1.17 His Guqin
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YuLan ran her fingers on the surface of a light colored guqin, slowly tracing the grains and the curve of the wooden instrument. It was made from the Chinese parasol tree, like many other zithers commonly existing in the Empire. But the lacquer used to stain the surface was unusual, it gave the wood a lighter color and gave it a creamy smooth luster.

 

 

YuLan thought it was a very beautiful guqin.

On the head curve of the instrument, two characters were engraved and sealed in black ink: Song Li.

This guqin belonged to Ji SongLi, which had been given to YuLan by Second Madame Hai FenChu a few months ago after his latest letter arrived.

Back then, Hai FenChu had handed the guqin to her with a perplexed and somewhat confused expression. Initially YuLan refused, but Hai FenChu handed her a short letter from SongLi which was apparently included in his letter to his mother. It was hardly one page long and it was not even properly addressed to her name.

"Mother told me that you are very adept in qin. My guqin is now yours. Please consider it my birthday present to you for the past few years I have been absent. Please do not refuse it. Rather than gathering dust, a guqin is happier when there is someone cherishing and using it how it should be. For that, I am certain you will."

She previously thought that letter, and thus the guqin, could have been meant for Ji LanBai instead. But YuLan later understood that it was really for her when she read the next sentence on the paper,

"I also read from Mother that you are quite a composer. Please consider arranging a new score for me. I will consider it your birthday gift for me for a lifetime. You don't have to make cakes for me anymore."

YuLan had a puzzled look and gave Hai FenChu a questioning gaze; only for the older woman to return her gaze with a more dazed look,

"Li'er has asked to give the guqin to you. So please just accept it."

Then Hai FenChu left in a stupor, muttering to herself, "Is he feeling guilty? What's with the sudden favored treatment? Doesn't he like his guqin so much? But if he didn't like YuLan, why does he want to give it to her?"

She let out a soundless sigh, "I have such a weird son."

YuLan liked, no, she loved the guqin. It was an extremely beautiful piece of instrument and an absolute delight to play with. The strings were also made of top quality silk. Silk usually was not ideal for frequent uses because of its tendency to break easily, but YuLan had tried strumming song after song, notes after notes, with the guqin after she received it. The silk used was truly best of the best.

She could tell that this was truly Ji SongLi's prized possession, she felt almost guilty that she was entrusted with it.

For the past few years, especially after Ji SongLi and Ji ChanFang left the household, she was not blind to see that she received constantly special treatments from the two Madames, and of course from Ji LanBai as always. Her bedroom, the study adjacent to Ji LanBai's own bedroom, had also been renovated. Her previous simple bed had also been replaced with an exquisite canopied mahogany bed. It was by no means inferior than what Ji LanBai also had. 

 

Ji LanBai had grown out of her habit of sleeping together every night, though she was still quite attached to YuLan, treating the latter's bedroom as her own personal space

 

Ji LanBai had grown out of her habit of sleeping together every night. However, she was still quite attached to YuLan, treating the latter's bedroom as her own personal space. The two Madames, especially Hai FenChu, had also grown quite close to her. It seemed that rather than merely a maid, YuLan had been treated like another young lady of the family. Of course, this had given her so much comfort, so she did not refuse their well intentions towards her. She just treated it as a massive bonus from her employers, although she personally felt she had grown attached to this family as well.

YuLan was always self-sufficient and had the habit of preparing everything herself, especially for her own personal needs. However, lately she had Xiao Hui hovering around her almost all the time, trying to adhere to her every essentials. In short, Xiao Hui almost acted like she was YuLan's personal maid, rather than Ji LanBai's. The two Madames and Ji LanBai did not express any grievance for this either, causing YuLan to feel helpless about this whole arrangement.

At the moment, YuLan was absentmindedly strumming a verse of Butterfly Lovers 1梁山伯與祝英臺. I put the link in author's note at the end of the chapter, a piece that she was fond of in her previous life. The score was famous and had been rendered by plenty of instruments in her previous modern world; from the ancient guqinguzhengerhudizi, and even the modern violin, piano, and flute. There had even been well-known orchestra performances for it. But for YuLan, especially now that she had her own chance to play the guqin and erhu, these ancient instruments were the most ideal to give voice to the musical piece.

Xiao Hui was behind her, combing her hair that had reached as long as her waist. 

Combing YuLan's hair had become Xiao Hui's private pleasure everyday. YuLan's hair was not as jet black and luscious as those belonging to females in the Zhang Empire. Even Xiao Hui's hair was of a darker black than hers. However, Xiao Hui loved to run the small comb, and sometimes her own fingers through the thin soft strands of YuLan's hair. Especially when the morning sun shone its light through the window, YuLan's hair seemed to turn just a shade lighter, turning it beautiful tinted brownish color of a deeply-brewed black tea.

It was peak of summer and the weather was getting increasingly hot. YuLan was especially diligent in perfecting the Butterfly Lovers score she remembered from her past life, while Xiao Hui happily combed her hair. Ji SongLi's fourteenth birthday had just passed a month ago, and she would like to give him what he had requested in his letter: a new music score. She had also written him a short reply saying that she would look after his guqin in his stead.

Truthfully, YuLan felt that she was cheating. She was by no means the composer of those music everyone in the Ji family, as He Shan and Sun Chen kept praising her about. All she did was remembering bits and pieces of the melody and songs she used to know; some of those she did not even remember the full verses or the lyrics. However, her emotions she carried through the songs she played were genuine. How could she not evoke the emotion of a lifetime, longing of a life or love lost, the torment of missing someone, when she had  lost all those at the prime of her past life?

Through the guqin and erhu she played, she conveyed all those she could not speak of in this lifetime.

Then Xiao Hui stopped her combing and muttered, "... Hmm?"

YuLan also stopped her fingers, turning her neck slightly, "What's wrong?"

"This... ." Xiao Hui gently lifted strands of YuLans hair at the nape of her neck, "Xiao Hua, there is a flower marking on your nape."

"Huh?" This was new to YuLan. She had looked at her current body countless of times before, but obviously the back of her neck was out of reach for her eyesight.

That morning was especially warm, and YuLan's back was beaded with small drops of sweat. Xiao Hui only noticed the red marking when she set aside the hair to give her friend some relief from the heat. Xiao Hui blew some air gently to YuLan's neck to cool her, and soon exclaimed again,

"Hmm~? Now it has disappeared. Weird."

"YuLan~~!" Ji LanBai walked through the connecting door of her bedroom and YuLan's, breaking their chat, "He-laoshi and Sun-laoshi are already waiting. We should leave soon if you are ready."

Ji LanBai, having just passed her first teen year, had grown taller and started to lose a bit of her childish countenance. Her facial features, especially her slightly upturned eyes, exuded the sharpness of a noble young lady, befitting her status as a daughter of a mighty General, while still exhibiting the innocence of youth. This time, her jet black hair had been styled by Xiao Lin, who was most skilled in hair arrangement amongst all of her maids, into some smaller braids. The thickest braids were styled and gathered in a high knot on the crown of her head, leaving her back of the neck uncovered. Xiao Lin definitely accounted for the hot weather in mind. At least with her hair up, Ji LanBai would not feel her hair weighing down and her nape could feel the slightest breeze for comfort in the summer heat. Adorning her hair were two white gemstone hairpins, the simple but exquisite hairpieces adding to her youthful charm.

She wore a flower patterned inner robe underneath a light violet outer dress - the type normally worn by young unmarried females.

She wore a flower patterned inner robe underneath a light violet outer dress - the type normally worn by young unmarried females

There was a trace of impatience in Ji LanBai's eyes, her small frame ceaselessly fidgeting around YuLan. Xiao Hui was still not sure what kind of hairstyle she should do and constantly shifted through a few hair ornaments on the table; most of them very plain as those kind were what YuLan preferred. 

"Never mind, Xiao Hui." YuLan smiled at her friend and lifted her own hands to start arranging her hair. She simply gathered her hair loosely and pinned them at the back of her head, still letting her hair falling freely down her back.

"Won't you feel warm, Xiao Hua?" Xiao Hui worriedly looked at YuLan. The simple hairstyle fit her exceptionally and added to her mellow elegance. Yet, it was probably not the most suitable for the weather.

YuLan just gave her a small reassuring smile. For her, this bit of inconvenience was bearable, especially when she was not sure yet about that red marking Xiao Hui noticed earlier on her nape. It seemed to have vanished, but from what she could deduce from Xiao Hui's remark, it appeared to only become visible in heat. When Xiao Hui cooled her neck earlier, she mentioned that it disappeared.

YuLan did not want to take chances; it's better to cover her nape just in case the marking would appear later. There were a lot of things she did not know about her current physical self. She did not intend to attract any disadvantageous attention, especially when she did not know yet what the marking entailed. 

She dressed herself with similarly light colored flower patterned inner robe as Ji LanBai's, but her outer dress was the lightest of blue. In her previous life, she preferred plain darker colored outfits, but plain dark fabrics were hardly used by the womenfolk in this world and era. In fact, all bolts of fabrics sent to the estate to be made into clothing were all the lighter shades of color available, with darkest ones only meant for the two Madames of the house. From the fabrics, YuLan already picked the most plain available. 

(Bai YuLan)

 

You can read about 梁山伯與祝英臺 (Butterfly Lovers)' tale HERE. There are several movies and dramas for the legend as well. Not the happiest ending, but I love the poetic beauty of the song and the characters' interactions as well.

I personally love this guzheng  (a chinese zither with more strings than the guqin) rendition of the song

 

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