhuang Estate’s collapse and felt sorry for Zhuang Cheng: He had so much shiny silver, yet never got to enjoy it and was already executed. However, when she thought about Madam Zhuang who always ordered her around while acting all high and mighty, Cai Qin felt a satisfaction as if her personal revenge had been taken. She secretly gloated over Madam Zhuang’s plight.

Cai Qin curiously looked around. Unknowingly, she arrived at the entrance of Minghui Palace. Just like that, the ignorant girl knocked the bronze ring on the door.

In the courtyard, Chiyun Ping was staring at a pair of mandarin ducks in the pond, drowning in her own loneliness. When a maid reported that someone was knocking on the door, Chiyun Ping thought Yan Feng had come to see her. She hurriedly ordered the maid to support her to the entrance, ready to welcome the emperor.

A maid pulled open the heavy door. Appearing before Chiyun Ping’s eyes wasn’t the emperor, but a boorish maid who didn’t even know to kneel when she saw the imperial noble consort.

Chiyun Ping already felt disappointed for it wasn’t Yan Feng. She vented her rage on Cai Qin. “Who is this brazen little servant? Why do you not kneel when you see this consort? Who lent you the guts?!”