FBC – Chapter 139 Old Friends Meet, Yet Fail to Recognize Each Other

Gu Hua continued asking, “May I ask when the qin master arrived in the capital?”

“Replying… to Madam, this humble one arrived at the beginning of the ninth month.”

The beginning of the ninth month?

That was exactly when she had entered the Duke’s estate.

“Did the qin master go straight to the Yichun Courtyard after arriving in the capital?”

“Yes.”

Ji Xuanyu didn’t want to speak too much, for fear of revealing his original voice.

As long as he could see Sister Hua, that was enough.

For now, he didn’t want her to know of his existence.

Gu Hua’s gaze turned heavy. There were already suspicions surrounding the Yichun Courtyard. This person had entered there at the start of the ninth month and was recommended by Yao Yao. It was highly likely that he was connected to the people of Nanjing.

“I also enjoy the qin. I once learned a bit from an old friend in Shuzhou. Would the qin master be willing to play a tune for us to enjoy?”

Whether or not he was truly a qin master would be evident from a single performance.

Brother Ji had always loved the qin and chess. He had even sought out famous teachers to learn the qin.

By the time she met Brother Ji, his qin skills were already excellent.

“This humble one obeys.”

Sister Hua still remembers!

Ji Xuanyu was filled with emotion. He set up the qin, tuned the strings, and just as he was about to begin playing, he heard a delicate voice from behind the screen.

“Can the qin master play High Mountains and Flowing Water?”

Ji Xuanyu’s raised hands froze in mid-air. He abruptly lifted his head and stared at the silhouette behind the screen.

“Madam wishes to hear High Mountains and Flowing Water?”

“Yes, it’s my favorite piece.”

Brother Ji was most skilled at this song.

He once said this ancient melody was meant to be played for a true soulmate — a listener who could see the majestic mountains and vast rivers through the music.

Ji Xuanyu took a deep breath, suppressing the waves of emotion within, and replied calmly, “As you wish.”

The tune High Mountains and Flowing Water flowed from the strings — smooth and melodious, full of natural rhythm, its tones rising and falling with endless nuance.

This qin master was clearly a true expert.

As Gu Hua listened, her eyes began to redden.

This qin master’s technique was even more refined than Brother Ji’s — particularly the passages evoking landscapes of mountains and rivers. It carried an indomitable spirit that stirred one’s soul, as though the performer had great ambitions and faced life’s turbulent currents with fearless resistance.

Then, as the melody returned to the gentle trickling of spring water, one could hear boundless longing and nostalgia in the notes.

When the final note fell, the qin master’s long arms slowly lowered, his hands gently brushing the strings, letting the sound fade gradually into silence.

The room fell into a breathless stillness. The listeners dared not exhale, afraid to disturb the lingering echo.

Zhou Zhilian was stunned — he was indeed a true master.

She turned to look at Gu Hua, only to see a tear sliding down her cheek.

“You’re crying?”

Though her voice was soft, in the stillness of the room, even those outside could hear it.

Gu Hua snapped back to awareness, quickly wiping her tears and forcing a smile while shaking her head.

Ji Xuanyu felt as though a boulder was lodged in his chest.

Joy, sorrow, resentment — all tangled in his heart.

The one he loved was right before his eyes, yet he could not reveal himself.

A single piece — High Mountains and Flowing Water, the melody shared by soulmates — carried all of their shared longing.

Ji Xuanyu was happy.

Sister Hua hadn’t forgotten him. She still remembered their shared melody.

Yao Yao wrung her silk handkerchief, eyes half-lowered, concealing the chill in her gaze.

Gu Hua had taken a liking to this qin master, but her wariness hadn’t disappeared.

After all, this involved the Yichun Courtyard, Yao Yao, Gu Wanru, and Mu An.

There was an ever-present sense of ill-intent in the air.

Gu Hua said gently, “The qin master is truly skilled. I hope you’ll live up to the purity of this High Mountains and Flowing Water and teach the young madam diligently. Please do not do anything that goes against propriety.”

Ji Xuanyu’s face turned slightly pale.

He heard the unspoken warning in Gu Hua’s words.

She was cautioning him not to overstep.

But… could he really leave the Duke’s estate untouched?

Besides, he had a grand plan this time — one aimed squarely at Gu Wanru.

He was going to eliminate that wicked woman for Gu Hua!

Ji Xuanyu responded with a quiet “As you wish.”

He packed up the qin and left with Yao Yao.

Before turning around, he looked longingly once more at the figure behind the screen.

Gu Hua stared blankly at the departing figure.

That night, she hadn’t gotten a clear look at Brother Ji’s face.

It’s been three years. He must have grown tall by now, and surely as elegant and graceful as that man.

But… where is he?

Will he ever come to see her again?

Would she never again see the first person in this world who had truly cherished her?

“You know this person?” Zhou Zhilian sensed something was off with Gu Hua.

Gu Hua’s eyes were rimmed with red. “The Brother Ji I told you about played this piece just as well as that musician.”

“Oh… you’re missing him.”

“Mm.” Gu Hua couldn’t hold back her tears again.

Zhou Zhilian didn’t know how to comfort her.

She knew Gu Hua had grown up with a childhood friend. She and the others had once worried he might become a problem, but after the lord heard about it, he said everyone has a past, and he didn’t mind—so neither did they.

But today, this man had stirred Gu Hua’s longing for her childhood sweetheart…

It didn’t seem like a good sign.

Zhou Zhilian frowned. This musician needed to be watched closely—lest he try to seduce their young madam.

Yao Yao was feeling upset, but it wasn’t her place to say anything. She could only escort Ji Xuanyu to meet with Mu An.

That very night, Mu An insisted on having him stay for dinner. Claiming he loved hearing him play, he still wouldn’t let him go after the meal—he wanted the man to spend the night in his chambers.

Yao Yao knew what he was up to and was furious, but she couldn’t snatch Ji Xuanyu away by force.

For the sake of their young master’s safety and reputation, she had no choice but to post her people outside the door of Zuimo Pavilion while she entered the room herself to spend the night with the two.

Yao Yao resisted the overwhelming urge to kill Mu An and instead used every trick in the book to seduce him, doing her best to keep him from touching the young master.

But in the middle of the night, Mu An kicked her out.

Hearing the sounds of passion from within, Yao Yao was so devastated she pressed her fist to her lips to muffle her sobs.

She could only stand guard outside the room all night, terrified that someone else might find out.

The next morning, Yao Yao dragged Gu Wanru into Mu An’s room at first light, hauled Ji Xuanyu out, and sent him to Jinxiu Pavilion to teach Gu Wanru to play the qin.

Ji Xuanyu noticed Yao Yao’s red-rimmed eyes and cast a cold, sharp glance at her.

Yao Yao could only endure it.

She knew the moment the young master entered the residence, Mu An would begin tormenting him in secret.

Because in Mu An’s eyes, he was nothing more than a plaything for amusement.

The young master even had to personally train Gu Wanru in seductive arts—how to lure men in, how to make them unable to resist her.

All the pain and humiliation the young master endured, he had to swallow alone.

But he once said that for the sake of the Hall Master’s great cause, he was willing to sacrifice himself.

Still, Yao Yao couldn’t bear it. She hated herself for being useless, for having been in the mansion so long without managing to steal any useful military information from Mu Junyan.

She hated Gu Wanru and Mu An even more.

Gu Hua didn’t know why, but she felt unsettled.

Zhou Zhilian said the new musician seemed normal and that both the young master and young madam enjoyed his music. But Gu Hua couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

She asked Zhou Zhilian to find an opportunity to bring up the idea to Mu An of freeing Biyu from slavery and promoting her to favored concubine.

Mu An naturally agreed. He wanted Biyu to serve him well and help him manage the inner court.

Five days later, Chi Yan came to report: Gu Wanru had sent someone to contact Pei Yi.

Gu Hua immediately perked up.

At last!

Pei Yi had also secretly sent her a message: the Pei family had secured the rights to present winter military clothing samples.

Within ten days, the samples were verified, and the Pei family secured an order for 300,000 sets of military winter gear.

That very night after the order was confirmed, Mu An stayed over at Jinxiu Pavilion.

Word was, the night was anything but peaceful—he’d called for water five times.

The next day, the couple strolled hand in hand to Zuimo Pavilion to listen to music.

What Mu An didn’t know was that on the nights he didn’t keep the musician, at the stroke of midnight, the man would enter Jinxiu Pavilion and wouldn’t leave until the hour of the tiger (3–5 AM).

During this time, Gu Wanru was taking tonic medicine and fertility pills twice a day.

Mu An didn’t suspect a thing.

After all, Gu Wanru was still the young madam of the Duke’s household.

If the official wife gave birth to the legitimate first grandson, it would benefit his succession to the title.

Not to mention, Gu Wanru had suddenly become highly skilled in bed, making him linger fondly.

When Biyu quietly reported to Gu Hua that Mu An had spent the night with the musician, Gu Hua was stunned and found it hard to believe.

“Are you sure? He has such a noble bearing, refined and elegant—he doesn’t seem like someone who would stoop so low.”

Biyu whispered, “I thought so too. But it’s true. Even though it’s only happened three times in the past half month, Yao Yao helped cover it up each time. Still, I saw it with my own eyes.”

Biyu looked disgusted. “I never imagined the young lord would be this kind of person.”

Gu Hua knew—because in her previous life, while being tortured, that beast had casually laughed as he recounted what Mu An used to do at Yichun Courtyard.

She had never seen the favored plaything Mu An liked with her own eyes, but just hearing about it had made her sick.

She never expected that musician would be that same plaything.

Gu Hua felt disgusted too. “I never imagined someone like that could be so depraved.”

He even dared play High Mountains and Flowing Water, the favorite piece she used to share with Brother Ji.

She regretted it bitterly.

Not only did she disgust herself—she also sullied Brother Ji’s memory.