thefictionvixens Chapter 1908 The Qin in the Painting
Chapter 1908 The Qin in the Painting
Lu Zhaoling and Zhou Shiyue returned to the Prince's Mansion.
Their clothes were really filthy, and they had spent time in that mountain valley. Although they had purification talismans, the talismans only purified what was invisible; the dirt that could be seen was still there.
So when they returned to the Prince's Mansion, they went to bathe and clean themselves separately.
Such long hair is too much trouble, so Lu Zhaoling still asks Qingyin and Qingbao for help whenever she washes her hair.
After washing, two maids dried her hair with fine cotton cloths next to the charcoal stove. Lu Zhaoling lay on the soft couch, feeling sleepy.
She listened as Qingyin and Qingbao recounted what had happened in the capital the previous day.
It is said that the various factions of officials are fighting fiercely, and three ministers were assassinated at the same time yesterday afternoon.
"Is he dead?" Lu Zhaoling asked.
“One of them died, and the one who died was from Prime Minister Shen’s faction. His Highness the Crown Prince has found out. The other two were injured, one more seriously, and even the Imperial Physician Fu came to treat him.”
"The other one was less seriously injured, but he'll probably have to stay in bed for a few days."
"Which faction are these two injured people from?"
"One of them is from the royalist side. The one who was seriously injured seems to have always been neutral. He's a seasoned veteran who never expresses his opinion and doesn't take sides."
"So he was stabbed too?" Lu Zhaoling asked, somewhat surprised.
"Yes, I heard that someone forced him to make a statement, insisting that he support the young prince to ascend the throne. He disagreed, and was then stabbed."
"The little prince?" Lu Zhaoling asked curiously.
She hasn't even met this little prince yet.
“How old is the little prince? He’s only a few years old and can’t even read aloud properly,” Qingbao said. “Those who want to help the little prince ascend the throne are just inspired by Prime Minister Shen. They say they want to help the little prince sit in that position first, just like they helped the third prince ascend to the position of regent, and then they will act as regents from behind.”
They're just the family of the young prince's mother.
Previously, the young prince's faction had never made a move to compete, but this time, seeing the chaotic situation and the return of Zhou Yi, who had been convicted and demoted, they also began to have their own ideas.
"Anyway, it's a complete mess. I heard that yesterday evening, many ministers knelt outside the palace gates again, begging to see the emperor."
Lu Zhaoling asked, "Has the Emperor woken up?"
“No,” Qingyin said, “The Emperor hasn’t woken up yet, but those people don’t quite believe it. They suspect that the Emperor was injured and then controlled by His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Pfft,” Lu Zhaoling found it somewhat amusing, “The Crown Prince is not that kind of person.”
If the Crown Prince were that kind of person, he would have acted long ago, instead of waiting until now.
Moreover, there was no need to save the emperor in the first place.
"Yes, we all believe in His Highness the Crown Prince's character, but the ministers don't."
Qingbao said angrily, "What else could it be? It's because they all suspect the Prince, thinking that the Crown Prince might not be that kind of person, but our Prince is. They say that the Prince is definitely instigating His Highness the Crown Prince behind his back, saying that our Prince might want to become the Regent."
"Regent?"
Lu Zhaoling was stunned for a moment.
She remembered that the book that Grand Secretary Meng had given her mentioned the king earlier, and it seemed that a few words had been written about him, saying that the king had originally been recommended by the ministers to be the regent.
Later, perhaps because of this, the emperor became wary of him.
Are people now harboring such suspicions about Zhou Shiyue?
Lu Zhaoling sat up abruptly. "Qingyin, go get me a book. It was a gift from Grand Secretary Meng..."
She mentioned that book and told Qingyin to go and fetch it right now.
She hadn't finished reading it yet.
I suddenly want to watch it now.
Qingyin quickly went to fetch the book.
Lu Zhaoling took a deep breath, opened the book, and began to read carefully.
The two maids softened their movements and continued to dry her hair.
“I remember when we were first sent to the princess’s side, her hair was still a bit dry and yellow, and it would often get tangled when she combed it.”
"After these three years, the princess's hair has become smooth, black and shiny, and a comb can easily reach the bottom."
Qingbao whispered to Qingyin.
Qingyin nodded as well.
They were all very grateful that the prince had sent them to the princess's side as soon as he saw them. How wonderful! Now that the princess had returned home, they had followed her back to the palace and become the princess's first-class maids.
Isn't this much better than serving the male master?
While Lu Zhaoling was flipping through the book, Zhou Shiyue had already washed and tidied up.
When he arrived at the study, Qinglin and Qingfeng came to greet him.
"Your Highness, you've been busy all night and just got back. You should rest. You're still injured," Qinglin advised.
However, looking at Zhou Shiyue's expression, Qingfeng had a bad feeling.
He felt that the prince had been in a bad mood ever since he returned.
What happened?
"Has Qingxiao returned yet?" Zhou Shiyue ignored Qinglin, walked to the bookshelf, and asked with his back to them.
"just came back."
"Summon him to see me."
"Yes."
Zhou Shiyue was also carefully searching for a book in front of the bookshelf.
Qingfeng waited nearby. "What is Your Highness looking for? I'll help you find it."
“I remember there was a musical score, a unique copy,” Zhou Shiyue said.
"I'll look for it too," Qingfeng quickly began searching.
Qingxiao had just returned to the Prince's mansion to freshen up when he heard that the Prince had summoned him, so he came immediately.
Zhou Shiyue told Qingfeng and Qinglin to continue searching for the musical score, and then went behind his desk and sat down.
"How is the situation in the palace?"
Qingxiao immediately began to report on each matter one by one, naturally including the fact that the three adults had been stabbed yesterday. He knew more than Qingyin and Qingbao, and his account was more detailed.
“Young Master An Fan also came to see the Prince,” Qing Xiao said. “He thought the Prince had gone to the palace.”
"What does he want with me?"
He said he would talk about it when he saw the prince, and there was no rush.
"The Crown Prince has assigned him another task?" Zhou Shiyue asked.
"Yes. Young Master An Fan has done a good job these past few days, and His Highness the Crown Prince appreciates him greatly. Many people already know that he has been given an important position by His Highness."
Zhou Shiyue asked a lot more questions.
"Your Highness, is this the one?"
Just as they finished talking, Qinglin came over with a musical score.
This sheet music has many wormholes, the paper is yellowed and somewhat torn, and it's unclear when it was made.
“The score in this qin music sheet is probably incomplete; it’s a bit torn,” Qinglin said.
Zhou Shiyue reached out and took it.
"What I want to see is not the sheet music."
He said something and opened the sheet music.
Sanqing had no idea what he wanted to see.
If you're holding a sheet music, what are you looking at if you're not reading the score?
Zhou Shiyue flipped through the pages for a while, then stopped on one page.
There is a piano painted on it.
The zither has a flower carved on its side.
That flower...
It's the same as the zither next to the female ghost in the ghost painting.
“I was right,” Zhou Shiyue said in a low voice.
"Does Your Highness want this zither?" Qinglin peeked out.