Chương 31: 3.2 Star Flute Player

Since tonight was their wedding night, she needed to astound this 'husband' of hers with her flute playing and have him acknowledge her skills for her to obtain a somewhat of a foothold in this mansion. Even though she had never practiced this summoning of her water element through her flute playing, she at least knew that it is somehow connected with the flute player's skills and emotions they're able to express, or else how could the original owner with meager flute playing skills be able to catch the eye of that adviser? Besides a player's skills in their instruments, the emotions they're able to display was equally, if not more important to know.

When she finished making her plans, she was finally carried into her future husband's wedding room and naturally got off from the middle-aged woman's back and stood on the ground again. Once she saw her leave and close the doors behind her, she immediately took off the semi-suffocating red silk face cover and took a look at her surroundings.

The bed with its festive red decorations and bedsheets was fairly large that it could fit at least four people without it being crowded. Most of the décor in this seemingly huge room was red, from the cushions, bedsheets, curtains, tablecloths, to the candles. Not far from the bed, on a round table that was covered with a smooth red tablecloth; she saw some small snacks, a wine pot, and its accompanying ceramic jade-colored wine cups for two.

Since she was just becoming a concubine, a proper wedding wouldn't be given to her, instead she would probably just stamp her fingerprint on a marriage certificate and drink the wedding wine and her wedding to this future husband of hers would be finished.

"I've never thought that the day I would get married would be to someone I don't even know and as a concubine at that." Since she was the legitimate Princess of the Ancient Wang's Empire, the thought of marrying as someone's concubine never crossed her mind.

Also, even if she knew it was impossible now, she once did try to imagine the scenes of her and her elder brother getting married, sometimes silly laughs would spill out from her because of these thoughts but after coming out of her daydreams, she would be left with an even more desolate feeling inside her heart, so she had eventually stopped thinking about this altogether.

"With that said, I really don't want to experience lovemaking with this future husband of mine. I'll need to play the flute so 'well' that hopefully he'll relent to my request." Even if the original owner has lost her virginity to this future husband of hers, she wasn't planning on playing the part of an actual concubine.

Since there's still time until her husband would come in and drink the wedding wine together, she went to eat some snacks before going over to the dressing table to check out the original owner's appearance. Surprisingly, despite the original owner being a daughter of a farmer, her skin and fingers weren't dry or full of callouses, it looks like the original owner's parents doted on this daughter of theirs in that she didn't do any rough chores or was exposed to the sun that long.

Also, even though she was 17-years-old, her physique was pretty petite and coupled with her small pale white face and big eyes, she looked rather cute.

"I can see why those concubines would want to bully the original owner now." This body and face were simply made to be cherished and adored. After she looked enough, she moved away from the copper mirror and sat down on the bed to patiently wait for her future husband.

Finally, night time arrived, and not a moment too long, Tian He heard a man's strong footsteps approaching the room doors so she immediately started putting on the red silk face cover to get ready for the arrival of her future husband.

"Clack." Tian He heard the sounds of the doors opening and she couldn't help but tense up a bit. Although the original owner has never known too much about this husband of hers, from the details given by the main system, he was a powerful yet callous man. His bloody and cold reputation towards his enemies was notorious in this large kingdom that bordered the original owner's small kingdom's area.

However, it was unfortunate that this was all she knew of the man, his position in this large kingdom was a mystery to her since the main system didn't provide such details to her. However, judging by the size of this mansion and the strength of the guards around it, she could discern that this man had a fairly high position.

If possible, she didn't want to get on the bad side of this type of man. After curing him of his severe insomnia, she was planning on leaving elsewhere to hone her flute playing skills because one, the original owner's regret didn't state that she wanted to stay with this husband of hers and two, she didn't plan on being someone else's concubine any longer than necessary.

Suddenly, before she could notice, this husband of hers has already appeared in front of her and lifted the red silk cover, revealing her alluring yet cute facial features.

Tian He glanced at his facial features and couldn't help but gasp a bit inside, the details in the main system did not do him justice, she could sense the hint of lingering bloodlust on him and the powerful aura emitted out from him, however; what she saw next totally distracted her from that. His sharp facial features were too cold like he didn't have a shred of emotion in him and his dark brown eyes were so fathomless that with just one glance, she knew that he had many stories kept hidden. But his seemingly emotionless face didn't erase the handsome profile of it, she was especially attracted to the small beauty mark underneath his right eye.

Waves of surprise went through her heart when she saw that, this small beauty mark looked exactly and was in the same position as the one her elder brother and the 2nd Imperial Prince had on their faces. She was alternating between confusion and shock at this strange coincidence, resulting in her not noticing the stare that was currently returning hers.

Yang Bing Wen looked at his new concubine with curiosity, unlike the rest of the ones he had, this one's eyes were without any ripples, they stared back at him with such brightness and clarity that he almost had the impulse to touch them. When he saw her other facial features, he surprisingly found them quite adorable, especially that small face of hers that served as the perfect platform for her big clear eyes. Although her form wasn't as voluptuous as his other concubines, her small petite still had its own charm to it.

He was intrigued by her assets, it seems that she'll be able to satisfy him nicely.

Because he knew about his serious insomnia, besides finding talented instrumentalists, he needed to satisfy his desires often to help a bit in curbing this illness of his. Only by exhausting himself in exercises with the opposite sex would he be able to sleep a bit, but since the effect wears off after a few sessions, he's needs to change to fresh virgins after the last one has finished serving its use. He couldn't be more welcoming at this new concubine of his.

He lifted her delicate chin and spoke, "Beloved concubine, shall we sign the marriage certificate and drink the wedding wine now." His low yet cold commanding voice that left no room for refute entered her ears.

Tian He's thoughts that were occupied by that small beauty on her future husband's face finally returned and felt the strong grip on her chin and couldn't help but frown a bit at his touch. Since she had already given her heart to her elder brother, it felt somewhat disturbing to have some other man touch her. However, seeing those dark brown eyes that wouldn't take no for an answer, she calmed herself to prepare for her speech.

"Lord husband, please release Ming Yue's chin." Although the original owner was not educated in how to address and act accordingly with her new status, she was still lectured by the adviser that accompanied her on the way here, so there was no need to worry that any suspicions would arise with her speech right now.

Bing Wen's eyebrows moves a little in curiosity, but he still lets go of her chin and prepares for this new concubine of his's next words.

Tian He looks at him briefly before lowering herself down in an awkward curtsy and starts stating her request, "Lord Husband, please listen to Ming Yue's flute playing first." She'll make sure to play 'decently' to match the level of her village girl status, then after she spends more time here, and 'learns' to actually play more advanced notes, she'll play for him until his insomnia is cured.

Bing Wen is surprised by her request, usually the concubines his good advisor recruits would first try to get into his bed before addressing his illness that they were brought in for.

He couldn't help but grow a bit contemplative about the purpose of this new concubine of his, either she is really only here to treat his illness, or she's deliberately trying to sound like she cares to get into his good graces later on.

No matter, once she signs the marriage certificate and becomes his concubine, he'll have the right to judge her actions as her husband, so he'll play with her and agree to her request for now.

"Since beloved concubine cares so much about this illness of mine, as your husband, I wouldn't be good if I didn't agree to it." Although his words sounded caring, his voice and expression still remained indifferent and emotionless.

Tian He ignored his cold tone and expression towards her and curtsied in thanks to his agreement before immediately moving over to sit on one of the seats around the red-clothed round table she saw earlier. Since she was a flute player, the adviser had already prepared a new flute for her as one of her gifts as his master's new concubine.

She took out a long jade flute from one of the boxes on the table and looked up at her future husband that was now sitting on the bed with a lazy yet fathomless expression on his face.

"Lord Husband, Ming Yue's song is called 'The Small Gifts in Life'." She placed the flute's mouth hole near her mouth and readied herself.

Since she could only play songs that the original owner knew, this one had the best melody and had connected with her the most, in a way, it was an expression of how thankful she was to have found love before, even if it was only short-lived. She also hoped that her real emotions expressed in this song would help in calming this future husband of hers and make its way into his heart, this way, his mind might hopefully find some sort of peace to help him sleep better.

Her song began with low notes and a slow tempo, making the notes stretch out and giving it a subtle yet drawing beginning. Eventually, her playing enveloped the whole room with its soft tunes that told a tale of thankfulness of life and its joys with a hint of sadness. The whole time she was playing, she never looked at her future husband, instead, she looked deeply at the wedding wine on the table in front of her.

As she gradually got immersed in the song's tunes, she incidentally became entranced with the scene of the wedding wine and the two ceramic wine cups in front of her. She couldn't help herself from thinking about how great it would be if she had the chance to drink the wedding wine with her elder brother. He would probably happily feed it to her if she asked him to. After getting this image inside her head, her mouth unconsciously curved up in a small smile as she continued to play her song.

Unbeknownst to her, small water particles started to appear in the air around her, gathering rapidly to form into small water-like swans. After their formation, more water particles started to appear and gathered to form into small water-like tigers. As her flute playing continued, the water-like small swans and tigers floated towards each other and spun slowly together, like they were enjoying the presence of one another.

When her song reached its peak, and the melody rose in octaves, she became even more immersed in it and couldn't help but suddenly let her thoughts wander. She really wondered if her elder brother will ever forgive her for leaving him even though she 'promised' him she wouldn't. Would the love he had for her turn into hate? How was he coping with pain of their separation? Does his heart hurt as much as hers?

Her thoughts about him and this emotional music made her grow a bit sentimental, if it were me, I wouldn't even know how to feel if elder brother left me abruptly. Perhaps, my heart might shatter, or become full of hate from the lies. At that horrible thought, she unconsciously tightened the hold on her jade flute and increased the tempo of the song.

It was supposed to be a soft song that weaved a tale of the wonderful and meaningful gifts in life, but as her thoughts were too preoccupied, the tempo's increased caused it to also include feelings of longing and helplessness.

The water-like swans and tigers were also affected by her playing and immediately separated from each other. They floated to the right and left sides of Tian He respectively, however, their front was facing each other, watching one another like they didn't want to be separated.

Bing Wen didn't pay attention to her flute playing at first, but as the song continued and he felt the joys and sadness of the song, his mind couldn't help but get a bit immersed in it. Although the melody itself could be played by any amateur in flute playing, the emotions she expressed were so real that even he was affected by it. He could feel the loveliness of life itself yet the pains that it brought along. Overall, he thought her flute playing was beautiful and pleasant to listen to, even his heart couldn't help but become a bit relaxed when he felt the emotions she expressed while playing this song.

And after listening for a moment, he grew even more surprised at her flute playing when he saw so many water particles form into countless water-like swans and tigers around her. His interest in her suddenly piqued a bit, her affinity with her water element seems to be at a decent level.

As he grew more immersed in the song she was playing, he couldn't help but take a second glance at her figure. Her face subtly glowed next to the red candles on the table, making her look a bit ethereal and even a bit charming. Suddenly, he noticed that her eyes while playing had not moved away at all from the wedding wine on the round table in front of her.

He grew bewildered, was she sad yet joyful about drinking the wedding wine with him?

However, after looking for a while longer, he realized that this certainly could not the case because the emotions she expressed while playing was too strong and vivid, and since she had only met him today, her thoughts definitely couldn't be about him.

He grew a bit contemplative, if not him, then could she be thinking about someone else?

Suddenly, his mind and heart couldn't help but become a bit annoyed by this fact, although she was just his concubine whose sole purpose is to provide him entertainment and relief in bed in hopes of treating his illness, he was still her husband. Well, of course after he gets her to sign the marriage certificate, then once she signs it, she'll have no right to think about anyone else.

Tian He was finally reaching the end of her song, her tempo has returned to normal and her thoughts were now calm. The song that was full of longing earlier disappeared, in its place was the earlier gratefulness and joys that one experiences in the short life they'll live.

The water-like tigers and swans still floated in the air around her, but they were still a bit apart from each other, however; it wasn't such a great distance as they were earlier when she thought of how her elder brother might come to hate her for leaving him.

Finally, her song ended, and her mouth left the mouth hole of the flute, and with its ending, the water-like swans and tigers also disappeared, not a speck of water could be seen anywhere, like they were never even here to begin with. She was a bit surprised to see them around her before they disappeared but guessing that this was supposed to be something of a 'normal' occurrence when the original owner played her flute, she immediately donned a neutral expression and looked up from the red-clothed round table at this future husband of hers.

"Lord Husband, Ming Yue is done playing." She calmly watched him and waited for his opinion on her song.

Although he was a bit irritated thinking about how she might have someone in heart earlier, he didn't let his emotions show and coldly smiled, "Beloved concubine's flute playing sure is wonderful, even I was a bit affected by it." He looked at her with inquiring eyes.

Tian He caught the hint of sarcasm in his tone and his questioning gaze directed at her. Even though she played a simple song, she still did her best to express the emotions related to it, did it not him help feel a bit relaxed at all, or are his words true and he was actually affected by it?

Somehow, she was having a hard time gauging the meaning behind the words of this future husband of hers. She really couldn't understand his thoughts which was making her a bit wary and irritated, she realized that this will only make it that much harder to interact with him in the future. After all, she still required his assistance in 'improving' her flute playing skills since she was just a village girl and there was no way she could afford those expensive flute lessons.

She became determined, since I can't figure them out, I'll just take his meaning literally.

"Ming Yue thanks Lord Husband for the praise." Don't blame me for not noticing your sarcastic tone, I'm just a 'simple' village girl.

Bing Wen listened to her direct reply and his lips twitched a bit at the unexpectedness of it. He couldn't help but grow a bit irritated at her casual display, either she's pretending she didn't hear his sarcastic tone, or she's really slow and didn't catch it. If it's the former, then he was sure that this new concubine of his is one good actor because even he was having a hard time figuring her out.

Either way, he grew fed up with this play and decided to move onto the main event.

"Since beloved concubine is finished with your flute playing, let's sign this marriage certificate together and have our wedding night." He didn't wait for her to reply and immediately got up to walk over to her.

Tian He heard his impatient tone and her heart sped up a bit in nervousness. It was just donning on her that this husband of hers couldn't wait to take her to bed, his nonexistent patience and careless tone towards her was making it difficult for her to evade and open up her opinions about refusing this wedding night with him.

Bing Wen reached the red-clothed round table and took out his jade seal along with the wedding certificate that had his household name on it. It only required his and her fingerprint on the line below for this marriage to be completed, then his jade seal can naturally go on it to finalize it.

Tian He saw the unique paper used as their marriage certificate and knew that it was high quality paper that could never decay unless exposed to certain elements. However, her admiration for it stopped there, this paper would indicate that she will now belong to him and it was giving her a sense of withdrawal and alienation. Although she knew that the original owner had married this man in this way, she really abhorred the thought of becoming someone else's woman other than her elder brother's.

Bing Wen was about to bring the ink for her to stamp her fingerprint on the marriage certificate, but he abruptly stopped his movements when he suddenly caught the slight hint of disapproval within her eyes, he couldn't help but become even more irritated with her. Does she really have someone else in her heart? Is she going to refuse becoming his concubine?

His gaze on her suddenly becomes a bit frustrated, this new concubine of mine will really be daring enough if she actually refuses this marriage. However, since she's already here in his wedding room, there's no way he'll give her any chances to refuse.

His stern yet emotionless eyes looks at her, "Beloved concubine, it's time to sign the marriage certificate." If she refuses, then he'll just 'casually' mention the gifts that her parents already received and judging by the information he received on her, she wouldn't risk having her parents know since she's so filial.

Tian He heard his commanding tone and immediately swept away her unwilling emotions, since this was the inevitable, she won't dwell on these thoughts anymore. So, without replying to him, she rapidly pressed her right thumb on the ink and printed it on the bottom line of the marriage certificate, sealing her position as this man's new concubine.

Bing Wen was caught off guard for a second by her rapid actions but immediately curved up his lips into a small unnoticeable smile, then without further ado, he followed her movements in printing his right thumb print on the marriage certificate. After he finished stamping his jade seal to authenticate it, he couldn't help but look at her thumb print next to his in a bit of a good mood, from now on, she belongs only to him.

Tian He saw him roll up the marriage certificate and place it in a long wooden box before locking it with a golden lock. After witnessing such a strange scene, she couldn't help but become a bit bewildered, does he seal all his marriage certificates with his concubines like this?

After he secured the box and placed it safely in a compartment near his bookshelves, he turned back to his new concubine and casually spoke.

"Beloved concubine, since our marriage has been finalized, let's not waste the evening and begin our wedding night." He didn't wait for her to speak and walked over to the red-clothed round table before he began pouring wine into their wine cups.

Tian He froze up after hearing those words and didn't move her hands when she saw him offer her wine cup to her. Instead, her hands unconsciously clenched the red wedding gown she wore while staring with unwillingness at the wine cup in front of her. She could accept marrying this man since the original owner accepted his offer to become his concubine, but lovemaking with him was crossing her bottom-line.

She looked up at her new husband without taking the wine cup in his outstretched hands and started stating her refusal, "Lord husband, although Ming Yue has promised to become your concubine, I only wish to help treat your illness and nothing more." I'm not going to give you any services more than necessary.

Bing Wen caught the outright refusal to go to bed with him in her words and his hand on her wine cup unconsciously tightened a bit in anger. How dare she refuse him? Is she really thinking about leaving her purity to someone else?

His calm yet dangerous voice began to surround the quiet red wedding room, "Beloved concubine, it is not that I don't respect your opinion, but since we're already husband and wife, it wouldn't be too good if word gets out that you still have your virginity after our wedding night." Once that happens, her reputation could be considered as finished and no one would want to take in a woman who did such a disgraceful deed.

Tian He heard the subtle threat within his words and became a bit apprehensive, she knew that a concubine who still had her virginity after her marriage would be seen as shameful towards others because that would either mean that something was wrong with this body, or she was being unfaithful. Either way, once this news gets out, the original owner would have a hard time surviving in this mansion even after she deters those concubines away for her.

However, just from the slight touch of her chin when he grasped it earlier was enough to cause dislike and disgust to sprout from her heart. Her heart still remained determined, since she could neither refuse or agree, then she could only evade.

"Lord husband, Ming Yue understands and is willing to serve you, but since I'm feeling a bit unwell today, Ming Yue hopes that Lord Husband could wait a while so as not to cause inconvenience to you with my condition." She softly says to him without looking at him.

Bing Wen still heard her refusal and couldn't help but angrily chuckle, this new concubine of his is actually daring enough to continue to refuse his advances. Does she still think that she's an unmarried woman? Even if she says she's unwell, her lie would be overruled once he summons the doctor to check up on her. Or does she really think that I won't expose her?

His eyes let out a dangerous glint while he subtly smiled in low humor thinking about the play that's about to come, since she's so stubborn, he'll break every excuse she comes up with and let's see if she can still refuse him after that.