Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace

Chapter 166 Story

“I told them that I won’t be doing anything anymore, so they’re skipping my meals.
They probably thought that “she’ll come around” if I’m famished.”

The man nodded when he heard what Xu said, apparently enlightened with her words.

“I see, so the Jiaofang thought you would give up and do your job if they starved you.”

Yui Mei could see where they were coming from, especially since it had been stated so clearly.
Still, she couldn’t help but be filled with indignation towards Jiaofang, thinking that “they’re going that far!?”.
She also couldn’t help questioning the opposing Xu, thinking “you’re really going that far!?”

If it was her, as long as it’s not a wicked crime that she had to swallow, she would definitely eat her own words if that meant she would be given her meals.

So what was the reason why Xu vehemently refused to touch the lute even though she had been driven to a corner already?

Suspicions and doubts filled Yui Mei’s mind, when Xu resumed talking.

“I already lost my purpose for playing the lute, so I don’t want to touch it anymore.”

She stared at her hands that had once played the lute.

“Is it because you hate the lute so you can no longer play it?”

Yui Mei tried asking, but Xu shook her head in response.

“It’s not about liking or hating.
It’s meaningless now…That person is gone, after all”, she lifelessly replied.

Yui Mei was taken aback.

‘That person?Who is she talking about?”

She sneaked a glance towards Libin, and found that he also looked quite confused himself.

It was the first time he heard about it, apparently.

Xu chuckled when she saw Yui Mei and the guys looking like that.

“You guys probably won’t believe me, but there’s a man who told me that these fingers that are so worn-out from playing the lute are beautiful.”

She then started to talk about her story.

Xu was a daughter of a merchant owning a large store before she became a courtesan.

She learned how to play the lute when she was young, but she seemed to have talent for it.
Her performing ability rapidly improved,  and she gradually rose to fame, gaining reputatio around her.

Apparently, her father’s guests caught wind of her popularity, so many of them wanted to visit her father in order to listen to the rumored sound of the lute.
Xu performed for them, it seemed.

“At that time, it had been very popular to have a lute musician play fresh, new songs in banquets.
I thought that I could also do it, so in the end, I made a lot of music sheets.

Xu had the knack for writing songs, too, so her fame rose further.

Although there were a lot of lute musicians who put on airs because their instruments were better and they were more popular than her, it was said that no one could match the sound of Xu Zi’s lute.

“So you were that amazing, huh.”

“I heard about the rumor regarding the lute player girl when I was just a child.
I see, so that was you, huh.”

Yui Mei was filled with awe, and Libin, who was beside her,  was also surprised.

‘If Libin heard the rumor when he was a kid, then that means Xu is probably 30 years old or so now.’

That was Yui Mei’s conjecture.

In that case, Xu must have been very happy at that time, because she was able to help her doting parents with their business.
A lot of guests wanted to attend the banquets her father hosted, for the sake of meeting the rumored lute player.

Nevertheless, even if Xu was popular, the people seeking her hand were few.

It seemed that even if she was extremely talented in playing the lute, she wasn’t a beauty.

She wasn’t very ugly, but her appearance wasn’t one that people tend to favor, but that was her own assessment.

Although good looks does not determine a person’s worth, it was still an important aspect that big shots handling huge businesses wished for.
They wanted a wife they could proudly display to the world.

It was also said that beautiful women who had mediocre skills were highly prized compared to the genius lute player like Xu.

In such a situation, those who wished for Xu’s hand were probably those who had suspicious ulterior motives.

Fortunately, her parents firmly turned down all the prospective suitors who wanted to use Xu as a decor wife for the time being, planning to wed a ‘true’ wife separately.

Xu was about to resign to her fate, thinking that ‘I probably won’t marry’, when she met a man.