Chapter 192
Chapter 192
“Second Sister, what kind of man do you like?”
Shengsheng Zhou propped up her chin, looking perfectly serious.
The Second Princess gracefully lifted her teacup and took a sip. She glanced at the inquisitive Shengsheng, then at the Fifth Princess sitting silently beside her with lowered eyes.
She smiled. “More than that, I’m curious why Sixth Sister has made such a rare visit to my palace.”
Shengsheng blinked. “Of course I came to visit Second Sister.”
*Of course I came to visit Second Sister’s twelve exquisitely handsome lovers.*
A eunuch was just about to shout, “His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived,” when he caught sight of their handsome, distinguished Crown Prince suddenly stumbling for no apparent reason.
The eunuch: “…”
Had the Crown Prince just tripped over something invisible?
Weiqing Song: He really did thank her.
He knew Shengsheng could not possibly visit someone else’s home with good intentions!
“Crown Prince Brother.”
Sharp-eyed, the Second Princess spotted Weiqing and hurried down to salute him. The Fifth Princess followed close behind.
Only Shengsheng remained standing in place, staring at Weiqing as he stared back.
Weiqing: “…” Could she at least show him some respect in public?
Shengsheng belatedly came to her senses and bent her knees. “Oh. Imperial Brother, you’re here.”
*What happened? Did you divorce your storybooks?*
Weiqing told everyone to rise with a faint smile, then gazed at Shengsheng with perfect gentleness. “Old Six is here too.”
Shengsheng: “…”
No one else reacted. Apparently, Shengsheng alone understood the crushing humiliation of that damned nickname.
Looking at Weiqing’s flawless smile, Shengsheng wondered for an instant whether he knew what “Old Six” meant.
Then she instinctively rejected the absurd possibility.
A coincidence. It had to be a coincidence.
The Second Princess looked at the strange atmosphere between them in confusion and ventured, “What brought Crown Prince Brother to this imperial sister’s palace?”
Weiqing sat in the seat of honor and accepted tea from a palace maid. “Among the tribute a foreign state sent recently was an interesting object. Imperial Father thought Second Sister might like it, so I had it brought here.”
The Second Princess looked both flattered and shy. “A servant could have delivered such a thing. Why trouble Crown Prince Brother to come personally?”
Shengsheng keenly noticed that the Second Princess treated Weiqing very differently from the way she treated them.
She studied Weiqing in the seat of honor, looking as refined as a breeze through orchids and snow.
*Fine, I admit it. He’s my imperial brother, so naturally his looks are first-rate. But Second Princess, wake up! You share the same father! Incest is a hard no!*
Weiqing coughed. The Second Princess stepped forward in concern. “Crown Prince Brother, are you all right?”
Weiqing hurriedly shifted backward and coughed unnaturally. “I’m fine. Second Sister, there is no need to come closer.”
The Second Princess withdrew her hands in disappointment and looked at the man whose coughing had reddened the corners of his eyes.
Ah~ He was truly too handsome.
Her twelve lovers included every type, naturally including elegant gentlemen like him. But lovers were only lovers. Their bearing did not amount to one ten-thousandth of his, much less the aristocratic authority radiating from the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace.
Oh, he fascinated her to death.
Why did this man have to be her brother?!
She heard through private channels that a certain establishment in the capital had recently acquired a youth who closely resembled the Crown Prince. Bringing him into the palace was out of the question, but when an opportunity arose, this princess would personally investigate the truth.
Shengsheng Zhou glanced at Weiqing Song and wondered whether he had been unusually careless lately.
*You’re losing your touch, Imperial Brother. How can the Crown Prince conduct himself with so little composure?*
She even heaved a convincing sigh afterward, earning a puzzled glance from the Fifth Princess.
Inside his sleeve, Weiqing’s fist slowly clenched.
And whose fault was that?!
“Crown Prince Brother, what is this interesting object? Why haven’t they brought it in?” The Second Princess suddenly sensed that his mood might have worsened and hurriedly changed the subject.
Weiqing nodded. “Quite right. Carry in the item Imperial Father bestowed upon the Second Princess.”
Shengsheng noticed his choice of verb: *carry*.
The instant he finished speaking, four or five burly eunuchs entered carrying something covered by a curtain. They gently lowered it to the floor.
Even though they moved as carefully as possible, the enormous object still landed with an inevitably heavy sound.
The shape looked vaguely familiar to Shengsheng.
She seemed to have seen it somewhere before.
Then the eunuchs removed the covering, revealing a massive, somewhat cumbersome object that appeared utterly inconceivable to people of ancient times.
Shengsheng silently praised her frighteningly accurate sixth sense.
A piano.
It was not a modern piano with sleek lines, but a classical three-legged grand piano.
The Fifth Princess let out a small cry of surprise.
The Second Princess walked closer and studied it curiously. “What is this?”
Weiqing pointed at the black and white keys. “Second Sister, try pressing one.”
The Second Princess placed her index finger on a white key and pushed it down.
A remarkably clear, melodious note suddenly rang through the room.
The Second Princess’s eyes widened.
This gigantic object was actually a musical instrument!
“This…” Smiling, the Second Princess stroked the piano as though she could not bear to let go.
Only then did Shengsheng remember that while investigating the Second Princess, Suo Luo had mentioned the woman was a musical idiot.
A musical idiot.
Applied to her, those two words contained absolutely no praise.
As the name suggested, she loved music and had catastrophically little talent for it.
Listening to the demonic racket that practically pierced her eardrums, Shengsheng suddenly glanced at Weiqing.
It sounded this terrible. Why did he still look interested?
*Did you secretly go deaf behind my back, Imperial Brother?*
The smile on Weiqing’s lips did not change in the slightest, though a closer look would reveal a certain stiffness.
*Please shut up,* he thought silently.
At the Zhen Kingdom’s last banquet, every princess from the smaller nations could sing and dance. Why were the three princesses of his Zhen Kingdom each worse than the last?
There was the introverted, silent Fifth Princess; the Second Princess, playing as though she had produced some immortal masterpiece and looking intoxicated by it;
and, of course, Old Six, who had never given him a moment’s peace.
For the first time, Weiqing Song, Crown Prince and future ruler of this nation, felt profound concern for the Zhen Kingdom’s future.
When the piece ended, Shengsheng applauded.
Heaven itself was helping her.
The story was almost at the Plot Point where the female lead faced every kind of difficulty from the imperial harem during the Emperor’s birthday banquet, then performed a piece on an instrument no one had ever seen, stunning everyone and delivering a spectacular slap in the face.
Shengsheng had been worrying about how to exploit the damned requirement of an instrument no one had ever seen.
Oh, thank you, piano~
Shengsheng smiled with maternal benevolence.
The Second Princess shuddered.
Hmm? Who was plotting against this princess?