Chapter 14

Tao Sheng realized it was time to leave, having met everyone she needed to. She decided to say goodbye to Shen Yu and Luo Xin, wanting to end the tedious New Year greetings. Shen Yu seemed to want to say something, but Luo Xin didn’t try to keep Tao Sheng. Instead, she walked her out and handed her a note before she left.

Tao Sheng opened the note and found it was an invitation from Princess He’en, asking everyone to come to her Ning Garden to listen to opera on February 6. Although Tao Sheng wasn’t particularly interested in these events, she could tell that Luo Xin meant well by sending her the invitation.

Luo Xin seemed cautious and was worried about overstepping, so she thought a party would suit young girls and hoped Tao Sheng would like it. Seeing Luo Xin’s careful demeanor, Tao Sheng felt bad about refusing and accepted the invitation. Luo Xin smiled and said, “I will pick you up at 2:05 PM on February 6.” 

Tao Sheng replied, “No need. Madam, you don’t have to go all the way to Tongguang Lane to get me. I can go by myself.” 

Luo Xin disagreed. After thinking for a moment, she said, “I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, but I haven’t been sleeping well lately, and I wake up early. I’ll come to pick you up.” 

When Tao Sheng returned from Wenyuan Hou Mansion, she noticed that Su Jia was in a very good mood. Su Jia had gone to her best friend’s house to wish them a happy New Year. Her friend’s husband was a successful businessman and gave Su Jia helpful advice on opening a zither store. 

Feeling more confident, Su Jia thought opening the zither store was the right decision. When she got home, she was cheerful, shaking off the gloom from her earlier business struggles. 

Su Jia excitedly told Tao Sheng that she had thought of a name for the music store. Since Tao Sheng’s grandparents had previously run an “Oriental Music Store,” she wanted to name the new store the same, as a continuation of the original. 

Along with preparing for the new zither store, Tao Sheng also visited the Zhou family in Hongying Lane to help Zhou Xiaomei improve her zither skills. 

Not long after Tao Sheng left, Shen Yue brought some seasonal fruits to the mansion, saying they were a gift for Tao Sheng from his mother. This time, Shen Yue came to give gifts to the Su family, and Mother Tang had set aside her previous biases, treating Shen Yue much better. 

Shen Yue asked about Tao Sheng’s whereabouts, and Mother Tang explained that she was at the Zhou’s house teaching zither, so she wouldn’t be back until after lunch. 

Although Shen Yue understood this, he assumed Tao Sheng had gone to Mr. Zhou’s house to learn the zither. After finishing his errand, Shen Yue learned that his mother felt better that day. He went to De Shou Tang to pay his respects and met several elders there. 

Afterwards, he reported to Luo Xin, “I just delivered the fruits to Third Sister as Mother instructed.” 

Luo Xin nodded and asked, “Did you see Tao Sheng at the Su family?” 

Shen Yue replied, “I didn’t see her. I heard from the servants that she was out learning zither from Mr. Zhou.” 

Now that the New Year had just passed and the first month was still ongoing, it was unexpected that Tao Sheng was learning zither, especially with a man. 

Shen Yu was the first to express his confusion, saying, “By the end of this year, Tao Sheng will be 15. Even if His Majesty wants to revive ritual music, she has no foundation. Starting zither at this age won’t help her.” 

“She’s this old and will be married in a year or two. Instead of these romantic things, she should learn accounting and household management,” Old Madam Shen added. “I remember Ruojin could keep accounts well since she was ten. It’s not too late for her to get a proper education. If Tao Sheng stays away from home out of spite, she’ll regret it later.” 

Luo Xin listened quietly, peeling an orange, not commenting on the ongoing remarks. 

Whenever Old Madam Shen and Shen Yu spoke of Tao Sheng, they kept repeating the same points, which became annoying. 

Luo Xin believed Tao Sheng was strong-hearted, optimistic, and open-minded, with a carefree attitude reminiscent of famous scholars from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. 

What they wanted from her would likely never happen.

_

Before they knew it, the Lantern Festival arrived. Su Jia invited Tao Sheng and Ji Yanming to dinner at Taibai Tower, the busiest area in Beijing, and then planned to take them out to see the lanterns. 

In the days leading up to the Lantern Festival, Ji Yanming had been busy with extra lessons at his teacher’s house or studying at home, so Tao Sheng hardly saw him. 

As they prepared to go out for the lantern viewing, it was Su Jia who had to go into the study to pull Ji Yanming out, insisting he needed a break after studying so much and reminding him that he was the main person for guessing lantern riddles during the festival.

This was the first time that Tao Sheng celebrated the Lantern Festival in the capital. The rulers of the Great Zhou Dynasty placed great importance on this festival, and families in the capital also made elaborate arrangements. From afar, the scene looked vibrant, filled with colorful lights and fireworks, creating a lively and prosperous atmosphere.

Guessing riddles and appreciating lanterns are traditional activities during the Lantern Festival. Many wealthy scholars in Beijing organized riddle-guessing activities, where successful guesses would bring good luck.

While guessing lantern riddles, Su Jia warned Tao Sheng: “Your cousin has always had bad luck. Although he guesses many lantern riddles every year, he never wins any good prizes.”

Tao Sheng felt it was somewhat unfair to judge a person’s luck based on this. For the sake of the big red envelope, she quickly reassured Ji Yanming: “It’s just a guessing game for fun. Don’t take it seriously. How can you say my cousin has bad luck?”

To prove her point, Su Jia pulled Tao Sheng aside to talk about Ji Yanming’s past misfortunes.

The year before Ji Yanming was set to take the county exam for the first time, his father died, and he was delayed for two years due to mourning. Later, just before his prefectural exam, he broke his arm when the carriage he was riding overturned, causing another year’s delay. There were also countless other unlucky incidents, like choking on cold water, falling into a mud pit, and being hit by snow while admiring plum blossoms.

Tao Sheng rubbed her forehead.

If he had not faced the first two accidents, Ji Yanming would likely have been a scholar three years ago. Looking at it another way, perhaps all these obstacles were to prevent him from overshadowing the male and female protagonists.

Tao Sheng had always had pretty good luck in her previous life. Every time she reached a critical moment, her luck was exceptionally good. She never lost money on small things like buying a ball or drawing a card. Even the stocks that had halved in value due to her senior brother’s poor guidance miraculously rose just before her time travel, allowing her to make a small profit.

Su Jia let Ji Yanming take charge of guessing riddles early on, while she and Tao Sheng were responsible for drawing prizes after answering the questions correctly.

The prizes Su Jia drew in the first few levels were small, exquisite ornaments of low value.

Disheartened by her prizes, Su Jia pushed Tao Sheng forward to draw the grand prize after they successfully passed the last level.

Since the tournament leader, Zhang Yuanwai, started the event three years ago, no one had ever successfully passed it, meaning no one had drawn from the ultimate prize pool.

Tao Sheng stepped forward, drew a red lot, and handed it to the organizer amid envious gazes.

Mr. Zhang was stunned when he saw the result.

The most valuable prize in the prize pool was a calligraphy piece by Jiang Shuyi, a famous painter of this dynasty.

Jiang Shuyi was inspired by a mountain road he traveled when Qian Ge Lao went to Beijing for the imperial examination and created this painting: 

The sun rises in the east, spring is here, and the scenery is vibrant. The morning glow illuminates half the sky red, contrasting beautifully with the green water and mountains. Jiang Shuyi quickly painted this scene and named it “Blue Cloud Road.”

This painting, created when Jiang Shuyi was young, is characterized by bold colors and an unrestrained style, making it highly collectible.

“Blue Cloud Road” is one of the more precious treasures in Mr. Zhang’s home, with only a one in ten chance of being drawn from the prize pool.

Mr. Zhang was generous and happily gave the painting to Tao Sheng, congratulating her: “This painting, ‘Blue Cloud Road,’ is a great omen. The young lady will surely be blessed with good fortune this year, and everything will go smoothly. Congratulations.”

After hearing Mr. Zhang’s words, the onlookers expressed their congratulations and blessings.

Tao Sheng held the scroll and thanked Mr. Zhang and everyone else, leaving amid laughter.

Su Jia smiled and said, “Our Tao Sheng is indeed lucky. She won the first prize! I heard the other prizes were gold and jade jewelry and ornaments from Mingyu Pavilion, which cannot compare to this painting.”

Su Jia then thought that although her son’s luck was quite bad, Tao Sheng’s luck was unexpectedly good. Having these two children in the family, one tall and one short, was somewhat complementary.

Tao Sheng was also happy, but her happiness was a little different from Su Jia’s.

Ever since she learned that she had become a cannon fodder female supporting role, she had been trying to avoid the heroine and her family. However, thinking of the story’s ending, she felt a bit lacking in confidence. She occasionally worried that she would be affected by fate, making her luck worse.

Winning the first prize today eased many of her doubts.

Although her character is meant to oppose the heroine, the heroine’s influence in this world is limited, and not all her luck has been ruined. At least she still retains some of her “koi” attributes ^[1]referring to the good fortune or luck associated with koi fish in Chinese culture..

It’s not too despairing.