The accompanying Lian house' young servant, who was more than a head shorter compared to Zhen BuFeng, nervously requested again while glancing at his spear, "Um, this humble servant is terribly sorry, but weapons are not permitted inside Lian house... ."

 

 

Zhen BuFeng glanced at him, giving him a calm but cold penetrating gaze that almost made the poor servant pee his pants.

The Crown Prince chuckled, "Just let BuFeng be, little guy. He will never part with that spear."

Another older servant, noticing the personages still standing at the gates, hurriedly ran over and shooed the young servant away,

"This humble one is terribly sorry. That person is only recently employed by Lian House. Please let this humble one take Your Highnesses to your seats."

The Crown Prince hid his smile behind the fan he was holding, "No harm done. Show us the way."

As they walked inside the gate along the path, they nodded slightly at the noble youths before being led to a separate area by the older servant. Obviously, for the Imperial Sons' entourage, the seats must be separate from the rest of the guests. Chao HuiBo, Chao MeiHua, and their friends could hear the princes chatting as they walked past,

"Third Brother has not seen his little fiancee for quite a while now. I wonder if she is still as lovable as she used to be, almost four years ago," the Crown Prince said teasingly.

Zhang GuoFu smiled, "Eldest Brother, don't tease this younger brother."

"I am sure Young Miss Ji has grown to be quite a beauty now." Second Prince Zhang JunLi also smiled towards the Third Prince, then gesturing towards the crowd, "I mean, look at how everyone has come to see her."

"Ah, but Master He Shan and Master Sun Chen are the ones behind this event," Zhang GuoFu countered.

"True... ." Zhang KongJing nodded, "Then, who do you think the other rumored 'young lady from the Ji family' is?"

Zhang GuoFu brought his hands to his chin, contemplating, "I am not sure, but may it be Miss Bai YuLan?"

At the mention of her name, Zhang GuoFu's mind went back to that night years ago, at that festival in Ming town. At the time, she was already unconscious and drenched in her own blood, her small frame felt light and fragile in his arms.

"Definitely Miss Bai YuLan," Zhen BuFeng, who had been silent all this time chimed in.

"I believe so as well," Zhang KongJing's smile became wider, almost turning into a grin, "That girl is quite special."

As they walked further away and could no longer be heard, the noble youths who were still standing exchanged confused glances.

"Is there an accomplished young lady by the name of Bai YuLan?"

"Someone from the Ji estate?"

"Doesn't sound familiar."

"Me neither. Have never heard of that name before."

"Me neither. Maybe because we have always been in Da Lang and are not quite aware of the households outside of the capital city?"

"But we know of Young Miss Ji LanBai and Young Master Ji SongLi. We also know some names of even smaller officials in Ming town... . Still, never heard of anyone named Bai YuLan... ."

Chao MeiHua was still awestruck, looking at the backs of the just-passing princes. After all, as a young lady of the distinguished Minister of Finance, she had hardly met any males outside her house. She had begged for weeks to her father to be able to tag along with her brother and his friends for this particular trip. Her brother's friends had known her since small, so she had grown accustomed to their presence; everyone seemed to be treating her as their own younger sister.

A bell chime was heard from the main building; the servant who was with their group bowed in a courteous manner, "That is the signal indicating the performance is going to begin soon. Young Masters and Young Miss, please be at haste." He gestured politely with his hands to quicken their pace.

When they got closer to their seats, which were naturally also placed in a good location, they saw two adult men in white and grey robes, followed by two smaller female frames. The females' faces were obscured behind the white-veiled hat they were wearing. One of them wore plain muted light violet dress, the other plain light blue. Behind the two young ladies, two young maids carrying a guqin each and a couple of armed guards bearing swords with Tiger insignia walked closely, before standing guard in front of the only access of the suspended pavilion. The two maids handed the guqin to the veiled females before the four performers proceeded to enter the pavilion. 

Now seating comfortably, Chao MeiHua squealed in low voice, pinching Chao HuiBo's sleeve and pointed towards one of the adult figures who was now inside the pavilion across the pond where they were seated,

"That is Sun-laoshi!"

"Indeed. That is him. He is just getting more handsome, isn't he?" One of Chao HuiBo's friends rolled his eyes. Of course the allure of a 'refined handsome educated mature' scholar would always send young maidens' hearts fluttering.

"He-laoshi is also there," Chao HuiBo squinted his eyes, recognizing He Shan as well.

The four people on the pavilion took their places, with He Shan and Sun Chen positioning themselves in full view of the guests. The females, the qin players, sat on the plush carpet that had been provided by Lian house. Their figures were hidden behind the white fabrics. Even when the wind swayed the fabrics to give the guests view of their profiles, their faces were still concealed under the white veiled hat they wore. Only their pale fingers could be seen strumming their zithers' strings, tuning them and testing their sound.

The male guests craned their necks as far forward as possible to catch more glimpses of the mysterious figures behind the veils, but to no success. They could only watch the female guests around them giggling and blushing furiously at the sight of the two famous scholars on the pavilion, their tall and elegant postures unobstructed.

Not long after, without prior warning or announcement, a melodious qin sound was heard, coming from the veiled lady in violet dress. Then HeShan brought his green bamboo dizi - one of his many collections - to his lips and started playing his tune.

Some guests from the town of Ming who had faithfully been listening over the past few months outside the Ji estate walls would recognize the musical piece.

Then the second qin started playing; the veiled young lady in light blue dress strummed her cream colored zither's strings, accompanying the other zither in harmony.

 SONG LINK (YOUTUBE) || TITLE: 畫心 (HUA XIN). INSTRUMENTAL VERSION

Then as soon as the second zither started, SunChen did something he had never done before.

He began to sing.

 

       (HeShan and SunChen)

 

Two mysterious veiled qin players with their dainty fingers skillfully dancing across their zithers; a long-haired handsome scholar, garbed in white, with his bamboo dizi, producing a whistling sound almost belonging to the heavens; another long-haired scholar, garbed in dark colored attire, whose handsome appearance perfectly complemented the whole picture, his slightly slanted eyes also reflected his seductive charm.

His singing did not accompany the instruments for the full length of the score, but when he sang the incredibly poetic sorrowful lyrics, many of the female guests started feeling faint. 

   SONG LINK (YOUTUBE) || TITLE: 畫心 (HUA XIN). MALE VOCAL VERSION

Sun Chen's verse told a story of an unspoken sorrow of being left behind by a loved one, his voice breaking and hoarse in some pauses.

 

[Loving you, is now like the heartbeat - untouchable;]

[I would like to paint you, but I can no longer form your bones;]

[Stubbornly remembering your expression; stubbornly waiting for you;]

[You are a song that I will never finish singing.]

 

The female guests felt they could die on the spot listening to his heavenly low voice, all the while also wishing they could fly across the pond to where he was, taking his trembling body into their arms and wash away his sorrow. 

To Sun Chen's admirers, he was no stranger in composing poems. After all, he was a well known scholar and a highly sought after calligraphy teacher. Simply put, he was gifted in the way of words. But for him to sing was definitely a first. The song was also sung differently to the Empire's normal songs, where most of them were usually sung like reciting poetry. This performance by Sun Chen had the melody, had the emotion, and was perfectly accompanied by the qin and dizi.

Then a whistling high female voice came from behind the white curtains - the young lady in light blue dress did not sing any verse like Sun Chen did, but from her lips came out a shrilling sound of a sorrowful flute-like voice. Instead of her qin, she evoked the emotion within the song by her wavy vocal, gradually turning into a high shrill before her sound gradually faded behind the dizi HeShan followed after.

 

SONG LINK (YOUTUBE) || TITLE: 畫心 (HUA XIN). JANE ZHANG (张靓颖) VERSION

(The bit that YuLan sang was only the part from minute 2:18 until 2:48)

 

The remnant echo of her voice and the flute, was like the wind carrying one's desolation, not knowing where to go or who to grieve to, and could only vanish into nothingness in the end. Only sorrow remained.

This time, it was the male guests' turn to have tea cups suspended in mid-air, not able to continue sipping their tea any longer. They could still hear the leftover shrill at the back of their mind, their whole beings shaken by that youthful but desperate voice.

Crown Prince Zhang KongJing, who had clear view of the pavilion and could see all four figures on it clearly, stopped fanning himself. Zhen BuFeng had his lips partly opened in a trance, with his right finger still holding his teacup. Third Prince Zhang GuoFu had a blank gaze in his eyes while staring at the stage the whole time; and Second Prince Zhang JunLi's face openly expressed his admiration.

Then both of the zithers stopped. He Shan was still playing his dizi softly. Sun Chen's voice was like a whisper, the last desperate words of one no longer able to see his beloved,

 

[Stubbornly remembering your expression, stubbornly waiting for you;]

[You are a song that I will never finish singing;]

[But my heart will only beat for you.]

 

Lian house was silent; even the servants, who were previously busy running around filling teas and delivering more snacks, stopped at their tracks, rooted on the spot while staring at the pavilion.

Some of the young maidens then started thinking to themselves, "I think I'm falling in love."

Chao MeiHua, after listening to Sun Chen, "I think I have fallen in love more."

Some of the noble youths and commoners alike, while still yearning to see the faces behind the veils, thought inside their own minds, "I may have fallen in love... ."

Crown Prince Zhang KongJing still had his gaze fixated on the light blue dressed figure on the stage who was already tuning her zither for the next song. He knew for certain that the young woman was not Ji LanBai. He lowered his head, sighed loudly, and muttered in a low voice, more to himself but clear for his younger brothers and Zhen BuFeng to hear, 

"What to do... I think I just fell in love..."