Ascending, Do Not Disturb!

Chapter 88: Evil Cultivator

The already anxious grand princess could of course remember what everyone else did. She looked up to meet Kong Hou’s eyes, her eyes fearful and slightly defeated.
Under everyone’s gaze, she stood and said, “Thank you, Immortal, for remembering; everything has been good.”

“That is good.” Kong Hou saw the grand princess’s features contained some depression and sighed. “Back then, Grand Princess wanted to hear me play a song on the kong hou. Due to various reasons, I was not able to. Now we have met again, let me make up for the song.”

When she heard this, the grand princess became even more anxious. Everyone now wanted to deliberately forget how she had forced Ji Kong Hou to play a song in front of everyone, but although they forgot and although they could pretend ignorance about many matters, the participants of the matter might not be willing to cooperate.

“No, no need…”

“Grand Princess does not have to be so polite.” Kong Hou pulled the Phoenix Head pin out of her hair which turned into an enormous phoenix head kong hou. Under everyone’s shocked and worried gazes, Kong Hou lightly plucked the strings. “With this song, I wish the people of the world to live happy and safe lives.”

Emperor Jinghong felt slightly uneasy. He unconsciously turned to look at the empress beside him. The empress was sipping tea with a lowered head as though she did not notice his gaze. Emperor Jinghong stilled. He suddenly recalled many years ago, when he hadn’t been the emperor, when he felt restless inside and looked at his wife, he could always see her comforting smile.

After he became the emperor, he rarely sought help in front of others from the empress. Looking at the empress’ no longer young face, Emperor Jinghong was slightly dazed. It seemed to have been very long since he had been alone with the empress.

Hands plucked the strings, and the kong hou sounded. The serene music was like a demon that could enchant the mind and stir the truest emotions of people.

The expressionless empress, the regretful emperor, the officials with their various expressions, and the grand empress with her tears as she sobbed “Yan Xing.” The kong hou song drew out the sorrows and joys of the mortal world.

The Yan Xing that the grand princess spoke of was her former husband, a talented scholar known far and wide. The grand princess and Yan Xing had been greatly in love. Later, Yan Xing had been framed by an evildoer and died in the Justice Office. The grand princess had been full of sorrow and grief and greatly hated the deposed Ji Emperor. She even hated Kong Hou, the six-year-old former princess, as well.

Her beloved had died at the hands of a powerful official and confidant of the muddle-headed emperor. While the grand princess had looked beautiful and bright, she had gone bad inside. She hated the useless emperor, hated those wicked officials who were jealous of those with ability and virtue, and hated everyone in the Ji Family.

What she hated the most was being separated from Yan Xing by life and death to never meet again. Afte Yan Xing’s death, she had done many things for her elder brother. After overthrowing the deposed Ji Emperor, she became the noble grand princess. Her emotions had to maintain the dignity of the imperial family and she never shed a tear for Yan Xing.

Yan Xing had been dead for thirteen years. The pomegranate tree she had planted for him had blossomed and borne fruit, but there was no one to eat the pomegranates with her.

Pride, determination, and indifference turned to nothing under this song. The music was the gates to the dam. The emotions she had accumulated for so many years flooded out and couldn’t be controlled.

Kong Hou looked at the grand princess who was crying, her hands covering her face. She sighed.

When young, she had only felt the grand princess was aggressive and extremely unfriendly towards her. Now that she had jumped out of the enmity and hatred, when she looked at the history between the grand princess and the Ji Dynasty, Kong Hou could only sigh.