Li Siyan's "Face Like the Peach Blossoms" had started out with tremulous quaver, lulling the audience into a peaceful daydream as she spoke of soft spring days and lost romances.

Wei Wanru's piece was completely the opposite, startling the listener with its opening trill of notes cascading into a torrent of frantic melody. Mei Yanran could only stare at the female lead's fingers flying over the strings, weaving a song and a story that slowly eased into its strong and steady course.

Many of the listeners were surprised by her performance---not only because of her skill, but because of her choice of song. Just as Li Siyan's "Face Like the Peach Blossoms" took inspiration from the Tang Dynasty, Wei Wanru's "The River Runs Red" (滿江紅)  was based on a poem highlighting the indignant resolve of the great General Yue Fei in the Song Dynasty. He had cursed the ravages of the barbarians against the borders while lamenting over years lost to age. In the poem, the general vowed to lead his armies anew and charge through the pass, slaying their enemies to recover the lands of their once-great empire.

"This is..." Ling Fengxiao's half-lidded eyes rose with the music, his pupils taking on a keen light.

"Master?" the attentive Chang Yin asked carefully.

"A war song," Ling Fengxiao muttered, his lips quirking into a semblance of a smile. "Right after His Majesty spoke of peace. What a contrary girl."

He closed his eyes, listening as the rapid notes of the zither gradually eased into a more wistful note. When played like this, there was little hint of the bloodthirsty verses behind the refrain.

"No...perhaps not," he murmured softly. "...but it's a gamble, nonetheless..."

Chang Yin felt himself sweating as he strained to make sense of his master's ramblings. Unfortunately, they rarely made sense when the man was talking to himself. Were 12 cups of wine too much...?

Wei Wanru performed magnificently, ignoring the flecks of blood that scattered over her strings as she played. The slight crease of her brows and the tightness of her jaw, both a sign of the stabbing pains from her fingers, only served to heighten the intensity of her piece, leaving her listeners with a quiet thrill. Coupled with the soft notes of the zither, the hale and hearty war song turned tender and even fragile in her hands as the faded dreams of the general morphed to an almost sorrowful reminiscence.

In the midst of the performance, Mei Yanran glanced towards the emperor's seating area. His Majesty was listening with solemn attention, eyes closed as if lost in his thoughts. Next to him, the empress was placidly drinking tea, having been a silent wallflower throughout the entire banquet. The Empress Dowager had started with a smile, but that had quickly faded once Wei Wanru began her song. She clearly disapproved. 

Of the emperor's three sons, the eldest, Crown Prince Chu Yeguang (楚燁光), merely looked bored while the second, Chu Yeci (楚燁辭) was listening with polite but reserved attention. Only third son Chu Yexuan, future husband to Wei Wanru, seemed visibly moved. However, his eyes kept darting between Wei Wanru's face and her hands, and a small frown marred the otherwise visible sparkle in his eyes. The reception of the rest of the listeners were more or less mixed, but no one expressed their views outright with the emperor and empress dowager present.

Well... Mei Yanran's eyes flickered to Li Siyan, who was caught between scowling and shooting looks at Chu Yexuan. Almost nobody.

Out of habit, she glanced at Ling Fengxiao too, but he looked like he was actually fast asleep.

"Wei Wanru, what do you mean by this?" 

The empress dowager's voice jolted Mei Yanran back to reality. In the original novel, the female lead had been denounced by the empress dowager by playing a war song when their country was in the midst of a peace treaty with their former enemies. The last thing their country needed was another war---especially with the emperor still weak!

Wei Wanru rose from her seat to bend forward in a low bow. "Esteemed Empress Dowager."

The old matron simply gripped the armrests of her seat, too miffed to speak. In her place, the empress leaned forward, her gorgeous robes rippling around her form. As the daughter-in-law of the empress dowager, it was only natural that she stood in for her mother's views when needed.

"The Snow Festival Talent Exhibition is a show of skills, yes, but before that we must have sense and proper decorum," she said simply. "Our Great Chu is currently entering an era of peace. To awaken the topic of war so soon seems...rather tactless."

"Wanru agrees," Wei Wanru demurred. "Which is why Wanru has not played a war song at all."

"Wei Wanru," the empress dowager burst out, "You are confusing black for white, and white for black!"

 Li Siyan was gloating in her seat, Mei Yanran noted. Chu Yexuan's brows had furrowed more at his imperial grandmother's words, while Ling Fengxiao...

...looked to be still sleeping? At any rate, his eyes were still closed. She pouted slightly at the sight, then turned back to the scene at hand. The whole dialogue between the royals and Wei Wanru had taken two chapters to get through in the novel. After the empress dowager finally lost her temper, the emperor had surprisingly stepped in to give the female lead a chance to talk. There, she had delivered a rousing speech---

"---do the generals scatter like the dust when war is won? No, I see them still. They have taken up plows in place of swords, and lead oxen in place of horses. They return home to pay respects to their ancestors and observe the rites to Heaven. Warriors they are still, but nurturers they are more---of life, of peace, of happiness to all."

While the empress dowager still looked displeased, it was the emperor holding court now. He nodded in agreement to Wei Wanru's words before motioning her to continue.

"Your Majesty once led our people as their general to victory against the tribes of the north," Wei Wanru went on, still kneeling on her knees. "Our battles are finished now, but Your Majesty rules us still as the father of this nation. The glories of the past are but a shining crown to the present, and a guiding light for the future! Wanru offers this piece not as a call to war, but in tribute to Your Majesty and all of Great Chu."

"A tribute to Us?" the emperor echoed, but he didn't sound displeased.

And then Wei Wanru had praised the emperor for upholding the nation, then the empress and empress dowager for being pillars of imperial might. Just as a general turned into a farmer in times of stability, a war song could be a peace song when the country had no fear of its enemies. In short, the female lead was a faster-thinking sweet-talker!

Black to white, white to black. They might not mix, but seeing them together would yield shades of gray between both.

"Face Like the Peach Blossoms" may have been a song of a single maiden, but "The River Runs Red" took the story of a general and gave face to the sovereign and its entire nation. In terms of breadth and depth, it was far more insightful and brilliant. The best forms of art, in the end, gave the observer more food for thought long after the performance ended. And Wei Wanru's rebuttal was the ultimate form of payback against Li Siyan, because nobody would remember the tale of a lovesick girl when they could speak of the real one who rose to the empress dowager's challenge---and won! Mei Yanran raised her teacup in silent tribute before draining it dry again.

Seeing and hearing the main character triumph is definitely different from reading it onscreen!