After one song was played, the melody still lingered on in the air.
“It is exactly the legendary guqin,” Dongfang Lingyun exclaimed.
Mu Qianhua replied with a smile," My Lord, you have come to my Restaurant 22 times this month, and asked me to play this guqin all the same. It seems that you really love it."
"You need me to be the patron of this restaurant, and I come here to enjoy the brilliant tune nearly every day. We only take what we need," However, the Dongfang Lingyun suddenly continued," Of course, I don't like to force on others. If you feel it troublesome to play for me, you might as well sell it to me at any price."
Mu Qianhua said with a radiant smile, "Zhubo is not an ordinary musical instrument to me. I won't sell it at any price. In spite of your insistence, I won’t settle for your bargain. This restaurant is open to everyone. You come here every day, and I have no excuse to refuse to serve you. This is a good business to me."
"Oh, penny wise."
"You are such a spendthrift," replied Mu Qianhua, laughing gracefully.
"You! ..." Dongfang Lingyun found that this woman who always choked him up was not easy to deal with. No matter what term he put forward, she just refused to sell the guqin. He had coveted it for a long time and strongly believed that Bai Xiao wouldn’t stalemate with him any longer, and he could get the guqin soon.
Mu Qianhua said, "I know that Princess Wude came from the Cold Night Empire to marry you. But, now you indulged in melody and wine nearly every day in my restaurant, Aren’t you afraid that this will hurt the princess?"
Dongfang Lingyun sneered," I have nothing to do with her concern. She is not my fiancée any longer, and it is known that she will marry Prince Ruiyin. Though I’ve never seen her, I think there is no need to see such a tacky princess after hearing all the rumours."
Mu Qianhua was not irritated at all but to take up a cup of tea, saying "Although Princess Wude is not known as a decent lady, she is still an unmarried lady. She came all the way to marry you. You’ve gone too far. Aren’t you afraid to infuriate the Cold Night Empire?"
Dongfang Lingyun raised his eyebrow and replied," Dare the empire launch an attack for the princess? If they come, I will smash them into pieces and ruin their homeland."
"Oh, seriously? I will remember all your words." Mu Qianhua smiled slightly but mysteriously, and continued, "Have you heard of a saying ’disaster emanates from careless talk?’ You’d better not to say anything like these. This is for your own good."
"You seem to talk with the tongue in the cheek." Dongfang Lingyun frowned.
Mu Qianhua just laughed, "Never mind. I tell you these for your own sake."
"Well, you’d better hone your acting skills first, and then think for me." Dongfang Lingyun did not believe in her words.
Mu Qianhua smiled silently, and contended, “Oh, my good will goes wasted again.”
At the moment, there came a knocking at the door, and a voice said, "My master, may I come in?"
"Yes, please."
Qing Ying came in, and went straight to Mu Qianhua.
"How rude is your guard! Hmm, How dare she ignore me? " Dongfang Lingyun was rebuking Qing Ying, but looked up at Mu Qianhua.
Obviously, Dongfang Lingyun was quite annoyed as he had just lost the battle of arguing. It was her first time to see the general get angry with such a trifle. She shot Qing Ying a warning glance and said, "Since the general cares so much about your greeting, you should come and greet our great general first."
Qing Ying knew that her master was trying to irritate the general, so she respectfully paid her respect to him. Then, she came close to Mu Qianhua, whispering something in her ears, and the look on Mu Qianhua's face changed a little.
"Are you sure?"
"I can’t handle the problem, so I come to report this to you, my master."
"What's the matter?" Judging from the complexions of Qing Ying and Mu Qianhua, Dongfang Lingyun scented out that something had happened.
But Mu Qianhua smiled at him," It's not a big deal. I will go and handle it. I think the sunflower seeds and tea in our restaurant are enough for you to enjoy. Excuse me for a few minutes.”
Then, she turned to Qing Ying and said, “let's go.”
"Hey, Bai Xiao..." Seeing they leave in a hurry, Dongfang Lingyun felt a little annoyed, doubting what the lady thought, what made her so anxious that she could leave him alone in the chamber. He commanded in hot temper to serve him another plate of sunflower seeds!"
Suddenly, A thin man jumped off the beam of the chamber, whose smile looked like a warm sun in summer. He was curious to see the gloomy face of the general.
"Sir, are you loath to part with Miss Bai?"
"Nonsense! I just want to have some sunflower seeds!" Dongfang Lingyun rolled his eyes.
"But you didn't like eating seeds…"
"I want some suddenly, can't I? Should I tell you what I like to eat?
"No, no, no... I just think it's better for you to eat less as too many seeds will make you lose the balance of energy and health in the early spring.
"Xue Sha!" Dongfang Lingyun slapped the table and said," Are you the master or me?"
"You are always my lord." Xue Sha held his breath in a hurry, thinking the general was moodier than before.
Besides, after leaving the restaurant, Mu Qianhua and Qing Ying went straight to the posthouse.
"Did the General Han really say that he would break into the palace of the Dark Night Empire to reason with Dongfang Zhentian?"
Mu Qianhua jumped into the carriage which had parked in front of the door.
"Yes," after commanding the coachman to head for the posthouse, Qing Ying followed Mu Qianhua into the carriage and continued, "On the wedding day, Dongfang Lingyun refused the princess, which made you a laughingstock of the whole Cold Night Empire. You can endure such a humiliation, but General Han and all his men are hotblood. They are entrusted with the mission to escort Your Highness to Dark Night Empire, but to meet with the cold refusal. Then, when they know the Emperor commands you to marriage Prince Duanyin, they get raged, exclaiming to rash into the palace and asking for justice.
"So childish!" Mu Qianhua rubbed his eyebrows, and added, "Is the palace so easy to break in? Is the wily emperor so easy to deal with? Once they break into the palace, the relations between the two empires would break. I don’t reject the emperor because I want to find a way to refuse the engagement without damaging the relations. They will make nothing but more troubles!"
"I had also wanted to persuade General Han to calm down, but he didn't listen to me at all, so I went to ask for your help." What happened in the posthouse this morning set Qing Ying in great anxiety. If there came conflict or even turmoil, princess would be thrown into more awful predicament.
As soon as she entered the posthouse, Mu Qianhua took off her veil and went straight to the main hall. Qing Ying said that she had temporarily detained General Han in the hall with the token given by the emperor, and all the affairs were waiting for Mu Qianhua to settle.
When Mu Qianhua entered the hall, General Han and several deputy generals were there. Seeing their princess come back, they all stood up for greeting.
"Your highness!"
"Take your seat, please. " Mu Qianhua ordered all to sit down.
General Han said gloomily," Well. We, with the imperial orders, came all the long way to escort your highness to marry and make peace with the Dark Night Empire. However, Dongfang Lingyun pushed us too far and refused you without any excuse. Today, we went to his mansion to get reason with him. But, unexpectedly, he closed the door! I nearly got mad at that!"
Mu Qianhua was a little shocked and asked, "Do you really get reason with Dongfang Lingyun?"
"Yes, we can’t settle for this and want to ask him whether our princess can’t match with him and how he can humiliate you in such a way! … However, Dongfang Lingyun didn’t open the door." The more General Han said, the more rage he flew into.
Mu Qianhua thought, “Well, of course you can’t meet him ...No wonder, he came to Qian Jin Restaurant early in the morning. It turns out that he doesn’t want to be confronted with General Han.
"General Han, take it easy." Seeing all in anger, Mu Qianhua said, "Now we are in the Dark Night Empire. And such changes are out of our expectations. My brother is busy dealing with national affairs every day, and we should not make him worry about the marriage. Since I am the eldest princess of the Cold Night Empire, it is my responsibility to promote the good relations between the two empires. General Pingyan is unwilling to marry me. But, fortunately, the emperor of the Dark Night Empire grants me another marriage, which will not affect the relations between the two empires. You should calm down first. To act on impulse can bring nothing but unfathomable abyss. We should not concern over ourselves, bu tens of millions of people in Cold Night Empire. They can't get caught up in the war just because of me. It is true that Dark Night Emperor makes a rash decision to grant me another marriage, and I won’t forget the humiliation. Trust me. I am the princess of the Cold Night Empire. Anyone who dares to humiliate our Cold Night Empire will never be forgiven.
"What’s your plan, your highness? " asks General Han.
"I will settle all of these. Calm down, please. I will give you an explanation soon."
Everyone looked at each other, and finally General Han stepped forward and said," Since the princess has said that, I will do as you command."
Mu Qianhua smiled and replied." Thanks for your understanding."
"Your Highness, I was not considerate previously. You can take the key point as the priority after receiving such a humiliation. We all appreciate your wisdom and patience!" said the general, and he saluted Mu Qianhua politely.
Previously, in the Cold Night Empire, the court officials were not allowed to enter the imperial harem. General Han just heard of this princess. Along his escort of her marriage, he had no chance to have a look at the princess as she were not allowed to reveal herself out of Wedding Gharry. Hearing these, he thought that the princess was not a simple-mined lady.
Mu Qianhua replied a smile, "General dares to express your love and hate directly. In this empire, you still stick up for me. I should give my appreciation to you. Now, you can have a rest."
"Yes, Your Highness." General Han, with his men, steps off the hall.
"It is your words that they follow! Just now, I exerted all my efforts but failed to persuade them." Qing Ying said.
Mu Qianhua shook her head helplessly, exclaiming, " My words won’t make effect forever. General Han is an impulsive man. I really don't know how long he can endure. I have to get them go back to Cold Night Empire first. Otherwise, I wouldn’t leave off when time is available."
With the trouble settled, Mu Qianhua went to the south of the city with Qing Ying. On the eve of leaving off Cold Night Empire, the Empress Dowager, who had been indifferent to her, suddenly came to her Qing Yang Palace and told her that she would be alone when she went to the Dark Night Empire, and if she encountered any trouble there or had something to be delivered back to the Cold Night Empire, she could go to the Yibai Store in the south of the city to ask a man, named Lu Yuebai, for help.
"Qing Ying, who is Lu Yuebai? Have you ever heard of him?" asks Mu Qianhua.
This name was so strange to her and she would never forget any name if she heard of it.
After one song was played, the melody still lingered on in the air.
“It is exactly the legendary guqin,” Dongfang Lingyun exclaimed.
Mu Qianhua replied with a smile," My Lord, you have come to my Restaurant 22 times this month, and asked me to play this guqin all the same. It seems that you really love it."
"You need me to be the patron of this restaurant, and I come here to enjoy the brilliant tune nearly every day. We only take what we need," However, the Dongfang Lingyun suddenly continued," Of course, I don't like to force on others. If you feel it troublesome to play for me, you might as well sell it to me at any price."
Mu Qianhua said with a radiant smile, "Zhubo is not an ordinary musical instrument to me. I won't sell it at any price. In spite of your insistence, I won’t settle for your bargain. This restaurant is open to everyone. You come here every day, and I have no excuse to refuse to serve you. This is a good business to me."
"Oh, penny wise."
"You are such a spendthrift," replied Mu Qianhua, laughing gracefully.
"You! ..." Dongfang Lingyun found that this woman who always choked him up was not easy to deal with. No matter what term he put forward, she just refused to sell the guqin. He had coveted it for a long time and strongly believed that Bai Xiao wouldn’t stalemate with him any longer, and he could get the guqin soon.
Mu Qianhua said, "I know that Princess Wude came from the Cold Night Empire to marry you. But, now you indulged in melody and wine nearly every day in my restaurant, Aren’t you afraid that this will hurt the princess?"
Dongfang Lingyun sneered," I have nothing to do with her concern. She is not my fiancée any longer, and it is known that she will marry Prince Ruiyin. Though I’ve never seen her, I think there is no need to see such a tacky princess after hearing all the rumours."
Mu Qianhua was not irritated at all but to take up a cup of tea, saying "Although Princess Wude is not known as a decent lady, she is still an unmarried lady. She came all the way to marry you. You’ve gone too far. Aren’t you afraid to infuriate the Cold Night Empire?"
Dongfang Lingyun raised his eyebrow and replied," Dare the empire launch an attack for the princess? If they come, I will smash them into pieces and ruin their homeland."
"Oh, seriously? I will remember all your words." Mu Qianhua smiled slightly but mysteriously, and continued, "Have you heard of a saying ’disaster emanates from careless talk?’ You’d better not to say anything like these. This is for your own good."
"You seem to talk with the tongue in the cheek." Dongfang Lingyun frowned.
Mu Qianhua just laughed, "Never mind. I tell you these for your own sake."
"Well, you’d better hone your acting skills first, and then think for me." Dongfang Lingyun did not believe in her words.
Mu Qianhua smiled silently, and contended, “Oh, my good will goes wasted again.”
At the moment, there came a knocking at the door, and a voice said, "My master, may I come in?"
"Yes, please."
Qing Ying came in, and went straight to Mu Qianhua.
"How rude is your guard! Hmm, How dare she ignore me? " Dongfang Lingyun was rebuking Qing Ying, but looked up at Mu Qianhua.
Obviously, Dongfang Lingyun was quite annoyed as he had just lost the battle of arguing. It was her first time to see the general get angry with such a trifle. She shot Qing Ying a warning glance and said, "Since the general cares so much about your greeting, you should come and greet our great general first."
Qing Ying knew that her master was trying to irritate the general, so she respectfully paid her respect to him. Then, she came close to Mu Qianhua, whispering something in her ears, and the look on Mu Qianhua's face changed a little.
"Are you sure?"
"I can’t handle the problem, so I come to report this to you, my master."
"What's the matter?" Judging from the complexions of Qing Ying and Mu Qianhua, Dongfang Lingyun scented out that something had happened.
But Mu Qianhua smiled at him," It's not a big deal. I will go and handle it. I think the sunflower seeds and tea in our restaurant are enough for you to enjoy. Excuse me for a few minutes.”
Then, she turned to Qing Ying and said, “let's go.”
"Hey, Bai Xiao..." Seeing they leave in a hurry, Dongfang Lingyun felt a little annoyed, doubting what the lady thought, what made her so anxious that she could leave him alone in the chamber. He commanded in hot temper to serve him another plate of sunflower seeds!"
Suddenly, A thin man jumped off the beam of the chamber, whose smile looked like a warm sun in summer. He was curious to see the gloomy face of the general.
"Sir, are you loath to part with Miss Bai?"
"Nonsense! I just want to have some sunflower seeds!" Dongfang Lingyun rolled his eyes.
"But you didn't like eating seeds…"
"I want some suddenly, can't I? Should I tell you what I like to eat?
"No, no, no... I just think it's better for you to eat less as too many seeds will make you lose the balance of energy and health in the early spring.
"Xue Sha!" Dongfang Lingyun slapped the table and said," Are you the master or me?"
"You are always my lord." Xue Sha held his breath in a hurry, thinking the general was moodier than before.
Besides, after leaving the restaurant, Mu Qianhua and Qing Ying went straight to the posthouse.
"Did the General Han really say that he would break into the palace of the Dark Night Empire to reason with Dongfang Zhentian?"
Mu Qianhua jumped into the carriage which had parked in front of the door.
"Yes," after commanding the coachman to head for the posthouse, Qing Ying followed Mu Qianhua into the carriage and continued, "On the wedding day, Dongfang Lingyun refused the princess, which made you a laughingstock of the whole Cold Night Empire. You can endure such a humiliation, but General Han and all his men are hotblood. They are entrusted with the mission to escort Your Highness to Dark Night Empire, but to meet with the cold refusal. Then, when they know the Emperor commands you to marriage Prince Duanyin, they get raged, exclaiming to rash into the palace and asking for justice.
"So childish!" Mu Qianhua rubbed his eyebrows, and added, "Is the palace so easy to break in? Is the wily emperor so easy to deal with? Once they break into the palace, the relations between the two empires would break. I don’t reject the emperor because I want to find a way to refuse the engagement without damaging the relations. They will make nothing but more troubles!"
"I had also wanted to persuade General Han to calm down, but he didn't listen to me at all, so I went to ask for your help." What happened in the posthouse this morning set Qing Ying in great anxiety. If there came conflict or even turmoil, princess would be thrown into more awful predicament.
As soon as she entered the posthouse, Mu Qianhua took off her veil and went straight to the main hall. Qing Ying said that she had temporarily detained General Han in the hall with the token given by the emperor, and all the affairs were waiting for Mu Qianhua to settle.
When Mu Qianhua entered the hall, General Han and several deputy generals were there. Seeing their princess come back, they all stood up for greeting.
"Your highness!"
"Take your seat, please. " Mu Qianhua ordered all to sit down.
General Han said gloomily," Well. We, with the imperial orders, came all the long way to escort your highness to marry and make peace with the Dark Night Empire. However, Dongfang Lingyun pushed us too far and refused you without any excuse. Today, we went to his mansion to get reason with him. But, unexpectedly, he closed the door! I nearly got mad at that!"
Mu Qianhua was a little shocked and asked, "Do you really get reason with Dongfang Lingyun?"
"Yes, we can’t settle for this and want to ask him whether our princess can’t match with him and how he can humiliate you in such a way! … However, Dongfang Lingyun didn’t open the door." The more General Han said, the more rage he flew into.
Mu Qianhua thought, “Well, of course you can’t meet him ...No wonder, he came to Qian Jin Restaurant early in the morning. It turns out that he doesn’t want to be confronted with General Han.
"General Han, take it easy." Seeing all in anger, Mu Qianhua said, "Now we are in the Dark Night Empire. And such changes are out of our expectations. My brother is busy dealing with national affairs every day, and we should not make him worry about the marriage. Since I am the eldest princess of the Cold Night Empire, it is my responsibility to promote the good relations between the two empires. General Pingyan is unwilling to marry me. But, fortunately, the emperor of the Dark Night Empire grants me another marriage, which will not affect the relations between the two empires. You should calm down first. To act on impulse can bring nothing but unfathomable abyss. We should not concern over ourselves, bu tens of millions of people in Cold Night Empire. They can't get caught up in the war just because of me. It is true that Dark Night Emperor makes a rash decision to grant me another marriage, and I won’t forget the humiliation. Trust me. I am the princess of the Cold Night Empire. Anyone who dares to humiliate our Cold Night Empire will never be forgiven.
"What’s your plan, your highness? " asks General Han.
"I will settle all of these. Calm down, please. I will give you an explanation soon."
Everyone looked at each other, and finally General Han stepped forward and said," Since the princess has said that, I will do as you command."
Mu Qianhua smiled and replied." Thanks for your understanding."
"Your Highness, I was not considerate previously. You can take the key point as the priority after receiving such a humiliation. We all appreciate your wisdom and patience!" said the general, and he saluted Mu Qianhua politely.
Previously, in the Cold Night Empire, the court officials were not allowed to enter the imperial harem. General Han just heard of this princess. Along his escort of her marriage, he had no chance to have a look at the princess as she were not allowed to reveal herself out of Wedding Gharry. Hearing these, he thought that the princess was not a simple-mined lady.
Mu Qianhua replied a smile, "General dares to express your love and hate directly. In this empire, you still stick up for me. I should give my appreciation to you. Now, you can have a rest."
"Yes, Your Highness." General Han, with his men, steps off the hall.
"It is your words that they follow! Just now, I exerted all my efforts but failed to persuade them." Qing Ying said.
Mu Qianhua shook her head helplessly, exclaiming, " My words won’t make effect forever. General Han is an impulsive man. I really don't know how long he can endure. I have to get them go back to Cold Night Empire first. Otherwise, I wouldn’t leave off when time is available."
With the trouble settled, Mu Qianhua went to the south of the city with Qing Ying. On the eve of leaving off Cold Night Empire, the Empress Dowager, who had been indifferent to her, suddenly came to her Qing Yang Palace and told her that she would be alone when she went to the Dark Night Empire, and if she encountered any trouble there or had something to be delivered back to the Cold Night Empire, she could go to the Yibai Store in the south of the city to ask a man, named Lu Yuebai, for help.
"Qing Ying, who is Lu Yuebai? Have you ever heard of him?" asks Mu Qianhua.
This name was so strange to her and she would never forget any name if she heard of it.
