EMPEROR OF ZHONG YUAN

CHAPTER 7 Loyal Traitors

Wei Qian was never truly fond of music at first. In her younger years she would prefer to listen in on her First Brother's political and governing lessons and secretly follow him to ask questions.

However, she soon realized that by showing where her heart was, she was truly giving the enemy a knife to stab her with. She saw this with her First Brother who had loved politics all his life and always expressed his ambition to be an Imperial Court official.

As the first born of the Ling family yet not his father's favorite, Ling Ding Xu lived a hard life. Not to mention that on the same year of his birth Second Madam Li gave birth to twin sons two months after his birth, and as she was Ling Gu Zhou's true love, he considered them his true firstborns and treasured them fully.

That year still, feeling depressed, First Madam Gao forced herself on Ling Gu Zhou and got pregnant again. Despite the health complications, First Madam Gao forced herself to carry this pregnancy and gave birth on a cold, winter night of the twelfth month and successfully gave birth to Ling Ding Wei.

Because of this ordeal, Ling Gu Zhou was very dissatisfied with First Madam Gao and eventually with First Young Master Ling. One of Wei Qian's most heart-wrenching moments was when Ling Gu Zhou sent Ling Ding Xu to Xi province to be Old Master Shang's disciple and heir.

Old Master Shang, Madam Shang and Concubine Shang's father, was an old and paranoid man with no sons who did not trust his distant cousins to take up the responsibility of running his jewelry empire, much less his own daughters.

Therefore, an agreement was made.

Shang Xi Wu, Concubine Shang, would marry Ling Gu Zhou and have a son with him. Until that son is grown, married and ready to take up responsibility of the merchant business, Gu Zhou's other son, Ling Ding Xu, will stay with him and keep the business steady for his brother. Should Xi Wu not bear a first-born son, then naturally the empire stays with Ding Xu.

The contract was drawn and the marriage contract was sealed. At the time Concubine Su, Wei Xin's birth mother was heavily pregnant and Xi Wu was only thirteen, so there was no hurry for the marriage. Besides, Ding Xu was only two years old.

Seven years later, the contract was brought up again and Gu Zhou had to honor it by sending Ding Xu to be Old Master Shang's apprentice. It was on the second month of the 18th year of Anning, the year that Wei Qian decided to publicize her false appreciation for music.

Wei Qian began to play a song she had composed during that year under the guidance of her grandfather, "The Dance of the Spring Flowers and Winter Winds", which commemorated a poem her brother once narrated to her, "Beginning of the colorful Spring, the wind chimes ring, the Spring flowers dance, but wasn't that the winter winds in a trance?"

Wei Qian smiled as her eyes watered and the tempo of the song rose and fell, swaying everyone's emotions.

Wei Xin and Sang Zhi were dancing spectacularly, as expected, while also enjoying the moment. As Wei Qian looked at them she could tell that this moment would bring them closer. Whether that would be beneficial or destructive in the future, Wei Qian did not bother thinking about it at that time.

Everything went on wonderful, until the last part.

Wei Qian was a few notes away from a climatic ending when the strange painful pang hit her lower abdomen again. Last time, it felt like a mere poke, but this time it felt like a punch in the gut.

Wei Qian flinched, causing her to make a mistake on the zither. Everyone noticed but said nothing, but Wei Qian could tell that this small mistake carried more impact than her great zither playing forward till her finish.