To fill her time, Raine worked on the customized orders.  Behind the store was her workshop, where she worked on the customized zithers. Sometimes, Linqin worked throughout the night making zithers.  By the time she came home, the sun began to rise and Linqin fell asleep once her head hit the pillow. The tree outside of her window moved slightly as the shadow jumped away from the tree branch and disappeared.  

As the days passed, Linqin’s reputation increased.  The customized zithers that she delivered was the talk among the nobles.  The different families threw parties surrounding the unveiling of the zithers that it caught the attention of the Empress.  

When Linqin received an invitation to attend the birthday party of the Crown Prince, Linqin knew the Empress wanted a zither of their own.  Linqin had two months to prepare the Crown Prince’s gift and when the birthday date came, Linqin dressed in her finest dress and left to the palace.  

Her white dress had  three layers to it. The first layer, was a soft white dress that contoured her body perfectly.  The second and third layer on top, was a see through silk wrap that flowed over her body, making her silhouette more mysterious.  

She wore her hair up, with several mother of pearl hair pins.  The bottom half of her face was covered in a white silk see through cloth, however it did not cover up her beauty.  Her brown eyes were just as alluring and mysterious as her reputation.

Because she came as an honored guest, her seating was closest to the royal family.  When she entered the room, several people watched with curiosity and whispered to each other as they pointed to her.  

Linqin sat down without any greetings to other nobles and sat still, as her servants stood behind her.  The room went back to talking to each other and no one came up to her to speak. No one there knew her well enough to speak to her on familiar terms and no one wanted to be the first one to go up and speak to her.  

Had it not been for the Shen family, Linqin would have been left alone.  

“Zither Master.”  Lady Shen said as she came up to Linqin’s table.  

“Please join me, Lady Shen.”  Linqin waved to the seat beside her.  

“If it pleases you, I will join you for a bit.”  

Lady Shen sat beside Linqin and began to speak loudly about her new zither she just recieved.  The two of them spoke politely to each other, causing the other customized zither owners to come up to speak to Linqin.  They began praising Linqin for her skills once again and bragged about how beautiful the sound of the zither played in their homes.  This it caused several women to step forward and gently complain that they did not have a reserved ticket to get a customized zither.  

Linqin could only apologize and tell them that materials for the zither came in limited supply.  Once her materials were finished, she would have to travel the land once again to gather enough materials, which would take another 5 years.  

Seeing how the Zither Master cared about the quality materials to make a  zither, they could only pout and sulk in their own bad luck.

When the gong rang, everyone went back to their seats and waited for the royal family.  The Crown Prince had turned four years old and was brought in by a nursemaid. Next the Emperor and Empress entered together as everyone bowed to them.  

When the Emperor and Empress sat down, the Emperor gave leave for everyone to sit down and the celebration to begin.  Wine and food was served as music played and a dance troupe danced in the middle of the stage that was set up.

Everyone spoke happily to their neighbor as they laughed and enjoyed themselves.  The Emperor was glad to see his subjects celebrate his son’s birthday as he scanned the room, however to his left, sat a quiet woman in white.  

She didn’t touch her food or wine, nor did she speak with the the people beside her.  She sat still, watching the dance in front of her, with her back straight and her hands in her lap.  Her covered up features could not be hidden nor her beauty. Her plain, white dress was simple yet elegant.  It made her look clean and pure.

“Who’s that, my Empress?”  Emperor Zhelan leaned to the side and asked his wife.  

Empress Xinyue followed his gaze and saw the beautiful woman and her heart tightened.  This is the first time she had a worrying feeling since she transmigrated.

“The Zither Master.”  Empress Xinyue told him.  

“Ah, so that’s her.”  He said as he nodded his head once and looked away.  

His eyes never once looked back at the Zither Master, but Empress Xinyue felt herself feel more uneasy.  She had changed the storyline for everyone too drastically and does not know what the future will entail.  Because of that, she killed her enemies and their families so they could never come after her.

After some time, Empress Xinyue could not stop staring at the Zither Master.  The Zither Master sat still, not touching a single dish or drink a drop of wine.  Suddenly she had an impulse to confront the Zither Master. How could the Zither Master not celebrate her son’s birthday?  Feeling as if the Zither Master was slighting her son and thus herself, she frowned even more and felt an anger build inside of her.

“Is everything alright?”  Emperor Zhelan asked as he felt his wife’s changed demeanor.  

After telling the Emperor her thoughts, Emperor Zhelan frowned and looked back at the alluring Zither Master.  She had stayed in her same position since the beginning. Now an hour has passed and she still hadn’t move.

“Do what you wish.”  Emperor Zhelan told her.  He did not want to be seen as a Emperor bullying his subject, so he gave his Empress his permission to do what she wanted.  

With a flick of her hand, the music stopped.  Once the music stopped, the dancers stopped and the joyous conversations also stopped.  

“This Empress would like to thank everyone for attending the Crown Prince’s fourth birthday.  This Empress had hope that everyone enjoys themselves here, however This Empress noticed that Zither Master has not taken a sip of wine nor touched a dish in front of you.  Is there something wrong with the food and wine?”

Everyone’s eyes turns towards the mysterious Zither Master and whispered to the ones beside them.