The Devious First-Daughter

There weren’t many zithers on the second floor of the zither store, but all of them seemed to have significant histories behind them. Ordinary zithers wouldn’t be able to compare at all. These zithers were better suited for Ning Xueyan’s current status as the Crown Princess. If she were to use an ordinary, nameless zither, she wouldn’t be able to impress anyone.

Therefore, no matter how skilled the store was at crafting zithers, her best option was picking out a famous antique zither.

The quick-witted store attendant led Ning Xueyan forward, allowing her to look at all of the zithers.

All the antique zithers were placed in the same area. Whether it was the table under each zither or the perfumed incense lingering in the air, all the details showed how valuable these zithers were.

What attracted her the most was the antique zither resting right in the middle of them all.

The location of the zither, the huge table beneath, as well as the extraordinary censer shaped like a dragon’s head on the table, made the other zithers look like they were worshipping it.

Anyone would have spotted the antique zither right away.

Ning Xueyan was no exception. She raised the hem of her skirt and walked forward so she could get closer to the zither. She wanted a closer look. Heng Yuqing, a zither expert in her own right, couldn’t stop herself from rushing over.

After she had a clear look at the pattern and faint crescent moon imprint on the zither, she asked in surprise, “Is this the Mark of the Moon?”

The Mark of the Moon was a fine name for a zither, but the zither with such a beautiful name had a poignant story, a story that was spread among the people for years.

Legend had it that Princess Chuyue of Jiang State fell in love with her country’s State Preceptor Xuan Yin, but he couldn’t marry for life because of his position as the State Preceptor. To stay with her beloved, Chuyue gave up her identity as a princess and served Xuan Yin as a common maid.

The Emperor was furious to learn this. He forced an alliance marriage on Chuyue and shipped her off in the bridal sedan sent by Lin State. When their entourage passed the border of the two states, Xuan Yin sat behind the waterfall on a small mountain and played the zither. He used the antique zither that he had personally made for Chuyue, the Mark of the Moon.

When Chuyue heard the beautiful zither sound, she rushed out of the bridal sedan and wept sorrowfully. She bade Xuan Yin farewell from a distance and returned to the sedan, where she used a dagger that she had prepared and killed herself. The maids outside the sedan immediately lifted the curtain when they noticed that something was wrong, but Chuyue was beyond help. She was dead, like a wilted flower.

When Xuan Yin heard that Chuyue had died, he put down the zither and jumped into the ancient waterfall behind him. He was in such despair that one of the zither’s strings became loose after he played his final tune. Fortunately, an unknown master fixed that string later on.

To commemorate the pair of lovers, the Mark of the Moon became a story spread from generation to generation.

Xuan Yin had been a zither expert who received the admiration of many during his time. His knowledge of zither was said to be unprecedented, surpassed by neither his predecessor nor his successor.

Later, Jiang State was destroyed in a war and the nine states expanded without restraint. Many years had passed without anyone ever seeing this zither again but its story continued to be spread, especially among ladies in the boudoir. They were so smitten with the lovers’ story that even the zither called the Mark of the Moon became an undying tale.

The zither became an eternal legend to everyone.

And now, the legendary zither was sitting right in front of Heng Yuqing. She could even see the faint crescent moon-shaped mark that Xuan Yin carved for Princess Chuyue. How could she not be excited?

She placed her fingers on the strings and gently pressed down. Immediately, a sharp and clear zither sound resounded. It was melodious and pleasant. Both she and Ning Xueyan could tell that this was a great zither.

“Crown Princess, what do you think about this zither? Coupled with the zither piece earlier, I’m sure you will be able to impress everyone,” Heng Yuqing suggested, smiling at Ning Xueyan.

With a great zither and a zither piece that no one had ever been able to complete before, even a novice would be able to impress anyone with a single performance.

And this was what Ning Xueyan, the new Crown Princess, needed.

It would benefit her and Ao Chenyi immensely if she could leave a good impression on the politically-neutral faction. Even though Ao Chenyi had become the Crown Prince, the past supporters of Ao Mingyu and Ao Mingwan were still sitting on the fence, waiting for a chance to give him trouble.

If she could obtain the support of the politically-neutral faction, the improvement in their situation would be inestimable.

“It’s a good zither,” Ning Xueyan said. She walked over and looked at the antique zither who seemed to be the star of the other zithers. Her long lashes fell and a trace of coldness appeared in her beautiful eyes.

“But we don’t know if it’s authentic.”

“Of course it’s authentic. Our master went through a lot to obtain this zither. He wouldn’t have been able to encounter it without a good stroke of coincidence. This zither has only been here for two days,” the store attendant explained with a smile. He had heard how Heng Yuqing addressed Ning Xueyan, so he became increasingly deferential to the latter.

“Who’s your master?” Heng Yuqing asked, surprised.

“Our master forbids us from telling anyone. I wouldn’t dare to answer you,” the shop attendant replied, looking conflicted.

Heng Yuqing wasn’t all that curious who the master of the store was. She brought it up because of the flow of the conversation. Seeing the shop attendant’s conflicted expression, she dropped the question. She was so enamored with the antique zither, Mark of the Moon, that she didn’t notice the fleeting sly smile on the shop attendant’s face.

The sly smile was faint and fleeting but Ning Xueyan had been paying attention to him, so she caught it right away. Her eyes turned even colder.

It was strange that a store attendant would be sufficiently respectful but not surprised at meeting the Crown Princess. It was as if he knew that she would come all along. How suspicious. How could she not understand after seeing the somewhat smug smile on the attendant’s face?

Everything that happened today was one trap after another.

They used that book to lure her out of the manor and into Xia Yuhang’s trap. Then, that book lured her to the zither store and into Ya Moqin’s trap. It went without saying that Ya Moqin wasn’t there to argue with her and Heng Yuqing. If she was right, she was Ya Moqin’s target.

However, Ya Moqin—or the mastermind behind Ya Moqin—didn’t expect that she would so ruthlessly humiliate Ya Moqin and force her to leave. And the next trap was the antique zither named the Mark of the Moon.

There was in fact a well-known secret about this zither!

Ning Xueyan believed that this wasn’t the last trap for her…

The mastermind plotting all these traps for her was very cunning and apt. No ordinary person would be able to compare. She believed that this was the doing of Grand Tutor Ya, who had been hiding in the shadows all along. However, Xia Yuhang’s trap was likely another scheme, a scheme that he designed upon Grand Tutor Ya’s plot.

Both of them had likely not expected that Xia Yuhang’s move would raise Ning Xueyan’s suspicion and allow her to find so many clues.

She also knew how conceited Xia Yuhang was. Xia Yuhang wouldn’t have discussed this with Grand Tutor Ya, and Grand Tutor Ya would certainly not notice that she had discovered so many clues…

“Let’s buy this zither then.” Trains of thoughts ran inside Ning Xueyan’s mind. She looked as if she was truly moved by Heng Yuqing’s words. However, she didn’t walk over to test the sound of the zither. She simply stood on the side and observed the zither with a look of admiration.

She looked just like a novice who was joining in on the fun, who only answered as such because of Heng Yuqing’s words.

Her response was befitting of her reputation for being a zither novice as well as the rumors circulating about her outside. Even though her mother must have taught her, she must have been too weak-willed and only learned enough to form a shallow understanding of the zither. She was completely different from other noble ladies who were taught the zither from childhood.

Heng Yuqing nodded. She looked at the zither and suggested, “Do you want to try it?”

She had plucked the string of the zither earlier and thought the sound to be sonorous. This was indeed a rare, great zither but Ning Xueyan was the one who would approve and buy it. So, Heng Yuqing suggested that she tried it.

She never considered that with Ning Xueyan’s “talent”, there wasn’t much Ning Xueyan could learn from plucking the strings. Ning Xueyan would just be putting on a show.

“It’s all right. You’ve tried it. Let’s pack it up,” Ning Xueyan said, waving her hand.

Her reaction was just as the store attendant had imagined. He was overjoyed but he didn’t let it show on his face. He went up to Ning Xueyan and said apologetically, “Lady, I’m afraid… that’s not possible.”

Heng Yuqing raised her head and looked unhappily at the store attendant. “Why not?”

“This… This zither has been booked by someone else,” the store attendant replied, stammering. He looked conflicted. He looked like he had more to say but didn’t know where to start.

“What do you mean, someone booked it? Why do you still put it out for sale if it’s been booked?” Heng Yuqing demanded, glaring at the store attendant as expected.

Ning Xueyan stood quietly with a slight smile as if she wasn’t the one who wanted the zither.

“Well, it’s not really booked. That lady only said that this zither is decent and she wants it, but she couldn’t gather enough money for it at the moment. She told us to keep it for her until she has the money for it.” The store attendant smiled wryly. “But two days have passed and that lady hasn’t shown up yet. If she doesn’t come soon, we don’t know if we should keep the zither for her any longer.”

So, a customer saw this zither and expressed her desire to buy it but didn’t show up even after a few days. There was nothing wrong with the store owner selling the zither to someone else. After all, there was no proof or trace, so the zither belonged to the store owner. The store owner could sell it to anyone he liked.

After hearing the story, Heng Yuqing suggested, “Since she didn’t come, you can sell this zither to us.”

“But the lady had already booked it…” The store attendant became conflicted.

“Did she pick it up after booking it?” Heng Yuqing, a noble lady of the Lord Guardian’s Manor, had never heard any store attendant reject them with such an excuse. Her beautiful eyes turned round in anger as she said, “It doesn’t make sense that she doesn’t let you sell it to someone else when she doesn’t pick it up herself.”

“What doesn’t make sense?” An elegant voice resounded from another side just as soon as Heng Yuqing finished speaking.