shizi (世子): means “heir son“, referring to the heir apparent of qinwang

qinwang: means a prince of first rank or a prince of blood

“Of course not! I have always kept my promises. Since you’ve won, this Jiaowei Yangqin is yours!” Qin Yuyuan calmly replied, a hint of arrogance in her eyes: It’s just a Jiaowei Yangqin, I can afford to lose that.

“Many thanks, Princess Qin!” Murong Xue said; her small hands touched the broken strings. She raised a brow and said: “All the strings are broken, even if I did bring it home, I can’t play it…….”

“You can always buy new strings to replace them. After that, you can play it again.” Ouyang Shaochen gently replied as he approached her.

Murong Xue frowned: “Jiaowei Yangqin is a famous classical Yangqin. Normal strings wouldn’t suit it. Even if I played with normal strings, the sound would be awful…….”

Gazing at her gloomy face, Ouyang Shaochen’s eyes lit with humour and he calmly said: “I know of a professional Yangqin maker, I could ask him if he has any strings for a Jiaowei Yangqin!”

“Thank you very much Ouyang shizi!” Murong Xue exclaimed, her expression brightening. Jiaowei Yangqin was a rare kind and she had won it with much effort. It would be a shame if there were no suitable strings for it. If there were, she could get it fixed up and take it out anytime to taunt Qin Yuyuan.

Looking at her radiant smile, the corner of Ouyang Shaochen’s mouth curled into a smile. His eyes shone with a gentle and affectionate gleam.

In which, all of this made Qin Yuyuan’s expression turned sour:

In her opinion, Ouyang Shaochen was an elegant and serious man. When he was in the northern Mongolian deserts, her father, who was the king, sent for him. He wore an icy, distant demeanour when he met her father. So why was he so friendly and amiable when he was talking to Murong Xue? Moreover, he displayed such a heart-warming smile to her.

Isn’t Murong Xue the girl that Yichen (Prince Jing) abandoned, the one who is destined to be Qin palace’s future concubine? Then isn’t Ouyang Shaochen supposed to despise and be disgusted by her……..?

“Princess, why is your complexion so pale? Are you feeling okay?” a clear voice broke her deep thoughts.

Qin Yuyuan frowned and replied in an impatient tone, “Oh it’s nothing! Maybe it’s because I’m too tired!”

The resentment in her eyes quickly vaporized but Murong Xue had already seen it.

She smirked and said, “Princess Qin, you must have exerted too much energy in the playing. Waiter, is my order done? Serve some of it over to Princess Qin to let her regain her energy!”

Murong Xue is just trying to ridicule me! Saying that I had drained my energy playing and yet, I have lost to her!

Qin Yuyuan shot an icy glare at Murong Xue’s direction.

Murong Xue pretended not to see it and slowly walked towards the railing. Looking at the dining hall, she said, “Storekeeper, please calculate the damages done to the walls, railings, wooden doors, banisters and send the bill to the Zhen Manor.”

She didn’t have the habit of bringing silver coins with her. She could only let them claim it at the palace.

“Much thanks, Miss Murong!” The storepkeeper’s eyes shone.

The battle had been fierce and the many assets destroyed in the process were invaluable. However, one was the princess of the deserts and the other was the young miss of the influential Zhen Manor; both were of high social status. He did not dare to ask for compensation for the fear of provoking them!

‘Storekeeper you’re welcome, as the things were destroyed by me, it is by nature to compensate you!’ Murong Xue smiled gently then went down while carrying her Yangqin.

Everyone parted a way for her, while looking at her with eyes full of appreciation, noble and polite, knowing how to give and take, she is worthy of her status of being the Zhen Manor’s young miss, unlike the person in the blue booth, gave a bad attitude even after destroying properties.

Qin Yuyuan’s expression became stiffed, a cunning look flashed through her eyes, when her first music kill trick spoiled the walls, she had thought to compensate the storekeeper, taking the advantage to illustrate her own gentleness and dignity.

Never thought that, Murong Xue would win, this send her mind into chaos, temporary neglected this incident that gave Murong Xue the opportunity to lead: ‘The things in Moon Establishment(what was previously known as Yueyang Resturaunt), I have destroyed the most, its more appropriate for me to compensation!’

Murong Xue stopped her footsteps, raised her head and look towards the blue booth, smiled while saying: “Princess Qin has lost her Jiaowei Yangqin, how could I still let you spend; Let me pay for the compensation!’

Qin Yuyuan’s polite smile immediately froze; the anger in her eyes could almost inflate: She is taunting me again! It is so hateful!

Murong Xue turned a blind eye, unhurriedly spoke: “Princess Qin, I have other appointment, therefore I will leave first, see you soon!”

She gave a wavelike posture towards Qin Yuyuan’s direction, Murong Xue leisurely walked out of Moon Establishment, the beautiful sunlight shined on her body, unexplainably warm and comfortable, the corner of her lips tilted up:

Qin Yuyuan’s cunning trick did not gave her a lesson, but in turn humiliated herself, even losing her most beloved Yangqin, she must be enraged, by my continuous act of taunting her, would definitely explode her lungs by rage.

“Is the Yangqin heavy?” a clear voice sounded out, Ouyang Shao Chen walked leisurely over.

Murong Xue came back from her thoughts immediately, lightly nodded her head: “It is quite heavy!” her shoulders have started to ache even though she had carried it for only a few minutes.

“Let me help you.” Ouyang Shaochen lightly said.

“I have to trouble you then!” Murong Xue blinked her eyes, then passed on the Yangqin to Ouyang Shaochen, the distance to Zhen Manor is not short, by the time she carries the Yangqin home, both her shoulders would be extremely sore till she couldn’t lift it up, Ouyang Shao Chen’s martial arts are admirable, carrying the Yangqin would be easy compare to her.

Ouyang Shaochen took over the Yangqin, and passed it behind.

While Murong Xue doubts, she only saw a young man in white suddenly appeared, took over the Yangqin and easily handled it.

Mu Rong Xue blinked her eyes hardly, and yet she still sees a man holding a Yangqin, slowly lifting his head, with sharped eyes, delicate facial features, and a slight arrogance is entangled in between his eyebrows.

So this is the dark guardian as mentioned in the legends? They really appear out of nowhere! And in this bright, sunny day, where could they hide?

A white sleeve drifted into her vision, blocking her view. Gazing upwards, she saw that she was looking into the fathomless eyes of Ouyang Shaochen, his pupils reflected her silhouette: “What are you looking at?”

Murong Xue broke her gaze and her eyes swept from side to side: “Nothing. Is he your bodyguard?”

Ouyang Shaochen calmly said yes and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to move forward: After Xun Feng (the bodyguard of Ouyang Shaochen) appeared, her gaze was fixed intently on him, and she didn’t even bother to look at him. Was Xun Feng better-looking than him?

Murong Xue’s focus was on the bodyguard and nothing else. Eagerly, she asked, “Your highness, what is your bodyguard’s name?”

“…………….”

“How long has he been with you?”

“…………….”

Why did she keep enquiring about Xun Feng? Was Xun Feng more attractive than him?

Ouyang Shaochen turned and lightly raised his brow at Xun Feng.

It was like an invisible force that was pressuring Xun Feng. He trembled and secretly sighed inside his heart, Your highness, this has nothing to do with me!

The corner of Ouyang Shaochen’s eye observed that Murong Xue was about to ask more questions about his bodyguard. His expression turned slightly downcasted and coldly he said, “We’ve arrived at the Zhen Manor!”

Editor’s note: For those of you confused, Ouyang Shaochen is referred in the raws as shizi, which means royal highness in English. Ouyang Shaochen is part of the imperial clan, meaning his father is related to the emperor in some way (most likely his brother). Though he is referred to as prince, he is not the son of the emperor, but his father does hold an important position in the Imperial clan. (The Chinese peerage system is extremely complicated and very different than the European monarchy system.) Also, to clear the confusion, there was a mistake in the previous translations, Murong Xue is the young miss of the Zhen Manor, not a princess.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please comment and I’ll try to answer it the best of my ability.