Chapter 19: Here Comes The Creep

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“Nonsense!” Xiao Yan angrily strides out of the main hall, his forehead a deep shade of red, a tea stain on his shoulder, wet and disheveled hair.

This time when he left, Xiao Yan never returned to the main courtyard, staying at Concubine Cui’s place for several days in a row, even on the first day of April.

The couple continues their cold war, affecting everyone in the mansion. Despite curious individuals trying to eavesdrop on what the Marquis and his wife are arguing about, Madam Yin manages to keep the main hall sealed like an iron bucket, preventing anyone from discovering the reason.

Xiao Yan, who was in Moonrise Courtyard, also had no idea about the cause of the Marquis and his wife’s quarrel.

In the novel, after young Xiao Ye passed away due to asthma, Madam Yin, devastated, should be bedridden. Not long after, she succumbs to insanity and is sent to the family temple by Marquis Wu’an.

Later on, the original owner was expelled from the Mansion by Marquis Wu’an on a stormy night.

Ironically, Concubine Cui becomes the de facto mistress of the Marquis’s residence, enjoying unprecedented glory.

Thinking about it, the original owner and Madam Yin did share a similar fate.

Sighing deeply, Xiao Yanfei, holding two medical books, leaves the bookstore.

“Xiao Yanfei!” A familiar and coquettish voice suddenly reaches her ears.

Turning, she sees a luxurious carriage parked on the roadside, and Princess Ning Shu steps down from it.

“Do you know how to fight?” Princess Ning Shu smiles sweetly, her smile deepened as she notices the butterfly hairpin on Xiao Yan’s side.

Fight? Xiao Yan is a bit bewildered.

Seeing her non-denial, Princess Ning Shu assumes she does and excitedly grabs her hand, urging, “Let’s go, let’s go, I’m counting on you.”

Curiosity piqued, Xiao Yanfei, with nothing else to do, follows her and casually asks, “What’s going on?”

“Go buy a qin!” Princess Ning Shu’s smile was charming, leaning towards Xiao Yanfei and playfully saying, “They all refused to accompany me. Yan Yan, you’re the best.”

With just one address, Xiao Yanfei went from being called by her full name to being affectionately called Yan Yan, with a sweet voice.

Xiao Yanfei twitched at the corner of her eye: In this world, do you have to fight when buying a qin?

She felt like she accidentally boarded a pirate ship.

Ning Shu eagerly pulled Xiao Yanfei to the end of Darong Street. Looking up, they saw the golden characters “Jiangyun Pavilion” on a black plaque with a small orchid imprint in the lower right corner – the mark of Prince Jing’s residence.

In the capital, everyone knew that all properties of Prince Jing bore this same orchid imprint on their plaques.

Princess Ning Shu was evidently a regular here, and a cheerful waiter immediately welcomed them, “Princess, please come in.”

“Is ‘Green Silk’ still here?” Princess Ning Shu asked as she climbed the steps.

“Of course.” The waiter smiled. “Princess, rest assured, Jiangyun Pavilion has always upheld integrity. If we agreed to an auction at the hour of ?, it will be at that time.”

(? refers to one of the twelve Earthly Branches in the Chinese zodiac, representing the ninth two-hour division of the day, roughly from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. It’s part of the traditional Chinese timekeeping system and is often used to specify a particular time or hour.)

Leading them into the hall, they found a red lacquered carved qin case with a black qin inside, faintly radiating a mysterious green, as if entwined by lush vines.

Ning Shu couldn’t take her eyes off the qin and proudly showed it to Xiao Yanfei, “Look, isn’t ‘Green Silk’ beautiful? It’s a treasure collected by Jiangyun Pavilion!”

Indeed, it was beautiful. Xiao Yanfei nodded.

Ning Shu looked around and smiled happily, “It seems Liu Chaoyun won’t be coming.”

“Yan Yan, you don’t know, she’s so annoying, always trying to snatch things from me.”

“If she dares to come, the two of us against one, you have to stand on my side. Get a good qin, and I’ll treat you to a show.”

Who is Liu Chaoyun? Just as Xiao Yanfei was thinking, she heard a commotion outside and saw a delicate and beautiful girl in yellow walking in, surrounded by four or five people.

“Is it her?”

Hmm, this doesn’t seem like a two against one situation; it’s more like two against five! Am I going to get beaten up!?

“Three thousand taels,” the girl in yellow, with fair skin and a slightly plump figure, her red mole between her eyebrows vivid and striking, exuding an air of elegance.

“I’ll take this qin.”

She glanced at Ning Shu, snorted, and displayed undisguised arrogance.

“It’s her!” Ning Shu took a step forward with Xiao Yanfei, raised her chin, and faced Liu Chaoyun and her group.

This Liu Chaoyun wants to snatch everything from me!

Whether it’s the jewelry, fine horses, fabrics, rouge, she wants to meddle in everything. Really annoying!

Hmph, she just relies on being the Empress’s niece, protected by the Empress, and wants to overshadow everyone in everything.

Others may fear her, but I don’t.

“Four thousand taels!” Ning Shu said with a proud voice, surpassing the other party.

Their gazes clashed in mid-air, sparks flying.

Liu Chaoyun gritted her teeth. “This young lady bids five thousand taels!”

“Six thousand taels,” Ning Shu boldly raised her bid, provocatively looking at Liu Chaoyun.

As the two exchanged a few words, the atmosphere suddenly tensed, and the air seemed to crackle.

Even Ning Shu, holding Xiao Yanfei’s right hand, unconsciously exerted a slight force, and Xiao Yanfei felt the princess’s palm becoming moist.

Could it be a real fight? Xiao Yanfei counted her fingers, thinking her petite frame might barely handle a two-versus-one situation.

Behind the qin case, the shopkeeper lady smiled as she watched the two young ladies, allowing them to bid. After all, the higher bidder would win, and it posed no harm to the Jiangyun Pavilion.

The Pavilion presented rare treasures for auction each month, and this “Green Silk” qin was highly sought after by Princess Ning Shu and Miss Liu.

Glancing at the hourglass on the edge of the qin, with sand running low, according to the rules, the highest bidder would claim the instrument when the sand ran out.

Ning Shu smiled gracefully, “Liu Chaoyun, are you still bidding?”

Her cheeks seemed to shimmer, revealing a determined smile.

“Don’t worry, Yan Yan, we’ve already won! My older brothers gave me all their silver, asking me to spend it boldly!”

Xiao Yanfei felt like Ning Shu was radiating a golden glow all over.

Liu Chaoyun bit her lip, her jade-like teeth sinking into her full lips.

If she placed another bid, it would be a sky-high price of seven thousand taels. While she could afford it, if her mother found out she spent so much just to compete with Princess Ning Shu, she would cut her monthly allowance for half a year.

With her chin raised, Liu Chaoyun declared, “Ning Shu, dare to snatch my qin, and the Empress Aunt will surely intervene for me!”

Princess Ning Shu’s expression darkened, seemingly displeased with something.

Pouting, she became more assertive, pointing to the hourglass on the table, telling the shopkeeper, “Time is running out. Hurry and prepare a box for the qin for me.”

She refused to believe that the Empress would intervene for Liu Chaoyun just because of a qin!

As the shopkeeper was about to instruct a maid to fetch the box, a sharp, drawn-out male voice came from the second-floor private room: “Seven thousand taels. I bid seven thousand taels.”

The window on the second floor opened, revealing a middle-aged man in his forties with a casual air, leaning leisurely on the windowsill.

Dressed in a royal blue cloud-patterned silk robe with silver threads, he adorned his dark hair with a Hetian jade hairpin. Plain-faced with delicate features, he smiled brightly, exuding a contradictory sense of both courtesy and arrogance.

“Gao…” Liu Chaoyun exclaimed in delight, caught off guard by his casual attire and swallowing the term “Senior Imperial Eunuch.”

This was Gao An, the Emperor’s trusted eunuch, a figure so favored that even the palace concubines sought his favor.

Gao An didn’t descend but casually greeted Princess Ning Shu and Liu Chaoyun through the window, bowing slightly, “Princess, Miss Liu, my respects.”

Princess Ning Shu pursed her lips, visibly displeased.

“Princess…” Gao An smiled, looking down condescendingly, and his gaze lit up upon seeing Xiao Yanfei standing beside Princess Ning Shu.

The girl wore a lilac embroidered winter plum-patterned jacket, with jasmine flowers adorning her hair, captivating and enchanting like an untouched orchid in a secluded valley, making one want to pluck her…

Since their encounter at the Huangjue Temple last month, he couldn’t forget her, feeling restless and distracted.

Gao An’s greedy eyes almost glued to Xiao Yanfei as he said, “Princess, today I come on behalf of the Empress to buy this qin. I hope the princess can part with it.”

His words sounded polite, but the underlying dominance was unmistakable.

Princess Ning Shu’s expression remained unchanged, as composed as water.

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Translated By: Allthingsfluff