Chapter 106: Lingering Melody (Part II)

Having just parted ways with Yuan Jin'er and returned to the second floor, the Su family members were still debating how to persuade Lü Xia to join their side. Although they were somewhat aware that the Xue family surely held their own bargaining chips, Su Wengui and the others possessed a measure of confidence. This was primarily because they were frequent patrons of the Yancui Pavilion. Among them, Su Wending was close to the head branch, Su Wengui and Su Wenxing belonged to the second branch, while Su Wenluo and Su Wenji were from the third. Naturally, they would not usually move as a single unit, but at this moment, they chose to band together, pooling their various connections.

The situation appeared quite promising. Some knew the most influential managers in the pavilion, others were on intimate terms with Mother Chen, and some had personally patronized Lü Xia several times, believing they shared a close bond. They spoke with great confidence, and by consolidating their efforts, they felt victory was within their grasp. By now, these members of the Su family had been making arrangements left and right, and having invested a large sum of silver along with Li Pin’s poetry, they felt very secure.

Had it not been for the fact that Lü Xia and Xue Yan had already developed a certain relationship, then as long as they gave her enough face and presented one or two stunning poems or lyrics, they might have stood a good chance of winning tonight. But by this point, it was no longer a simple matter of competition. Of course, Yuan Jin'er’s suggestion to hide outside until the song and dance were finished was not a good solution. Ning Yi went up and finished discussing this with Li Pin, who laughed at the suggestion.

"Haha, no wonder they looked so confident below. I had been suspicious, and now I see why." His demeanor was magnanimous as he laughed. After joking with Ning Yi for a few moments, he took paper and brush to write a second poem, which was again handed to the woman nearby to take down. The poem was neither satirical nor complaining; it was a piece intended to support Lü Xia. Shortly after, Lü Xia’s second performance began. Once she finished, the Xue family offered two hundred taels of silver, while the Su family offered three hundred. Accompanied by their poems, they waited for Lü Xia’s choice.

When the final result was announced, the hall was, as usual, in an uproar. The Su family members were somewhat indignant. Shortly after, Xue Yan, Xue Jin, Liu Qingdi, and their group brought Lü Xia up to offer greetings. From Lü Xia’s position, she naturally thanked the Su family for their generous affection. Xue Yan and the others laughed happily as they spoke.

"Haha, surely Miss Lü found herself in a difficult position today. To choose one side would inevitably leave the other unhappy. Wenxing, Wenji, our families have been friends for years. Let me apologize first. If you have any anger, vent it on me. Xia is ultimately in a difficult spot; please do not take this to heart..."

Xue Yan’s words were intended to shield Lü Xia from the Su family’s wrath, but in reality, it was merely an attempt to irritate them by forcing them to adopt an "I am not angry" attitude. Everyone exchanged a few polite, cheerful words, and Wenxing and Wenji could only display a magnanimous demeanor, though their gazes were fixed on the tension in the hall. At this moment, most people’s eyes had already turned toward them.

Amidst Lü Xia’s apologies and the remarks from Xue Yan and his cohorts, Li Pin raised his wine cup and smiled. "We have long known of the bond between Brother Xue and Miss Lü. Today, I am very pleased to see such a beautiful union come to fruition. I wonder when Brother Xue will take Miss Lü home? That would be a truly meaningful and auspicious occasion..."

"Li... Brother Li, why do you say that?" Once Li Pin said this, Su Wenxing and the others were somewhat confused. On the surface, they wore knowing smiles, but Xue Yan and Lü Xia’s expressions shifted slightly. They knew the truth of the situation. If Li Pin truly knew of their relationship and spoke it aloud in a way that others believed, people would say that the Su family was willing to facilitate a union even when they knew they would lose, which would make the Xue family appear petty. As for Lü Xia, it would be even more troublesome; if she were truly to marry into the Xue family, such a rumor might solidify, effectively barring her from ever entering the Xue household.

The light was slightly dim. Liu Qingdi, having heard Li Pin’s words, stepped forward and raised his cup. "I accept your good wishes, Brother Li. Today’s result was indeed a concession by the Su family. If Liheng had also produced a poem, I fear I truly would not have dared to present my own poor efforts. In that case, it would be hard to say which side Miss Lü would have chosen..."

This disruptive remark had little effect because the Ning Yi he mentioned was currently standing by the railing, looking down at the stage below. Lü Xia did not feel reassured by this, her expression somewhat uneasy as she watched Li Pin. Li Pin sighed, drained his cup in one go, and smiled without saying more. When he turned to look at Ning Yi, his gaze followed toward the floor below. Shortly after, Xue Yan, Xue Jin, Su Wenxing, Lü Xia, and the others also turned to look down.

The sound of strings and flutes had begun to play quietly.

In the still-noisy hall, what appeared before everyone’s eyes was a dimly lit stage. A woman in white sat in the center of the stage, gently stroking an ancient zither. Her long hair was tied in a bundle behind her head, cascading down, and the white hem of her skirt spread out on the stage like a lotus flower. The sound of the zither, *ding-dong*, soft and comfortable, mingled with the surrounding voices.

The conversation on the second floor between the Xue and Su families had been the center of attention, but now, more people turned their gazes toward the stage. The rowdy noise gradually faded into whispers, as if smoothed away by the gentle, slow zither music. Unconsciously, the melody seemed to grow clearer, and the hall became increasingly quiet.

The woman looked as if she had been painted onto the stage with ink. As her slender fingers plucked the strings, a refined and captivating aura emanated from her. She wore a veil around her face; as she lowered her head slightly, only her calm, leisurely gaze and pink lips were visible. Although one could not see her full appearance, she was undoubtedly a woman of exceptional beauty. She did not seem to pay much attention to the audience in the hall; instead, it was as if she were playing leisurely in an uninhabited mountain or by a lake.

Perhaps only a few people could grasp the power that figure exerted in such a short time.

"Who is that?"

On the second floor by the railing, Xue Jin asked softly, naturally addressing Lü Xia, but Lü Xia shook her head in confusion.

Xue Yan looked at the people around him and whispered, "What piece is this?"

Liu Qingdi, standing to the side, frowned and subconsciously glanced at Ning Yi. Seeing Ning Yi tilting his head to look down, his fingers tapping gently on the railing, he shook his head and said, "It sounds like something I’ve heard before, but... it’s hard to be certain at this moment..."

"It sounds like 'Water Melody: When Will the Moon Appear'..." Lü Xia answered softly.

"This song has been sung everywhere recently. I’ve heard it at least ten or twenty times. This kind of melody..." someone whispered, "Did she play it wrong?"

The speaker did not sound very confident, and before the words had even faded, the woman on the stage finally raised her head. Her clear gaze swept across the room, lingering only briefly on the second floor. From behind the veil, her voice drifted out.

"When will the moon appear?"

*Water Melody.*

This melody had been sung countless times in Jiangning over the past year. To many regulars of the pleasure houses, it had lost its novelty.

But the singing this time was different from usual. It followed the framework of the familiar melody, yet the voice felt leisurely, ethereal, and graceful. At the same time, it did not lose the grandeur of the lyrics, making it hard to define whether this sound was orthodox or unconventional. Whispers broke out in the hall again, only to fall silent a moment later. These people had likely realized that the song was pleasant to listen to, and whatever they had to say could wait until it was finished.

Of course, no matter how the melody changed, the next line of the lyrics remained the same.

It was: "I raise my cup and ask the heavens."

"I do not know what year it is in the heavenly palaces tonight... I wish to ride the wind and return there, yet I fear the jade towers and palaces..."

Few people in the hall were speaking. For this moment, the zither and the singing influenced everything. The white clothes, the ancient zither, the long hair, the veil, and the clear, graceful singing created an impact as if an untainted fairy had descended. The music was different from usual, and the singing technique was different, yet it was not unorthodox; the structure remained unchanged. It was as if every turn, every vibrato, and every rise and fall of the melody possessed a soul of its own. Accompanied by an ethereal and beautiful voice, it had stunningly created a brand-new atmosphere.

"In the high places, one cannot bear the cold; dancing to toy with a clear shadow, how can it compare to being among the human world..."

Once the song was finished, the woman smiled slightly and turned her attention back to the zither. Ning Yi, on the second floor, saw her seemingly unintentional glance just now and shook his head lightly. Of course, this could not disturb the tranquility and smile in the woman's eyes. She had not done such things for three years, and originally, there was no need for her to do so.

Prior to this, Ning Yi had never truly heard Nie Yunzhu sing in the ancient style. But he knew where this song came from. Ning Yi had taught her the modern way of singing *Water Melody* and told her that he liked this style. She had actually been somewhat skeptical, but she never refuted it, until this performance. It was as if two pieces had been fused together in a near-magical way, yet it did not feel jarring in the slightest.

"It’s as high as several stories..."

"At least in this regard—whether it be various poems and songs, or the folk ballads the young master mentioned—if Yunzhu couldn't handle it, I fear there are few others in the entire city of Jiangning who could."

Recalling the things she had said when she was either playful or full of confidence, and the hesitant expression she had when she heard those songs of his, Ning Yi now understood, but for the moment, he could only listen quietly as the song continued, just like everyone else.

"Turning the vermilion pavilion, lowering the silk-latticed windows, shining upon the sleepless... There should be no resentment, why does it always stay round during times of parting?"

On the other side, in a window on the side of the hall, Yuan Jin'er watched the figure on the stage, listening quietly. Behind her, Mother Chen was also listening, though at one point she frowned and said, "That is Yunzhu..."

She had listened to Nie Yunzhu’s zither music before, and with a professional ear. Back at the Jinfeng Pavilion, Nie Yunzhu’s accomplishments in this area were superb, though her temperament had a hint of aloof arrogance. This was an artistic mood that others admired; for example, Lu Caicai had a similar temperament, but Lu Caicai’s style leaned toward self-pity, which ultimately could not compare to Nie Yunzhu’s cold, solitary pride.

But at this moment, that coldness was gone. The once-distant arrogance had vanished, replaced by a natural and gentle flow like a mountain stream, warmly enveloping everything, nourishing things without a sound. Almost no one wanted to disturb such a song and atmosphere. Her appearance on stage did not need a high-profile attitude to overwhelm everything; it was as if there was simply no need for controversy, and she directly captivated everyone. There was no need to compare her with Lü Xia and the others, because they were not on the same level or system.

"People have sorrow and joy, separation and reunion; the moon has cloud and clear, wax and wane. Such matters have been hard to perfect since ancient times..."

The woman sang the lyrics with a smile and a sense of ease. A short while later, as she parted her lips to sing the final lines, "May we all be blessed with longevity, though far apart, we share the beauty of the moon," there seemed to be a sense of reluctance to let go. Her voice and the zither lingered for a long time before finally falling silent. She lowered her head and sat there quietly, waiting for a long moment until the applause finally erupted.

Voices mixed with the applause as people on the first and second floors began to ask the women around them about the identity of the person on stage, or excitedly began to discuss with their companions how to get her to come over.

Amidst these sounds, the woman stood up from the stage, smiled, and bowed slightly, not saying a word, as a gesture of thanks. She then walked toward one side of the stage, though not toward the backstage. It was from there that Lü Xia had descended earlier. Lü Xia had poured a cup of wine at a small side table and offered it to Xue Yan. At this moment, the woman also picked up a porcelain cup from above, but she did not touch the wine flagon; instead, she walked to the side and poured herself a cup of tea.

In the hall, people watched this scene with slight confusion, and amidst the murmurs, they waited to see what would happen next...