Chapter 33: Presenting the Melody

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The man beside Chen Zhiwei seized his robe and cried out, “You must not, Senior Brother Chen! Do not act so rashly!”

Chen Zhiwei merely waved a hand. “There is no need to worry. Senior Brother Cui is certain to win. This is money being sent straight into our pockets.”

Meng Yuxi coughed once. Little Cui’er said, “You say this is worth five hundred taels, and so it is? Then I might as well claim that the hairpin on my head is worth a thousand taels!”

“Ah, no matter. Between men of letters, a written wager is enough. A man as arrogant as Chen Zhiwei must at least possess some sense of shame. If he had neither face nor dignity, what would be the point of studying? He would be contemptible beyond words. Even if we count this at five hundred taels, the odds for Brother Xiucheng are still disgracefully poor.”

Meng Yuxi threw back his head and laughed.

Gnashing his teeth, Chen Zhiwei signed the agreement. Then he turned and said, “Tell all our fellow disciples in Su City to come to Heaven on Earth. We cannot allow the reputation of Deep City to be disgraced.”

Meng Yuxi sneered inwardly. The others were merely making small wagers for amusement, so he could let them be. But Chen Zhiwei was different. Unless he was ruined completely, how could Meng Yuxi do justice to Qinglian’s innocence?

Before long, Heaven on Earth was packed shoulder to shoulder. Once the scholars of the south heard that a great wager had been laid over a contest of talent and refinement, they came swarming in to watch. Some placed their bets, some drank wine, some recited poetry, and others listened to music. The entire establishment was in an uproar, and every table was occupied.

Meng Yuxi turned and called, “Madam Chang, have the girls dance with all their might! And what are those four golden flowers waiting for? Stop standing around and get to work. Move, move!”

After giving his orders, Meng Yuxi arranged a private room on the second floor for Little Cui’er, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu. Only then did he go to find Qinglian.

“Young Master Meng, you have come.”

Qinglian was not wearing her veil. Her delicate features were fully revealed, and her cool, beautiful face remained as dazzling as the day before, so lovely that it was difficult to look directly at her.

Meng Yuxi could hardly believe that such a beauty had secretly confessed her feelings to him the previous day, while he himself had still hesitated.

“Qinglian, your room is as elegant and fragrant as ever.”

As he spoke, Meng Yuxi walked toward her.

Qinglian took two steps back.

“An old gentleman said the same thing yesterday.”

Meng Yuxi was stunned. What old gentleman? He quickly asked, “Qinglian, what are you talking about? Where did this old gentleman come from?”

Qinglian lifted her head and asked, “Young Master, was it not you who sent him here?”

“That man was very strange. He said that you had ordered me to take him as my teacher. He also said that if I became his disciple, you would never again dare to treat me lightly.”

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Qinglian spoke with perfect calm, as though she were recounting someone else’s affairs. Yet these words, filled with a trace of annoyance, emerged from such a serene and refined face. The contrast was strangely endearing, and Meng Yuxi’s heart stirred.

“Qinglian, what are you saying? When have I ever treated you lightly?”

Until that moment, Meng Yuxi had always addressed her formally as Miss Qinglian. But moved by his feelings, he unconsciously changed the way he called her.

A flush spread across Qinglian’s face. She turned away and said, “I do not know. In any case, you did yesterday.”

“Also, Young Master Meng, I have done what you instructed me to do yesterday. Madam Chang has not only bought all four golden flowers from the Fragrant Pavilion, but has also recruited all the dancers there.”

“Do you have any other orders for me, Young Master Meng?”

Looking at Qinglian’s slender, simply dressed back, Meng Yuxi suddenly felt a pang of guilt. What girl would wish to be ordered about while trying to speak of her feelings?

He immediately said, “Very well, Qinglian. There is indeed one more thing. I must trouble you to play a song here. Most of the talented gentlemen downstairs have come because of your reputation as a master of the qin.”

Qinglian remained calm and graceful, not the slightest emotion visible upon her lovely face. She turned, sat down, and began to play.

But she would not say another word.

The notes of the qin drifted through the air. The noisy bustle below ceased at once, and even the dance music on the first floor fell silent. In all of Heaven on Earth, there was suddenly only one sound.

Meng Yuxi reclined before Qinglian with a broad smile. Then he drew a jade flute from his waist and began to play along with her qin.

His flute playing was still somewhat raw, but it had improved greatly since the day he had first begun to learn. Qinglian’s extraordinary skill deliberately supported him, filling in every awkward turn with the notes of her qin. His playing grew more confident by the moment, gradually becoming lively and carefree. The qin notes, meanwhile, flowed onward in long, graceful phrases, winding upward like a beautiful woman dancing in silken robes. Accompanied by the flute, the music was so intoxicating that all who heard it were lost in its spell.

When the qin and flute duet ended, everyone below shouted their praise.

Qinglian rose and asked, “What piece was that? I have never heard it before, yet it gave me a feeling I cannot explain.”

Meng Yuxi smiled. “Perhaps it was a feeling of freedom. Naturally, I was playing The Proud Wanderer.”

After saying this, Meng Yuxi felt immensely satisfied. Ever since he had left the Azure Cloud Pavilion, he had been trying to discover how to play The Proud Wanderer. With Qinglian’s superb qin playing guiding him just now, he had finally found the melody he had been seeking. It was a sensation he would never forget.

“The Proud Wanderer... The Proud Wanderer...” Qinglian murmured. “How wonderful it would be.”

Though she possessed a heart that longed for more, she remained trapped in this pleasure quarter. Long ago, she had resigned herself to her fate. Once a woman entered such a place, she was expected to accept that being looked down upon was only natural.

Meng Yuxi smiled faintly and drew a yellowed sheet of paper from inside his robe.

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“Qinglian, look. Do you know what this is?”

Qinglian stared at it closely. Then she fell silent.

It was the thing that had both saved her and ruined her: her indenture contract.

With a smile, Meng Yuxi tore the contract into shreds. Then he said, “Qinglian, you are free.”

She gazed at him in disbelief. Though she and Madam Chang had always been close, and Madam Chang had never forced her to receive guests, treating her almost as a daughter, she had never once suggested destroying the contract. After all, Qinglian’s presence was what allowed all of them to make a living.

Yet the first thing the newly arrived proprietor, Meng Yuxi, had done was tear it apart.

He had truly destroyed it.

Did this mean she would never again have to play the qin for guests?

Meng Yuxi smiled. “The world is vast, and the rivers and mountains are boundless. From this day forward, Qinglian, you may smile and live as freely as you please.”

“I give you The Proud Wanderer as a gift, to celebrate the freedom that now allows you to soar wherever you wish.”

Tears streamed silently down Qinglian’s face.

So that was why he had summoned her to the Fragrant Pavilion yesterday and told her to wait for him.

He had come to give her freedom.

Meng Yuxi picked up the jade flute once more and began to play for himself.

The wind rose, stirring the gauze curtains into a gentle dance. The faint sorrow upon Qinglian’s face was scattered by the warm breeze. The season of early spring had passed. Next came the ardent, unrestrained summer.

By then, Meng Yuxi had already left. The jade flute lay quietly beside the qin on the table, still carrying the faint trace of his presence.

With her veil in place, Qinglian had finished gathering her clothes and belongings. She carried the ancient qin upon her back and tucked the jade flute close to her heart. Then she strode toward the city gates.

From a distance, her slender figure still appeared delicate and frail. Yet the qin upon her back would not permit weakness, nor would the jade flute hidden against her breast.

“So, Young Master Meng, you are capable of more than plotting in the shadows and killing people after all.”

Standing atop the city wall, Little Cui’er watched Qinglian’s departing figure in the distance. She could not help murmuring to herself, a faint trace of envy rising in her heart for Qinglian.