The floor-to-ceiling doors of the Waterside Pavilion facing the garden were all opened, so from the garden side, everything inside the pavilion was laid bare at a glance.

They watched as the Qin Master entered the pavilion opposite and first set down the Yaoqin in his hands.

Then, with movements exceedingly graceful and unhurried, he washed his hands and lit incense.

This sense of ceremony instantly pulled the mood and everyone’s expectations to the peak.

The Qin Master lifted his robe and sat down directly on the floor, his two slender hands hovering above the Yaoqin.

The ladies and young misses in the garden all took their seats, each of them holding their breath and focusing all their attention on the opposite side.

Yun Jiao slowly closed her eyes and heard a clear, ethereal sound of the zither drift across the water.

Listening to the qin by the water—one had to admit the music seemed even more limpid and melodious.

One had to admit, this Qin Master’s skill was indeed superb.

Yun Jiao kept her eyes closed and very soon was immersed in the music.

After two pieces were finished, the Qin Master paused slightly, then began a third piece.

The third piece was extremely lingering and poignant; as soon as the first notes rose, they seemed to stir up boundless sorrow in people’s hearts.

The ladies and young misses in the garden were still steeped in this atmosphere when a sudden, jarring scream rang out, shattering the mood completely, and the qin music broke off at once.

The Qin Master in the pavilion looked, displeased, toward the source of the scream.

All the ladies and young misses in the garden also turned, dissatisfied, toward the source of the scream.

Yun Jiao slowly opened her eyes, then couldn’t help letting out a snort of laughter.

She saw that Qin Yan’s body was crawling with quite a few little bugs.

Qin Yan screamed as she flailed about, slapping at herself in a panic.

The two Maids beside her had gone pale with fright; forcing themselves to endure their fear, they helped Qin Yan swat the bugs.

The several young misses beside Qin Yan hurriedly rose to their feet and moved away.

There were hardly any women who weren’t afraid of bugs, and there were still quite a number of insects nearby crawling in this direction.

These young misses, looking at Qin Yan’s appearance, felt somewhat afraid, but even more amused.

Qin Yan had already thrust one hand down inside the back collar of her dress; her whole body twisted uncontrollably as she shrieked, "The bugs crawled onto my back!"

The Princess Huaiqing’s face sank as she instructed the Maids, "Take her to the changing rooms to deal with it!"

A perfectly good flower-viewing and qin-listening banquet had just been ruined by this coarse woman.

The Maids from the Princess Mansion hurried over and hastily dragged away Qin Yan, who was still screaming and writhing nonstop.

Quite a few ladies and young misses couldn’t help covering their mouths to laugh; this Mrs. Qin, to have no sense of decorum at all before such a crowd—after this, who knew if she would still have the face to attend banquets at other households.

The servants of the Princess Mansion came over and sprayed some medicine around to prevent more bugs from crawling over.

The place where Qin Yan had been sitting was also tidied up.

When the young misses looked toward the Waterside Pavilion again, they saw that the Qin Master had already left at some unknown point.

Clearly, the aloof Qin Master was very displeased that his performance had been interrupted.

The Princess’s interest was also spoiled.

Seeing that it was almost noon, she ordered the banquet to begin.

Yun Jiao left the garden along with the other ladies and young misses and headed toward the main hall where the feast was to be held.

After the banquet ended, the ladies and young misses took their leave one after another; the Princess was clearly not in a good mood—if one didn’t leave early, what was there to stay for.

Yun Jiao also took her leave and went out.

The carriage traveled for a while and turned a corner, then suddenly came to a stop.

The Maid lifted the curtain and asked, "What’s going on?"

The coachman turned his head. "There’s a carriage across the road ahead, blocking the way."

Just as he spoke, the Maid saw a woman descend from that carriage, storming over in a rage.

The Maid hastily turned back to Yun Jiao and said, "It’s that Mrs. Qin’s carriage—Mrs. Qin is coming our way."