Chapter 19 Wind Crane: Damsel in distress

Although the gathering has ended, it was still early in the day, and most of the audience sat around to mingle.The attendants of Moonglade quickly served more wine and food, and bringing out their famous desserts for the crowd to enjoy.

Amidst the joyful crowd, Feng Luodi sat quietly, sipping the osmanthus wine in her cup, not in any mood to mingle. When Qi Jianqiu stood up to leave, excited to return and experiment with the inspiration gained from the deserts she just ate, Feng Luodi followed behind her. They quickly excused themselves to the owner of Moonglade, both eager to leave the place for different reasons. Just before she walked out of the door, Feng Luodi turned and saw Linglong performing a piece on the zither for the rest of the audience, a light smile playing on her lips, attractive but not seductive. Still, the most of the men in the crowd have their eyes fixated on her.

As Feng Luodi left the hall, Situ Muye downed the remaining wine in his cup, and looked at the other three. “I have to leave earlier for a meeting, you guys can go on without me.”

“Argh, just go ahead. You’ve always been like that, filling up your days with endless meetings and official stuff, aren’t you tired?” Gan Qingjia waved a hand casually, the other hand pa.s.sing another cup of wine to the obviously drunk Xue Yiqi. Jiang Moyin smiled, and raised his cup of wine in farewell.

On the streets, Feng Luodi bid farewell to Qi Jianqiu, leaving her friend to rush home to her culinary experimentation. She instructed Jet and Scarlet to purchase more resin for her zither, while she wandered aimlessly along the cobbled streets. She wanted some time alone, her heart filled with resentment towards the 7th Prince. “Argh, I’m so mad at myself! Luodi, you’re such a fool!” Feng Luodi muttered under her breath, mad at herself for what happened. But right now, even more important was the fact that it would be much harder to borrow Wind Crane from Linglong after this incident, especially since she had offended Linglong to some extent, by asking for the Guqin she made her living by.

“Argh, I shouldn’t have lost my cool back there.” Now Feng Luodi regretted her display of anger at the prince. How did things manage to become this bad in a single day? Feng Luodi thought as she smacked her own forehead. I haven’t done anything today, other than playing that one song, and yet I’d managed to offend the 7th Prince?

“Right, he’s a prince!” Another wave of dismay hit Feng Luodi as she realised the importance of his status. Another smack on the forehead. He was a prince, the son of the Emperor himself. Regardless of his personal abilities and accomplishments, he was royalty, and her father the Chamberlain a mere official. In the Xuan Dynasty, the distinction between royalty and the other officials was very clear, and even though she did not care for such hierarchies, coming from the modern world that has abolished such systems, she worried for her father. She had stolen the body of the Chamberlain’s daughter, and if her actions caused him any trouble, she wouldn’t be able to sleep in peace.

Her thoughts wandered. “The 7th Prince couldn’t possibly be that petty to take revenge, right?” She recalled the prince’s cheesy advances towards Linglong, his outburst of anger when she splashed the flask of wine onto him, and shook her head hard. “Argh, I’m sure something like that isn’t beneath him.” Deep in thought, she did not notice that the street she was walking along had narrowed into a small alley. By this time of day The majority of the crowd had already returned home, leaving the streets empty and desolate, save for herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two men walking hurriedly towards her, their heads bowed. As she moved aside to let them pa.s.s, an arm shot up and smashed into her neck, knocking her unconscious before she could even speak. Glancing around and seeing n.o.body, they quickly dumped her into a huge sack they had prepared and made off with her limp body.

As he had left his household with the other three, Situ Muye did not have any attendants following him, and there was no carriage or horse waiting for him outside Moonglade. He took his time to walk home, strolling slowly along the streets. It was an excuse, when he said he had a meeting to attend to. He did not like noisy places, and would much rather stroll along the streets alone. From afar, he could see Feng Luodi, the woman who had just played a heart-breaking song to an awestruck audience. She was alone, and from his view, he could only see her back. She was stamping her feet and slapping her forehead at times, a completely different person from the woman who played in the hall. He chuckled lightly. She's an interesting woman for sure, I really wonder what kind of face she's making right now.

As he watched, a few men dressed in dark clothes approached her quickly, knocking her unconscious and swiftly carrying her away. Situ Muye stopped for a moment, unsure if he should help. Shaking his head lightly, he silently followed the men.

When Feng Luodi slowly came to her senses, she felt herself bouncing, just like the feeling of a b.u.mpy bus ride in the 21st Century. Her head was spinning, and for a brief moment, she thought she had went back to the 21st Century. Her joy was short lived, when she felt the soreness in the neck where she had been struck. Someone knocked me unconscious? Who?

All of a sudden, she felt a momentary weightlessness, and before she knew it, was smashed again, hard, this time on her back. She had been tossed to the floor. Her captor stepped forward and undid the knot on the sack, dragging her out roughly. The sudden brightness blinded her.

When her eyes regained focus, she saw that she was in a room with four other people. Three of them were dressed as servants, and the fourth…looked very familiar. Her eyes trailed to his clothes, and the flash of purple made her identify him: the 7th Prince. She groaned inwardly. I knew he was the type to take revenge! I just didn't expect him to act so soon…

The 7th Prince sat on a chair, sipping a cup of tea expressionlessly. His face was calm and controlled, completely different from the person who had targeted her with such malice. But then he looked at her, and a malicious grin crept onto his face, his eyes roaming across her body, full of thirst.

Though Feng Luodi appeared to be scared, she was rolling her eyes on the inside. Didn’t you just say my looks couldn’t match your status? What's with those eyes of yours then?