After Transmigration, I Snag a Stunning Bigwig as My Husband-Chapter 476: Buried
If the Prince truly favored a maid, he would, given his character, bestow a title, raising her to the status of a concubine.
Mrs. Zhao did not wish, because of her own involvement, to add another concubine to the Prince’s harem and cause trouble for Princess Nanzhang.
After several tense days with no news, Mrs. Zhao finally felt at ease.
But just as Mrs. Zhao found peace of mind, another event occurred, causing her to be anxious again.
When the Prince returned from court, he passed by a zither shop and heard the sound of music flowing out.
He recalled Lady Chi’s zither music.
Mistakenly thinking Lady Chi was his beloved, and he hadn’t been slapped by Princess Nanzhang yet, the Prince always remembered that.
Although Lady Chi was his concubine, he felt no guilt, but the sight of Lady Chi’s wounds was vivid.
The Prince felt moved, thinking that the quality of the zither Lady Chi played was ordinary, so he dismounted and entered the shop to choose an ancient zither.
The Prince went directly to the barracks, instructing the shop to deliver the purchased zither to the Prince Mansion.
The Prince, occupied with military affairs, had not played the zither for many years and seldom listened to it.
Suddenly buying a zither, the maids began to gossip. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Eventually, the news reached Princess Nanzhang’s ears.
Princess Nanzhang felt inexplicably elated.
She believed the zither must be a gift for her.
The Prince was in the wrong for mistaking her identity.
The Prince bought the zither to apologize to her.
Mrs. Zhao thought so too.
Since knowing that the Prince had bought a zither, Princess Nanzhang had been waiting for the Prince’s return from the barracks to apologize to her personally.
However, she waited from morning until evening, and only after sunset did the Prince return.
Busy all day, if Manager Li hadn’t reported that a zither had been delivered, the Prince might have forgotten about it.
Instructing Manager Li to bring the zither, the Prince entered the inner courtyard.
Not only Mrs. Zhao and Princess Nanzhang, even Manager Li believed that such a fine zither must be meant for Princess Nanzhang.
However, the Prince stopped in front of Qingqiu Garden.
Manager Li was a bit bewildered.
"Your Highness..."
Manager Li called out.
The Prince turned to look at him, "What’s the matter?"
Manager Li glanced at the sign of Qingqiu Garden and said, "This is Qingqiu Garden."
"I know," the Prince replied.
The Prince stepped forward and walked in.
Manager Li had words on his tongue but didn’t know how to utter them.
Why Qingqiu Garden?
Princess Nanzhang was probably waiting for the Prince to deliver the zither to her right now.
If she found out this zither was bought for Lady Chi, wouldn’t she be infuriated?
In the pavilion.
Lady Chi sat there, looking at her veil floating in the Lotus Pond.
It had been taken by the Prince and blown into the Lotus Pond by the wind.
The maids had tried many ways but couldn’t retrieve the veil, so they gave up.
"Madam, the Prince has come," Xique announced excitedly, her voice trembling slightly.
She thought the Prince, startled by Lady Chi’s scars, would never return to Qingqiu Garden.
Yet unexpectedly, the Prince had come.
Xique felt her heart nearly leap into her throat.
The Prince walked into the pavilion.
In the pavilion, the zither table was placed.
That night, in the dim light, the Prince had noticed only the zither’s poor quality, not realizing it was so worn out.
The zither was older than Lady Chi herself; it was already in Qingqiu Garden’s storage when she first arrived.
Lady Chi couldn’t speak; she could only express great joy or sorrow by playing a tune, sharing her emotions with the moon.
After Lady Chi played, Xique would usually take the zither away and store it.
A few days ago, the Prince had come, attracted by Lady Chi’s music.
Placing the zither here might prompt Lady Chi to play again, inviting the Prince’s return.
However, in the past few days, Lady Chi hadn’t touched the strings.
Xique and Caiju had hinted at her several times, but Lady Chi remained unmoved, leading the two maids to give up.
Unexpected!
Even without Lady Chi playing the zither, the Prince had come.
And he brought an ancient zither with him.
Lady Chi bowed to the Prince.
The Prince looked at her, "Your zither playing is commendable, but this zither does not do you justice."
Lady Chi glanced at him, her gaze briefly resting on the ancient zither in Manager Li’s arms.
Manager Li carried the zither to the zither table.
Xique hastily took the worn-out zither away.
Manager Li placed the new zither properly.
Lady Chi sat at the zither table, her fingers moving lightly, producing a clear, flowing sound like a brook.
Manager Li was somewhat surprised.
He hadn’t expected Lady Chi to play so well.
If he didn’t know that Lady Chi’s face was disfigured and that the Prince had no affection for her...
Otherwise, with such temperament, Princess Nanzhang wouldn’t have let her live until now.
Manager Li felt puzzled.
What had happened that the Prince would unexpectedly give Lady Chi an ancient zither?
Traditionally, the Prince was indifferent to women he disliked.
The music continued to linger.
The Prince sat there listening.
Xique served him tea.
The Prince took a sip, frowning deeply.
The Prince had never tasted such poor tea.
Lady Chi’s playing was good, but not to the extent of losing his senses.
The Prince suspected that confusing Lady Chi with Hengyang wasn’t an accident, but due to being poisoned.
He had often woken up remembering nothing.
Most of those times, it was in Peony Garden.
After the tune ended.
Lady Chi looked at the Prince.
The Prince looked back at her.
They locked eyes, but neither spoke.
Lady Chi, unable to speak, and the Prince unsure of what to say.
Xique glanced around, then ran to bring pen, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Yet the Prince couldn’t stay any longer and strode out.
As he exited the garden, Caiju ran back carrying food.
She ran fast; hearing from the maids that the Prince had entered Qingqiu Garden, she was anxious, so her steps were swift.
Just then, as she ran inside, she met the Prince coming out.
In her haste to avoid colliding with the Prince, Caiju stepped aside, causing the food box in her hand to topple, spilling the food onto the ground.
Manager Li scolded Caiju for her carelessness, and Caiju knelt down in apology.
The Prince did not blame her.
His gaze fell on the spilled food.
He furrowed his brows deeply.
"What dishes are these?" he inquired.
Caiju was momentarily stunned, then answered, "They’re stir-fried peppers with pork, mushrooms with greens, and winter melon soup."
Lady Chi, being a concubine, was allotted a portion of three dishes and a soup.
But because Lady Chi was not in favor, the main kitchen deducted some portions, leaving only two dishes and a soup.
Moreover, the meat dish wasn’t genuinely meaty.
The so-called stir-fried peppers with pork required several pickings before any meat slivers were found. Xique said this was already an improvement; before the Heir’s wife stood up for Lady Chi, finding meat was like searching with a lantern.
The Prince looked at the entirely vegetarian dishes and glanced at Manager Li, "From now on, Qingqiu Garden’s portion will be four dishes and a soup, two meat and two vegetarian. If such meals are served again, the responsible will be flogged to death."
Manager Li complied.
After the Prince left, Manager Li instructed Caiju, "Go to the main kitchen and collect meals again in two quarters of an hour."
"Understood," replied Caiju.
Contemplating, Manager Li asked another question, "The Prince and Lady Chi...?"
Caiju looked around and then whispered in Manager Li’s ear, "The Prince stayed in Lady Chi’s room a few days ago."
Manager Li was left speechless.
The expression on Manager Li’s face was of disbelief.
Yet the Prince gifting the ancient zither forced him to believe.
Caiju crouched to clean up the spilled food.
Meanwhile, Manager Li headed to the main kitchen.
