Volume One, Chapter 13: Public Humiliation

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The zither’s music drifted through the hall, at times like lofty mountains and flowing streams, soothing the heart; at others, like a fierce northern wind, stirring the soul.

When the melody turned mournful, it seemed to conjure a land strewn with starving corpses and heaps of bleached bones. When it swelled into grandeur, it became a charge of ten thousand soldiers and steeds, surging toward a triumphant victory. And when it softened into graceful sweetness, a vision of peace and prosperity seemed to unfold before everyone’s eyes.

Zhang Zhixi sat before the long zither, his ten slender, sharply jointed fingers plucking the strings back and forth. In the bright candlelight, his handsome features appeared all the gentler.

As the music gradually faded, Ning Yunshu felt something slide down her cheek and fall onto the back of her hand.

She wiped it away without a sound, careful not to let anyone notice.

It was only that, when the music grew mournful, she had involuntarily recalled everything she had seen and endured on the journey back from the Xiongnu.

She and Qige had nearly starved to death in the depths of winter. Outside the homes of the wealthy and powerful, she had fought alongside beggars for the slop servants dumped out. She could never beat them and each time returned with only a few rotten leaves.

Qige, lying in a ruined temple, grew weaker by the day, while hunger had nearly robbed her of the strength to fight the beggars again.

So, on a night when the wind howled and snow raged, she had used a stone to beat the beggar chief to death…

At her place among the guests in the great hall, the corners of Ning Yunshu’s lips curved into a low, cold smile. The tears in her eyes had long since been replaced by icy darkness.

Now that she had returned alive, she would make every person who had driven her and Qige into such misery pay the price!

When the melody ended, everyone remained intoxicated by it, unable to tear themselves away for a long while.

Ning Yunshu applauded. “Such a melody belongs only in the heavens. How many times could one hope to hear it in the mortal world? Minister Zhang, you have truly made me see you in a new light.”

The Emperor also nodded approvingly. “Zhang Qing’s mastery of the zither is unmatched—not merely throughout Great Su, but across the world. Reward him!”

Zhang Zhixi bowed. “Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty.”

“Since Father has bestowed a reward, I ought to offer something as well.” Ning Yunshu’s words drew everyone’s gaze. Smiling, she held up a wine cup that was already half empty.

“Oh? What would Shu’er like to bestow upon Minister Zhang?” the Emperor asked.

Ning Yunshu looked straight at Zhang Zhixi. He happened to lift his eyes and meet her gaze, taking in the teasing glint within them.

She gave the cup a little shake, her smile bright. “A cup of fine wine. Surely Minister Zhang will not disdain it?”

The hall erupted in an uproar.

“Tongtong!” Consort Xian called softly, trying to stop her.

What sort of conduct was this? In the presence of the Emperor and every civil and military official, she was rewarding a first-rank minister with wine she had already drunk from. Though it was called a reward, it was plainly an insult.

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Ning Yu was both furious and bewildered. When had Zhang Zhixi offended his sister that she would humiliate him so publicly? No wonder he had offered to perform—he had most likely been coerced!

After all, she had always been willful and vindictive.

Shen Yan’s already gloomy eyes were now clouded with confusion as well, and he could not help recalling what had happened during the journey years ago, when they had escorted the princess to marry beyond the borders.

He remembered that Zhang Zhixi had then been merely a minor assistant official, responsible for recording everything that happened along the journey. Apart from that, the two of them had never crossed paths. Why, then, would she treat him this way?

Upon the dragon throne, the Emperor’s expression darkened slightly, yet a cunning glimmer lay hidden deep within his eyes. He watched the people in the hall in silence, with no intention of intervening.

Though Zhang Zhixi was his most favored minister, he could not slight Ning Yunshu at a welcoming banquet merely for the sake of one official.

Besides, Zhang Zhixi had always thought highly of himself. Today presented an excellent opportunity to knock him down a peg.

Only Tao Wanqiao’s beautiful eyes seemed ready to spit fire. Her nails had already dug into her flesh.

He was the divine lord she held in the highest regard. How could she allow someone as filthy and lowly as Ning Yunshu to insult him so?

When he had played the zither earlier, her desire to hear his music had overcome her reason, so she had not stopped him. But now that Ning Yunshu intended to humiliate him, Tao Wanqiao would be the first to refuse!

She was about to rise when someone suddenly caught her arm. Turning around, she saw Ning Moxue, who had come to her side at some unknown point.

“Little Sister, do not act rashly!” Ning Moxue and Tao Wanqiao had addressed each other as sisters in the palace for seven years. Knowing how Tao Wanqiao felt about Zhang Zhixi, she had hurried over to stop her the moment she sensed something was amiss.

Tao Wanqiao bit her lip, her eyes trembling. How could she simply stand by and watch the man she loved suffer such humiliation?

When Zhang Zhixi remained motionless and no one in the hall spoke up to stop her, Ning Yunshu grew even bolder. She extended the cup toward him.

“Minister, do you have some objection to this Princess’s reward?”

Zhang Zhixi, where exactly is your limit? How long can you maintain that proud, lofty air of yours?

Her smile was radiant, yet the ministers felt a chill run through them.

The Eldest Princess was far too erratic in her actions, but the Emperor had not uttered a word, tacitly permitting her behavior. Everyone understood why. First, the Eldest Princess had rendered great service to the nation by marrying beyond the borders years ago; even the Emperor had to show some consideration for her dignity. Second, Zhang Zhixi had always been aloof and proud, and the Emperor would certainly not pass up such a chance to warn him.

Zhang Zhixi’s expression remained calm. His gaze fell upon the half cup of wine. Candlelight from the great hall shimmered in it like a river of stars. The whispers and murmurs around him had nothing to do with him. He knew only one thing: he had to drink this cup today.

He stepped forward, seeming to approach her upon a breeze beneath the bright moon.

Ning Yunshu’s hand stiffened slightly.

If he had merely offered some smooth excuse and declined, no one could have forced him to drink it. Yet he had accepted.

“This is outrageous! Father is indulging her far too much!” Ning Yu rebuked in a low voice.

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He was not close to Zhang Zhixi, and Zhang Zhixi’s honor or disgrace had nothing to do with him. But Ning Yunshu was his sister. After she had behaved so outrageously, where was that to leave him, her elder brother?

Amid the sympathetic gazes of the crowd, Zhang Zhixi walked up to Ning Yunshu. He lowered his head in salute, then accepted the cup with both hands.

“Your humble servant thanks the Eldest Princess!”

“Absolutely not!”

A sharp cry burst through the hall.

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw that Tao Wanqiao had flung off Ning Moxue’s hand and risen resolutely to her feet, her face filled with fury and alarm.

“Minister Zhang must not drink that wine!” she cried, shaking her head again and again. Her eyes were full of heartache as she looked at Zhang Zhixi.

Ning Yunshu glanced sideways at her, danger already filling her gaze.

“Wanqiao, do not be rude!” The Emperor’s eyes also took on a trace of anger. “It is only a cup of wine, and it is a gift from the Princess. Why should Zhang Qing be unable to drink it?”

Consort Xiao drew in a sharp breath and hurriedly rose to take Tao Wanqiao’s hand. Looking toward the throne, she said, “Your Majesty, please forgive her! Qiao’er… she cannot hold her liquor and has been speaking nonsense. I shall take her back at once.”

“No! I am not drunk!” Tao Wanqiao stamped her foot in agitation, yet deliberately spoke in a way that left her meaning unclear. “In any case… Father, Mother, Minister Zhang cannot drink wine bestowed by the Eldest Princess. Absolutely not!”

Ning Yunshu was puzzled. It would have been understandable if Tao Wanqiao, infatuated with Zhang Zhixi, simply could not bear to see him humiliated. But she kept insisting that he must not drink this cup. Could there be something wrong with it?

Yet Ning Yunshu herself had drunk from it, and nothing had happened.

At that moment, Ning Yunshu noticed the person standing on Tao Wanqiao’s other side: Ning Moxue. She did not know when Ning Moxue had gone there, but now her eyes were wide and her face pale, as if she were frightened of something.

“What is wrong with the wine? Why must he not drink it?” The Emperor had also seized upon the crucial point in Tao Wanqiao’s words. His eyes turned dark and suspicious as he looked toward Ning Yunshu.

“Because…” Tao Wanqiao’s lips moved soundlessly for a moment. She looked at Ning Yunshu and met her gaze, the disgust in her eyes growing even stronger.

How could someone like her deserve to have Minister Zhang play the zither for her? How could she deserve to make him drink wine from a cup she had touched?

“Speak!” commanded the Emperor, his voice brooking no disobedience.

Tao Wanqiao shuddered from head to toe, as though she had reached a momentous decision.

Ning Moxue was startled and shook her head repeatedly, murmuring, “You must not say it…”

But Tao Wanqiao pointed decisively at Ning Yunshu and spoke in a harsh voice.

“Because the Eldest Princess is shameless and afflicted with a filthy disease! Minister Zhang is a pillar of the nation and must never be subjected to her contamination!”

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