“Perhaps Uncle Beigong will never see you again, Nianlang. Can you promise Uncle Beigong one thing?” Beigong Minhao’s eyes darkened as he looked at Ji Wushang with tenderness and reluctance.
"Uncle Beigong, just say it, Nianlang promises you!"
“Take good care of your mother. If anything happens and she can’t handle it, notify Uncle Beigong. Uncle Beigong will come to help!” Beigong Minhao’s gaze returned to Ji Wushang. “If… if your mother is feeling down, you must stop her, give her warmth, and tell her that there will always be someone in this world waiting for her and protecting her in the darkness.”
Ji Wushang turned his face away.
I will no longer look at anyone.
Bei Gongminhao smiled. Fortunately, the banquet was filled with laughter and music. Although some people were paying attention to him and Ji Wushang, very few people could hear him speak, unless they had superior internal strength.
Huangfu Jun'an nodded seriously, "Nianlang will remember."
Bei Gong Minhao smiled again, "Very good." He raised the wine glass in front of him and looked at Ji Wushang, "Princess Wushang, Minhao toasts you."
"Thank you, Prince Zhenbei!" Ji Wushang turned his head, picked up the wine cup in front of him, glanced at him, forced a smile, and then drank the wine in his mouth.
Beigong Minhao's thin lips curved into a deeper smile as he drank the wine in his mouth.
Tuoba Heyan was extremely displeased. His deep obsidian eyes stared at Ji Wushang. Yes, he had heard everything they were talking about! If he wanted to hear it, he could hear everything everyone at the table was saying!
This woman, at least, is practically married to me, right? But that damned Prince Zhenbei, how could he use the child like this! So blatantly expressing his love, even Buddha would be furious!
That's my woman, okay? Her ex-husband's death doesn't matter! But I'm alive! I'm her husband! Why should I tell him just because I'm so upset? If I'm so upset, I'd rather stab Princess Wushang than let Huangfu Jun'an report anything!
Hmph! Tuoba Heyan picked up the wine cup in front of him and drank it down.
Fan Lixue seemed to sense Tuoba Heyan's displeasure, but not knowing the reason, she stepped forward and poured wine into the cup in front of him. "Your Majesty, please drink." Her voice was both charming and sweet, each one more seductive than the last!
Tuoba Heyan glanced coldly at Fan Lixue, picked up the wine cup, and poured it into her mouth. "Drink it, my beloved consort!"
“Your Majesty.” Fan Lixue paused for a moment, then said coquettishly.
"Don't make me say it again!" Tuoba Heyan's lips almost twitched. Fan Lixue felt fear in her heart and immediately picked up her cup and drank it.
Tuoba Heyan snorted coldly and turned to look at Ji Wushang and Beigong Minhao. At this moment, Beigong Minhao was playing with Huangfu Jun'an, and they were getting along very well!
Tuoba Heyan looked at Ji Wushang, but Ji Wushang didn't show much expression, his eyes always fixed on Huangfu Junan.
For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if the three of them were a family!
Pain—at that moment, it pierced Tuoba Heyan's heart deeply!
Why do I feel this way?
Tuoba Heyan's eyes were deep at this moment. He looked at Ji Wushang, and then at Beigong Minhao. "It seems that I have not yet formally appointed Princess Wushang? Hehe, I am really too forgetful!"
Upon hearing this, Ji Wushang's face turned pale. Appointment, appointment... After the appointment, she would become his concubine, and then if he named her, she would have to serve him!
No, I don't want this outcome!
Ji Wushang's emotions immediately became chaotic. She looked at Beigong Minhao in panic, realizing that her only option now was to seek his help!
But what could Bei Gongminhao do? His mission was to escort her to this place and make her the concubine of the high and mighty Tuoba Heyan! To push the woman he loved into the arms of another man!
Bei Gongminhao felt a chill run through his body. He looked at Ji Wushang, whose eyes were pleading and helpless as she looked at him. Then, her eyes began to turn to disappointment.
Beigong Minhao seemed to have been silenced, unable to utter a single word!
Tuoba Heyan watched Ji Wushang's complex expressions, from panic to anticipation, and finally, disappointment! He was certain that he would soon see despair on her face!
"She shall be formally appointed as Consort Ji." Tuoba Heyan's lips curled up. "Is Princess Wushang satisfied with this title?" The title does not represent a form of address, so Tuoba Heyan still addressed Ji Wushang as Princess. The title, however, was given by him and was merely a statement of their relationship.
This is, of course, for show! How could I let anyone covet what's mine! Even if I don't want it myself, I can't just leave it there and give it to someone else!
"Wu Shang, Wu Shang thanks Your Majesty!" Ji Wu Shang gritted her teeth, her eyes looking at Tuoba He Yan. At this moment, Tuoba He Yan's eyes ignited with excitement. He looked at Ji Wu Shang, seeing her resentment, but in his heart, there was a hidden joy.
Bei Gongminhao gritted his teeth and looked at Huangfu Jun'an, "My dear Nianlang."
Huangfu Jun'an turned to look at Ji Wushang, then turned to look at Beigong Minhao, "Uncle Beigong, Nianlang wants to go back to his mother's side. His mother is so sad again..." Huangfu Jun'an lowered his head.
Bei Gongminhao closed his eyes. "Go!" Only Huangfu Jun'an could comfort her.
Huangfu Jun'an walked shakily toward Ji Wushang. Due to his illness, Huangfu Jun'an was already two years old, but he still could not walk steadily.
Huangfu Jun'an walked up to Ji Wushang and hugged Ji Wushang's leg, "Mother, Mother, Mother!"
Ji Wushang snapped out of her daze, forced a smile, and picked up Huangfu Jun'an, saying, "Mother is here."
"Mother, don't be sad, don't be sad." Huangfu Jun'an snuggled into Ji Wushang's arms, and Ji Wushang gently patted Huangfu Jun'an's back. "It's okay, Mother isn't sad."
The scene of the investiture seemed like a minor episode, not affecting many people's emotions. Ji Wushang's eyes trembled slightly as he forced back his tears.
Didn't I already prepare myself? Why am I still experiencing tears, heartache, and sorrow?
Tuoba Heyan seemed to be in a good mood. He poured himself a glass of wine, drank it, then poured himself another glass and drank that too.
"I have heard that Princess Wushang is exceptionally talented, and that she even played a piece on her way to Qingzhao, which has been widely praised by the locals and is known as the 'Song of Wushang.' I wonder if the princess would do me the honor of playing a piece for me? How about playing this 'Song of Wushang'?" Tuoba Heyan sneered as he looked at Beigong Minhao and then at Ji Wushang.
Bei Gongminhao was instantly filled with rage. Tuoba Heyan had actually made Ji Wushang play a piece in front of so many people—was he comparing her to those courtesans? And what's more, it was "The Song of No Sorrow"! He had no idea how sorrowful that song was, capable of stirring up Ji Wushang's deepest heartbreak! It was tantamount to pushing Ji Wushang to the brink of despair! She had finally managed to smile a little more with Huangfu Jun'an—whether it was a bitter smile or a fake one! But now, it was reopening Ji Wushang's wounds!
"Absolutely not!" Bei Gongminhao immediately stood up. "Princess Wushang is of noble birth; how can she play for so many people in this grand hall? Moreover, this piece... it will cause injury..."
"Prince Zhenbei." Ji Wushang's eyes were filled with tears, but she held them back. She looked at Beigong Minhao with gratitude. "Prince Zhenbei, please sit down. Wushang is willing to play 'Wushang Melody'!" Her face was filled with anger, and then she looked at Tuoba Heyan. She would never forget the pain this man had caused her!
"Please have someone from Your Majesty's palace come to my maidservant and bring the mute zither over," Ji Wushang said coldly.
Meanwhile, An Su and Fan Lixue felt indignant that Ji Wushang was about to perform in front of Tuoba Heyan, but seeing her resentful face, they felt a sense of pleasure.
It seems the king utterly despises this Princess Wushang! His furious expression is more captivating than anything else!
"Give her her request!" Tuoba Heyan waved his hand.
Immediately, the singing and dancing stopped, and a carpet was placed in the main hall with a zither stand and cushions on it.
Ji Wushang took a deep breath and was about to place Huangfu Jun'an on his own seat, but Huangfu Jun'an reached out and stroked Ji Wushang's cheek, "Mother, don't cry. Nianlang has grown up and won't let these people get away with it!"
Ji Wushang forced a smile, said nothing, put him down, and walked out.
Huangfu Jun'an glared coldly at Tuoba Heyan, who sat high on the throne. This was the uncle she had thought was a good person! But what a load of rubbish! He had even made her mother cry! And now he wanted her to play the zither!
snort!
Huangfu Jun'an snorted coldly, and all of this fell into Tuoba Heyan's eyes. Tuoba Heyan smiled coldly and didn't care.
At this moment, Hongfei was led in by a palace maid carrying a silent zither. After bowing, she walked towards Ji Wushang, "Princess...you, you..."
"I'm fine." Ji Wushang smiled coldly, but it was as fleeting as the beautiful moment of a night-blooming cereus.
With tears streaming down her face, Hong Fei placed the silent zither on the zither stand, and Ji Wushang sat down on the cushion.
Hongfei reluctantly withdrew with tears in her eyes.
Everyone had already sat up straight.
Tuoba Heyan put down the wine cup in front of him and his gaze fell on Ji Wushang.
Ji Wushang lowered her eyes slightly, placed her slender jade hand on the zither strings, and tuned the strings with a "whoosh".
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Ji Wushang.
"Is this a mute zither? How can Princess Wushang play it?"
"I've heard that the Silent Zither is a national treasure of the Western Regions. Back then, Princess Muchen of the Western Regions brought it to the Great Xia Zhou Dynasty, and no one could play it except Princess Wushang! Is this the Silent Zither now?"
"Yes, I've heard about it too. It seems it's true!"
"A national treasure of the Western Regions, extremely rare!"
...
Ji Wushang ignored what those people were saying, placed his hands on the strings, gently plucked them, and a suppressed, low-pitched melody began to play.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. What kind of feeling was this? Heart-wrenching!
Ji Wushang raised her head slightly, looking into the distance. Her eyes began to fill with tears, gradually becoming empty.
Her cherry lips trembled as she began to sing:
“
The journey of a mile is the hardest to part from; so sad and miserable, whose family is grieving, and who is it that is speaking of this sorrow?
Longing for home is short, but longing is long; at the end of longing, the whole city is filled with it.
Shattered into butterflies, dreams turned to sorrow.
The fragrance of iris is most intense, its aroma mingling with the scent of camphor trees. Amidst the twilight and nightly solitude, a bitter sorrow lingers.
Discard this brocade, then that satin; at the end of the brocade, blood-red lotus blossoms.
Blood lotus blossoms and white hair appears.
Three miles of sky, the most thought-provoking, grudges and resentments, short life, wasted years.
My heart is with you, my love; may your soul forever accompany me.
The love between the infatuated couple is tender and enduring.
The sorrow of the four miles is most profound, the pain of half a day is most intense, the flowers shed tears, in the blink of an eye, the mortal world is shattered.
Reincarnation is a matter of shallow or deep karmic connection; destiny binds us together, leaving no room for turning back.
A sense of desolation rises in my heart in the blink of an eye.
Five miles of sighs, most poignant is the question posed to Heaven, for loneliness and desolation accompany the departing, lonely letter page after page, yet my heart finds no solace.
Strangers on the road, what night will come again? We've cultivated this life to continue into the next.
What a waste of youthful affection!
Dreams are hard to come by, may they eavesdrop? No answer, only the laughter of withered flowers.
Your smile is flawless, yet it has turned into the ends of the earth.
Is there any recourse in the face of death? Endless longing, endless memories.
She wept as she married, her life ending in emptiness, like a withered, yellowed flower.
"
Ji Wushang's tears were bitter; they dripped down her cheeks and landed on the strings of the zither, making a soft, ripple-like sound that made the listener feel even more sorrowful!
Those around felt a deep sorrow. Some sentimental ministers couldn't help but wipe away tears from the corners of their eyes with their sleeves, while Beigong Minhao listened to the mournful song and saw her sitting there like a weeping person, still plucking the strings of her zither, tears streaming down her face.
Tuoba Heyan stared blankly at Ji Wushang, he was shocked by her.
I felt a deep sense of regret and sorrow, a feeling I had never experienced before... Perhaps it was a terrible mistake to ask her to play such a piece; I had truly rubbed salt into her unhealed wounds.