There were relieved sighs all around. Crown Prince Zhang KongJing had started to sway his fan once more, his figure was visibly relaxed with a light smile hanging about his lips. Yet, Second Prince Zhang JunLi could feel cold air still emanating from his eldest brother. The Crown Prince's voice was placid, yet it carried a touch of frostiness,
"Lian house's hospitality is astounding and has definitely given a fresh view to this Prince's eyes," he calmly looked at the senior worker who were leading his group, the one who was very aware of their identities. The old man just kept his back hunched in a deep bow, not daring to quip a single sound.
"This Prince wants everyone who had just offended my third brother's fiancee's family to compensate her."
Zhang KongJing did not mention Bai YuLan's or Ji LanBai's name in particular. After all, for that day, the two qin players were introduced as both hailing from the famed Ji estate.
It was enough to imply the threat behind it, as well as reminding, or letting know everyone that one of the qin players would marry into the Imperial Family in the future. More over, everyone had seen how all three royal princes had earlier taken off their own robes to presumably protect the fallen young lady's virtue. Regardless which one of the qin players would be the Yong Prince's wangfei in the future, they should not and would not take any chances to offend any of them.
"As for the ones directly responsible for this.... mess...," the Crown Prince drawled his last word, his eyes darted and lingered longer at the now cowering personal servants of the nobles who had caused the earlier commotion.
"And the households behind it... ," he languidly shifted his gaze to look towards the actual masters and nobles observing from a safe distance. Their backs were now covered in cold sweat despite the summer heat. Zhang KongJing then turned to smile leisurely at the old senior worker of Lian house,
"This Prince believes it is for Lian house's best interest to not be associated with such... rogues in the future."
The Masters of the servants who had accidentally pushed YuLan and Xiao Hui into the pond paled. From the Crown Prince's words just now, it was clear that he requested that Lian house would ban them from ever coming again. This meant lost connections to various scholars, martial-artists, nobles, and many other important figures who had always treated Lian house as their important hub.
Yet, although all their servants did was to accidentally push a couple of seemingly unimportant people and a qin player from the Ji family, why did the Imperial Sons act like they were the one who were personally offended?
"This humble one understands," the old man said, still not daring to lift his head up, "Lian house can only apologize for the offence. In the meanwhile, may this humble one trouble Your Highnesses and Young Misses to recuperate from this unfortunate incident." He added, "We have a small inner residence for the Young Misses to freshen up."
Noticing the protective barrier of the three royal princes, the two famed scholars, the Ji guards, and young vice-commander Zhen standing in front of the two qin players, the old man could only try to placate their anger and disappointment today's incident had caused.
It went without doubt that there was not going to be personal sessions of 'sharing pointers and knowledge' that day. Herding the drenched YuLan and Xiao Hui away, they followed the old man towards a usually off-limit area of Lian house.
Away from everyone; still sitting at their own original assigned seats, Chao HuiBo, Chao MeiHua, and their noble friends watched from afar. Regardless how impressed they were with the musical performance earlier, it was beneath their status to stampede along with the other guests towards the Peony Pavilion. But they certainly did not expect that the royal princes and the young vice-commander of the Wolf army would also stick their noses to the affair.
Chao HuiBo lowered his head and sipped his tea slowly, his gaze unfathomable.
*** *** ***
Lian house had a small building located separately from the rest of the tea-house and the lotus pond. This building was surrounded by a small bamboo forest, sheltering it from summer heat and the blazing sun.
This inner area was only reserved for Imperial Family and their immediate guests, therefore all the furnishings were of the highest quality possible. There were a few wooden chairs with padded cushion filled with white goose feathers set against the wall.
The men were all congregated in the middle of the room, making themselves comfortable sitting on some plush cushions set on top of the lush carpeting on the floor. None of them, not even the three royal princes, used the provided chairs. Zhen BuFeng was quietly sitting against the wall, polishing his spear. The two Ji guards stood outside the building.
He Shan and Sun Chen sat facing each other, each of them shifting through some small cards, various tokens, and emblems made of different kinds of metal or jade. These metal or jade tokens were insignia of more distinguished families or wealthy merchants in Zhang Empire.
"What is this old goony thinking? He does not have a son yet he still gave his token to me, wanting to meet my students? Doesn't he know he already smells of dirt? I'll dig his grave personally!" He Shan snorted disdainfully and threw a circular family token made of thin silver behind his back.
"This one is a pig farmer." SunChen frowned, looking at a family insignia stamp on the card he received earlier, "A very wealthy pig farmer. But still a pig farmer. Stinky pig. Does he think our dear YuLan will stand being around pigs every day?" He said 'pigs' too many times to emphasize his revulsion.
Both men had deep furrows between their brows. They had received those small identities plates, tokens, and request cards from various attending guests earlier. Every single one of them basically expressed their wish to be more acquainted with Ji LanBai or Bai YuLan. Of course, Ji LanBai was already promised to the Yong Prince, so He Shan and Sun Chen mainly only had Bai YuLan in mind when they suddenly had to play as prospective father-in-laws to the young girl.
They were of the same mind; there were too many wolves, they had to protect their cute disciple!
"We'll just sort this out as much as we can, I guess," HeShan said, shaking his head as he threw away yet another token made of green jade, "Second Young Master Hu from the Xiu family. Not a bad family at all, they are rich and have plenty of estates. But this Hu brat, ah, already has four concubines!" He snorted in disgust.
"We'll give out the rest of the cards and tokens to the Ji Madames," SunChen said, also throwing away another jade token, "At least we have weeded the bad ones."
"Just throw everything out," Third Prince Zhang GuoFu suddenly spoke. He somehow suddenly felt very displeased.
"It's up to the Ji Madames, though.. ." Second Prince Zhang JunLi raised his brows, "Don't worry, GuoFu. Your Ji LanBai will be safe. I'm sure He-laoshi and Sun-laoshi are just sorting this out primarily for Miss Bai YuLan."
Crown Prince Zhang KongJing and Zhen BuFeng silently watched He Shan and Sun Chen still busying themselves.
"This humble one apologizes for having caused trouble and keep everyone waiting," a clear voice rang from the inner chamber of the residence. Bai YuLan came out with Ji LanBai's arms protectively wrapped around her right hand, the latter seemingly afraid that YuLan would suddenly fall off somewhere again. Xiao Hui and Xiao Lin followed behind.
YuLan and Xiao Hui had freshened up with baths prepared by Lian house and had changed into new sets of robes, muted green and grey in color. They were attires normally worn by the Lian house female servants. As there was no alternative form of clothing, they could only make do with what was available.
By this time, of course YuLan had already recognized the identities of these extraordinary people.
At twenty years old, the Crown Prince had fully matured into an undoubtedly attractive man. His facial feature was refined and free of the slightest imperfection. He possessed somewhat strong jawline and thick and sharp eyebrows. Though the thing that YuLan recognized the most was his deep set of eyes, bright and seemingly playful. At the moment, he was staring at her blatantly, especially at what she was wearing,
"That ugly thing does not suit you."
"... ." YuLan pursed her lips in amusement, but still kept her body bowed slightly in curtsy, "This humble one thanks Your Highness for your favor."
The Crown Prince turned his gaze away to chat idly with the Second Prince.
The second qinwang, Second Prince Zhang Junli, titled Min1敏, refers to agile/keen/intelligent Prince, possessed a calmer aura than the Crown Prince. It gave people a sense of reliability. Nevertheless, Zhang JunLi knew better than to attempt to outshine his elder brother; he knew he would never outdo the Crown Prince's wits and mind. Zhang JunLi himself preferred to be engrossed in martial art, especially in the Zhen family's spear art.
YuLan pinched Ji LanBai's clawing arms slightly, finally able to shift the latter's attention from her. Ji LanBai released her hold and stepped forward. She bowed her slim frame, clasped her fingers loosely to her side, and bet her knee in slight bow. She tilted her head slightly with her gaze down,
"Ji's family daughter, Ji LanBai, courteously greets Your Royal Highnesses." Then she shifted slightly towards Zhen BuFeng, "Ji LanBai greets vice-commander Zhen."
The men stilled at the Young Miss Ji who suddenly looked like a stranger to them. The young lady in her early teens had a flawless face who everyone was certain would only grow more stunning as she grew older. There was a sharpness in her feature that demanded respect and reverence from the onlookers. With the way she was bowing, she looked every bit a picture of an elegant beauty.
As soon as she finished bowing however, the illusion of elegance vanished. She quickly took hold of Bai YuLan's hands once more and strode hastily to the middle of the room before plopping her body not very gracefully onto a cushion.
The corner of YuLan's mouth twitched slightly, "This girl... . We have practiced the bow so many times before. This is in front of her fiancé, no less. I just hope she won't be too timid in front of him."
The youngest of the royal princes was none other than the Third Prince Zhang GuoFu. Although he had also grown into a dashing young man, he still had a trace of boyish charm to him and a softer look compared to his older brothers. But that did not diminish his regal aura that was also possessed by the older two princes.
Truly, the upbringing made a man.
YuLan did not really have to worry about Ji LanBai, as the latter had actually taken a spot closest to Zhang GuoFu. Noticing him, she gave a sincere wide smile,
"Fu-ge. Thank you for the guqin. LanBai loves it very much."
For Ji LanBai, it was very simple: Prince Zhang GuoFu gave her so many beautiful gifts frequently. Prince Zhang GuoFu was going to be her husband in the future. Prince Zhang GuoFu was therefore, a very nice man.
Zhang GuoFu smiled kindly in turn while his two older brothers sniggered besides him. He then shifted his attention to Bai YuLan.
Next to Ji LanBai, whose beauty could probably destroy cities and entice wars when she matured, Bai YuLan somehow paled in comparison. Her facial features were soft, and her gaze always carried an expression of melancholy. Upon examining more carefully, Zhang GuoFu also noticed her lower jaw bearing a faint scar, extending to under her chin. It was a reminder of what happened years ago when she risked her life to save Ji LanBai.
For a female, the slightest flaw or blemish was normally an object of much grief and self-scrutiny.
Yet the way she carried herself, from the way she walked and even from he sitting posture, gave her delicate frame a sense of incomparable gracefulness. She exuded confidence, looking more elegant and mature than Ji LanBai. In fact, her delicate soft features actually just added to her charms. For the three princes who had grown up in the Palace and had seen no shortage of beautiful women and entertainers, her serene poised figure was magnetizing. It was a feeling of looking at a calm beautiful clear sky.
