Traveling through an ancient military camp: Bao'er's survival song

The Wu Mansion in the capital.

Miss Wu Suining, the eldest daughter of the Wu family, was holding a guqin with great affection, while her thirteen-year-old brother, Wu Fanzhi, the eldest son of the Wu family, was slumped on his sister's embroidered chair with his legs crossed, waiting for praise.

Wu Fanzhi obtained this guqin from his good friend through various means. In five days, it will be the sixteenth birthday of his eldest sister, Wu Suining. This guqin, named Fengzheng, is a birthday gift from him to his eldest sister.

“Fan Zhi,” Wu Suining spoke, her voice like a nightingale singing in a valley, like the tinkling of a spring, “If I remember correctly, this Feng Zheng belongs to Jin Hai, the eldest son of the Minister of Works, right? How did it end up with you?”

Wu Fanzhi quickly sat up straight. The older sister holding the zither by the window was looking at him with a slight smile, her eyebrows slightly raised.

Wu Fanzhi's heart skipped a beat. How did his sister even know this? He had respected and loved his elder sister since childhood, but he was also genuinely afraid of her. Despite her gentle demeanor and soft voice, his elder sister could also be gentle while simultaneously tapping his palm with a small twig! If he was a pampered young master who had never been touched by his mother, then his elder sister had made up for all those "fingers" she had missed.

Wu Fanzhi rolled his eyes and said with a fawning smile, "Eldest sister has such good eyesight! This Feng Zheng originally belonged to the eldest brother of the Jin family, but it was later given to the third brother of the Jin family. Now, the third brother of the Jin family heard that you are good at music, and your birthday is coming soon, so he came over to me in a hurry."

Wu Suining glanced up with her slightly lowered eyelids: "Oh? Is that so?"

Wu Suining merely smiled and quietly watched her younger brother, which made Wu Fanzhi begin to panic and feel uneasy. In the end, he couldn't resist the suppression of his bloodline and confessed everything about how he had tricked the guqin Feng Zheng from Jin Sheng, the third young master of the Ministry of Works. Finally, he even acted aggrieved, lying down at Wu Suining's feet and hugging her legs, acting like a rogue, "Elder sister, my monthly allowance is so little, but I also want to give you a decent birthday gift! Elder sister!"

Wu Suining simply said "Get up" softly, then gently pinched the ear of the underling who had just gotten up and said, "Come with me to Lord Jin's residence to apologize later, and then run twenty laps at the Xuanhu Gate training ground when you come back."

Wu Fanzhi looked delighted and shook Wu Suining's hand, asking, "Really? Just running? No beatings?"

Wu Suining glanced at him and said softly, "A gentleman loves money, but he acquires it in a proper way. This zither is the beloved possession of Jin Hai, the eldest son of the Jin family. How could he easily give it to Jin San? If this zither truly belonged to Jin San, then your playful banter between brothers would be fine. But have you considered how Jin San would explain this to the two Jin officials if he entrusted the zither to you? Would he be accused of theft? You have implicated your brother in a scandal simply because of a zither, and this is the reason for your punishment. However, considering your youth and carelessness, I will only punish you lightly."

The elder sister's words were like a blow to the head, immediately making Wu Fanzhi realize the situation. He then became even more eager to apologize than Wu Suining. Jin San might be a bit slow-witted, but he was still his brother.

When Wu Suining arrived at the Jin residence of Minister of Works with Wu Fanzhi, Feng Zheng's guqin, and gifts, the Jin family was indeed whipping Jin San.

Jin Laosan was hanging from the big willow tree in the courtyard, stubbornly insisting that he had lost the guqin and refusing to reveal Feng Zheng's true whereabouts. Jin Hai, holding a whip, paced around in anger: his own brother, beaten to this extent and still wouldn't talk, what could he do? He couldn't just kill him like a criminal!

This ancient zither, Fengzheng, was a gift from the emperor. If it were to be carelessly discarded as my third brother claims, the entire Jin family would suffer as a result.